JP2009254448A - Online game providing server, online game providing method, and online game providing program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an online game providing server, an online game providing method, and an online game providing program in which an online game provider indirectly accounts and provides a high quality online game free of charge. <P>SOLUTION: The online game providing server 1 comprises a CPU 15, an initial program recording means 16, a user information recording means 17, an item information recording means 18, an accounting information recording means 19, and a game program recording means 20, or others. The CPU 15 comprises an initial program providing means 21, a user information managing means 22, an item managing means 23, a selling and buying managing means 24 for managing to sell and buy items between players themselves, a trade managing means 25 for managing the item trade between the player and a server, a cost fluctuating means 26 for fluctuating item costs from the information on the selling and buying and the trade, an accounting managing means 27, and a game providing means 28, or others. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an online game technology that can be played by a plurality of users on the Internet, and more particularly to an online game providing server, an online game providing method, and an online game providing program in which a free online game and a billing system are integrated.

  With the spread of high-speed communication lines that can be always connected, such as optical lines and DSL lines, the number of users who use online games is increasing. The advantage of this online game is that it is possible to play in real time with multiple users who are online rather than against the computer, and where it is possible to play with other users at their own convenience. ing.

  In such an online game, items can be collected during the game, and these items can be exchanged between players operated by the user. As such a technique, for example, an item database (D2) is provided for recording all item data owned by all players together with their indexes and player IDs, and an index of items owned by each player is recorded. The technique to do is open | released (for example, refer patent document 1).

Some online games can be played for free, and the popularity of these free online games is stable and high. In such free online games, advertisers are often sponsored. For this reason, a description has been developed that encourages more users to view online advertisements and further encourages more users to access the advertiser's web page by mouse click (for example, patent documents). 2).
JP 2002-331171 A JP 2002-56293 A

  However, in the method of Patent Document 1, users can exchange items held by each other by negotiation, but this requires that each other holds the item desired by the other party, and the transaction is smooth. I didn't need to.

  With the method of Patent Document 2, there is a merit that the user side can easily play a free game with no charging risk, but for the free online game provider side, sponsors and stable advertising revenue can be obtained. Without it, it will be difficult to operate continuously.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and provides an online game, which is advantageous for online game providers and users without being charged directly, and the online game provider is indirect. Providing an online game providing server, an online game providing method, and an online game providing program capable of providing high-quality online games free of charge or at a very low price, which can generate profits by performing a simple charge For the purpose.

    In view of the above-described problems, the first feature of the present invention is (a) an online game providing server that provides a virtual world in which a user terminal is operated by a player character to be activated, and is acquired in the virtual world. An online game providing server provided with a trading management means for managing trading of items performed between a player character who wants to sell an item and a player character who wants to purchase the item in a virtual currency distributed in the virtual world. Is the gist.

  The first feature of the present invention further includes (b) a fee payment means for acquiring a sale fee from one or both of the player characters who bought and sold the item when the item is bought and sold. i) Account management means for managing a virtual currency deposit account held by the user terminal in the virtual world; and (ii) User information storage means for storing information related to the deposit account, (iii) Account management means: When acquiring the sale fee from the player character who sold the item, the amount obtained by subtracting the sale fee from the sale amount of the item is stored in the user information storage means; (d) (i) the player character and the online game providing server It further comprises a trade management means for managing item trades between operated trade shops, and (ii) trade management The means manages the buying and selling of all items existing in the virtual world, and (iii) the trade managing means manages the trade of items that are set to be tradeable in advance, (e) (i) buying and selling of items Is performed by a player character who wants to sell an item being exhibited in a private store, and when the item is exhibited in the private store and when the sale of the item is established, the transaction monitoring means for creating transaction data including the item ID; (Ii) trade monitoring means for creating trade data including the number of items traded when an item trade is established; (iii) trade data acquired from the trade monitoring means and trade data acquired from the trade monitoring means And (f) the price of the item, further comprising price fluctuation means for performing price fluctuation of the item based on the information included When the change is executed, the price after the price change becomes the standard price of the item. In order to make the player character who wants to sell the item decide the price to be exhibited in the private store, the standard price is presented and the standard price is used as a reference. You may add further providing the item value setting means which prompts it to set the price to exhibit within a predetermined amount range.

  The second feature of the present invention is (a) an online game providing method for executing an online game providing server that provides a virtual world in which a user terminal operates a player character to activate the game, and is acquired in the virtual world. A method of providing an online game comprising a step of managing the purchase and sale of items performed between a player character who wants to sell an item and a player character who wants to purchase the item in a virtual currency distributed in the virtual world The gist.

  The third feature of the present invention is that: (a) a player character who wants to sell an item acquired in the virtual world to a computer that provides a virtual world in which the user terminal operates the player character and activates the item; The gist of the present invention is an online game providing program that executes a command for managing the buying and selling of items performed with a player character who wants to purchase with the virtual currency in circulation.

