CN108472547B

CN108472547B - Game device and recording medium

Info

Publication number: CN108472547B
Application number: CN201680079364.0A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 安藤珠美
Original assignee: Bandai Co Ltd
Current assignee: Bandai Co Ltd
Priority date: 2016-02-18
Filing date: 2016-12-14
Publication date: 2021-05-14
Anticipated expiration: 2036-12-14
Also published as: CN108472547A; WO2017141533A1; JP6744726B2; HK1254474A1; JP2017144102A

Abstract

Even an article discharged from a game device of a different mode can be used appropriately in playing a game. When a game play provided in accordance with the payment of a price is performed, it is determined whether an item used is a first item discharged from a game device that provides a game play of a first provision method that is the same as the provision method of the game device, or a second item discharged from a game device that provides a game play of a second provision method that is different from the first provision method. Then, the effect relating to the article, which is given in the game, is controlled based on the information acquired from the article and the discrimination result. At this time, the effect given in the game is controlled to be different between the case where it is determined that the article is the first article and the case where it is determined that the article is the second article.

Description

Game device and recording medium

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a game device and a recording medium, and more particularly to a game device that provides a game play based on information acquired from an article.

Background

In order to allow a user to understand the contents and interest of a game, there is a game device that provides a simple game for free. Patent document 1 discloses a game device including: a free trial play is provided as a price amount temporarily stored in one game machine, and then the amount is collected if a regular play is performed, and the amount is returned if a regular play is not performed.

On the other hand, in such a game device, in order to improve the quality of providing a game of a formal service (so-called product version or formal operation version), conventionally, a playable (playable) exhibition for an exhibition or a so-called location test (location test) in a brick-and-mortar store has been performed using a game device of a development version that can play the game. For example, in development, a game device for selling/distributing a full service is sold after a user evaluation related to game play in such a positioning test is added and further change is performed.

The results of the positioning test and the like are used not only for objectively evaluating game elements but also for determining the number of production stations and planning the set shop based on the evaluation of the attraction ability. Therefore, in a positioning test or the like, a service is provided with contents that are substantially common to a basic action and a game play experience compared to a main service.

Patent document 1: japanese laid-open patent publication No. 10-156039

Disclosure of Invention

Problems to be solved by the invention

In addition, the following game is sometimes provided in a game device: the object is discharged and used to bring out the character or prop corresponding to the object during game play.

However, conventionally, the result of the positioning test or the like is received as described above, and the style and design of the game content, the game device, and the like are changed before the start of the provision of the main service. This is the same for discharged articles, and articles that have been conventionally designed to be discharged in a positioning test cannot be used in game devices of official service versions for the purpose of preventing unexpected actions or the like.

That is, since the items discharged from the game device provided in a manner prior to the main service cannot be used after the main service is started, there is a possibility that the user cannot be appropriately guided to perform a positioning test or the like. In particular, since the positioning test requires a secure installation place in a store and is conditioned on payment of a price even if the service is not a formal service, the user may be inconvenienced by the fact that the item acquired in such a provision method cannot be used any more after the test period.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and an object thereof is to provide a game device and a recording medium that can be suitably used for playing a game even for an article discharged from a game device of a different mode of supply.

Means for solving the problems

In order to achieve the above object, a game device according to the present invention includes a discharge unit for discharging an article that can be used during game play, the game device including: an execution unit that executes a process related to a game in correspondence with the payment of the price, providing a play of the game in a first providing manner; a determination unit that determines, based on item information acquired from an item at the time of game play, which item is one of a first item that is an item discharged from a game device that provides game play in a first provision manner and a second item that is an item discharged from a game device that provides game play in a second provision manner different from the first provision manner; and a control unit that controls an effect to be given to the game in relation to the article for which the article information is acquired, based on the article information and a determination result of the determination unit, wherein the effect to be given to the game by the control unit is different between a case where it is determined that the article for which the article information is acquired is the first article and a case where it is determined that the article for which the article information is acquired is the second article.

ADVANTAGEOUS EFFECTS OF INVENTION

With this configuration, according to the present invention, even an article discharged from a game device of a different mode can be used appropriately during game play.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a game device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a providing process executed in the game device 100 according to embodiment 1 of the present invention.

Fig. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a providing process executed in the game device 100 according to embodiment 2 of the present invention.

Fig. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a data structure of various information according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

Embodiment 1 an exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In addition, an embodiment described below describes an example in which the present invention is applied to a game device capable of discharging articles usable for playing a game, which is an example of a game device. However, the present invention can be applied to any device that has an ejection device for ejecting an article that can be used for playing a game or to which an ejection device is externally connected.

