FULL PICTORIAL ANIMATION VIDEO GAME

Abstract: A video game includes a video player unit (18) for playing a video record which contains full pictorial animation of incidents containing selection nodes; and game player controls, such as an action switch (22) and a joystick (20), are provided for choosing alternative courses of action at these selection nodes. Controls (see Figures 3, 4) are provided for switching the video player unit to a different section of the video record depending on the selection made by the player. Upon the selection of the preferred course of action, the video player unit (18) will continue the action without the necessity for jumping to a different portion of the video record; however, upon the selection of a less preferred, or a "death" choice, the video player unit will be controlled to shift to a portion of the video record showing the unhappy results of the poor selection. The system includes a microprocessor (50), a random access memory (58), and a ROM cartridge (60) bearing information coordinated with the video record, to determine the allowable timing intervals or "windows" for the actuation of the player selection controls, and to appropriately shift to the portion of the video record being selected.

Description: FULL PICTORIAL ANIMATION VIDEO GAME Field of the Invention. This invention relates to video games. Background of the Invention Up to the present time, most video games have been limited to symbols or rough figures barely indicating the nature of the object being portrayed. Thus, in the case of PACMAN, the principal character, or protagonist, is merely a specially colored circle, with a pie-shaped piece cut out of the circle to represent the mouth of the protagonist. Similarly, in the case of other video games, the space ships, the satellite, or the ships are merely represented schematically, rather than with full pictorial representation. Although, in some cases, background scenes have been more completely depicted, the action figures have again been shown in the form of symbols, rather than in full pictorial animated form. This use of symbols to represent the protagonist or other objects or things being displayed or used in the game, has limited the appeal of video games and has made them less interesting or attractive to many potential game players or customers. One of the reasons why symbols have been used, rather than full pictorial animation of the scenes which are involved, lies in the multiplicity of choices which are possible in many of the games, and the need to accommodate a virtually unlimited number of permutations and combinations of action and interaction by the symbolically related objects included within the game representation. From a practical standpoint, it was considered impractical or impossible to show all of these permutations and combinations in full pictorial animation form, and to make the video images available on the monitor screen at a sufficiently rapid rate to have an ■ Q V interesting game format. Accordingly, one object of the present invention is to provide a video game having full pictorial animation, and still include player participation on a real time basis, and concurrently have the full pictorial animation continue without significant interruption while suc¬ cessful play of the game continues. Summary of the Invention In accordance with the present invention, as viewed from one aspect, a video record is sensed by a video player unit and produces a picture on a video monitor, with the video record including a series of incidents containing selection nodes, with the selection nodes normally including a preferred selection at each node, and less preferred selection points, often resulting in disaster or "death" for the protagonist. Further, the system is organized so that, if the game player makes the correct or preferred selection, using switches which may De of "the conventional joystick and action switch type, the video player unit will continue to play the video record substantially without interruption; while if a less preferred solution, resulting in, for example, death or disaster to the protagonist is selected, the video player unit is controlled to switch to a suitable scene representing the results of the less preferred selection. This switching to a different portion of the video record occurs when the less preferred selection is made, and therefore does not interrupt the continuity of the game, which will not go forward without interruption in any event. Incidentally, the selection "nodes" as mentioned above may involve a choice by the "hero" or other principal in the full pictorial video display between three alternate paths, and the selection may be made by directing the "joystick" switch in the proper direction; OMP or the displayed pictorial situation may require the "hero" to jump to safety or other drastic action; and this selection at the proper time in the display may be done by depressing an action switch, or by moving the "joystick" in the proper direction, or both. From an apparatus standpoint, the video game equip¬ ment may include a video player unit such as a laser disc player, and a video record which may be in the form of a laser disc. Other forms of video player units and video records could also be employed. A memory, preferably in the form of a read only memory or ROM cartridge, is provided which matches the laser disc, and which provides information to a microprocessor system to implement the selection by the game player of the preferred, or other, courses of action at the selection node points throughout the incidents being displayed. On the video record there will normally be a large number of incidents, each one of which will include a number of selection nodes, as men¬ tioned above. At the end of each of these incidents, a series of scenes are provided which will represent the results of the less preferred selection at the nodes occurring during the particular incident. However, in the event that the game player selects the preferred courses of action by the energization of the proper control switches at the appropriate time, the incident will normally play straight through on the video record, without interruption, with the result of a high score for that particular incident for the game player. In accordance with another feature of the inven- tion, timing windows are established in coincidence with the video record being shown, and actuation of the control switches within these "windows" may be required, in order to make the preferred selection, by the game player. In accordance with another aspect of the invention, a video game includes a video record, a video monitor, a ^i ; __ joystick switching unit for actuation by a game player, and a video player for displaying selected alternate presentations on the video monitor in accordance with the actuation of the joystick switching unit. Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from a consideration of the following detailed description and from the accom¬ panying drawings. Brief Description of the Drawings Figure 1 is a front view of a video game apparatus illustrating the principles of the present invention; Figure 2 is a side cross-sectional view of the game unit of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a block diagram of a game system illustrating the principles of the present invention; Figures 4(a) through 4(d) together make up a schematic circuit diagram of a major portion of the system of Figure 3; Figures 5, 6 and 7 are program diagrams indicating the mode of operation of the system of Figures 3 and 4; Figure 8 is a schematic showing of a "RAM Map", indicating one possible arrangement of information stored in the Random Access Memory; Figures 9, 10 and 11 are illustrations relating to one incident known as the "Fire Room Sequence", which may be recorded on a video record medium; Figures 12 and 13 relate to another incident known as the "Roller Ball Sequence", which relate to the character shown in Figs. 9 through 11, and which would be included in another incident located on the video record; Figure 14 involves still another incident, referenced as the "Elevator Sequence" where the same character is in another adventure incident; and Figure 15 is a "node map" indicating graphically the results of alternate selections by the game player at selection node points. Detailed Description Referring more particularly to the drawings, Figures 1 and 2 show an arcade version of a video game illustrating the principles of the present invention, with Fig. 1 being the front view, and Fig. 2 being a cross-sectional side view. The unit includes an outer housing 12 with a removable rear panel 14. The video 10 monitor 16 receives full pictorial video picture information from the video disc player 18. Controls for the game player include the joystick 20 and alternate parallel connected action buttons 22 for the convenience of right and left-handed players. Switch buttons 24 and ,e 26 relate to game modes where one player or two players, respectively, are playing the game. The electronic hardware is indicated schematically by the block 28 in Figure 2. Stereo speakers 30 provide sound effects both from the video disc player 18, and Q also from a sound generation chip which is included in the electronic hardware unit 28. A light emitting diode display board 32 may include information such as the score, the number of coin credits, and the number of "lives" which are remaining 5 for the game player, during each turn. A display panel 34 may be illuminated by a fluorescent light 36. An additional fluorescent light 38 may be provided to illuminate the inside of the cabinet and the control panel 40. 0 coin box 42 includes slots 44 for receiving coins, and coin return openings 46. Also shown in Figure 2 is the power supply 48 for the video game. Referring now to Figure 3 of the drawings, which is a block circuit diagram of the system, three units which 5 were mentioned above in connection with Figures 1 and 2, were the laser disc player 18, the color monitor 16, and the "keyboard" 40. Also shown in Figure- 3 is the light- emitting diode display in which one digital display element 32 is shown. With regard to the overall configuration of the block diagram of Figure 3, the system is operated under the active control of microprocessor 50 which is connected to all of the major components of the system by the data bus 52 and the address bus 54. As is normal in this type of system, the transfer of data on the data bus 52 is under the control of the address bus 54 which selectively gates the information or data to the appropriate component. The address decoding circuit 56 energizes gates associated with the individual components, such as the random access memory or RAM 58, the ROM, or read only memory cartridge 60, the executive or control ROM 62, the sound generator 64, the laser disc player 18, the display decoder/driver circuitry 66, the buffer 68 associated with keyboard 40, and the security circuitry 70, to be discussed in greater detail hereinbelow. Additional circuits included in Figure 2 are the clock circuit 72 which provides the master timing for the system, a number of buffers for holding data, the switch circuits 74 which selects options to be employed with the game, the audio amplifiers 76 for driving speakers 30, and the summing circuits 78 which combine the sound from the stereo tracks of the laser disc and the sounds generated by sound generator 64. Now, prior to going into the detailed circuit diagram and the programs, one incident of the type recorded on the laser disc will be considered by reference to Figures 9, 10 and 11. Referring to Figure 9, one incident which will include a series of selection points or selection "nodes" will be shown. The initial scene is set in Figure 9, with our protagonist, or hero, who we may call "Dirk", designated by reference numeral 102, standing on a platform or slab 104 which is sliding into the wall and threatens to drop him into the fiery pit below, momentarily. At the far side of the cavern is another platform 106 with an open door from which our hero may escape. Hanging from the ceiling of the cavern are three swinging ropes 108, 110 and 112, and these ropes are afire and gradually burning up. As fiery rope 108 swings toward the protagonist 102, the game player must press the action button 22 and/or the joystick 20 in the right-hand direction, and this will cause our hero 102 to swing outwardly in the eventual direction of safety represented by the platform 106. Figure 10 shows our hero 102 negotiating the transition from rope 110 to rope 112, en route to safety on the platform 106. In each case, the game player must operate the keyboard 40 at precisely the right time, when the ropes swing over close to the platform, or as the ropes swing close together. Upon improper actuation of the controls 20 and 22 on the keyboard 40, or upon default of action our hero 102 will drop into the fiery pit, as indicated by Figure 11. As mentioned above, the laser disc or other video record will include a series of incidents such as that discussed above in connection with Figures 9, 10 and 11. In connection with each such incident, there is generally a preferred course of action to be accomplished by the game player, to operate the control switches at precisely the proper instant so that the hero will be successful in negotiating obstacles and avoiding threatening danger. Stored on the video disc toward the end of each incident are the results of unfortunate choices. One of these is indicated in Figure 11. For example, if no switches were energized at the initial stage, so that the hero 102 remained on the ledge 104 until it disappeared into the wall, then the laser disc player would be ordered to shift to the end of the incident where the scene shown in Figure 11 is recorded in full pictorial animation; and to display this scene. Because it takes a short amount of time to shift from one location on a laser disc to another, following the improper action or the default action by the game player, there would be a slight pause until the laser disc player showed the result of the improper decision or the lack of decision. However, this type of delay only occurs as part of the close of an incident, and therefore does not interfere with the continuous play when correct selections are made. it may also be noted that the incidents being portrayed include physical or other constraints which severely limit the options available to the protagonist. Thus, unlike the situation in the PAC MAN or similar maze - chase games, the hero 102 in Figure 9 does not have many options. He can stand there until the ledge 104 disappears at which point he will drop into the fiery pit, or he can jump and grab one of the swinging ropes and negotiate his way across the cavern swinging from rope to rope. In each case failure to make the transition by pressing the action switch, or to actuate the joystick, in the proper time "window" will result in the same unfortunate result as pictured in Figure 11. With