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

Abstract

To provide a game program, a game system, a game processing method, and a game device capable of performing wide area display in a game using a mesh updated on the basis of voxel data.SOLUTION: Drawing of a display mesh is performed on the basis of a virtual camera on the basis of a texture corresponding to apex coordinates of a display mesh corresponding to voxel data and materials. In a first mode, movement control is performed for the virtual camera on the basis of the position of a player character, and according to a first instruction based on an operation input, the virtual camera is moved to a position including the position of the player character at least in the visual field, and where the distance at least from the player character becomes longer, and the mode is transitioned from the first mode to a second mode. In the second mode, the virtual camera is moved to the position where the distance at least from the player character becomes shorter according to a second instruction based on an operation input, and the mode is transitioned from the second mode to the first mode.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 25

Description

Technical Field

[0006] , , , ,

[0007] , ,

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

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, mesh generation of an object in a virtual space has been performed based on voxel data (see, for example, Non-Patent Document 1).

Prior Art Documents

Non-Patent Documents

[0003]

Non-Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] In a game using a mesh updated based on voxel data, it is desired to perform wide-area display.

[0005] The present invention provides a game program, a game system, a game processing method, and a game device capable of performing wide-area display in a game using a mesh updated based on voxel data.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] The present invention can adopt configurations such as the following (1) to (17), for example.

[0007] (1) One example of the game program configuration of the present invention involves a computer updating voxel data defined in a virtual space, where each of a plurality of voxels has at least a density indicating the degree to which the space defined by the voxel is virtually occupied by its contents, and a material indicating the type of contents, based on game processing; generating and updating a display mesh corresponding to the voxel data and drawn based on a virtual camera, by determining the vertex coordinates of the display mesh based at least the density included in the voxel data, and determining the material of the display mesh based at least the material included in the voxel data; and rendering the back of the mesh based on the texture corresponding to the vertex coordinates and material of the display mesh. The display mesh is rendered with the setting not to render it, and in the first mode of game processing, the player character is moved in the virtual space based on the input, and the virtual camera is moved based on the position of the player character, and in response to a first instruction based on the input, the virtual camera is moved to a position that at least includes the position of the player character in the field of view and at least is farther away from the player character, and the game transitions from the first mode to the second mode, and in the second mode of game processing, the virtual camera is moved based on the input, and in response to a second instruction based on the input, the virtual camera is moved to a position that at least is closer to the player character, and the game transitions from the second mode to the first mode.

[0008] According to the configuration described in (1) above, by moving the virtual camera over the virtual space based on the display mesh that is updated during game processing, it becomes possible to display a wide area of ​​the game image based on the latest display mesh.

[0009] (2) In the configuration of (1) above, the computer may be instructed to set the orientation of the virtual camera after the transition from the first mode to the second mode and the movement of the virtual camera that occurs with the transition from the second mode to the first mode, based on the orientation of the virtual camera before the movement, and to determine the position of the virtual camera after the movement based on that orientation and the point of gaze.

[0010] According to the configuration in (2) above, it becomes easier to determine the orientation of the virtual camera after a mode transition.

[0011] (3) In the configuration described in (1) above, the computer may, in the transition from the first mode to the second mode, move the virtual camera to a position where it is farther from the player character, and at least farther from the point of focus than in the first mode.

[0012] According to the configuration described in (3) above, by moving the virtual camera to a position where the distance from the point of focus is greater than in the first mode, it becomes easy to display a wider area of ​​the game image in the second mode.

[0013] (4) In the configuration described in (2) above, the computer may, in the transition from the first mode to the second mode, move the virtual camera to a position where the distance from the player character increases, and the distance from the point of focus increases by at least more than in the first mode.

[0014] According to the configuration described in (4) above, by moving the virtual camera to a position where the distance from the point of focus is greater than in the first mode, it becomes easy to display a wider area of ​​the game image in the second mode.

[0015] (5) In any one of the configurations (1) to (4) above, the computer may be instructed to generate and update vertices of the display mesh based on a method that causes the computer to set vertices at coordinates based on the positions and densities of the surrounding multiple voxels in areas where voxels with a density above a threshold value and voxels with a density below the threshold are adjacent.

[0016] According to the configuration described in (5) above, a display mesh can be generated and updated based on the density in the voxel data.

[0017] (6) In the configuration of (5) above, the computer may be instructed to generate and update vertices of the display mesh based on a method in which vertices are not set at the boundary of the first voxel space in which voxel data is defined within the virtual space.

[0018] According to the configuration described in (6) above, by not generating a display mesh on the outermost edge of the first voxel space, it is possible to visualize the inside of the first voxel space from outside the first voxel space.

[0019] (7) In the configuration of (6) above, the density of voxels at the edge of the second voxel space in which the voxel data is defined within the virtual space may be set to a predetermined value less than a threshold. The density of voxels at the edge of the first voxel space may be set to a predetermined value greater than or equal to a threshold. The position that is farther away from the player character may be a position outside the first voxel space.

[0020] According to the configuration described in (7) above, a display mesh can be generated on the outermost edge of the second voxel space, while by not generating a display mesh on the outermost edge of the first voxel space, the inside of the first voxel space can be visualized from outside the first voxel space.

[0021] (8) In the configuration of (7) above, voxels at a predetermined position inside the end portion of the first voxel space may be set with a material having the property that its density cannot be decreased.

[0022] According to the configuration of (8) above, by preventing the player character from moving outside the first voxel space, it is possible to prevent a display mesh from being generated in the outer portion.

[0023] (9) In any one of the configurations of (1) to (8) above, in the second mode, the computer may increase the transparency of or perform dithering on the display mesh included in a first range set at a position in the line-of-sight direction of the virtual camera from the virtual camera and then draw it.

[0024] According to the configuration of (9) above, by increasing the transparency of or performing dithering on the display mesh included in the first range and then drawing it, at least a part of the inside blocked by the display mesh can be visualized.

[0025] (10) In the configuration of (9) above, in the second mode, for polygons in the display mesh included in the first range, where at least one of the material and the normal direction satisfies a predetermined condition, the computer may increase the transparency of or perform dithering on them and then draw them.

[0026] According to the configuration of (10) above, the object to be visualized inside can be specified in detail.

[0027] (11) In any one of the configurations of (1) to (10) above, in the second mode, the computer may control the movement of the virtual camera based on an operation input, based on the movement of the fixation point of the virtual camera or the rotational movement of the virtual camera around the fixation point.

[0028] According to the configuration described in (11) above, in the second mode in which a wide area of ​​the game image is displayed, the display range can be changed based on user operation.

[0029] (12) In any one of the configurations (1) to (11) above, the computer may be instructed to draw the display mesh with a level of detail corresponding to the distance from the virtual camera in the first mode, and to draw the display mesh with a level of detail independent of the distance from the virtual camera in the second mode.

[0030] According to the configuration described in (12) above, it is possible to suppress unnatural appearances in wide-area displays.

[0031] (13) In the configuration described in (12) above, the computer may be instructed to draw the display mesh in the second mode at a lower frame rate than in the first mode, depending on the processing load for drawing.

[0032] According to the configuration described in (13) above, by prioritizing the detail and resolution of the display mesh over the frame rate, game images can be displayed with a priority suitable for wide-area display.

[0033] (14) In any one of the configurations (1) to (13) above, the computer may also be instructed to draw a predetermined UI at a position that overlaps with the display mesh being drawn in the second mode.

[0034] According to the configuration described in (14) above, the UI can be displayed in a wide-area game image.

[0035] (15) In the configuration described in (14) above, the computer may, in the second mode, move the player character to a position in the virtual space corresponding to the display position of the UI when a position where the first type of UI is displayed is specified based on the operation input, thereby transitioning to the first mode.

[0036] According to the configuration described in (15) above, it is possible to move the player character using the UI and to give instructions to transition between modes.

[0037] (16) In any one of the configurations (1) to (15) above, the computer may further cause the computer to draw at least one non-voxel object which is an object not based on voxel data in the first mode, and to hide at least one of the non-voxel objects in the second mode.

[0038] According to the configuration described in (16) above, when displaying game images over a wide area, the drawing target can be limited.

[0039] (17) In any one of the configurations described in (1) to (16) above, the computer may also be instructed, in the second mode, to apply a post-effect that results in a different display pattern to the display meshes included in the regions other than the selected region among the multiple regions that divide the virtual space.

[0040] According to the configuration described in (17) above, a specific part can be highlighted and displayed over a wider area.

[0041] Furthermore, the present invention may be implemented in the form of a game system, a game processing method, and a game device. [Effects of the Invention]

[0042] According to the present invention, by moving a virtual camera over a virtual space based on a display mesh that is updated during game processing, it becomes possible to display a wide area of ​​the game image based on the latest display mesh. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0043] [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 voxel data. [Figure 12] A diagram showing an example of material data. [Figure 13] A diagram showing an example of the game space when an update event occurs. [Figure 14] A diagram showing an example of the update scope. [Figure 15] A diagram showing an example of how to set vertices. [Figure 16] A diagram illustrating an example of how to determine the material of a vertex. [Figure 17] A diagram showing an example of vertex simplification. [Figure 18] A diagram showing an example of material-related conditions. [Figure 19] This diagram shows an example of a mesh generated based on vertices. [Figure 20] This diagram shows an example where the quadrilaterals that make up the mesh are divided into two triangles. [Figure 21] This diagram shows an example of a method for determining the material of the polygons that make up the display mesh. [Figure 22] This diagram shows an example of a material applied to each vertex of two adjacent polygons. [Figure 23] This diagram shows an example of applying a texture to a polygon. [Figure 24] This diagram shows an example of a method for determining the material of the polygons that make up the mesh used for judgment. [Figure 25] This figure shows an example of a normal game image and a wide-area game image displayed in the first example of this embodiment. [Figure 26] This figure shows an example of a wide-area game image that displays the second layer of the game space in the first example of this embodiment. [Figure 27] This diagram shows an example of how the interior of wall object 254 is made visible by removing dithering. [Figure 28] This figure shows an example of a normal game image and a wide-area game image displayed in the second example of this embodiment. [Figure 29] This diagram shows an example of how the interior of a voxel space is visualized by not generating a display mesh at the boundary of the voxel space. [Figure 30] This diagram shows an example of various types of data used in information processing in Game System 1. [Figure 31] A flowchart illustrating an example of the game processing flow executed by Game System 1. [Figure 32] A subroutine showing an example of the game image generation process executed in step S13 in Figure 31. [Figure 33] A subroutine showing an example of wide-area game image generation processing performed in step S107 in Figure 32. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0044] [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.

[0045] 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.

[0046] 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".

[0047] 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.

[0048] 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.

[0049] 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.

[0050] 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).

[0051] 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.

[0052] 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.

[0053] 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.

[0054] 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).

[0055] 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.

[0056] 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.

[0057] 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.

[0058] Furthermore, the left controller 3 is equipped with a terminal 42 for wired communication between the left controller 3 and the main unit 2.

[0059] 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.

[0060] 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.

[0061] Furthermore, the right controller 4 is equipped with a terminal 64 for wired communication between the right controller 4 and the main unit 2.

[0062] 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.

[0063] 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).

[0064] 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.

[0065] 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.

[0066] 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.

[0067] 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 communicates wirelessly 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 transmitted and received by communicating directly between multiple main unit 2.

[0068] 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.

[0069] 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.

[0070] 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.

[0071] 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.

[0072] 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.

[0073] 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.

[0074] 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.

[0075] 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.

[0076] 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.

[0077] 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.

[0078] 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.

[0079] 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.

[0080] 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.

[0081] 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).

[0082] 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.

[0083] 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.

[0084] 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.

[0085] [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 24. 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.

[0086] [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 data that indicates information about 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 a plurality of voxels set in the game space as data for generating voxel objects in the game space.

[0087] 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.

[0088] The terrain object shown in Figure 8 was 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 shown to illustrate the relationship between voxels and voxel objects in an easy-to-understand manner. In this embodiment, voxel objects are actually generated using rules (based on voxel data) that result in complex shapes, such as the terrain object shown in Figure 13, which will be described later. The rules for determining the shape of the voxel object based on the voxel data are arbitrary. In other embodiments, the game system 1 may generate voxel objects as shown in Figure 8 or as shown in Figure 13 based on object data.

[0089] 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.

[0090] 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).

[0091] In this embodiment, voxels are defined throughout the entire game space (i.e., the voxel space in which voxels are defined corresponds to the entire game space). However, the voxel space does not need to be defined throughout the entire game space; it may be defined in a part of the game space. When the voxel space is defined in a part of the game space, the shape of the voxel object is defined by the voxel data relating to the voxels in that voxel space, and the position of the voxel object in the game space is defined by the position of that voxel space in the game space. Furthermore, the game space may have a main voxel space defined throughout the entire game space and a sub-voxel space defined in a part of the game space. In this case, the game system 1 stores voxel data for each voxel space.

[0092] Figure 11 shows an example of voxel data. For each voxel defined in the game space, the voxel data includes density data, a first material ID, a second material ID, material mixing ratio data, and state data. In this embodiment, this data is set for each individual voxel.

[0093] The density data indicates the density, which is an index used to define the shape of the voxel object based on the voxel in question (specifically, the shape defined by the mesh described later). As will be explained 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 density described above.

[0094] In this embodiment, density can take the range of an integer value from a lower limit (e.g., 0) to an upper limit (e.g., 255). In this embodiment, the game system 1 determines the surface 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 the area within the voxel object within that voxel, and 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 the area within the voxel object within that voxel. Density can also be said to be an indicator that shows the degree to which the space of the voxel is virtually occupied by its contents (i.e., the virtual contents of the voxel object). For example, if the density is 0, the inside of the voxel is empty; if the density is 255, the entire inside of the voxel is the contents of the voxel object; and if the density is a value between 0 and 255, the contents of the voxel object can occupy the inside of the voxel in proportion to the value. Based on the above density, the shape of the mesh, i.e., the surface shape of the voxel object, can be determined. A mesh can be described as the surface of the portion of a voxel that contains content, or as the boundary between the portion of a voxel that contains content and the portion that does not. Furthermore, the volume occupied by a region within a voxel object generated based on the above density does not need to be exactly equal to the volume indicated by the density. For example, the volume of a voxel object generated using a method like that shown in Figure 8 may differ from that generated using a method like that shown in Figure 13, even if both methods are based on the same density.

[0095] In other embodiments, density may represent either a state where the entire region within the voxel is occupied by the volume of the region within the voxel object, or a state where the region within the voxel does not include the volume occupied by the region within the voxel object. For example, density data may only take the values ​​of 0 or 1.

[0096] The first material ID and the second material ID are information indicating the material (in other words, substance) of the voxel. In this embodiment, a voxel may be assigned a material such as sand, rock, or soil. In the game system 1, multiple types of materials are available that can be assigned to a voxel (see the material data shown in Figure 12). In this embodiment, up to two materials from the multiple types of materials available can be assigned to a single voxel. The first material ID is an ID indicating the first material assigned to the voxel, and the second material ID is an ID indicating the second material assigned to the voxel. As will be described in detail later, the material of a voxel object (i.e., the material assigned to the polygon of a voxel object) is determined based on the material assigned to the voxel.

[0097] As described above, in this embodiment, the voxel data includes an ID indicating the material, but in other embodiments, the voxel data may be a data structure that directly includes data indicating the content of the material (i.e., information such as the name, properties, and drawing settings, which will be described later).

[0098] The material mixing ratio data is an example of data that shows the ratio of each material in a given voxel. In this embodiment, since up to two material IDs can be set for one voxel, the material mixing ratio data that shows the ratio of one of the materials, the material indicated by the first material ID and the material indicated by the second material ID, can also represent the ratio of the other material. In this embodiment, the material mixing ratio is a value between 0 and 1 that indicates the proportion of the second material to the whole consisting of the first and second materials. For example, if the material mixing ratio set for a voxel is 0.4, it means that in that voxel, the first material and the second material are composed in a ratio of 0.6:0.4. As will be described in detail later, the appearance and properties of a voxel object are determined based on the material. The material mixing ratio is used to determine the appearance and properties of a voxel object. In other embodiments, the material mixing ratio may be a value that indicates the proportion of the first material. Also, the ratio of materials within a voxel may be represented by separate values ​​that indicate the proportion of each material. In particular, in other embodiments where it is possible to set not just two types of materials but three or more, the ratio within the material voxels will be represented as multiple values ​​that indicate the proportion of each material.

