OK, I heard rumours and you have to take this with a big mount everest of salt. But the rumours say the patents or some of the patents in question are:
* mounting/unmounting a flying mount in overworld
* throwing an object at a creature in overworld
* releasing creatures in overworld
At least for one I found by scouring the patent-search machine one patent that might fit. Note it is an japanese patent and it was applied for in July and granted in September this year. Or maybe reapplied. I don't know. Google provides a translation:
https://patents.google.com/patent/JP7545191B1/en?assignee=nintendo&after=priority:20240430
Some juicy bits:
"Conventionally, there are game programs in which a player character throws a ball at a character in a virtual space, capturing the character and setting it in the player character's possession (for example, see Non-Patent Document 1)."
...
"However, in the game program disclosed in the above-mentioned non-patent document 1, the ball can only be thrown to capture characters during battle, and the ball cannot be thrown on the field."
...
"One configuration example of the game program of the present invention causes a computer of an information processing device to switch at least between a first mode and a second mode based on a first operation input, and in the first mode, causes the computer to determine an aiming direction in a virtual space based on a second operation input, and causes the player character to fire an item that affects a field character placed on a field in the virtual space in the aiming direction based on a third operation input, and when the item is fired at a location where the field character is placed, gives an effect associated with the item to the field character, and in the second mode, causes the computer to determine an aiming direction based on the second operation input, and causes the player character to fire a combat character that will engage in combat in the aiming direction based on the third operation input, and when the combat character is fired at a location where the field character is placed, starts a battle on the field between the field character and the combat character."
I read that as aiming in an overworld, there normal movement and camera movement is mapped to your sticks, so you press another button to switch to aim mode, aim with the stick (second input) and throw by pressing another button (third input).
