JP2006087947A - On-line game method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enhance values of both a game character of a game and an article by relating the "article" and a virtual space and stimulating user's preference to an original. <P>SOLUTION: A server for controlling an on-line game capable of showing image characters comprises a data base storing the image characters copying the articles. An on-line game method comprises the steps of obtaining an identification code given to an article from an on-line game terminal by the control server, retrieving a plurality of the image characters corresponding to the identification code from the data base and referring to a parameter table regarding attribute data of the articles to correlate the identification code with one of the image characters and displaying the image character correlated with the code as an on-line game character based on the identification code. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an online game developed on a network, and more particularly to an online game method using an image character.

  In general, most online games developed on a network are completed only in a virtual space that starts and ends virtually. On the other hand, a commercial method is also known in which a toy or the like imitating a character appearing in an online game is released and a popular synergy effect between the online game and the toy is aimed at. However, the relationship between traditional online game characters and toys is merely similar to the other, and their roles are independent, so the relationship between them is sparse. The attachment to the character was not effective in increasing the favorability and popularity of the toy. In addition, it has not been possible to prepare a large number of characters corresponding to one toy, or to give various attributes to each character, for example, for each user.

  There is also known an attempt to induce sales promotion of the product by guiding it to a campaign site from a mobile phone or the like with a product with an ID for present application. Has not reached.

  The present invention is an on-line game method using an image character, and is not limited to the above-described toy etc., and any “article” such as stationery, home appliances, miscellaneous goods, food, other merchandise, and prizes and advertisements It is intended to provide a method of enhancing the mutual value of game characters and “articles” while linking with virtual space and stimulating the original orientation of consumers.

  In the online game method according to the present invention, an article with an identification symbol and a number of image characters having feature points of the article and associated with the identification symbol are prepared in advance. The image character is registered based on the input, and the image character can be used as an online game character.

  The image character is preferably a copy of the corresponding article. It is preferable that membership registration of the online game is performed prior to inputting the identification symbol. The article is preferably a prize for a prize machine. It is preferable that the registered image character can be browsed in an album form. It is preferable to give game points to registered members simultaneously with the registration of the image character.

  The method of the present invention is not limited to simply distributing a password for an online game using a tag of a product, and has the effect of increasing the likability and popularity of the corresponding article through attachment to the character of the online game. It is huge. In addition, in the online game, it is possible to prepare a large number of characters corresponding to one article, or to give various attributes to each character, for example, for each user. Have

  Hereinafter, an embodiment in which an online game method according to the present invention is applied to a stuffed animal which is a prize of a prize machine (UFO catcher or other arcade game machine for acquiring articles) will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is an overall image diagram of the present invention using a stuffed toy and a mobile phone. In FIG. 1, a user 10 who uses this service, a mobile terminal 13 owned by the user 10, and a tag 11 such as a price tag are shown. An attached cat stuffed animal 12 is illustrated. The display screen 14 of the portable terminal 13 currently displays an image character associated with the stuffed cat 12 as an “article” in the present invention in the virtual space, and this image character provides a service for providing this service. It was sent from the center.
The tag 11 shown enlarged as a blowout is printed with a mail address 17 and an identification symbol 18 to which the service is provided. The identification symbol 18 may be attached to the article by a seal or the like. Further, the identification symbol 18 is not necessarily limited to characters and symbols, but may be a barcode, a two-dimensional barcode, a musical sound signal, or the like.

The user 10 who has acquired the stuffed toy 12 from the prize machine associates the stuffed toy 12 as an article with the related image character in the virtual space by performing a registration operation described later with respect to the service center. Behave as a user favorite, pet, or alternate in an online game. As the online game progresses and the emotional transfer to the image character progresses, the user can experience a sense that the stuffed toy 12 that also possesses the bag is acting as a substitute for the user. As a result, for example, the image character displayed on the mobile terminal 13 is crossed between the stuffed toy 12 at hand and the image character, and a conversation such as “Please do your best!” Is exchanged toward the stuffed toy 12. It is.
In addition, communication between the users 10 and 10 can be performed using an image character.

  FIG. 5 is an image of the manner in which the image character is used in an online game. The image characters 50 and 50 ′ are displayed on the mobile terminals of the users 10 and 10 ′. Stuffed toys 51 and 52 associated with the users 10 and 10 'are drawn in the ejection.

