JP7148822B2 - Game program and game system - Google Patents

Description

Application of Article 30, Paragraph 2 of the Patent Act ・"Monster Hunter: World" Special Public Live Broadcast 2018 Winter" ・Date January 5, 2018 ・Venue The Grand Hall (2-16-4 Konan, Minato-ku, Tokyo) Shinagawa Grand Central Tower 3F)

The present invention relates to a game program and a game system that implement a game in which multiple users can participate.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is a game in which a plurality of game devices are connected via a communication line, and users of each game device aim to achieve a quest (mission) in cooperation with each other. Some games of this type allow another user to participate in the middle of a quest in which a certain user has participated.

For example, Patent Literature 1 discloses a game in which a user participating in a battle with an enemy character can request help from other users not participating in the battle. In this game, a help request screen is displayed on the mobile terminal of the user who requested help. When the participation button on the help request screen is pressed, the user for whom help is requested participates in the corresponding match from the middle. When the battle ends, rewards such as game items are given to the users who participated in the battle.

JP 2017-185319 A

In a game that allows mid-participation in a quest of this kind, giving the same reward as the user who has participated from the beginning to the user who joins the quest just before the quest is completed would give a sense of unfairness.

Therefore, the present invention is intended to reduce the sense of unfairness between a user who has participated from the start of a quest and a user who has participated in the middle of a quest in a game in which a plurality of users can participate in one quest. The purpose is to provide a game program and a game system that can

In order to solve the above problems, a game program according to an aspect of the present invention is a game that can be played by a plurality of users cooperatively, in which a quest started by a predetermined user (hereinafter referred to as preceding user) is performed. A game program for realizing a game in which another user (hereinafter referred to as a mid-participant user) can participate from the middle of the game, wherein a computer in which the mid-participant user performs an operation input generates a virtual space of the game Virtual space generation means, communication means for communicating with another computer that the preceding user performs operation input, and quest participation for participating in a quest started by the preceding user in the virtual space from the middle of the quest. means, determination means for determining whether or not a predetermined condition is satisfied when the midway participating user participates in the quest midway, and the midway participating user when the quest started by the preceding user is completed. When the predetermined condition is satisfied, the reward granting means is the same as the expected value of reward granting to the preceding user when the quest is completed. A reward to be granted to the midway participating user is determined based on an expected value, and if the predetermined condition is not satisfied, the midway user is determined based on an expected value smaller than the expected value of the reward given to the preceding user when the quest is completed. Determine rewards to be given to participating users.

According to the above game program, when it is determined by the determining means that the predetermined condition is not satisfied for the mid-participating user who participated in the quest started by the preceding user, the reward giving means The reward to be given to the midway participating user is determined based on an expected value smaller than the expected value of reward given to the preceding user when the quest is completed. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the sense of unfairness between the preceding user who has participated since the start of the quest and the user who has participated in the middle of the quest.

In the above game program, the determination means acquires the elapsed time from a predetermined time after the quest was started by the preceding user to the time when the mid-participating user participates in the quest midway, and the predetermined As the condition of (1), it may be determined whether or not the condition that the elapsed time is within the set time is established.

In the above-described game program, the determining means determines the action of a character appearing in the virtual space after the preceding user has started the quest, from the time when the preceding user becomes able to operate the action of the character. The elapsed time until the midway participation user joined the quest midway may be acquired. As a result, it is possible to set whether or not to reduce the expected value of rewards based on the elapsed time from when the quest can be progressed. It is possible to more appropriately reduce the feeling of unfairness that arises between users who participate in the quest in the middle.

In the above-described game program, the computer, in response to an operation input by the mid-participating user, reproduces a plurality of quests started by a plurality of other users participating in the game at a predetermined time after the quests are started. It may function as search condition setting means for setting search conditions for narrowing down using the elapsed time from. As a result, for example, a user who wants to join in the middle of a quest that has already started, but does not want to lower the expected value of the reward, can use a quest whose elapsed time is within the set time, or a quest with sufficient time between the elapsed time and the set time. You can easily find quests with

In the above game program, the expected value is the number of items to be given, and the number of items as a reward to be given to the midway participation user is the number of items to be given in the quest if the predetermined condition is satisfied. It is the same as the number of items given to the preceding user when completing the quest, and when the predetermined condition is not satisfied, the number of items given to the preceding user when completing the quest can be less.

In the above game program, the reward given when the quest is completed is an item drawn from a plurality of types of items including rare items, and the expected value is the drawing probability of the rare item. The lottery probability of the rare item for determining the reward to be given to the participating user determines the reward to be given to the preceding user when the quest is completed when the predetermined condition is satisfied. It is the same as the lottery probability of the rare item for the rare item, and if the predetermined condition is not satisfied, the rare item for determining the reward given to the preceding user when the quest is achieved. It may be lower than the lottery probability.

