JP2018068625A - Game system, game device, game article, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To permit suitable game play for a game in which a plurality of game elements can appear.SOLUTION: A game system provides games configured such that a plurality of game elements can appear. For a first game of the games, a partial game element of the plurality of game elements is determined as a main game element capable of appearing in the first game. For a game element including the main game element, selection is received, and a game element as the main game element is changed, based on a totaled result of the number of times selected for each.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

  The present invention relates to a game system, a game device, a game product, and a program, and more particularly, to a game device that provides game play based on information acquired from the product.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, some electronic games provided for portable devices and home game consoles are configured so that a user-desired character can be selected from a plurality of characters and used for game play.

  On the other hand, in recent years, the number of characters tends to increase in games of this type, and as a result, there are a wide variety of characters that can be selected by the user. Therefore, for example, in the process of associating any character with the user by lottery, the number of characters that are the population of the lottery increases, so that the probability that a desired character is provided to the user can be reduced. On the other hand, Patent Document 1 discloses a game control for controlling a winning probability of a character in a lottery process based on a user setting so that a card of a user's favorite character (a spear character) is easily provided as a hand during play. An apparatus is disclosed.

Japanese Patent No. 5711694

  By the way, in the game that provides a large number of characters to be playable as described above, the characters used by the user are biased, and as a result, some characters are used less frequently or appear in the game. Can lead to situations such as not being preferred. In addition, in a mode in which a new character is added at a predetermined timing in order to maintain the user's interest, the number of characters with low usage frequency can be increased and become more prominent.

  Therefore, even if the winning probability is controlled as in Patent Document 1, a suitable game play may not be provided depending on the number of characters in the population.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and provides a game system, a game device, a game article, and a program that enable suitable game play for a game in which a plurality of game elements can appear. For the purpose.

  In order to achieve the above object, a game system of the present invention is a game system that provides a game configured such that a plurality of game elements can appear, and a plurality of games per first game among the games. A determination means for determining a part of the game elements as a main game element that can appear in the first game, an execution means for executing the first game, and a game element including the main game element are selected. A selection means for accepting, and a counting means for counting the number of selected times for each of the game elements including the main game element; To change.

  With such a configuration, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide suitable game play for a game in which a plurality of game elements can appear.

The figure which showed the system configuration | structure of the game system which concerns on embodiment of this invention. The block diagram which showed the function structure of the server 100 which concerns on embodiment of this invention. The block diagram which showed the function structure of the game device 200 which concerns on embodiment of this invention. The figure which showed the data structural example of the various information based on embodiment of this invention The figure which showed the structural example of the card | curd discharged | emitted in the game device 200 which concerns on embodiment of this invention. The flowchart which illustrated the change process which changes the classification | category of the character of a provision game performed with the server 100 which concerns on embodiment of this invention.

[Embodiment]
Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that, in the embodiment described below, as an example of a game system, a game apparatus that can provide game play related to one game content, and a server configured to be able to communicate with these game apparatuses are included in the present invention. An example in which is applied will be described. However, the present invention can be applied to any game system or game apparatus capable of dynamically changing and controlling game elements that can appear in at least some of the provided games.

  In the present embodiment, in the game provided in the game device, when playing the game, the user uses an article that can be used for the game, so that a game element based on the article information acquired from the article appears in the game. It will be described as something that can be made. In addition, the game apparatus is configured to be able to discharge articles that can be used in the game in this way.

  In the following description, an article that can be used for a game discharged from a game device will be described as a card. However, an article is limited to a card as long as the article information described below can be acquired. is not. The article may be a modeled object such as a figure having the appearance of a game element (character or item), for example. In this case, the article information may be acquirable from a recording medium inside the modeled object or a part of an appearance such as a seal or a print attached to the modeled object. The article may be any article such as a toy or a seal as well as a figure. Further, in the present embodiment, the article information is described as being applied to the card in such a manner that the article information is converted into a one-dimensional or multi-dimensional pattern (code) by applying a predetermined conversion operation and printed on the card surface. It is assumed that the code image of the card is configured to be able to acquire the article information by being read by each reader described later. However, the manner in which the article information is attached to the card is not limited to that attached to the card as such visible information, but is attached to a recording medium such as an IC chip attached by printing with invisible ink or included in the card. Any data may be recorded and stored as data.

  In the present embodiment, in a game executed by the game device, a game element that can be made to appear by using a card is assumed to be a character, and a corresponding character pattern (character image) is attached to the card. It will be described as a thing. However, the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to this, and the card for the purpose of specifying the game element of the game to be executed is not limited to the card that can specify the character related to the game, and the items, effects, etc. It goes without saying that other game elements may be specified.

《Game system configuration》
Here, the system configuration of the game system according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. As illustrated, the game system is configured so that the server 100 and each of the plurality of game devices 200 can communicate with each other via the network 300. In the following description, components that realize the same function in the server 100 and the game device 200 are distinguished from each other by adding the prefix “server” to the former.

<Configuration of Server 100>
Next, the functional configuration of the server 100 will be described with reference to the block diagram of FIG.

