| US 7,470,195 B1 | ||
| Camera control for third-person console video game | ||
| William A. Baldwin, III, Austin, Tex. (US); Tim V. Fields, Austin, Tex. (US); Erin D. Roberts, Austin, Tex. (US); and James R. J. York, Austin, Tex. (US) | ||
| Assigned to Microsoft Corporation, Redmond, Wash. (US) | ||
| Filed on Jan. 28, 2003, as Appl. No. 10/352,672. | ||
| Int. Cl. A63F 9/24 (2006.01) | ||
| U.S. Cl. 463—33 | 21 Claims |
| 1. In a third-person shooter video game, a method comprising:
presenting a scene from a first camera viewpoint remote from a character being controlled, wherein the character being controlled
is one of a squad of characters participating in the game and individually selectable for control, and wherein at least one
of the squad of characters not being directly controlled by a player performs one or more player-issued commands by way of
an artificial intelligence of the video game, wherein the one or more player-issued commands are determined from a range of
possible player-issued commands, and wherein one or more player-issued commands are depicted on a squad status display;
in response to occurrence of a predefined event, smoothly transitioning to present the scene from a second camera viewpoint
closer to the character being controlled; and
smoothly transitioning back to the first camera viewpoint after i) the predefined event ceases to exist and ii) a predefined
time delay lapses,
wherein the predefined event comprises:
(i) player-actuation of a controller that directs the character to fire a weapon;
(ii) placement of an aiming reticle over a target; or
(iii) movement of the character into a specified combat region.
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