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

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.