  The server control unit 101 is a CPU, for example, and controls the operation of each block included in the server 100. Specifically, the server control unit 101 controls the operation of each block by, for example, reading an operation program for each block recorded in the server recording medium 102 and developing it in the server memory 103 for execution.

  The server recording medium 102 is a recording device that can hold data permanently, such as a nonvolatile memory or an HDD. The server recording medium 102 stores information such as parameters necessary for the operation of each block in addition to the operation program for each block of the server 100. The server memory 103 is a storage device used for temporary data storage, such as a volatile memory. The server memory 103 is used not only as a development area for the operation program of each block, but also as a storage area for temporarily storing data output in the operation of each block.

  The server character DB 104 is a database that manages various types of information (character information) about each of all the characters that are predetermined as appearing in the game provided in the game device 200 of the present embodiment. The character information managed for one character may have a data structure as shown in FIG. 4A, for example. In the example of FIG. 4A, the character information managed as one record on the server character DB 104 for one character is associated with the character ID 401 that uniquely identifies the character in the game, and the character appears in the game. Information 402 for showing the correspondence with various data such as character images used at the time of the game, and parameters indicating the character-specific ability parameters such as score increase value, possessive skill, skill, etc., predetermined for the character 403 is managed. In the game system of this embodiment, the provided game includes a plurality of types of games as will be described later, and characters that can appear between different types of games may be different. Further, the characters that are subject to card ejection in the game device 200 are limited to a part of all the characters that can appear in the game. Therefore, in the server character DB 104, in order to manage in which game each character can appear or whether the card can be ejected, the character information includes classification information 404 indicating the classification of the character. The classification information 404 may be indicated by an enumeration type, for example, or may be expressed by a bit pattern having a number of digits that can uniquely specify a predetermined number of classifications.

  The totaling unit 105 collects information on the number of times each character has been selected in the game play in the game apparatus 200 and performs totalization. The game provided in the game system of this embodiment includes a game for selecting a character as will be described later. When the server communication unit 106 receives information about the character selected for each game play by the user and the number of times of selection performed by the game device 200 connected to the server 100, the counting unit 105 receives the information. The number of times each character is selected based on the above is counted. In the game system of the present embodiment, the aggregation is performed with a predetermined period, and a character is selected for each game play performed in the game apparatus 200 connected to the server 100 within the period. Is called. Therefore, the totaling unit 105 sequentially receives information on the character selected during the period and the number of times, and performs a totaling process.

  In the present embodiment, information about the progress of aggregation and the result of aggregation may be managed in association with character information relating to each character stored in the server character DB 104 as aggregation information 405. That is, the totaling unit 105 calculates the increment of the selected number of times for each character by totaling the information of the selected number of times obtained at a predetermined timing, and based on the increment, the total information of the corresponding character information 405 is updated. Information about the progress of aggregation and the results of aggregation managed as the aggregation information 405 is transmitted not only when the game device 200 is used, but when a browsing request is received from a PC or a portable terminal, for example, and presented at the requesting device. It may be constituted as follows. By configuring in this way, for example, it is possible for the user to check the midway ranking of the character that he / she wants to support, and the motivation for game play can be improved more suitably.

  The server communication unit 106 is a communication interface that the server 100 has. In the present embodiment, the server communication unit 106 establishes a communication connection with the game device 200 that is an external device via the network 300 at a predetermined timing, and exchanges information. For example, the communication unit 106 converts information input as a transmission target into data of a predetermined format, and transmits the data to the game device 200 via the network 300. For example, when the server communication unit 106 receives information via the network 300, the server communication unit 106 decodes the information and stores it in the server memory 103.

  In the present embodiment, the server communication unit 106 receives information on the selected character and the number of times of the game play performed on the game device 200, for example. In addition, the server communication unit 106 transmits information necessary for various game controls based on the counting results to each of the plurality of game devices 200 at the timing when the counting of the predetermined period is completed. Information necessary for various game controls may include information related to a change of characters that can appear in some games in the present embodiment, and data necessary for game execution due to the change.

<Configuration of game device 200>
Here, the functional configuration of the game apparatus 200 will be described with reference to the block diagram of FIG.

  The control unit 201 is a CPU, for example, and controls the operation of each block included in the game apparatus 200. Specifically, the control unit 201 controls the operation of each block by, for example, reading an operation program for each block recorded on the recording medium 202, developing it in the memory 203, and executing it.

  The recording medium 202 is a recording device that can hold data permanently, such as a nonvolatile memory or an HDD. The recording medium 202 stores information such as parameters necessary for the operation of each block and various graphics data used for the game executed by the game device 200, in addition to the operation program for each block of the game device 200. To do. The memory 203 is a storage device used for temporary data storage such as a volatile memory. The memory 203 is used not only as a development area for the operation program of each block, but also as a storage area for temporarily storing data output in the operation of each block.

  The payment detection unit 204 detects that the payment has been made in the game device 200. The payment of the consideration is determined by detecting, for example, that a predetermined amount of coins or corresponding coins have been inserted into the coin slot, or completion of settlement processing based on communication with a chip related to the predetermined electronic money. It may be done. The game apparatus 200 of the present embodiment will be described as starting the provision of a service that involves discharging a card to a user based on the payment of the price. However, payment of the price is not an essential requirement, and a predetermined start instruction is given. Based on this, provision of services may be started.

