Summary:
U.S. Patent No. 5,390,937 (the '937 Patent) describes the active battle system found in games like Final Fantasy IV or Chrono Trigger. Traditionally, RPG's used a turn-based battle system, where each character has to wait for their turn to attack.  Turn order is based on who has the highest agility or speed stat. The active battle system, as described by the '937 Patent, scrapes the traditional turns for constant action. Player characters and enemies can attack at any time in an active battle system. A timer governs when each character may attack. The active battle system creates a dynamic feeling compared to the static nature of a turn-based system. Players must choose their next move wisely because of the unpredictable nature of when the next attack will occur.


Abstract:

Illustrative Claim:
1. In a video game apparatus in which a player character and an enemy character are displayed on a display screen of a display unit and the player character and enemy character carry out attacks on each other in accordance with an inputted action command or a predetermined action schedule, a method of controlling the video game apparatus comprising the steps of: clocking a time, which has been stipulated for each character, from the end of a previous action of a character; generating a signal for character when the time clocked in said clocking step is equal to or greater than a predetermined time assigned to that character; allowing, in response to said generated signal, input of an action command if the character is a player character, and processing in accordance with the inputted action command; and processing, in response to said generated signal, an action in accordance with the predetermined action schedule if the character is an enemy character.

Researched By: Andrew F. Thomas

Summary:
U.S. Patent No. 7,887,403 (the '403 Patent) describes an RPG battle system where player characters and enemies share magic points (MP). Traditionally, in an RPG every character is given their own MP. MP can be used for magic attacks that may have different effects than a standard attack. When a character no longer has any MP, that character may not cast any magic attacks. The '403 Patent describes a battle system where both sides share MP. Sharing MP could change a player's strategy in battle. Typically, players try to maintain their MP so their characters can keep performing magic attacks. With shared MP, a player may find it more beneficial in some situations to entirely drain the MP so an enemy character cannot cast any magic attacks of their own.


Abstract:
In a game system, a PC control unit controls an attack on an enemy character by a player's character. An enemy character control unit controls an attack on the player's character by the enemy character. An MP management unit stores, in an MP storage, a current value of a magic point indicative of the power required for a magic attack and manages an increase and decrease in the current value of the magic point. The magic point stored in the MP storage is used commonly by the player's character and the enemy character. When the player's character attacks the enemy character and the enemy character attacks the player's character, the MP management unit subtracts a value required for the attack, from the current value of the magic point.

Illustrative Claim:
6. A game system comprising: a player's character control unit which controls an action of a player's character in a battle between the player's character and an enemy character; an enemy character control unit which controls an action of the enemy character in the battle; and a first point management unit which stores, in a first point storage, a current value of a first point indicative of a power required for achieving a specific ability in the battle and which manages an increase and decrease in the current value of the first point; and a second point management unit which stores, in a second point storage, a current value of a second point indicative of a vitality of the player's character and the enemy character and manages an increase and decrease in the current value of the second point, wherein when one character attacks on the other character, said second point management unit subtracts a predetermined value, as a damage caused by the attack, from the current value of the second point, said first point management unit adds a value calculated according to the damage caused by the attack, to the current value of the first point, the first point stored in the first point storage is shared by the player's character and the enemy character, and wherein when the player's character exercises the specific ability or the enemy character exercises the specific ability, said first point management unit subtracts a value required for the exercise of the specific ability, from the current value of the first point; and wherein when an action has been executed by a first character and thereafter the first character is attacked by a second character during a time duration until the action by the first character is completed, said first program code module which controls the action of the player's character and said second program code module which controls the action of the enemy character cancel the action by the first character and when the first point in the first point storage has been reduced by the action by the first character, said first program code module which controls the action of the player's character and said second program code module which controls the action of the enemy character restore the value by adding an value equivalent to the amount subtracted.


Researched By: Andrew F. Thomas

U.S. Patent No. 6,299,535 (the '535 Patent) describes a method for creating branching storylines in an RPG. The storylines are tied to characters in the game and happen separately from the player's character. A classic example of this the '535 Patent is recruiting secret characters in an RPG. A player must meet certain in-game conditions to add the secret character to the part, or the character will continue down his path. The game will not always tell a player when a condition has been met; nevertheless, the game progresses the secret character's story. The '535 Patent also encompasses situations where a player may have to choose between two characters, especially if there is an alternative path to acquire both.
A method of processing an interactive game, and a program product and game system for the same, which enables a character other than the player character to act separately from the player character in the game virtual space, sets an event which a character other than the player character can execute when a condition in the progress of the game is satisfied, displays on the screen the existence of that event for the character other than the player character acting separately from the player character when the condition in the progress of the game enabling execution of that event is satisfied, selectively accepts execution of the event displayed on the screen by an operation of the player in the screen display, and selectively executes and displays on the screen the event for the character other than the player character acting separately from the player character in accordance with the acceptance of the selection and execution of that event.
1. A method of executing an interactive game program giving a plurality of characters roles in a game and making each character play out an assigned role, comprising: making at least one character among the plurality of characters play out a first assigned role and displaying the at least one character on a screen, preparing in advance at least one event shared by the plurality of characters and judging if the at least one character playing out the first assigned role on the screen has reached the at least one event, switching display of the role played out by the at least one character to another character in the plurality of characters when determining that the at least one event has been reached, and making the other character play out a second assigned role and displaying the other character on the screen, wherein when the display is switched, the other character playing out the second assigned role is displayed instead of the at least one character playing out the first assigned role.