The methods and apparatus herein generally relate to a targeting function for use in a video game environment. More specifically, the methods and apparatus herein relate to lock-on targeting of a primary target within a video game environment with the capability to freely select secondary targets.
There are often times in life when people aren't focused solely on a single object in their immediate field of view. The world is full of clutter and activity, but, fortunately, people are able to keep track of a multitude of objects at once. For example, when walking down the street, people must keep track of fixed objects and other pedestrians. Fortunately, once set in motion, feet generally move autonomously, and a person can direct more conscious attention at the world around them. A walker does not usually have to consciously will each foot to move forward, and direct his or her attention to the ground at all times to avoid obstacles.
Or, for example, if someone is following a friend in a car, in addition to keeping track of the leader, the follower must also be aware of surrounding traffic, traffic signals, and other potential hazards. In a competitive environment, such as, for example, basketball, a defensive player may need to focus on a player holding a ball, but maintain an awareness of the other offensive players as well, so that a quick pass does not result in an easy score. While maneuvering during driving and certain aspects of basketball defense may not be inherent autonomous abilities, they can, with practice, become such second nature that they seem that way.
While these examples all describe skills that people have, or can acquire, in real life, these same skills are often harder to replicate in a virtual world. The level and capabilities of technology can easily present a limiting factor to the experience available in a game. For example, vision ranges are often limited by display screens (e.g. size, resolution, etc.), and focal control is often limited by where a player has directed a game character's attention. Even with unlimited practice, a player may be constrained by a game's technology, since the game does not “learn” in the sense that a human does, and the player may not be able to achieve abilities beyond a certain level due to technological limitations.
As games, and the controllers for games, grow more sophisticated, however, greater degrees of freedom may be achievable, and new “abilities” may be learnable through practice. In effect, the games become more able to simulate skills that a person could learn (or already knows) in real life.
Many video games have been produced in 3D environments to give an added sense of depth and reality. Players can generally move with freedom within the environment, look around, and, for example, in action games, target and attack various objects. Often times the player is faced with a multitude of enemies at once, making rapid targeting and attacking a must-learn skill for a player. Of course, as the environment grows more complex (e.g. has additional obstacles, narrow halls, etc.) the player may have a harder time keeping track of targets. Additionally, even if the player focuses attention on a target to destroy, the player may desire to keep track of additional enemies so that the game character is not overwhelmed. Unlike real life, where eye shifts and head turns are an almost unconscious action allowing quick attention shifts, in video games, a new focal point (e.g. target) often needs to be selected or designated. Unfortunately, if the player decides to attack one of the additional enemies, the player then may have to relinquish aim at the originally selected target, and then reacquire the initial target once the additional enemy is destroyed. Since the enemies do not often sit idly by while the player does this, rapid switching between enemies can result in losing track of a primary enemy and result in the death or destruction of the game character.
The exemplary illustrative non-limiting implementations presented herein provide examples of an improved targeting system. According to an exemplary implementation, a player can select a target for the focus of a game character's attention. Once a game target is locked-on as a focus target, some movement of the game character, for example sideways movement, then becomes rotational movement around the target, keeping the focus target generally centered in the game character's field of view. In real life, however, even if a person were fixedly looking at one object and walking a circle around it, the person could still interact with and have decent awareness of surrounding objects (e.g. secondary targets). In accordance with this “human” ability, the exemplary illustrative non-limiting implementation allows the player to target secondary objects within the game, by, for example, moving a free-moving target reticle over those secondary targets. In this way, a player can automatically keep some attention focused on a main target (e.g. a game boss) and destroy secondary targets (e.g. non boss enemies, secondary boss portions, missiles, etc.) at the same time.
Another exemplary illustrative non-limiting implementation provides for augmentation or alteration of the targeting reticle when it passes over a targetable object. Since games are often created in fantastic and fictional environments, it may not always be clear to a player what needs to be shot or destroyed in a given scene. For example, it may be obvious that the giant robot in the room is the boss target (and thus it may be advisable to select this as a lock-on target), but it may not be apparent that the armor plating needs to be knocked off of the robot's legs, then the legs need to be disabled, and then the boss can be destroyed. Or perhaps the boss has secondary targets that don't need to be shot, but that can be destroyed for an easier fight. For example, maybe the boss has a radio antenna that allows him to “summon” secondary enemies. If destroyed, the secondary enemies will stop coming. While it may be possible to kill the boss without destroying the antenna, the fight may be easier if the secondary enemies are not present. Thus, a player may wish to destroy the antenna but not know that this is an option. And, since the antenna may take more than one shot to destroy, a test shot or two into an antenna may have limited or no visible results, thus discouraging a player from focusing attention on that target. Accordingly, in this illustrative exemplary non-limiting implementation, when the target reticle passes over one of these secondary targets of opportunity, the reticle is altered so that the player knows that he/she has targeted something worth shooting. This alteration may be, for example, a color change, a size change, a form change, or any other suitable modification.