Konami Corporation

Makoto Higashiyama

Kentaro Nagayama

Tatsuya Shinkai

Polygons forming a shadow models are sorted into front-facing polygons facing in directions toward a viewpoint of a virtual camera and back-facing polygons facing in directions opposite from the viewpoint of the virtual camera, and a shadow image is created in pixels which are pixels corresponding to the front-facing polygons minus pixels corresponding to the back-facing polygons, thereby realistically and easily creating a shadow on the outer surface of a 3D model. Accordingly, in the case that part or all the 3D model such as a character is placed in a shadow of a mountain, a building or the like, a shadow can be realistically and easily created on the outer surface of the 3D model.

Three-dimensional image processing method and apparatus, readable storage medium storing three-dimensional image processing program and video game system

Vertices of a polygon model Mare sorted into those on which rays are projected (visible-surface vertices M) and those on which rays are not projected (hidden-surface vertices M) based on normal vectors Vof the vertices of the polygon model Mand a light source vector V, and shadow models (shadow volumes) M, M, Mare generated by moving the hidden-surface vertices in a direction of the light source vector V. Shadow images can be easily created by applying stenciling to these shadow models.

A 3D image processing unit for applying a specified image processing to display a model located in a simulated 3D space on a monitor after rendering processing. The 3D image processing unit includes a memory unit for storing a rendered model image as a collection of pixel data and distance information from a viewing point of a simulated camera in correspondence with respect to said pixel data; image processing unit for applying semitransparent processing to each pixel data read from the memory unit; rewriting unit for rewriting the pixel data with said distance information from the viewing point of the simulated camera that is a specified reference value or larger; and control unit for causing the image processing unit and the rewriting unit to repeatedly operate a specified number of times while successively increasing the specified reference value and successively increasing a degree of transparency.

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Sakurai, Japan

Makoto Higashiyama