[0099] In this embodiment, it is not necessary for a voxel to have two types of materials assigned to it; it may have only one type of material assigned. For example, if a voxel has only one type of material assigned to it, the first material ID will indicate that material, and the material mixing ratio will be set to 0.

[0100] The status data indicates the state set for the voxel. The specific content and number of types of status data are arbitrary. In this embodiment, the status data includes data indicating the amount of damage set for the voxel. In other embodiments, the status data may include, for example, data indicating whether (and to what extent) the voxel is wet.

[0101] As described above, in this embodiment, the voxel data includes a material ID, so the game system 1 stores material data that defines the content of the material indicated by the material ID. Figure 12 is a diagram showing an example of material data. As shown in Figure 12, in the material data of this embodiment, each material is associated with a material ID and information on the name, properties, and rendering settings set for that material.

[0102] The names included in the material data are the names assigned to the material in question (e.g., soil, sand, grass, etc.). During gameplay, the material names of voxel objects may be displayed. To enable this display, the material data includes information about the material's name.

[0103] The properties included in material data are the properties set for that material. Material properties are the properties that the voxel object to which the material is applied possesses in the game. The specific content and number of types of material properties are arbitrary. For example, at least one of the following pieces of information may be set as material properties. Hardness • weight • Slippery • Damage settings when the player character makes contact ·temperature • Can other objects be attached to a voxel object? • The amount of health restored to the player character when the player character destroys or acquires a voxel object. • The amount of in-game currency a player character acquires when they destroy or acquire a voxel object. In other embodiments, information different from that described above may be set as information indicating the properties of the material.

[0104] In this embodiment, the material data includes an ID indicating the properties of the material as information that identifies those properties (see Figure 12). Although not shown, the game system 1 stores property information for each available property, where the content of that property (for example, the weight and slipperiness values ​​mentioned above) is associated with the property ID. By referring to the above property information, the game system 1 can identify the specific content of the properties set for the material.

[0105] The rendering settings included in the material data are information indicating rendering-related settings, such as the texture used to render the voxel object to which the material is set. In this embodiment, the material data includes the ID of the texture used to render the voxel object to which the material is set as rendering setting information (see Figure 12). Although not shown, the game system 1 stores texture information for each prepared texture, associating the texture ID with the texture indicated by that texture ID. By referring to the above texture information, the game system 1 can identify the specific content of the texture set for the material. In other embodiments, in addition to texture information, arbitrary information related to shading settings may be set as rendering setting information. For example, reflectivity and information related to normals may be set.

[0106] Furthermore, the material data may include other data besides the data shown in Figure 12. For example, the material data may include data related to sound settings. For example, the data related to sound settings may be data that defines the footsteps that are output when the player character walks on the voxel object based on the voxel.

[0107] The material data may be in any format that can identify the properties and / or rendering settings of the material. For example, in other embodiments, the material data may have a data structure that directly indicates the properties and / or rendering settings of the material, instead of a data structure that includes a material ID and a texture ID.

[0108] [2-2. Updating Voxel Data] During gameplay, voxel objects are deformed when the aforementioned voxel data is updated. In this embodiment, when a game event that updates a voxel object (hereinafter referred to as an "update event") occurs, the game system 1 updates the voxel data. The specific content of the update event is arbitrary. An update event may be, for example, a character appearing in the game performing an action that deforms a voxel object (for example, a player character punching a voxel object), or an event that deforms a voxel object may occur (for example, an object thrown by a character making contact with a voxel object, or a bomb exploding).

[0109] Figure 13 shows an example of the game space when an update event occurs. The situation shown in Figure 13 is when a player character 201 performs a punch action on a terrain object 202, which is a voxel object. As will be explained in detail later, in the example shown in Figure 13, the voxel data is updated so that the terrain object 202 around the location where the player character 201's punch action hits is erased. This represents the destruction of the terrain object 202 by the player character 201's punch action.

[0110] In this embodiment, when an update event occurs, the game system 1 sets an update range (update range 203 in the example shown in Figure 13) in the game space for updating the voxel object. The position, shape, and size of the update range are arbitrary. The position of the update range may be determined, for example, based on the position where the object related to the update event that occurred (e.g., the player character that made the punch) and the voxel object came into contact. In the example shown in Figure 13, the position of the update range 203 may be determined based on the position where the punch by the player character 201 hit. For example, the center position of the update range 203 may be the position where it hit, or a predetermined distance forward from the position where it hit. The shape and size of the update range may be predetermined to be a shape corresponding to the type of update event. For example, when an update event occurs due to a punch by the player character 201, the shape and size of the update range may be determined as a sphere of a predetermined size, as shown in Figure 13. The size of the update range may also be determined according to a value indicating the degree of influence of the update event that occurred (e.g., the strength of the punch or the size of the explosion).

[0111] Game system 1 changes the density of voxels corresponding to the set update range. Voxels corresponding to the update range are, for example, voxels within the update range or voxels that overlap with the update range. As a result of the density change, the mesh of the voxel object is changed by the process described later, thereby changing the shape of the voxel object (visual shape and shape used for contact detection). In other embodiments, in addition to changing the density of voxels included in the update range, game system 1 may also change the material of the voxel (i.e., the first material, the second material, and the material mixing ratio) or change the state of the voxel.

[0112] In this embodiment, the game system 1 determines whether a voxel is included in the update range using an SDF (Signed Distance Field). The game system 1 sets an SDF that indicates the update range set in the game space and makes the above determination based on the value of the SDF. The SDF represents the distance from a defined shape to any given position with a sign. Figure 14 shows an example of an update range. In the example shown in Figure 14, a spherical update range is set in the game space. For example, in the example shown in Figure 14, the SDF is set such that for positions inside the shape represented by the SDF in the game space, the SDF value is negative, and for positions outside the shape represented by the SDF, the SDF value is positive. In this example, it is possible to determine whether or not a voxel is included in the update range based on whether the SDF value is positive or negative. Furthermore, by using the signed distance value, it is possible to perform not only simple inside / outside determination but also processing such as correction and interpolation.

[0113] The above example describes a change applied to a voxel object where the voxel object within the update range is deformed to appear as if it were deleted. However, the changes that can be applied to a voxel object using the update range are not limited to this. For example, a change may be applied to a voxel object where a new voxel object is added within the update range (i.e., the volume occupied by the area within the voxel object increases by the amount of the update range). Alternatively, a change may be applied to a voxel object where only the material of the voxels within the update range changes, without changing the voxel density. Furthermore, a combination of changes to voxel density and material may be applied.

[0114] [2-3. Calculation of Vertices] When the voxel density is updated as described above, the game system 1 sets vertices based on the updated voxel data. These vertices are those that can become the vertices of the mesh of the voxel object. As will be described in detail later, in this embodiment, the above vertices are simplified, and the simplified vertices become the vertices of the mesh of the voxel object.

[0115] Figure 15 shows an example of how vertices are set. In Figures 15 to 24 described below, voxels, vertices, meshes, etc. are represented in 2D for the purpose of making the diagrams easier to see and the explanations easier to understand. However, in reality, vertices and meshes are set in 3D space based on voxels in 3D space. In this embodiment, the game system 1 uses a method to set vertices at coordinates based on the positions and densities of multiple surrounding voxels in areas where voxels with a set density indicating existence (i.e., a density greater than or equal to the reference value described later) and voxels with a set density indicating non-existence (i.e., a density less than the reference value described later) are adjacent. The details of this method will be described below.

[0116] As described above, in this embodiment, the density set for a voxel is set in the range of 0 to 255. A voxel with a density of 0 represents being completely in the air, and a voxel with a density of 255 represents being completely filled. Densities between 0 and 255 are treated interpolatively and used to determine vertices. In this embodiment, voxels with a density greater than or equal to a reference value are virtually treated as being inside the object, and voxels with a density less than the reference value are virtually treated as being outside the object. Alternatively, voxels with a density greater than or equal to a reference value are virtually treated as existing voxels, and voxels with a density less than the reference value are virtually treated as non-existent voxels. It is not necessary to define only voxels with a density of 0 as being outside the object (i.e., the reference value = 1); the reference value can be, for example, 128. In the example shown in Figure 15, the density of voxel 211 and the other outer voxels is set to 0, the density of voxel 212 is set to 100 (below the reference value), and the densities of voxels 213 and 214 are set to 150 and 210 (above the reference value). In this embodiment, the game system 1 generates vertices between voxels with a density above the reference value and voxels with a density below the reference value. Specifically, for each region spanning eight adjacent voxels (four in the diagram) (the region enclosed by dotted lines in the diagram), a decision 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 the reference value and voxels with a density below the reference value. The coordinates of the vertices are determined by comparing the densities of adjacent voxels along the XYZ axes and interpolating based on the density difference. Furthermore, by setting normal information that defines the position and orientation of the straight line connecting the vertices, the coordinates of the vertices can be calculated based on the normal information. Furthermore, normal information may be stored in advance for at least some of the voxels, or if it is not stored, the normal information may be calculated based on the density of adjacent voxels. In Figure 15, since the density of voxel 212 is below the standard value, voxel 212 is treated as outside the object when determining the presence or absence of a vertex, but the density value of voxel 212 itself is used in calculating the coordinates of the generated vertices.If the baseline value is set lower than the density of voxel 212, the result will be an increase in the number of vertices on the upper right and upper left sides of voxel 212 in Figure 15.

[0117] By setting vertices as described above, when generating a mesh connecting each set vertex (or each vertex after the simplification process described later has been applied to each set vertex), 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 voxels with a density of 255 may include some areas outside the object. Also, in this embodiment, voxels below a certain 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. Thus, it is not necessary to calculate the polygon mesh so that the volume strictly corresponds to the density value.

[0118] [2-4. Determining the material of the vertices] Game system 1 determines the material for each vertex set as described above. The material of a vertex is determined based on the material of the voxels surrounding that vertex. The voxels surrounding a vertex are, for example, the voxels used to determine whether or not to generate that vertex (i.e., voxels that overlap with the "region spanning voxels" described above). In other embodiments, the voxels used to determine the material of a vertex and the voxels used to determine whether or not to generate a vertex do not need to be the same and may be different.

[0119] Figure 16 shows an example of a method for determining the material of a vertex. In the example shown in Figure 16, vertex 219 is set with respect to four voxels 215-218, and these four voxels 215-218 are the "voxels surrounding the vertex" mentioned above. In actual 3D space, the number of voxels surrounding a vertex is eight. Also, in the example shown in Figure 16, voxel 215 is set to have a density of 255, a first material of "sand", and a material mixing ratio of 0 (i.e., first material:second material = 1:0, or the second material does not need to be set). Voxel 216 is set to have a density of 0 (the first and second materials do not need to be set). For voxel 217, the density is set to 204, the first material is "sand", the second material is "grass", and the material mixing ratio is 0.3 (i.e., first material:second material = 0.7:0.3). For voxel 218, the density is set to 153, the first material is "soil", the second material is "grass", and the material mixing ratio is 0.4 (i.e., first material:second material = 0.6:0.4). The coordinates indicating the position of vertex 219 are set to (X,Y)=(0.8,0.6). The coordinate system for these coordinates is one in which the left-right direction in Figure 16 is the X-coordinate and the up-down direction is the Y-coordinate, with the center position of voxel 217, the bottom left of the center positions of voxels 215-218 (positions of the white circles shown in Figure 13), being (0,0).

[0120] When determining the material of a vertex, the game system 1 calculates an evaluation value for each material in the surrounding voxels based on the density of that material and a weight value based on the distance from the voxel to the vertex. First, the weight value is calculated for each voxel, and is calculated so that it becomes larger the closer the distance from the center position of the voxel to the vertex. In this embodiment, when the center position of the voxel is (x1, y1) and the coordinates of the vertex are (x2, y2), the weight value for a given voxel is calculated according to the following equation (1). (Weight value) = |(1-x1)-x2|·|(1-y1)-y2|…(1) In the example shown in Figure 16, the weight values ​​for each voxel 215 to 218 calculated according to equation (1) above are as follows: (Weight value of voxel 215) = |(1-0)-0.8|·|(1-1)-0.6| = 0.12 (Weight value of voxel 216) = |(1-1)-0.8|·|(1-1)-0.6| = 0.48 (Weight value of voxel 217) = |(1-0)-0.8|·|(1-0)-0.6| = 0.08 (Weight value of voxel 218) = |(1-1)-0.8|·|(1-0)-0.6| = 0.32

[0121] Furthermore, game system 1 calculates the material density for each voxel. Here, material density is the value obtained by multiplying the density of the voxel by the proportion of the material set for that voxel that is occupied by that material. In this embodiment, the voxel density is the value normalized from the above values ​​of 0 to 255 to a value of 0 to 1. In the example shown in Figure 16, for voxel 215, the only material set is sand, so the proportion of sand material is 1, and the density of that voxel is 1, so the density of sand material is 1. For voxel 216, the density is 0 and no material is set, so the material density is not calculated. Alternatively, if any material is set, the density of that material is 0. For voxel 217, the set ratios of sand material and grass material are 0.7 and 0.3, respectively, and the density of the voxel is 204 / 255=0.8. Therefore, the density of the sand material is 0.7·0.8=0.56, and the density of the grass material is 0.3·0.8=0.24. For voxel 218, the set ratios of soil material and grass material are 0.6 and 0.4, respectively, and the density of the voxel is 153 / 255=0.6. Therefore, the density of the soil material is 0.6·0.6=0.36, and the density of the soil material is 0.4·0.6=0.24.

[0122] The game system 1 then calculates the above evaluation value for each material based on the weight value and the density of the material. In this embodiment, the evaluation value of a material is the sum of the density of the material calculated for each voxel, weighted according to the weight value for each voxel, for all surrounding voxels. In the example shown in Figure 16, the evaluation value of the sand material is 1·0.12+0.56·0.08=0.1648, since the material density for voxel 215 is 1 and the weight value is 0.12, and the material density for voxel 217 is 0.56 and the weight value is 0.08. Similarly, the evaluation value of the grass material is 0.24·0.08+0.24·0.32=0.096, since the material density for voxel 217 is 0.24 and the weight value is 0.08, and the material density for voxel 218 is 0.24 and the weight value is 0.32. Furthermore, the evaluation value of the soil material is calculated as follows: for 218 voxels, the material density is 0.36 and the weight value is 0.32, so 0.36 * 0.32 = 0.1152.

[0123] Game System 1 determines the vertex material based on the evaluation value of each material. Specifically, a predetermined number of materials are selected as vertex materials in order from those with the highest evaluation values. In this embodiment, the two materials with the highest evaluation values ​​are selected as vertex materials. In the example shown in Figure 16, the evaluation values ​​of the sand, grass, and soil materials are 0.1648, 0.096, and 0.1152, respectively, so the vertex materials are determined to be the sand material and the soil material. Game System 1 also calculates the ratio of the two selected materials based on the evaluation values. In this embodiment, the ratio of the two materials may be expressed as a second material ratio, which is the proportion of the second material to the whole, similar to the material mixing ratio described above. In the example shown in Figure 16, for example, if the first material is soil and the second material is sand, the second material ratio is shown as 0.1648 / (0.1648+0.1152)≈0.59. In other embodiments, the value representing the ratio of the two materials may be a value indicating the proportion of the first material. Alternatively, separate values ​​representing the proportion of each material may be used.

[0124] In this embodiment, the game system 1 generates and stores vertex data indicating the position of a vertex, the material IDs of the first and second materials set on the vertex, and the ratio of the materials. However, the method for managing the materials set on the vertices is arbitrary. In other embodiments, the vertex data may be a data structure that includes data that directly indicates the contents of the first and second materials.

[0125] As described above, in this embodiment, for each vertex, the game system 1 calculates a priority parameter (e.g., an evaluation value) for each material ID contained in the voxel data of the surrounding voxels, based on the voxel data. Then, based on the priority parameter, it selects up to a predetermined number (in this case, 2) of the highest priority material IDs and determines them as the material IDs for the vertex. Note that the specific parameters used as priority parameters are not limited to the evaluation value described above. For example, in other embodiments, an evaluation value calculated using the density of the material may be used as the priority parameter instead of using the weight value described above.

[0126] In this embodiment, the evaluation value, which is an example of a priority parameter, is calculated based on the density of multiple voxels surrounding the vertex, so that the priority of the material set on the denser voxels is increased (i.e., the evaluation value of the material increases, making it more likely to be selected). This allows the material of a vertex to be determined in accordance with the density set on the voxels.