these physical constraints, the laser disc player will continue to play along through the proper sequence without having to jump from place to place on the laser disc, when the game player makes the correct decisions. It is only when a nonpreferred or fatal decision is made that the laser disc player must jump to a different point on the laser disc record, where the result of the undesired selection is portrayed. As will be discussed in greater detail below, each player may be allocated several "lives", perhaps three lives for each player of the game, so that our hero would come back to life starting at the beginning of the incident where the fatal accident occurred, thereby permitting the game player to learn from his past "^ ? mistake. It is again noted that there would normally be a very slight delay in shifting to a different portion of the program on the laser disc. However, because the result will be negative, and will terminate the particular incident, the delay does not adversely affect game play. We will now return to a detailed consideration of the electrical circuit diagram, shifting to Figure 4, from the overall block diagram of Figure 3, and we will then consider some of the critical programs which are employed to implement the "window" selection functions which occur in the course of game play. Referring to Figure 4, the connector 122 connects to the laser disc player (not shown); the connector 124 connects to the keyboard (not shown); and the connector 126 connects to the ROM cartridge (not shown) which is configured for compatibility with and control of the game as depicted on the particular video disc being played. The microprocessor 50 which appears at the upper left in Figure 4 is designated Z-80, and may be purchased from Zilog, a well-known manufacturer of microprocessors. The clock circuit 72 is implemented by a conventional crystal oscillator circuit arrangement. At the output from the microprocessor 50 are a pair of buffer drivers 128 and 130, and a bi-directional buffer driver circuit 132 for data. The circuits 134 and 136 are "EPROM" circuits, or "Erasable Programmable Read Only Memories". These two circuits include system control software but do not include the tables and other detailed information relating to the particular game being played, and corresponding to the laser disc being used. Such information is included in the ROM cartridge 60 (see Fig. 3) which is plugged into the connector 126. Circuit 138 is an address decoder. The binary signals appearing on the four leads 140 are translated into individual signals appearing on 16 output leads from the circuit 138. The address decoder circuits 142 and 144 convert the three bit binary input signals on-bus 146 into gating or control signals appearing on any of the eight output leads from these circuits. The sound generator chip 148 may be made by General Instruments Company and is designated by Part No. AY3-8910. Signals from the chip 148 are supplied on leads 150 and 152 in parallel to the audio amplifier circuits 76. The connectors 154 couple the output from the audio amplifiers 76 to the speakers 30, see Figures 2 and 3. As mentioned above, signals from the joystick 20 and the switches buttons 22, as well as signals from the player keys 24 and 26 and indications of the deposit of coins, are coupled to the connector 124. The buffer circuits 156 hold this information for periodic sensing by the microprocessor. More particularly and as will be discussed below, every 30 milliseconds, the status of all of the input switches is sensed, and any change in state is noted and appropriate action taken by the microprocessor 50. Thus, for example, when the incident depicted in Figures 9 through 11 is initiated, there will be a transfer of the related information from the ROM cartridge 60 (see Figure 3) into the random access memory 58. Certain timing windows will be established, during which the hero or the protagonist must take certain steps. For specific example, there is a certain predetermined starting and a predetermined closing time, when the rope 108 of Figure 9 is swinging in toward the retreating platform 104, when our hero 102 must jump and grab the rope 108 to start his perilous trip across the cavern. Let us presume for the moment that this is a window which extends from one second to two seconds from the start of the incident. If he tries to jump before one second has elapsed, the rope will be too far away and he will have missed it, while if he waits until after the two second time interval, it will be too .. 'ce, the rope will have swung away, and the retreating platform will dump him into the fiery chasm below. To implement this function, the ROM cartridge 60 (Figure 3) will transfer to the RAM 58, numbers representing the opening and the closing of the "window" which runs from one second to two seconds. In addition to the sensing of all of the input switches every 30 milliseconds, and this would include a sensing of the state of the action keys 22 and the joystick 20, the numbers representing the start and the closure of the windows in RAM 58 are reduced by 30 milliseconds on each occurrence of this interrupt signal. Accordingly, when the first number representing the opening of the window has been reduced to zero, the window is opened, and then upon the reduction of the number representing the second window to zero, the window will be closed. If an appropriate action has been taken by the game player by the energization of switch 22 and/or joystick 20, during this time window, then the microcomputer 50 will instruct the laser disc player to continue with the incident; however, if an incorrect action has been taken, or if by default, no action was taken while the window was open, then the microprocessor 50 will instruct the laser disc player to jump to the appropriate section on the laser disc normally located at the end -of the particular incident which would reflect the result of the undesired action, for example, as shown in Figure 11 of the present drawings. As mentioned above, the connector 122 links the system shown in Figure 4 to the video disc player. For completeness, it might be mentioned that the video disc player may be player type number PR-7820, made by Pioneer Video, Inc., 200 West Grand Avenue, Montvale, New Jersey 07645. The video disc contains up to 54,000 still frames or pictures per side. Instructions which " may be digitally transmitted to the video disc player include (1) search, (2) play, and (3) freeze frame. In addition, when instructions are given to search, a digital identification of the location on the disc must be provided. The foregoing information is provided by the circuit of Figure 4 at connector 122. The latch 162 stores the instructions provided from microcomputer 50 on the data bus 52 to the buffer 164. The laser disc player also provides a "ready" signal on lead 165 to buffer 156 when, for example, the laser disc player has searched and located a particular frame on the laser disc and is ready to play starting at that point, or to display the single frame at that location. Concerning another aspect of the circuit, the security microprocessor 166 is a special circuit, Part NO. MC68705P5 available from Motorola. It includes erasable programmable read-only memory, and random access memory, EPROM and RAM, respectively, as well as a microprocessor. The chip is arranged in such a manner that the read only memory included in the chip cannot be read out by any known technique. The security microprocessor chip 166 serves