In addition, a game program according to another aspect of the present invention is a game that can be played by a plurality of users in cooperation, in which a quest started by a predetermined user (hereinafter referred to as preceding user) is played halfway through by another user. users (hereinafter referred to as late participants) can participate in the game, wherein computers are a first computer in which the preceding user performs operation input and a second computer in which the late participation user performs operation input communication means for communicating with each of the above; determination means for determining whether or not a predetermined condition is satisfied when the midway participation user participates in the quest started by the preceding user; When the started quest is completed, it functions as a reward determination means for determining a reward to be given to the midway participation user and the preceding user, and if the predetermined condition is satisfied, the quest A reward to be given to the midway participating user is determined by the same expected value as the expected value of the reward given to the preceding user at the time of achievement, and if the predetermined condition is not satisfied, the preceding at the time of the achievement of the quest A reward given to the late joining user is determined based on an expected value smaller than an expected value of reward given to the user.

According to the above game program, when it is determined by the determining means that the predetermined condition is not satisfied for the mid-participating user who participated in the quest started by the preceding user, the reward determining means The reward to be given to the midway participating user is determined based on an expected value smaller than the expected value of reward given to the preceding user when the quest is completed. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the sense of unfairness between the preceding user who has participated since the start of the quest and the user who has participated in the middle of the quest.

A game system according to the present invention includes a program storage unit storing any one of the game programs described above, and a computer executing the program stored in the program storage unit.

According to the present invention, in a game in which a plurality of users can participate in one quest, the feeling of unfairness between a user who has participated from the start of the quest and a user who has participated in the quest midway is reduced. It is possible to provide a game program and a game system that can

2 is a block diagram showing hardware configurations of a game device and a server device according to the first embodiment; FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the game screen in 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows another example of the game screen in 1st Embodiment. 2 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the game device in the first embodiment; FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the search condition setting screen in 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the quest reward screen in 1st Embodiment. It is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a server device in the first embodiment. It is a figure which shows the quest start flow in 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the quest midway participation flow in 1st Embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the functional structure of the server apparatus in 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the quest midway participation flow in 2nd Embodiment.

(First embodiment)
A game program and a game system according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

[Hardware configuration]
First, the configuration of the game system 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the game device 2 and the server device 3 that constitute the game system 1. As shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 1, a game device 2 can communicate with another game device 2 and a server device 3 via a communication network NW such as the Internet or LAN. This game machine 2 comprises a CPU 10 which is a computer for controlling its operation, and to this CPU 10 are connected via a bus 11 a disk drive 12, a memory card slot 13, an HDD 14 and a ROM 15 as program storage means, and a RAM 16. It is

A disc-type recording medium 30 such as a DVD-ROM can be loaded into the disc drive 12 . The disk-type recording medium 30 records a game program 30a, and game data 30b such as player characters, ally characters, and enemy characters appearing in the game, and objects and textures necessary for generating a game space. ing. Also, a card-type recording medium 31 can be loaded into the memory card slot 13 . In the card-type recording medium 31, save data indicating the play status such as the progress of the game can be recorded according to instructions from the CPU 10. FIG.

The HDD 14 is a large-capacity recording medium built into the game apparatus 2, and records a game program 30a and game data 30b read from the disk type recording medium 30, save data, and the like. The ROM 15 is a semiconductor memory such as a mask ROM or PROM, and records a boot program for booting the game device 2, a program for controlling the operation when the disk type recording medium 30 is loaded, and the like. The RAM 16 consists of DRAM, SRAM, etc., and stores a game program 30a to be executed by the CPU 10 and game data 30b necessary for the execution from the disk-type recording medium 30 or the HDD 14 according to the game play situation. Read and temporarily record.

Further, the CPU 10 is connected via the bus 11 to a graphic processing section 17 , an audio synthesis section 20 , a wireless communication control section 23 and a network interface 25 .

Of these, the graphics processing unit 17 draws a game image including the game space and each character according to instructions from the CPU 10, and further draws messages spoken by characters appearing in the game superimposed on the game image. Also, the graphics processing unit 17 is connected to an external display 19 via a video conversion unit 18, and the game image drawn by the graphics processing unit 17 is converted into a moving image format by the video conversion unit 18, and further displayed on the display 19. displayed.

The audio synthesizer 20 reproduces and synthesizes digital game sounds according to instructions from the CPU 10 . Also, the audio synthesizing unit 20 is connected to an external speaker 22 via the audio converting unit 21 . Accordingly, the game sound reproduced and synthesized by the audio synthesizing section 20 is decoded into an analog format by the audio converting section 21 and then output from the speaker 22 to the outside.

