Abstract:
An object of the present invention is to provide a game system to present a larger amount of information for fish arrangement to a player. In the game system with a control device to progress a fishing game in a virtual fishing spot, referring to outputs of an input device, and to display images on a screen of a display device according to a progressing states of the above fishing game, the above device decides a fish arrangement in the above virtual fishing spot; detects fish distribution in a detection range defined on a line connecting two positions in the above fishing spot; displays a gauge extending in a direction of one axis on a screen of the above display device; and displays information according to a detected result of the above fish distribution at each position on the above detection range, replacing a distance from one end of the above detection range to each position within the above detection range with a distance from one end of the above gauge to each position in the pertinent gauge.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a game system using a computer and a storage medium. 
     2. Description of the Prior Art 
     There has been a fishing game for virtual experiences of fishing, in which a fishing spot is displayed on a screen of a display device as this kind of game, and positions and behaviors and so on of a contrivance and a fishing rod in the screen are changed, according to a player&#39;s operation for an input device. Especially, there have been developed many games for lure fishing having various kinds of strategic characteristics in selection of fishing points, lures, approaches, and their combinations. For reference of players, there have been games displaying a mark giving a sign of fish, that is, a presence of fish, to a place where there are fish in groups. 
     However, there have been limits in amount of information to be displayed by showing such signs of fish, and then, such signs have not been enough as a clue for players to get information on a fish arrangement. Though, for example, there is fish behavior that small fish forms a group, and big one solitary behavior, a conventional method for displaying signs of fish may not express the such difference in grouping patterns. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention has an object to provide a game system to display larger amounts of information on fish arrangements to players than those of conventional one, and a computer-readable medium suitable for the above game system. 
     A game system of the present invention comprises: an image display device; an input device to output signals according to a player&#39;s operation; a control device to proceed with a fishing game in a virtual fishing spot, and to display images on a screen of the display device according to a progressing states of the fishing game, referring to outputs of the above input device. The control device comprises: arrangement decision device to decide a fish arrangement in the above virtual fishing spot; detection device to detect a fish distribution in a detection range defined on a line connecting two positions in the fishing spot; and distribution display device to display a gauge extending in a direction of one axis on the screen of the display device, and to display information according to a detected result of the distribution at each position of the detection range, at each position on the gauge, replacing a distance from one end of the detection range to each position within the detection range with a distance from one end of the gauge to each position in said gauge. Thereby, the above mentioned problems may be solved. 
     According to the present invention, a player may easily understand the fish arrangement with its position since the fish distribution is detected on the gauge, with each position within the detection range, and each position on the gauge in correspondence with each other. Therefore, larger amount of information on the fish arrangement may be given to the player in comparison with a conventional games in which only fish groups are displayed. Numerals, figures, signs and so on corresponding to numbers and sizes of the detected fish, may be used as information displayed at each position on the gauge. At least one of a color, a pattern, a contrast, or a tone may be changed according to the fish distribution at each position. Thereby, as the fish distribution may be displayed in the gauge extending in a direction of one axis, the fish distribution may be easily displayed even on a game system with limited displaying ability such as a hand-held game device. 
     The game system of the present invention may be provided with detection range display device to display information ( 31 ,  34 ) to specify the detection range, on images according to the fishing spot displayed in the display device. In this case, a player may easily understand which part in the fishing spot is displayed on the gauge as a fish distribution. 
     Moreover, a game system may comprise position change device to change at least one of two positions defining the detection range, according to a predetermined position change operation for the input device; the detection device may perform re-detection of the fish distribution after redefinition of the detection range in cooperation with the position change by the position change device; and the distribution display device may update the display on the gauge corresponding to the re-detection of the distribution. In this case, a fish distribution within a new detection range distribution is displayed on the gauge according to the position change a player&#39;s operation. Thereby, the player may confirm the fish distribution within various kinds of ranges in the fishing spot. 
     The game system of the present invention may comprises width change device to change the width of the detection range. Thus, a fish distribution within a suitable range may be displayed to a player according to the condition. 
     The above distribution display device may display information according to a detected result of the distribution by changing display appearance (for example, a color, contrast, tone, and pattern) at each position on the gauge, depending on the presence or absence of fish at each position within the detection range. Thereby, it may be possible to read on the gauge that smaller fishes are in groups and big fishes perform solitary behavior, as places with fish and those without fish are clearly divided on the gauge. 
     In a preferable embodiment of the present invention, the detection range is set on at least a part of the range on the line connecting a start and a planned casting position of a contrivance in the fishing spot. Here, the planned casting position means a position at which a contrivance is predetermined to arrive, viewed from a state before casting of the contrivance. When the detection range is defined between such positions, more useful information may be given to the player, as fish distribution in at least a part of the range on a retrieval path of the contrivance is displayed on the gauge. 
     In the above embodiment, there may be provided position display device to display images to respectively specify the start and planned casting position on images according to the fishing spot displayed on the display device. Thereby, the player may easily and properly understand a fish distribution on the retrieval path of the contrivance, having information on the gauge and information on the casting start position and on the planned casting one as a hint. 
     Further, there may be provided position change device to change at least one of the start and the planned casting position according to a predetermined position change operation for the input device; the detection device may perform re-detection of the fish distribution after redefinition of the detection range depending on the position change by the position change device; and the distribution display device may update the display on the gauge corresponding to the re-detection of the distribution. 