  According to the online game providing server, the online game providing method, and the online game providing program of the present invention, the online game provider does not charge directly for providing the online game, but the profit is obtained by making an indirect charge by the online game provider. Can be mentioned. For this reason, a high-quality online game can be provided for a long period of time for free or at a very low fee.

(Embodiment of the present invention)
(Online game provision system)
First, the online game providing system 100 will be described with reference to FIG. The online game providing system 100 includes an online game providing server 1 and user terminals 2a, 2b, 2c, and 2d that perform online games. The online game providing server 1 can be connected to the user terminals 2a to 2d participating in the online game via the Internet or the like. In the embodiment of the present invention, participation in the online game itself is free, and the user is not charged for participation in the game.

  The user terminals 2a to 2d may be terminals including an input device capable of operating a player character in a game, an output device capable of viewing a game situation, and a communication device capable of online communication with the online game providing server 1. For example, a personal computer or a portable terminal distributed in the market corresponds to this.

  The user can exist and act as a player character in the virtual world 3 provided by the online game providing server 1 via the user terminals 2a to 2d. The player character can act according to instructions from the user terminals 2a to 2d. For the sake of explanation, it is assumed that the player character 4 is operated by the user terminal 2a and the player character 7 is operated by the user terminal 2d.

  A non-player character 5 also exists and is active in the virtual world 3. The non-player character 5 is a character created in advance by a programmer and controlled by the online game providing server 1. The non-player character 5 mainly plays a battle or battle with the player characters 4, 7. , 7 is acquired, the item, energy, etc. are acquired, and conversely, the item, property, energy, etc. are given to the player characters 4, 7. The player characters 4 and 7 are set so that the more they have these items, property, energy, etc., the easier it is to win the battle.

Next, in order to promote understanding of the virtual world 3 and economic activities in the virtual world 3, “virtual currency” used in the virtual world 3 provided by the online providing server 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described. The currency used in online games on the market (hereinafter referred to as “in-game money”) can generally be obtained free of charge from in-game activities. The player character has only the function of exchanging items between player characters. On the other hand, in the embodiment of the present invention, the virtual currency can be used for trading as an item price through the store (vendor) between the player characters, and between the trade shop and the player character provided by the online providing server 1. Is set to only trade items.

  Subsequently, buying and selling of items, which is one of the main activities of the player characters 4 and 7, will be described.

  First, in (1) in the virtual world 3 of FIG. 1, the player character 4 makes a predetermined effort such as a battle against the non-player character 5. If this is won, in (2), the non-player character 5 gives the player character 4 a loot item. If this loot item is unnecessary for the player character 4, the user terminal 2a considers selling this item.

  In (3), the user terminal 2a opens a store on the virtual world 3 and presents that an unnecessary item is sold / exhibited. It is assumed that buying and selling is performed only with virtual currency distributed only in the virtual world 3, and the selling price is changed by the online game providing server 1 depending on the buying and selling tendency of the item.

  The user terminal 2d who decides to purchase the item to be displayed for his player character 7 pays the actual currency in (4), for example, Japanese yen in Japan, and the virtual necessary for the selling price in (5). Get the currency. In (6), the user terminal 2d pays a virtual currency equivalent to the item sale price to the player character 4 (user terminal 2a). In (7), the purchased item is acquired by the player character 7 and can be used. .

  Finally, in (8), the user terminal 2a pays, for example, 5% of the selling price to the online game providing server 1 as a selling fee. Note that this sale fee may be paid to the online game provider, and may be paid by the user terminal 2d to purchase, or may be paid separately.

  In addition, although not shown, in the virtual world 3, the player characters 4 and 7 may exchange items (trade) of items at a store operated by a non-player character. In this case, since the value fluctuates based on the popularity and scarcity value of the items, it is necessary to provide the online game providing server 1 with a system that makes these items roughly equal. For example, processing is performed such that three bananas and two apples are required to exchange one melon.

  The major feature of economic activity in the virtual world 3 provided by the online game providing system 100 is that, as described above, items can be bought and sold in virtual currency between players, and the items in the store operated by a non-player character are as follows. Only exchange is allowed. Of course, buying and selling in virtual currency is easier and more convenient than barter exchange, and by actively distributing virtual currency among players, economic activities in the virtual world 3 are activated, and as a result, fees for buying and selling items The online game providing server 1 is designed to increase the amount charged by the online game providing server 1 by increasing the amount of collection and virtual currency.

(Online game server)
Next, the online game providing server 1 for realizing the virtual world 3 will be described with reference to FIG.

  The online game providing server 1 includes an input device 11, an output device 12, a communication control device 13, a main storage device 14, a central processing control device (hereinafter referred to as “CPU”) 15, an initial program storage unit 16, and a user information storage unit 17. , Item information storage means 18, billing information storage means 19, game program storage means 20, and the like. The CPU 15 includes initial program providing means 21, user information management means 22, item management means 23, trade management means 24, trades. A management unit 25, a price fluctuation unit 26, a charge management unit 27, a game providing unit 28, and the like are provided.