[0127] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the evaluation value, which is an example of a priority parameter, is calculated based on the distance from the reference position (specifically, the center position) of multiple voxels surrounding the vertex to the vertex in question, so that the priority of the material set on the voxel closest to the vertex is increased. This makes it possible to determine the material of a vertex by reflecting the distance between the voxel and the vertex.

[0128] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the evaluation value, which is an example of a priority parameter, can be said to be calculated based on the material mixing ratio of multiple voxels surrounding the vertex, so that materials with a higher material mixing ratio have a higher priority. According to this, when multiple materials are set for a single voxel, the material of the vertex can be determined by reflecting the ratio of each material.

[0129] [2-5. Simplification of Vertices] In this embodiment, the game system 1 simplifies each vertex calculated as described above. Specifically, the game system 1 reduces the number of vertices by replacing some of the vertices calculated as described above with a single vertex. As will be described in detail later, the coordinates (i.e., position) and material of the replaced vertices are set based on the multiple vertices before replacement. This simplification reduces the number of vertices and polygons that make up the mesh of the voxel object, thereby reducing the amount of memory used for processing and reducing the processing load.

[0130] In this embodiment, the game system 1 simplifies by representing each vertex using SVO (Sparse Voxel Octree). Figure 17 shows an example of vertex simplification. In Figure 17, one square shown by the solid line in Figure 17(a) represents one vertex partition region. Here, a vertex partition region is a square region with the center position of the voxel as its vertex (in actual 3D space, a vertex partition region is a cube or a cuboid), and is the region with the dotted lines as its edges in Figures 15 and 16 described above. Also, in Figure 17, a vertex partition region with the letter "v" inside indicates a vertex partition region where a vertex is set.

[0131] In this embodiment, the game system 1 determines whether simplification is possible for vertices within a predetermined number of adjacent vertex division regions (four in Figure 17, eight in actual 3D space). If it is determined that simplification is possible, simplification is performed for the vertices within that predetermined number of vertex division regions.

[0132] Figure 17(a) shows the state before simplification. In the example shown in Figure 17, it is assumed that the vertex division regions within the area enclosed by the dotted line are determined to be simplifiable. At this time, the game system 1 performs simplification so that the vertices in each of the predetermined number of vertex division regions determined to be simplifiable are replaced with a single vertex (see Figure 17(b)). As a result, the vertices in the predetermined number of vertex division regions are simplified to a single vertex.

[0133] In this embodiment, the game system 1 performs simplification in multiple stages. The number of stages is arbitrary, but Figure 17 illustrates and explains up to the second stage. Figure 17(b) shows the state after the first stage of simplification, and Figure 17(c) shows the state after the second stage of simplification. In the second stage of simplification, it is determined whether or not simplification is possible for the vertices that were created by the first stage of simplification. In the example shown in Figure 17, it is determined that simplification is possible for the vertex division region enclosed by the dotted line in Figure 17(b), and as a result, the vertices in that vertex division region are simplified, resulting in the state shown in Figure 17(c). Note that the criteria for determining whether or not simplification is possible in the first stage and the criteria for determining whether or not simplification is possible in the second stage may be the same or different.

[0134] The specific method for determining whether simplification is possible is arbitrary. In this embodiment, the conditions used for the above determination are a condition relating to the shape of the voxel object and a condition relating to the material. In this embodiment, if both the condition relating to the shape of the voxel object and the condition relating to the material are satisfied, it is determined that simplification is possible, and if at least one of the conditions relating to the shape of the voxel object and the condition relating to the material is not satisfied, it is determined that simplification is not possible.

[0135] The shape-related condition is, for example, that the shape of each vertex before simplification does not change significantly from the shape of each vertex after simplification. For example, whether or not the shape of each vertex changes significantly before and after simplification can be determined by calculating an index that shows the error between the mesh before simplification and the mesh after simplification, and determining whether or not this index is below a predetermined tolerance value. Also, for example, if the shape of each vertex before simplification is hollow, but the shape of each vertex after simplification is not hollow (i.e., the information that it is hollow is lost due to simplification), the shape-related condition is determined not to be met. Whether or not the above case occurs can be determined, for example, based on the density of each voxel corresponding to the vertex division region to be judged. Also, for example, if the shape of each vertex before simplification is a shape that can only be represented by two or more vertices and cannot be represented by one vertex, the shape-related condition is determined not to be met. The same conditions as in conventional methods using SVO may be used for the shape-related conditions of the voxel object.

[0136] Furthermore, as a condition regarding materials, in this embodiment, a condition is used regarding the number of material types set for each vertex within the predetermined number of vertex division areas that are subject to simplification. Figure 18 is a diagram showing an example of a material condition. Figure 18(a) shows the case where the materials of vertices 221 to 224 are (grass), (grass), (grass and soil), and (grass and soil), respectively, and Figure 18(b) shows the case where the materials of vertices 221 to 224 are (grass and sand), (grass), (grass and soil), and (grass and soil), respectively. In this embodiment, the material condition is that the total number of material types set for each of the above vertices subject to simplification is less than or equal to a predetermined number. For example, the material condition is that it is less than or equal to the number of materials that can be set for one vertex. In this embodiment, the predetermined number is 2. For example, in the case of Figure 18(a), the total number of material types set for each of the vertices 221 to 224 subject to simplification is 2 types, grass and soil, so the material condition is satisfied. In this case, provided that the above-mentioned conditions regarding the shape of the object are met, each vertex 221-224 is determined to be simplifiable. On the other hand, in the case shown in Figure 18 (b), the total number of material types that can be set for each vertex 221-224 that is subject to simplification is three types: grass, soil, and sand, so the material conditions are not met. In this case, regardless of whether the above-mentioned conditions regarding the shape of the object are met or not, each vertex 221-224 is determined to be unsimplifiable.

[0137] In addition, in Game System 1, even if materials are strictly classified as different types, multiple types of materials may be provided that have the same set properties but different appearances. Some of these multiple types of materials may be treated as the same type when determining the conditions related to materials. For example, regarding soil materials, there may be multiple types of soil materials that have the same properties but similar appearances (e.g., texture color and pattern). In such cases, Game System 1 may treat these multiple types of soil materials as the same type when determining the conditions related to materials.

[0138] In this embodiment, similar to voxels, up to two types of materials can be set for vertices. However, in this embodiment, if the total number of material types set for each vertex subject to simplification is three or more, simplification will not be performed. That is, if the total number of material types exceeds the number of materials that can be set for a single vertex, simplification will not be performed. Therefore, even if the number of vertices is reduced through simplification, the material information set for the vertices will not be lost due to the simplification, and the material information can be maintained.

[0139] In this embodiment, the material of the simplified vertex is determined based on the material of each vertex before simplification. Specifically, the game system 1 sets one or two types of materials set for the vertex before simplification as the first material and second material of the simplified vertex. This allows the material information to be maintained. The ratio of the simplified materials is determined based on the ratio of the materials of each vertex before simplification. In this embodiment, the ratio of the simplified materials is calculated in the same way as the method for calculating the ratio of each vertex's material using the evaluation value described above. That is, the game system 1 calculates a weight value based on the distance between the simplified vertex and the vertex before simplification, and calculates an evaluation value for each material based on this weight value and the density of the material at the vertex before simplification (the evaluation value of the material described in [2-4. Determination of Vertex Materials] above can be used as the density of the material here). Then, the ratio of the materials is calculated based on the calculated evaluation value of each material.

[0140] [2-6. Mesh Generation] In this embodiment, a mesh of a voxel object is generated based on each vertex that has been simplified as described above. Figure 19 shows an example of a mesh generated based on each vertex. The squares shown in Figure 19 represent the vertex division regions described above, or vertex division regions that have been combined into one through simplification. As shown in Figure 19, the game system 1 generates a mesh in which the vertex division regions are polygons whose sides are straight lines connecting adjacent vertices. Each polygon that makes up the mesh is either a triangle or a quadrilateral.

[0141] In this embodiment, the game system 1 generates two types of meshes: a display mesh and a collision detection mesh. The display mesh is used for displaying voxel objects. The collision detection mesh is used for collision detection of voxel objects. As will be described in detail later, by using the above two types of meshes, the game system 1 can process using meshes suitable for displaying voxel objects and collision detection, respectively.

[0142] In this embodiment, the game system 1 generates the display mesh and the judgment mesh based on the SVO data described above (i.e., based on each simplified vertex). This allows for improved processing efficiency by sharing the vertex data used to generate the two types of meshes. In other embodiments, the game system 1 may not need to simplify the vertices and may generate the display mesh and / or judgment mesh based on the unsimplified vertices.

[0143] In this embodiment, the game system 1 generates a judgment mesh with a simpler shape than the display mesh. Specifically, the game system 1 ensures that the number of vertices in the judgment mesh is less than the number of vertices in the display mesh. In this embodiment, the SVO data is data that holds the data of the vertices before simplification and the data of the simplified vertices in an octree structure, but also includes data used to determine whether simplification is possible or not. This data includes, for example, data of vertices calculated as candidates for the simplified vertices (referred to as provisional vertices), and the above-mentioned index data that indicates the error between the vertices before simplification and the provisional vertices. For example, the game system 1 may use vertices from the provisional vertices whose index is less than or equal to a predetermined threshold (this threshold shall be greater than the above-mentioned tolerance value) for generating the judgment mesh. This makes it possible to reduce the number of vertices in the judgment mesh to less than the number of vertices in the display mesh. By reducing the number of vertices in the judgment mesh to less than the number of vertices in the display mesh, the processing load due to collision detection can be reduced. Furthermore, since the number of vertices in the display mesh is not excessively reduced, the appearance of voxel objects can be represented in detail.

[0144] In other embodiments, the display mesh and the judgment mesh may be generated based on the same data or on different data. Furthermore, the display mesh and the judgment mesh may have the same shape (however, even in this case, the materials set for them may be different). Also, the number of vertices in the judgment mesh may be the same as the number of vertices in the display mesh, or it may be greater than the number of vertices in the display mesh.

[0145] [2-6-1. Determining the material for the display mesh] Next, an example of a method for determining the material and appearance of the display mesh will be described. In this embodiment, the game system 1 determines a material for each polygon that makes up the display mesh. As will be described in detail later, in this embodiment, the polygons corresponding to the above polygons are drawn using up to two types of textures corresponding to up to two types of materials. Therefore, the game system 1 ensures that, for each polygon that makes up the mesh, the number of materials set for one polygon is ultimately two or less. In other embodiments, three or more types of materials may be set. For example, in embodiments where there are three or more types of materials for voxels and three or more types of materials for vertices, the same number of materials may be set for each polygon.

[0146] In this embodiment, quadrilaterals may be formed as polygons constituting the display mesh (see Figure 19). When determining the material of the display mesh, the game system 1 first divides the quadrilateral constituting the display mesh into two triangles under certain conditions. The process of dividing a quadrilateral into two triangles will be described below with reference to Figure 20.

[0147] Figure 20 shows an example of a quadrilateral that makes up a mesh being divided into two triangles. Figure 20(a) shows the quadrilateral before division, which is formed by vertices 231-234, which are part of the mesh vertices, and Figure 20(b) shows the two triangles obtained by dividing the quadrilateral. In the example shown in Figure 20, the materials set for vertices 231-234 are grass, soil, sand and grass, and grass, respectively.

[0148] In this embodiment, the game system 1 determines whether the division condition is met if the total number of material types set at each vertex of the quadrilateral is three or more. In this embodiment, the division condition is that by dividing the quadrilateral into two triangles, the total number of material types set at each vertex of the triangles can be reduced to two or less. If the division condition is met, the game system 1 divides the quadrilateral into two triangles, where the total number of material types set at each vertex is two or less. In the example shown in Figure 20, the materials set at each vertex 231-234 forming the quadrilateral are three types: grass, soil, and sand. Furthermore, if the quadrilateral is divided into a triangle formed by vertices 231, 232, and 234, and a triangle formed by vertices 231, 233, and 234, the materials set at each vertex of the former triangle will be two types: sand and grass, and the materials set at each vertex of the latter triangle will be two types: grass and soil (see Figure 20(b)). Therefore, since the division condition is met for the above quadrilateral, game system 1 divides the quadrilateral into two triangles.

[0149] Since there are two ways to divide a quadrilateral into two triangles, Game System 1 performs the above division using the method that satisfies the division condition if the division condition is satisfied for any triangle divided using at least one of the two methods. On the other hand, if the division condition is not satisfied for any triangle divided using either of the two methods, the division is performed using either method.

[0150] By performing the division as described above, game system 1 can generate two triangles, each with two or fewer materials assigned to each vertex, while minimizing the loss of information from the three or more materials assigned to each vertex of the quadrilateral. Here, as described above, each polygon constituting the mesh is rendered using up to two textures. Therefore, by performing the division described above, game system 1 can render polygons using two textures while minimizing the loss of information from the materials assigned to each vertex.

[0151] In this embodiment, the game system 1 sets polygons corresponding to the polygons after the above division has been performed. That is, the vertices of the polygons after the above division have been performed become the vertices of the polygons of the display mesh.

[0152] In this embodiment, the game system 1 determines the material of each polygon constituting the display mesh by selecting two materials if there are a total of three or more materials that can be set for each vertex of a single polygon. Figure 21 is a diagram showing an example of a method for determining the material of polygons constituting the display mesh. In the example shown in Figure 21, for vertex 241 of the triangular polygon constituting the display mesh, the first material is set to "grass", the second material to "soil", and the material ratio of the first material to the second material is set to 0.8:0.2. For vertex 242 of the same polygon, the first material is set to "grass", the second material to "sand", and the material ratio of the first material to the second material is set to 0.5:0.5. For vertex 243 of the same polygon, the first material is set to "sand", the second material to "soil", and the material ratio of the first material to the second material is set to 0.7:0.3.

[0153] If there are three or more different materials assigned to each vertex of a polygon, Game System 1 calculates a judgment value for each material. The judgment value is calculated as the sum of the ratios of each vertex to which that material is assigned. Then, Game System 1 selects the two materials with the largest judgment values ​​as the materials for that polygon. In the example shown in Figure 21, the judgment value for the grass material is 0.8 + 0.5 = 1.3, the judgment value for the sand material is 0.5 + 0.7 = 1.2, and the judgment value for the soil material is 0.2 + 0.3 = 0.5. Therefore, the materials selected for the polygon shown in Figure 21 are the grass and sand materials (see (a) in Figure 21).

[0154] The specific method for selecting the material of the polygons in the display mesh is arbitrary. In other embodiments, the material of the polygons in the display mesh may be selected by any method based on the information set at the vertices of the polygons. For example, the material of a polygon in the display mesh may be selected by identifying the material with the largest ratio at each vertex, and then selecting the material with the largest number of identified materials for each vertex as the material of that polygon.

[0155] In this embodiment, the material of the selected polygon is indicated by the material set on each vertex of the polygon. That is, when a polygon material is selected, the game system 1 changes the material set on each vertex of the polygon (i.e., the material ID included in the vertex data) to the selected material. In the example shown in Figure 21, vertices 241 and 243 are set to grass and soil and sand and soil materials, respectively, before the polygon material is selected (see Figure 21(a)). When the grass and sand material is selected as the polygon material as described above, the materials set on each vertex 241 and 243 are changed to grass and sand (see Figure 21(b)). Note that for vertex 242, the material set before selection is the same as the material of the selected polygon, so the material is not changed. As described above, when two types of materials are selected as the polygon material, the information of the third and subsequent types of materials set on each vertex of the polygon is deleted.

[0156] Furthermore, Game System 1 changes the ratio of materials set on a vertex in response to changes in the materials set on that vertex. For example, for vertex 241, the content changes from having a first material of grass and a second material of soil to having a first material of grass and a second material of sand. Here, since the proportion of sand material is 0, the material ratio of first material:second material = 1:0. In this way, the above changes formally modify the material of each vertex in order to represent the material of the polygon by the material of each vertex of that polygon.

[0157] As described above, the only material assigned to each vertex of a single polygon will be the material corresponding to the texture used for rendering, as described later. This makes it easier to perform rendering processes using textures.

[0158] It should be noted that the above changes may result in all materials being changed for a given vertex (i.e., no materials before and after the change match). For example, this might occur if the material set for a vertex before the change was soil, and the materials selected for the polygon are grass and sand. In such cases, the material ratio for that vertex may be set based on the material ratios for the other vertices of the polygon. For example, in the above example, if the first material set for one of the other vertices of the triangle polygon is grass with a material ratio of grass:sand = 1:0, and the material set for the other vertex is sand with a material ratio of sand:grass = 1:0, then the material ratio for that vertex may be set to grass:sand = 0.5:0.5. Game system 1 may also determine the material ratio for that vertex by considering the distance between that vertex and the other vertices (for example, based on a weight value that increases as the distance decreases).

