JP2012178061A - Program, information storage medium and stereoscopic image generation device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To achieve a new image generation method for suppressing "the deviation of parallax" and "depth/concealment inconsistency" which is suitable for a stereoscopic image.SOLUTION: A target marker 10 is composed of a marker body 12, and a parallax cushion 14 which has a size larger than that of the marker body 12 and which is higher in transparency as it goes to an outer edge. The marker body 12 is arranged just before an instruction target object 4 to which the target marker 10 is applied. When the instruction target object 4 is hidden by virtual cameras C1 and C2 by another object 2, the parallax cushion 14 is arranged behind the marker body 12. Then, the contour section of the marker body 12 is shaded off by the parallax cushion 14 so that the contour can be made vague on a stereoscopic image. Thus, it is possible to suppress "depth/concealment inconsistency".

Description

  The present invention relates to a program for causing a computer to generate a stereoscopic image in a virtual three-dimensional space viewed from a given viewpoint.

In recent years, displays (including televisions) capable of displaying stereoscopic images are becoming popular. Along with this, a technique for making a video game compatible with stereoscopic vision has been proposed.
For example, it is possible to adjust the distance between the left and right virtual cameras for generating the left-eye stereoscopic image and the right-eye stereoscopic image, and the fatigue feeling when viewing stereoscopic images for a long time without changing the powerful stereoscopic image. A technique for reducing the above has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2011-24637 A

  Now, it is not always appropriate to apply a technique that has been used in video games based on planar images (meaning non-stereoscopic images; images shared by both left and right eyes) to stereoscopic images. Difficult cases are seen. For example, if the “priority of display” and “depth position” of two display objects are inconsistent and you do not want to change either condition, the problem of difficulty in viewing due to “depth and concealment conflict” will occur. . More specifically, a target marker in a shooting game or the like is one of them.

  For example, in a shooting game or the like, a target marker is generally displayed on a target among characters reflected in a game screen. Since the target marker displays information important for advancing the game, it has the highest display priority, and has been displayed in the foreground without being hidden in the game screen. That is, the priority in the concealment process is the highest and is always visible. In the case of a video game based on a planar view image, the target marker serves its purpose if it is placed in the same vertical and horizontal positions as the image of the target object (instruction target object) on the game screen or in the vicinity of the image. I was able to.

  On the other hand, in the case of a stereoscopic image in which binocular parallax occurs, as a matter of course, a unique depth exists from the left and right virtual cameras serving as viewpoints for generating the game screen to the target (instruction target object). In view of the role of the target marker, it is desirable that the display priority is the highest as in the case of a planar image game, and that the depth information is the same as or close to that of the target (instruction target object). However, if the concept of displaying the target marker 10 in a video game based on a planar view image is followed as it is, the role required for the target marker 10 cannot be fulfilled sufficiently.

  For example, FIG. 14 is an overhead view conceptual view of a virtual three-dimensional space in a flight shooting game in which a fighter plane is driven to enjoy a virtual air battle. The screen layout in the position of the so-called “third-person viewpoint” in which the left virtual camera C1 and the right virtual camera C2 are arranged in a fixed relative position behind the object of the own device 2 is shown. Note that the left virtual camera C1, the right virtual camera C2, and the own device 2 are illustrated in a large size so that the relative positional relationship can be easily understood. Due to the size of the drawing, it is shown small.

  Handling of the target marker in a video game based on a plane view image, that is, simply follow the target marker 10 in a stereoscopic image by following “the object with the highest display priority should be drawn first”. 14 (1), the depth information of the virtual surface 7 closest to the left virtual camera C1 and the right virtual camera C2 (for example, the front clip surface or the virtual surface immediately after it) is placed on the target marker 10 as shown in FIG. Will give. That is, the target marker 10 (10a, 10b) is arranged in front of the instruction target object 4 (4a, 4b) in the camera coordinate system Zc axis direction (depth direction based on the virtual camera). Of course, in generating the final game screen, the display priority of the target marker 10 is set highest. Note that if you focus only on the target marker, it is easiest to set the depth position to the display screen position, but in that case, all other objects will be displayed on the back side of the display screen. . This is because it is assumed that the depth position of the target marker is in front of the depth positions of other objects.

  The display control of the target marker 10 based on this concept is easy to implement. This is because a conventional method based on a planar view image may be applied as it is. However, there may be a large gap between the depth information of the instruction target object 4 (4a, 4b) and the depth information of the corresponding target marker 10 (10a, 10b). That is, a “parallax divergence” occurs, and the target marker 10 is located away from the instruction target object 4 and is difficult to see. However, in the right target marker 10b, the corresponding right instruction target object 4b is hidden by the own device 2. Therefore, “parallax deviation” is rarely a problem.

Then, it cannot be said that the depth information of the target marker 10 should be matched with the instruction target object 4. Another object is arranged between the left and right virtual cameras and the instruction target object to which the target marker is attached, and a problem occurs when a part or all of the target is hidden from the camera.
In such a case, for example, in a screen layout from a third person perspective in a flight shooting game, there is an own aircraft between the target (in this case, enemy aircraft) and the left and right virtual cameras, and the target is hidden behind it. An example is given. Also, in an FPS (First Person Shooting) game in which a player who is a sniper player snips a target of an NPC (non-player character), between the player's viewpoint (left and right virtual cameras) and the target, This also applies to scenes where obstacles such as cars and other humans move and pass.

  A method of matching the depth information of the target marker 10 with the instruction target object 4 will be specifically described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 14 (2), the left target marker 10a that is not hidden by the own device 2 is arranged on the marker arrangement surface 8 (8a) at substantially the same depth position as the instruction target object 4 (4a). The “parallax deviation” between 10a and the instruction target object 4 (4a) is extremely small and does not cause a problem. On the other hand, the right target marker 10b which is hidden by the own device 2 is almost the same depth position as the instruction target object 4 (4b), so this also seems to have no problem. However, a problem arises in terms of “depth and concealment contradiction” rather than “parallax divergence”. That is, the display priority of the target marker 10, that is, the priority in the concealment process is the highest, and the target marker 10 b appears to be buried in the own device 2 because it is displayed in the forefront on the game screen. Moreover, a “field-of-view struggle” occurs in which one eye appears to be buried, while the other eye appears to be unfilled. It looks like it ’s buried. This is a “depth / concealment contradiction”, which is difficult to see.

  Although a specific example of the target marker in the flight shooting game has been described, this problem is not limited to this example. This is a problem that occurs in the same way for all marker bodies such as a sight indicating the direction of the muzzle of a shooting game and a pointer for indicating a part on a three-dimensional image for medical or architectural purposes with a pointing device.

In addition, when the “display priority” and the “depth position” of the two display objects are inconsistent in this way and neither of the conditions is to be changed, it is difficult to see due to the “depth / concealment contradiction”. Cases where problems occur are not limited to target markers and pointers.
For example, the same applies to the case in which the remarks of characters appearing in the game are displayed in text. Looking at the two display objects of the comment content and the character to speak, the comment content (corresponding to the target marker) is an important element in the game progress, so I want to increase the "display priority" and display it on the front side. The same problem as that of the above-described target marker can also occur when a character to speak is present on the screen.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to realize a new image generation method capable of suppressing “parallax divergence” and “depth / concealment contradiction” that are suitable for a stereoscopic image.

A first mode for solving the above problem is a program for causing a computer to generate a stereoscopic image in a virtual three-dimensional space viewed from a given viewpoint,
An instruction target determining means for determining an instruction target object from the virtual three-dimensional space (for example, the processing unit 200, the game calculation unit 210, the target marker arrangement control unit 218, the marker main body arrangement control unit 220 in FIG. Step S30),
Marker body disposing means for disposing a predetermined marker body (for example, the marker body 12 in FIG. 3) indicating the instruction target object in front of the instruction target object when viewed from the position of the instruction target object or the viewpoint. (For example, the processing unit 200 in FIG. 5, the game calculation unit 210, the target marker arrangement control unit 218, the marker main body arrangement control unit 220, steps S32 to S38 in FIG. 8),
A three-dimensional object in which the marker body is displayed by reducing the visibility of the contour of the marker body by rendering the marker body by performing a predetermined blurring process after drawing the instruction target object and the other object. Concealment image generation means for generating a visual image (for example, the processing unit 200 in FIG. 5, the game calculation unit 210, the marker main body arrangement control unit 220, the blur processing unit 222, the stereoscopic image generation unit 261, and steps S52 to S52 in FIG. 8). A program for causing the computer to function as Step S78 and Step S100 in FIG.

Further, as another embodiment, a stereoscopic image generation device that generates a stereoscopic image of a virtual three-dimensional space viewed from a given viewpoint,
An instruction target determining means for determining an instruction target object from the virtual three-dimensional space;
Marker body placement means for placing a predetermined marker body that points to the pointing target object on a position in front of the pointing target object as viewed from the position of the pointing target object or the viewpoint;
A three-dimensional object in which the marker body is displayed by reducing the visibility of the contour of the marker body by rendering the marker body by performing a predetermined blurring process after drawing the instruction target object and the other object. A stereoscopic image generation device (for example, the home game device 1200 in FIG. 1) including a concealment-time image generation unit that generates a visual image can be configured.