In the present embodiment, it is assumed that: there are at least two kinds of game devices (not in the same period but in time series) that provide play with respect to the same game content. The at least two game devices are classified in the viewpoint that the respective providing manners for playing the game are different. For example, the game device is classified into different providing methods according to at least one of a change in specifications of various types of hardware of the game program and the game device, a change in a used article to be discharged, a change in an appearance of a part of the article to be discharged, information (article information) possessed by the article to be discharged under the same condition, a data structure of the article information, and the like. The following relationships are assumed for a game play provided with respect to the same game content in various game devices: for example, at least some of the elements are shared such as the progress in the game in one play is substantially the same, some characters are shared, and titles given to the game are shared.

For simplicity of description, the following are: the game device has two types, i.e., a "formal operation version" which is a first provision mode relating to a game play currently provided in the game device, and an "evaluation version" which is a second provision mode in which a game play relating to the same game content as that of the game device of the formal operation version is provided, but a data structure of article information recorded in an article and a decoding mode of the article information are different from those of the formal operation version, and the article discharged from the game device of each provision mode is a popular/distributed article. The game device of the evaluation version is installed in a predetermined shop, a meeting place, or the like in a state where a game can be played before the game device of the main execution version, and the game device of the evaluation version does not exist at a time when the game can be played by the game device of the main execution version. That is, the evaluation version and the formal execution version provide the play related to the same game content, but the providing period thereof is not repeated.

In the present embodiment, at least two different modes of providing are described so as not to provide a game play in the same period, but the practice of the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the invention does not exclude the following: the game device is configured to be able to change the provision method in the mode setting, and play of a plurality of provision methods can be performed at the same time by the setting. In addition, for example, the present invention does not exclude the following means: in the case where the game devices of the formal operation versions are installed so as to be staggered in time depending on the region, it is possible to install game devices of different types of provision systems in a plurality of regions at the same time.

It is needless to say that the game devices of different providing systems do not necessarily have to be different devices, and may be the same device configured to be able to change the providing system by, for example, rewriting the program of the device, changing a part of hardware, or the like at a certain time.

Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a game device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. In order to explain various processes to be described later, the configuration of the game device 100 shown in fig. 1 is assumed to be that of a game device of a full run version. However, in the present embodiment, the difference between the actual operation version and the evaluation version is described only in the data structure of the information recorded in the article to be discharged and the decoding method of the information, and therefore, it can be understood that the game device of the evaluation version has the same structure and only some of the modules operate differently.

The control unit 101 is, for example, a CPU, and controls the operation of each module included in the game device 100. Specifically, the control unit 101 reads out an operation program of each module recorded in the recording medium 102, for example, and develops and executes the operation program in the memory 103, thereby controlling the operation of each module.

The recording medium 102 is a recording device capable of persistently storing data, such as a nonvolatile memory or an HDD. The recording medium 102 stores, in addition to the operation programs of the respective modules included in the game device 100, information such as parameters necessary for the operation of the respective modules, various image data used in a game executed by the game device 100, a game program, and the like. The memory 103 is a storage device for temporarily storing data, such as a volatile memory. The memory 103 is used not only as an expansion area for the operation program of each module but also as a storage area for temporarily storing data and the like output during the operation of each module.

The payout detecting unit 104 detects whether or not a payout of a price is made in the game apparatus 100. The payment of the value can be determined, for example, by detecting the input of coins or tokens (coins) of an amount predetermined for one play to a slot (not shown) provided in the housing of the game device 100, or the completion of a settlement process based on communication with a chip related to a predetermined electronic money.

When playing a game of the game provided by the game device 100 of the present embodiment, the identification unit 105 identifies a character corresponding to a card based on article information (card information) acquired from the card as an article that can be used in the game.

In the game device 100 of the present embodiment, one card is provided from the ejection unit 140 to the user for one play based on the payment of the value. In the game device 100 of the present embodiment, each card that is discharged or can be used is configured to correspond to a character that is determined to be present in the game in advance, and an image of the character is attached. Further, the structure is: the card information (article information) including information (character ID) for identifying the character is attached to the card and is identified by the identification unit 105, whereby the information can be acquired. The information may be given to the card by printing a specific pattern such as a one-dimensional or multi-dimensional code image obtained by converting the information on the surface of the card, or by recording readable information on a recording device such as an IC chip included in the card. In the game device 100 of the present embodiment, the discharged cards are printed and issued in advance in a factory or the like and have a fixed design, but the discharged cards may be configured so that the card information and design can be dynamically changed by so-called on-demand printing.