  When the game provided by the game device 200 of the present embodiment is played, the acquisition unit 205 acquires information on characters used for the game as article information. The article information is acquired from a card, which is an article for a game, via a reader 220 that is detachably connected in the same housing as the game apparatus 200 or outside the game apparatus 200. At this time, a predetermined data conversion process or the like may be performed in order to convert the article information acquired from the card into a format suitable for use in the process related to the game. The reader 220 detects that a card has been placed on a predetermined part, and recognizes the card or acquires information from the card, for example, using imaging by an imaging device and predetermined image processing. For example, as shown in FIG. 4B, the article information is associated with a card ID 411 for identifying the card, and a character ID 412 for uniquely identifying a character corresponding to the card (character with a character image attached to the card). It may be the composition which has.

  The character DB 206 is a database that manages character information for each character that is predetermined as appearing in the game. For example, the character information managed for one character may have the same configuration as the character information managed in the server character DB 104, or may not include some information such as the total information 405. Good. Alternatively, the character information stored in the character DB 206 may be managed with other data structures.

  The presentation control unit 207 controls various information presentations to the user in the game device 200. The game apparatus 200 of the present embodiment will be described as having a display unit 230 that displays an image (game screen, menu screen, etc.) and a voice output unit 250 that performs voice output as means for presenting various information to the user. Needless to say, the means for presenting information is not limited to these, and can be replaced or added.

  The presentation control unit 207 includes a drawing device such as a GPU, for example, and performs a predetermined drawing process when generating a screen to be displayed on the display unit 230. Specifically, the presentation control unit 207 is appropriate for a necessary drawing object based on processing and commands performed by the control unit 201 while the game apparatus 200 is in operation (during game play or in a standby state). Performs arithmetic processing and draws the screen. The generated screen is output to the display unit 230, which is a display device that is detachably connected in the same housing as the game device 200 or outside the game device 200, and is displayed in a predetermined display area to the user. Presented.

  The presentation control unit 207 includes a circuit that outputs / amplifies an audio signal, such as a sound board or an amplifier, and performs predetermined processing when generating audio to be output from the audio output unit 240. Specifically, the presentation control unit 207 determines audio data to be simultaneously output based on, for example, audio data recorded in advance on the recording medium 202, and converts this into an electric audio signal (D / A conversion). And output to the audio output unit 240 to perform audio output. The audio output unit 240 may be a predetermined speaker or the like, and outputs a sound wave based on the input audio signal.

  The discharge control unit 208 controls to discharge one card per game play based on the payment of the consideration. When a card generation instruction is given, the discharge control unit 208 generates print data for a card to be printed out, including a code image corresponding to the item information included in the card and other images forming the print surface of the card. To do. As described above, the card ejected by the game device 200 of the present embodiment identifies any character appearing in the game, and enables the user to use the character in the game. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5, the appearance of the character (character image 501) that can be used by using the card is formed on the card printing surface, and the user can easily determine which character the card corresponds to. It is possible to grasp. Here, in the example of FIG. 5, the card printing surface also includes a code image 502 corresponding to the article information. When generating the print data, the discharge control unit 208 transmits the print data together with the print command to the discharge unit 250 to instruct printing of the corresponding card and discharge the print data.

  The discharge unit 250 is a printing device such as a printer configured to be able to transmit / receive information to / from the discharge control unit 208 detachably connected in the same housing as the game device 200 or outside the game device 200. Upon receiving the print data related to the card and the print command related to the data from the discharge control unit 208, the discharge unit 250 performs a print operation for the print data. When the discharge unit 250 is built in the same housing as the game device 200, the card discharged by printing is provided to the user by being guided to a discharge port (not shown) accessible from the outside of the game device 200. Good. In other words, the card ejected in the game device 200 of the present invention is printed on a predetermined photographic paper that is not printed in response to the print data being transmitted to the ejection unit 250. For the first time, it is a so-called on-demand printing card in which the entire items described on the card for provision are formed.

  In the game system according to the present embodiment, as will be described later, the character discharged from the card so that it is easy to obtain a card related to the character that the user can desire, that is, the card discharge probability related to the character that is not desired is reduced. Is limited to characters that can appear in some games. For this reason, the on-demand printing method is adopted so as to be able to cope with the dynamic change of the card discharge target character according to the counting result, but the implementation of the present invention is not limited to this. For example, for each of a plurality of types of characters, a card dispenser containing a ready-made card pre-printed and manufactured with article information (having a stocker (not shown) for depositing cards in the vertical direction, and a discharge command was issued In a mode in which a method of discharging a card corresponding to a requested character, such as a vending machine, is adopted, such as a vending machine. Can be implemented. More specifically, a card dispenser that can be discharged in a predetermined counting period cannot be discharged if the corresponding character is excluded from the main character in the counting result at the end of the counting period. What is necessary is just to comprise so that the card dispenser which accommodated the card | curd which accommodated the card | curd which concerns on a new main character may be discharged.