  According to the first mode and the other mode, when generating the stereoscopic image, after the target object and the other object that hides the pointing target object from the virtual camera are drawn, the marker body with the blurred outline is drawn. By doing so, the visibility of the outline of the marker body can be reduced. In the first place, the information on the outline is very important for the recognition of the three-dimensional effect. Humans tend to feel parallax when the outline is clear, that is, when the boundary is clear. Therefore, even if the marker body is overlaid on another object that hides the instruction target object or the marker body itself by intentionally blurring the outline of the marker body, the marker body is displayed on the other object. Can greatly suppress the “depth / concealment contradiction” that appears to be buried unnaturally.

  If attention is paid to the blurring process, as in the second embodiment, the concealment-time image generating unit is a target range determining unit that determines the target range of the blurring process including the drawing portion of the marker body in the stereoscopic image ( For example, the processing unit 200, the game calculation unit 210, the marker main body arrangement control unit 220, the blurring processing unit 222, the parallax cushion layout control unit 224 in FIG. 5 and steps S66 and S68 in FIG. Blur processing means (for example, the processing unit 200 in FIG. 5, the game calculation unit 210, the marker body arrangement control unit 220, the blur processing unit 222, the parallax cushion color setting unit 226, and steps S74 and S76 in FIG. 8). The program of the 1st form for making the said computer function may be comprised so that it may have.

  Furthermore, as a third mode, a second mode for causing the computer to function so that the blur processing unit performs the blur processing on the drawing portion of the other object that is within the target range. A program can be configured.

  If attention is paid to the determination of the range to be subjected to “blur”, as a fourth embodiment, a target range determining body (for example, the parallax cushion 14 in FIG. 3) for determining the target range of the blur processing is defined as the viewpoint. Target range determining body placement means to be placed between the marker bodies (for example, the processing unit 200, the game calculation unit 210, the marker body placement control unit 220, the blur processing unit 222, the parallax cushion placement control unit 224, FIG. Second step for causing the computer to function as Steps S66 and S68 of FIG. 8, and for causing the target range determination means to determine the target range of the blurring process using the target range determining body. Or the program of the 3rd form can be constituted.

  Focusing on the range of “blurring”, as a fifth embodiment, the target range determining body arranging means sets the size of the target range determining body variably (for example, the processing unit in FIG. 5). 200, the parallax cushion layout control unit 224, and steps S66 and S68 in FIG. 8, the fourth form of the program for causing the computer to function can be configured.

  Further, if attention is paid to the handling of the color of the target range determining body, as the sixth form, the blurring processing unit performs the blurring process by performing a translucent synthesis process using the color of the target range determining body. As described above, the fourth or fifth form program for causing the computer to function can be configured.

  Further, focusing on the “blurring” technique itself, as a seventh form, the concealed image generation means performs a blurring process on the marker body by rendering the color of the marker body semi-transparent and performs drawing. And a marker body translucent synthesis processing means (for example, the processing unit 200 in FIG. 5, the game calculation unit 210, the target marker arrangement control unit 218, and steps S44 to S46 in FIG. 10). The program in any one of the first to sixth forms can be configured.

  Focusing on the conditions for performing “blurring”, as an eighth mode, when the concealment determining unit determines that the target object is not hidden, the blurring by the concealed image generation unit after drawing of the instruction target object is performed. A program according to any one of the first to seventh forms for further causing the computer to function as a non-hidden image generation unit that performs a blur process similar to the process and draws a marker body to generate a stereoscopic image can do.

  The ninth form is a computer-readable information storage medium storing the program of any one of the first to eighth forms. The “information storage medium” mentioned here includes, for example, a magnetic disk, an optical disk, an IC memory, and the like. According to the ninth aspect, by causing the computer to read and execute the program of any one of the first to eighth forms, causing the computer to exert the same effect as any of the first to eighth forms. Can do.

The figure which shows an example of the system configuration | structure of the stationary household game device which is a stereoscopic vision image generation apparatus. The figure which shows the example of a game screen in 1st Embodiment. The figure which shows the structural example of a target marker. The conceptual diagram for demonstrating the principle of the display method of a target marker. The functional block diagram which shows an example of the function structure in 1st Embodiment. The figure which shows an example of the data structure of play data. The flowchart for demonstrating the flow of the main processes in 1st Embodiment. The flowchart for demonstrating the flow of the target marker arrangement | positioning process in 1st Embodiment. The figure which shows the example of a game screen in 2nd Embodiment. The figure for demonstrating the speech event in 2nd Embodiment. The flowchart for demonstrating the flow of the speech event process in 2nd Embodiment. The conceptual diagram which shows the modification of the setting of a parallax cushion. The flowchart for demonstrating the flow of the modification of a target marker arrangement | positioning process. The conceptual diagram which shows the view of the arrangement | positioning of a target marker.

[First Embodiment]
As a first embodiment to which the present invention is applied, an image (3DCG: three-dimensional) depicting a state in which movement control of an object is performed in a virtual three-dimensional space in a stationary home game device that is one of stereoscopic image generating devices. An example of executing a flight shooting game by generating computer graphics) will be given.
Note that the game genre is not limited to the flight shooting game, but FPS or any other game can be used as long as other objects can be placed between the left and right virtual cameras and the target object indicated by the target marker as the target. Other genres such as RPG (role playing game), action game, and music game may be used.

[Configuration of game device]
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a system configuration of a stationary home-use game device that is a stereoscopic image generation device according to the present embodiment. The stationary home game device 1200 includes a game device main body 1201, a video monitor 1220 that can display a stereoscopic image, and a game controller 1230.

  The game apparatus main body 1201 includes, for example, a control unit 1210 and information storage medium reading devices 1206 and 1208 such as an optical disk 1202 and a memory card 1204. Then, the home game device 1200 reads the game program and various setting data from the optical disk 1202 and the memory card 1204, and the control unit 1210 executes various game operations based on operation inputs made by the game controller 1230. Run video games.

  The control unit 1210 includes various microprocessors such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), and a DSP (Digital Signal Processor), and electrical and electronic devices such as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) and an IC memory. Each part of the game apparatus 1200 is controlled.

The control unit 1210 includes a communication device 1212 and a short-range wireless communication module 1214.
The communication device 1212 is wired or wirelessly connected to a communication line 1 such as the Internet, a LAN (Local Area Network), or a WAN (Wide Area Network) to realize data communication with an external device. The short-range wireless communication module 1214 implements data transmission / reception with a plurality of game controllers 1230 via short-range wireless. As a short-range wireless format, for example, Bluetooth (registered trademark), UWB (ultra-wide band wireless), wireless LAN, or the like can be applied as appropriate.

Then, based on the operation input signal received from the game controller 1230, the control unit 1210 is based on the left-eye 3DCG and the right-eye 3DCG, and adds various information display bodies to the left-eye stereoscopic view. An image and a right-eye stereoscopic image are generated, and a game sound is generated to execute a video game.
The video signal based on the generated stereoscopic image and the sound signal based on the game sound are connected to a video monitor 1220 connected via a signal cable 1209 (including a display monitor and a television capable of external input such as an audio signal and a video signal). Is output. It is assumed that the game screen is generated as an image that conforms to the stereoscopic method adopted by the video monitor 1220.

The video monitor 1220 is an image display device that displays a stereoscopic image (a video that gives a stereoscopic effect generally called “three-dimensional video”) based on a predetermined principle.
In this embodiment, the video monitor 1220 includes a flat panel display 1222 that displays an image, a speaker 1224 that emits and outputs sound, stereoscopic glasses 1226 that are classified into a polarized glasses method or a liquid crystal shutter method, and the glasses. And an IR emitter 1228 for transmitting a control signal.

  The player wears stereoscopic glasses 1226, and plays the game sound emitted from the speaker 1224 while viewing the left-eye stereoscopic image and the right-eye stereoscopic image displayed on the flat panel display 1222 of the video monitor 1220. While listening, the game controller 1230 inputs various operations to enjoy the game. Note that when the video monitor 1220 adopts the autostereoscopic method, the stereoscopic glasses 1226 and the IR emitter 1228 can be omitted.

  The game controller 1230 connects various input devices and output devices by a local bus circuit with a built-in controller control unit 1260 as a center, and the controller control unit 1260 controls input / output between the devices.

  As input devices, for example, push buttons 1232 used for selection decision and cancellation, timing input, and the like, direction input keys 1234 for individually inputting each of the up, down, left and right directions in the figure, the operation direction and the operation A right analog lever 1236 and a left analog lever 1238 capable of inputting the amount simultaneously.

  The controller control unit 1260 wirelessly communicates with various microchips such as a bus controller IC that controls data communication in a CPU or a local bus circuit, an electronic component such as an IC memory, and the short-range wireless communication module 1214 of the game apparatus main body 1201. A short-range wireless communication module 1262 that realizes the above is mounted.

  Then, the controller control unit 1260 generates an operation input signal based on signals transmitted from various input devices via the local bus circuit, and the generated operation input signal is transmitted to the game apparatus main body 1201 by the short-range wireless communication module 1262. Send. Further, in a configuration in which an output device such as a speaker or a vibrator is mounted, when an output signal sent from the game apparatus main body 1201 is received by the short-range wireless communication module 1262, the output signal is associated with the received output signal. A control signal can be generated and sent to the output device. Note that power required by the controller control unit 1260 and each unit is supplied from a battery (not shown) built in the game controller 1230.

