JP5137176B2 - Rhythm game device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a rhythm game apparatus, and more particularly to a rhythm game apparatus that includes an evaluation means for determining the quality of a rhythm retention ability and does not depend on a visually displayed timing assist means .

What is generally called a “sound game” has absolute timing information that is determined in advance, and displays the video to support the game operation, thereby changing the production.
Most of the sound games in the conventional gaming machines measure the operation timing visually based on the video information, and cannot be said to be purely “sound games”.
On the other hand, Patent Document 1 below discloses a slot machine having a sound game function in which it is determined whether or not a stop button has been operated at a predetermined timing in accordance with a sound effect and an auxiliary game effect means is activated. Has been.
However, in the sound game described in Patent Document 1, the target to match the timing of pressing the stop button (repeated position of the sound) is an absolute one that has been determined in a one-to-one relationship (ends once missed). So, it is decided whether or not the auxiliary game will be performed with only one operation, the rhythm keep ability is not evaluated, it tends to be influenced by luck, and lacks interest There was a point.

JP 2001-340513 A (Patent No. 3723050)

The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and the object of the present invention is not to operate in accordance with timing assistance by video as in the prior art, but to maintain the tempo of music. Rhythm game that does not rely on visually displayed timing assist means that makes it possible to create an interesting sound game by evaluating the ability to keep rhythm of whether or not it can be performed (an image that is close to the ability to accurately perform “clapping”) To provide an apparatus.

Another object of the present invention is to evaluate a player's rhythm keeping ability by operating a rhythm input device regardless of the BGM rhythm and checking whether or not the rhythm can be engraved at a desired tempo. Thus, an object of the present invention is to provide a rhythm game device that does not rely on a visually assisted timing assist means capable of playing an interesting sound game.
In this latter configuration, the BGM may be a tune whose rhythm changes freely during the game, or may be a tune with a particularly weak rhythm.

The above purpose is
Rhythm pulses R ₁ , R ₂ , R ₃ ,... R _j .. R _m [Hereinafter, a series of rhythm pulse trains R, specific rhythms at a constant tempo N (the number of quarter notes played per minute)) Let the pulse be R _j (where j is a positive integer between 1 and m). A rhythm pulse generator (33) for generating
A musical sound reproducing device (34) for reproducing a series of pre-recorded musical sounds in accordance with a rhythm pulse train;
The game pulses P ₁ , P ₂ , P corresponding to the player's operations, which are operated by the player and are delayed from the rhythm pulse R _j arbitrarily selected from the rhythm pulse train R by a desired fixed time Δt, respectively. _3, ·· _{P k} · P _n [hereinafter, a series of games pulse train P, and particular game pulse P _k (where, k is 1 or more, n a positive integer smaller than or equal, n ≦ m) to. A game pulse generator (1d) for generating
The game pulse generator (1d), each time the game pulse P _k is transmitted, between the occurrence time G _k of the game pulse P _k, the closest rhythm pulse transmission time T _j to the occurrence time G _k, A device (35) for measuring and recording the time difference Δt _k (Δt _k = G _k −T _j );
The standard deviation of the time difference Delta] t _k at predetermined in time, the evaluation circuit for evaluating the skill of the player based on one of the deviation selected from among the mean deviation or quartile deviation (31),
It is achieved by a rhythm game device that does not rely on visually-displayed timing assist means .

The skill evaluation circuit of the players, to evaluate the skill of the player based on the standard deviation of the time difference Delta] t _k in the predetermined time, to one of the deviation selected from among the mean deviation or quartile deviation The program is installed, and the player's rhythm retention skill is evaluated based on any one of the above deviations .
That is, in the apparatus of the present invention, the standard deviation of the time difference Delta] t _k in the player's skill predetermined time, and are evaluated on the basis of any one of the deviation selected from among the mean deviation or quartile deviation .

Furthermore, another object of the present invention is as follows.
A BGM playback device;
A clock pulse generator,
The player, at a predetermined rhythm, each time _{S 1, S 2, S 3} ···· S m ( hereinafter, the time _{S j} (where, j is 1 or more, in which.) And the following positive integer m The input is repeated, and at each time, the game pulses Q ₁ , Q ₂ , Q ₃ ... Q _m (where m is a positive integer between 1 and m. A game pulse is represented by Q _j .)
A clock pulse counter that counts the number N _{j of} clock pulses that are reset each time a game pulse Q _j is transmitted from the rhythm input device and is transmitted until the subsequent game pulse Q _{j + 1} is transmitted;
Error [Delta] n j between the count value of the clock pulse counter N _j and the reference value _N, i.e., the standard deviation of Delta] t _k, calculates the variance of any one of the deviation selected from among the mean deviation or quartile deviation A skill evaluation circuit that evaluates the skill of the player,
It is achieved by a rhythm game device that does not rely on visually-displayed timing assist means .
In this second embodiment, the player's rhythm input and its evaluation are input and evaluated regardless of the BGM rhythm. Therefore, the BGM used here does not have to have a constant rhythm.

