Cursor Motion Vector Mapping for Game Controller Emulation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Game applications designed for specialized hardware often lack compatibility with versatile input devices like mice, making it difficult to operate them on PCs or servers without dedicated game controllers.
Innovation Solution
An information processing apparatus and system that acquires the movement of a pointing device's cursor as a motion vector and maps it to the operation area, allowing the cursor's movement to control game applications by converting it into input signals mimicking game controller inputs, thereby enabling operation of game applications using a versatile input device.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a game application is executed using a game emulator on a versatile PC or server, then the application can be run on general hardware, but it cannot be guaranteed that a game controller is prepared as an input device
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a conversion unit as an intermediary that translates cursor movement from a pointing device into controller input signals. This mediator enables communication between the versatile pointing device and the game application designed for specialized controllers, resolving the compatibility issue while maintaining ease of operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the parameter representation of input signals by converting cursor movement parameters (position, velocity) into controller input parameters (direction, button presses). This parameter transformation allows the game application to receive inputs in the expected format while accepting input from a versatile pointing device.
2Area of stationary object
If the operation area is displayed in the same area as the execution screen, then the display is compact, but the cursor movement cannot be accurately mapped to game operations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the display area into separate regions: an execution screen display area and a cursor operation area. This segmentation allows the cursor to be tracked accurately in the operation area while the execution screen is displayed separately, resolving the conflict between compact display and accurate cursor mapping.
Solution Approach 2:
The system separates the operation space from the display space by using different areas of the display screen. The cursor operates in one dimension (operation area) while the game execution screen occupies another dimension, allowing accurate cursor tracking without compromising display compactness.
Data Source
AI summary
In an information processing apparatus, a motion vector acquisition unit acquires the movement of a cursor of a pointing device as a motion vector. A display unit displays an execution screen for an application. The display unit displays an operation area for operating an operation target in the application in an area of a display screen different from an area for displaying the execution screen. A conversion unit obtains the moving direction and the amount of displacement of the display position of the operation target based on the motion vector, acquired by the motion vector acquisition unit, of the cursor of the pointing device in the operation area.