  Note that the program and various setting data necessary for game execution may be connected to the communication line 1 via the communication device 1212 and downloaded from an external device. Here, the communication line means a communication path through which data can be exchanged. That is, the communication line includes a dedicated line (dedicated cable) for direct connection, a LAN (Local Area Network) such as Ethernet (registered trademark), and a communication network such as a telephone communication network, a cable network, and the Internet. In addition, the communication method may be wired or wireless.

[Description of target marker display method]
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a game screen in the present embodiment, and illustrates an example of a left-eye game screen, that is, a left-eye stereoscopic image.

  In the present embodiment, a background space (for example, a ground object that forms an uneven surface of the ground and a hemispherical celestial object to which a texture depicting the sky is applied to the inner surface) is arranged in a virtual three-dimensional space to form a game space. The In the game space, the own object 2 corresponding to the player character, a character object serving as a plurality of enemy aircraft 3 (3c, 3d) corresponding to the NPC (non-player character), and the target marker 10 (10c, 10d) Are arranged. Then, at a predetermined position obliquely behind the player's character 2 as the player character, the left virtual camera serving as the viewpoint for generating the left-eye stereoscopic image and the viewpoint for generating the right-eye stereoscopic image are provided. A right virtual camera is arranged.

  Images including the own device 2 photographed by the left virtual camera and the right virtual camera are a left-eye game space image and a right-eye game space image, respectively. At each predetermined position, an azimuth meter 20 indicating the direction in which the aircraft 2 is facing, an elapsed time display 21 from the start of play, a flight speed 22 and a flight altitude 23 of the aircraft 2, a radar screen 24, a remaining bullet The weapon status display 25 indicating the number and the durability value display 26 are combined to form a left-eye stereoscopic image (left-eye game screen) and a right-eye stereoscopic image (right-eye game screen). Are displayed on the video monitor 1220.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of the target marker 10 in the present embodiment. The target marker 10 is composed of a marker body 12 and a parallax cushion 14.

  The marker main body 12 is a display body in which a graphic for enhancing the visibility of the pointing object such as a cross pattern or a rectangular frame of a predetermined color is drawn on a transparent plate polygon. The design of the graphic is not limited to the illustrated example, and a hexagon, a triangle, an arrow, or the like can be set as appropriate.

The parallax cushion 14 is a plate polygon that is slightly larger than the marker body 12. The basic color is a color that is similar (approximate) to the color of the marker main body 12, for example, a color in which the saturation of the color of the marker main body 12 is slightly reduced, and is set so that the transparency increases from the center toward the outer periphery. . Note that it may be set to a similar color of the background color in the direction of the instruction target object pointed to by the target marker 10 as viewed from the virtual camera, more specifically, an approximate hue color of the background color. Further, for example, it can be determined based on the average background color of the virtual three-dimensional space. For example, if the hue is the same as or close to the hue of the average color of the background, it can be expressed as if the background is seen through with a small drawing load. Further, by lowering the brightness or using a so-called “backward color” such as gray or blue, or a color similar to the “backward color”, it is possible to produce the feeling of being retracted more effectively.
Note that the marker body 12 and the parallax cushion 14 may be configured by a given primitive surface or particles instead of polygons.

More specifically, regarding the transparency of the central portion, the display priority, that is, the priority in the concealment process, is the highest in the marker main body 12 and is the same as the direction meter 20 and the elapsed time display 21 described above. The next priority is set to the parallax cushion 14, and objects such as the own aircraft 2, the enemy aircraft 3, and the background are set to lower priorities.
The transparency of the central portion of the parallax cushion 14 and the portion of the stereoscopic image that overlaps the image of the marker body 12 (t in FIG. 3) is an instruction that will be displayed behind the target marker 10 in the final stereoscopic image. If the color scheme of the other object that hides the target object (for example, its own device 2) is mixed with the color of the parallax cushion 14 and the outline of the target marker 10 appears to be blurred, the parallax cushion 14 and the target marker 10 are also displayed. Thus, an effect of reducing parallax occurs, and a stereoscopic image that is easier to view can be obtained. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, when it is desired to reduce mounting effort or drawing load, or the depth position of the target marker 10 should be clearly indicated (although the depth position of the parallax cushion 14 is obscured). In some cases, it may be set arbitrarily.

Next, a specific method for displaying the target marker 10 will be described.
FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram for explaining the principle of the target marker display method according to the present embodiment, in which the left virtual camera C1 and the right virtual camera C2 have a predetermined relative position behind the object of the own device 2, that is, so-called “ This shows the case of being fixed to the “third-person viewpoint”.
Note that the left virtual camera C1, the right virtual camera C2, and the own device 2 are illustrated in a large size so that the relative positional relationship can be easily understood, but the instruction target object 4 to which the target marker 10 is attached is illustrated in the drawing size. Because of this, it is shown small.

  In FIG. 4, when viewed from the left virtual camera C <b> 1 and the right virtual camera C <b> 2, the instruction target object 4 (corresponding to the enemy aircraft 3 in FIG. 2) to which the target marker 10 is attached is partially or entirely hidden by the own device 2. Has been. That is, the own device 2 is a shielding object that hides the instruction target object 4.

  The marker main body 12 of the target marker 10 is arranged on the marker arrangement surface 6 set at a position slightly separated from the instruction target object 4 by the distance L1 toward the virtual camera side, that is, in the minus direction of the camera coordinate system Zc axis. . The marker arrangement surface 6 may be set on the instruction target object 4. That is, the marker main body 12 is arranged on the closest front side of the instruction target object 4 when viewed from the position or viewpoint of the instruction target object 4. Therefore, basically no “parallax divergence” occurs between the marker main body 12 and consequently the target marker 10 and the instruction target object 4. Moreover, the color of the marker main body 12 can be set as appropriate.

  On the other hand, the parallax cushion 14 is left when a part or all of the instruction target object is hidden behind another object (own device 2) when viewed from at least one of the left virtual camera C1 and the right virtual camera C2. The left parallax cushion 141 for the virtual camera C1 and the right parallax cushion 142 for the right virtual camera C2 are arranged.

  At this time, the arrangement positions of the left parallax cushion 141 and the right parallax cushion 142 are on the cushion arrangement surface 8. The cushion placement surface 8 is located closer to the virtual camera by a predetermined distance L2 from the representative point P2 of the own device 2 serving as the concealment object to the virtual camera side, that is, in the minus direction of the camera coordinate system Zc axis. The surface is perpendicular to the Zc axis. The size of the left parallax cushion 141 includes the marker body 12 viewed from the left virtual camera C1 in the display range of the left parallax cushion 141, and the size of the right parallax cushion 142 is the marker body 12 viewed from the right virtual camera C2. Is included in the display range of the right parallax cushion 142.

  More specifically, the coordinates of the four corners of the marker body 12 viewed from the left virtual camera C1 and the right virtual camera C2 are calculated on the respective parallax cushion layout surfaces 8 so that they are within the range of the parallax cushion. The arrangement sizes of the left parallax cushion 141 and the right parallax cushion 142 are determined. Further, as described above, for example, a color close to the background color is appropriately determined as the color of the parallax cushion.

  Then, the center position of the marker body 12 (or the representative point of the instruction target object 4) when the left parallax cushion 141 and the right parallax cushion 142 of the determined arrangement size and color are viewed from the left virtual camera C1 and the right virtual camera C2, respectively. Are arranged so that the center position of the parallax cushions 14 (141, 142) is aligned with the intersecting position of the cushion cushion placement surface 8.

  As described above, the display priority, that is, the priority in the concealment process, is the highest in the marker body 12 and is the same as the direction meter 20 and the elapsed time display 21 described above. The next priority is set to the parallax cushion 14, and objects such as the own aircraft 2, the enemy aircraft 3, and the background are set to lower priorities.

  As a result, the parallax cushion 14 has a meaning as a target range determining body for determining a target range of blurring processing for blurring the outline of the marker main body 12, and the target marker 10 is similar (approximate) to the marker main body 12. It becomes the same state as being slightly colored and “blurred”, and the outline of the target marker 10 becomes ambiguous. At first glance, the user feels as if the marker body 12 or the instruction target object 4 indicated by the marker body 12 is seen through the own device 2.

  In the first place, human beings can clearly see the outline of an object, and it is easier to feel parallax when the boundary is clear. Accordingly, the target marker 10 is buried in the own device 2 even when the target marker 10 is displayed on the own device 2 because the outline of the target marker 10 is ambiguous (see FIG. 2). It is possible to greatly suppress “depth / concealment contradiction” that can be seen.

[Description of functional block]
FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration according to the present embodiment. As shown in the figure, in this embodiment, the consumer game device 1200 includes an operation input unit 100, a processing unit 200, a sound output unit 350, a stereoscopic image display unit 361, a communication unit 370, and a storage unit. 500.

  The operation input unit 100 outputs an operation input signal to the processing unit 200 in accordance with various operation inputs made by the player. In FIG. 1, the controller 1230 corresponds to the operation input unit 100.