In the second embodiment, the reference value N can be a predetermined value for each BGM, but may be determined based on the operation timing of the player's rhythm input device after the game is started.
Also in this embodiment, the skill of the player is evaluated based on any one of the standard deviation, average deviation, or quadrant deviation of the error ΔN _i .

In the present invention, as described above, the player repeatedly operates the rhythm pulse generator of the game machine according to the rhythm delayed by a certain time from the rhythm of the BGM to be reproduced or the rhythm determined by the player himself regardless of the BGM. It is checked whether the error of the operation time is within a certain allowable range by the error frequency distribution, that is, standard deviation, average deviation, or quadrant deviation , and the rhythm keeping ability of the player ( Since it is configured to evaluate the ability to continue to beat the hand clapping with a certain rhythm, the following effects can be obtained.
(1) The player's ability to keep rhythm is evaluated, and this changes the expression of BGM itself and video, etc., and is reflected in the acquisition points. The depth and interest of the game are increased compared to the conventional sound game.
(2) Since the interactive nature of the new character can be included in the gaming machine, the interest of the production increases.
(3) Since the operation timing is measured only from sound information, a low-cost sound game-equipped game machine without a video device can be realized.

The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the embodiments shown in the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration of a first embodiment of a rhythm game apparatus that does not depend on a visually displayed timing assist means according to the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a flow of operation of the rhythm game apparatus shown in FIG.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an operation flow in the second embodiment of the present invention.
In the following description, description of the configuration as a pachislot machine will be omitted, and only the configuration and operation of the rhythm game machine will be described exclusively.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a game operation unit for a player to perform various operations necessary for game execution, 2A a speaker, 2B a display device, 3 a central control device, and 4 a game fee collection device.
The game operation unit 1 is an operation unit of a main gaming machine (for example, a pachislot machine) provided with a rhythm game device that does not depend on the visually displayed timing assist means according to the present invention. When the main gaming machine is a pachislot machine (pachislot machine in the embodiment described below), 1a is a bet button, 1b is a start lever, 1c. , 1c are stop buttons for individually stopping the rotation of the three rotating reels displayed on the display device, and 1d is a game pulse P ₁ , P ₂ , P ₃ ,. A game pulse generator that transmits _Pn and sends it to the central controller 3.
A series of game pulses is represented by P, and a specific game pulse is _represented by P _k (where k is a positive integer not less than 1 and not more than n).
The player can use these buttons and levers for the input of the pachislot machine, and can use any one of the above buttons or levers for operation of the game pulse generator 3 when performing a rhythm game.

In the central controller 3, 31 is an arithmetic unit, 31a is an evaluation circuit, 32 is a clock circuit, 33 is a rhythm pulse transmitter, 34 is a musical sound reproducing device, 35 is a time difference measuring and recording device (counter), 36 is ROM, and 37 is The RAM 38 is an image processing apparatus, and 39 is a data bus.
Among these circuit elements, the arithmetic unit 31 is composed of a CPU for executing a game program necessary for carrying out the present invention in addition to a program necessary for operating the pachislot machine, and an evaluation circuit 31a for evaluating the skill of the player. This is also included.
The clock circuit 32 is an oscillation circuit that generates a clock pulse of several hundreds KHz to several GHz as a base for various digital arithmetic processing in the central controller 3.
The rhythm pulse generator 33 divides the output pulse of the clock circuit 32 to generate a rhythm pulse R ₁ having a constant tempo N (the number of quarter notes played per minute) necessary for the rhythm game apparatus of the present invention. A circuit for generating R ₂ , R ₃ ,... R _m . In the following description, a series of rhythm pulse trains is represented by R, and a specific rhythm pulse is represented by R _j (where j is a positive integer not less than 1 and not more than m).
The musical sound reproducing device 34 is a circuit that converts various sound effects into analog signals, amplifies them, and supplies them to the speaker 2A.
The time difference measuring recorder 35, typically constituted by a clock pulse counter, as described later, the transmission time of rhythmic pulses R _j originating from the rhythm pulse generator 33, just before or just after, the game pulse generator 1d It has a function of measuring and recording a time difference ΔT _j from the generation time of the transmitted game pulse P _j .