  The operation input unit 209 is a user interface that the game apparatus 200 has, such as a direction input operation member, a determination input operation member, and various sensors. When the operation input unit 209 detects that an operation input to the operation member has been made, the operation input unit 209 outputs a control signal corresponding to the operation input to the control unit 201. In the present embodiment, the game apparatus 200 is described as including various interfaces as physical operation members. However, the game apparatus 200 includes, for example, a touch input detection sensor that detects a touch input made on the screen of the display unit 230. Also good.

  The communication unit 210 is a communication interface that the game device 200 has. In the present embodiment, the communication unit 210 establishes a communication connection with the server 100 that is an external device via the network 300 at a predetermined timing described later, and exchanges information. For example, the communication unit 210 converts information input as a transmission target into data of a predetermined format and transmits the data to the server 100 via the network 300. Further, for example, when the communication unit 210 receives information via the network 300, the communication unit 210 decodes the information and stores it in the memory 203. In addition, the game apparatus 200 of the present embodiment is configured to be able to receive program data obtained by packaging a processing program related to a game from an external apparatus via the communication unit 210. When the communication unit 210 receives the program data together with the program update request, the control unit 201 uses the received program data for the processing program related to the game currently stored in the recording medium 202 according to the update request. Can be updated. In addition to this, the program update processing of the game is automatically executed when the program data recorded on the recording medium is inserted into an optical drive (not shown) included in the game device, or after the insertion. It can also be executed by the start command from the administrator.

Game overview
Next, the outline | summary is demonstrated about the game with which a game play is provided by the game system of this embodiment. The games provided as described above are composed of a plurality of types of games including the “rhythm game” as the first game according to the present invention and the “voting game” as the second game. In the present embodiment, the voting game is started after the rhythm game in one game play. However, the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to this.

<Rhythm game>
The rhythm game is a game of a genre that progresses while generating an event of score addition or effect activation by performing an operation input at a predetermined timing according to, for example, a note displayed in accordance with a music piece. In the rhythm game of the present embodiment, all games configured to be able to appear in a game executed on the game device 200 (a whole game including a plurality of types of games; hereinafter referred to as “provided game”). Among the characters, some characters (main characters) are set to be able to appear. The number of characters as the main character is determined in advance, and the character is replaced based on the result of counting votes for a predetermined period (counting period) described later by the counting unit 105.

  In this embodiment, the rhythm game is a game that provides the main interest among the provided games, and is basically configured to provide a user with a play experience of a game in which at least one of the main characters appears. . In this embodiment, as will be described later, the main character is determined to be the character with the highest specified number of votes in the counting result, so that the general user's taste based on the vote in the counting period is reflected. obtain. Therefore, since it is assumed that the user desires to own a card related to such a popular main character, the main character is set as a card discharge target in the game apparatus 200. That is, the game device 200 of the present embodiment is configured such that a card related to one of the main characters is discharged per game play, and when the main character is replaced, the changed main character Is set as the discharge target.

  In the rhythm game of this embodiment, in a single game play, a predetermined number of characters extracted by, for example, user selection or lottery processing, etc. from among the main characters appear as units and are matched to music. The corresponding 3D model performs actions such as singing and dancing. The operation input made for the rhythm game is used for progress control of the rhythm game and behavior control of each character related to the unit. Therefore, for a single game play, the user can select a predetermined number (for example, five people) of characters to be used in the rhythm game from among the main characters, or can obtain a play experience through operations related to the game.

  In the rhythm game, the user can make a desired character appear by using a card owned by the user. That is, the article information acquired from the card via the reader 220 is used to determine at least one of a predetermined number of characters to appear in the rhythm game in one game play. In other words, by using the card, the user can make the game play by causing the character corresponding to the card to appear instead of at least one of the main characters appearing in the rhythm game.

  Note that the character specified by the character ID 412 of the article information does not need to be included in the main character. This is to ensure the provision of a game experience (rhythm game play experience) using the card to the user even if a character that has been discharged as a main character in the past is not currently a main character. is there.

  Therefore, in the rhythm game of the present embodiment, when the user does not own the card or does not use the card, a predetermined number of characters among characters determined in advance as the main character at the time of play are displayed. Game play can be performed. In addition, when the user uses a card (the product information on the card is read by the reader 220), the character does not depend on whether or not the character corresponding to the card is a main character that can appear in the rhythm game. A game play can be performed with a character corresponding to the card. At this time, if the number of characters allowed to appear based on the card reaches a specified number (the maximum number of characters allowed to appear in the rhythm game), the rhythm game is executed without causing the main character to appear. It may be.

<Voting game>
On the other hand, the main character set to be able to appear in the rhythm game is determined according to the number of votes (the number of times selected) in the voting game performed after the rhythm game. The game is not limited to the rhythm game of this embodiment, and the game can be advantageously advanced in a game in which game play is provided by selecting a predetermined number of characters to be used from among the usable characters. There is a tendency that popularity is biased to some characters, such as appearance and behavior being suitable. That is, whether or not a game play suitable for the user is provided depends on the character that appears, and if the game play in which a desired character does not appear continues, the user's interest can be cut off. In particular, in a game in which the card related to the main character is discharged for game play as in the game device 200 of the present embodiment, the card related to the unpopular character is discharged. The interest of a user who is playing a game for the purpose of acquisition can be cut off. As a result, the user's game play frequency can be reduced and the profit related to the provided game can be reduced.