to prevent the use of unauthorized ROM cartridges for other games, for example, which might be substituted at electrical connector 126. The internal programming of the security chip 166 must match and be synchronized with the programming of the cartridge plugged into connector 126, or the output from the security chip 166 will interfere with the programming of the system and prevent its operation. This is accomplished through the buffer drivers 168 which are coupled to the data bus 52, and to the counters 170 and buffers 172 which are connected to the address bus as indicated by reference numeral 54' at the output from the buffers 172. The buffer 174 provides control signals from the microprocessor 50 to other circuits in the system. Specifically, attention is directed to the read lead 176 and the write lead 178, the energization of which control the transmission of data from the microprocessor 50 or to the microprocessor 50, respectively. Concerning the sound generator chip 148, it is quite flexible in that it includes three tone generators, a noise generator, and variable amplitude arrangements. In accordance with the data signals provided on the data bus 52, therefore, it produces simple tunes or chords, when coins are dropped, when the score is incremented, or 10 at other desired points in the course of the game play. The mode of operation and the control of the system of Figures 3 and 4 will now be considered in connection with the sequence diagrams of Figures 5, 6 and 7. Figure 5 essentially shows the steps relative to 1 c ■ * • -' the start-up of the program, the receipt of coins, and the determination of whether one or two players will be playing the game. The machine is initially in a demonstration or an "attract" mode when it is sitting in place, and no coins have been inserted. Thus, with 0 reference to Figure 5, following, a starting point indicated by block 202, the first step is to clear the random access memory or RAM 58. The next step is to load the random access memory 58 with information on the demonstration or "attract" mode, its location on the 5 laser disc, and the like, and this is indicated by block 206. The designation "NODE HANDLE" which appears in block 208 refers to the normal timing of decision nodes and indicates how long the node will last, and in the present case, how long the demonstration or attract 0 sequence will last. Following the completion of the demonstration or attract mode sequence, the decision point represented by the diamond 210 is reached, and a determination is made as to whether a player has inserted money so that there is a credit. For example, if it 5 costs 50 cents to play the game, two quarters must have been received to provide a single credit, or credit which ■ £, j.-'. a . QO~;.?.PPII is greater than zero. If a credit greater than zero is present, then a first message, designated "Message No. 1" will appear on the video screen. However, if no one has inserted coins or has a residual credit, then the program will cycle as indicated by the line 212 and the demonstration or attract mode will be repeated. It is also noted that the entire system is interrupted every 30 milliseconds to sample the status of the various input switches. One of these inputs will be the presence of a credit. Accordingly, even during the demonstration mode, if coins are received, then the demonstration mode will be interrupted, and the still frame giving the message "Press Player 1" will appear on the video monitor, as indicated by the block 214. This still frame reading "Press Player 1" refers to the upper one of the two switches 24 as shown in Figure 1. The still frame with this message may appear at the beginning or close to the beginning of the laser disc, and instructions are supplied from the RAM 58 to the laser disc player to display this particular frame. The next step will be to determine how many credits are available and correspondingly to determine whether a single player has deposited enough money to give him several credits, or whether two separate players wish to play against one another so that there will be two players engaged in the game. This is accomplished in the next steps of the program of Figure 5. Thus, the diamond 216 inquires as to whether there is more than one credit. If so, the next decision point is represented by diamond 218 inquiring as to whether the push button switch 26 indicating "two players" has been depressed. If the answer is in the affirmative, the result is to set up for two players, as indicated by block 220. If the "two players" switch 26 has not been depressed, the next control step brings us to diamond 222 inquiring whether the switch representing one player has been depressed. If the answer is yes, then the machine sets up to handle a single player as indicated by block 224. However, if the switch representing a single player has not been depressed, the next step takes us to decision 226 which again inquires as to whether or not there is more than one credit available, and if the answer to this question is affirmative, diamond 228 inquires as to whether the register in the random access memory indicating that the second message, Message No. 2 is on. Incidentally, this second message is another still frame which reads : "Select 1 or 2 Players". If this particular second message is not on, then block 230 indicates that it will be placed on the video monitor screen. However, if it is already in place, the program recycles along line 232 to the diamond 216. This cycle continues until a player pushes either the one player or the two player button and then the game sets up in a mode for either the one or two players and shifts to the player selection point indicated at reference numeral 234 in Figure 5. Incidentally, attention is also directed to the RAM map of Figure 8. This RAM map indicates some of the critical information which is stored in the random access memory 58 which appears in Figures 3 and 4 of the drawings. The RAM map includes a number of address locations which are indicated by the X and Y coordinates of the map appearing at the top and at the right-hand side of the map of Figure 8. Thus, the X coordinates extend from 0 through 9, and then shift to the letters A through F. The Y coordinates start with 00 and go successively to 10, 20, 30, and 40. In the designation of RAM map locations, this will be accomplished by specifying the X and the Y coordinates of particular bytes of information stored in the RAM memory. Thus, summary information on the status of player 1 appears in the memory locations 0/00 through 3/0O. The first of these memory locations 0/00 designates the episode which Player No. 1 has reached; the second of these memory slots, 1/00 indicates the number of lives which Player No. 1 has remaining. Thus, for example, each player might initially be allocated three lives, and if Player No. 1 has exhausted two of these three lives, the number "1" would be stored in address location 1/00. Similarly, in address locations 2/00 and 3/00, the total score for Player No. 1 up to the point in time which is involved, will be registered. Similarly, the corresponding information for Player No. 2 will be recorded regularly in the RAM addresses 4/00 through 7/00. Certain system "flags" or designations of the status of the system will be included in RAM storage location 8/00. These system flags would include the following: 1. A single bit indicating whether it is the turn of Player No. 1 or Player ' No. 2. 