     In this case, the player may select the best start or the planned casting position by changing various kinds of the start and planned positions of casting with checking the fish distribution on the gage. 
     In addition, there may be provided detection range change device to change the width within the detection range according to the kind of the contrivance. Thereby, a fish distribution within a range suitable for each contrivance may be displayed to the player by changing the detection range according to the difference, when a plurality of angles have different ability for luring fish from each other. 
     The game system may comprise a contrivance position display device on the gauge or in the vicinity thereof in order to display images denoting the current position of the contrivance. 
     Then, the player may decide whether or not the contrivance is passing through a part with the presence of fish in the process of retrieving the contrivance, using the display of the gauge as a hint. Therefore, the concern of the player for retrieving operation of the contrivance may be raised by changing the expecting degree of the player in the process of retrieving the contrivance. 
     The game system may comprise casting execution device to cast the contrivance at any position on the line connecting the start and the planned casting position, corresponding to a predetermined casting operation for the input device. 
     Thus, it may be possible to closely relate the display on the gauge to the operation to retrieve the contrivance, as the contrivance always passes through the detection range during the retrieval process. 
     In the game system of the present invention, the arrangement decision device may be desired to decide the fish arrangement, considering fish behavior that the smaller fish has the more remarkable tendency to form a group, and the bigger one has the more remarkable tendency to have solitary behavior. 
     The storage medium of the present invention is a computer readable storage medium having recorded therein a program to progress a fishing game in a virtual fishing spot, referring to outputs of an input device of a game device, and to display images on a screen of a display device of the game device according to a progressing states of the fishing game, and it is wherein the program makes a computer installed in the game device function as arrangement decision device to decide a fish arrangement in the virtual fishing spot; detection device to detect fish distribution in a detection range defined on a line connecting two positions in the fishing spot; and gauge display control device to display a gauge extending in a direction of one axis on a screen of the display device, and to display information according to a detected result of the distribution at each position on the detection range, at each on the gauge, replacing a distance from one end of the detection range to each position within the detection range with a distance from one end of the gauge to each position in said gauge. 
     According to the storage medium of the present invention, the computer may function as a control device in the game system of the present invention by making the computer read the program for execution. 
     The term “contrivance” in the present invention includes lure, fly, pseudo food and other kinds of elements to be operated for catching fish in actual fishing. The storage medium includes a magnetic storage medium, an optical storage medium, a magneto-optical storage medium, a semiconductor storage element, and other kinds of storage device. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an embodiment of a hand-held game device of the present invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a control device installed in the hand-held game device of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 3 is a view showing one example during playing a game, displayed on a screen of the hand-held game device of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a content of a gauge of a shoal of fish displayed at both sides of the screen of FIG. 3; 
     FIG. 5 is a view showing how the display content of the gauge of a shoal of fish of FIG. 4 is changed according to movements of a pointer; 
     FIGS.  6 ( a ) to  6 ( c ) are views showing one example of a lure windows displayed on the main screen of FIG. 3 in an overlapping manner; 
     FIG. 7 is a view showing how a lure is operated according to a command given through the lure windows of FIG. 6; 
     FIGS.  8 ( a ) to  8 ( c ) are views showing another example of the lure window displayed on the main screen of FIG. 3 in an overlapping manner; 
     FIG. 9 is a view showing how a lure is operated according to a command given through the lure windows of FIG. 8; 
     FIG. 10 is a flowchart denoting a procedure for a main game processing executed by a CPU of a control device of FIG. 2; 
     FIG. 11 is a flowchart continued from FIG. 10; 
     FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing a procedure for a casting processing executed as a subroutine processing of FIG. 10; 
     FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing a procedure for a hooking processing executed by the CPU of the control device of FIG. 2; 
     FIG. 14 is a view showing another example of the lure windows; 
     FIG. 15 is view showing further another example of the lure window; and 
     FIG. 16 is a view showing still another example of the lure window. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a configuration of a hand-held game device according to the present invention. A hand-held game device  1  comprises a main body  2 , a liquid crystal monitor  3  installed in the main body  2  as a display device, and an input device  4 . The input device  4  comprises a direction indicating switch  5 , and a plurality of push button switches  6 . The direction indicating switch  5  comprises an operation member  5   a  with, for example, a cross shape, and outputs signals according to operation for vertical, or crosswise direction motion (pushing operation of an end at the top, bottom, right, or left part) of the operation member  5   a.  Such configuration of the input device  4  is well known, and various kinds of variations may be possible. For example, instead of the operation member  5   a,  one push button switch may be arranged at the top, bottom, right, and left parts, respectively. 
     FIG. 2 shows a configuration of a control device  10  installed in the game device  1 . The control device  10  is configured as a computer mainly composed of a CPU  11  using a microprocessor. The CPU  11  is connected to a ROM  12  and a RAM  13  as a main storage device, an image processing circuit  14 , and a sound processing circuit  15  through a bus  16 , respectively. Programs necessary for basic control (for example, start processing) of the game device  1  are stored in the ROM  12 . The work area for the CPU  11  is secured in the RAM  13 . The image processing circuit  14  controls a liquid crystal monitor  3  according to a drawing command from the CPU  11 , and displays a predetermined image on a screen of the monitor. The sound processing circuit  15  generates an analog audio signal according to a production command from the CPU  11 , and outputs it to a speaker  7 . 