  Therefore, in the provided game of the present embodiment, in the voting game, voting is accepted for the main character and other characters other than the main character, and the character of the character as the main character for each predetermined counting period based on the counting result of the voting. Replace. More specifically, in the vote ranking in the counting result, characters up to a predetermined rank are determined as new main characters. In this way, in the game play of the current counting period, not only the user's demand for each of the main characters that can be used in the rhythm game is measured, but also characters other than the main character that cannot be used in the rhythm game are included. A voting game is executed, and a new character that is preferably included in the main character can be selected based on the user's demand. That is, since the main character is determined for each predetermined counting period based on the user's demand, the user's interest in the provided game can be maintained.

  Here, the characters provided so as to be able to appear in the provided game are basically classified into one of the three categories of “main character”, “sub-character”, and “non-target character”. As described above, the characters determined as targets to appear in the rhythm game are classified as “main characters”, and other characters except the main character cannot appear in the rhythm game unless a card is used. . On the other hand, characters other than the main character among the characters provided so as to be able to appear in the provided game are classified into different categories depending on whether or not they appear in the voting game. More specifically, in the voting game, characters that are to be voted other than the main character are classified as “sub-characters”, and characters that are not to be voted are classified as “non-target characters”.

  In the game system of the present embodiment, if the characters classified as the main characters before counting are excluded from the classification of the main characters after counting as a result of counting votes in the voting game, it is determined that the character is unpopular. . Therefore, it is highly likely that it is not desired by the user to make such a character appear as a main character again, and it is considered that there is little advantage of executing processing related to display and tabulation of the character at the target of the voting game. . Therefore, a character determined to be such an unpopular character (previously the main character) can appear in the rhythm game only when using a card, but is not eligible for voting. Classified as “target character”.

  On the other hand, a character classified as a “sub-character” is a character whose classification can be changed to a main character in accordance with the result of counting votes, and is presented so as to be selectable as a voting target in a voting game. Therefore, even if the behavior or the like in the rhythm game is not presented to the user, for example, the vote is made based on the character introduction image or other information, and the user desires to appear in the rhythm game after the current counting. Demand can be measured directly. In other words, among the characters classified as sub-characters, the characters whose vote ranking exceeds the rank of the main character before counting in the counting result are popular even when the card is not discharged, and are targeted for card discharging. Therefore, it can be determined that the character can be expected to attract customers. Therefore, if the character classified as the sub-character is changed to the main character for the next counting period or the sub-character is left as it is depending on the result of the vote totaling, Is determined. At this classification change timing, a new character may be additionally registered as a sub character.

  In the present embodiment, a mode is described in which characters that do not appear in the rhythm game but appear in the voting game are classified as “sub-characters”, but the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the main character and the sub-character are classified into characters determined to appear in the rhythm game, and other characters other than the main character and the sub-character appear in the rhythm game unless a card is used. The thing classified as what cannot be obtained may be sufficient. Further, in this aspect, only the main character may be subject to voting in the voting game, and the sub character and other characters may be classified as not subject to voting. That is, in a mode different from the present embodiment, a part of the character (main character) that can appear in the rhythm game is a voting target of the voting game, and the “sub-character” is treated as a concept included in the non-target character. It may be a thing.

  In addition, with this configuration, for example, the creation of necessary data for a rhythm game is scheduled to be provided as an additional element for sustaining the interest of a character that is not in time for the start of providing the play of the provided game or the user's interest. If the character information having the data necessary for the voting game is registered at the minimum, the character can be notified to the user and the demand survey can be performed. In other words, even from the development aspect, there is an advantage that a grace period can be obtained in which improvement in consideration of demand is made before data for a character's rhythm game is prepared. Further, in the aspect in which the rhythm game data is stored later, the data is stored in the server recording medium 102 until the total result is obtained, and the changed main character related to the total result is notified to each game device 200. In addition, it may be configured to provide data (not yet stored in the recording medium 202) necessary for the rhythm game for the new main character. This avoids an unnecessary increase in the amount of communication when dynamically changing the main character according to the counting result, and the capacity of the storage area in the recording medium 202 when holding the rhythm game data for all characters. be able to.

  In the voting game of this embodiment, a multiple voting system is adopted, and a predetermined number of points that can be voted are assigned to the user for each game play. The user can vote for the character by selecting the character presented as a voting target in the voting game and determining the number of points to be allocated. In other words, giving one point corresponds to one selection of the character to vote, and the user selects the same character to be voted multiple times in a range of given points in one game play (multiple Voting can be performed by selecting a plurality of different characters (adding one point to each selected character), or a combination thereof. Here, in order to improve interest, the points assigned to be able to vote are controlled so as to increase / decrease according to the play contents in the rhythm game (for example, the result of the rhythm game exceeds a threshold value, and a predetermined effect occurs during the game) The number of points may be increased).