The wireless communication control unit 23 has a 2.4 GHz band wireless communication module, is wirelessly connected to the controller 24 attached to the game device 2, and can transmit and receive data to and from the controller 24. there is A user can input a signal to the game apparatus 2 by operating an operator (not shown) such as a button provided on the controller 24 to control the action of the player character displayed on the display 19. can. Also, the network interface 25 connects the game device 2 to a communication network NW such as the Internet or LAN. Therefore, game device 2 can communicate with other game device 2 or server device 3 .

On the other hand, the server device 3 has a CPU 40 which is a computer for controlling its operation. Note that the server device 3 may include an input interface such as a keyboard and an output interface such as a liquid crystal display as necessary.

The HDD 42 is a large-capacity recording medium incorporated in the server device 3, and stores game programs (computer programs) 42a, game data 42b, and the like. The ROM 43 is a semiconductor memory such as a mask ROM or a PROM, and stores programs that define basic operations of the server device 3 and the like. The RAM 44 is composed of DRAM, SRAM, or the like, and temporarily stores a game program 42a to be executed by the CPU 10 and game data 42b required for execution thereof from the HDD 42 as necessary. The network interface 45 is means for connecting with the game device 2 via the communication network NW, and the server device 3 can communicate with a plurality of game devices 2 via the network interface 45 .

[Overview of the game]
An overview of the game in this embodiment will be described. The game according to the present embodiment is an action game in which the player character is caused to act by operating the controller 24 in a three-dimensional virtual space representing a village, a forest, a plain, etc., to proceed with the game. In addition, this game is a so-called multiplayer compatible game in which a plurality of users can participate, and a plurality of player characters corresponding to a plurality of users can act in the same virtual space.

In this game, various quests (missions, tasks) are prepared according to the progress. A quest can be received by the user selecting it from among various quests displayed on the display 19 via the controller 24 . In the virtual space, for example, there are fields such as villages and meeting places where you can accept quests (hereinafter referred to as "order fields") and fields such as forests and plains where you aim to complete the ordered quests (hereinafter referred to as "quest fields"). ) are provided.

2 and 3 show examples of game screens D1 and D2 displayed on the display 19, respectively. The game screen D1 in FIG. 2 is an example of a game screen showing how the player character P is positioned in the order receiving field Sa, and the game screen D2 in FIG. 3 is a game showing how the player character P is positioned in the quest field Sb. It is an example of a screen.

As shown in FIG. 2, for example, when the player character P is positioned at a predetermined position in the order receiving field Sa, a quest order receiving button B1 is displayed on the game screen D1 so as to be selectable according to the user's operation. When the quest order button B1 is selected by the user, a list of one or more quests corresponding to the progress of the game is displayed on the display 19 in a selectable manner, and the quest selected from the list is accepted. . After accepting the quest, the user prepares the player character P's equipment and possessed items, and then moves the player character P from the order receiving field Sa to the quest field Sb. When a quest is started by the player character P moving to the quest field Sb, the user operates the player character P and aims to complete the quest. When the quest is completed, the reward for the quest is given to the user.

There are various types of quests, and quest fields Sb are prepared according to the quests. Examples of types of quests include, for example, quests aimed at subjugating enemy characters (non-player characters) N as targets placed in the quest field Sb as shown in FIG. There are things that aim to collect items from

Also, in this game, a user can participate in a quest accepted by another user before the quest starts. Specifically, participation conditions such as the number of participants (for example, four) and the level of the player character P are set for each quest. A user who satisfies the participation condition can participate in a quest accepted by another user who operates the player character P in the same order field Sa.

More specifically, when the user accepts the quest, the game device 2 transmits to the server device 3 information indicating that the quest has been accepted. The server device 3 receives information from the game device 2 and registers the accepted quest.

On the other hand, a user who wants to participate in a quest ordered by another user can confirm the existence of the quest ordered by the other user by accessing the server device 3 from the game device 2 operated by the user. . For example, as shown in FIG. 2, when the player character P is positioned at a predetermined position within the order receiving field Sa, a first quest participation button B2 is displayed on the game screen D1. When the user selects the first quest participation button B2, the game device 2 operated by the user displays a list of one or more quests accepted by another user operating the player character P in the same order field Sa ( hereinafter also referred to as a "first quest list"). The server device 3 sends the first quest list to the game device 2, and the display 19 of the game device 2 displays the first quest list. The user selects a quest to participate in from the first quest list.

In this way, multiple users (including the user who has accepted the quest) participate in one quest, and when multiple player characters P operated by the multiple users move from the order receiving field Sa to the quest field Sb, the quest starts. be done. When a quest is completed, the reward for that quest will be given to all quest participants.

Furthermore, in this game, a user can also join a quest already started by another user from the middle. In the following, for the sake of convenience, users who have participated since the start of the quest (that is, users who accepted the quest and users who participated in the quest accepted by other users before the quest started) are referred to as "preceding users." A user who participates in the quest that has already started will be referred to as a "half-participating user". In addition, users who participate in the game will be simply referred to as "users" when describing without distinguishing between preceding users and mid-game users.