  The initial program storage unit 16 stores an initial program to be provided to the user terminals 2a to 2d. The user terminals 2a to 2d can enter the virtual world 3 provided by the online game providing server 1 by installing the initial program.

  The user information storage unit 17 stores, as user information, information related to the user acquired from the user terminals 2a to 2d, user virtual currency account information, player information held by the user, and the like. The player information includes item information held by the player character. The user information is configured as shown in FIG. 3, for example, and includes, as information about the user, “user ID”, “user name”, “user address”, “user mail address”, etc. that each user has uniquely, The account information includes “account ID” that is an account number of virtual currency, “deposit amount” that presents the deposit amount of virtual currency, etc., and “player ID”, “player name”, “player characteristics” as player information, A “player item ID” indicating an item held by the player is provided. In addition, as information on items held by the player character, “player item ID”, “item name”, “number” indicating the number of items held, “characteristics” of the item, “exhibition” indicating that the item is being exhibited at a personal store “Middle flag” and the like. A user can have a plurality of players, and each player can have a plurality of items.

  Further, since the items held by the player can be freely bought and sold, an item being exhibited as a sale item, more specifically, an exhibiting flag is added. Player items are separately stored as item information being exhibited as shown in FIG. Item information under exhibition includes “exhibition ID”, “user ID”, “player ID”, “item ID under exhibition”, “current sale price” arbitrarily set on the selling user terminal 2a side, store management means of the server “Exhibition end date and time” set in 24a. The operation of “Exhibition End Date” may be arbitrarily set according to the user's request.

  The item information storage means 18 is “item information” that is bought and sold between the player characters 4 and 7, and “tradeable item information” that is traded at the trade shop operated by the player characters 4 and 7 and the online game providing server 1. With. The item information is information on all items existing in the virtual world 3, and the tradeable item information is information on items set to be tradeable in the online game providing server 1 among the item information. The item information storage means 18 is configured as shown in FIG. 5 and includes item information “item ID”, “item name”, “feature” of the item, “total number” of the item existing in the virtual world 3, “Inventory quantity” in the trade shop of the item, “Price fluctuation presence / absence” which is a flag indicating whether or not the item has price fluctuation, “Minimum price” of the item, “Current price” of the item, and the like. The “price fluctuation presence / absence” flag is provided so that a fixed price can be set when it is appropriate not to fluctuate the price due to reasons such as the price rising too rapidly. It is assumed that the price is variable.

  The tradeable item information includes the same data items as the item information. Tradeable item information may be centrally managed by providing a “tradeable flag” in the item information item.

  The billing information storage unit 19 includes billing information collected from the user. “Billing” refers to Japanese yen revenue paid from the player side in exchange for virtual currency, virtual currency fee paid from the sold player side when trading is established, and the like.

  The game program storage means 20 provides the virtual world 3 to be provided to the user and the activities of the player characters 4 and 7 performed on the virtual world 3, for example, battle with enemies, creation of friends, chat with friends, execution of missions A program for realizing the above is stored. Further, in the case of a game that is executed for a long period of time such as a role playing game, the past performance results of the player character may be stored.

  The initial program providing means 21 provides the initial program stored in the initial program storage means 16 to the user terminals 2a to 2d in response to requests from the user terminals 2a to 2d.

  The user information management unit 22 manages user information (see FIG. 5) stored in the user information storage unit 17. For example, if the user ID is confirmed or the user information is obtained by setting in the initial program, it is created as new user information, or when the user information is changed, for example, when the address is changed, the information is updated. I do.

  The user information management unit 22 includes a player information management unit 22a, an account management unit 22b, and the like. The player information management means 22a manages player information in the user information. For example, information is updated when there is a new addition of a player character, a new addition of a player item, or the like. In addition, when an item is sold or traded, the item information being sold is deleted, the item information traded is deleted, the item information purchased or traded is added, and the like. The account management unit 22b manages account information in the user information. For example, information is updated when there is a virtual currency deposit by cash exchange, a virtual currency withdrawal by item purchase, or the like.

  The item management unit 23 manages item information stored in the item information storage unit 18. For example, when the number of items is increased or decreased, the total number of items is increased or decreased, and when the current price is changed, the current price is changed.

  The sale management means 24 manages the sale of items between player characters. The sales management unit 24 includes a store management unit 24a, an item value setting unit 24b, a sales management unit 24c, a fee payment unit 24d, a sales monitoring unit 24e, and the like.

  The store management means 24a performs processing for the player characters 4 and 7 to operate a personal store (vendor), for example, registration of vendor setting, display of sold items, display of a sold item list, creation of item information data being exhibited, etc. Do.

  The item value setting means 24b is a means for setting the price of the sale item, acquires the current price of the item from the item information storage means 18, and presents it to the user terminals 2a to 2d to be sold. The user freely sets the sale price at ± 10% of the presented current price via the user terminals 2a to 2d. The item value setting means 24b uses the set price as the sale price of the item. The set sale price is set as the current sale price in the exhibition item information (see FIG. 4). Further, when the selling price is updated, the current selling price in the exhibition item information is also updated.