In the present embodiment, the card information differs depending on which of the formal execution version and the evaluation version the play game that is played in relation to the ejection of the card is provided in, and for example, has different data structures as shown in fig. 4 (a) and (b). Fig. 4 (a) shows a data structure of card information given to a card discharged from a game device of an evaluation version, and has, in association with an evaluation version card ID 401 for uniquely specifying the card, an evaluation version character ID 402 for identifying a character corresponding to the card, and an evaluation version flag 403 indicating that the card is a card discharged from a game device of an evaluation version. Fig. 4 (b) shows a data structure of card information given to a card discharged from a game device of a full run version, and has a full run version character ID 412 for identifying a character corresponding to the card in association with a full run version card ID 411 for uniquely identifying the card. In general, in the positioning test performed before the actual operation of the provided game content, since a part of the functions and characters can be used instead of using all the functions and characters provided by the actual operation version in the game, the data length and the configuration rule between the evaluation version card ID 401 and the actual operation version card ID 411, and between the evaluation version character ID 402 and the actual operation version character ID 412 may be different.

In the present embodiment, the card discharged from the game device is printed and issued in advance in a factory or the like and has a fixed design, and therefore the card information has a simple configuration as shown in fig. 4 (a) and (b), but may include information not shown. In particular, in the case of the on-demand printing method as described above, it is needless to say that various parameters such as physical strength and attack force when a character of a card is used in a game and information on equipment can be included in the card information.

In the present embodiment, description is given of the case where one of the characters appearing in the game is associated with the card, but the item in the game associated with the card is not limited to the character. That is, the present invention may be implemented in a game device that provides a game in which a character is not present or used, and it is needless to say that an effect that can be activated in the game, such as a property such as clothing or equipment, a skill, or a special skill, is associated with a card.

In the present embodiment, the description is given assuming that the article that can be used for playing the game is a "card", but it goes without saying that each article may be in any form, for example, a manual (figure), a three-dimensional structure, a toy, or the like, as long as it has article information corresponding to the card information.

The acquisition of information from the card is performed by a reader 120 which is in the same housing as the game device 100 or detachably connected to the outside of the game device 100, and is converted into a form suitable for use in the game process through predetermined data conversion processing (decoding) or the like. The reader 120 detects that a card is placed at a predetermined position and acquires information from the card using, for example, an imaging device and predetermined image processing. In the present embodiment, the decoding process required to acquire the details of the card information attached to the card discharged from the game device of the full play version is different from the decoding process required to acquire the details of the card information attached to the card discharged from the game device of the evaluation version. As shown in fig. 4 (a) and (b), the difference may be only the structural body necessary for grasping two types of card information.

The character DB 106 is a database that manages character information having various kinds of information necessary for processing relating to a game for each character predetermined to be present in the game provided by the game device 100. The character information managed for one character may have a data structure shown in fig. 4 (c), for example. In the example of fig. 4 (c), a fixed parameter 422 predetermined for a character is managed in association with a character ID 421 for identifying the character, and the fixed parameter 422 indicates basic information such as a character name, a stage displayed in a game, a played music, and information for specifying various drawing data necessary for drawing the character on a game screen. Here, the role ID 421 may include the evaluation version role ID 402 and the formal operation version role ID 412 in association with each other, and one role information can be specified in the role DB 106 by obtaining any role ID.

In the game provided by the game device 100 of the present embodiment, when the user plays the game without using a card, one character selected from a predetermined part of characters (default characters) can be played by leaving the game. In addition, when a user plays a game using a card, a character corresponding to the card can be made to appear in the game and play the game. In this case, when a card discharged from the game device of the full play version is used, the character corresponding to the card can be made to appear in the game as a use character that the user has operated (applied a command, made an action decision, etc.) during the game play. On the other hand, when a card discharged from the evaluation version of the game device is used, the launch of an effect (original skill, assistance action, etc. of the character) corresponding to the character relating to the progress of the game can be specified without using the character corresponding to the card as the use character, and the character can be released in the game when the effect is launched.

Therefore, as shown in fig. 4 c, the character information managed for each character in the character DB 106 includes default parameters 423 indicating parameters (physical strength, offensive power, defensive power, skill, and the like) in the game in the case of being used as default characters, card use-time parameters 424 indicating parameters in the game in the case of being used as used characters, and auxiliary effects 425 indicating activated effects in the case of being used as auxiliary characters for effect activation.

In the present embodiment, the effect associated with a character is exerted during a game when the character corresponding to a card is used as an auxiliary character, but the practice of the present invention is not limited to this. The effect to be activated when the card ejected from the game device of the evaluation version is used may be, for example, an effect corresponding to a character corresponding to the card but not being activated, or an effect unrelated to the character (use of a prop, impartation of a prop, or a predetermined effect).

The display control unit 107 is a drawing device such as a GPU that performs drawing processing to generate a screen related to a game. The display control unit 107 performs drawing of a game screen related to a game provided by the game device 100. Specifically, the display control unit 107 reads a necessary drawing object and executes appropriate arithmetic processing to draw the object in accordance with information indicating display contents of a state other than the game and information such as in-game parameters according to the progress of the game during execution of the supply processing described later. The generated game screen is output to the display unit 130, which is a display device in the same housing as the game device 100 or detachably connected to the outside of the game device 100, and displayed in a predetermined display area, thereby presenting the game screen to the user.