  In the present embodiment, the main character may be further configured to have a small classification in order to increase the story development variation and improve the user's interest in the game. Specifically, in the present embodiment, characters classified as new main characters based on the result of counting votes are further classified into upper categories and lower categories according to the vote ranking. Classify. Here, it is assumed that all the main characters are classified into the lower category in the initial state in which the main character is not changed according to the counting result. For characters that are reclassified from the lower category to the higher category after the first tabulation result is obtained, the benefits that the rhythm game progresses are advantageous (score increase rate, increase in reference value, skill trigger rate, etc.) ), And a privilege related to the superiority of the presentation such as the standing position of the character and the number of times of display, etc., and a difference is provided in the handling of the upper category character and the lower category character in the rhythm game. In this way, a character who has a large number of votes, that is, a character that has been selected many times in the voting game and is expected to have high user demand, increases the value in the rhythm game, and actively promotes a user who wants to acquire a card related to the character. Can be guided to game play.

  The provision of the privilege may be performed by changing a parameter included in the character information, for example. In consideration of the game balance, the privilege is given once for each character. In addition, in this way, the characters classified in the lower category are classified into the upper category advantageous in terms of the game by being configured so that a privilege is given when the characters are classified into the upper category in the aggregation result obtained thereafter. The lineup of characters classified as the main character can be changed and the interest can be improved while avoiding the concentration of the number of votes on the selected character. Characters classified in the upper category are estimated to have a high user demand, and therefore, the characters that were classified in the upper category before the aggregation, in which the vote ranking was not the main character in the voting aggregation results. Is not classified as a non-target character according to the result, but may be controlled to be classified into a lower category and remain in the main character only once, for example.

  In the following, for the sake of simplicity, it will be described that whether the character is to be the upper category or the lower category depends on whether or not the vote ranking is included within a predetermined rank (for example, fifth) (voting ranks 1 to 1). The 5th character is the upper category, and the 6th and lower character is the lower category). However, the implementation of the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the classification of the upper category and the lower category is not performed based on the threshold relating to the vote ranking, but based on the number of votes so that characters belonging to the upper category have more votes than characters belonging to the lower category. May be performed. Alternatively, the classification may be performed according to the length of the total period classified as the main character. Further, the subdivision of the main character may not be an essential configuration, and the number of categories may be three or more even when subdividing.

《Change processing》
Next, with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 6, specific processing will be described with respect to the change processing for changing the main character based on the counting result performed by the server 100 of the present embodiment having the above-described configuration. The processing corresponding to the flowchart can be realized by the server control unit 101 reading out a corresponding processing program stored in, for example, 102, developing it in the server memory 103, and executing it. In addition, this change process demonstrates as what is started, for example when starting reception of the vote which concerns on a new total period.

  In step S <b> 601, the server control unit 101 determines whether or not a character selected as a point to be awarded in a voting game and information on the number of times of selection (voting information) has been received from any of the game devices 200 connected in communication. To do. If it is determined that the voting information has been received, the server control unit 101 moves the process to S602, and if it is determined that the voting information has not been received, the server control unit 101 repeats the process of this step. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the content of the voting game played in the game device 200 is transmitted to the server 100 on the condition that the server 100 and the game device 200 are in communication connection. Whether or not the voting game is executed in 200 may be controlled according to whether or not communication connection is established. In the following description, for the sake of simplicity, it is assumed that the processing after S602 is performed every time voting information is received from any of the game devices 200, but the processing of this step is executed at an arbitrary time interval. It will be understood that all received voting information may be aggregated together.

  In step S <b> 602, the totaling unit 105 updates the totaling information 405 of the corresponding character information stored in the server character DB 104 based on the vote information under the control of the server control unit 101. Specifically, the aggregation unit 105 performs the update by adding the number of selections (increment) based on the voting information to the value of the number of selections related to the current aggregation period managed by the aggregation information 405. Note that the total information 405 indicates that the total result for the previous total period has been reset at the start of a new total period, and the number of times selected (number of points) for the current total period. Corresponding to

  In step S603, the server control unit 101 determines whether the counting period has ended. This determination is made based on, for example, whether a soft timer for elapse of time from the start of a new counting period has reached a predetermined counting time, or whether it has reached a date and time determined to be the end of the counting period. It's fine. If the server control unit 101 determines that the counting period has ended, it moves the process to S604, and if it determines that it has not ended, it returns the process to S601.

  In step S <b> 604, the tabulation unit 105 tabulates the number of selections for each character to be tabulated in the current tabulation period under the control of the server control unit 101, and rearranges the characters to be tabulated in the descending order of selection frequency (descending order). And output to the server control unit 101 as a totaling result. As described above, the characters to be counted are the main character and the sub character related to the current counting period.

  In step S <b> 605, the server control unit 101 determines a character to be a new main character related to the next counting period, and updates the corresponding character information. Specifically, the server control unit 101 determines a prescribed number of characters as new main characters from the top based on the obtained counting results. When a new main character is determined, the server control unit 101 uses the character information classification information 404 associated with the user ID associated with each of the new main characters and managed in the server character DB 104 as information indicating the main character category. Change to At this time, when the top five characters and the other characters classify the main character, the server control unit 101 uses information that can distinguish the upper category from the lower category even if the main character is classified. It is assumed that the classification information 404 is updated.