The processing unit 200 is realized by electronic components such as a microprocessor, an ASIC (application specific integrated circuit), and an IC memory, and inputs / outputs data to / from each functional unit such as the operation input unit 100 and the storage unit 500. At the same time, various arithmetic processes are executed based on predetermined programs and data and operation input signals from the operation input unit 100 to control the operation of the stationary home game apparatus 1200. In FIG. 1, the control unit 1210 built in the game apparatus main body 1201 corresponds to the processing unit 200.
The processing unit 200 in this embodiment includes a game calculation unit 210, a sound generation unit 250, a stereoscopic image generation unit 261, and a communication control unit 270.

  The game calculation unit 210 executes various processes for executing a video game. For example, the game space setting unit 212 is provided, a background object is arranged in a virtual three-dimensional space to form a game space, and a character object of the player's own device 2 that is a player character or an enemy device 3 that is an NPC is arranged there. Process.

  In addition, a character motion control unit 214 is provided, and a process for moving the player character object in accordance with an operation input from the operation input unit 100 and a so-called AI control process for automatically moving and moving the NPC object are executed. To do.

In addition, a virtual camera control unit 216 is provided to execute processing for automatically controlling shooting parameters such as the position, posture, and angle of view of the virtual camera that captures the player character and the NPC.
In addition, the game calculation unit 210 executes an attack / contact determination process between the player character and the NPC, an attack damage reflection process, a win / loss determination process, and the like. In addition, various processes necessary for the execution of the video game, such as a counter, a timer process relating to a timer, and a flag setting, can be executed as appropriate. Note that the processing related to the progress control of the video game can be realized in the same manner as that of a known flight shooting game.

And the game calculating part 210 of this embodiment is further provided with the target marker arrangement | positioning control part 218. FIG. The target marker arrangement control unit 218 extracts an instruction target object to which the target marker 10 should be added from the virtual three-dimensional space, and performs display control of the target marker 10 for each extracted instruction target object 4.
Specifically, the target marker arrangement control unit 218 includes a marker main body arrangement control unit 220 and a blur processing unit 222.

  The marker main body arrangement control unit 220 determines the instruction target object 4 to be instructed by the target marker 10 from the objects arranged in the game space, and sees the marker main body 12 from the position or viewpoint of the instruction target object 4. Are arranged in front of the instruction target object 4. The determination of the instruction target object 4 can be performed, for example, in the same manner as a known method for extracting a so-called enemy aircraft to be locked on.

  The blur processing unit 222 performs processing as if “blurring” has been applied to the periphery of the marker body 12 so that the contour of the target marker 10 matches the color of the corresponding marker body 12.

  Specifically, the blur processing unit 222 includes a parallax cushion placement control unit 224, and for each instruction target object 4, based on the positional relationship between the instruction target object 4 and another object (own device 2), the left virtual camera The presence / absence of another object (hidden object) that hides part or all of the instruction target object 4 behind as viewed from at least one of the viewpoints of C1 and the right virtual camera C2 is determined. Note that another object that hides part or all of the marker main body 12 behind as viewed from at least one of the left virtual camera C1 and the right virtual camera C2 may be determined as a hidden object.

  When there is a corresponding other object (hidden object), the left parallax cushion 141 and the right parallax cushion 142, which are target range determining bodies for determining the target range to blur the outline of the target marker 10, are displayed on the corresponding viewpoint ( The left virtual camera C1 and the right virtual camera C2) are arranged between the marker body 12 and the left virtual camera C1. At this time, the size of each parallax cushion is set to be slightly larger so as to include the marker body 12 viewed from the corresponding viewpoint. In other words, the target range of the blurring process including the drawing portion of the marker main body 12 in the stereoscopic image is determined, and the target range is set as the size of the parallax cushion 14.

  Further, the blur processing unit 222 includes a parallax cushion color setting unit 226. The parallax cushion color setting unit 226 sets the basic colors of the target range determining bodies (the left parallax cushion 141 and the right parallax cushion 142) based on the background color, for example. Note that the basic color here does not necessarily mean a single color, for example, a portion (not necessarily a background) that is the background of the instruction target object 4 that overlaps the parallax cushion 14 when viewed from the viewpoint (left virtual camera C1, right virtual camera C2). It is also possible to generate a texture for the parallax cushion and extract and use the color scheme of other character objects and the like. Moreover, it is good also as a structure which hold | maintains the image which drawn the distant view in the texture, and uses the color scheme. In addition, in order to further blur the marker body 12, the color of the marker body 12 and a color that satisfies a predetermined approximate color condition (for example, a color with reduced brightness and / or saturation) may be used.

  Then, the parallax cushion color setting unit 226 sets the transparency of the target range determining body (the left parallax cushion 141 and the right parallax cushion 142) to be “blurred”, and the predetermined transparency of the portion where the marker body 12 is drawn in the stereoscopic image. It is set to t (see FIG. 3), and the transparency increases as it goes to the outer edge so as to reach a predetermined transparency (for example, 100%).

  The sound generation unit 250 is realized by a processor such as a digital signal processor (DSP) or its control program, for example. When the worm-like character W as shown in the present embodiment appears in the game, the sound effect related to the game Sound signals of BGM and various operation sounds are generated and output to the sound output unit 350.

  The sound output unit 350 is a device for outputting sound effects, BGM, and the like based on the sound signal input from the sound generation unit 250. In FIG. 1, the speaker 1224 of the video monitor 1220 corresponds to this.

  The stereoscopic image generation unit 261 is realized by, for example, a processor such as a digital signal processor (DSP), a control program thereof, a drawing frame IC memory such as a frame buffer, and the like. The stereoscopic image generation unit 261 generates a left-eye stereoscopic image based on a game space image with the left virtual camera C1 as a viewpoint and a right virtual camera C2 at a predetermined image generation timing (for example, 1/240 seconds). A right-eye stereoscopic image based on the game space image as a viewpoint is generated, and an image signal of the generated stereoscopic image is output to the stereoscopic image display unit 361.

  The stereoscopic image display unit 361 displays a game image in a stereoscopic manner based on the image signal input from the stereoscopic image generation unit 261. For example, it can be realized by an image display device such as a flat panel display, a cathode ray tube (CRT), a projector, or a head mounted display, stereoscopic glasses corresponding to the stereoscopic vision principle of the image display device, and a transmitter that transmits a control signal thereto. In FIG. 1, the flat panel display 1222, the stereoscopic glasses 1226, and the IR emitter 1228 of the video monitor 1220 correspond.

  The communication control unit 270 executes data processing related to data communication, and realizes data exchange with an external device via the communication unit 370.

  The communication unit 370 connects to the communication line 1 at a physical level to realize communication. For example, it is realized by a wireless communication device, a modem, a TA (terminal adapter), a cable communication cable jack, a control circuit, and the like, and the communication device 1212 corresponds to this in FIG.

  The storage unit 500 stores a program for realizing various functions for causing the processing unit 200 to control the game apparatus 1200 in an integrated manner, a program for executing a video game, various data, and the like. Further, it is used as a work area of the processing unit 200, and temporarily stores calculation results executed by the processing unit 200 according to various programs, input data input from the operation input unit 100, and the like. This function is realized by, for example, an IC memory such as a RAM and a ROM, a magnetic disk such as a hard disk, and an optical disk such as a CD-ROM and DVD.

  The storage unit 500 of the present embodiment stores in advance a system program 501, a game program 502, game space setting data 510, character setting data 512, and marker body setting data 516. Further, play data 518 is stored as data that is generated and updated as needed in accordance with game preparation and progress and image generation.

  The system program 501 is a program for realizing input / output basic functions as a computer of the consumer game device 1200. The game program 502 is application software for realizing various functions for controlling the game progress as the game calculation unit 210 by being read and executed by the processing unit 200. The game program 502 may be configured as a part of the system program 501.

  The game space setting data 510 stores information such as background object model data, texture data, motion data, and arrangement position coordinates for configuring the game space in the virtual three-dimensional space for each object.

  The character setting data 512 includes model data of objects to be characters such as the own aircraft 2 and the enemy aircraft 3, texture data, and a plurality of motion data sets for realizing various operations (for example, motion IDs and corresponding motion data). Data), arrangement position coordinates, movement pattern, initial setting of equipment, and the like are stored for each object.

  The marker body setting data 516 stores data for displaying the marker body 12. For example, model data, texture data, color arrangement data, and the like are stored.

  The play data 518 stores various parameter values indicating the progress of the game currently being executed. Specifically, for example, as shown in FIG. 6, it includes a left / right flag 519, own aircraft status data 520, enemy aircraft status data 522, left virtual camera control data 524, and right virtual camera control data 526. .

  The left / right flag 519 indicates which of the left and right stereoscopic images is to be generated at the current image generation timing. For example, “1” indicates the left and “0” indicates the right, and is switched at every image generation timing.

  The own aircraft status data 520 and the enemy aircraft status data 522 are data indicating the states of the own aircraft 2 and the enemy aircraft 3, respectively, such as position coordinates, posture, moving speed, acceleration, remaining number of stages, durability value, color scheme data, and the like. Store.

  The left virtual camera control data 524 and the right virtual camera control data 526 store parameter values indicating the states of the left virtual camera C1 and the right virtual camera C2, and parameter values indicating the shooting conditions. For example, the virtual camera arrangement position, line-of-sight direction, shooting angle of view, aperture value, filter type, and the like are stored.