[0159] As described above, in this embodiment, the game system 1 selects up to a predetermined number (in this case, 2) of material IDs set on the vertices included in each polygon (i.e., material IDs set on the vertices of the polygon corresponding to the polygon) and determines them as the material IDs for that polygon. This allows the game system 1 to reflect the materials set on the vertices in the appearance of the polygon while reducing the number of textures used during rendering.

[0160] In this embodiment, the game system 1 determines the polygon's material if the number of materials for all vertices constituting the polygon is less than or equal to the predetermined number, and if the number of materials exceeds the predetermined number, it selects a predetermined number of materials with high priority based on the priority parameter of each vertex (specifically, based on the determination value calculated based on the evaluation value described above) and determines them to be the polygon's material. This ensures that even if the total number of materials set for each vertex exceeds the predetermined number, the polygon's material can be set to a predetermined number or less, taking priority into consideration.

[0161] As described above, in this embodiment, the first and second materials set for each vertex of a polygon are changed so that there are two types of materials set for that polygon. However, when such a change is made, there is a possibility that inconsistencies may occur in the first and second materials set for vertices shared by two adjacent polygons.

[0162] Figure 22 shows an example of the materials that can be set for each vertex of two adjacent polygons. Figure 22 shows the state in which two polygons are formed by the vertices 231-234 shown in Figure 20 (Figure 20(b)). In the example shown in Figure 22, the material of the first polygon formed by vertices 231, 233, and 234 is determined to be grass and sand, so the first and second materials of these vertices should be set to grass and sand, respectively. On the other hand, the material of the second polygon formed by vertices 231, 232, and 234 is determined to be grass and soil, so the first and second materials of these vertices should be set to grass and soil, respectively. Therefore, in the example shown in Figure 22, there is a discrepancy in the materials that should be set for vertices 231 and 234, which are shared by the two polygons.

[0163] Therefore, in this embodiment, if there is a discrepancy in the materials to be set for vertices shared by two polygons, the game system 1 adds another vertex at the same position with respect to that vertex. Figure 22(b) shows an example where vertex 231' is added for vertex 231 and vertex 234' is added for vertex 234. In the example in Figure 22, the game system 1 sets the first and second materials for vertices 231 and 234 as grass and sand, respectively, according to the material of the first polygon. Also, for vertices 231' and 234', the first and second materials are set as grass and soil, respectively, according to the material of the second polygon. In this way, by formally setting two vertices as vertices shared by two polygons (i.e., generating two vertex data with the same position but different materials), it is possible to suppress discrepancies in the materials set for vertices.

[0164] Game System 1 generates a display mesh consisting of polygons whose vertices and materials have been determined as described above. Game System 1 also renders voxel objects by drawing polygons based on the material information set for each vertex (i.e., the first material and the second material).

[0165] Figure 23 shows an example of applying a texture to a polygon. Figure 23 shows a triangular polygon formed by vertices 241-243, as shown in Figure 21. The material applied to vertices 241-243 is the same as shown in Figure 21(b).

[0166] The positions of polygon vertices are rendered by mapping, which blends the textures of the first and second materials set for each vertex using the ratio of the materials set for that vertex (i.e., this ratio as the blending ratio). The textures of the first and second materials used for rendering are the textures indicated by the rendering settings information associated with each material ID associated with the data of the vertex in the material data described above (see Figure 12). In the example shown in Figure 23, the position of vertex 241 has a material ratio of grass:sand = 1:0, so rendering is performed using only the grass texture. Similarly, the position of vertex 243 has a material ratio of sand:grass = 1:0 for the first material, so rendering is performed using only the sand texture. Furthermore, the position of vertex 242 has a material ratio of grass:sand = 0.5:0.5 for the first material and sand for the second material, so rendering is performed by blending the grass texture and the sand texture with a blending ratio of 0.5:0.5.

[0167] Furthermore, for positions other than polygon vertices, Game System 1 determines the blend ratio by interpolating the blend ratio at each vertex. Then, rendering is performed by mapping, which blends the textures of the two materials set for each vertex based on the interpolated blend ratio. Note that the specific interpolation method is arbitrary. As an example, the blend ratio between vertices is linearly interpolated. In Figure 23, positions where the grass material texture is applied at a high ratio are shown in white, and positions where the sand material texture is applied at a high ratio are shown in black. In the example shown in Figure 23, the grass texture is applied at vertex 241, the blend ratio of the sand texture increases as you move towards vertex 243, the blend ratio of grass and sand becomes 1:1 at vertex 242, and only the sand texture is applied at vertex 243. In this way, by blending the two textures set for a polygon (i.e., set for each vertex of the polygon) at a blend ratio corresponding to the ratio of materials and rendering them, the appearance at the boundary between different materials in the display mesh can be made natural. This makes the appearance of a display mesh with multiple types of materials set to it look natural.

[0168] [2-6-2. Determining the material of the mesh used for judgment] Next, an example of a method for determining the material of the detection mesh will be described. As will be explained in detail later, in this embodiment, collision detection of voxel objects is performed using the detection mesh, and processing may be performed according to the material of the voxel object that has been detected as having a collision. Therefore, in this embodiment, the material of the detection mesh is also determined.

[0169] In this embodiment, the game system 1 ensures that for each polygon constituting the judgment mesh, only one type of material is assigned to each polygon. Specifically, the game system 1 determines the material assigned to a polygon of the judgment mesh based on the material information assigned to the vertices of that polygon (i.e., the first and second materials and the material ratio information).

[0170] Figure 24 shows an example of a method for determining the material of the polygons that make up the judgment mesh. Figure 24 shows an example of determining the material for the triangular polygon formed by each vertex 241-243 shown in Figure 21. The material set for each vertex 241-243 is as shown in (a) of Figure 21.

[0171] When determining the material of a polygon, the game system 1 calculates a determination value for each material set for each vertex of the polygon. In this embodiment, the method for calculating the determination value is the same as the method for calculating the determination value used to select the material set for the polygons of the display mesh. The specific method for calculating the determination value is arbitrary. In other embodiments, the determination value may be calculated by any method based on the information set for the vertices of the polygons of the determination mesh.

[0172] In the example shown in Figure 24, the judgment values ​​for each material are the same as in Figure 21 above: the judgment value for grass material is 1.3, the judgment value for sand material is 1.2, and the judgment value for soil material is 0.5. Therefore, the grass material is selected as the material for the polygon shown in Figure 24.

[0173] As described above, in this embodiment, the game system 1, for each polygon, selects up to a predetermined number (here, 1) of material IDs from the material IDs set at the vertices included in the polygon (i.e., material IDs set at the vertices of the polygon corresponding to the polygon) and determines them as the material IDs for that polygon. This allows the game system 1 to keep the number of materials set on the judgment mesh below a predetermined number. This makes it possible to suppress the complexity of processing according to the type of material, which is performed according to the result of collision judgment using the judgment mesh. Note that the method for determining the material of the polygons of the judgment mesh is arbitrary and is not limited to the above. In other embodiments, the material of the polygons of the judgment mesh may be determined by any method based on the information set at the vertices of the polygon.

[0174] Furthermore, in this embodiment, up to two types of materials can be set for the polygons of the display mesh, while only one type of material can be set for the polygons of the detection mesh. This allows for a natural appearance using two types of textures for the polygons of the display mesh, and reduces the complexity of the processing performed on the detection mesh in response to the collision detection results. In other embodiments, the types of materials that can be set for the polygons of the display mesh and the detection mesh are arbitrary. The number of materials that can be set for the polygons of the display mesh and the number of materials that can be set for the polygons of the detection mesh may both be multiple, the same, or different.

[0175] In this embodiment, the number of material types set for a single voxel is limited to two, and the number of material types set for a single polygon in the display mesh is also limited to two. This allows the material information set in the voxel data to be reflected in the material of the display mesh while keeping the amount of data in the voxel data down. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the number of material types set for vertices that are set based on the voxel data is also limited to two (see Figure 16). This allows two types of materials to be set for vertices generated during the process of obtaining the display mesh from the voxel data, so that the material information set in the voxel data is reflected in the display mesh without any loss of material information during the process.

[0176] In other embodiments, the game system 1 may set different materials for vertices used to generate the display mesh and vertices used to generate the judgment mesh, with respect to the vertices set based on the voxel data. For example, the game system 1 may set up to two types of materials for vertices used to generate the display mesh, as described above, and set one type of material for vertices used to generate the judgment mesh. Then, for the polygons of the display mesh, two types of materials may be set in the same way as described above, and for the polygons of the judgment mesh, one type of material may be set based on one type of material set for each vertex of the polygon. When one type of material is set for vertices used to generate the judgment mesh, the material with the largest judgment value calculated for each material may be set as the material for that vertex. In the above, as in this embodiment, the number of types of materials set for one polygon in the display mesh can be limited to two, and the number of types of materials set for one polygon in the judgment mesh can be limited to one. Therefore, the material information set in the voxel data can be reflected in the display mesh, and the complexity of the processing performed according to the result of collision judgment using the judgment mesh can be suppressed.

[0177] As described above, in this embodiment, a display mesh and a detection mesh may be set for a single voxel object. However, depending on the game situation, it is not necessary for both a display mesh and a detection mesh to be set for a single voxel object simultaneously (for example, it is not necessary for both to be set in the processing of one frame). For example, the detection mesh may be generated in the range where collision detection is performed within the game space, and not generated in the range where collision detection is not performed. As an example, the game system 1 may generate a detection mesh for voxel objects within a predetermined range centered on the player character, and not generate a detection mesh for voxel objects outside that predetermined range, but only generate a display mesh.

[0178] Furthermore, the game system 1 may store data related to the generated mesh in memory for display meshes, and in frames after the mesh has been generated, use this data without re-executing the mesh generation process, except for the updated range. This reduces the processing load required to generate display meshes. Also, for collision detection meshes, the data related to the generated mesh may not be stored in memory, and meshes may be generated sequentially as needed (for example, whenever collision detection is required). This saves memory space used for mesh generation.

[0179] The above describes a method for generating each mesh (i.e., the display mesh and the judgment mesh) based on the modified voxel data when the voxel data is changed from its initial state. This method can also be used, for example, at the start of a game when generating each mesh based on the initial voxel data. However, the meshes based on the initial voxel data do not necessarily need to be generated based on the initial voxel data at the start of the game; they may be prepared in advance before the game starts.

[0180] In other embodiments, only one of the display mesh and the judgment mesh described above may be set (i.e., the same mesh may be used for both display and judgment). In this case, the display mesh may be used as both the display mesh and the judgment mesh, or the judgment mesh may be used as both the display mesh and the judgment mesh. When the judgment mesh and the display mesh are set separately, appropriate meshes can be used according to their respective purposes, whereas when drawing and collision judgment are shared on the same mesh, the processing load for setting the mesh can be reduced.

[0181] [2-7. Processing for displaying game images in a wider area] Next, with reference to Figures 25 to 29, an example of a process for displaying game images over a wide area will be described. In the following, terrain objects such as the ground and walls will be assumed to be voxel objects. In this embodiment, when the player character performs an action, a collision detection is performed on the voxel object, resulting in an in-game effect.

[0182] The above-mentioned "in-game effect" refers to any change that occurs in the game, such as a change caused by "processing that reflects the results of contact between objects." The "in-game effect" only needs to be based on collision detection between a detection mesh and a detection shape corresponding to the object to be detected based on game processing (for example, a detection area set on an object such as a player character), and the above effect may occur on the object corresponding to the detection mesh, or on the object corresponding to the object to be detected. The content of the "in-game effect" may be associated with the material set on the polygon that was detected as a collision in the collision detection that causes the effect to occur (i.e., the content of the effect may be determined by the material).

[0183] Furthermore, the "in-game effects" described above occur on the voxel object depending on the material of that voxel object. For example, the voxel object may be a fragment object generated when it is pulled out from the terrain object by the player character's actions, in which case the in-game effects associated with the material of that fragment object will occur.

[0184] For example, collision detection determines whether the terrain object's detection mesh and a detection area set for the player character (for example, an area of ​​a predetermined shape set based on the player character's position) come into contact, thereby controlling the player character to be unable to enter the inside of the terrain object. Therefore, the player character can stand on or walk on the terrain object. In this embodiment, by setting a material for each polygon of the terrain object, the game system 1 can perform different processing depending on which material part of the voxel object another object comes into contact with. Furthermore, the content of the processing performed can be made to correspond to the type of material.

[0185] Furthermore, the content of the processing performed when a collision between a voxel object and another object is detected is arbitrary. For example, if the other object is a moving object such as a player character or an enemy character, the processing may include outputting the sound of the object's footsteps or displaying an effect (for example, an effect representing dust or splashes of water) at the point of contact. In this case, the game system 1 can make the footsteps sound different or the effects different depending on the type of material set on the polygon of the part of the voxel object that made contact.

[0186] In this embodiment, the user can have the player character perform actions such as grasping a part of a terrain object and pulling it out as a fragment object (referred to as a "pulling action") or destroying a part of a terrain object by punching it (referred to as a "punching action") by predetermined inputs. The game system 1 erases a part of the terrain object and generates fragment objects as in-game effects resulting from the pulling action and punching action.

[0187] For example, when a pull-out action is performed, game system 1 executes the following process. For example, if the user inputs an action to make the player character perform a pull-out or punch action, game system 1 makes the player character perform an action such as digging forward and grabbing, and performs a collision check. If a collision is detected between the player character performing the pull-out or punch action and the terrain object, an update range is generated based on the position and orientation of the player character 201. Then, game system 1 reduces the density of voxels corresponding to the above update range, and the terrain object is deformed so that the part within the update range is erased by updating the mesh in accordance with the reduction in voxel density.

[0188] Game System 1 also generates fragment objects representing the erased portion of the terrain object. These fragment objects are voxel objects and may be generated to have a shape corresponding to the erased portion of the terrain object, or they may have a predetermined shape. A unique voxel space, different from the voxel space of the voxel corresponding to the terrain object, is defined for the fragment object. For example, Game System 1 determines the material of the fragment object based on the material set on the polygons in the detection mesh of the extracted terrain object that are in contact with the update range. As an example, the material of the fragment object is determined to be the same as one of the materials set on the polygons in the detection mesh that are in contact with the update range. As another example, the material of the fragment object may be determined based on the material set on the voxel data of the voxel that is in contact with the update range. Furthermore, the fragment objects may be pre-placed in the game space (for example, on the terrain object).

[0189] As described above, the terrain objects in this embodiment change shape and material in response to actions by the player character or other objects. Therefore, since the game field on which the player character operates is updated by the above actions, displaying the game field in a wide area (e.g., map display) requires a display based on the latest state of the game field. In other words, when displaying a pre-prepared 2D map image on a game field that is updated as described above, a problem arises where the game field is not in its latest state.

[0190] In this embodiment, a virtual camera, which is controlled to move based on the position of the player character and generates a game image with the controlled position as the viewpoint, is moved to a position that is farther from the player character to display a wide-area game image. Furthermore, in this embodiment, by increasing the transparency of a part of the display mesh described above and rendering it, or by dithering a part of the display mesh and rendering it, a wide-area game image that visualizes the inside of the display mesh can be displayed. Below, as an example of a process for displaying a game image in a wide area, an example of visualizing the inside using such a process will be described as the first example.

[0191] (Example 1) The upper part of Figure 25 shows an example of a game image representing a player character 201 positioned on a terrain object 251. In the example shown in the upper part of Figure 25, the material of the polygons of the hit detection mesh of the terrain object 251, which is the ground, is set to "rock". The player character 201 is positioned on the terrace surface of the terrain object 251, and a cliff with a difference in elevation is formed behind the player character 201. The virtual camera used to display the above game image is controlled to move based on the position of the player character 201. For example, the virtual camera may be controlled to move in accordance with the player character 201 so that the player character 201 is included in the field of view. As another example, the virtual camera may be controlled to move so that it is in the first-person view of the player character 201 (i.e., the position of the virtual camera is the position of the player character 201). Furthermore, in any of the above examples, the position and / or orientation of the virtual camera may be further controllable in response to user input.