  In step S <b> 606, the server control unit 101 determines a character to be a new sub character related to the next counting period, and updates the corresponding character information. Specifically, the server control unit 101 excludes the character that was the main character related to the current counting period and the new main character related to the next counting period determined in S605 based on the obtained counting result. The character is determined as a new sub character. When the new sub character is determined, the server control unit 101 associates the character information classification information 404 managed in the server character DB 104 with respect to the user ID associated with each new sub character, and indicates the sub character category. Change to

  In step S607, the server control unit 101 determines a character to be a non-target character and updates the corresponding character information. Specifically, in S605 and S606, the server control unit 101 determines, as a non-target character, a target character that has not been selected as a new main character or a new sub character. When the non-target character is determined, the server control unit 101 changes the character information classification information 404 managed in the server character DB 104 in association with the user ID associated with each non-target character to information indicating the category of the non-target character. To do. In the present embodiment, the character selected as the non-target character is the main character in the current counting period, but will be described as being excluded from the main character in the next counting period. Is not limited to this, and a character to be a non-target character may be determined based on other predetermined conditions.

  In step S <b> 608, the server control unit 101 transmits the classification information related to the next counting period for all characters that can appear in the provided game to the server communication unit 106 and distributes the information to each game device 200 of the game system. At this time, the server control unit 101 distributes information on a character to be a card discharge target in each game device 200 as a new main character, and executes discharge control on the game device 200 based on the information. Control as a game system. Further, the server control unit 101 is configured to transmit data for a rhythm game of the character to the game device 200 when a character that has not been selected as the main character is included in the main character for the next counting period. May be. Alternatively, each game device 200 determines whether the character has not been selected as such a main character, and when the game device 200 requests a transmission request for necessary rhythm game data, the server control unit 101 may transmit the corresponding data to the game apparatus 200.

  By doing in this way, according to the game system of this embodiment, a suitable game play can be provided to a user about the game in which a some game element may appear. More specifically, since the main character appearing in some games can be dynamically changed according to user demand, the user's interest in the provided game can be maintained. Moreover, since the card | curd which concerns on a user's high demand can be discharged and provided, the user's satisfaction with respect to a game play can be raised.

  Further, in the configuration in which the user arbitrarily selects the character used for the rhythm game from the character group classified as the main character, the number of main characters can be set to a predetermined number in each counting period. The occurrence of complicated user operations required until a desired character is discovered from among the characters is reduced, the time required for selecting the result character is reduced, and the rotation rate of the game device 200 (game play per unit time is reduced). The number of times of being performed can be suitably increased.

  Further, each game device 200 holds a large amount of data necessary for some games (rhythm games) such as model data, texture data, motion data, voice data, etc. for all characters that can appear in the provided game. That is, it is necessary to provide a recording medium having such a storage area. On the other hand, as described in the present embodiment, when it is determined as the main character for the first time, the game data relating to the character is provided to each game device 200, so that the minimum required for game play is provided. This data can be distributed according to user demand. According to this, it is possible to reduce the circuit scale and introduction cost of the game device 200, and to efficiently advance the preparation for distribution on the development side.

  In the present embodiment, as a whole game system, the selection operation related to the voting performed in each of the plurality of game devices 200 is totaled by the totaling unit 105 of the server 100, and information on the change of the main character and the like based on the total result Although the configuration distributed to the game device 200 has been described, the implementation of the present invention is not limited to this. That is, the counting does not necessarily have to be performed via a device different from the game device 200. For example, when a plurality of game devices 200 are installed in a specific space such as a store in a state where they can communicate with each other. In addition, in any one of the game devices 200, the result of the voting game related to the game play performed in these game devices 200 may be totaled. In addition, for example, a configuration may be used in which the results of the voting game played in one game device 200 are totaled in the game device 200. Although the present embodiment has been described as performing aggregation when the server 100 that performs aggregation and the game apparatus 200 are in a state where communication connection is possible, it will be easily understood that communication connection is not a requirement in this configuration.

[Other Embodiments]
The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. The game system according to the present invention can also be realized by a program that causes one or more computers to function as the game system. The program can be provided / distributed by being recorded on a computer-readable recording medium or through a telecommunication line.

  100: Server, 200: Game device, 300: Network, 101: Server control unit, 102: Server recording medium, 103: Server memory, 104: Server character DB, 105: Totaling unit, 106: Server communication unit, 201: Control , 202: recording medium, 203: memory, 204: payment detection unit, 205: acquisition unit, 206: character DB, 207: presentation control unit, 208: discharge control unit, 209: operation input unit, 210: communication unit, 220: reader, 230: display unit, 240: audio output unit, 250: discharge unit

In order to achieve the above object, a game system of the present invention is a game system that provides a game configured such that a plurality of game elements can appear, and a plurality of games per first game among the games. A determination means for determining a part of the game elements as a main game element that can appear in the first game, an execution means for executing the first game, and a game element including the main game element are selected. A selection means for accepting, and a counting means for counting the number of selected times for each of the game elements including the main game element, and the determining means is a game element as a main game element based on a counting result by the counting means change the main game element includes a game element of the first category in the first game, the game elements of different second category to the first category, the decision hand Is based on the total result so that the number of times that the game element of the first category is selected more than the game element of the second category in the changed main game element, A game element as a game element of the second category is determined .