2. A bit indicating whether sound was or is being generated at the particular point in time. 3. This flag indicates whether "Message No. 2" is being displayed or not. 4. This bit indicates that the laser disc player has been instructed to start playing. 5. This bit indicates whether a still frame, such as Message No. 1 or Message No. 2 is being displayed. 6. This bit indicates whether the laser disc is playing or not. The RAM map and other entries in it will be considered in greater detail below; however, for the present, consideration will be given to figure 6 which includes the next steps in the control sequence. In Figure 6, it may be noted that point 234 at the top of Figure 6 is the ending point for the previous control sequence diagram of Figure 5. The first diamond 236 inquires as to whether it is the turn of Player No. 1 or No. 2, and determines the answer by examining the f " __» ^- lJ first "turn" bit of the system flags whiώh are stored in the RAM at address location 8/00, as mentioned hereinabove. If Player No. 1 is indicated, the sequence proceeds to the diamond 238 where the inquiry is made as to whether Player No. 1 is active. This is determined by checking storage register location 1/00 to see if player 1 has any remaining lives. If the answer to this inquiry is negative, the sequence shifts to diamond 240 to determine if player 2 is active, by reference to storage location 5/00 to see if player 2 has any remaining lives. On the other hand, if Player No. 1 is still active, the next step is indicated by the block 242, designated "load episode output, send score". Now, this step involves the information stored in registers 0/00 of the RAM map (see Fig. 8), in which the episode which Player No. 1 has reached is stored. Thus, if on the previous turn, Player No. 1 died in episode No. 4, episode 4 would be stored in RAM register 0/00, and this information will be transferred to register E/OO in the RAM which indicates the episode which is being played or which is about to be played. The next step is indicated by block 244, and this involves loading the RAM registers from the ROM cartridge. This is done on a node-by-node basis, and the first node information for episode No. 4 would initially be entered into the RAM 58. Typical information which would be included appears in RAM locations C-40 through F-40. These are the times when various "windows" are open, within which decisions must be made by the game player to actuate the joystick and/or the action push button switch. The next step or steps is indicated by block 246 designated "node handler". To divert from Figure 6, it may be recalled that we have discussed the "episode" of Figures 9, 10 and 11 involving our hero successfully crossing from one side of a fiery cavern to the other, on swinging ropes. Now, in implementing each episode, it is divided into a series of ' "nodes" where at each node the hero has the opportunity to make a successful or preferred decision, and "play through" to reach the goal, which in the case of Figure 9 is the stable platform at the righthand side of the picture. This concept of episodes and nodes is shown diagrammatically in Figure 15, where the episode includes the entire showing of Figure 15, and where the points A, C, D, and E are "nodes" where the game player must make choices in order to successfully avoid "death" as indicated by the point B on the node map. It may be observed from Figure 15 that the protagonist may go to point B by action or inaction at any of nodes A, C, D or E. Thus, as shown in Figure 9, if he fails to press the action button or to jump and catch the flaming rope 108 before the slab 104 slides out from under him and into the wall, our hero will go from node A to point B. This would involve the period of time which is entered into register C/40 in the RAM map of Figure 8. The time entered into this particular register will be the time that it takes for the moving slab 104 to retract into the wall. Every 30 milliseconds, the timing numbers included in the registers C/40 through F/40 will be decremented, so that they will reach 0 at certain predetermined times synchronized with the video display. Thus, if register C/40 has been decremented to 0, and the game player still has not depressed the action button to indicate a jump to the rope 108, the address of a death node, such as node B as shown in Figure 15 will become effective, where it has been stored in address locations 2/40. Note that the storage location 2/40 is designated "exit 0" to correspond with TIME/0 or T-0, stored in register C/40 of the RAM. In a similar manner, the starting and closing time points for switching from one of the swinging ropes to another, as indicated in Figure 10, for example, may be stored in registers E/40 and F/40; and if a proper signal has not been entered by the game plan, an appropriate exit register such as exit .2 or exit 3 in storage register 4/40 or 5/40 will be selected, and, with reference to the node map of Figure 15, the transition from point C or point D to the death point B will occur. In many cases, the same death node visual representation on the laser disc will be located and played, as indicated by Figure 11 of the present drawings; and the digital location on the video disc of the starting frame of the "death" sequence is stored in RAM locations 2/40 through 5140 as noted above. In some cases, however, alternate non-preferred "exit" presentations will be selected and displayed. Following node handling as discussed above in connection with step 246, the next diamond 248 asks whether the player is "dead" or not. If the character did not survive the particular node, we proceed to block 250, and the episode in which the non-preferred selection was made is stored in storage register 0/00 for Player No. 1 or in register 4/00 for Player No. 2. The next step as indicated by block 252 is to decrement the number stored in register 1/00, thereby reducing the number of lives left available for Player No. 1, or the number stored in register 5/00, for Player No. 2. In the event that the hero did not die, and the answer to the question raised by diamond 248 is "no", recirculation along path 254 occurs, and a new node is played for the benefit of the game player with the steps mentioned above in connection with blocks 244 and 246 being repeated for the next episode, but with new node handling information which has been shifted from the ROM cartridge 60 into the smaller capacity, faster access time RAM 58. The next inquiry as indicated by the diamond 256, in Fig. 6(b) is whether the number of lives for the player is equal to 0 at this point, or whether he still has some remaining lives. If the answer to this inquiry is "no", then path 258 is followed to block 260 and the -£ϋa_≡ turn bit included in register 8/00 is . flipped to its alternate state to indicate that it is Player No. 2's turn to play. The control sequence then proceeds to the player selector point 234 which is also the start of Figure 6(a). If the answer to the question of diamond 256 is "yes", then blocks 262 and 264 come into play, and they will show on the video screen previews of the next episode which was not attained by the player during his last play. Diamond 266 inquires as to whether all of the preview nodes have been displayed, and if not, the sequence reverts to blocks 262 and 264 to complete the preview sequence. Following completion, the block 267 indicates that the flag "on" bit is turned off. The short sequence diagram included to the right in Fig. 6-b is a carry-over from Fig. 6-a, with the arrow symbols including