[0192] In this embodiment, the display mesh in the game space is rendered with a level of detail corresponding to its distance from the virtual camera. For example, in this embodiment, display meshes far from the virtual camera are rendered with a relatively coarser level of detail by enabling LOD (Level of Detail). As an example, in the upper part of Figure 25, the terrain object 251 at the bottom of the cliff is located at a distance greater than a predetermined distance from the virtual camera, so it is displayed with a display mesh of coarser detail by rendering with LOD enabled (the part shown by the shaded area in the upper part of Figure 25). This rendering process reduces the rendering load in the rendering of game images when displaying distant objects, and also allows for the expression of perspective as seen from the virtual camera. Display meshes close to the virtual camera may also be rendered with a relatively coarser level of detail by enabling LOD.

[0193] Fragment objects 252 and box objects 253 are placed on the terrain object 251. For example, fragment objects 252 are voxel objects, which are objects based on voxel data. Box objects 253 are non-voxel objects, which are objects not based on voxel data. Fragment objects 252 are generated by the player character 201 through the above-mentioned pull-out action or punch action, or they are prepared and placed on the terrain object 251 in advance. A unique voxel space, independent of the voxel space of the voxels corresponding to the terrain object 251, etc., is defined for the fragment objects 252. This unique voxel space can be moved / rotated within the game space along with the defined fragment objects 252, and the position and orientation (orientation) of the unique voxel space within the game space are controlled.

[0194] In this embodiment, the game system 1 moves the virtual camera to a position that at least includes the position of the player character 201 in its field of view and is at least at a distance from the player character 201, in response to a mode switching instruction based on user input (for example, an instruction to press the - button (operation button 47)). The game system 1 then transitions from a normal display mode that displays the game image (referred to as the "normal game image") to a wide-area display mode that displays a game image for wide-area display of the game space (referred to as the "wide-area game image"). For example, the orientation of the virtual camera after the move is set based on the orientation of the virtual camera before the move, and the position of the virtual camera after the move is set based on that orientation and the point of focus. As an example, the orientation of the virtual camera after the move is set to an orientation that does not change the yaw direction, roll direction, and pitch direction of the virtual camera before the move, but the yaw direction and / or pitch direction may be changed as needed. Furthermore, if the virtual camera before the above-mentioned movement is set to a position other than a first-person view (i.e., the virtual camera's position is not the player character 201's position), the virtual camera's position after the movement may be set to a position that is further away from the point of focus of the virtual camera before the movement, without changing the point of focus of the virtual camera before the movement. Also, the position of the virtual camera that includes at least the player character 201's position in its field of view does not necessarily mean that the player character 201 itself is not visible in the wide-angle game image, and that the player character 201's position may or may not be the point of focus of the virtual camera.

[0195] In the above movement, the virtual camera may move in any direction or by any distance. For example, the virtual camera may move to a position further away from the point of fixation without changing the point of fixation of the virtual camera before the above movement. As an example, the virtual camera may move to a position further away from the point of fixation along the line of sight of the virtual camera before the above movement, without changing its orientation. Also, if the position further away from the point of fixation along the line of sight falls within a virtual object, or if the view of player character 201 is obstructed by other objects, the virtual camera may be moved to a position where these conditions can be resolved. In this case, the pitch and / or yaw direction of the virtual camera may be changed so that the position of player character 201 is included in the field of view (for example, the position of player character 201 is included in the center of the field of view). In addition, in the above movement, the virtual camera may move to a position at a distance determined for each game stage. For example, the distance specified above is at least longer than the distance from the virtual camera to the point of focus or player character 201 before the above movement, and the virtual camera may move to a position in the above movement where the distance from the point of focus or the distance from player character 201 is the specified distance.

[0196] The lower part of Figure 25 shows an example of a wide-area game image that is displayed in response to the movement of the virtual camera, starting from the state where the normal game image exemplified in the upper part of Figure 25 is displayed. As shown in the lower part of Figure 25, the wide-area game image is displayed in wide-area display mode and displays a game space that is wider than the normal game image. For example, the wide-area game image includes at least the entire layer that the user is focusing on within the game space, and can also be used as a map image in that game space. For example, in the wide-area game image shown in the lower part of Figure 25, a layer notification image 206 indicating the layer in the game space being displayed is shown.

[0197] For example, in the wide-area game image illustrated in the lower part of Figure 25, the entire first layer in the game space is displayed. The first layer has a terrace surface of terrain object 251 on which the player character 201 is placed, and cliffs that have a difference in elevation from the terrace surface. The normal game image illustrated in the upper part of Figure 25 is an image that displays only a part of the upper surface of the first layer. In addition, the display mesh displayed in wide-area display mode is drawn with a level of detail that does not depend on the distance from the virtual camera. For example, in this embodiment, the wide-area game image displayed in wide-area display mode is rendered with LOD disabled, so the entire layer being displayed is drawn with a relatively fine level of detail. As an example, the level of detail at which the display mesh is drawn in the wide-area game image is equivalent to the level of detail at which the display mesh near the player character 201 is drawn in the normal game image. In the example shown in the lower part of Figure 25, the terrain object 251 at the bottom of the cliff, which was displayed with low detail in the normal game image, is displayed with a relatively finer detail mesh by rendering with LOD disabled. Through this rendering process, when displaying a wide area of ​​the game image, an image that prioritizes the visual appeal of the entire game space is displayed, enabling the entire game space to be seen.

[0198] Here, in order to realize the rendering process of wide-area game images in the wide-area display mode described above, the frame rate at which the image is displayed may be changed. For example, the frame rate at which wide-area game images are displayed may be based on the frame rate at which normal game images are displayed (e.g., 60fps (frames per second)), but may be lowered to a predetermined frame rate (e.g., 30fps) while keeping the resolution fixed as the rendering processing load increases. Alternatively, it may be returned to the basic frame rate as the rendering processing load decreases. As an example, in wide-area display mode, the frame rate at which wide-area game images are displayed may be changed based on the angle at which the virtual camera views the game space, and may be lowered to an arbitrary frame rate when the angle at which the displayed layer is viewed from above.

[0199] Furthermore, in wide-area display mode, the virtual objects to be rendered may be more limited than in normal display mode. Here, virtual objects that are hidden in wide-area display mode may be voxel objects based on voxel data, or non-voxel objects not based on voxel data. For example, in the example shown in Figure 25, in the normal game image in normal display mode, fragment objects 252, which are voxel objects, and box objects 253, which are non-voxel objects, are rendered on the terrace surface of terrain object 251, while in the wide-area game image in wide-area display mode, fragment objects 252 and box objects 253 are hidden. Although not illustrated in Figure 25, enemy characters and non-player characters (NPCs), which are voxel objects based on voxel data, may also be hidden in wide-area display mode. Regarding objects to be hidden in the wide-area game image in wide-area display mode, the game designer may select each object based on its importance in the game, etc. In this embodiment, when selecting voxel objects to be hidden, the selection is made on a voxel space basis. In this way, by hiding at least one virtual object in wide-area display mode, the density of objects displayed becomes appropriately adjusted because the objects to be drawn are limited during wide-area display, and the rendering processing load can also be reduced.

[0200] Furthermore, at least one of the virtual objects selected as the rendering target in wide-area display mode may be rendered using a User Interface. For example, in this embodiment, after the rendering of the game space in wide-area display mode is completed, a predetermined UI corresponding to the virtual object is rendered at a position that overlaps with the display mesh. For example, in the wide-area game image illustrated in the lower part of Figure 25, UIs 202 and 203 are rendered. UI 202 indicates the current location of the player character 201. UI 203 indicates the location where another object A is located. As an example, other object A is a building located in the game space and is a relatively important location that can serve as a destination for the player character 201. Note that the virtual object selected as the rendering target in wide-area display mode may be rendered in the wide-area game image using the same model that was displayed in normal display mode, or using a simplified map model of that model. For example, in the wide-area game image illustrated in the lower part of Figure 25, virtual object 204 is rendered using an image based on the model that was displayed in normal display mode.

[0201] In this embodiment, when a user specifies a location where a predetermined type of UI (e.g., UI202) is displayed in a wide-area game image, it is possible to move the player character 201 to a location in the game space corresponding to the display location of the UI. For example, when the above UI is specified by the user, the player character 201 can move to the location corresponding to the UI (e.g., near the building corresponding to the UI) without any travel distance (instantaneous movement from the current location to that location, a so-called warp movement). The game system 1 then moves the player character 201 to the location corresponding to the UI when the above UI is specified and transitions from wide-area display mode to normal display mode. In this way, when using a wide-area game image, it is possible to set a distant location as the target of movement compared to a normal game image, making it easier for the user to input instructions to move long distances using the warp movement described above. In addition to the UI with the above functions, the UI displayed superimposed on the wide-area game image may also indicate the location of items, the location of enemy characters, the location of NPCs, etc.

[0202] Furthermore, the shading settings in the game space may differ between the normal display mode and the wide-area display mode. For example, the light source settings in the game space may differ between the normal display mode and the wide-area display mode, and may be set separately for each game stage that is rendered as a wide-area game image. As an example, the light source may be set so that the entire layer being displayed in the wide-area display mode is brighter than the game space displayed in the normal display mode.

[0203] Furthermore, in the wide-area display mode of this embodiment, post-effects that result in a different display pattern may be applied to display meshes included in areas other than the selected area among the multiple areas that divide the game space. For example, in the wide-area game image illustrated in the lower part of Figure 25, masking is performed as an example of post-effect processing on other layers (for example, the second layer shown by the dashed line in the lower part of Figure 25) and the background, excluding the layer of the game space that is the target of display in the wide-area display mode (for example, the filled area in the lower part of Figure 25). In this way, by applying post-effects that result in a different display pattern, a specific part of the wide-area game image can be made to stand out. In addition, by performing masking as a post-effect in the wide-area display mode, the impact on in-game processing (game processing in normal display mode) can be minimized. Furthermore, since the drawing process is common to both the process of drawing the normal game image in normal display mode and the process of drawing the wide-area game image in wide-area display mode, and the masking is performed only in wide-area display mode, the entire drawing process in this embodiment can be simplified by making the masking a post-effect without changing the settings of the drawing process.

[0204] Game System 1 performs a masking process on display meshes included in layers other than the layer the user is focusing on (for example, the layer that overlaps with the cursor 205 that moves in response to user input, as described later). For example, Game System 1 divides the game space into layers and defines a judgment box that encloses the entire layer for each divided layer. Then, Game System 1 determines which layer to mask by comparing the judgment box with the depth buffer. As an example, Game System 1 determines which layer the user is focusing on by comparing the depth information at the point of focus with the drawing pixels in the cursor 205 and the position of each judgment box, and performs a masking process as a post-effect on the layers and background excluding that layer. Furthermore, drawing in layers other than the layer the user is focusing on may be done in the same way as in the layer the user is focusing on, or drawing may be done with lighting, fog, etc. disabled. In addition, if a layer to be displayed is selected in response to user input, masking may be performed on layers and backgrounds other than the selected layer. For example, in wide-area display mode, the display level may be changed depending on whether the user presses the up button (operation button 35) or the down button (operation button 34).

[0205] In this embodiment, in wide-area display mode, the virtual camera can be controlled based on user input. For example, the game system 1 controls the movement of the virtual camera's point of focus or rotates the virtual camera around that point of focus based on the tilt operation of the sticks 32 and 52. This virtual camera movement control allows the display range and the viewing direction of the display object shown on the display 12 to be changed according to user operation in wide-area display mode. Furthermore, as illustrated in the lower diagram of Figure 25, in this embodiment, a cursor 205 is displayed at the center of the display range in wide-area display mode, and in this case, the cursor 205 can indicate the point of focus of the virtual camera. In other words, in this embodiment, by changing the display range and viewing direction shown on the display 12, the position indicated by the cursor 205 displayed at the center of the display range can be changed. The cursor 205 may be used to determine the layer that the user is focusing on, as described above, or to select UI etc. displayed in the wide-area game image. Note that the cursor 205 may be set to any position relative to the display range based on user input. As another example, game system 1 may control zoom functions such as zooming in / out of the virtual camera based on user input.

[0206] In this embodiment, in wide-area display mode, the system can transition to normal display mode when a mode switching instruction based on user input (for example, an instruction to press the - button (operation button 47)) is given again. For example, in response to the above mode switching instruction in wide-area display mode, the game system 1 moves the virtual camera to a position that is at least closer to the player character 201 and transitions from wide-area display mode to normal display mode. For example, the orientation of the virtual camera after the move is set based on the orientation of the virtual camera in wide-area display mode before the move, and the position of the virtual camera after the move is set based on that orientation and the point of focus. As an example, the orientation of the virtual camera after the move is set to an orientation that does not change the yaw direction, roll direction, and pitch direction of the virtual camera before the move, and the yaw direction and / or pitch direction are changed as needed. The position of the virtual camera after the move is set to a position that is closer to the point of focus of the virtual camera before the move.

[0207] In the above movement, the virtual camera may move in any direction or by any distance. For example, the virtual camera may move to a position closer to the player character 201 or its vicinity, with the player character 201 as the point of focus. As another example, when a normal game image in first-person view is displayed in normal display mode, the virtual camera may move so that the player character 201's position becomes the point of view.

[0208] Thus, in this embodiment, the wide-area game image can display the game space in a wide area by moving the virtual camera. Here, the display mesh in the game space is drawn in accordance with voxel data that can be updated during the game, but since the wide-area game image is generated by moving the virtual camera set in the game space, wide-area display based on the latest display mesh becomes possible. Note that between the normal game image and the wide-area game image, not only is the position of the virtual camera used to generate these images different, but various changes as described above are made, and the display mode transitions when these changes are made. The timing of the display mode transition due to these various changes may occur during the movement of the virtual camera to change the display mode, at the start of the movement, or at the end of the movement.

[0209] Figure 26 shows an example of a wide-area game image that displays the second layer of the game space when a user input is made to change the layer to be displayed in wide-area display mode. As shown in Figure 26, the second layer is entirely covered by a wall object 254, which is a voxel object based on voxel data, and in wide-area display mode, where a virtual camera is placed outside the second layer, the inside of the second layer is not visible. In the first example, the inside of the display mesh of the wall object 254 is made visible and displayed by dithering a part of the display mesh and drawing it.

[0210] As shown in Figure 26, the second layer has an internal space enclosed by wall objects 254. The internal space in the second layer is formed by terrain objects 251, which are voxel objects based on voxel data and have their material set to "rock". For convenience, wall objects 254 are described separately from terrain objects 251 as "wall" objects, but they can be composed of any material, and for example, their material may be set to "rock" just like terrain objects 251.

[0211] In the first example, a specific material is set for the display mesh whose interior is to be made visible, i.e., the portion of the display mesh that may be subject to dithering. For example, in the example shown in Figure 26, the material of the display mesh of the wall object 254, which may face the virtual camera in wide-area display mode, is set to the specific material. Here, the display mesh facing the virtual camera is the surface of the display mesh of the wall object 254 that is facing the virtual camera. In the rendering of the game space in this embodiment, backface culling is performed on the display mesh of the voxel object, where the back of the display mesh facing the virtual camera is not rendered, and hidden surface removal is performed to remove the back of the display mesh that is not visible to the virtual camera, while the surface of the display mesh facing the virtual camera is rendered. In the example shown in Figure 26, when the virtual camera is positioned outside the second layer in wide-area display mode, the display mesh that is the interior of the wall object 254 is the back and is therefore not rendered, but the surface of the display mesh that is the exterior is rendered, making the interior space invisible. In the first example, the surface of the display object that forms the outer surface of such a wall object 254 is set to the specific material described above.

[0212] Figure 27 shows an example of how the interior of a wall object 254 is made visible by dithering. As shown in Figure 27, in the first example, the display mesh composed of the above-mentioned specific material is the target of dithering. For example, in the first example, a dithering range is set within the display mesh composed of the above-mentioned specific material, and dithering is performed (for example, the part of the display mesh shown by the dashed line in the figure). For example, the dithering range is a display mesh that is within a predetermined distance from the virtual camera C, and is set to a certain range centered on the line of sight of the virtual camera C. By setting the dithering range in this way, a wide-area game image is drawn in which the interior of a certain range from the center of the display screen is made visible. For example, in the example shown in Figure 26, a certain range from the center of the display screen of the display 12 of the wall object 254 is dithered, and a wide-area game image is displayed in which the interior space of the second layer in that range is made visible.

[0213] The dithering described above is performed when rendering the display mesh. For example, the dithering process is performed when the model to be dithered is rendered, with the dithering range calculated and the model rendered in a dithered state. This dithering process makes it possible to visualize the interior space that is obstructed by the dithered model from the outside, and from the inside of that interior space, the interior space with the model acting as a wall is represented. This is particularly effective in game stages where the interior space needs to be viewed from both the outside and the inside.