  The play data 518 includes, as information related to display control of the target marker 10, an instruction target object list 528, a marker body control data 530, a parallax cushion assignment object list 534, a shielding object list 536, and parallax cushion control data 540. Including.

  The instruction target object list 528 stores an object ID of an object to be a target among character objects arranged in the game space. In the present embodiment, the game calculation unit 210 extracts an object of the enemy aircraft 3 that has entered a predetermined range (for example, within the range of the own device 2) from the current position of the own device 2, and the identification information of the extracted object is obtained. Store. And as the relative position of the own aircraft 2 and the enemy aircraft 3 changes with the progress of the game, it is sequentially updated.

The marker body control data 530 stores information for displaying the marker body 12. One marker data set 532 is prepared for each marker body 12.
One marker data set 532 includes a marker body ID 532a for identifying the marker body, a corresponding object ID 532b for storing the object ID of the instruction target object 4 to which the marker body is assigned, and the marker body. The representative point position coordinate 532c and the marker body surface normal vector 532d indicating the orientation of the surface of the marker body 12 are stored. Of course, other information such as display color and blinking pattern can be stored in association with each other.

  The parallax cushion assignment object list 534 includes, among the instruction target objects 4, other objects exist between the instruction target object and any one of the left virtual camera C <b> 1 and the right virtual camera C <b> 2. The object ID of the other object that hides is stored. Note that the object ID of another object that hides part or all of the marker main body 12 instead of the instruction target object 4 may be stored.

  The occlusion object list 536 is associated with the instruction target object 4 registered in the parallax cushion assignment object list 534, and a part or all of the object is hidden from the left virtual camera C1 or the right virtual camera C2 by other objects themselves. Stores the object ID.

  The parallax cushion control data 540 stores information related to display control of the parallax cushion. Specifically, parallax cushion set data 544 is stored for each object registered in the parallax cushion assignment object list 534.

  One parallax cushion set data 544 includes a corresponding marker body ID 544a that stores identification information of a marker body with which the set is associated. The corresponding marker body ID itself also serves as identification information of the set data. Further, as information defining the specific arrangement position and arrangement posture of the left parallax cushion 141 included in the set, the display color and transparency of the polygon, the left parallax cushion representative point position coordinate 544b, the left parallax cushion cushion normal vector 544c and left parallax cushion polygon data 544d. Similarly, the right parallax cushion cushion representative point position coordinate 544e, the right parallax cushion cushion surface normal vector 544f, and the right parallax cushion cushion polygon data 544g are included for the right parallax cushion cushion 142 included in the set.

For example, the coordinates of the center point of the parallax cushion 14 are set in the left parallax cushion representative point position coordinate 544b and the right parallax cushion representative point position coordinate 544e.
In the left parallax cushion polygon data 544d and the right parallax cushion polygon data 544g, vertex position coordinates, vertex colors, vertex transparency, pixel color and transparency between the vertexes are determined based on the representative points of the respective parallax cushions 14. To store information and so on.

  The storage unit 500 also stores various data (for example, timer values, counters, coordinate transformation matrices, textures, Z buffers, etc.) necessary for executing processes related to game progress and image generation as appropriate. And

[Description of process flow]
Next, the flow of processing in this embodiment will be described. A series of processing flow described here is realized by executing the game program 502 while the processing unit 200 is executing the system program 501.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining the main processing flow in the present embodiment. First, as an initialization process, the processing unit 200 refers to the game space setting data 510 and the character setting data 512, and in the virtual three-dimensional space, objects such as a background, a player character (own device 2), and an NPC (enemy device 3). Are initially arranged, and for the player character (own machine 2) and NPC (enemy machine 3), own machine status data 520 and enemy machine status data 522 are generated, respectively, and sequential updating is started (step S2).

  Further, the left virtual camera C1 and the right virtual camera C2 are arranged in the virtual three-dimensional space, the left virtual camera control data 524 and the right virtual camera control data 526 are generated, and sequential updating is started (step S4). Furthermore, the left / right flag 519 is initialized (step S6).

  If the game is started (step S8), the processing unit 200 subsequently displays steps S10 to S108 at predetermined image generation timing cycles, that is, the left-eye stereoscopic image and the right-eye stereoscopic image on the video monitor 1220. Executes repeatedly at intervals.

  Specifically, the processing unit 200 executes motion control for each object (step S10). For example, the motion of the object of the player character (own device 2) is controlled according to the operation input signal from the operation input unit 100, and the motion of the NPC (enemy aircraft 3) is controlled by so-called AI control. If a motion is set for the background object, the automatic control is also executed here. Further, if the game screen is configured from the first person viewpoint, the left virtual camera C1 and the right virtual camera instead of the player character (own device 2) object according to the operation input signal from the operation input unit 100. The position, posture, moving speed, etc. of C2 are changed.

  Next, the processing unit 200 performs automatic control of the left virtual camera C1 and the right virtual camera C2 (step S12). For example, both virtual cameras are arranged at a predetermined relative position obliquely above and behind the player character (own device 2), and the postures (such as the line-of-sight direction) and the angle of view of both virtual cameras are controlled.

  Through the steps S10 and S12 so far, the positions of the character objects such as the own machine 2 and the enemy machine 3 and the virtual camera in the game space at the current image generation timing are updated. Arrangement processing is executed (step S14).

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart for explaining the flow of target marker arrangement processing in the present embodiment. In this process, the processing unit 200 first extracts an instruction target object 4 that is indicated as a target by the target marker 10 from various objects arranged in the game space, and indicates identification information (ID) of the extracted object. The instruction target object list 528 is updated by storing and registering in the target object list 528 (step S30). Then, the loop A is executed for all the instruction target objects 4 registered in the instruction target object list 528 (steps S32 to S38).

  Specifically, in the loop A, the processing unit 200 first sets the marker arrangement surface 6 that is associated with the instruction target object 4 to be processed and is separated from the representative point of the object by a predetermined distance L1 toward the virtual camera side. (Step S34; see FIG. 4), the marker main body 12 is newly arranged on the arrangement surface (Step S36).

More specifically, a marker data set 532 is newly generated in the play data 518, the marker body ID 532a is automatically assigned, and the object ID of the instruction target object 4 to be processed is stored in the corresponding object ID 532b. Then, it is perpendicular to the camera coordinate system Zc axis at a position moved from the representative point P4 of the instruction target object 4 to be processed by a predetermined distance L1 in the camera coordinate system Zc axis (screen depth direction) minus direction (near the virtual camera). The marker arrangement surface 6 is calculated (see FIG. 4).
Then, the center position of the marker body 12 is set at the intersection of the line segment connecting the intermediate point C3 (from the left virtual camera C1 and the right virtual camera C2) to the marker arrangement plane 6 from the representative point of the instruction target object 4 to be processed. Set. In the present embodiment, since the representative point P4 of the marker body 12 is set as the center position of the marker body 12, the coordinates of the intersection are stored in the marker body representative point position coordinates 532c.

  The marker body surface normal vector 532d is in the minus direction of the camera coordinate system Zc axis. Note that the setting may be made so as to face the intermediate point C3 (see FIG. 4) between the left virtual camera C1 and the right virtual camera C2. Furthermore, you may set so that it may face not the intermediate point C3 but the left virtual camera C1 or the right virtual camera C2 used as the viewpoint of the stereoscopic image produced | generated at this image production | generation timing.

If the loop A is executed for all the instruction target objects 4 registered in the instruction target object list 528, the processing unit 200 next selects the instruction target objects 4 registered in the instruction target object list 528 from the following. An object for which the parallax cushion 14 is to be set is extracted and registered (step S50).
Specifically, an instruction target in which another object that hides part or all of the instruction target object 4 from the virtual camera exists between at least one of the left virtual camera C1 and the right virtual camera C2 and the instruction target object 4. The object 4 is extracted, and the object ID of the extracted instruction target object is stored and registered in the parallax cushion assignment object list 534 to update the parallax cushion assignment object list 534.

  Next, the processing unit 200 updates the occlusion object list 536 by storing the object ID of the other object itself that hides the parallax cushion assignment object from the virtual camera in association with the object ID of the parallax cushion assignment object. That is, another object is registered in the occlusion object list 536 (step S52).

Next, the processing unit 200 executes loop B for all the objects registered in the parallax cushion-giving object list 534 (steps S60 to S78).
Specifically, in the loop B, first, the processing unit 200 first adopts a shielding object corresponding to the parallax cushion-giving object to be processed in the loop B (in this embodiment, the third person viewpoint is adopted, so that substantially the own device 2 The parallax cushion layout plane 8 perpendicular to the camera coordinate system Zc axis of the virtual camera is set at a position closer to the virtual camera by the predetermined distance L2 than the object (same as object) (step S62; see FIG. 4).

  If the left / right flag 519 at the current image generation timing is “1” (“1” in step S64), the processing unit 200 places the left parallax cushion 141 on the placement surface (step S66). If the left / right flag 519 is “0” (“0” in step S64), the right parallax cushion 142 is placed (step S68).

  Steps S62 to S68 will be described more specifically. For example, the processing unit 200 sets the parallax cushion set data 544, and sets the object ID of the parallax cushion granting object to be processed as the corresponding object ID 532b (see FIG. 6). The marker body ID 532a is stored in the corresponding marker body ID 544a.