In the case of an online battle game, the users 10 and 10 ′ face each other in the virtual space where the stuffed animals that are the origins of their image characters face each other while watching the image characters 50 and 50 ′ displayed on the respective mobile terminals. To imagine.
As described above, the articles in the present invention are not limited to premiums such as the stuffed toy 12 and toys, but also include stationery, home appliances, miscellaneous goods, foods, other merchandise, and prizes and advertisements. .

  As described above, in the online game method according to the present invention, an article with an identification symbol and a large number of image characters having feature points of the article and associated with the identification symbol are prepared in advance. The image character is registered based on the input of the identification symbol, and the image character can be used as a character of the online game. It is preferable to register as a member. The member registration procedure will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

FIG. 2 shows a service provider 200 of the present invention and a user (user) 210 who intends to receive the service. A mail server 220 and a management server 230 are provided at the center of the service provider 200. Is provided.
First, the user 210 activates a mailer provided as a standard in the mobile terminal (cell phone, personal computer, other communication device connectable to a network such as the Internet) 13 (211), and inputs its destination. The e-mail address 17 is input to the part (212) and transmitted (213). At this time, the text and subject in the mailer are instructed by the service center, but are not entered here.

  The empty mail is received by the mail server 220 of the center, and the incoming mail to the mail server 220 is constantly monitored (231). The management server 230 detects the arrival of the mail (232) and manages this. Acquired in the server 230. The management server 230 decodes the mail address of the sender of the mail and creates an information area (record) unique to the member distinguished by the decoded mail address. Next, the management server 230 creates an input screen based on the information area (233), and distributes it to the decrypted e-mail address together with a guideline of the service and a URL indicating the creation location of the input screen. The mail is transmitted to the user 210 via the mail server 220 (234) (221).

  After viewing the received mail (214), the user 210 connects to the indicated URL and requests an information input screen for member registration (215). Next, the user 210 causes the portable terminal 13 to display the information input screen distributed from the management server 230 (216), and after inputting specified items such as a user name and a password (217), transmits the information to the management server 230. (218).

The management server 230 records the transmitted information in the member-specific information area, thereby performing member registration (236). At this time, the member registration point may be registered in order to give the member registration point to the registered member (237). “Member registration points” are points used when using services such as online games and shopping in this service.
The member registration information of the user 210 created in this way is transmitted to the user 210 for confirmation (238) and displayed on the terminal screen (219).

  Next, a procedure for registering an image character, that is, a method for associating an “article (stuffed cat)” with an image character in a virtual space will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. Also in this figure, as in FIG. 2, the flow of the user 210 on the left side and the service provider 200 on the right side is shown.

The user 210 (hereinafter referred to as a member) 210 who has undergone membership registration in the description of FIG. 2 first displays a member-specific menu screen limited by a password or the like on the mobile terminal 13 (301). Next, a “tag ID input” menu displayed on the screen is selected (302), and a request signal for the tag ID input screen is transmitted (303). Here, the “tag ID” is an identification symbol 18 written on the tag 11 of the stuffed toy 12. Upon receiving this signal, the management server 200 generates a tag ID input screen for the member (304) and distributes it (305).
Since the tag ID input screen is displayed on the mobile terminal 13 of the member (306), the member inputs the “tag ID” (identification symbol 18) on this input screen (307) and transmits it to the management server 200. (308).

  The tag ID data received by the operation is registered in the member-specific data area in the management server 200 (310), and the information is obtained from the database 311 in which image characters prepared on the center side are stored in advance. The corresponding image character is searched and associated (312). At the time of registration of the image character, it is preferable to perform point addition processing (313). Like the member registration points, “character registration points” are used when using services such as online games and shopping in this service. By giving points, the willingness to acquire the stuffed toy 12 Purchasing will be promoted.

A plurality of image characters can be registered (314), and these image characters can be selected and used in subsequent online games and other services.
The registered image character is distributed (315) and displayed (316) on the mobile terminal 13 of the member. Further, this image character can be searched at any time according to the request of the member (317), and for example, it is preferable that the image character can be listed as an album form (318).