  The personal store (vendor) screen is displayed on the user terminals 2a to 2d as shown in FIG. 6, and presents information such as items to be sold and sale price.

  When the item is purchased, the sales management unit 24c notifies the account management unit 22b to reflect the expenditure in the account information of the user in the user information storage unit 17. On the contrary, when the item is sold, the account management unit 22b is notified so that the sale is reflected in the account information of the user in the user information storage unit 17. Note that the amount added to the account information is the sales amount minus the sale fee.

  When the item is sold, the fee payment unit 24d calculates the sale fee and notifies the sales management unit 24c, and transmits the sale fee to the charge management unit 27 to be updated on the charge information storage unit 19. Let

  The sale monitoring means 24e monitors the sale and, when the sale is established, creates the item ID, sale number, purchase number, etc. of the sold item as sale data and transmits it to the price fluctuation means 26. Further, when an item is exhibited in a private store, the item ID is transmitted to the price fluctuation means 26 as sales data.

  The trade management means 25 manages trades between the player characters 4 and 7 and the trade shop. The trade management means 25 includes a trade management means 25a, an item value setting means 25b, a trade determination means 25c, a trade monitoring means 25d, and the like.

  The trade management means 25a performs processing for managing a trade shop, for example, trade shop setting, display of trade items, display of a trade item list, and the like.

  The item value setting means 25b is a means for setting the value (price) of a trade item, acquires the current price of the item from the tradeable item information in the item information storage means 18, and sets this price as the trade value. To do. The trade value is equivalent to the selling price.

  The trade shop screen is displayed on the user terminals 2a to 2d as shown in FIG. 7 and presents information on items to be traded.

  The trade determination means 25c determines whether the item to be traded has an equal value. If the value of an item is 100 in terms of sales price, the other prompts adjustment to trade with an item value of around 100, for example, two of item value (price) 50.

  The trade monitoring unit 25d monitors the trade, and when the trade is established, sets the number of traded items as the number of sold items, the number of purchased items, etc., creates these as trade data, and transmits them to the price changing unit 26.

  The price fluctuation means 26 aggregates the trade data transmitted from the trade monitoring means 24e and the trade data transmitted from the trade monitoring means 25d, and performs price fluctuation processing. The price fluctuation amount is calculated using the calculation formula shown in FIG. 8 based on the number of sales set by the vendor (trading between player characters), and also shown in FIG. 9 based on the number of sold / purchased player characters in the trade shop. The calculation formula is used. That is, the amount of price fluctuation is calculated based on the total amount of sales at vendors and trade shops.

  The charge management unit 27 updates information in the charge information storage unit 19 and performs charge management.

  The game providing unit 28 executes a game program stored in the game program storage unit 20 and provides the virtual world 3 to the user terminals 2a to 2d.

  The input device 11 is a connected keyboard or mouse, an interface for receiving an input signal from another device, or the like. The output device 12 is a display device, a printing device, an interface that transmits an output signal to another device, or the like. The communication control device 13 generates and controls a control signal for transmitting and receiving data via a wireless and wired network. The main storage device 14 temporarily stores a program describing processing procedures and data to be processed, and delivers a machine instruction and data of the program according to a request from the CPU 15.

(Operation of online game server)
Next, the overall operation when the online game providing server 1 receives access from the user terminals 2a to 2d will be described using the flowchart of FIG.

(A) First, in S101, when there is a connection request from the user terminals 2a to 2d, the user information management means 22 checks the user ID included in the connection request. If the user ID matches with the user ID stored in the user information storage means 17 in step S102, the process proceeds to step S103, and admission to the game (virtual world 3) is permitted. If the user terminals 2a to 2d are not registered for game participation and do not have a user ID, the initial program providing means 21 instructs setting of the initial program in step S104. If the user ID does not match the user ID stored in the user information storage means 17, the process proceeds to step S105, and the user ID is prompted again.

(B) When entering the virtual world 3, the player characters 4 and 7 perform their favorite activities by operating the user terminals 2a to 2d (step S106). When a battle with the enemy character (non-player character) 5 is selected in step S107, an effort is made to acquire items by the battle. When the item trade is selected in step S108, the items are exchanged at the trade shop. Details of this will be described later. When the sale of the possessed item is selected in step S109, the sale process is performed at the personal store. Details of this will be described later. When the purchase of the item is selected in step S110, the item purchase process is performed at the personal store. Details of this will be described later. When the update of player information is selected in step S111, the personal information of each player, for example, the player's specialty technique, player name, player characteristics, and the like are updated. In addition, user information and account information may be updated. Further, although not described in the flowchart of FIG. 10, it may be possible to become friends with other player characters, chat, or execute a specific mission.

(C) Finally, when the end of the game is selected from the user terminals 2a to 2d in step S112, the current performance record of the player character is stored in the game program storage means 20 in step S113, and the game is ended. .