  The left parallax cushion 141 is close to the left virtual camera C1 by a predetermined distance L2 in the minus direction of the camera coordinate system Zc axis from the representative point P2 of the shielding object (own device 2) associated with the parallax cushion grant object to be processed. The parallax cushion layout plane 8 is set as a plane passing through the position and having the surface normal vector facing the minus direction of the camera coordinate system Zc axis. That is, the obtained position near the left virtual camera C1 is set as the left parallax cushion representative point position coordinate 544b, and a vector facing the camera coordinate system Zc axis minus direction from the position near the left virtual camera C1 is set as the left parallax cushion surface method. Set to line vector 544c. Note that the left parallax cushion surface normal vector 544c may be set to a vector that faces the midpoint C3 of the left virtual camera C1 and the right virtual camera C2.

  Further, the processing unit 200 refers to the marker body control data 530, selects the marker body 12 having the corresponding object ID 532b that matches the ID of the parallax cushion object to be processed, and selects the left virtual camera C1 and the marker body. Four line segments passing through each of the four corners are obtained, and four intersections between the four line segments and the parallax cushion layout surface 8 are obtained. Then, the size of the left parallax cushion 141 is determined so as to include the obtained four intersections, and the size information is stored in the left parallax cushion polygon data 544d as an enlargement magnification value with respect to the vertex coordinates of the polygon or the standard size.

  The right parallax cushion 142 is processed in the same manner, and the right virtual camera is only a predetermined distance L2 from the representative point P2 of the shielding object (own device 2) associated with the parallax cushion assignment object to be processed in the minus direction of the camera coordinate system Zc axis. The right parallax cushion cushion representative point position coordinate 544e is set closer to C2, and the right parallax cushion cushion normal vector 544f is set to face the minus direction of the camera coordinate system Zc axis. Also, the size of the right parallax cushion 142 is determined so as to include the intersection of the line segment passing through the four corners of the marker body corresponding to the parallax cushion assignment object to be processed and the parallax cushion layout surface 8, and the size information is converted to the right parallax. It is stored in the cushion cushion polygon data 544g. Of course, the right parallax cushion surface normal vector 544f may be set to a vector facing the midpoint C3 between the left virtual camera C1 and the right virtual camera C2.

  Next, if the left / right flag 519 at the current image generation timing is “1” (“1” in step S 72), the processing unit 200 calculates and sets the color of the left parallax cushion 141 based on the color of the marker body 12. At the same time, the transparency is set so that the transparency increases as it goes to the outer edge with the central portion as the predetermined transparency t (step S74).

  If the left / right flag 519 at the current image generation timing is “0” (“0” in step S72), the color of the right parallax cushion 142 is calculated and set based on the color of the marker body 12, and the transparency is set. The center portion is set to a predetermined transparency t, and the transparency is set to increase toward the outer edge (step S76). The color and transparency setting information of the left parallax cushion 141 and the right parallax cushion 142 are stored in the left parallax cushion polygon data 544d and the right parallax cushion polygon data 544g, respectively.

  If the color and transparency of the left parallax cushion 141 or the right parallax cushion 142 can be set, the processing unit 200 ends the loop B (step S78). And if the loop B is performed about all the parallax cushion provision objects, the process part 200 will complete | finish a target marker arrangement | positioning process.

Returning to the flowchart of FIG. 7, the processing unit 200 next executes a game space image generation process (step S14).
Specifically, referring to the left / right flag 519, if the image to be generated at the current image generation timing is a left-eye stereoscopic image, the left parallax cushion 141 is a drawing target, and the right parallax cushion 142 is a drawing target. As an outside, an image obtained by photographing the state of the game space with the left virtual camera C1 is rendered to generate a left-eye game space image. If the image to be generated is a stereoscopic image for the right eye, the left parallax cushion 141 is not a drawing target, and the right parallax cushion 142 is a drawing target, and an image obtained by photographing the state of the game space with the right virtual camera C2. Render and generate a game space image for the right eye. At that time, the priority of the concealment processing is set so that the marker body 12 is the highest (frontmost), the parallax cushion 14 is set to the next priority, and thereafter, the own aircraft 2, enemy aircraft 3, and background objects are virtually It is determined based on the relative positional relationship with the camera.

  Then, the processing unit 200 synthesizes various information display bodies such as the azimuth meter 20 and the elapsed time display 21 with the generated left-eye game space image or right-eye game space image, and the final left-eye stereoscopic image. Alternatively, a right-eye stereoscopic image is generated and displayed on the stereoscopic image display unit 361 (step S102).

  Next, the processing unit 200 executes determination processing of the result of the game progress at the current image generation timing (step S104). For example, the hit determination of the attack of the own aircraft 2 or the enemy aircraft 3, the damage determination at the time of being hit, the update of the remaining number of bullets and the durability value, etc.

  If the predetermined game end condition is not yet satisfied (NO in step S106), the left / right flag 519 switching process (step S108) or the timing synchronization process of the image generation timing is executed as appropriate, and the process returns to step S10. Continue game progress control. If the updated game result satisfies the game end condition (YES in step S106), an ending process is executed (step S110), and the series of processes ends.

  In addition, although the case where the left-eye stereoscopic image and the right-eye stereoscopic image are generated alternately has been described, they may be generated simultaneously. Specifically, step S64 is omitted, and step S68 is executed continuously after step S66. Similarly, step S72 is omitted, and step S76 is executed continuously after step S74. In step S100, the left-eye game space image and the right-eye game space image are generated in order, and in step S102, the left-eye stereoscopic image and the right-eye stereoscopic image are generated together.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the target marker 10 includes the marker main body 12 and the parallax cushion 14, and the marker main body 12 is disposed at the closest virtual camera side position of the instruction target object 4 indicated by the target marker. By setting the priority of the concealment process to the highest priority (first), the “parallax deviation” can be eliminated. Then, by providing the parallax cushion 14 as an area in which the outline of the marker body 12 is “blurred”, there is another object between the instruction target object 4 and the virtual camera, and one of the instruction target object 4 or the marker body 12 Even when part or all of the image is concealed, it is possible to alleviate the occurrence of an image that is difficult to see due to “depth / concealment contradiction” occurring in the target marker 10.

  In addition, the registration process of the shielding object in step S52 may have a high calculation load. If it is desired to avoid this load, the registration process in step S52 may be omitted. Specifically, it is determined uniformly that the parallax cushion 14 is arranged at the depth position of the frontmost surface (front clip surface or the like). Furthermore, instead of the frontmost surface, for example, the parallax cushion 14 may be uniformly determined on the display screen. In this case, when another object is covered before the depth position of the parallax cushion 14, “depth / concealment contradiction” occurs between the parallax cushion 14 and the other object. Since the parallax cushion 14 is drawn with a blurred outline region, the depth position is ambiguous, and “depth / concealment contradiction” does not stand out. Even if the depth position is simply set in this way, a certain degree of effect can be obtained if not ideal.

[Second Embodiment]
Next, a second embodiment to which the present invention is applied will be described. The present embodiment is basically realized in the same manner as the first embodiment, but compared to the first embodiment, the setting of two display objects in which the “priority of display” and the “depth position” may contradict each other. Different. In addition, about the component similar to 1st Embodiment, the same code | symbol is provided and description shall be abbreviate | omitted.

  In the first embodiment, the NPC (enemy aircraft 3) that is the instruction target object is the first display object, but in this embodiment, the player character is the first display object. In the first embodiment, the target marker 10 is the second display object. However, in the present embodiment, various information related to the player character (more specifically, the content of the remarks of the character) is used as the second display object. .

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a game screen in the present embodiment. The video game based on the stereoscopic image in the present embodiment is an RPG (role playing game). The game screen of the present embodiment includes a main game screen W2 that is mainly displayed during game play, and a remark event screen W4 that is displayed in a limited manner during a remark event.
The “speech event” is an effect event that is automatically inserted in the middle of the game to make the game exciting, and is executed when an event triggering condition specified for each speech event is satisfied during the game. The position of the character related to the speech event, the motion, the content of the speech, the positions and orientations of the left and right virtual cameras, the angle of view, and the like are preset by the game creator. That is, it is automatically executed according to a predetermined scenario. When the event ends, the display returns to the main game screen W2.

  The main game screen W2 is a screen that is visible to the player wearing the stereoscopic glasses 1226 by displaying the left-eye stereoscopic image and the right-eye stereoscopic image on the video monitor 1220. Although the illustrated example is shown as a planar image, it is assumed that the player visually recognizes a stereoscopic image.

  In the virtual three-dimensional space, a background object 33 (for example, a ground object constituting the unevenness of the ground or a hemispherical celestial object to which a texture depicting the sky is applied to the inner surface) is arranged to form the game space. A character object serving as the player character 32 and the enemy 34 that is an NPC (non-player character) is arranged there.