In the above description, the image character is illustrated as an illustration of the acquired stuffed animal 12. However, the image character only needs to have a feature point of the corresponding article, and a photograph, a picture, or the like can be adopted. . In some cases, it may be a song, melody, musical sound, or the like.
If the image character registered as described above is used as a character for an online game, the stuffed animal is acquired or purchased by the member himself, so that the attachment to the image character is naturally increased. Together, it improves the sensitivity and popularity of the original stuffed animal.

  In the method of the present invention described above, since a large number of image characters associated with the identification symbol are stored in a database, it is possible to prepare a large number of characters for one stuffed animal. In particular, by setting an attribute parameter for each character, the item attribute data information matched with the identification symbol can be set as the “attribute data”, and the willingness to purchase the same item can be promoted. Furthermore, by setting a parameter that takes into account preference information for each registered user, the game score can be made more complex or a more exciting online game method. In this method, for example, a plurality of article attribute data information matched with an identification symbol is prepared, and one of the items extracted at random from the matching data and the information converted by the parameter table are used as the “initialization of attribute data” as an identification symbol. Is displayed at the time of input, and this is selected by the member, and the setting of the attribute data is further changed.

This will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 4 is an image that the acquired game points in the online game can be changed by setting the attribute data for the image character used in the online game. In FIG. It shows that the image character changes.
That is, the attribute data 41 is displayed on the mobile terminal 13 of the user (member) 10, and the image characters 42 and 43 imagined by the member 10 are drawn in a jet according to the setting of the attribute data. This is devised so that the member 10 is highly interested in the online game by setting the attribute data.

Next, the score calculation method in the online game by adding the attribute data will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.
When the game selected by the member is started (60) and various game operations are performed (61), a scoring portion is generated there. Here, it is determined whether or not it is a scoring scene (62). If it is determined that it is a scoring scene, a point adjustment table prepared in advance for each game is referred to (63), Is determined (64). Even if the scoring is not a scoring target due to some member failure, the scoring is not changed and the various game operations can be performed as in the case where the scoring is not “scoring”. Continue (61).

  On the other hand, when it is determined that “it is a score target”, the attribute data item associated with the point addition / subtraction table is referred to (65). Of course, depending on the items in the point adjustment table, there is a term that is not associated with the attribute data term. If there is data specifying the point addition / subtraction table in the attribute data item, the score set in the point addition / subtraction table and the plus attribute data existence point are targeted (66). Of course, there are points to be added and points to be deducted.

If there is no attribute data term associated with the point addition / subtraction table, the attribute data term is not referred to and only the points set in the point addition / subtraction table are scored (67).
The score change by this attribute setting is not only to enjoy the game but also to devise a deeper attachment to the image character when playing the game while passing through the image character. This will increase the willingness to purchase.

It is the whole image figure of the method of the present invention using a stuffed animal and a cellular phone. It is a flowchart which shows the member registration procedure in the method of this invention. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the registration procedure of the image character in the method of the present invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows that an image character changes with the setting of attribute data in an online game. It is an image figure which shows the utilization aspect in the online game of an image character. It is a flowchart which shows the calculation method of the score in an online game.

Explanation of symbols

10 users (users)
11 Tag 12 Stuffed Animal 13 Mobile Terminal 17 Email Address 18 Identification Symbol

Claims (6)

A server that manages an online game on which an image character is displayed includes a database in which image characters replicating an article are stored, and the management server acquires an identification symbol attached to the article from an online game terminal A plurality of image characters corresponding to the identification symbol are searched from the database, and one of the image characters searched with reference to a parameter table relating to article attribute data is associated with the identification symbol; And displaying an image character as an online game character based on the identification symbol.
An online game method for displaying an image character on an online game terminal, wherein an image character replicating an article is stored in a database of a server that manages the online game,
(1) The online game terminal transmits an identification symbol attached to an article and associated with the image character to the management server,
(2) After the management server retrieves a plurality of image characters corresponding to the identification symbol from the database,
(3) Select one of the searched image characters by referring to the parameter table related to the attribute data of the article,
(4) Send the selected image character to the game terminal and display it as an online game character.
An online game method using an online game terminal.
The online game method according to claim 1, wherein the online game terminal is a mobile terminal.
The online game method according to claim 1, wherein the article is a prize for a prize machine.
The online game method according to claim 1, wherein membership registration of the online game is performed prior to acquisition of the identification symbol.
The online game method according to claim 2, wherein membership registration of the online game is performed prior to transmission of the identification symbol.

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