the numeral "3" indicating the link. The diamond inquires as to whether there is a credit greater than 1; and if not, switches to the demonstration node. If there is a credit greater than 0, the next step is to the diamond 271 to determine if the credit is greater than 1; and a selection between the nodes involving one or two players, as discussed in detail in connection with FiQ. 5, is initiated. Figure 7 relates to the periodic interrupting of the normal programming cycle to accomplish a number of routine matters, which must be regularly handled. Specifically, every 30 milliseconds, when the interrupt occurs, the timing registers, such as registers C/40 throu F/40 are decremented, and all of the manually actuatable switches are sensed. In addition, of course, the status of the coin selection switches are sensed. The foregoing functions are indicated in Figure 7 by the initial interrupt point 272 and a sensing of the input buffer 68 from the keyboard, as indicated by block 274. Information as to the status of the switches in the keyboard is stored in location A/10 of the RAM map, as indicated by block 276 in Figure 7. Checking of the coin input switches is indicated by block 278 and the coin register, and the coin and credit locations in the RAM are locations 9/10 and 9/00, respectively. For example, if two coins are required to obtain one credit, different numbers will be stored in these two registers. The diamond 280 asks the question as to whether a coin has been deposited. A "yes" answer increments the coin register as indicated by block 282 and activates the generation of a tone from the sound system as indicated by block 234. In the event that no coin has been deposited, and there is a negative answer to diamond 280, the blocks 282 and 284 are by-passed and the next inquiry is whether there is a pending "window" with times set forth in the RAM map, as indicated by the diamond 286. An affirmative answer to this inquiry leads to the diamond 287 which asks if the timer has already has been decremented to 0. If not, block 288 indicates the step of decrementing the stored time, for example, in registers C/40 through F/40 toward 0. Of course, if the timer is already at 0, no decrementing step is needed, as indicated by the path 290. Block 292 indicates that repeated action is then taken with any additional timing numbers stored in registers D/40, E/40 or F/40, by way of example. Diamond 294 asks the question as to whether all of the timers have- been decremented, and if the answer is "yes", the control shifts to diamond 296. However, in the event that all of the timers have not been decremented, the recirculation step 298 is indicated. The timing information for the node being played by the laser disc player is stored in RAM locations E/60 and F/60. Diamond 296 indicates the inquiry "mode timer equals 0?" A negative answer will cause the timing information stored in the RAM map to be decremented, as indicated by block 299. However, if the mode timer is already at 0, the path 300 is followed. The next step in the interrupt cycle is to decrement the sound timer, and this step is indicated by block 302. The sound information for the particular node is included in RAM storage locations C/10 through F/10 with the timing information being located in register F/10. This timing information determines the length of the sound which is addressed by the information stored in RAM registers D/10 and E/10. The timing information in register F/10 is decremented once each 30 milliseconds by the interrupt cycle, and when the timing is decremented to 0, the sound will be turned off. The final step indicated in Fig. 7 by oval 305 is to implement the "sound service", or to energize circuit 148 to generate the appropriate sounds as ordered by microprocessor 50. As an optional feature, the game player may be permitted a brief pause, implemented in some nodes by pulling back on the joystick 20, and the timing at such a pause is controlled by a timing number stored in RAM map location E/30 or F/30. The block 304 decrements the time included in this register, and thus ends the pause after a fraction of a second or so. Incidentally, with reference to Fig. 8, the timer for successive nodes is included in RAM locations E/60 and F/60. The identification of the episode under presentation is included in memory location 2/60, and an identification of the "default" exit sequence location on the video record is set forth in RAM location 1/60. Now that the circuit diagram has been reviewed, and the principal points of the control steps have also been considered, the nature of the episodes which are included in the game will be further developed. On a general basis, as we have seen in Figures 9, 10 and 11, the full pictorial animation video presentation introduces certain constraints and limitations as to the type of action which may be taken by the protagonist, thereby limiting the necessary presentations which must be provided by the laser disc. Thus, in the case of the episode shown in Figures 9 through. 11, the only options for successful transit across the fiery cavern, are to jump and catch the rope on a timely basis, and then change from rope to rope in crossing to the safety of the far side of the cavern. We will now consider the framework of one or two additional episodes to indicate how similar physical constraints are employed to limit the choices available at the node points. Figures 12 and 13 represent the so-called "roller ball" episode in which our hero 402 finds himself in a trough 404 and is faced with a problem of dodging a number of gigantic balls or boulders 406. Some of these balls 406 may be rolling back and forth across the channel, while at least one of the large balls or boulders 406 may be rushing down toward our hero 402. A recess 408 in the wall of the channel 404 may provide a haven for our hero, if he is able to dodge the boulders and make it safely to this recess 408. Failure to properly actuate the joystick and the action button to avoid the boulders results in disaster, as indicated by Figure 13. However, the matter of utilizing the channel 404 to physically limit the alternative movements which are possible for the protagonist 402 is similar to the physical constraints imposed in the fiery cavern of Figures 9 through 11. Similarly, in Figure 14, our hero 412 is on a vertically moving platform 414 which is similar in its movement to that of an elevator. As indicated toward the upper part of Figure 14, at one point in its vertical movement, the platform 414 stops or moves slowly adjacent a matching stationary platform 416, and our hero 412 must move quickly to cross over to the stationary platform 416 in order to avoid disaster which will overtake him if he stays on the elevator platform 414. Again, by the physical constraints imposed in the presentation, the choices are severely limited, so that there is no problem with arranging for video presentations of innumerable alternative possibilities. Now, referring again to the node map of Figure 15, it may be observed that there is a "play-through" mode indicated by the direct path from A to C to D to E to G, whereby the game player and the protagonist in the video presentation safely progresses through the episode by making the correct choices with the joystick and action pushbutton switch which are provided for control. However, in the event of making a non-preferred or erroneous selection, the "play-through" mode is aborted, and the video disc is switched to a "death" scene, and the game player