     The CPU  11  is connected to the switches  5  and  6  of the input device  4  through the bus  16 , and then able to judge the operation state of the switches  5  and  6 . And an external storage device  17  configured separately from the control device  10  is connected to the bus  16 . The external storage device  17  is configured to be, for example, of a cassette type attachable to/detachable from the main body  2 , and, for example, a ROM  18 , and a RAM  19  are provided in the memory  17  as a storage medium. Programs making the control device  10  function as various kinds of devices of the present invention, and various kinds of data necessary for execution of the programs are previously stored in the ROM  18 . For example, save data of a game are stored in the RAM  19  as required. The data in the RAM  19  are retained, for example, by auxiliary cells installed in the external storage device  17 . In stead of the RAM  19 , a rewritable ROM such as an EEPROM (electrically erasable and programmable read only memory) may be used. Not only a semiconductor storage element, but also various kinds of storage: media such as a magnetic storage medium, an optical storage medium, and a magneto-optical storage medium may be used as the storage medium of the external storage medium  17 . And though interface circuits may be respectively inserted between the bus  16  and each element as required, they are not shown in the drawing. The configuration of the control device  10  is not limited to the above, and various kinds of control devices may be used. 
     FIG. 3 shows one screen of a fishing game executed by the programs stored in the external storage device  17 . A screen  100  of FIG. 3 is displayed at playing a fishing game, and it is displayed on the main screen  30  that two game characters  31 ,  31  are fishing in a line. The player holding the game device  1  may perform casting and retrieving of a lure by operation of one of two characters through the input device  4 , and then may compete with the other character for fishing results. The other character is controlled, for example, by the CPU  11 . When a communication device is installed in the controller  10 , other characters may be operated by a player operating another game device  1 . 
     A sub-screen such as an animation window  32  is repeatedly displayed on the main screen  30 , as required. The sub-screen is used to display an operation guide and various kinds of information, and so on for lures. The sub-screen is deleted, when it is not required. The animation window  32  in FIG. 3 is configured to display an image showing how fish is caught with the lure. Gauges of a shoal of fish  33 ,  33  are displayed on the main screen  30  at the right and left sides. The gauge of a shoal of fish  33  is of a vertically-slender, and rectangular shape, and the fish distribution between each character  31  and a pointer  34  is displayed on the gauge. The details will be described later. The pointer  34  is displayed as a mark in a direction of casting when each character  31  casts a lure. In order to make a clear distinction between the characters  31 ,  31 , letters of “1P” is displayed on the pointer  34  for the character  31  at the left side of FIG. 3, and letters of “2P” is displayed on the pointer  34  for the character  31  at the right side of FIG.  3 . Only the pointer  34  for the right character  31  is shown in FIG.  3 . 
     A fishing result meter  35 , a power meter  36 , an appeal meter  37 , and a line tension meter  38  are displayed on the bottom part of the main screen  30 . The fishing result meter  35  displays the mass of caught fish by each character  31  in numerals. The power meter  36  displays the force (power) of each character  31  at casting. The left end of the meter  36  denotes the minimum power, and the right one shows the maximum power. 
     The casting position of the lure by the character is determined by relation between the power displayed on the power meter  36  and the position of the pointer  34 . That is, the power meter  36  repeatedly performs expansion and contraction at a fixed cycle at casting of the lure. The pointer  34  is moved in a crosswise direction on the main screen  30  according to a selective operation in a predetermined casting direction (preferably, a crosswise operation of the direction indicating switch  5 ) for the input device  4 . The casting distance of the lure is calculated in proportion to the power shown in the meter  36  at the time when the player performs a predetermined casting operation (for example, a pushing operation of the push button switch  6 ). The lure is cast to a position on the line connecting the character  31  and the pointer  34 , according to the calculated casting distance. 
     The appeal meter  37  is used to display an appeal degree of the lure to a fish. The left end of the meter  37  shows the minimum appeal degree, and the right one denotes the maximum appeal degree. The fish may not be caught when the appeal degree is not the maximum. The appeal degree is raised if the player actively operates the lure, according to a command for a lure action displayed on a lure window  50 A shown in FIG. 6, or a lure window  50 B shown in FIG.  8 . The details of the lure windows  50 A and  50 B will be described later. 
     Then, the gauge of a shoal of fish  33  will be described, referring to FIG.  4 . The display contents of the gauge  33  is controlled based on the fish arrangement within the detection range  41  with a predetermined width W defined between a position Pa (casting start position) of the character  31 , and a position Pb (planned casting position) of the pointer  34 . The width W is set as a range denoting that the lure may lure fish. In the present embodiment, though the player may select a lure for fishing from a plurality of lures, the width W may be set at a fixed value independent from the kinds of the lures, or the width may be changed according to the lures. In addition, the detection range  41  is longitudinally divided into a plurality of sections  42  . . .  42 . 
     On the other hand, the underwater part of the main screen  30  is divided into a lot of areas  40  . . .  40  (one area is shown by hatching in FIG.  4 ). And the fish arrangement is decided for each area  40  by the CPU  11  at the start of fishing. The fish arrangement of the fish may be calculated by every area  40  as required, using a predetermined operational formula, or a plurality of data on fish arrangements may be previously made to be stored in the ROM  18  to select one item of data from those items of data as required. The above techniques have been adopted even by conventional fishing games, and then the details are eliminated. And the fish arrangement may be decided in consideration of the habits of actual fish. For example, the fish arrangement may be decided for each area  40 , considering fish habits that a big fish performs comparatively solitary behavior and a small fish forms a group. 