A preceding user participating in the quest from the start of the quest can transmit a distress signal by performing a predetermined operation on the controller 24 . When the distress signal is transmitted, the game device 2 operated by the preceding user transmits information indicating that the distress signal has been transmitted to the server device 3 . The server device 3 receives the information from the game device 2 and registers the quest for which the distress signal was sent as the distress signal quest.

On the other hand, a midway participating user who has not yet participated in the quest can confirm the presence of the distress signal quest by accessing the server device 3 from the game device 2 operated by the midway participating user. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, when the player character P corresponding to the midway participation user is positioned at a predetermined position in the order reception field Sa, a second quest participation button B3 is displayed on the game screen D1. When the midway participant selects the second quest participation button B3, the game device 2 operated by the midway participant displays a list of one or more distress signal quests (hereinafter also referred to as a "second quest list"). Make a request to the server device 3. The server device 3 sends the second quest list to the game device 2, and the display 19 of the game device 2 displays the second quest list. The halfway participating user selects a distress signal quest to participate in from the second quest list.

In this way, the midway participation user can apply for participation in the quest already started by the preceding user, and can participate in the distress signal quest from the middle. The determination method of the reward for the midway participation user when the distress signal quest is achieved is different from the determination method of the reward for the preceding user. The details of how to determine the reward will be described later.

[Functional Configuration of Game Device]
FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the game device 2 described above. As shown in FIG. 4, the game device 2 executes a game program 30a to perform communication means 50, virtual space generation means 51, character control means 52, quest order reception information transmission means 53, elapsed time counting means 54, quest It functions as list request means 55, quest participation means 56, distress signal transmission means 57, determination means 58, quest progress control means 59, and reward provision means 60. In terms of hardware, these functions include the CPU 10, HDD 14, ROM 15, RAM 16, graphic processing unit 17, video conversion unit 18, audio synthesis unit 20, audio conversion unit 21, network interface 25, etc. shown in FIG. realized by

Communication means 50 communicates with other computers (other game devices 2 and server device 3) via communication network NW. The virtual space generating means 51 generates a three-dimensional virtual space for playing the game, and further generates a two-dimensional image for displaying this on the display 19. FIG. The virtual space includes the above-described order field Sa and quest field Sb.

The character control means 52 generates the player character P and controls the action of the player character P in the game space according to the user's operation of the controller 24 or according to the game situation. For example, the user can move the player character P in the virtual space and attack the enemy character N by operating the controller 24 . The character control means 52 also generates non-player characters such as enemy characters N and ally characters that are targets of quests, and controls the actions of the non-player characters in the virtual space according to the game situation.

The quest order information transmitting means 53 transmits to the server device 3 quest order information, which is information indicating that the user has accepted the quest by accepting an order for the quest in the order acceptance field Sa.

Elapsed time counting means 54 counts the elapsed time (hereinafter referred to as "quest elapsed time") starting from a predetermined point after the start of the accepted quest. More specifically, in this game, a quest starts when the player moves from the order field Sa to the quest field Sb. Depending on the quest, an introductory movie introducing an overview of the quest is displayed on the display 19 immediately after moving from the order field Sa to the quest field Sb. The introductory movie introduces, for example, a quest field Sb, an enemy character N that is a target to be defeated, or an item that is a target to be collected. While the introductory movie is shown on the display 19, the player character P cannot be operated by the user. After the introductory movie ends, it becomes possible for the user to operate the action of the player character P in the quest field Sb. The elapsed time counting means 54 counts the quest elapsed time from the point in time when the introductory movie ends, that is, the point in time when the action of the player character P in the quest field Sb can be operated. Incidentally, when the introduction movie is not prepared for the quest, the elapsed time counting means 54 counts the quest elapsed time from the time when the quest is moved from the order receiving field Sa to the quest field Sb.

The quest list requesting means 55 requests the server device 3 for the above-described first quest list or second quest list. For example, when the first quest participation button B2 is selected on the game screen D1 shown in FIG. 2, the quest list requesting means 55 requests the server device 3 for the first quest list.

The quest list requesting means 55 includes search condition setting means 55a. The search condition setting means 55a sets search conditions for narrowing down the rescue signal quests stored in the server device 3 by the user's operation on the controller 24. FIG. Specifically, the search condition setting means 55a displays a search condition setting screen D3 on the display 19 as shown in FIG. The search condition setting screen D3 is a screen on which search conditions for narrowing down the rescue signal quests stored in the server device 3 can be input. The search condition setting screen D3 is displayed on the display 19 by the search condition setting means 55a, for example, when the second quest participation button B3 is selected on the game screen D1 shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 5, the search condition setting screen D3 displays a plurality of (here, three) search condition input windows B4 to B6. The search condition input windows B4 to B6 are windows in which search conditions can be input or selected by the user's operation input. In this game, in the search condition input window B4, it is possible to enter the type of quest (battle with the enemy character N, item collection, etc.) as a search condition, and in the search condition input window B5, as a search condition You can enter the difficulty of the quest. Also, in the search condition input window B6, it is possible to enter a range of quest elapsed time as a search condition.