Claims (22)

A game system that provides a game configured such that a plurality of game elements can appear,
Determining means for determining a part of the plurality of game elements as a main game element that can appear in the first game for the first game of the games;
Execution means for executing the first game;
A selection means for accepting selection of the game element including the main game element;
Totaling means for counting the selected number of times for each of the game elements including the main game element,
The determination unit is a game system that changes a game element to be the main game element based on a counting result by the counting unit.   2. The determination unit according to claim 1, wherein a predetermined number of game elements or a game element in which the selected number is equal to or greater than a threshold value is determined as the changed main game element from a larger number of selected times. Game system. The selection means accepts selection of the main game element and a sub game element that does not include the main game element among the plurality of game elements,
The game system according to claim 1, wherein the counting unit counts the selected number of times for each of the main game element and the sub game element. The determining means further determines a game element as the changed sub game element from the plurality of game elements not changed as the changed main game element based on the total result,
The game system according to claim 3, wherein the main game element before the change that is not included in the main game element after the change is not included in the sub game element after the change. The main game element includes a first category game element in the first game and a second category game element different from the first category,
The determining means, after changing the main game element after the change, based on the total result so that the selected number of game elements of the first category is greater than the game element of the second category. 5. The game system according to claim 1, wherein game elements to be used as game elements of the first category and game elements of the second category are determined.   The game system according to claim 5, wherein the determination unit changes a game element that was the game element of the second category before the change to a game element of the first category after the change according to the counting result. .   The said execution means gives the privilege which makes progress of a said 1st game advantageous about the game element changed into the game element of the said 1st category after the said change from the game element of the 2nd category before the said change. Item 7. The game system according to Item 6.   The determination unit includes at least the main game element after the change for the game element that was the game element of the first category before the change, regardless of the aggregation result. The game system as described in.   The game system according to any one of claims 5 to 8, wherein the execution means makes the handling in the first game different between the game element of the first category and the game element of the second category. The counting means totals the selected number of times received by the selection means during a predetermined period,
The execution means causes the changed main game element to appear in the first game in the execution of the first game after the lapse of the predetermined period. Game system.   11. The game system according to claim 10, further comprising: a first presentation unit that presents at least one of total progress of the totaling by the totaling unit in the predetermined period and a totaling result by the totaling unit. The selection acceptance by the selection means is performed in a second game different from the first game among the games,
12. The game system according to claim 1, further comprising: a second presentation unit that presents, in a selectable manner, at least one of game elements including the main game element in the second game. Game system. The upper limit number that can accept selection of game elements per one first game is determined,
13. The selection unit according to claim 1, wherein the selection unit receives at least one of selection of a plurality of times related to the same game element and selection of a plurality of game elements within a range not exceeding the upper limit number. Game system.   14. The counting means totals the selected number of times received for each game device that provides the game, or the selected number of times received by a plurality of game devices that provide the game. The game system according to any one of the above.   The game system according to claim 14, wherein the selection unit receives selection of a game element made in the game device in a state where communication with the game device providing the game is possible. A discharging means for discharging an article having article information corresponding to each of the plurality of game elements;
The game system according to any one of claims 1 to 15, wherein the discharge unit discharges an article having article information corresponding to any of the main game elements for each time the game is provided.   The discharging means discharges an article having article information corresponding to one of the changed main game elements when the determining means changes the game element as the main game element. The game system as described in.   The game system according to claim 16 or 17, wherein the discharging means does not discharge an article having corresponding article information for a game element not included in the main game element. An acquisition means for acquiring article information corresponding to any of the plurality of game elements from the article;
The execution means causes a game element corresponding to the article information acquired by the acquisition means to appear instead of at least one of the game elements including the main game element to appear in the first game to be executed. The game system according to claim 1, wherein execution of the first game is controlled. A game device that provides a game configured such that a plurality of game elements can appear,
Determining means for determining a part of the plurality of game elements as a main game element that can appear in the first game for the first game of the games;
Obtaining means for obtaining article information corresponding to any of the plurality of game elements from an article;
Execution means for executing the first game, the item information acquired by the acquisition means instead of at least one of the game elements including the main game element to appear in the first game. Execution means for controlling the execution of the first game so as to make the corresponding game element appear;
A selection means for accepting selection of the game element including the main game element;
Totaling means for counting the selected number of times for each of the game elements including the main game element,
The determination unit is a game device that changes a game element as the main game element based on a counting result by the counting unit. A game article configured to have article information acquired by the acquisition unit of the game device according to claim 20,
A game article having an appearance of a game element that can be made to appear in the first game executed by the execution means by acquiring article information.   The program for functioning a computer as each means of the game system of any one of Claims 1 thru | or 19.

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