     When the gauge of a shoal of fish  33  is required to be displayed, the fish arrangement (presence of fish) for each section  42  may be detected by the CPU  11 , based on the relation between each section  42  and area  40 . And as for relation between a section  42  and an area  40 , an area  40  which overlaps with a section  42  at a fixed rate (for example, 50%) may be dealt as a corresponding area  40  with the section  42 , for example. 
     The character position Pa is located at the bottom of the gauge of a shoal of fish  33 , the planned casting position Pb at the top of the gauge  33 , and each section  42  in the detection range  41  is associated with each position in the gauge of a shoal of fish  33 . Thereby, the gauge of a shoal of fish  33 , having distinction between a section in one color with the presence of fish and one in the other color with no presence of fish, may be generated. That is, the detection result of a fish distribution in each section  42  within the detection range  41  is displayed at each position on the gauge  33 , replacing the distance from one end of the detection range  41  with the distance from the bottom of gauge  33 . In FIG. 4, hatched colored parts A (A 1  and A 2  are included) shows a part where fish is detected, and white parts B denotes a part where fish is not detected. 
     Thereby, the gauge of a shoal of fish  33  generated as shown above denotes fish distribution between the character position Pa and the planned casting position Pb. As mentioned above, when the fish arrangement is decided considering the difference in fish grouping habits between big fish and small fish, the longer colored part A 1  shows that a lot of small fishes are forming a group, and the shorter colored part A 2  denotes that there are small number of big fish. A triangular cursor  33   a  shows a current position in the gauge  33 . 
     The planned casting position Pb in FIG. 4 is moved according to the crosswise movement of the pointer  34  in FIG. 3 on the main screen  30  in response to the operation of the player. Therefore, the gauge of a shoal of fish  33  is changed as shown in FIG. 5 according to the movement of the pointer  34 , even if the fish arrangement in the main screen  30  is not changed. Though the gauge  33  is shown above the pointer  34  to show a relation between a crosswise movement of the pointer  34  and the change of the gauge  33  in FIG. 5, the display position of the gauge  33  is fixed to right and left end parts of the main screen  30  as shown in FIG.  3 . The ratio of colored part A is the maximum in the gauge  33  at the left end part in FIG. 5, and the probability which a fish is caught is the maximum, if casting is performed at this time. Moreover the probability which a small fish is caught is the maximum. On the other hand, if casting is performed when there is displayed the gauge of a shoal of fish  33  at the right end part, the probability which a fish is caught is low, but a big fish may be caught. 
     In conventional fishing games, not enough information showing only that a sign of fish is displayed at a place with presence of a group of fish has been offered to the player. On the other hand, an wide range of the fish distribution may be obtained by changing the planned casting position Pb, as the fish distribution to the planned casting position Pb is shown in detail according to the gauge of a shoal of fish  33  mentioned above. Then the player may choose a method for fishing according to his or her taste. The game may be provided with an option to select a fishing method according to a playing rule of the game. When the fishing method is required to be changed according to the set rule, for example, a rule in which a character who has caught larger number of fishes within a fixed time is a winner, or a rule where one who has caught the biggest fish is a winner, a suitable casting position for the rule may be easily selected, referring to the gauge of a shoal of fish  33 . 
     And the position Pa of the character  31  may be configured to be changed by an operation for the input device  4  (for example, a crosswise operation of the direction indicating switch  5 ). The gauge of a shoal of fish  33  is not limited to the one vertically extending, and may be the one extending in a crosswise direction. For example, if the lure is cast or retrieved in a crosswise direction on the screen, it may be conceivable that a gauge  33  with a long dimension in a crosswise direction is displayed at the top or bottom of the screen  30 . The detection range  41  is not limited to total length on the line connecting the casting start position Pa and the planned casting position Pb, and may be a part of a range on the line. In addition, two arbitrary points may be set in the fishing spot according to an operation of the player, and the detection range  41  may be set on the line between those points. 
     In the fishing game of the present embodiment, various types of lures may be provided in a similar manner to the actual lure fishing. Peculiar information is set in each lure, and the information is previously recorded in the ROM  18  of the external storage device  17  as necessary data for the game. The information peculiar to each lure comprises, for example, a name and type of the lure, and image data of a lure to be used. When the width W within the detection range  41  in FIG. 4 is changed according to the lure as mentioned above, information to set the width W may be preciously included in the information peculiar to the lure. 
     The lure used for actual fishing may be divided in a various manner. For example, from a view point of applied water depth, the lure may be divided to a top one for water surface use, a bottom one for water bottom use, a shallow one for shallow water depth use, and a middle one for middle water depth use. From a view point of a relation between the retrieving operation and the lure action, the lure may be divided to a type which sinks by pulling and floats by loosing, another type which floats by pulling, and sinks by loosing, or a further another type holding a fixed water depth independent of the presence or absence of retrieving. The information peculiar to each lure, which is recorded in the ROM  18 , includes information for identification of the type of each lure. Though the detailed division into more lure types increases the virtual reality of the fishing game, the more lure types increases the more data for the lures to require the game device  1  with the higher processing performance, too. Thereby, it is preferable to set the quantity of information for each lure within the reasonable range, considering the processing performance of the game device  1 . 