The discharge control unit 108 controls the discharge of the card relating to the game of the full play version by the discharge unit 140 built in the housing of the game device 100. When the ejection control unit 108 issues an ejection command, the ejection unit 140 performs an ejection operation for guiding the card stored in the storage unit, not shown, to the ejection port, not shown, by including a predetermined drive mechanism and the like, for example. In the game device 100 of the present embodiment, one card is provided to the user for one play based on the payment of the value.

The operation input unit 109 is, for example, a user interface included in the game device 100, such as an operation member for direction input, an operation member for determination input, and various sensors. When detecting that an operation is input to the operation member, the operation input unit 109 outputs a control signal corresponding to the operation input to the control unit 101. In the present embodiment, the game device 100 is described as including physical operation members as various interfaces, but may include a touch input detection sensor or the like for detecting a touch input performed on the screen of the display unit 130, for example.

The communication unit 110 is a communication interface for transmitting and receiving data to and from an external device connected via a predetermined network such as the internet. The communication unit 110 transmits and receives information to and from an external device having established communication connection in accordance with a predetermined communication scheme.

The outline of the experience of the game related to the actual execution version provided by the game device 100 of the present embodiment having such a configuration will be described in "game outline".

In the game device 100 of the present embodiment, a game play is provided as follows: the user character operated by the user and the opponent character operated by the opponent are present, and the match game is played between the characters. The opponent may be a user who plays a game using another operation input means of the same game device 100, a user who plays a game on the game device 100 communicatively connected via the communication unit 110, or a virtual user who determines an action based on an action principle installed as a program such as a predetermined NPC or AI program.

In one play, basically, a user can play a game using any one of default characters decided in the game. When playing a game, a user can use one card and can make the reader 120 read card information given to the card, thereby making a character corresponding to the card appear in the game during the game play. In the case of using a card, the effect presented in playing a game differs depending on which mode of game device the card is ejected from.

Specifically, when a card is ejected from the game device of the full play version, the user can play a game in which a character corresponding to the card is operated as a use character. The characters corresponding to the cards also include characters that are not default characters, and the user can play the game using preferred characters. Further, the parameters of the character in the game that can be used by reading the card are configured to: even with the same character, the progress of the game is substantially more advantageous than with the default character. By doing so, the user can be given an incentive to further play the game using the card obtained by playing the game, and can expect to continue using the game.

On the other hand, when the card is ejected from the game device of the evaluation version, the user can play the game by setting the character as an auxiliary character instead of the use character. The auxiliary character is used to develop an effect associated with the character at a predetermined timing, a timing when a game satisfies a development condition, or a timing determined by a user, for example, and the progress of the game can be made more advantageous than a case where the auxiliary character is not used. That is, even in a game device of a formal operation version having a specification different from the evaluation version, the user can play a game that can be advantageously progressed by effectively using the cards discharged from the game device of the evaluation version.

When the play of the match game is completed, the discharge control unit 108 performs discharge control, and the user can obtain a new card (card related to the official operation version) discharged by the discharge unit 140. In the present embodiment, the description is given with respect to the case where the card is discharged after the end of the match-up game, which is the game provided, in one play, but it goes without saying that the discharge timing of the card may be any timing. That is, the ejection of a new card may be performed before the payout of the match-up price is made and the match-up game related to the payout is started, or the ejection may be performed during the execution of the match-up game. In the case where the cards are discharged before the battle game is started, the user can also use the cards to register the corresponding characters as the used characters to play the battle game.

In the present embodiment, the description is given assuming that the game in which the game is played on the game device is a match-up game, but this is an example of the game, and it goes without saying that any game may be provided in any game type that can be experienced by the user.

Next, a specific process of a providing process related to one play provided for the payment of a payout in the game apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to a flowchart of fig. 2. The processing corresponding to this flowchart can be realized by the control unit 101 reading out a corresponding processing program stored in the recording medium 102, for example, and expanding and executing the program in the memory 103. For example, the present providing process is started when the payment detection unit 104 detects that payment for a price is made. Further, during execution of the present providing process, the display control unit 107 generates a game screen image corresponding to each state, outputs the game screen image to the display unit 130, and displays the game screen image.

In S201, the control unit 101 determines whether or not the card is used in the present game play. As described above, in the game device 100 of the present embodiment, the user can select whether to use one card for one game play. For example, the card may be determined not to be used based on a detection of an operation input to the effect that the card is not used or a detection of no information acquisition from the card during a predetermined card reading period. The control unit 101 shifts the process to S202 when determining that the card is not used in the present game play, and shifts the process to S203 when determining that the card is used.