is appropriately penalized by not receiving a good score for successfully traversing the episode. It is again noted that one significant aspect of the present game involves the use of full pictorial animation, implemented by the use of a video record member and a video record player, limited times within which to make physical selections of the course of the action being displayed; and then automatic switching to display portions of the video record indicating the results of the selection choices. This use of full pictorial animation is in contrast to the symbolic representation characteristic of most prior video games. In closing, it is to be understood that the fore¬ going detailed description and the accompanying drawings illustrate one preferred embodiment of the invention. Variations in the implementation of the invention could be accomplished, through the use of a different form of video player and video record member, and by the use of different logical design arrangements. By way of speci¬ fic example, instead of supplying most of the control information from a ROM cartridge matched to the parti¬ cular video record, some or all of the special control information supplied to the system electronics may be provided from digital information stored on the video record, which digital information would be read from the video record and not displayed on the monitor. Accord¬ ingly, the present invention is not limited to that described in detail hereinabove and shown in the drawings.

Claims: 1. A full animation pictorial display video game apparatus comprising: video record means for recording a full animation pictorial presentation of a series of incidents each including selection node points requiring or demanding a selection between alternative possible preferred and less desirable courses of action, to be taken during pre¬ determined time intervals, and said video record means including alternate presentations resulting from selection choices; programmable video record player means for picking up video signals from selected sections of said video record means under program control; a video monitor for displaying representqtions of the video signals picked up by said video player means; switching means operable by a game player for selecting between said alternative courses of action displayed by said video monitor; means for continuing the video display without intarruption in the event the preferred selection is accomplished in a timely manner by the game player; means for switching the video display to an alternate presentation at a different point on said video record means in the event a less desirable course of action is selected or if the preferred course of action is not selected within a predetermined time "window"; and means for counting the number of times when the game player fails to take the preferred switching action during the allotted time upon the occurrence of selection node points. 2. A full animation pictorial display video game apparatus as defined in claim 1 further comprising: read-only memory means including recorded node selection time intervals for each of a plurality incidents recorded on said video record means; random access memory (RAM) means; and means for successively transferring from said read only memory means to said RAM means the mode selection time interval data, for use concurrently with the display of the corresponding incidents on the video monitor. 3. A full animation pictorial display video game apparatus as defined in claim 1 further comprising at least one audio output speaker; means for applying audio signals from said video record to said speaker; a sound generation electronic circuit; and means for supplying audio signals generated by said electronic circuit to said speaker. 4. A full animation pictorial display video game apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said video record means is a laser disc. 5. A full animation pictorial display video game apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said video record is a video disc. 6. A full animation pictoriml display video game apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said RAM cartridge includes "exit" information relative to the location of each said alternate presentation on said video record means for each i ncident, and means are provided for transferring this exit information to said RAM for successive incidents as they are about to be presented to the game player. 7. A full animation pictorial display video game apparatus as defined in claim 1 further including means for allocating a player a plurality of "lives" for his turn of play; means for storing the player's number of remaining "lives" in said RAM means; and means for decrementing the number of remaining "lives" whenever the game-player makes a non-preferredchoice, or defaults in actuating the switching means to result in a nonpreferred choice. 8. A full animation pictorial display video game apparatus as defined in claim 1 further including means for storing in said RAM means numbers representing the starting and ending times for predetermined time "windows" within which said switching means should be actuated; and means for periodically changing the stored numbers by fixed amounts to establish the beginning and ending of the time "window" within which the switching action should occur. 9. A full animation pictorial display video game apparatus as defined in claim 8 wherein means are provided for periodically decrementing the stored numbers to zero. 10. A gaming method for the control of the display of images from a video record wherein the video record includes a series of related incidents each including selection node points requiring switching selection action by a person playing the game and including a preferred course of action recorded continuously on the video record, and also including at the end of successive incidents, a representation of the results of less preferred courses of action which may be selected by the player, the method comprising: displaying to the player a full pictorial animated presentation of a protagonist encountering a decision node point where the player must make a timely choice by energizing one or more switching controls; responding to the choice selected by the game player by continuing the full display from the video record without interruption in the event the preferred choice is made; and jumping to the alternate negative displays on the video record in the event one of the less preferred choices is made by the game player. 11. A gaming method as defined in claim 10 wherein said system includes a random access memory, and a read only memory containing selection information synchronized 10 with the incidents stored on said video record, and including the additional step of shifting information from said ROM cartridge to said random access memory successively, for successive incidents displayed from said video record, and controlling the locations on said ιg video record being read and displayed, in accordance with information transferred to said random access memory, in combination with the game player's timely switching selections. 