In addition to the various programs necessary for the operation of the pachislot machine, the ROM 36 includes image data such as various character images and background images used in the game, in addition to the game programs necessary for the operation of the rhythm game apparatus of the present invention, Sound data such as sound effects, game machine management data, initial setting data of each device in the game machine, and the like are recorded.
The RAM 37 is a memory that exchanges data necessary for the arithmetic operation of the arithmetic device 31 with the arithmetic device 31 at any time.
The image processing device 38 is a circuit that organizes the video of the game screen designated by the arithmetic device 31 based on the image data recorded in the ROM 36, and sends the video data to the display device 2B to display a predetermined video. is there.
The data bus 39 is a data transmission line between the various circuits.

The operation of the rhythm game apparatus according to the present invention will be described below.
During the progress of the pachislot game by the pachislot machine equipped with the rhythm game device according to the present invention, the display device 2B displays three rotating reels, scores and other necessary images,
The player operates the bet button 1a, the start lever 1b, the stop buttons 1c, 1c, etc. of the game operation unit 1 to play the pachislot game.
In the course of the game, when the symbols of the three rotating reels become a predetermined combination, a rhythm game by the rhythm game device of the present invention as a sub game or a bonus game is started.
In some cases, the first medal is inserted into the pachislot machine, and at the same time as the pachislot game is started, the rhythm game by the rhythm game device of the present invention is also started, and the pachislot game and the rhythm game are simultaneously executed. You may do it. That is, the button operation for the pachislot game may be performed in accordance with the reverse rhythm when the rhythm game is performed.

When the rhythm game is started, the rhythm pulse generator 33 uses the clock pulse from the clock circuit 32 and divides it to obtain a constant tempo N ( fourth of the sound played in one minute). A rhythm pulse train R of note conversion number ) is generated.
On the other hand, the musical sound reproducing device 34 reproduces a series of musical sound data recorded in advance in the ROM 36 in accordance with the rhythm pulse train R based on a command signal from the arithmetic device 31.
While listening to this musical tone, the player can select a bet button 1a, a start lever 1b or a stop button of the game operation unit 1 so as to be delayed from the rhythm pulse R _j sequentially selected from the rhythm pulses R by a desired fixed time Δt. 1c and 1c are operated.
The game pulse generator 1d generates a game pulse train P in response to these operations that are sequentially performed.
The operation buttons that can be used for the rhythm game may be any one of the bet button 1a, the start lever 1b, and the stop buttons 1c and 1c, but usually all of them can be used.

The time difference measuring recording apparatus 35, each time a game pulse P _j is transmitted from the game pulse generator 1d on the basis of an operation of the player, and the game pulse P _j immediately before or after the rhythm pulse transmission time T _j, the game pulse P measures the time difference Delta] t _j with _j of occurrence time G _j, and sends the measured value to an evaluation circuit 31a.

The evaluation circuit 31a calculates the standard deviation, average deviation, or quadrant deviation of the time difference Δt _j sent from the time difference measurement / recording device 35 within a certain time, and evaluates the quality of the player's skill based on any of these. Like that.
Alternatively, the evaluation circuit 31 evaluates the quality of the player's skill based on how close the game pulse transmission operation time by the player is to an integral multiple of a predetermined time (so-called tempo, length of one beat). You may make it do.
Based on these determination results, the player's acquisition points are added, and further, the BGM itself is changed.
A flow chart of the above operation flow is shown in FIG.
The main game is started in step S _00, in the main game, when certain conditions are fulfilled, the condition fulfilled is detected in step S _10, it is possible to perform a rhythm game.
If the result of step S ₁₀ is Yes, the process proceeds to step S _11, the reproduction of the BGM, originating rhythm pulse is started, transmission time of originating the rhythm pulses are recorded all.
On the other hand, in step S _12, game pulse generator operation is performed for, when transmission of the game pulse is confirmed in S _13, the transmission time is recorded all at S _14, rhythms error game pulse A certain time difference ΔT _j is calculated and recorded.
In S _15, whether or not it is in the rhythm game period is checked. This check can be performed, for example, by checking whether the BGM is being played or whether the time is over.
Until the rhythm game is completed, step S ₁₂ to S ₁₅ are repeated.
When the rhythm game ends, in step S _16, the standard deviation of the time difference [Delta] T _j, is computed average deviation or quartile deviation, thereby player's skill is evaluated, the result in step S ₁₇ is displayed, the step S ₀₀ Return.