In S202, the control unit 101 selects one character from predetermined default characters and registers the selected character as a use character. The selection of the character can be performed based on, for example, a decimation process or a selection input by a user. The role may be selected by, for example, acquiring role information associated with the role ID of the role from the role DB 106, and storing the role ID 421, the fixed parameter 422, and the default parameter 423 in the memory 103 as information on the role to be used (used role information).

On the other hand, if it is determined in S201 that the card is used during the current play, the control unit 101 determines in S203 whether the card used for the current play is a card discharged from the game device of the formal operation version. The control unit 101 causes the recognition unit 105 to apply a decoding process relating to the full play version to the information acquired from the card for the current game play, and determines the present step based on whether or not the card information of the data structure relating to the full play version is obtained. The control unit 101 shifts the process to S206 when determining that the card used is a card discharged from the game device of the full play version, and shifts the process to S204 when determining that the card used is not a card discharged from the game device of the full play version.

In S204, the control unit 101 determines whether or not the card used is a card discharged from the game device of the evaluation version. The control unit 101 causes the recognition unit 105 to apply decoding processing relating to the evaluation version to the information acquired from the card, and determines the present step based on whether or not the card information of the data structure relating to the evaluation version is obtained. If it is determined that the card used is a card discharged from the game device of the evaluation version, the control unit 101 advances the process to S205. Further, when it is determined that the card is not a card discharged from the game device of the evaluation version, that is, when the card used is a card not corresponding to the game device 100, the control unit 101 notifies that the card cannot be used, for example, and then shifts the process to S202. The notification may be performed by controlling the display control unit 107 to display the corresponding display on the display unit 130, or by outputting a sound from a speaker or the like, which is not shown.

In S205, the control unit 101 registers the information of the assist effect of the corresponding character based on the card information decoded by the recognition unit 105. Specifically, the control unit 101 acquires, for example, character information associated with the evaluation version character ID 402 determined from the card information from the character DB 106, and stores the information of the character ID 421 and the auxiliary effect 425 therein as information of the auxiliary effect in the memory 103. In this case, the control unit 101 may set a value indicating, for example, logical type information that generates an assist effect in the battle game to True (True) and set information that refers to the assist effect in the game. After the process of this step is completed, the control unit 101 shifts the process to S202, and registers the use character associated with the default character.

On the other hand, when it is determined in S203 that the card used is the card discharged from the game device of the full play version, the control unit 101 registers the corresponding character as the character to be used based on the card information decoded by the recognition unit 105 in S206. Specifically, the control unit 101 acquires, for example, character information associated with the formal operation version character ID 412 of the character from the character DB 106, and stores, as the use character information, the character ID 421, the fixed parameter 422, and the card use parameter 424 of the character information.

As described above, in the supply processing of the present embodiment, the two-stage determination processing of S203 and S204 is used to determine whether the card used is a card discharged from one of the game device of the full play version and the game device of the evaluation version, and to differentiate the disposition of the card in the supplied battle game. In other words, in the game device 100 of the present embodiment, the effect produced in the battle game by the card is made different between the card discharged from the game device of the full play version and the card discharged from the game device of the evaluation version.

In the supply processing according to the present embodiment, the card information in the full run version and the card information in the evaluation version are encoded in different encoding methods. Therefore, the present invention has been described with reference to a case where a card to be used is determined by attempting decoding processing relating to different decoding methods in two-stage determination processing, and the card is discharged from one of a game device of a full-run version and a game device of an evaluation version. For example, when the encoding method is the same, the determination may be made by a single determination as to whether or not the obtained card information has the evaluation version flag 403.

In the present embodiment, for the sake of simplicity, it is assumed that one card is available for one play, and when a card discharged from a game device of an evaluation version is used, a control is performed so that an auxiliary effect relating to a character of the card is exerted in a battle game using one default character. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and may be controlled so that an assist effect relating to the character of the card discharged from the game device of the evaluation version is exerted in a match-up game using characters registered based on the card discharged from the game device of the formal operation version. In this case, it goes without saying that the cards used for one play are two cards, i.e., a card discharged from the game device of the full play version and a card discharged from the game device of the evaluation version.

In the present embodiment, for simplicity, the description will be given using one character, but the present invention is not limited to this, and it is also possible to use a plurality of cards for one game play and perform the same processing on each piece of information acquired from the cards. It should be understood that the information acquisition may be performed again and the processes from S203 to S206 may be performed as a process in the case where the information acquisition from the card fails and the user uses an erroneous card.

In S207, the control unit 101 starts processing related to the match game. When starting the process related to the match-up game, the control unit 101 refers to the used character information stored in the memory 103, and performs various processes such as setting related to execution of the match-up game so that the corresponding character appears as an operation target of the user.

In S208, the control unit 101 determines whether or not to initiate the assist effect at a predetermined timing during execution of the process related to the battle game. Whether or not to initiate the assist effect can be performed, for example, by referring to the logical information indicating that the assist effect is generated in the battle game in the memory 103 as described above. If it is determined that the assist effect is activated, the control unit 101 proceeds to S209, and if it is determined that the assist effect is not activated, the control unit continues the process related to the battle game without performing the process of S209.