After the search condition is input, for example, when the search start button B7 shown in FIG. A distress signal quest that satisfies the search condition is extracted from all distress signal quests. Then, the list of extracted distress signal quests is sent to the game device 2 as a second quest list and displayed on the display 19 . However, the operation of extracting the distress signal quest may not be performed by the server device 3 . For example, after the game device 2 receives the second quest list including all the distress signal quests from the server device 3, the game device 2 may extract the rescue signal quests based on the search conditions.

The quest participation means 56 transmits and receives information to and from the server device 3 for participating in a quest that has already been ordered. The quest participation means 56 includes first participation application means 56a and second participation application means 56b.

The first participation application means 56a sends to the server device 3 an application for participation in a quest that has been ordered by another user and has not yet started. Specifically, when one quest is selected from the first quest list displayed on the display 19 according to the user's operation, the first participation application means 56a requests participation in the selected quest. The application is sent to the server device 3.

The second participation application means 56b sends to the server device 3 an application for mid-way participation in a quest accepted and started by another user. Specifically, when one distress signal quest is selected from the second quest list displayed on the display 19 according to the user's operation, the second participation application means 56b displays the selected distress signal quest. to the server device 3.

The rescue signal transmission means 57, when a rescue signal is transmitted by an operation input by a user participating in a quest that has already started, provides rescue signal information indicating information about the quest to which the rescue signal has been transmitted and the participating users. to the server device 3.

The determination means 58 determines whether or not a predetermined condition is satisfied when the user participates in the quest midway. In this embodiment, the determination means 58 acquires the quest elapsed time from the end of the introduction movie to the time of participating in the quest midway, and the acquired quest elapsed time is within a preset time (for example, 10 minutes). Determine whether or not there is

The quest progress control means 59 controls the progress of the quest. Specifically, the quest progress control means 59 updates the progress of the quest, and determines whether or not the quest has been completed based on the updated progress of the quest. For example, if the type of quest is subjugation of the enemy character N in the quest field Sb, the game device 2 of the user who accepted the quest has the damage value given to the enemy character N by all users participating in the quest. Sent. In the game device 2 of the user who accepted the quest, the quest progress control means 59 updates the physical strength value of the enemy character N based on the damage value given to the enemy character N by each player character P. Then, the quest progress control means 59 determines that the quest has been completed when the updated physical strength value of the enemy character N reaches a predetermined value (for example, zero).

A reward giving means 60 gives a reward to the user when the quest is completed. Each quest has a preset reference value for the number of items (equivalent to the expected value of the present invention) that will be granted when the quest is completed. The reward granting means 60 determines the number of items to be given to users who have participated before the start of the quest, that is, the preceding user, to be the same number as the preset reference value according to the quest.

FIG. 6 shows an example of the quest reward screen D4 displayed on the display 19 of the preceding user when the preceding user has completed the quest. A plurality of (here, five) reward frames C1 to C5 are displayed on the quest reward screen D4. Icons E1 to E4 shown in reward frames C1 to C4 represent items obtained by completing quests. A reward slot C5 with nothing shown in it indicates that the item corresponding to that slot was not acquired. That is, the number of items given to the quest in this example is set to four. In addition, the items obtained in each reward frame will be drawn from multiple types of items according to the quest. For each item, the lottery probability is set according to the quest. The multiple types of items include rare items with a low lottery probability. If the standard value for the number of items set in the quest is "4", a lottery will be held to determine the items to be acquired in the four reward frames C1 to C4 out of the five reward frames C1 to C5, and the reward will be determined. be.

Furthermore, the reward granting means 60 uses a method different from the reward given to the preceding user for the reward given to the user who participated in the quest started by the preceding user from the middle, that is, the user who participated in the middle. decide. That is, when the determining means 58 determines that the above-mentioned quest elapsed time is within the set time, the reward giving means 60 sets the number of items to be given to the midway participating user according to the preset criteria for the quest. Decide on the same number as the value. On the other hand, when the determination means 58 determines that the quest elapsed time is not within the set time, the reward granting means 60 reduces the number of items to be granted to the midway participating user to the number of items to be granted to the preceding user. Decide on a number less than

For example, using the example of FIG. 6, if the quest elapsed time is within the set time, the number of items given to the midway user when the quest is completed is the same as the number of items given to the preceding user. Four. Therefore, in the game device 2 on the side of the late participant, similarly to the side of the preceding user, a lottery is held to determine the acquired item in the four reward frames C1 to C4 out of the five reward frames C1 to C5, and the reward is determined. be done. On the other hand, when the quest elapsed time exceeds the set time, the number of items given to the midway participating user when the quest is completed is, for example, two, which is less than the number of items given to the preceding user. Therefore, in the game device 2 on the side of the late participant user, a lottery for determining acquired items is conducted in two reward frames C1 to C2 out of the five reward frames C1 to C5, and rewards are determined.