  The left-eye stereoscopic image for showing the main game screen W2 is based on 3DCG obtained by shooting the player character 32 and the surroundings with the left virtual camera as the left-eye viewpoint, that is, based on the left-eye game space image. , A hit point display 40 of the player character 32 and an information display field regarding the enemy 34 at a predetermined position for the left eye (a position in consideration of a predetermined binocular parallax so as to indicate predetermined depth position information from the left virtual camera) A 2D spline image such as 41 is synthesized and generated. Similarly for the right-eye stereoscopic image, the hit point display 40 and the information display at a predetermined position for the right eye are displayed on the 3DCG (right-eye game space image) captured by the right virtual camera as the right-eye viewpoint. It is generated by synthesizing the column 41 and the like.

  Similar to the main game screen W2, the speech event screen W4 is displayed stereoscopically to the player wearing the stereoscopic glasses 1226 by displaying the left-eye stereoscopic image and the right-eye stereoscopic image on the video monitor 1220. It is a screen.

  When generating the speech event screen W4, as shown in FIG. 10, according to the data defining the scene configuration of a predetermined speech event, the event event screen W4 is used separately from the main game space for shooting the main game screen W2. A game space (event space) is formed, and character objects related to the event (player character 32 and NPC 37 object in the example of FIG. 10) and speech content 35 are arranged therein. Then, the left virtual camera C1 and the right virtual camera C2 installed in the event space shoot the event space to generate a left game space image and a right game space image.

The center of a speech event is a speech of a character appearing in the game, which may be a conversational form or a single emotional discharge.
The comment content 35 is configured by drawing information about a character (in this case, a speech line) on a transparent polygon, and is arranged on the comment content arrangement surface 6B obtained in the same manner as the marker arrangement surface 6 of the first embodiment. . The remark content arrangement surface 6B is perpendicular to the camera coordinate system Zc axis at a position separated from the representative point of the character to be remarked (player character 32 in the illustrated example) by a predetermined distance L1 in the negative direction of the camera coordinate system Zc axis. Set as a face.

  When the content 35 of speech (in the illustrated example, dialogue characters) is partially or entirely hidden by another object (in the illustrated example, NPC 37) as viewed from the left virtual camera C1 or the right virtual camera C2, that is, When there is a hidden object, a parallax cushion 36 is arranged. Of course, the parallax cushion 36 may be arranged at all times even when part or all of the comment content 38 is not hidden.

  Basically, the arrangement of the parallax cushions 14 of the first embodiment is the same. That is, the parallax cushion layout surface 8B perpendicular to the camera coordinate system Zc axis is set at a position separated from the representative point of the hidden object by a predetermined distance L2 in the minus direction of the camera coordinate system Zc axis. Then, as seen from the left virtual camera C1 or the right virtual camera C2, the points where the four corners of the remark content 35 intersect with the parallax cushion layout surface 8B are obtained, and the parallax cushion 36 having a size including these intersections is the parallax cushion layout surface 8B. Placed in.

Also in the present embodiment, as in the first embodiment, the priority of the concealment process is the highest in the statement content 35, and then the parallax cushion 14, and thereafter, the player character 32 and the NPC 37 are placed at the arrangement positions in the game space. It is set in order accordingly.
Of course, one parallax cushion 14 may be arranged for each of the left virtual camera and the right virtual camera, as in the first embodiment.

  That is, in order to realize the present embodiment, the instruction target object 4 in the first embodiment may be replaced with the player character 32 and the marker body 12 may be replaced with the remark content 35.

  FIG. 11 is a flowchart for explaining the flow of a speech event process. This process is incorporated as a part of the game progress control and is executed periodically (every frame interval).

Specifically, the processing unit 200 first refers to scenario data for setting a speech event, and determines whether or not the current game progress state matches the event triggering condition. That is, it is determined whether or not a speech event has occurred (step S140).
When it is determined that a speech event has occurred (YES in step S140), the processing unit 200 forms an event space for shooting the event image W4, and the character object appearing in the event and the left virtual The camera C1 and the right virtual camera C2 are arranged (step S142).

  Next, the motion control of the arranged character object is executed for the current image generation timing (step S144), and the statement content arrangement plane 6B is set based on the position of the statement character (step S146). Then, the statement content 35 is arranged on the statement content arrangement surface 6B.

  Next, the comment character is regarded as a parallax cushion-giving object (step S150), and a shielding object for the parallax cushion-giving object is searched (step S156). If there is a shielding object (NPC 37 in the example of FIG. 10) (YES in step S156), the processing unit 200 sets the parallax cushion placement surface 8B based on the placement position of the shielding object (step S158). The parallax cushion 36 is arranged on the arrangement surface (step S160). The setting of the color scheme and transparency as a reference of the parallax cushion 36 may be stored in advance in the storage unit 500 and referred to. The size is a size including the intersection of the vertex forming the outline of the statement content 35, the straight line connecting the intermediate point C3 of the left virtual camera C1 and the right virtual camera C2, and the parallax cushion layout surface 8B.

  While the utterance content 35 and the parallax cushion 36 are newly arranged, the processing unit 200 erases the utterance content 35 that has exceeded the display time limit and the parallax cushion 36 corresponding thereto as the display lifetime (step S162). .

  Next, the processing unit 200 refers to the left / right flag 519, and if the image to be generated at the current image generation timing is a stereoscopic image for the left eye, the state of the event space is detected by the left virtual camera C1 in the event space. A left-eye game space image is generated by rendering an image obtained by shooting the image. Further, if the image to be generated is a right-eye stereoscopic image, an image obtained by photographing the state of the game space with the right virtual camera C2 in the event space is rendered to generate a right-eye game space image (step S164). ).

  Next, the processing unit 200 synthesizes various information display bodies such as the hit point display 40 and the information display column 41 with the generated left-eye game space image or right-eye game space image to obtain the final left-eye three-dimensional image. A visual image or a right-eye stereoscopic image is generated and displayed on the stereoscopic image display unit 361 (step S166).

Next, the processing unit 200 determines whether the speech event has ended. If the speech event has not ended (NO in step S168), the processing unit 200 performs the left / right flag 519 switching process (step S170) and the image generation timing synchronization process, and then returns to step S144.
On the other hand, when it is determined that the speech event has ended (YES in step S168), the speech event processing is terminated.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, even in the case where the player character is the first display object and the various information related to the player character is the second display object, the “depth / concealment inconsistency” is the same as in the first embodiment. It can solve the problem of difficult to see.

In the present embodiment, the “contents about the player character” is described with the content of the speech event, but the present invention is not limited to this.
For example, it can be an explanatory text explaining the situation of the game world. If such a description is displayed with a sub-character image attached, the sub-character image can be included in the statement content.
Further, for example, when the present invention is applied to a racing game, the shift position, speed, course position display, rank display, lap time, etc. of the player car can be set as “information related to the player character”.

  In the present embodiment, the player character is listed as the first display object, but the first display object may be omitted depending on the situation. For example, if the character to speak cannot be specified, such as in narration such as an adventure game or a simulation game, or a situation explanation, in steps S146 to S148, the speech content 35 is set to a predetermined position (of course, regardless of the arrangement of the corresponding character object). The setting information of the predetermined position is prepared in advance in the storage unit 500.) In step S150, the content of the statement may be regarded as a parallax cushion-giving object.

[Modification]
Although the embodiment to which the present invention is applied has been described above, the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to this, and additions, omissions, and changes of components can be added as appropriate.

[Part 1]
For example, although the home game device 1200 is exemplified as the stereoscopic image generation device, the game device, the portable game device, the personal computer, the multi-function mobile phone (so-called smart phone) that can execute the application software, the music player, It may be a car navigation system or the like, and can be similarly applied to an apparatus having a function of generating a stereoscopic image.

Furthermore, when a device capable of executing a video game is realized as the stereoscopic image generating device of the present invention, it is not limited to a mode in which a dedicated game program is executed. For example, instead of a dedicated game program, a web browser program and a plug-in for realizing interactive display on the web browser by script control are executed, and the same applies to a configuration in which a video game is realized as a so-called browser game it can. That is, in this case, a server system that provides a program and image data for executing a browser game to the terminal device is the stereoscopic image generation device of the present invention.
For example, in a game system configured by communication connection between a game terminal operated by a player and a server system, the present invention may be applied with the server system as a stereoscopic image generation device. In this case, the server system generates a stereoscopic image based on the operation information of the player and transmits it to the game terminal.

  In addition, the stereoscopic viewing method employed in the device for displaying a stereoscopic image (stereoscopic display device; in the above embodiment, the video monitor 1220) may be other than the above embodiment. For example, a binocular system, a multi-view system, an aerial image system (a so-called integral system, a fractional view system, etc.) may be used. In addition, depending on the stereoscopic method adopted, the parallax direction is not limited to the horizontal direction, but may be a method having a parallax in the vertical direction as well. It doesn't matter. Furthermore, the stereoscopic viewing method may be a method of projecting onto a screen that is three-dimensionally arranged in the space or a screen that dynamically moves in the space, and may be three-dimensionally arranged in the space. A method using a light source group or a light source group that dynamically moves in space may be used. In addition, the images obtained by these stereoscopic display devices may be reflected by a mirror or a half mirror. In addition, the positional relationship between the screen and the viewer may be acquired using head tracking, eye tracking, a gyro sensor, or the like, and may be fed back to the stereoscopic video.

  Further, the stereoscopic viewing method on the video monitor 1220 may be with or without glasses. The stereoscopic image generation apparatus finally generates an individual viewpoint image for each viewpoint regardless of the method of stereoscopic viewing by the video monitor 1200.