     Then, a guiding method for the lure operation for a player will be described below, referring to FIGS. 6 to  9 . When the player casts a lure by operation of a character  31  to be operated, a first type of a lure window  50 A shown in FIG. 6, or a second type of a lure window  50 B shown in FIG. 8 is displayed as a sub screen on the main screen  30  (See FIG.  3 ), according to the character  31  to be operated. In FIGS. 6 and 8, there are arranged three windows at different times, respectively, in order to show the changes in the lure windows  50 A and  50 B with time. In those drawings, time progresses in the order, (a)→(b)→(c). 
     The first type of the lure window  50 A shows, looking down from the above, how a lure  51  shown as an abstracted form for the first image is moving on the water surface or in the water, and the lure  51  is going toward the lower part of the window  50 A (in a retrieving direction). On the other hand, the second type of the lure window  50 B shows, along with the vertical section, how the lure  51  shown as an abstracted form is moving in the water, and the lure  51  is going toward the left part of the window  50 B (in a retrieving direction). The selection of the lure window  50 A or  50 B depends on the lure type. Therefore, the information peculiar to the lure stored in the external storage device  17  is required to include information specifying the lure window  50 A or  50 B. For example, information specifying the lure type may be used. The data with a table having a relation between the lures and the lure window  50  to be used for the lure may be stored in the ROM  18 . 
     The lure window  50 A is convenient to display a crosswise movement of the lure  51 , and the lure window  50 B is preferable to show a vertical movement of the lure  51 . Therefore, it is preferable to use the lure window  50 A for the lure type without change in the water depth, and the window  50 B for the type with change in the depth. And when there is no need to make difference between both the windows  50 A and  50 B, the expression of the lure window  50  may be used for the both, hereinafter. 
     The lure window  50  is displayed at the upper side of the character  30 , and for example, when the character  31  at the left side of FIG. 3 is operated, the lure window  50  is displayed in place of the animation window  32 . As shown in FIGS. 6 and 8, a background  52  is displayed in the lure windows  50 A and  50 B with the lure  51 . And in the background  52 , a plurality of partition lines  54  . . .  54  at equal distances extending in a crosswise direction of the lure window  50 A are displayed with marks  53 A and  53 B of a triangular shape, as a second image which functions as a guide showing a passing position of the lure  51 . 
     When the lure window  50 A of FIG. 6 is displayed, the lure  51  is moved in a crosswise direction in the lure window  50 A according to a predetermined course change operation for the input device  4 . The course change operation is performed, imaging that the lure is moved in a zigzag direction by shaking a fishing rod in a crosswise direction, in actual fishing. Therefore, it is preferable to allocate the crosswise operation of the direction indicating switch  5  as the course change operation. The background  52  is moved in a scrolling display mode at a predetermined speed from the bottom to the top of the window  50 A with marks  53 A and  53 B, and the partition lines  54 . That is, in the case of the lure window  50 A, the background  52  is configured as an image of a vertically-long strip shape as shown in FIG. 7, and a part of the background  52  is displayed in the lure window  50 A. The display range is gradually moved downward, and the background  52  in the window  50 A is scrolled. The background  52  is scrolled to show how the lure  51  is retrieved toward the character  31 , moving in a zigzag direction according to the course change operation with the input device  4 . 
     The marks  53 A and  53 B show a passing position of the lure  51  during an appropriate action of the lure  51 . And the marks  53 A and  53 B are distinguished each other by color. If the player can make the lure  51  pass on the mark  53 A by the crosswise operation, the appeal degree (a value of the appeal meter  37 ) is raised. And, the appeal degree is raised by a predetermined appeal operation (a coordination operation) according as the lure  51  passes on the mark  53 B. The appeal operation is performed, imaging that the vertical action of the lure  51  is performed by the upward movement of the fishing rod, and it is preferable to set the upward operation by the direction indicating switch  5  as the appeal operation. The appeal degree is decreased if the lure  51  gets out of the mark  53 A, or the appeal operation is not appropriately performed. 
     On the other hand, when the lure window  50 B of FIG. 8 is displayed, the lure  51  performs a vertical movement on the window  50  according to the course change operation with the input device  4  by the player. The course change operation is performed, imaging that the depth of the lure is changed by changing the retrieving speed of the lure (pulling speed) in actual fishing, and, for example, it is preferable to deal the lure  51  as pulled by the operation of the direction indicating switch  5  in a left direction. That is, in the case of the lure  51  which sinks by pulling, and floats by loosing, the lure  51  is moved downward, assuming that the lure  51  is pulled, when the direction indicating switch  5  is operated in a left direction, and the lure  51  is gradually raised at a fixed rate when such operation is not performed. On the contrary, in the case of the lure  51  which floats by pulling, and sinks by loosing, the lure  51  is moved upward, when the direction indicating switch  5  is operated in a left direction, and the lure  51  is gradually moved downward at a fixed rate when such operation is not performed. 
     In the lure window  50 B of FIG. 8, the background  52  is moved in a scrolling display mode at a predetermined speed from the left side to the right one of the window  50 A with marks  53 A and  53 B, and the partition lines  54 . That is, in the case of the lure window  50 B, the background  52  is configured as an image of a crosswise strip shape as shown in FIG. 9, and a part of the background  52  is displayed in the lure window  50 B. The display range is gradually moved in a left direction, and the background  52  in the window  50 B is scrolled. The background  52  is scrolled to show how the lure  51  is retrieved toward the character  31 , changing the water depth according to the course change operation with the input device  4 . 