[Functional Configuration of Server Device]
FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the server device 3 described above. As shown in FIG. 7, by executing the game program 42a, the server device 3 performs communication means 70, quest management means 71, order reception information acceptance means 72, list request acceptance means 73, participation application acceptance means 74, distress signal It functions as reception means 75 and elapsed time reception means 76 . These functions are realized in terms of hardware by the CPU 40, HDD 42, ROM 43, RAM 44, network interface 45, etc. shown in FIG.

Communication means 70 communicates with a plurality of game devices 2 via communication network NW.

The quest management means 71 registers and manages quests accepted by the user of the game device 2 connected to the server device 3 and in which the user of another game device 2 connected to the server device 3 can participate. . In other words, the quest management means 71 temporarily stores, as a quest list, quests waiting for participation applications from users who have not participated in the quests. The quest list temporarily stored by the quest management means 71 includes the above-described first quest list and second quest list.

The order information reception means 72 receives the quest order information sent from the game device 2 by the quest order information transmission means 53 . Based on this quest order information, the quest management means 71 adds the quest newly accepted by the game device 2 to the first quest list and stores it.

The list request accepting means 73 accepts a quest list request sent from the game device 2 by the quest list requesting means 55 . The quest list request may include search conditions for narrowing down the distress signal quests described above. Based on the quest list request, the quest management means 71 sends the stored quest list to the game device 2 . The first quest list or the second quest list (including the list of quests narrowed down based on the search conditions) sent from the server device 3 is displayed on the display 19 so that the user can select one quest from them. .

The participation application acceptance means 74 accepts the participation applications sent from the game device 2 by the first participation application means 56a and the second participation application means 56b. In the present embodiment, the participation application receiving means 74 automatically permits participation in the quest if the user who applied for participation satisfies the conditions for participation in the quest. That is, the participation application receiving means 74 sends information indicating permission for participation to the game device 2 of the user who applied for participation. Participation application reception means 74 sends the information of the user who has newly participated in the quest to the users who have already participated. In addition, the quest management means 71 removes from the quest list any quest for which the maximum number of participants has been reached or for which the transmission of the distress signal has been cancelled.

However, the participation application reception means 74 does not have to automatically permit the user who has applied for participation to participate in the quest, and determines whether or not to permit the user who has applied for participation to participate based on the selection of the preceding user. good too. That is, when the server device 3 receives the application for participation or the application for late participation, the game device 2 of the preceding user sends information about the late participation user (for example, information about the player character's level, equipment, etc.) from the server device 3. , the preceding user may choose whether or not to allow participation from that information.

The rescue signal reception means 75 receives the rescue signal information sent from the game device 2 by the rescue signal transmission means 57 . Based on this distress signal information, the quest management means 71 adds the quest for which the distress signal was sent to the second quest list and stores it.

The elapsed time receiving means 76 starts receiving the quest elapsed time from the elapsed time counting means 54 of the game device 2 when the distress signal receiving means 75 receives the distress signal information from the game device 2 . Based on the quest elapsed time received by the elapsed time receiving means 76, the quest management means 71 associates the distress signal quest with the quest elapsed time and stores them as a second quest list. Therefore, when the second quest list is sent from the server device 3 to the game device 2, the quest elapsed time of each distress signal quest on the second quest list is displayed on the display 19 connected to the game device 2. visibly displayed in the

Next, the flow of operations of the game device 2 and the server device 3 when a midway user participates in a quest accepted by a preceding user will be described with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9. . In the following description, for the sake of convenience, the preceding user's game device 2 operated by the preceding user will be referred to as "game device 2a", and the player character P operated by the preceding user will be referred to as "character Pa". Similarly, the game device 2 operated by the late participant user is referred to as "game device 2b", and the player character P operated by the late participant user is referred to as "character Pb".

[Quest start flow]
First, the flow in which the preceding user who accepts the quest starts the quest will be described with reference to FIG.

By the preceding user's operational input on the game device 2a, the character Pa is moved to a predetermined position in the order receiving field Sa, and when the quest is accepted, the quest order receiving information transmitting means 53 of the game device 2a sends the quest order receiving information to the game device. 2a to the server device 3 (step S101). In the server device 3, the order information receiving means 72 receives the quest order information sent from the game device 2a, and the quest management means 71 adds the received quest to the first quest list and stores it (step S201). .