In S209, the control unit 101 refers to the information of the assist effect, presents the corresponding character in the battle game, and controls the process related to the battle game so that the assist effect related to the character is activated.

The control unit 101 waits until the process related to the match game is completed, and then in S210, controls the ejection control unit 108 to eject the card related to the official running version from the ejection unit 140, thereby completing the present providing process.

As described above, according to the providing processing of the present embodiment, it is possible to perform a game play using a card discharged from a game device of an evaluation version, and to make the effect exhibited in a battle game different depending on the result of determination as to whether the card used in the game play is discharged from a game device of either a formal execution version or the evaluation version. That is, even after the provision of the game relating to the evaluation version is completed, the user who played the game relating to the evaluation version can secure the opportunity to use the card acquired in the play of the game. In addition, it is possible to provide a game play while achieving an appropriate balance of fairness among users by providing a difference that cannot be used as a character for use in handling cards discharged from a game device of a formal running version and cards discharged from a game device of an evaluation version, in particular, to avoid a fear of fairness for users who have not played a game related to the evaluation version. In other words, even if the character that is easy to discharge the card in the game device of the evaluation version has a low discharge ratio in the game device of the main execution version, the following situation can be avoided: when playing a match-up game related to the formal operation version, only a user who has played a game related to the evaluation version can easily obtain a game play opportunity of the match-up game using the character.

In the present embodiment, the description has been made so that the character related to the card discharged from the game device of the evaluation version cannot be registered as the use character, but the practice of the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the present invention may be applied to a system that allows a character corresponding to a card of an evaluation version to be registered as a character to be used based on the card discharged from a game device, and in this case, the present invention may be applied to a system configured to set a difference in disposition so that parameters of a character to be used in a game in a case where the character is registered using a card discharged from a game device of a formal operation version can favorably progress the game.

In the present embodiment, the description has been made on the case where a game is played using a card discharged from a game device of an evaluation version, and the corresponding character is made to appear in the game and the assist effect is activated. For example, a card ejected from a game device of an evaluation version may not be permitted to be used a plurality of times, and a user who uses a game of a formal operation version may be given a chance to be given a privilege. The "privilege" as used herein may mean, for example, an effect of giving a bonus of points, an improvement of parameters, or the like permanently or for a predetermined period (a predetermined number of plays, a predetermined number of days) or an effect unique to a character managed in association with the corresponding character when one card used by the user is used at the time of playing a game later. For example, information indicating the privilege may be stored in an external server in association with the user ID, and managed so that the information can be read out when the server is reused. In the case where at least one card discharged from the game device of the formal operation version and one card discharged from the game device of the evaluation version are permitted to be used for one game play, privileges may be given to the card of the formal operation version used together with the card of the evaluation version, and information for giving privileges may be managed in an external server in association with the card ID of the card of the formal operation version. Further, if the game device supports on-demand printing according to the elements in the game, the card information may include information of privilege when a new card is ejected for the character of the card of the full run version. In this manner, the following case may be set as a condition to attach a privilege, thereby further ensuring fairness: the role of the card of the formal run version coincides with the role of the card of the evaluation version, i.e., the formal run version role ID 412 and the evaluation version role ID 402 determine the same role.

In addition, in the case where the game device supports on-demand printing, the "privilege" may add the following effects, for example: the character of the card ejected by the game device of the evaluation version is made to appear as an opponent character of the match-up game, and the progress of the game is controlled so that the character can be ejected or easily ejected after the game is completed.

The assignment of "privilege" may include other various modes, and for example, only the following elements may be assigned: this element is an element that has no direct relation to the result of the match-up game, such as a change in GUI during the game and a decoration showing the avatar of the user, but this element cannot be obtained unless the game related to the evaluation version is played.

As described above, according to the game device of the present embodiment, even an article discharged from a game device of a different provision method can be used appropriately in playing a game. Specifically, when a game is played, which is provided in accordance with the payment of a price, the game device determines whether the item used is a first item that is discharged from the game device that provides a game play in a first provision mode that is the same as the provision mode of the game device, or a second item that is discharged from the game device that provides a game play in a second provision mode that is different from the first provision mode. Then, an effect relating to the item added to the game is controlled based on the information acquired from the item and the determination result. At this time, control is performed so that the effect added to the game is different between the case where it is determined that the article is the first article and the case where it is determined that the article is the second article.

Embodiment 2 is to secure an installation space in a shop and to provide a service by installing a game device of an evaluation version in a positioning test, and therefore, in general, game play is paid and payment of a price is made as a condition. The price (consideration) required for playing the game in the positioning test can be set to be generally equal to or less than the price required for the official execution version, but with respect to the items acquired by the user through payment of the consideration, it is preferable that: the evaluation version can be used even in the formal execution version after the game play provision related to the evaluation version is completed.