In the second embodiment of the present invention, the rhythm game device that does not depend on the visually displayed timing assist means is:
A BGM playback device;
A clock pulse generator,
The player sets time S ₁ , S ₂ , S ₃ ... S _m [hereinafter, time S _j (where j is a positive integer not less than 1 and not more than m) at a predetermined rhythm. ] In a repeated input operation, the game pulse _{Q 1, respectively, Q 2, Q 3 ···· Q} m, [hereinafter, a series of games pulse train Q, the specific game pulse _{Q j} (where, j is 1 or more , A positive integer less than or equal to m). A game input device that transmits
A clock pulse counter that counts the number N _{j of} clock pulses that are reset each time a game pulse Q _j is transmitted from the game input device and the subsequent game pulse Q _{j + 1} is transmitted;
A skill evaluation circuit for calculating the variance of the error ΔN _i between the count value N _j of the clock pulse counter and its reference value N , and evaluating the skill of the player;
Is provided.

Thus, although the BGM playback device is provided in the second embodiment device, the rhythm game is played regardless of the performance of the BGM .
That is, the player operates the game input device and transmits the game pulse train Q at a desired constant rhythm regardless of the BGM .
The time at which each game pulse Q _j is transmitted is S ₁ , S ₂ , S ₃ ... S _m (hereinafter referred to as time S _j, where j is a positive integer between 1 and m). )).

The clock pulse counter is reset every time a game pulse Q _j is transmitted from the game input device, and counts the number N _{j of} clock pulses transmitted within the time until the subsequent game pulse Q _{j + 1} is transmitted. .
That is, the clock pulse counter measures the interval between pulses of the game pulse train Q.

1 In the examples, are determined in the reference value N of the count value N _j clock pulse counter in advance, by skill evaluation circuit, and the reference value N, the variance of the error .DELTA.N _j between the count value N _j is calculated This evaluates the skill of the player.

In another embodiment, the reference value N is not set at the start of the game, and is determined according to the operation interval of the game input device of the player immediately after the start of the game.
For example, the reference value N is the number N _{1 of} clock pulses transmitted after the first game pulse Q ₁ is transmitted at time S _{1 and} until the game pulse Q ₂ is subsequently transmitted at time S ₂ . Is set equal to

In yet another embodiment, the reference value N is calculated from a set of count values N ₁ , N ₂ , N ₃ ... N _d of the clock pulse counter obtained within a certain time after the game starts.
Here, the reference value N is set to a value equal to the arithmetic mean value of the count values N ₁ , N ₂ , N ₃ ... N _d , for example.

The skill of the player is calculated and evaluated from the frequency distribution of the error ΔN _j between the reference value N and the count value Nj or the variance of the error ΔN _j calculated by the skill determination circuit.
According to one embodiment, the variance S _{2 of} error ΔN _i , ie
S ² = Σ (N−N _j ) ² / n where j is 1 to n
There is calculated, the magnitude of the S ^2, the player's skill is evaluated.

In another embodiment, positive and negative tolerance limits ΔN ⁺ and ΔN ⁻ (where ΔN ⁺ > 0, ΔN ⁻ <0) of the error ΔN _j are defined,
ΔN ⁺ > ΔN _j > ΔN ⁻
Is established, the player's skill is judged as acceptable,
ΔN ⁺ ≦ ΔN _j , or ΔN _j ≦ ΔN ⁻
If so, it is configured to be determined as impossible.
The rhythm of BGM may be constant during the game or may vary.

FIG. 3 shows a flowchart of the second embodiment.
When the main game is started in step S _00, whether the condition has been fulfilled for causing step S ₂₀ in the rhythm game is checked periodically.
If this condition is fulfilled, the performance of the BGM begins with a step _{S 21.} This BGM is played until the rhythm game ends.
Operation of the game pulse generator in step S ₂₂ by the player is performed and transmission of game pulse is detected in step S _23, the number of clock pulses between game pulses originating successively is recorded.
In step S _24, whether or not BGM to be played in the rhythm game is being played, is checked, and is confirmed to be in a rhythm game returns to the step S _22, when the performance of the BGM is over, in step _{S 25} is the technical evaluation of the player is _performed, resulting in _{S 26} is displayed, the process returns to step _{S 20.}

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and includes all modified embodiments that can be easily conceived by those skilled in the art from the above description within the scope of the object.