0 12. A real time, full pictorial image animated video game apparatus comprising: a video record including full piccorial animated sequences having choice nodes for directing a game character, and also including disaster sequences for use 5 when incorrect choices are made; a video record player; a video monitor; control means for causing said video record player to play any desired segment of said video record and to 0 display the selected segment on said video monitor; joystick and action switch controls for actuation by a game player; storage and control means for enabling switching action by said switch controls during predetermined 5 intervals while said video record player is actively displaying pictorial images read from the video record, . on said monitor; means responsive to timely actuation of said switch controls made by the game player or failure to act at choice nodes, while the video presentation is under way, for selectively switching said player to a disaster sequence on said video record when the preferred switching action does not take place, or for continuing the currently active display sequence; and means for terminating the game play following a predetermined number of incorrect choices. 13. A full animation pictorial display video game apparatus as defined in claim 12 further comprising at least one audio output speaker; means for applying audio signals from said video record to said speaker; a sound generation electronic circuit; and means for supplying audio signals generated by said electronic circuit to said speaker. 14. A full animation pictorial display video game apparatus as defined in claim 12 wherein said video record is a laser disc. 15. A full animation pictorial display video game apparatus as defined in claim 12 wherein said video record is a video disc. 16. A video game comprising: video record means containing a full pictorial animated presentation of a series of incidents containing selection nodes requiring a choice between alternate preferred and undesired physical courses of action, and said video record means also containing alternate full pictorial animated presentation sections resulting from alternate choices made by the game player at said selection nodes; means including a video player for displaying a full pictorial animation presentation from said video record means; switch means under control of a game player for selecting a physical course of action when said selection nodes occur in the video presentation; means under the control of said switch means for causing the video player means to display a selected alternate presentation section from said video record, depending on the selection action taken by the game player; and means for terminating the game display following failure of making a predetermined number of correct choices at said selection nodes. 17. In a video game, a video record, a video monitor, video player means for displaying on the monitor incidents recorded on said video record; joystick switching means; and means for controlling the portion of said video record being displayed in accordance with the actuation of said joystick. 18. A video game as defined in claim 17 wherein said controlling means includes a RAM, and a ROM, and means are provided for successively transferring increments of digital information relating to the video record from said ROM to said RAM. 19. A full animation pictorial display video game apparatus as defined in claim 17 further comprising at least one audio output speaker; means for applying audio signals from said video record to said speaker; a sound generation electronic circuit; and means for supplying SUBSTITUTE SHEET audio signals generated by said electronic circuit to said speaker. 20. A full animation pictorial display video game apparatus as defined in claim 17 wherein said video record is a video disc. 21. A full animation pictorial display video game apparatus as defined in claim 1 for an arcade game, including means for receiving at least one coin to initiate game play. 22. A full animation pictorial display video game apparatus comprising: video record means for storing a series of frames constituting a full animation pictorial presentation of a series of incidents each including selection node points requiring or demanding a selection between alternative possible preferred and less desirable "death mode" courses of action, to be taken during predetermined time intervals, and said video record means including alternate presentations resulting from selection choices, each of the frames of the video record means having a unique identification member; programmable video record player means for picking up video signals from selected sections of said video record means under pro@ram control; a video monitor for displaying representations of the video signals picked up by said video player means; read only memory means (ROM) for storing data defining the start and ending of time "windows" relative to the selection node points; random access memory means (RAM) for receiving and storing data from said ROM relative to the start and termination of action time windows for sequences being displayed on said monitor; switching means including a joystick and an action switch operable by a game player for selecting between said alternative course of action displayed by said video monitor; means for continuing the video display without interruption in the event the preferred selection is accomplished in a timely manner by the game player; means for switching the video display to an alternate "death mode" presentation at a different point 10 on said video record means in the event a less desirable course of action is selected or if the preferred course of action is not selected within a predetermined time "window" stored in said RAM; said video record means including a plurality of "death" sequences, and control means for displaying the same death sequence following incorrect switch selection action by the game player at a number of different points in the video display; and means for counting the number of "deaths" scored by 20 a game player, and for terminating the game play when a predetermined number of "deaths" have occurred. 23. A realistic video game involving quick reflexes and hand-andeye coordination, and having a full • pc . . . . . . . ώJ animation pictorial display, comprising: video record means for storing a full animation pictorial presentation of a series of incidents involving a game character facing a series of rapidly changing situations demanding immediate direction or action by the 0 game player to guide the game character between a preferred course of action and a less desirable, or "death mode" course of action; programmable video record player means for deriving video signals from any desired section of said video 5 record means under program control; video monitor means for displaying the full CMP ~ animation pictorial presentation picked up by said record player means; switching means, including a joystick and an action switch, for the game player to direct action of the game character, and to thereby control the display through instructions given to the video record player means; and means for counting the number of non-preferred choices and failures to make required choices by the game player, and for terminating the game play when a predetermined number has been reached. 24. A full animation pictorial display video game apparatus as defined in claim 23 for an arcade game, including means for receiving at least one coin to initiate game play.

Inventors: DYER RICHARD A, DYER, RICHARD, A.
Applicants: BLUTH DONALD V, DYER RICHARD A, GOLDMAN GARY W, PIERCE JAMES, POMEROY JOHN F, STROUD THOMAS B JR, BLUTH, DONALD, V., DYER, RICHARD, A., GOLDMAN, GARY, W., PIERCE, JAMES, POMEROY, JOHN, F., STROUD, THOMAS, B., JR.
Application year: 1984
Main classification: G11B31
IPC codes: A63F13, G06F19