     The marks  53 A and  53 B show a passing position of the lure  51  during an appropriate action of the lure  51 , in a similar manner to that of the embodiment in FIG.  6 . And the marks  53 A and  53 B are distinguished each other by color. If the player can make the lure  51  pass on the mark  53 A by changing the water depth of the lure  51 , the appeal degree (a value of the appeal meter  37 ) is raised. And, the appeal degree is raised by a predetermined appeal operation (for example, an upward operation with the direction indicating switch  5 ) according as the lure  51  passes on the mark  53 B. The appeal degree is decreased if the lure  51  gets out of the mark  53 A, or the appeal operation is not appropriately performed. 
     As mentioned above, when the player operates the lure  51  with the input device  4  to move the lure  51  following the marks  53 A and  53 B, the appeal degree is gradually increased to the maximum value, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 9, respectively, according to the lure window  50 A and  50 B, and then it may start to catch more fish. As mentioned above, as the guidance for the operation of the lure  51  is given to the player, and the value of the appeal meter  37  is configured to be changed according to whether or not the operation of the player is appropriately responded to the guidance, the player may always monitor whether or not his or her lure is appropriately operated to have a positive response to the lure operation. But, a trajectories of the lure in FIGS. 7 and 9, are not displayed in the actual lure windows  50 A and  50 B. 
     The arrangement of the marks  53 A and  53 B in the background  52  may be previously made as data and stored in the ROM  18  of the external storage device  17 . The arrangement of those marks may be produced as data by each lure  51 , or the type of the lure  51 , or may be decided using random numbers. As degree of difficulty in operation of the lure  51  may be changed by making use of the arrangement of those marks  53 A and  53 B, a plurality of data with different degrees of difficulty, may be previously prepared in the ROM  18 , and data with high degree of difficulty may be selected for display in the lure window  50 , as the game progresses. A lure may be given to the player as a reward for wins in the games, and the performance of the lure maybe advanced, while the degree of the difficulty in the required operation may be raised at the same time. 
     Then, various kinds of processing for a fishing game will be described, which the CPU  11  executes according to programs stored in the external storage device  17  referring to FIGS. 10 to  13 . FIGS. 10 and 11 show a flowchart denoting a procedure for a main gaming processing executed at playing the fishing game. 
     In the main game processing, an initial conditions are set for playing the fishing game (step S 1 ), and subsequently, casting processing is performed (step S 2 ). The casting processing, in which a casting position of a lure is decided referring to signals from the input device  4 , will be described later. On completion of the casting processing, the lure window  50 A of FIG. 6, or the lure window  50 B of FIG. 8 is displayed according to the lure type (step S 3 ). Data (position data) to specify the position of the lure  51  in the background  52  are set to an initial value, and the lure  51  is displayed at an initial position in the window  50  (step S 4 ). 
     Then, scroll of the background  52  is started (step S 5 ). Subsequently, it is judged whether or not the course change operation of the lure has been done (step S 6 ). The course change operation is mentioned above. The position data of the lure  51  is changed according to the contents of the operation, when a course change operation is performed. Following the above, the display position of the lure  51  is changed in a crosswise direction of the window  50  (in a crosswise direction in FIG.  6  and in a vertical direction, in FIG.  8 ). At step S 6 , the position data in the vertical direction is corrected by a predetermined amount (step S 8 ) according to the type of the lure, when it is judged that there is no course change operation. The correction is performed for expressing that the lure  51  floats and sinks when the lure window  50 B of FIG. 8 is used. The amount of correction for one time is previously set, for example, every lure  51 , and stored in the ROM  18 . The correction may not be performed when the lure window  50 A of FIG. 6 is used. 
     After processing at step S 7 , or S 8 , it is judged whether or not a predetermined amount of speed-up operation for the input device  4  has been performed (step S 9 ). In the case of no speed-up operation, the background  52  is scrolled at a standard speed (step S 10 ), and in the case of the operation, the background  52  is made to be scrolled at a high speed (step S 11 ). Then, data showing the position of the lure in a back and forth direction in the main screen  30  and the background  52  is updated, according to the scrolling amount (step S 12 ). In addition, the position of the cursor  33   a  in the gauge of a shoal of fish  33  is renewed, according to the current position of the lure (step S 13 ). After that, the processing is advanced to step S 14  of FIG.  11 . 
     At step S 14 , it is judged whether or not the lure  51  has passed on the mark  53 A or  53 B. In the present case, ranges with a predetermined width are set in a crosswise direction of the window  50  around the marks  53 A and  53 B, respectively. And when the lure  51  passes the range, it is concluded that the lure  51  has passed on the mark  53 A or  53 B. When there is an affirmative decision at step S 14 , it is judged whether or not it has passed on the mark  53 B requiring appeal operation (step S 15 ). In the affirmative response to the decision, it is subsequently decided whether or not the appeal operation has been synchronously done with the passing of the lure  51  on the mark  53 B (step S 16 ). In the above case, before and after the lure  51  passes the mark  53 B, a fixed allowable range of may be set, and it is decided that the appeal operation has been synchronously performed with the passing on the mark  53 B, if there is an appeal operation within the allowable range. 