(Buying and selling processing)
Next, the item sale process in step S109 and the item purchase process in S110 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. Any player character (user terminals 2a to 2d) existing in the virtual world 3 can basically sell or purchase an item, but for the sake of explanation, in the operations of steps S201 to S215, , It is assumed that the selling user terminal 2a desires to sell and the purchasing user terminal 2d desires to purchase.

(A) In S201, the selling user terminal 2a notifies the online game providing server 1 that the user wants to sell the item he / she owns. Upon receipt of this notification, the store management means 24a of the online game providing server 1 installs a vendor (individual store) in the virtual world 3, displays a sale item, and inputs a sale item exhibition flag in the user information storage means 17, Creation of item information data during exhibition (see FIG. 4). Further, the sale monitoring means 24e creates the item ID that has been exhibited as sale data and transmits it to the price fluctuation means 26. In addition, it may be determined whether or not the private store operation is permitted by the activity in the virtual world 3 of the sold user 2a.

(B) In step S203, the item value setting unit 24b acquires the current price of the item information stored in the item information storage unit 18, and presents it to the selling user terminal 2a as the current standard price of the sold item. The sales price is urged to be determined within ± 10% (step S204). It should be noted that other ranges may be set depending on the setting, for example, within + 10%.

(C) In step S205, the selling user terminal 2a determines the selling price within ± 10% of the current standard price, and notifies the item value setting means 24b. The item value setting means 24b sets the notified sale price as the current sale price of the item information being exhibited. Note that the sale price is set to be within ± 10% of the current standard price in order to suppress rapid inflation in the virtual world 3 and maintain the stability of the virtual world 3 market, which corresponds to a low stop and a high stop in the stock market. In addition, there is also an effect of suppressing virtual currency operations by a malicious third party, for example, acts such as intentionally lifting the market price of items owned by oneself in a short period of time and illegally concentrating virtual currency locally. It should be noted that listing cancellation of an item in a personal store can be freely performed by the selling user 2a's intention before the sale to the purchase applicant. Further, it is assumed that the selling price and the like can be freely updated by the selling user 2a. The updated information is reflected in the item information being exhibited in the user information storage means 17.

(D) In step S206, sale item list information such as sale items and sale prices is displayed on the personal store screen as shown in FIG. This personal store screen can be viewed from any player character (user terminal 2d) in the virtual world 3. When the purchase user terminal 2d browsing the personal store screen determines an item to be purchased in step S207, the purchase request is notified to the online game providing server 1 in step S208. Specifically, the purchase request notification is made by clicking the check button on the personal store screen of FIG. 6 on the purchase user terminal 2d. It is assumed that this transaction is established by sending a purchase request notification.

(E) In step S209, the sales management unit 24c notifies the account management unit 22b to subtract the current sale price of the sold item from the deposit amount of the account information of the purchase user terminal 2d. Furthermore, the fee payment unit 24d calculates, for example, 5% of the current sale price of the sale item as the fee, and the sales management unit 24c calculates the amount obtained by subtracting the calculated amount from the sales (current sale price) as the sale fee. The account management means 22b is notified to add to the deposit amount of the account information of the sold user terminal 2a. The fee payment unit 24d transmits the sale fee to the charging management unit 27 and updates it on the charging information storage unit 19 (step S210). In step S211, when the sale is established, the sale monitoring unit 24e creates the item ID, the number of sale, the number of purchases, etc. of the sold item as sale data, and transmits it to the price fluctuation unit 26.

(F) Finally, in step S212, the player information management means 22a deletes the item information data being exhibited (see FIG. 4) and the item information in the player information (see FIG. 3) of the selling user terminal 2a. The sold item information, that is, the deleted item information is notified to the sale user terminal 2a or can be viewed from the sale user terminal 2a. Further, in step S214, the player information management unit 22a adds the purchased item information to the item information in the player information of the purchased user terminal 2d. The added item information is notified to the purchasing user terminal 2d or can be viewed from the selling user terminal 2a.

(Trade processing operation)
Next, the item trading process in step S108 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

 (A) First, in step S301, the trade management means 25a of the online game providing server 1 sets up a trade shop, displays a tradeable item list, and the like. These are obtained from the tradeable item information in the item information storage means 18.

(B) In step S302, the user terminals 2a to 2d browse a tradeable item list and select an item to be acquired and a replacement item. The exchange item is selected from items held by itself.

(C) In step S303, the item value setting unit 25b acquires the current price of the item from the tradeable item information in the item information storage unit 18 for the item to be acquired and the exchange item, and sets this price as the trade value. . Since the item value constantly fluctuates, it is desirable to perform this current price acquisition process each time a trade item is selected.

(D) In step S304, the trade determination means 25c determines whether the item to be acquired and the exchange item have an equal value. If it is determined that the trade is impossible, the process proceeds to step S305 to prompt the trade item to be reset. For example, if the value of an item to be acquired is assumed to be 100 at the current price, the exchanged item is not regarded as being equal unless the item value is around 100 as a single item, or the total item value is around 100. Therefore, when the exchange item has an item value of 80, adjustment is prompted to add an item having an item value of 20 or more. The trade screen is displayed as shown in FIG. 7, and the user terminals 2a to 2d perform item selection by mouse operation such as click and drag. When the item to be acquired and the exchange item are not of equal value, the balance at the center of the screen is tilted to one side so that it can be visually recognized on the user terminals 2a to 2d.