[0214] The method for setting the display mesh to be dithered is arbitrary. For example, among the display meshes included in the above dithering range, polygons composed of a specific material that satisfies the predetermined conditions as described above may be set as targets for dithering, or polygons whose normal direction satisfies the predetermined conditions may be set as targets for dithering, or polygons that satisfy both of these conditions may be set as targets for dithering. When setting using the above normal direction, among the polygons that make up the display mesh, upright wall-like polygons whose polygon normal direction is within a predetermined range (for example, within 45°) with respect to the horizontal direction in game space may be set as targets for dithering, and the above dithering range may be dithered. In this case, since the display meshes that make up the ground or floor in game space are not targeted for dithering, dithering can be applied to display meshes that make up walls that obstruct visibility. Furthermore, the targets to be made visible inside can be specified in detail on a polygon-by-polygon basis that makes up the display mesh. The voxel object from which the above dithering target display mesh is generated may be set to be unupdatable. In this case, even if player character 201 performs actions such as pulling or punching on a voxel object that is set to be unupdatable, the voxel data will not be updated, such as by changing the density of the voxel data in the voxel object, thus preventing any part of the voxel object from being destroyed.

[0215] Furthermore, the dithering range may be changed when certain conditions are met. For example, the dithering range may be changed according to the zoom magnification of the virtual camera, or according to the shape and material type of the display mesh to be dithered, or according to the game difficulty or game stage. Also, if a cursor 205 can be set to any position on the display screen based on user input, a certain range centered on the cursor 205 may be set as the dithering range.

[0216] Furthermore, although the above explanation used an example of visualizing the interior by removing dithering, the interior may also be made visible by any process that increases the transparency of the display mesh that obstructs the visualization. For example, the transparency of the display mesh that obstructs the visualization may be increased and rendered by performing alpha blending or similar processing.

[0217] (Example 2) Furthermore, in this embodiment, by using a method in which vertices of the display mesh are not set at the boundary of the voxel space defined within the game space, and by not generating a display mesh on the boundary surface of the voxel space, it is possible to display a wide-area game image that visualizes the inside of the voxel space. Below, as an example of a process for displaying a game image over a wide area, an example of visualizing the inside using such a process will be described as the second example.

[0218] The upper part of Figure 28 shows an example of a normal game image representing a player character 201 positioned inside a cavity within a terrain object 251. In the example shown in the upper part of Figure 28, a cavity is formed within the first layer of voxel space filled with the terrain object 251 (i.e., inside the terrain object 251), and the player character 201 can move within this cavity. Similar to the first example described above, the material of the polygons of the detection mesh of the terrain object 251 filling the voxel space is set to "rock". The player character 201 can destroy and / or deform parts of the terrain object 251 through actions such as pulling and punching, and can also form new cavities within the voxel space through such destruction and / or deformation. In the second example, the virtual camera for displaying the normal game image is also controlled to move based on the position of the player character 201, similar to the first example described above, and its position and / or orientation may be further controllable according to user operation.

[0219] In the example shown in the upper diagram of Figure 28, a virtual camera is positioned outside the cavity where the player character 201 is located, and inside the terrain object 251 that fills the voxel space, so that the player character 201 is within its field of view. A display mesh for the terrain object 251 is generated on the inner surface where the cavity is formed, and the display mesh that is the surface as seen from the virtual camera is drawn. For example, among the display meshes generated on the inner surface of the cavity, the faces of the display meshes generated on the virtual camera side are not drawn because the back side is visible from the virtual camera's perspective. On the other hand, among the display meshes generated on the inner surface of the cavity, the faces of the display meshes generated on the side farther from the virtual camera are drawn because the surface is visible from the virtual camera's perspective. Therefore, by setting the game not to draw the back side of the display mesh generated on the side in front of the player character 201, a game image is displayed in which the surfaces of the player character 201 and the display meshes generated on the inner surface of the cavity behind the player character 201 are drawn. In the second example, the display mesh is rendered with LOD enabled, similar to the first example, so that the level of detail corresponds to the distance from the virtual camera.

[0220] In the second example, as in the first example described above, the game system 1 moves the virtual camera to a position that includes at least the position of the player character 201 in its field of view and is at least at a distance from the player character 201, in response to a mode switching instruction based on user input (for example, an instruction to press the - button (operation button 47)). The lower part of Figure 28 shows an example of a wide-area game image that is displayed in response to the above-mentioned movement of the virtual camera, starting from a state where the normal game image exemplified in the upper part of Figure 28 is displayed. As shown in the lower part of Figure 28, the wide-area game image in the second example is displayed in wide-area display mode, and a game space that is wider than the normal game image is displayed, as in the first example described above. In the wide-area game image exemplified in the lower part of Figure 28, the entire first layer of the game space is included in the field of view, and a layer notification image 206 is displayed indicating that the first layer is the target of display. Note that in the wide-area game image shown in the lower part of Figure 28, the first layer of voxel space is not visible, but it is illustrated with a dashed line to supplement the explanation given later.

[0221] In the second example, the difference between the normal game image and the wide-area game image lies not only in the position of the virtual camera used to generate these images, but also in various changes to the display mode, frame rate, etc., as in the first example above. These changes cause a transition from the normal display mode to the wide-area display mode. Then, in the wide-area display mode, the system transitions back to the normal display mode when a mode switching instruction based on user input is given again.

[0222] Here, as shown in the upper part of Figure 29, voxels with a density of 0 (for example, the outermost voxels exemplified in Figure 29) are placed around the outermost edge of the conventional voxel space filled with terrain object 251. Furthermore, the density of these outermost voxels is set to be unupdatable. As explained in [2-3. Vertex Calculation] above, the game system 1 generates vertices between voxels with a density above the reference value and voxels with a density below the reference value. Therefore, vertices are not generated on the outermost edge of the voxel space that is not a boundary between voxels. For example, if the density of all voxels in the voxel space is above the reference value, a mesh will not be generated even though it is considered to have contents. Here, by setting the density of the outermost voxels in the voxel space to 0 and unupdatable, vertices will always be generated if the density of the voxels inside them is above the reference value, thus avoiding the situation described above where a mesh is not generated even though it is considered to have contents.

[0223] On the other hand, as illustrated in the upper part of Figure 29, if a wide-area display is desired and the virtual camera C moves outside the voxel space, a display mesh may be generated on the outer perimeter of the voxel space, making the inside invisible. The lower part of Figure 29 shows an example of how the inside of the voxel space is visualized by not generating a display mesh at the boundary of the voxel space in the second example. In the second example, for example, the voxels placed around the entire perimeter that form the edge of the voxel space filled with terrain object 251 have the setting that makes them unupdatable with a density of 0 as described above removed. Also, the initial density of the edge and the area inside it is set to, for example, an upper limit (for example, 255). In this case, since there is no area on the outer perimeter between voxels with a density above the standard value and voxels with a density below the standard value, outer vertices are not generated. In the second example, by using a method in which vertices are not set at the boundary of the voxel space, it is possible to perform rendering processing in which a display mesh is not generated at the boundary. Alternatively, a method other than those described above may be used to avoid generating a display mesh at the boundary of the voxel space.

[0224] For example, in the example shown in the lower part of Figure 29, no display mesh is generated in the area one voxel inside the voxel space (indicated by the dotted line) and in the boundary area of ​​the voxel space (indicated by the dashed line). Therefore, when viewing the voxel space from a virtual camera C located outside the voxel space, a wide-area game image is rendered that visualizes the interior of the voxel space. A cavity is formed inside the voxel space filled with terrain object 251, and of the display meshes generated on the inner surface of the cavity, the surface of the display mesh generated on the side farther from the virtual camera C is rendered, while the back surface of the display mesh generated on the side closer to the virtual camera C is not rendered. As a result, a wide-area game image is displayed that shows the interior of the cavity in the entire first layer, as exemplified in the lower part of Figure 28.

[0225] Furthermore, voxels at predetermined positions inside the edges of the voxel space (for example, voxels shown as shaded areas in the lower diagram of Figure 29) may be set to be unupdatable. For example, voxels at these predetermined positions may be assigned a material that does not allow updates, thereby reducing the density of the voxel data. This prevents the player character 201 from moving to the outer part of the voxel space, thus preventing the generation of a display mesh in that outer part.

[0226] Furthermore, in the second example described above, the voxel space encompassing the entire hierarchy in the game space was used as the target, and an example was used in which the interior of the voxel space was visualized. However, the same method may be used to visualize the interior of voxel objects in wide-area display mode. For example, voxel objects corresponding to the exterior walls of buildings or rooms can be set as models for wide-area display mode, and voxels with a density set in the same way as the voxel space described above can be placed at the outermost boundary of the model, and the density of the voxels at the outermost surface can be set to be unupdatable. This makes it possible to place a model in wide-area display mode in which no display mesh is generated on the outer surface of the exterior wall, and a wide-area game image that visualizes the interior of the model can be displayed.

[0227] [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 30 to 33.

[0228] Figure 30 shows an example of various data used for information processing in the game system 1. Each piece of data shown in Figure 30 is stored in memory accessible by the main unit 2 (for example, flash memory 84, DRAM 85, and / or a memory card installed in slot 23). As shown in Figure 30, the game system 1 stores a game program. The game program is for executing the game processing in this embodiment (for example, the game processing shown in Figures 31 to 33). The game program includes the material data mentioned above (see Figure 12). The memory also stores the voxel data mentioned above (see Figure 11), update range data, mesh data, object data, virtual camera data, drawing target data, UI data, and wide-area display mode flag data (see Figure 30).

[0229] The update range data is data indicating the update range described above. In this embodiment, the update range is represented by the SDF described above.

[0230] Mesh data includes various data related to the mesh of a voxel object. As shown in Figure 30, in this embodiment, mesh data includes SVO data, display mesh data, and determination mesh data. SVO data is data that holds each vertex calculated from the voxel data in the SVO structure described above. In this embodiment, in addition to data indicating the position of each vertex, SVO data includes data indicating the material set for each vertex (for example, data indicating the material ID). Display mesh data includes various data related to the display mesh. Specifically, display mesh data includes data indicating each vertex of the display mesh and data indicating the material set for each vertex (for example, data indicating the material ID). Determination mesh data includes various data related to the determination mesh. Specifically, determination mesh data includes data indicating each vertex of the determination mesh and data indicating the material set for each vertex (for example, data indicating the material ID).

[0231] Object data includes various data related to objects other than voxel objects (e.g., player characters, virtual objects, etc.). Object data is stored for each object that appears in the game space. Object data includes, for example, data indicating the object's position, velocity, and state.

[0232] Virtual camera data includes various data related to the virtual camera. This includes data indicating the position, orientation, and point of focus of the virtual camera set in the game space.

[0233] The data to be drawn refers to data indicating the objects selected as drawing targets in wide-area display mode. The UI data includes various data related to the UI displayed in wide-area display mode. For example, the UI data includes data indicating the drawing targets displayed in the UI, their display positions, functions, etc., from among the above-mentioned drawing targets.

[0234] The wide-area display mode flag data indicates the wide-area display mode flag, which is set to ON when transitioning from normal display mode to wide-area display mode, or when already in wide-area display mode.

[0235] Figure 31 is a flowchart showing an example of the game processing flow executed by game system 1. Figure 32 is a subroutine showing an example of the game image generation process executed in step S13 in Figure 31. Figure 33 is a subroutine showing an example of the wide-area game image generation process executed in step S107 in Figure 32. The execution of the game processing starts, for example, when the game is started in response to a user instruction while the above game program is running. The processing loop consisting of the series of processes in steps S1 to S14 is executed in a cycle of once per frame. In this game processing, if the frame rate is changed by the processing in step S164, which will be described later, the number of times the processing loop consisting of the series of processes in steps S1 to S14 is executed per second is changed according to the changed frame rate.

[0236] 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 Figures 31 to 33. 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 Figures 31 to 33 may be executed by the other information processing device. Furthermore, the processing of each step shown in Figures 31 to 33 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.

[0237] Furthermore, the processor 81 executes the processing of each step shown in Figures 31 to 33 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.

[0238] In Figure 31, the processor 81 acquires the operation data indicating user input (step S1) and proceeds to the next step. For example, the processor 81 acquires operation data output from the controller operated by the user via the controller communication unit 83 and / or terminals 17 and 21, as well as operation data output from the main unit 2 (e.g., touch panel 13).

[0239] Next, the processor 81 designates one of the game space objects that needs processing but has not yet been processed (including voxel objects defined by the unique voxel space) as the object to be processed, and performs the process of calculating the velocity of the designated object and the process of reflecting the results of contact between objects in the previous frame (step S2), and then proceeds to the next step. The velocity of the object is used in the process of step S12, described later, to calculate the position of the object in the current frame. For example, if the designated object is a player character, the velocity of the player character is calculated based on the operation data obtained in step S1. Also, if the designated object is an object that is not operated by the user (for example, a fragment object), the velocity of the object is calculated based on rules predetermined in the game program. For example, the velocity of a fragment object is set to 0 if it is placed on a terrain object and is not moving, set to the same velocity as the player character if it is being held by a player character, and set to a velocity that moves in the direction it was thrown with a size determined by the above rules if it is released by a throwing action by a player character. Specifically, the velocity of an object is calculated based on a virtual physics calculation that includes the interaction between objects. For example, interactions such as repulsion from collisions between objects, friction from contact, falling due to virtual gravity, and deceleration due to virtual air resistance are all reflected in the determination of velocity.

[0240] Furthermore, the process that reflects the results of object contact in the previous frame includes processing that affects the objects if it is determined in the collision detection (step S11 described later) in the previous frame that objects have come into contact with each other. The above processing is, for example, as follows. • If it is determined that the player character made contact with a terrain object in the previous frame due to an action such as pulling or punching, the process of generating a fragment object is executed. If the state of an object is changed during the processing of step S2 described above, the processor 81 updates the object data stored in memory for that object to reflect the changed state.

[0241] Next, the processor 81 determines whether an update event has occurred that updates the voxel object due to the object specified in step S2 (step S3). For example, the determination in step S3 is made based on the result of the collision determination in the previous frame (step S11, described later). As an example, if it is determined that the player character has come into contact with a terrain object due to a pull-out action or punch action in the previous frame, it is determined that an update event has occurred that erases a part of the terrain object. As another example, if it is determined that a fragment object has collided with a terrain object in the previous frame, the in-game effect is determined based on the materials of both objects at the collision location, and it is determined that an update event based on that in-game effect has occurred. If an update event has occurred, the processor 81 proceeds to step S4. On the other hand, if no update event has occurred, the processor 81 proceeds to step S6.

[0242] In step S4, the processor 81 sets an update range in the game space for updating voxel objects and proceeds to the next step. For example, the specific details of the update range (e.g., position, shape, and size) are associated with each type of update event in the game program. The update range set in step S4 is set to be associated with the type of update event that was determined to occur in step S3. In step S4, the processor 81 stores data indicating the set update range in memory as update range data.

[0243] Next, the processor 81 makes changes to the voxels corresponding to the update range set in step S4 in accordance with the update event (step S5), and proceeds to step S6. For example, if the processor 81 deforms a voxel object within the update range so that it appears to be deleted or shrunk, or deforms it so that a voxel object appears to be added to the update range, it updates the voxel data stored in memory to change the density of the voxels corresponding to the update range (see [2-2. Updating Voxel Data] above). Also, if the processor 81 changes the material of a voxel object within the update range, it updates the voxel data stored in memory to update at least one of the first material ID, second material ID, and material mixing ratio of the voxel corresponding to the update range.

[0244] In step S6, the processor 81 determines whether the processing in steps S2 to S5 has been completed for all objects that require processing (including voxel objects defined by the unique voxel space). If the processing of all objects is complete, the processor 81 proceeds to step S7. On the other hand, if the processing of any object is not complete, the processor 81 returns to step S2 and repeats the process.

[0245] In step S7, the processor 81 updates the vertices of the voxel objects in the game space and proceeds to the next step. For example, if the voxel data was updated in the process of step S5, the processor 81 calculates new vertices based on the updated voxel data. The position of the new vertices is calculated according to the method described in [2-3. Vertex Calculation] above. The material of the new vertices is calculated according to the method described in [2-4. Vertex Material Determination] above. Furthermore, for voxel spaces where the density of the outer perimeter is set to a standard value or higher (for example, the upper limit), vertices are not set in that outer perimeter in step S7 according to the method described in the second example of [2-7. Process for Wide-Area Display of Game Images] above.

