Patent ID: 7753785

Claim:
A game apparatus in which a virtual camera arranged in a three-dimensional game space is made to move to follow a target location determined by a location of a player character in the game space so that a behavior of the player character in the game space is displayed in a display as a game image, comprising: a computer processor; input-information obtaining programmed logic circuitry for obtaining input information input through a controller by a player at intervals of a predetermined number of frames in order to move said player character in said game space at a speed; location updating programmed logic circuitry for updating the location of said player character and said target location in said game space based on said input information at said intervals of said predetermined number of frames; difference length calculating programmed logic circuitry for calculating at said intervals of said predetermined number of frames a difference length between a predetermined reference distance and a distance between said location of said target location and a location of said virtual camera; virtual-camera-location updating programmed logic circuitry for updating at said intervals of said predetermined number of frames in order said location of said virtual camera in such a manner that said difference length calculated by said difference length calculating programmed logic circuitry is reduced by a predetermined ratio less than 1of the difference length calculated at the previous interval when said difference length exists if the difference length is less or equal than a predetermined maximum value, regardless of whether the speed of the player character in the game space increases or decreases, wherein said difference length is set at the predetermined maximum value when said difference length calculated at the previous interval exceeds the predetermined maximum value; and game-image generating programmed logic circuitry for generating the game image based on the updated location of said player character and location of said virtual camera.