     When it is judged that there has been an appeal operation at step S 16 , or, when it is decided that the lure does not pass on the mark  53 B (meaning that it passes on the mark  53 A) at step S 15 , the appeal degree stored in the RAM  13  is increased by a predetermined amount, and the display of the appeal meter  37  is updated according to the above updating (step S 17 ). Then, the processing is advanced to step S 20 . In the case of the negative decision at step S 14 , it is judged whether or not the course of the lure  51  is incorrect, that is, deviates from the mark  53 A or  53 B (step S 18 ). When it is decided that it is incorrect, the appeal degree stored in the RAM  13  is decreased by a predetermined amount, and the display of the appeal meter  37  is updated according to the above updating (step S 19 ). Then, the processing is advanced to step S 20 . The similar processing is taken when it is decided that there has been no appeal operation at step S 16 . When it is decided that there has been no passing at step S 18  (when there is neither the mark  53 A nor  53 B at both sides of the lure  51  at step), step S 19  is skipped and the processing is advanced to step  520 . 
     At step S 20 , it is judged whether or not the appeal degree stored in the RAM  13  is the maximum, that is, whether or not the pointer of the appeal meter  37  has reached the right end. If it is the maximum, data which are stored in the RAM  13  for judgment whether or not hooking (fish is caught with the lure) is permitted, are set to a value corresponding to hooking permission (step S 21 ). If it is not the maximum, the above data are set to the value corresponding to hooking rejection (step S 22 ). 
     Then, it is judged whether or not predetermined conditions for finishing the game have been fulfilled (step S 23 ). In the negative case, it is subsequently judged whether or not scrolling has been finished, that is, whether or not the lure has been retrieved to a predetermined position of the main screen  30  (a position corresponding to the bottom of the gauge of a shoal of fish  33 ) (step S 24 ). In the negative case, the processing is returned to step S 6 , and in the affirmative one, returned to step S 2 . When it is decided that the game has been over at step S 23 , the predetermined termination processing is performed (step S 25 ), and the completion of the termination processing device that the processing for the main game has been completed. Various kinds of conditions such as whether a time limit has been over, whether number of caught fish has exceeded a fixed value, and whether mass of caught fish has passed a fixed value, may be used for the predetermined conditions for finishing the game. 
     FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing details of a casting processing executed at step S 2  of FIG.  10 . 
     In the casting processing, the initialization of parameters and so on for casting of a lure is firstly performed (step S 31 ). Subsequently, images for the casting are displayed on the main screen  30  (step S 32 ). Moreover, calculation for display of the gauge of a shoal of fish  33  is performed (step S 33 ). The display of the gauge  33  is updated based on the above calculation results (step S 34 ). Calculation and display appearance to display the gauge  33  are as described above, referring to FIG.  4 . 
     Then, a value of the power meter  36  stored in the RAM  13  is increased by a predetermined amount, and the display of the power meter  36  is updated according to the above change (step S 35 ). If the value of the power meter  36  is the maximum value at this time, it is reset to the minimum. Subsequently, the appeal degree stored in the RAM  13  is decreased by a predetermined amount. Accordingly, the display of the appeal meter  37  is updated (step S 36 ). Moreover, it is judged whether or not the direction command switch  5  has been operated in a crosswise direction (step S 37 ). In the affirmative decision, the position of the pointer  34  is changed by a predetermined amount in a direction where the direction indicating switch  5  has been operated at step S 38 , and the processing is returned to step S 33 . 
     Therefore, after start of the casting processing, processing from step S 33  to step S 38  is repeatedly executed, during operation of the direction indicating switch  5  in a crosswise direction by the player, and the pointer  34  of the main screen  30  is moved in a crosswise direction. Then, the fish distribution from the position of the character  31  to the pointer  34  is calculated, and the display of the gauge of a shoal of fish  33  is updated as shown in FIG. 5, according to the above. Thereby, the player may decide the best direction for casting by confirmation of the fish distribution. However, the player is required to decide the direction of casting as early as possible, as the value of the appeal meter  37  is gradually decreased during moving of the pointer  34 . 
     When it is decided that the direction command switch  5  has not been operated in a crosswise direction in step S 37 , it is judged whether a predetermined casting operation (for example, a pushing operation of the push button switch  6 ) has been performed for the input device  4  (step S 39 ). When not decided, the processing is returned to step S 33 . When it is decided that the casting operation has been performed, the casting position is calculated based on the value of the power meter  36  and the position of the pointer  34  at that time (step S 40 ). The casting position is on the line connecting the pointer  34  and the character  31 , and the distance from the character  31  is proportional to the value of the power meter  36  at a point when the casting operation has been performed. Subsequently, it is displayed how the lure is cast to the calculated casting position (step S 41 ). The above is all the casting processing. 
     FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the hooking processing simultaneously executed at a fixed cycle in the CPU  11 , with the processing in FIGS. 10 and 11. In the hooking processing, it is judged whether data which are stored in the RAM  13  for judgment whether or not hooking (fish is caught with the lure) is permitted, are set to a value corresponding to hooking permission (step S 51 ). The above data are set in step S 21  or S 22  in FIG.  11 . 
     In the case of the hooking rejection, the hooking processing is completed. That is, it is assumed that no fish is caught when the appeal meter  37  has not reached the maximum value. In the case of the hooking permission, the reaction of the fish to the lure is calculated (step S 52 ). For example, the reaction degree to the lure is calculated according to predetermined operational formula, considering the distance to the lure, the affinity for the lure types and so on, with regards to each fish within the detection range  41  shown in FIG.  4 . In the above case, since the range  41  is extensively set when the lure with a high appeal degree is used, the range to be calculated at step S 52  is extended, and then the probability to catch fish may be increased. 