On the other hand, in a show session, a negotiation session, or the like, information disclosure and publicity before official operation are mainly aimed, and a game machine of an evaluation version and a game machine set to a free play mode are provided. That is, the items acquired by the user through free game play as described above are not disadvantageous to the user even if they are not configured to be usable in the official execution version.

In view of such a provision situation, the following mode will be explained in the present embodiment: this method is different from the method of providing a game play by the game device 100, but the use of the object (card) obtained by the user through the paid game play is secured in the game play by the game device 100. In the description of the present embodiment, the game device 100 has the same functional configuration as that of embodiment 1, and the description of each configuration is omitted.

Next, a specific process of the providing process according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to a flowchart of fig. 3. The processing corresponding to this flowchart can be realized by the control unit 101 reading out a corresponding processing program stored in the recording medium 102, for example, and expanding and executing the program in the memory 103. For example, the present providing process is started when the payment detection unit 104 detects that payment for a price is made. Further, during execution of the present providing process, the display control unit 107 generates a game screen image corresponding to each state, outputs the game screen image to the display unit 130, and displays the game screen image. In the providing process according to the present embodiment, steps for performing the same process as that of the providing process according to embodiment 1 are assigned the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted, and steps for performing the characteristic process according to the present embodiment will be described below. The play games provided by the game device of the evaluation version include free play games that do not require payment of a price, and paid play games that do not require payment of a price equivalent to or less than the price required by the official operation version but require payment of a price.

If it is determined in S204 that the card used is a card discharged from the evaluation version of the game device, the control unit 101 determines in S301 whether or not the payout of the value is made in the game play related to the discharge of the card. Whether or not the payout of the price is made in the game play related to the discharge of the card can be determined by the following configuration. For example, when cards for paid play and free play are provided in the cards discharged from the game device of the evaluation version, the determination of the present step can be performed by separating the cards loaded in the card slots in the discharge unit 140 so that the cards for paid play are discharged in a supply mode conditioned on the payment of a consideration and the cards for free play are discharged in a supply mode not conditioned on the payment of a consideration. In this case, whether the card is for the paid game play or the free game play can be determined by the control unit 101 by including information indicating which of the paid game play or the free game play is included in the card information provided in the card, or storing information indicating which of the paid game play or the free game play is retrievable in association with the evaluation version card ID 401 or the evaluation version character ID 402 in an external server accessible from the game device 100. Alternatively, in the mode in which the game device of the evaluation version supports on-demand printing, the determination of the present step can be performed by being configured to print and then discharge card information including information indicating whether or not payment of a price is made, based on whether or not payment of a price is made at the time of playing a game corresponding to card discharge. These methods are examples of methods for enabling the determination in the present step, and the method for enabling the determination of the payment of the consideration by another method is not excluded. The control unit 101 shifts the process to S205 when determining that the payout of the price is made in the game play related to the discharge of the used card, and shifts the process to S302 when determining that the payout of the price is not made.

In S302, the control unit 101 notifies the user that the card whose card information has been acquired cannot be used for playing the game, and the process proceeds to S202. The notification may be performed by the display control unit 107 controlling the display unit 130 to display the corresponding display, or may be performed by outputting a sound from a speaker or the like not shown.

In this way, the game device according to the present embodiment can differentiate the disposition of the card relating to the play of the game based on whether or not the payment of the price is made at the time of acquiring the card of the game relating to the evaluation version. According to the present embodiment, for example, compared with a user who plays a game related to an evaluation version without paying a consideration, the user who plays a game related to an evaluation version after paying a consideration is assured of superiority in game progress according to the payment, and thus, interest in game content related to a formal operation version can be increased.

In the present embodiment, although the card is a card discharged from the evaluation version game device, the card cannot be used when the card is a card based on a game play in which a payment for a price is not made, but the practice of the present invention is not limited to this. That is, it may be configured that any card can be used, and a difference is provided in the treatment such as whether or not the auxiliary effect is activated in the game or whether or not the privilege is given according to the payment of the price.

In recent years, there are game devices that perform card ejection by printing on demand as described above in order to express the development of characters corresponding to cards. More specifically, in the game device, after a game is played using a character of cards whose information is acquired during the game play, various parameters of the character are increased or decreased (grown), and a new card of the character to which card information including the changed parameters is added is printed and discharged.

In such a game device, when it is assumed that a game can be played using a card discharged from the game device of the evaluation version, particularly when it is assumed that a character corresponding to the card can be used as a character to be used, a user who has played the game related to the evaluation version can easily obtain a card discharged from the game device of the full-play version with respect to a part of characters. However, since this method may reduce the interest of the user who plays only the game related to the formal execution version, the control unit 101 may control the character registered based on the card discharged from the game device of the evaluation version not to be the card discharge target when the card is discharged. In this way, fairness among users regarding conditions for obtaining a character can be ensured in a game related to a formal operation version.