(E) When it is determined that the trade is possible and the trade is established, in step S306, the trade management means 25 notifies the player information management means 22a of this, and the player information management means 22a allows the user terminals 2a to 2d to trade. The acquired item is added to the item information in the user information storage unit 17, and conversely, the exchange item is deleted from the item information in the user information storage unit 17. In step S307, the trade management means 25 notifies the item management means 23 that the trade has been established, and updates the inventory quantity data of the item ID of the exchange item. Finally, in step S308, the trade monitoring unit 25d uses the item ID and trade number (purchased number) of the item acquired by the user terminals 2a to 2d, and the item ID and trade number (sold number) of the exchange item as the price changing unit 26. Send to.

(Price fluctuation behavior)
Next, price fluctuation processing by the price fluctuation means 26 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

(A) First, in step S401, it is determined whether a preset time has elapsed in the online game providing server 1. For example, if the timer is set so that the price fluctuation fluctuates every 24 hours, the price fluctuation processing is started every day.

(B) In step S402, the price changing unit 26 totals the trading data transmitted from the trading monitoring unit 24e and the trade data transmitted from the trade monitoring unit 25d, and calculates a new item price in step S403. Specifically, the sales data is calculated using the formula shown in FIG. 8 for the number of sales and the number of purchases at the vendor (individual store). For example, it is assumed that the item A has a current price of 100, the quantity sold on the previous day on the virtual world 3 is 80, and the quantity purchased on the previous day is 50. In this case, since “the number of sales settings is 10 or more and the number of sales settings ÷ 2 <the number of purchases”, a 5% price is added, and the current price from the next day is 105. For the trade data, calculation processing is performed for the number acquired by the user at the trade shop (number of purchases) and the number of items exchanged (number of sales) using the formula shown in FIG. For example, assuming that the item A is the previous item, if the quantity acquired (purchased) on the previous day in the virtual world 3 is 20 and the quantity redeemed (sold) on the previous day is 10, “10 or more player characters sold and Since the number of sales <the number of purchases ”, a 5% price will be added, and the current price from the next day will be 110.

  When the price drops, the price changing unit 26 checks whether the price is below the minimum price (see FIG. 5) set in each item information, and sets the minimum price as the latest current price even if the price is below the minimum price. Shall. Conversely, the maximum price may be set and set so as not to increase beyond the maximum price.

(C) In step S404, the newly calculated current price is updated on the item information storage means 18. When the selling user terminal 2a is exhibiting at a personal store, if the current selling price in the exhibition item information becomes an inappropriate price due to price fluctuations, the selling user terminal 2a participates in the next game, etc. The item value setting means 24b prompts the user to reset the value.

(Distribution of virtual currency)
As a summary, the flow of currency and virtual currency in the online game providing system 100 will be described with reference to FIG.

  As described above, the player character 4 in the center of FIG. 14 acquires an item by playing against the enemy character (non-player character) 5. The player character 4 opens a personal store (vendor) and sells the acquired item to another player character 7. The player character 7 exchanges actual currency, for example, Japanese yen and virtual currency, with the online game providing server 1 in order to pay the sale price. The player character 4 acquires a virtual currency equivalent to the item sale amount and pays the sale fee to the online game providing server 1.

  The player character 4 exchanges items between items at a trade shop operated by the non-player character, that is, the online game providing server 1. The trade shop on the left side of FIG. 14 represents the past, the trade shop on the right side of FIG. 14 represents the future, and the connected arrows represent the flow of time. That is, the item that the player character has traded in the past trade shop may be traded again in the future at the trade shop.

  In addition, although not described so far, the player character 4 is used to make the player characters 4 and 7 more attractive outside the virtual world 3 in an out-game shop operated by the online game providing server 1. It is also possible to purchase decorative items.

  Only trades between items are performed between player characters and non-player characters in the virtual world 3, and items and virtual currency can be traded between player characters. When trading, the items to be exchanged need to be equivalent, so extra calculation processing may be included, or the necessary items may not be acquired with the items on hand. On the other hand, since the price is clearly presented in the case of buying and selling items and virtual currency, no extra calculation processing is required and smooth trading can be performed. If the existing virtual currency does not reach the selling price, the Japanese yen and the virtual currency can be converted into cash.

  The virtual currency can be obtained by acquiring and cashing items through battles, so it can be saved by performing many activities and efforts in the virtual world 3 without cashing in Japanese yen. That is, the user can select whether to obtain the virtual currency by effort (match) or by cashing.

  Note that it is possible to convert Japanese yen to virtual currency, but it is impossible to convert virtual currency to Japanese yen.