Note that, between step 201 and step S102 described later, another user who satisfies the participation conditions may participate in the quest accepted in step S101. That is, the quest list requesting means 55 of the other user's game device 2 requests the server device 3 for the first quest list. In the server device 3 , the list request receiving means 73 receives the request for the first quest list, and the quest managing means 71 sends the first quest list to the game device 2 . When another user selects the quest accepted in step S101 from the first quest list, the first participation application means 56a sends an application for participation in the selected quest from the game device 2 to the server device 3. In this way, the participation of other users (that is, other preceding users) in the quest accepted in step S101 is completed.

After step S201, when the character Pa moves from the order field Sa to the quest field Sb (step S102), the quest is started, and an introductory movie introducing the outline of the quest is displayed on the display 19 (step S103). When the introductory movie ends, the elapsed time counting means 54 starts counting the quest elapsed time (step S104). Thus, when the quest is started, the quest progress control means 59 updates the progress of the quest according to the behavior of the character Pa in the quest field Sb (for example, attacking the enemy character N) (step S105).

[Participating mid-quest flow]
Next, with reference to FIG. 9, a description will be given of a flow in which a mid-participating user participates in-progress in a quest started by a preceding user.

When the preceding user transmits a rescue signal by performing a predetermined operation input on the game device 2a during the quest (that is, after step S104), the rescue signal transmission means 57 transmits the rescue signal information to the server device 3. to (step S106). In the server device 3, the rescue signal reception means 75 receives the rescue signal information, and the quest management means 71 adds the quest for which the rescue signal was sent to the second quest list as a rescue signal quest and stores it (step S202). ). In addition, the rescue signal transmission means 57 of the game device 2a starts transmitting the quest elapsed time count started in step S104 to the server device 3 after transmitting the rescue signal information (step S107). The elapsed time acceptance means 76 of the server device 3 receives the sent quest elapsed time, and the quest management means 71 updates the quest elapsed time of each distress signal quest in the second quest list (step S203). The transmission of the quest elapsed time from the game device 2a to the server device 3 continues until the number of participants in the distress signal quest reaches the number of participants who can participate, or until the transmission of the distress signal is stopped. In this way, the quest in which the preceding user is participating accepts midway participation by other users.

The quest list requesting means 55 requests the second quest list from the server device 3 according to the operation input of the midway participant user on the game device 2b (step S301). In the server device 3, the list request receiving means 73 receives the request for the second quest list sent from the game device 2b, and the quest management means 71 sends the second quest list to the game device 2b. (Step S204). As a result, the second quest list sent from the server device 3 is displayed on the display 19 connected to the game device 2b so as to be selectable by the midway participation user.

When the midway participating user selects the distress signal quest in which the preceding user is participating from the second quest list displayed on the display 19 via the controller 24, the second participation application means 56b applies to the selected distress signal quest. is sent from the game device 2b to the server device 3 (step S302).

The participation application acceptance means 74 of the server device 3 accepts the participation application sent from the game device 2b. In addition, if the midway participation user who applied for participation satisfies the conditions for participation in the quest, the participation application reception means 74 automatically permits participation in the quest, and sends information indicating permission for participation to the game device 2b. (Step S205). In this way, the midway participating user participates midway in the quest in which the preceding user is participating, and the character Pb operated by the midway participating user moves to the quest field Sb of the midway participating quest (step S303). Further, in step S303, in the game device 2b, the determination means 58 determines whether or not the quest elapsed time of the distress signal quest that the player joined midway is within the set time. This determination result is used in step S305, which will be described later.

After the midway participating user participates in the quest midway, the quest progress information progressed by the action of the character Pb operated by the midway participating user is sent to the game device 2a. For example, if the type of quest is subjugation of the enemy character N in the quest field Sb, the game device 2a receives the damage value given to the enemy character N by the mid-participating user from the game device 2b via the server device 3. It is sent at any time as progress information (step S304). The quest progress control means 59 of the game device 2a updates the physical strength value of the enemy character N based on the damage value inflicted on the enemy character N by the character Pa or the character Pb (step S108). Then, the quest progress control means 59 determines that the quest has been completed when the updated physical strength value of the enemy character N reaches a predetermined value (for example, zero).

When it is determined that the quest has been completed, the game device 2a sends quest achievement information to the game device 2b (step S109). The reward granting means 60 of the game device 2a determines the number of items, which are rewards to be given to the preceding user, to be a preset reference value according to the quest, and gives the same number of items as the reference value to the preceding user. Grant (step S110). Specifically, as shown in FIG. 6, the reward granting means 60 of the game device 2a performs a lottery for the same number as the reference value preset according to the quest, determines the acquired item, and grants it as a reward. do.