In addition, the control unit 101 may be configured to manage information on the number of times the game related to the evaluation version is played using the card (number of times the game is played) for the card discharged from the game device of the evaluation version, and to make the disposition in the game different according to the number of times the game is played when the card is used in the game device of the formal operation version. The information on the number of times of game play may be stored in an external server or the like in association with the evaluation version card ID 401 so as to be acquirable, or may be contained in the card information or stored in another recording medium, and the information on the number of times of game play may be acquired when a game is played in a game device that is actually operated.

Other embodiments the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. The game device according to the present invention can also be realized by a program that causes one or more computers to function as the game device. The program is provided/distributed by being recorded in a computer-readable recording medium or by being electrically communicated.

Description of the reference numerals

100: a game device; 101: a control unit; 102: a recording medium; 103: a memory; 104: a payment detection section; 105: an identification unit; 106: a role DB; 107: a display control unit; 108: a discharge control unit; 109: an operation input unit; 110: a communication unit; 120: a reader; 130: a display unit; 140: a discharge unit.

Claims

1. A game device to which a discharge unit for discharging an article that can be used during game play is connected, the game device comprising:

an execution unit that executes a process related to a game in correspondence with the payment of the price, providing a play of the game in a first providing manner;

a determination unit that determines, based on item information acquired from an item at the time of game play, which item is one of a first item and a second item, the first item being an item discharged from a discharge unit of a game device provided with game play in the first provision manner, and the second item being an item discharged from a discharge unit of a game device provided with game play in a second provision manner different from the first provision manner; and

a control unit that controls an effect to be given to the game in relation to the article for which the article information is acquired, based on the article information and a determination result of the determination unit,

wherein the effect given to the game by the control means is different between a case where it is determined that the article for which the article information is acquired is the first article and a case where it is determined that the article for which the article information is acquired is the second article.

2. Gaming apparatus according to claim 1,

in the first and second aspects, a part of the game provided to the game device for playing the game is common.

3. Gaming apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,

the article information acquired from the second article includes information indicating: the article is discharged based on the play in the game device of the second providing method.

4. Gaming apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,

further comprising a determination unit that determines whether or not payment of a price has been made for a play game related to discharge of the item, in a case where the item for which the item information is acquired is the second item,

when it is determined by the determination unit that payment of a price is not made for a play game related to discharge of an item, the control unit does not give an effect related to the item to the game.

5. Game apparatus according to claim 4,

the game machine further includes a notification unit that notifies that the item cannot be used when the determination unit determines that the payment of the price is not made for the play of the game related to the discharge of the item.

6. Gaming apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,

the item information includes identification information for identifying a character or item present in the game,

the effects imparted to the game are: and the character or the item determined according to the identification information of the item is made to appear as a use character or a use item of a player in the game play provided by the execution unit.

7. Game apparatus according to claim 6,

when the article for which the article information is acquired is the second article, the effect given to the game is: providing privileges in the game play provided by the execution unit corresponding to the character or prop determined based on the identification information of the item.

8. Game apparatus according to claim 6,

the item information is at least obtainable from one of the first items and one of the second items in one game play,

the effects imparted to the game are: providing the used character or used prop based on the identification information of the first item with privileges corresponding to the character or prop determined from the identification information of the second item.

9. Gaming apparatus according to claim 8,

the privileges provided to the use roles or use props are provided if: the acquired identification information about the used character or the used prop and the identification information acquired from the second article determine the same character or prop.

10. Gaming apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,

further provided with a discharge control unit that controls, for one play, a game to cause the discharge unit to discharge a new article having at least part of the article information acquired from the article,

the discharge control means controls the discharge means to discharge the new article having the article information based thereon, when the article for which the article information is acquired is the second article.

11. Gaming apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,

the control means acquires, based on the item information acquired from the second item, play count information indicating the number of times a game of the second provision method has been played using the item or an item having a correspondence relationship with the item, and varies an effect given to the game according to the play count information.

12. Gaming apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,

the first providing means and the second providing means provide a game play related to the same game content, which is not provided in the same period, respectively.

13. Gaming apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,

the first and second provisions provide for game play that is different in at least any one of the following: a game program; the structure of the game device; the discharged articles; a partial appearance of the discharged article; the article information of the articles discharged under the same condition; and a data structure of the item information.

14. Gaming apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,

the price related to the price required when the game of the second provision method is played is set to be equal to or lower than the price related to the price required when the game of the first provision method is played.

15. A recording medium having a program recorded thereon for causing a computer to which a discharge unit is connected to function as each unit of a game device according to any one of claims 1 to 14.