  By preferentially buying and selling with virtual currency in this way, more virtual currency is held in the virtual world 3. In addition, as described above, the virtual currency includes “item purchase price between customers”, “item trade consideration between customer and online game providing server (online game providing side) (trade standard)” and “online game providing server ( It has the feature of "the fee collected by the online game provider)". However, without relying on fee income, as the demand for virtual currency increases with the passage of time in the virtual world 3, a virtual currency lending request to the online game provider, that is, a customer's virtual currency purchase (cash) behavior inevitably occurs. Will be.

  The growth model of the increase in virtual currency demand can be represented by a graph as shown in FIG. (1) Virtual currency distribution graph shows ½ of virtual currency amount in virtual world 3 and virtual currency revenue at non-game shop, (2) Virtual currency graph shows virtual currency revenue at non-game shop , (3) The virtual currency sales total graph is a graph model created based on the total sales of (1) virtual currency distribution and (2) the amount of money outside the game, and shows that it grows upward. Has been.

  In addition, the price of the item will be described. If the item is a so-called chargeable item purchased from a game operating company, the chargeable item value (finite) graph indicates that the chargeable item number is finite, as shown in the chargeable item value (finite) graph. If the number of chargeable items is infinite, as shown in the chargeable item value (infinite) graph, the number of chargeable items decreases. The same applies to items that are not chargeable, that is, items that are acquired in the game. If the number of items is finite, the item value (finite) graph will rise, but if the number of items is infinite, the item will increase. As the value (infinite) graph shows, it goes down.

  In the online game providing system 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention, in view of this phenomenon, in the virtual world 3 as item information data as shown in FIG. 5, each item value takes a movement similar to a finite graph. The total number of items to be supplied and the number of items in stock are managed. By managing in this way, it is possible to appropriately set the market distribution status of the item and the market price suitable for the item.

  The online game providing server 1 according to the present invention does not employ a function for producing in-game money unlimitedly present in a general online game and paying out as a consideration for the efforts of the player character in the game. Therefore, the in-game money graph is always 0. In addition, in addition to the function of not transferring items between two parties without consideration as a vendor (individual store), money in the game and money such as Japanese yen are exchanged in a place and means unrelated to the game in the real world. Cash-out transactions by real money trading companies, etc., who are engaged in business are excluded. As a result, the virtual world remains healthy and the interests of customers and online game providers are protected.

  As described above, according to the online game providing system 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention, the online game is provided to the user without charging directly, and the online game provider performs indirect charging to generate profit. It is possible to mention.

  By encouraging the buying and selling of items between users using virtual currency, it is possible to earn revenue from buying and selling fees. In addition, by encouraging the buying and selling of items between users by virtual currency, an increase in the amount of virtual currency can be expected, and in accordance with this, it is possible to raise profits from virtual currency redemption. Since the item sale or trade status is monitored and the item price of the virtual world 3 is changed similarly to the market price, the user's interest can be attracted and the user's motivation to participate in the game can be sustained for a long time. As a result, high-quality online games can be provided over a long period of time for free or at a very low fee, and high profits can be made.

It is a figure showing the whole online game offer system composition concerning an embodiment of the invention. It is a figure which shows the internal structure of the online game provision server which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the data structure of user information. It is a figure which shows the data structure of item information during exhibition. It is a figure which shows the data structure of item information. It is a screen figure which shows the example of a screen of a private store. It is a screen figure which shows the example of a screen of a trade. It is a figure which shows the fluctuation rate calculation formula of trading data. It is a figure which shows the fluctuation rate calculation formula of trade data. It is a flowchart which shows the whole operation | movement of an online game provision system. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of a vendor process. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of a trade process. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of a price fluctuation process. It is the schematic diagram which showed distribution of the item, currency, virtual currency, etc. in a virtual world. It is the graph which showed increase / decrease in the item in the virtual world, currency, virtual currency, etc.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Online game provision server 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d ... User terminal 3 ... Virtual world 4, 7 ... Player character 5 ... Non-player character 11 ... Input device 12 ... Output device 13 ... Communication control device 14 ... Main storage device 15 ... CPU
16 ... Initial program storage means 17 ... User information storage means 18 ... Item information storage means 19 ... Billing information storage means 20 ... Game program storage means 21 ... Initial program provision means 22 ... User information management means 22a ... Player information management means 22b ... Account management means 23 ... Item management means 24 ... Sales management means 24a ... Store management means 24b ... Item value setting means 24c ... Sales management means 24d ... Fee payment means 24e ... Trade monitoring means 25 ... Trade management means 25a ... Trade management means 25b ... Item value setting means 25c ... Trade determination means 25d ... Trade monitoring means 26 ... Price fluctuation means 27 ... Charge management means 28 ... Game providing means 100 ... Online game providing system

Claims (18)