[0246] Next, the processor 81 simplifies the vertices (step S8) and proceeds to the next step. For example, the processor 81 simplifies each updated vertex according to the method described in [2-5. Simplification of Vertices] above. Then, the processor 81 updates the SVO data stored in memory to show each vertex obtained by the processes in steps S7 and S8. Note that the processes in steps S7 and S8 do not need to recalculate the vertices for the entire voxel data, and may be performed only on the parts of the voxels whose contents were changed in the process in step S5.

[0247] Next, the processor 81 updates the display mesh of the voxel object based on the SVO data stored in memory (step S9), and proceeds to the next step. The position of each vertex of the display mesh and the material of each polygon of the display mesh (for example, the material set for each vertex of a polygon) are calculated according to the methods described in [2-6. Mesh Generation] and [2-6-1. Determination of Display Mesh Material] above. In addition, the material of each polygon of the display mesh that is subject to dithering, etc., is set to a specific material according to the method described in the first example of [2-7. Processing for Wide-Area Display of Game Images]. Also, in step S9, the processor 81 updates the display mesh data stored in memory to show the updated position and material of each vertex of the display mesh. The processor 81 may start the processing from step S10 onwards, described later, without waiting for the completion of step S9, and execute it in parallel. In that case, step S9 must be completed before the start of step S13, described later.

[0248] Next, the processor 81 updates the determination mesh of the voxel object based on the SVO data stored in memory (step S10), and proceeds to the next step. The position of each vertex of the determination mesh and the material of each polygon of the determination mesh (for example, the material set for each vertex of the polygon) are calculated according to the methods described in [2-6. Mesh Generation] and [2-6-2. Determination of the Material of the Determination Mesh] above. In step S10 above, the processor 81 updates the determination mesh data stored in memory to show the updated position and material of each vertex of the determination mesh.

[0249] In the example shown in Figure 31, the process of generating the judgment mesh in step S10 is performed every frame, but the process of generating the judgment mesh does not have to be performed every frame. For example, if the collision judgment process in step S11, which will be described later, is performed only on frames that satisfy predetermined conditions, the processor 81 may perform the process of generating the judgment mesh on the frame in which the collision judgment is performed. The processor 81 may also perform the process of generating the judgment mesh for voxels within the area in the game space in which the collision judgment in step S11 is performed. For example, in a situation where there are no objects other than voxel objects that are subject to collision judgment around the player character in the game space (i.e., a situation where only collision judgment between the player character and the surrounding voxel objects needs to be performed), the processor 81 may perform the process of generating the judgment mesh for voxels within a predetermined range relative to the player character.

[0250] Next, the processor 81 performs collision detection for each object in the game space based on the detection mesh data and object data stored in memory (step S11), and proceeds to the next step. For example, the processor 81 uses the detection mesh for voxel objects and a predetermined shape detection area set for non-voxel objects to perform collision detection. In this embodiment, the collision detection in step S11 is performed taking into account the speed calculated in step S2. In other words, the processor 81 performs collision detection using the position of each object when it moves at the above speed.

[0251] In this embodiment, the collision determination in step S11 determines, for example, whether or not the following contact occurs. • Contact between the player character performing actions such as movement and punching, and terrain objects. - Contact between the player character performing the action of picking up a fragment object and the fragment object. • Contact between fragment objects thrown by the player character's throwing action and terrain objects. Furthermore, if the collision detection in step S11 determines that objects have come into contact with each other, the process in step S2 in the next frame will either reflect the result of the object contact, or the process in step S3 in the next frame will determine that an update event has occurred.

[0252] Next, the processor 81 controls the operation of each object in the game space (step S12) and proceeds to the next step. For example, for the player character, the processor 81 performs control to cause the player character to move and perform various actions based on the operation data acquired in step S1 above. As an example, when the operation data acquired in step S1 above indicates an instruction to cause the player character to perform a warp move, the processor 81 performs control to cause the player character to instantaneously move to the location where the warp move is instructed. Then, when a predetermined action occurs, the processor 81 generates a region for collision determination corresponding to the action within the game space. In one execution of step S12 above, for actions that occur over multiple frames (for example, actions by the player character), each object is controlled so that the operation for one frame progresses. As a result, by repeatedly executing the processing of step S12 over multiple frames, each object performs a series of operations related to movement and various actions. Also, the position of the object is basically determined to be the position after moving at the speed calculated in step S2 above. However, when it is determined by the collision determination in step S11 above that the object contacts another object and the movement is obstructed by the contacted other object, the position of the object may be determined so as not to change. Then, in step S12 above, the processor 81 updates the object data stored in the memory to have the content indicating the object after the control in step S12 above.

[0253] Next, the processor 81 generates a game image (step S14) and proceeds to the processing in step S14. Hereinafter, referring to FIG. 32, the processing of generating the game image performed in step S14 above will be described.

[0254] In FIG. 32, the processor 81 determines whether a user operation for switching the display mode has been performed (step S101). For example, the processor 81 refers to the operation data acquired in step S1 above, and makes an affirmative determination in step S101 when a user operation input indicating the above-described mode switching instruction or an instruction to cause the player character 201 to perform the above-described warp movement is performed. Then, when a user operation for switching the display mode has been performed, the processor 81 advances the process to step S102. On the other hand, when a user operation for switching the display mode has not been performed, the processor 81 advances the process to step S104.

[0255] In step S102, the processor 81 performs a process of switching the wide-area display mode flag and advances the process to the next step. For example, the processor 81 refers to the wide-area display mode flag data stored in the memory, and when the wide-area display mode flag is set to off, sets the wide-area display mode flag to on and updates the wide-area display mode flag data. Further, when the wide-area display mode flag is set to on, the processor 81 sets the wide-area display mode flag to off and updates the wide-area display mode flag data stored in the memory.

[0256] Next, the processor 81 performs a process to switch and move the virtual camera in order to transition the display mode (step S103), and proceeds to step S105. For example, if the wide-area display mode flag is updated from off to on (i.e., transitioning from normal display mode to wide-area display mode), the processor 81 performs a process to move the virtual camera to a position that is farther away from the player character 201, according to the method described in [2-7. Process for displaying game images in a wide area]. Also, if the wide-area display mode flag is updated from on to off (i.e., transitioning from wide-area display mode to normal display mode), the processor 81 performs a process to move the virtual camera to a position that is closer to the player character 201, according to the method described in [2-7. Process for displaying game images in a wide area]. In step S103 above, the processor 81 updates the virtual camera data stored in memory to indicate the updated position and orientation of the virtual camera.

[0257] On the other hand, if it is determined in step S101 that no user operation has been performed to switch the display mode, the processor 81 determines whether or not the virtual camera is in the process of switching modes (step S104). If the virtual camera is in the process of switching modes, the processor 81 proceeds to step S103. On the other hand, if the virtual camera is not in the process of switching modes, the processor 81 proceeds to step S105.

[0258] In step S105, the processor 81 determines whether or not the system is in wide-area display mode. For example, if the current time is a time when the system can switch from normal display mode to wide-area display mode, or if the system has already switched to wide-area display mode, the processor 81 makes a positive determination in step S105. Conversely, if the current time is a time when the system can switch from wide-area display mode to normal display mode, or if the system has already switched to normal display mode, the processor 81 makes a negative determination in step S105. If the system is not in wide-area display mode, the processor 81 proceeds to step S106. On the other hand, if the system is in wide-area display mode, the processor 81 proceeds to step S107.

[0259] In step S106, the processor 81 performs normal game image generation processing and terminates the processing by the subroutine. For example, the processor 81 generates a normal game image according to the method described in [2-7. Processing for displaying game images over a wide area]. As an example, the processor 81 generates a normal game image by drawing each polygon of the display mesh for voxel objects and the polygons of each object other than voxel objects based on a virtual camera. Each polygon of the display mesh is drawn with LOD enabled using drawing settings such as textures corresponding to the material set for the polygon, according to the method described in [2-6-1. Determination of the material of the display mesh] above. The normal game image generated in step S106 is output to the display device and displayed in a cycle of once per frame.

[0260] Furthermore, the position of the virtual camera, which is set to generate the above-mentioned normal game images, may be set to a predetermined position that follows the player character. In addition, the position and gaze direction of the virtual camera may be controlled based on user input.

[0261] In step S107, the processor 81 performs wide-area game image generation processing and terminates the processing by the subroutine. The wide-area game image generation processing performed in step S107 will be described below with reference to Figure 33.

[0262] In Figure 33, the processor 81 determines whether or not a user operation to move the virtual camera has been performed (step S151). For example, the processor 81 refers to the operation data acquired in step S1 and determines in affirmatively in step S151 if a user operation input instructing the movement of the virtual camera (for example, tilting the sticks 32 or 52) has been performed as described in [2-7. Process for displaying game images over a wide area]. If a user operation to move the virtual camera has been performed, the processor 81 proceeds to step S152. On the other hand, if a user operation to move the virtual camera has not been performed, the processor 81 proceeds to step S153.

[0263] In step S152, the processor 81 moves the virtual camera in the game space based on the user input that instructs the movement of the virtual camera, and proceeds to step S153. For example, the processor 81 controls the movement of the point of focus of the virtual camera or rotates the virtual camera around that point of focus, based on the user input, and updates the virtual camera data stored in memory to indicate the updated position and orientation of the virtual camera.

[0264] In step S153, the processor 81 performs the process of selecting the objects to be drawn on the wide-area game image and proceeds to the next step. For example, the processor 81 selects the objects to be drawn on the wide-area game image according to the method described in [2-7. Process for displaying game images in a wide area] and sets the objects to be drawn on the UI. In step S153, the processor 81 updates the object data stored in memory to indicate the updated objects.

[0265] Next, the processor 81 performs wide-area game image rendering processing (steps S154 to S158). In the wide-area game image rendering processing that starts in step S154, rendering is performed for each model of the rendering target selected in step S153 (excluding rendering targets rendered in the UI) (step S155), and if the rendering target is a target for dithering removal (affirmative determination in step S156), dithering removal is performed (step S157). Then, when the rendering of all rendering targets selected in step S153 is completed, the wide-area game image rendering processing is completed (step S158), and processing proceeds to the next step. For example, the processor 81 performs the wide-area game image rendering processing in steps S154 to S158 according to the method described in [2-7. Processing for displaying game images in a wide area]. As an example, the processor 81 generates a wide-area game image by rendering each polygon of the display mesh for the voxel objects to be rendered, and each polygon of objects other than voxel objects to be rendered, based on a virtual camera, similar to the normal display mode. Each polygon of the display mesh is rendered with LOD disabled using rendering settings such as textures corresponding to the material set for the polygon, according to the method described in [2-6-1. Determination of the material of the display mesh] above.

[0266] Next, the processor 81 performs the process of setting the attention layer (step S159) and proceeds to the next step. For example, the processor 81 sets the cursor 205 (see Figures 25-26 and 28) to be superimposed on the point of focus of the virtual camera (for example, the center of the display range shown on the display 12) based on the virtual camera data stored in memory. Then, the processor 81 sets the layer on which the cursor 205 is superimposed as the attention layer, according to the method described in [2-7. Process of displaying game images over a wide area].

[0267] Next, the processor 81 performs masking (step S161) and proceeds to the next step. For example, the processor 81 performs the masking in step S161 according to the method described in [2-7. Process for displaying game images over a wide area]. For example, the processor 81 performs masking as a post-effect on layers other than the focus layer set in step S159 and on the background.

[0268] Next, the processor 81 performs UI rendering (step S162) and proceeds to the next step. For example, the processor 81 renders the rendering targets that are to be displayed as UI in the attention layer from among the rendering targets set in step S153 above, in a position that overlaps with the display mesh according to the method described in [2-7. Processing to display game images in a wide area]. In step S162, the processor 81 updates the UI data stored in memory to show the updated UI. The wide-area game image generated by the processing in steps S151 to S162 is then output to the display device and displayed in a cycle of once per frame.

[0269] Next, the processor 81 determines whether or not to change the frame rate (step S163). For example, the processor 81 makes a positive determination in step S163 if the rendering processing load increases from below a predetermined threshold to above that threshold, or decreases from above that threshold to below that threshold. If the processor 81 decides to change the frame rate, it proceeds to step S164. On the other hand, if the processor 81 decides not to change the frame rate, it terminates the processing by the subroutine.

[0270] In step S164, the processor 81 performs a process to change the frame rate based on the rendering processing load and terminates the processing by the subroutine. For example, if the rendering processing load increases from below the threshold to above the threshold, the processor 81 changes from the first frame rate (e.g., 60fps) to the second frame rate (e.g., 30fps). Also, if the rendering processing load decreases from above the threshold to below the threshold, the processor 81 changes from the second frame rate to the first frame rate.

[0271] Returning to Figure 31, after the game image generation process in step S13, the processor 81 determines whether or not to terminate the game (step S14). For example, if the user performs a predetermined operation input to terminate the game or if the conditions for terminating the game are met, the processor 81 makes an affirmative determination in step S14. If the game is to be terminated, the processor 81 terminates the process according to the flowchart. On the other hand, if the game is not to be terminated, the processor 81 returns to step S1 and repeats the process. Thereafter, the series of processes from steps S1 to S14 are repeatedly executed until it is determined in step S14 that the game should be terminated.

[0272] Thus, in this embodiment, when a player character is in a state that indicates it may be inside the determination mesh, the density of voxels corresponding to the second update range including the position of the player character is reduced, thereby suppressing the situation in which the player character enters the determination mesh generated based on the voxel data.

[0273] In the game processing described using Figures 31 to 33, an example was used in which the game space is updated even in wide-area display mode (for example, the processing in steps S1 to S12 above), but the processing in wide-area display mode is not limited to this. For example, if the game space is not updated in wide-area display mode, the operation data acquisition process in step S1 and the game image generation process in step S13 above may be repeatedly executed until the system transitions to normal display mode.

[0274] In the explanation above, we used an example where a voxel object is defined by generating a 3D mesh based on voxel data set in a 3D space. However, a voxel object may also be defined based on voxel data set in a 2D space. In this case, a 2D wide-area game image may be displayed in wide-area display mode.

[0275] Furthermore, the game system 1 may be any device, including a portable game device, any portable electronic device (PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), mobile phone, smartphone, personal computer, camera, tablet, etc.). In this case, the input device for user operation to control the player character, etc., does not have to be the left controller 3, right controller 4, or touch panel 13, etc., but may be another controller, mouse, touchpad, touch panel, trackball, keyboard, directional pad, slide pad, etc.

[0276] In the above description, an example in which information processing is performed by the game system 1 has been used. However, at least a part of the above processing steps may be performed by other devices. For example, when the game system 1 is configured to be communicable with other devices (for example, other servers, other information processing devices, other game devices, other mobile terminals, etc.), the above processing steps may be executed by the cooperation of the other devices. Thus, by performing at least a part of the above processing steps by other devices, processing similar to the above-described processing becomes possible. Further, the above-described information processing can be executed by the cooperation between one processor or a plurality of processors included in an information processing system constituted by at least one information processing device. Also, in the above embodiment, the processor 81 of the game system 1 can perform information processing by executing a predetermined program. However, part or all of the above processing may be performed by a dedicated circuit provided in the game system 1.

[0277] Here, according to the above-described modified example, it is also possible to implement the present invention in a so-called cloud computing system form, a distributed wide area network, and a local network system form. For example, in the system form of a distributed local network, it is also possible to execute the above processing in cooperation between a stationary information processing device (stationary game device) and a portable information processing device (portable game device). Needless to say, in these system forms, there is no particular limitation on which device performs the above-described processing, and the present invention can be realized regardless of any processing sharing.

[0278] Also, the processing order, setting values, conditions used for determination, etc. used in the above-described information processing are merely examples, and it is needless to say that the present embodiment can be realized even with other orders, values, and conditions.

[0279] Furthermore, the above program may be supplied to the game system 1 not only through an external storage medium such as external memory, but also to the device via a wired or wireless communication line. The program may also be pre-recorded in a non-volatile storage device inside the device. The information storage medium for storing the program may be a CD-ROM, DVD, or similar optical disc-type storage medium, a flexible disk, a hard disk, a magneto-optical disk, a magnetic tape, etc. Alternatively, the information storage medium for storing the program may be a volatile memory for storing the program. Such storage media can be described as recording media that can be read by a computer or the like. For example, by having a computer or the like read and execute the program on these recording media, the various functions described above can be provided.

