Patent ID: 8556718

Claim:
A game machine including game control means for controlling, based on an operation input signal from input operation means operated by a player, a character to move along a path that is set in a virtual three-dimensional space, the path being formed by a plurality of paths that are set in parallel in the virtual three-dimensional space, the plurality of paths being further set to include portions from which the paths branch off or at which the paths meet, so as to increase or decrease the number of paths, the input operation means including a first input operation part for generating a normal movement input signal and a second input operation part for generating a special movement input signal, wherein the normal movement input signal includes an analog value for a direction of movement and an analog value for a movement amount of the character, and the special movement input signal includes an execution instruction for the special movement process; the game control means comprising: path information storing means for storing a position coordinate and a directional vector that are given to each point of a sequence of points arranged in each of the paths; character position coordinate storing means for calculating, based on the position coordinate and the directional vector stored in the path information storing means, a position coordinate of the character moving in one of the paths, and for storing the position coordinate; normal movement process means for moving the character along one of the paths based on the normal movement input signal; and, special movement process means for moving, based on the special movement input signal, a position of the character moving in the one path to a position coordinate in the virtual three-dimensional space of a path adjacent to the one path where the character is moving, while maintaining the current movement speed of the character, by referring to position coordinates of the sequence of points stored in the path information storing means.