An online game providing server that provides a virtual world in which a user terminal is operated by a player character to be active,
Trading management for managing the buying and selling of the item performed between a player character who wants to sell an item acquired in the virtual world and a player character who wants to purchase the item in virtual currency distributed in the virtual world An online game providing server comprising: means. 2. The online game providing server according to claim 1, further comprising a fee payment unit configured to acquire a sale fee from one or both of the player characters who have bought and sold the item when the item has been bought and sold. Account management means for managing a deposit account of the virtual currency held by the user terminal in the virtual world;
User information storage means for storing information relating to the deposit account;
The said account management means, when acquiring the sale fee from the player character who sold the item, stores the amount obtained by subtracting the sale fee from the sale amount of the item in the user information storage unit. The online game providing server according to claim 1 or 2. A trade management means for managing a trade of the item between the player character and a trade shop operated by the online game providing server;
The trade management means manages the trade of all items existing in the virtual world,
The online game providing server according to claim 1, wherein the trade management unit manages a trade of an item set to be tradeable in advance. The purchase and sale of the item is performed by the player character who wants to sell the item being exhibited in a personal store,
Trading monitoring means for creating trading data including ID of the item when the item is exhibited in the personal store and when the trading of the item is established;
Trade monitoring means for creating trade data including the number of traded items when the trade of the item is established;
The price fluctuation means for executing price fluctuation of the item based on the information including the trade data acquired from the trade monitoring means and the trade data acquired from the trade monitoring means. Or the online game provision server of Claim 4. When the price change of the item is executed, the price after the price change becomes the standard price of the item,
In order to allow a player character who wants to sell the item to determine the price to be exhibited in the personal store, the standard price is presented, and the price to be exhibited is set within a predetermined amount range based on the standard price. 6. The online game providing server according to claim 1, further comprising item value setting means. An online game providing method for executing an online game providing server that provides a virtual world in which a user terminal is operated by a player character to perform an activity,
Managing the purchase and sale of the item performed between a player character who wants to sell the item acquired in the virtual world and a player character who wants to purchase the item in virtual currency distributed in the virtual world. An online game providing method comprising: providing an online game. The online game providing method according to claim 7, further comprising a step of acquiring a selling fee from one or both of the player characters who bought and sold the item when the item is bought and sold. Managing a deposit account of the virtual currency held by the user terminal in the virtual world;
Storing information on the deposit account in a user information storage means;
The step of managing the deposit account stores the amount obtained by subtracting the sale fee from the sale amount of the item in the user information storage means when acquiring the sale fee from the player character that sold the item. The online game providing method according to claim 7 or claim 8. A step of managing a trade of the item between a trade shop operated by the player character and the online game providing server;
In the step of managing the buying and selling, managing the buying and selling of all items existing in the virtual world,
The method for providing an online game according to claim 7, wherein in the step of managing the trade, a trade of an item that is set to be tradeable in advance is managed. The purchase and sale of the item is performed by the player character who wants to sell the item being exhibited in a personal store,
Creating trading data including the ID of the item when the item is listed in the personal store and when the trading of the item is established;
Creating trade data including the number of items traded when the item trades; and
A step of performing price fluctuation of the item based on the information including the trade data created in the step of creating the trade data and the trade data created in the step of creating the trade data; The online game providing method according to claim 7, wherein the online game providing method is provided. When the price change of the item is executed, the price after the price change becomes the standard price of the item,
In order to allow a player character who wants to sell the item to determine the price to be exhibited in the personal store, the standard price is presented, and the price to be exhibited is set within a predetermined amount range based on the standard price. The online game providing method according to claim 7, further comprising a step. In a computer that provides a virtual world in which a user terminal is operated by operating a player character,
A command for managing the purchase and sale of the item performed between a player character who wants to sell an item acquired in the virtual world and a player character who wants to purchase the item in a virtual currency distributed in the virtual world; An online game providing program characterized by being executed. The online game providing program according to claim 13, wherein when the item is sold and sold, an instruction to acquire a sale fee is executed from one or both of the player characters who bought and sold the item. An instruction for managing a deposit account of the virtual currency held by the user terminal in the virtual world;
A command for storing information relating to the deposit account in a user information storage means;
The instruction to manage the deposit account stores the amount obtained by subtracting the sale fee from the sale amount of the item in the user information storage means when acquiring the sale fee from the player character that sold the item. 15. The online game providing program according to claim 13 or claim 14. Further comprising instructions for managing the trade of the item between the player character and a trade shop controlled by the computer;
In the order to manage the buying and selling, managing the buying and selling of all items existing in the virtual world,
The online game providing program according to claim 13, wherein the trade management command manages a trade of an item that is set in advance to be tradeable. The purchase and sale of the item is performed by the player character who wants to sell the item being exhibited in a personal store,
An instruction to create trading data including an ID of the item when the item has been exhibited in the personal store and when the item has been bought and sold;
Instructions to create trade data including the number of items traded when the item trades;
A command to execute price fluctuations of the item based on information including the trading data created by the command to create the trading data and the trade data created by the command to create the trade data; The online game providing program according to claim 13 or 16, wherein the program is executed. When the price change of the item is executed, the price after the price change becomes the standard price of the item,
In order to allow a player character who wants to sell the item to determine the price to be exhibited in the personal store, the standard price is presented, and the price to be exhibited is set within a predetermined amount range based on the standard price. The online game providing program according to claim 13, wherein the command is further executed.

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