     However, it is not required that the detection range  41  to display the gauge of a shoal of fish  33  accords to the range for calculation of reaction of the fish. If the gauge of a shoal of fish  33  is considered just as one of standards, the fish even outside of the detection range  41  may be configured to be hooked with the lure, by calculating the reaction of the fish being within wider range than the detection range  41 . On the contrary, it may be possible to have a configuration that the fish even within the detection range  41  has no reaction to the lures, by calculating the reaction of lure only for fish within smaller range than the detection range  41 . 
     In the subsequent step S 53 , it is judged, based on the calculation results of the fish reaction, whether or not there is any hooking, that is, whether any of fish is caught with the lure. When it is decided that there is the hooking, processing to show the scene for the hooking to the player is performed (step S 54 ). For example, the animation window  32  in FIG. 3 is displayed on the main screen  30  to show how the fish is caught with the lure. When the game device  1  is provided with excitation device, the device may be used for showing the hooking to the player by vibration. 
     After production of the hooking scene at step S 54 , or when it is decided that there is no hooking at step S 53 , the hooking processing is completed. 
     In the embodiment mentioned above, the mark  53 A shows only information of the direction for the lure operation, and the mark  53 B shows information of the direction and timing for the lure operation. However, only one of them may be used. As shown in FIG. 14, arrow-shaped direction command marks  60 U,  60 D,  60 R, and  60 L (occasionally, shown as the reference numeral  60 ) may be arranged on the up, down, right, and left sides of the lure  51 , respectively, and the player may be required to operate the direction command switch  5  in the same direction as that of the lighted mark  60  (in FIG. 14, the mark  60 R is lighted ). 
     And a preferable trajectory line  55  of the lure  51  may be displayed in the background  52  as shown in FIG. 15, and the player may be required to operate the lure  51  for following the trajectory. Moreover, an appeal point  55   a  may be properly set on the trajectory line  55 , and, when the lure  51  passes on the point, the player may be required to perform the appeal operation in a similar manner to that of the case where the lure passes on the mark  53 B. 
     As shown in FIG. 16, a plurality of marks  53 B (or  53 A is acceptable) may be arranged in a crosswise direction of the lure window  50 , and the difference in increased amount of the appeal degree may be provided based on a distance y (y 1  and y 2 ) from the lure  51  to the mark  53 B at the point when the lure  51  is remote from-those marks  53 B by a predetermined amount x in a moving direction. In the above case, as the larger distance y causes the more difficult operation for passing on the mark, it is reasonable to set larger increasing amount of the appeal degree for the case at passing on the mark  53 B with a larger distance y than that for the case at passing on the mark  53 B with a smaller distance y. 
     In the processing in FIGS. 10 and 11, the scrolling speed of the background  52  is changed (steps S 9  to S 11 ) according to the presence of the speed-up operation for the input device  4 . Such speed-up operation may be eliminated, and the scrolling speed of the background  52  (equal to the retrieving speed of the lure  51 ) may be fixed to a fixed value. For example, the background  52  may be scrolled at a fixed speed, and the lure  51  may only be moved in a crosswise direction of the lure window  50  according to the course change operation. A decreasing operation of the scrolling speed to a slower speed than a standard one may be provided. In stead of the change of the scrolling speed or in addition to the above change, the lure  51  may be moved in a back and forth direction of the lure window  50  (a vertical direction of FIG. 6 and a crosswise direction in FIG.  8 ), according to the change operation of the retrieving speed for the input device  4 . 
     The increased amount of the appeal degree when the lure  51  passes on the mark  53 A may be a fixed amount, or may be changed according to the conditions. For example, when a number of lures  51 , more than a fixed value, pass on the mark  53 A, the increased amount of the appeal degree may be made larger than that of the usual case. The operation for the mark  53 B is performed in a similar manner to that of the mark  53 A. Pieces of suitable music may be reproduced as a BGM (background music) during guidance of the operation of the lure  51 , and the lure  51  may be operated according to a rhythm, using the lure window  50 . In addition, when the lure  51  passes on the mark  53 A, or when the appeal operation is appropriately performed according to passing on the mark  53 B, a sound effect may be generated, or some kinds of productions may be added to the image. 
     In the above fishing game, the hooking is permitted, and advantageous situations for the player are generated, when the appeal degree reaches the maximum value. However, if the appeal degree reaches within a fixed range from the maximum value, the hooking may be permitted, or, the higher appeal degree may be configured to causes the higher probability for catching fish. In addition, a specially big fish may be configured to be caught, only when the appeal degree reaches the maximum value, or a special technique for the character  31  to catch a fish may be provided. In short, the exactness of the player to the guidance of the lure operation may be evaluated in a form of the appeal degree or the obtained scores to change the game results according to the evaluation results. 
     As described above, according to the game system of the present invention as the fish distribution is detected on the gauge with each position within the detection range and each position on the gauge in correspondence with each other, the player may easily understand where and how many fishes are arranged. Therefore, in comparison with a conventional case to display only a group of fish, more pieces of information on the fish arrangement may be given to the player. 
     And, according to a storage medium of the present invention, the control device for the game system of the present invention may be realized by making a computer read and execute the programs stored in the above medium.