System and method for determining curved path of travel for a character in cover mode in a game environment

A method for controlling movement of a character within a game environment instantiated by a game program executed by a processing device of a game apparatus, the game environment including objects and cover segments associated with the objects, comprising the processing device:

• determining a selected subset of the cover segments;
• determining a curved path that passes through control points associated with the selected subset of the cover segments;
• and
• rendering images for display via the player interface, the images showing movement of the character along the curved path while the character is in cover mode.

A computer-readable medium comprising computer-readable instructions which, when executed by a processor of a game apparatus, cause the game apparatus to implement a method for controlling movement of a character within a game environment, the game environment including objects and cover segments associated with the objects, the method comprising

• determining a selected subset of the cover segments;
• determining a curved path that passes through control points associated with the selected subset of the cover segments;
• and
• rendering images for display via the player interface, the images showing movement of the character along the curved path while the character is in cover mode.

A method for controlling movement of a character within a game environment instantiated by a game program executed by a processing device of a game apparatus, comprising the processing device:

• determining that the character is in cover mode;
• responsive to determining that the character is in cover mode, consulting a memory to identify a curved cover path for the character, the cover path including at least one curved portion;
• and
• constraining movement of the character along the curved cover path while the character is in cover mode.

A computer-readable medium comprising computer-readable instructions which, when executed by a processor of a game apparatus, cause the game apparatus to implement a method for controlling movement of a character within a game environment, the method comprising

• determining that the character is in cover mode;
• responsive to determining that the character is in cover mode, consulting a memory to identify a curved cover path for the character, the curved cover path including at least one curved portion;
• and
• constraining movement of the character along the curved cover path while the character is in cover mode.

A computer system, comprising:

• a memory storing data and program instructions, the data representing a game environment including a character;
• a player interface;
• and
• a processor configured to execute the program instructions stored in the memory, wherein execution of the program instructions causes the computer to implement a method that comprises:
• determining that the character is in cover mode;
• responsive to determining that the character is in cover mode, consulting a memory to identify a cover path for the character, the curved cover path including at least one curved portion;
• and
• constraining movement of the character along the curved cover path while the character is in cover mode.

A method for controlling movement of a character within a game environment instantiated by a game program executed by a processing device of a game apparatus, comprising the processing device:

• identifying an object in a vicinity of the character;
• determining a set of cover segments associated with the object;
• allowing the character to travel along a user-defined trajectory within a navigation mesh when the character is not in cover mode;
• and
• constraining the character's motion to a cover path when the character is in cover mode and in a vicinity of the object, the cover segments being linear and the cover path being curved.