[Part 2]
In the above embodiment, image generation related to binocular stereoscopic vision has been described, but the number of viewpoints may be three or more. That is, it is of course possible to apply the present invention to image generation related to N-eye (N ≧ 2) stereoscopic vision. For example, when realizing N-eye stereoscopic vision in the horizontal direction, N virtual cameras are set at a predetermined interval in the horizontal direction in the same manner as the left virtual camera C1 and the right virtual camera C2 described above. The images (individual viewpoint images) based on the virtual cameras may be generated in the same manner as the virtual cameras C1 and C2.

[Part 3]
Moreover, in the said embodiment, the left parallax cushion 141 and the right parallax cushion 142 were each made into the size wide by substantially the same width up and down and right and left rather than the four corner positions of the marker main body 12 seen from the left virtual camera C1 or the right virtual camera C2, respectively. . That is, although it is similar to the marker main body 12, it is not limited to this.

For example, as shown in FIG. 12, the marker main body 12 may be dissimilar. Specifically, the left parallax cushion 141 and the right parallax cushion 142 are configured to include a left end position of the marker body 12 viewed from the left virtual camera C1 and a right end position viewed from the right virtual camera C2. it can. That is, it is good also as a shape over both the left parallax cushion 141 and the right parallax cushion 142 in the said embodiment. In this case, it is preferable that the transparency is maximized at a portion where the image of the marker main body 12 is covered.
The parallax cushion setting method is, in other words, for each of N individual viewpoint images (N = 2 in the first embodiment described above) based on the relative positional relationship with the drawing portion of the marker body. It can be said that the degree of blurring is variable.

[Part 4]
Further, in the above embodiment, the marker body 12 is configured to be synthesized in the stereoscopic image while being set, that is, with an image with a clear outline. Also good. In this case, the contour may be blurred at the stage of the data stored in the marker body setting data 516, or the marker body 12 may be displayed at the game space image generation stage (see step S100 in FIG. 7). Blur processing may be performed when drawing.

In addition, if it is desired to further reduce the processing load than the above embodiment, the processing related to the arrangement of the parallax cushions 14 may be omitted.
Specifically, a target marker arrangement process B shown in FIG. 13 is executed instead of the target marker arrangement process (see FIG. 8) of the above embodiment. In this process, if the instruction target object 4 is extracted (step S30), the loop C is executed for all the extracted instruction target objects 4 (steps S40 to S48).
In the loop C, the target marker arrangement control unit 218 of the processing unit 200 sets the marker arrangement surface 6 on the virtual camera side with respect to the instruction target object 4 to be processed (step S44), and the marker body 12 on the marker arrangement surface. Is set to be translucent (step S46). That is, by making the marker body 12 translucent, the contour portion is “blurred”. In this case as well, the priority in the concealment process is that the marker body 12 has the highest priority (first).

[Part 5]
Further, if it is desired to further reduce the processing load compared to the above embodiment, the parallax cushion cushion placement surfaces 81 and 82 are obtained for the left and right parallax cushion cushions 141 and 142, respectively, but a common arrangement plane is determined. It is good.

[Part 6]
In the above embodiment, the parallax cushion 14 is arranged when the instruction target object 4 or the marker main body 12 is partially or entirely hidden by other objects. Regardless of this, the parallax cushions 14 may be arranged in all the target markers 10. In this case, in the target marker arrangement process (see FIG. 8), steps S50 to S52 may be omitted, and in loop B, the processing target may be executed for all instruction target objects instead of the parallax cushion assignment object.
In other words, when it is determined that the extracted instruction target object is not hidden by another object, the blurring processing unit 222 is an object that has not been selected as the instruction target object after drawing the instruction target object (in this case, It can be said that the same blurring process is performed (limited to the enemy aircraft 3) and the marker body 12 is drawn to generate a stereoscopic image.

[Part 7]
Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the target marker 10 was mentioned as an example and demonstrated as an example of a marker body, the marker body which can apply this invention is not restricted to this. For example, a sight indicating the muzzle direction when the player character owns a gun may be used as the marker body. In this case, since there is one instruction target object for one gun, in principle, if there is only one player, the object from the most viewpoint located in the muzzle direction from the game space is selected as the instruction target object. It will be.

[Part 8]
Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the magnitude | size and shape of the parallax cushion 14 are made variable by determining at the time of drawing for every flame | frame, you may determine beforehand. By setting in advance the size and shape of the parallax cushion 14 that can include the area of the object to be displayed in front of the normal object, such as the marker and the content of the message, the load determined for each frame can be reduced.

  Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the processing related to the game image has been described. For example, the present invention can be applied to all images that can be used as stereoscopic images, such as medical images and architectural images. In this case, the marker body is preferably a pointer that is instructed to be operated by the pointing device.

C1 ... Left virtual camera C2 ... Right virtual camera 2 ... Own machine 4 ... Instruction target object 6 ... Marker placement surface 8 ... Parallax cushion layout surface 10 ... Target marker 12 ... Marker body 14 ... Parallax cushion 141 ... Left parallax cushion 142 ... Right Parallax cushion 200 ... processing unit 210 ... game calculation unit 212 ... game space setting processing unit 214 ... character motion control unit 216 ... virtual camera control unit 218 ... target marker arrangement control unit 220 ... marker body arrangement control unit 222 ... blur processing unit 224 ... Parallax cushion layout control unit 226 ... Parallax cushion color setting unit 261 ... Stereoscopic image generation unit 361 ... Stereoscopic image display unit 500 ... Storage unit 501 ... System program 502 ... Game program 516 ... Marker body setting data 518 ... Play data 519 ... Left and right flag 520 Tasudeta 522 ... enemy status data 524 ... left virtual camera control data 526 ... right virtual camera control data 528 ... instruction target object list 530 ... marker body control data
532c: Marker body representative point position coordinates
532d ... Marker body surface normal vector 534 ... Parallax cushion assignment object list 536 ... Occlusion object list 540 ... Parallax cushion control data
544a ... Corresponding marker body ID
544b ... Left Parallax Cushion Representative Point Position Coordinate
544c ... Left parallax cushion surface normal vector
544d ... Left parallax cushion cushion polygon data
544e: Right parallax cushion representative point position coordinates
544f ... Right parallax cushion cushion normal vector
544g ... right parallax cushion polygon data 1200 ... stationary home game device 1201 ... game device main body 1210 ... control unit 1220 ... video monitor 1226 ... stereoscopic glasses 1228 ... IR emitter 1230 ... game controller

Claims (10)

A program for causing a computer to generate a stereoscopic image in a virtual three-dimensional space viewed from a given viewpoint,
An instruction target determining means for determining an instruction target object from the virtual three-dimensional space;
Marker body arrangement means for arranging a predetermined marker body for instructing the instruction target object on a position immediately before the instruction target object as viewed from the position of the instruction target object or the viewpoint;
A three-dimensional object in which the marker body is displayed by reducing the visibility of the contour of the marker body by rendering the marker body by performing a predetermined blurring process after drawing the instruction target object and the other object. A concealment image generating means for generating a visual image;
A program for causing the computer to function as The concealment image generating means is
Target range determination means for determining a target range of the blurring process including a drawing portion of the marker body in the stereoscopic image;
Blur processing means for performing the blur processing on the target range;
Having
The program according to claim 1 for causing the computer to function. The blur processing means performs the blur processing on the drawing portion of the other object that is within the target range.
The program according to claim 2 for causing the computer to function. Causing the computer to function as a target range determining body placing unit for placing a target range determining body for determining a target range of the blurring process between the viewpoint and the marker body;
The target range determination means causes the computer to function to determine the target range of the blurring process using the target range determination body;
The program of Claim 2 or 3 for. The target range determining body arrangement means has size setting means for variably setting the size of the target range determining body.
The program according to claim 4 for causing the computer to function as described above. The blurring processing unit performs the blurring process by performing a translucent synthesis process using the color of the target range determining body.
The program according to claim 4 or 5 for causing the computer to function as described above. The concealed image generation means includes marker body translucent synthesis processing means for rendering the marker body by performing a translucent synthesis process by rendering the color of the marker body translucent.
The program as described in any one of Claims 1-6 for functioning the said computer like this.   When the concealment determining unit determines that the object is not hidden, after rendering the instruction target object, a blurring process similar to the blurring process performed by the concealment image generating unit is performed to draw a marker body to obtain a stereoscopic image. The program as described in any one of Claims 1-7 for making the said computer further function as a non-hidden image generation means to produce | generate.   The computer-readable information storage medium which memorize | stored the program as described in any one of Claims 1-8. A stereoscopic image generation device that generates a stereoscopic image in a virtual three-dimensional space viewed from a given viewpoint,
An instruction target determining means for determining an instruction target object from the virtual three-dimensional space;
Marker body placement means for placing a predetermined marker body that points to the pointing target object on a position in front of the pointing target object as viewed from the position of the pointing target object or the viewpoint;
A three-dimensional object in which the marker body is displayed by reducing the visibility of the contour of the marker body by rendering the marker body by performing a predetermined blurring process after drawing the instruction target object and the other object. A concealment image generating means for generating a visual image;
A stereoscopic image generating apparatus comprising:

Images