[0280] Although the present invention has been described in detail above, the above description is merely illustrative in all respects and is not intended to limit its scope. Needless to say, various improvements and modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. Furthermore, those skilled in the art will understand from the description of specific embodiments of the present invention that an equivalent scope can be implemented based on the description of the present invention and common technical knowledge. In addition, it should be understood that the terms used herein are used in the sense commonly used in the art unless otherwise specified. Accordingly, unless otherwise defined, all technical terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains. In case of any conflict, this specification (including definitions) shall prevail. [Industrial applicability]

[0281] As described above, this can be used as a game program, game system, game processing method, and game device that can perform wide-area display and the like in games using meshes that are updated based on voxel data. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0282] 1…Game System 2…Main unit 3…Left controller 4…Right controller 11… Housing 12…Display 13…Touch panel 32, 52... Analog stick 42, 64… terminals 81… Processor 82…Network Communications Department 83... Controller Communication Unit 85…DRAM

Claims

1. On the computer, Voxel data defined in a virtual space, wherein for each of multiple voxels, at least a density indicating the degree to which the space defined by the voxel is virtually occupied by its contents, and a material indicating the type of contents are set, are updated based on game processing. A display mesh corresponding to the voxel data and drawn based on a virtual camera is generated and updated by determining the vertex coordinates of the display mesh based on the density included in at least the voxel data, and determining the material of the display mesh based on the material included in at least the voxel data. Based on the vertex coordinates of the display mesh and the texture corresponding to the material of the display mesh, the display mesh is rendered with the setting that the back face of the mesh is not rendered. In the first mode of the aforementioned game processing, Based on the input, the player character is controlled to move within the virtual space. The virtual camera is moved based on the position of the player character. In response to a first instruction based on the operation input, the virtual camera is moved to a position that at least includes the player character's position in its field of view and at least increases the distance from the player character, and the system transitions from the first mode to the second mode. In the second mode of the game processing, The virtual camera is moved and controlled based on the operation input. In response to a second instruction based on the operation input, the virtual camera is moved to a position at least closer to the player character, and the system transitions from the second mode to the first mode. A game program that generates and updates vertices of a display mesh based on a method for setting vertices at coordinates based on the positions and densities of a plurality of surrounding voxels in areas where voxels having a density above a threshold and voxels having a density below the threshold are adjacent to each other.

2. To the aforementioned computer, The game program according to claim 1, wherein, in the movement of the virtual camera that occurs in conjunction with the transition from the first mode to the second mode and the transition from the second mode to the first mode, the orientation of the virtual camera after the movement is set based on the orientation of the virtual camera before the movement, and the position of the virtual camera after the movement is determined based on the orientation and the point of gaze.

3. To the aforementioned computer, The game program according to claim 1, wherein, in the transition from the first mode to the second mode, the virtual camera is moved to a position where the distance from the player character is greater, and the distance from the point of focus is at least greater than in the first mode.

4. To the aforementioned computer, The game program according to claim 2, wherein, in the transition from the first mode to the second mode, the virtual camera is moved to a position where the distance from the player character is greater, and the distance from the point of focus is at least greater than in the first mode.

5. To the aforementioned computer, The game program according to claim 1, which generates and updates the vertices of the display mesh based on a method in which the vertices are not set at the boundary portion of a first voxel space in which the voxel data is defined within the virtual space.

6. In the virtual space, the density of voxels at the edge portion of the second voxel space in which the voxel data is defined is set to a predetermined value less than the threshold. The density of voxels at the edge portion of the first voxel space is set to a predetermined value greater than or equal to the threshold. The game program according to claim 5, wherein the position where the distance from the player character becomes greater is a position outside the first voxel space.

7. The game program according to claim 6, wherein the voxels at predetermined positions inside the end portion of the first voxel space are set to a material that does not have the property of reducing the density.

8. To the aforementioned computer, In the second mode, The game program according to claim 1, wherein the display mesh included in the first range set at the line of sight of the virtual camera is rendered with increased transparency or with dithering removed.

9. To the aforementioned computer, In the second mode, The game program according to claim 8, wherein, among the display mesh included in the first range, polygons whose material and normal direction satisfy predetermined conditions are rendered with increased transparency or with dithering removed.

10. To the aforementioned computer, In the second mode, A game program according to any one of claims 1 to 7, which controls the movement of a virtual camera based on the movement of the point of focus of the virtual camera or the rotation of the virtual camera around the point of focus, based on the operation input.

11. To the aforementioned computer, In the first mode, The display mesh is rendered with a level of detail corresponding to the distance from the virtual camera. In the second mode, The game program according to claim 10, wherein the display mesh is rendered with a level of detail independent of the distance from the virtual camera.

12. To the aforementioned computer, In the second mode described above, The game program according to claim 11, wherein, depending on the rendering processing load, the rendering of the display mesh is performed at a lower frame rate than the first mode.

13. The aforementioned computer further, In the second mode, A game program according to any one of claims 1 to 7, which causes a predetermined UI to be drawn at a position that overlaps with the display mesh that is drawn.

14. The aforementioned computer further, In the second mode, The game program according to claim 13, wherein, based on the operation input, when a position where a first type of UI is displayed is specified, the player character is moved to a position in the virtual space corresponding to the display position of said UI, thereby transitioning to the first mode.

15. The aforementioned computer further, In the first mode, Further, the drawing of at least one non-voxel object, which is an object not based on the aforementioned voxel data, is performed. In the second mode, The game program according to any one of claims 1 to 7, which causes at least one of the non-voxel objects to be hidden.

16. The aforementioned computer further, In the second mode, A game program according to any one of claims 1 to 7, which applies a post-effect that results in a different display mode to the display mesh included in the regions other than the selected region among the multiple regions that divide the virtual space.

17. A game system equipped with a processor, The aforementioned processor, Voxel data defined in a virtual space, wherein for each of multiple voxels, at least a density indicating the degree to which the space defined by the voxel is virtually occupied by its contents, and a material indicating the type of contents are set, are updated based on game processing. A display mesh corresponding to the voxel data and drawn based on a virtual camera is generated and updated by determining the vertex coordinates of the display mesh based on the density included in at least the voxel data, and determining the material of the display mesh based on the material included in at least the voxel data. Based on the vertex coordinates of the display mesh and the texture corresponding to the material of the display mesh, the display mesh is rendered with the setting that the back face of the mesh is not rendered. In the first mode of the aforementioned game processing, Based on the input, the player character's movement is controlled within the virtual space. The virtual camera is moved and controlled based on the position of the player character. In response to a first instruction based on the operation input, the virtual camera is moved to a position that at least includes the player character's position in its field of view and at least increases the distance from the player character, and the system transitions from the first mode to the second mode. In the second mode of the game processing, The virtual camera is controlled to move based on the operation input. In response to a second instruction based on the operation input, the virtual camera is moved to a position at least closer to the player character, and the system transitions from the second mode to the first mode. A game system that generates and updates vertices of a display mesh based on a method for setting vertices at coordinates based on the positions and densities of a plurality of surrounding voxels in areas where voxels having a density above a threshold and voxels having a density below the threshold are adjacent to each other.

18. The aforementioned processor, The game system according to claim 17, wherein, in the movement of the virtual camera that occurs in conjunction with the transition from the first mode to the second mode and the transition from the second mode to the first mode, the orientation of the virtual camera after the movement is set based on the orientation of the virtual camera before the movement, and the position of the virtual camera after the movement is determined based on the orientation and the point of gaze.

19. The aforementioned processor, The game system according to claim 17, wherein, in the transition from the first mode to the second mode, the virtual camera is moved to a position where the distance from the player character is greater, and the distance from the point of focus is at least greater than in the first mode.

20. The aforementioned processor, The game system according to claim 18, wherein, in the transition from the first mode to the second mode, the virtual camera is moved to a position where the distance from the player character is greater, and the distance from the point of focus is at least greater than in the first mode.

21. The aforementioned processor, The game system according to claim 18, wherein the vertices of the display mesh are generated and updated based on a method in which the vertices are not set at the boundary portion of a first voxel space in which the voxel data is defined within the virtual space.

22. In the virtual space, the density of voxels at the edge portion of the second voxel space in which the voxel data is defined is set to a predetermined value less than the threshold. The density of voxels at the edge portion of the first voxel space is set to a predetermined value greater than or equal to the threshold. The game system according to claim 21, wherein the position where the distance from the player character becomes greater is a position outside the first voxel space.

23. The game system according to claim 22, wherein the voxels at predetermined positions inside the end portion of the first voxel space are made of a material that does not reduce the density.

24. The aforementioned processor, In the second mode, The game system according to claim 17, wherein the display mesh included in the first range set to the line of sight of the virtual camera is rendered with increased transparency or with dithering removed.

25. The aforementioned processor, In the second mode, The game system according to claim 24, wherein, among the display mesh included in the first range, polygons whose material and normal direction satisfy predetermined conditions are rendered with increased transparency or with dithering removed.

26. The aforementioned processor, In the second mode, A game system according to any one of claims 17 to 23, wherein the virtual camera is moved based on the movement of the point of focus of the virtual camera or the rotational movement of the virtual camera around the point of focus, based on the operation input.

27. The aforementioned processor, In the first mode, The display mesh is drawn with a level of detail corresponding to the distance from the virtual camera. In the second mode, The game system according to claim 26, wherein the display mesh is drawn with a level of detail independent of the distance from the virtual camera.

28. The aforementioned processor, In the second mode described above, The game system according to claim 27, wherein the rendering of the display mesh is performed at a lower frame rate than the first mode, depending on the rendering processing load.

29. The aforementioned processor further, In the second mode, A game system according to any one of claims 17 to 23, wherein a predetermined UI is drawn at a position that overlaps with the display mesh that is drawn.

30. The aforementioned processor further, In the second mode, The game system according to claim 29, wherein, based on the operation input, when a position where a first type of UI is displayed is specified, the player character is moved to a position in the virtual space corresponding to the display position of the UI and the system transitions to the first mode.

31. The aforementioned processor further, In the first mode, Further drawing is performed on at least one non-voxel object which is an object not based on the aforementioned voxel data. In the second mode, The game system according to any one of claims 17 to 23, wherein at least one of the non-voxel objects is hidden.

32. The aforementioned processor further, In the second mode, A game system according to any one of claims 17 to 23, wherein a post-effect that results in a different display mode is applied to the display mesh included in the region other than the selected region among the multiple regions that divide the virtual space.

33. In the information processing system, Voxel data defined in a virtual space, wherein for each of multiple voxels, at least a density indicating the degree to which the space defined by the voxel is virtually occupied by its contents, and a material indicating the type of contents are set, are updated based on game processing. A display mesh corresponding to the voxel data and drawn based on a virtual camera is generated and updated by determining the vertex coordinates of the display mesh based on the density included in at least the voxel data, and determining the material of the display mesh based on the material included in at least the voxel data. Based on the vertex coordinates of the display mesh and the texture corresponding to the material of the display mesh, the display mesh is rendered with the setting that the back face of the mesh is not rendered. In the first mode of the aforementioned game processing, Based on the input, the player character is controlled to move within the virtual space. The virtual camera is moved based on the position of the player character. In response to a first instruction based on the operation input, the virtual camera is moved to a position that at least includes the player character's position in its field of view and at least increases the distance from the player character, and the system transitions from the first mode to the second mode. In the second mode of the game processing, The virtual camera is moved and controlled based on the operation input. In response to a second instruction based on the operation input, the virtual camera is moved to a position at least closer to the player character, and the system transitions from the second mode to the first mode. A game processing method for generating and updating the vertices of a display mesh based on a method for setting vertices at coordinates based on the positions and densities of a plurality of surrounding voxels in areas where voxels having a density greater than or equal to a threshold value and voxels having a density less than the threshold are adjacent.

34. In the aforementioned information processing system, The game processing method according to claim 33, wherein, in the movement of the virtual camera that occurs in conjunction with the transition from the first mode to the second mode and the transition from the second mode to the first mode, the orientation of the virtual camera after the movement is set based on the orientation of the virtual camera before the movement, and the position of the virtual camera after the movement is determined based on the orientation and the point of gaze.

35. In the aforementioned information processing system, The game processing method according to claim 33, wherein, in the transition from the first mode to the second mode, the virtual camera is moved to a position where the distance from the player character is greater, and the distance from the point of focus is at least greater than in the first mode.

36. In the aforementioned information processing system, The game processing method according to claim 34, wherein, in the transition from the first mode to the second mode, the virtual camera is moved to a position where the distance from the player character is greater, and the distance from the point of focus is at least greater than in the first mode.

37. In the aforementioned information processing system, The game processing method according to claim 33, wherein the vertices of the display mesh are generated and updated based on a method in which the vertices are not set at the boundary portion of the first voxel space in which the voxel data is defined within the virtual space.

38. In the virtual space, the density of voxels at the edge portion of the second voxel space in which the voxel data is defined is set to a predetermined value less than the threshold. The density of voxels at the edge portion of the first voxel space is set to a predetermined value greater than or equal to the threshold. The game processing method according to claim 37, wherein the position where the distance from the player character becomes greater is a position outside the first voxel space.

39. The game processing method according to claim 38, wherein the voxels at predetermined positions inside the end portion of the first voxel space are made of a material that does not have the property of reducing the density.

40. In the aforementioned information processing system, In the second mode, The game processing method according to claim 33, wherein the display mesh included in the first range set at the line of sight of the virtual camera is rendered with increased transparency or with dithering removed.

41. In the aforementioned information processing system, In the second mode, The game processing method according to claim 40, wherein, among the display mesh included in the first range, polygons whose material and normal direction satisfy predetermined conditions are rendered with increased transparency or rendered with dithering removed.

42. In the aforementioned information processing system, In the second mode, A game processing method according to any one of claims 33 to 39, wherein the virtual camera is moved based on the movement of the point of focus of the virtual camera or the rotational movement of the virtual camera around the point of focus, based on the operation input.

43. In the aforementioned information processing system, In the first mode, The display mesh is rendered with a level of detail corresponding to the distance from the virtual camera. In the second mode, The game processing method according to claim 42, wherein the display mesh is rendered with a level of detail independent of the distance from the virtual camera.

44. In the aforementioned information processing system, In the second mode described above, The game processing method according to claim 43, wherein the frame rate is lowered compared to the first mode to perform the rendering of the display mesh, depending on the rendering processing load.

45. The aforementioned information processing system further includes, In the second mode, A game processing method according to any one of claims 33 to 39, wherein a predetermined UI is drawn at a position that overlaps with the display mesh that is to be drawn.

46. The aforementioned information processing system further includes, In the second mode, The game processing method according to claim 45, wherein, when a position where a first type of UI is displayed is specified based on the operation input, the player character is moved to a position in the virtual space corresponding to the display position of the UI and the system transitions to the first mode.

47. The aforementioned information processing system further includes, In the first mode, Further, the drawing of at least one non-voxel object, which is an object not based on the aforementioned voxel data, is performed. In the second mode, A game processing method according to any one of claims 33 to 39, which causes at least one of the non-voxel objects to be hidden.

48. The aforementioned information processing system further includes, In the second mode, A game processing method according to any one of claims 33 to 39, wherein a post-effect that results in a different display mode is applied to the display mesh included in the region other than the selected region among the multiple regions that divide the virtual space.

49. A game device equipped with a processor, The aforementioned processor, Voxel data defined in a virtual space, wherein for each of multiple voxels, at least a density indicating the degree to which the space defined by the voxel is virtually occupied by its contents, and a material indicating the type of contents are set, are updated based on game processing. A display mesh corresponding to the voxel data and drawn based on a virtual camera is generated and updated by determining the vertex coordinates of the display mesh based on the density included in at least the voxel data, and determining the material of the display mesh based on the material included in at least the voxel data. Based on the vertex coordinates of the display mesh and the texture corresponding to the material of the display mesh, the display mesh is rendered with the setting that the back face of the mesh is not rendered. In the first mode of the aforementioned game processing, Based on the input, the player character's movement is controlled within the virtual space. The virtual camera is moved and controlled based on the position of the player character. In response to a first instruction based on the operation input, the virtual camera is moved to a position that at least includes the player character's position in its field of view and at least increases the distance from the player character, and the system transitions from the first mode to the second mode. In the second mode of the game processing, The virtual camera is controlled to move based on the operation input. In response to a second instruction based on the operation input, the virtual camera is moved to a position at least closer to the player character, and the system transitions from the second mode to the first mode. A game device that generates and updates vertices of a display mesh based on a method for setting vertices at coordinates based on the positions and densities of a plurality of surrounding voxels in areas where voxels having a density above a threshold and voxels having a density below the threshold are adjacent to each other.

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