Since the present invention is configured to evaluate the rhythm keeping ability of the player as described above,
(1) The depth and interest of the game increase as compared to the conventional sound game that is evaluated only based on the suitability of one operation timing.
(2) It becomes possible to incorporate interactive characteristics of a new character into the gaming machine.
(3) Since the operation timing is measured from the sound information, a low-cost sound game-equipped game machine without a video device can be realized.
Etc., and can contribute to the development of the gaming machine or game machine industry.

It is a block diagram which shows one Example of the circuit structure of the rhythm game apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of an operation | movement of the 1st Example of the rhythm game apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of an action | operation of the 2nd Example of the rhythm game device based on this invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Game operation part 1a Bet button 1b Start lever 1c Stop button 1d Game pulse generator 2A Speaker 2B Display device 3 Central control device 31 Arithmetic device 31a Evaluation circuit 32 Clock circuit 33 Rhythm pulse transmitter 34 Music sound reproduction device 35 Time difference measurement recording device (counter)
36 ROM
37 RAM
38 Image processing device 39 Data bus

Claims (8)

Rhythm pulses R ₁ , R ₂ , R ₃ ,... R _j .. R _m [Hereinafter, a series of rhythm pulse trains R, specific rhythms at a constant tempo N (the number of quarter notes played per minute)) Let the pulse be R _j (where j is a positive integer between 1 and m). A rhythm pulse generator (33) for generating
A musical sound reproducing device (34) for reproducing a series of pre-recorded musical sounds in accordance with a rhythm pulse train;
The game pulses P ₁ , P ₂ , P corresponding to the player's operations, which are operated by the player and are delayed from the rhythm pulse R _j arbitrarily selected from the rhythm pulse train R by a desired fixed time Δt, respectively. _3, ·· _{P k} · P _n [hereinafter, a series of games pulse train P, and particular game pulse _{P k} (where, k is 1 or more, n a positive integer smaller than or equal, n ≦ m) to. A game pulse generator (1d) for generating
The game pulse generator (1d), each time the game pulse P _k is transmitted, between the occurrence time G _k of the game pulse P _k, the closest rhythm pulse transmission time T _j to the occurrence time G _k, A device (35) for measuring and recording the time difference Δt _k (Δt _k = G _k −T _j );
The standard deviation of the time difference Delta] t _k at predetermined in time, the evaluation circuit for evaluating the skill of the player based on one of the deviation selected from among the mean deviation or quartile deviation (31),
A rhythm game apparatus that does not depend on visually-displayed timing assist means . The rhythm game device according to claim 1, wherein a program for evaluating the skill of a player based on any one deviation selected from a standard deviation, an average deviation, or a quadrant deviation is installed in the evaluation circuit (31). .
A BGM playback device;
A clock pulse generator,
The player sets time S ₁ , S ₂ , S ₃ ... S _m [ hereinafter, time S _j ( where j is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1 and less than m ) at a predetermined rhythm. ] , The game pulses Q ₁ , Q ₂ , Q ₃ ... Q _m , [ Hereinafter, Q is a series of game pulse trains, Qs is a specific game pulse ( where s is 1 or more, a game input device for transmitting )] ;
A clock pulse counter that resets each time a game pulse Q _j is transmitted from the game input device and counts the number N _{j of} clock pulses transmitted within a time period until a subsequent game pulse Q _{j + 1} is transmitted;
The deviation ΔN _i between the count value N _j of the clock pulse counter and its reference value N is calculated from any one standard deviation, average deviation, or quadrature deviation , and the skill of the player is evaluated. Skill evaluation circuit,
A rhythm game apparatus that does not depend on visually-displayed timing assist means . 4. The rhythm game apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the reference value N is a value determined in advance according to BGM, and does not depend on the visually displayed timing assist means . The reference value N is set equal to the number N _{1 of} clock pulses transmitted after the game pulse Q ₁ is transmitted at time S ₁ and before the game pulse Q ₂ is transmitted at time S ₂ . 4. The rhythm game apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the rhythm game apparatus does not depend on the visually displayed timing assist means . Reference value N, after the game is started, is calculated from a set count value N _j clock pulse counter obtained within a predetermined time, according to claim 3, it does not depend on the timing assist means is visually displayed Rhythm game device.   7. A rhythm game apparatus that does not depend on visually displayed timing assist means according to claim 1, wherein the rhythm of the BGM is constant during the game. 7. The rhythm game apparatus that does not depend on the visually displayed timing assist means according to claim 1, wherein the rhythm of the BGM is not constant during the game.

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