In the game device 2b, when the quest achievement information is received from the game device 2a, the reward giving means 60 determines the number of items as a reward to be given to the midway participation user according to the determination result in step S303. A number of items are given to the late joining user (step S305). Specifically, when the quest elapsed time is within the set time, the reward granting means 60 of the game device 2b performs a lottery for the same number as the preset reference value according to the quest, and determines the acquired item. , given as a reward. In addition, if the quest elapsed time is not within the set time, the reward giving means 60 of the game device 2b performs a lottery for a number of times less than a preset reference value according to the quest, determines the acquired item, and as a reward Give.

As described above, according to the game program 30a and the game system 1, the determining means 58 determines that the predetermined condition is not satisfied for the halfway participating user who has halfway joined the quest started by the preceding user. If determined, the reward giving means 60 determines the reward to be given to the midway participating user based on an expected value smaller than the expected value of the reward given to the preceding user when the quest is completed. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the sense of unfairness between the preceding user who has participated since the start of the quest and the user who has participated in the middle of the quest.

(Second embodiment)
Next, a game program and a game system according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 10 and 11. FIG. In addition, in the following description of the second embodiment, points different from the first embodiment will be mainly described, and the same components will be denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the server device 3 in the second embodiment. As shown in FIG. 10 , in this embodiment, the server device 3 functions as the determination means 58 and the quest progress control means 59 instead of the game device 2 functioning as the determination means 58 and the quest progress control means 59 . Server device 3 also functions as remuneration determining means 77 .

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a quest mid-participation flow in the second embodiment. Since the flow of steps S106 to S302 in FIG. 11 is the same as in FIG. 9, the description of steps S106 to S302 will be omitted below, and steps T205 to T305, which are the flow after step S302, will be mainly described. .

The second participation application means 56b of the game device 2b sends an application for participation in the distress signal quest to the server device 3 (step S302). The participation application accepting means 74 of the server device 3 accepts the participation application sent from the game device 2b, and if the halfway participating user who applied for participation satisfies the conditions for participating in the quest, information indicating permission to participate in the game device 2b. (step T205). In this way, the late participating user participates in the quest in which the preceding user is participating, and the character Pb operated by the late participating user moves to the quest field Sb of the quest in which the late participating user participates (step T303). Further, in step T205, in the server device 3, the determination means 58 determines whether or not the quest elapsed time of the rescue signal quest in which the user participated midway is within the set time. This determination result is used in step T207, which will be described later.

The progress information of the quest progressed by the action of the character Pa operated by the preceding user is sent from the game device 2a to the server device 3 as needed (step T108). In addition, the quest progress information progressed by the action of the character Pb operated by the midway participant user is also sent from the game device 2b to the server device 3 at any time (step T304). The quest progress control means 59 of the server device 3 updates the progress of the quest based on the quest progress information sent from the game device 2a and the game device 2b, and based on the updated quest progress, whether or not the quest has been completed. (step T206).

When it is determined that the quest has been completed and the quest is completed, the reward determining means 77 of the server device 3 determines rewards to be given to the preceding user and the midway participating user (step T207). Specifically, the reward determining means 77 performs a lottery for the preceding user by the same number as the reference value set in advance according to the quest, and determines the acquisition item. Further, the reward determining means 77 performs a lottery for the number of late participating users according to the determination result of the determining means 58, and determines acquired items. That is, when the quest elapsed time is within the set time, the reward determining means 77 performs a lottery by the same number as the reference value preset according to the quest, determines the acquired item, and determines the acquired item. If it is not within, a lottery will be performed for a number less than the preset reference value according to the quest, and the acquired item will be determined.

The reward information of the preceding user and the late participating user determined by the reward determining means 77 is sent to the game device 2a and the game device 2b, respectively. The reward giving means 60 of the game device 2a and the game device 2b give rewards to the preceding user and the late participating user, respectively, based on the received reward information.

This embodiment can also obtain the same effect as the first embodiment.

(Other embodiments)
The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and various modifications are possible without departing from the gist of the present invention.

For example, in the second embodiment, the server device 3 functions as the quest progress control means 59, but the game device 2 may function as the quest progress control means 59 as in the first embodiment. Further, in the second embodiment, the server device 3 may function as the elapsed time counting means 54 instead of the game device 2. In this case, predetermined information is sent from the game device 2 to the server device 3 in step S104. As a result, counting of the quest elapsed time by the elapsed time counting means 54 may be started.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, when the determining means 58 determines that the predetermined condition is not satisfied, the number of items given to the midway participant user is less than the number of items given to the preceding user. However, the invention is not so limited. That is, in the present invention, when the determination means 58 determines that the predetermined condition is not satisfied, the expected value of the reward given to the midway participation user by a different method than the number of items is compared with that of the preceding user. can be made smaller.

For example, irrespective of whether or not a predetermined condition is satisfied, the number of items given to the mid-participating user and the preceding user (that is, the number of times items are drawn by lottery) is made the same, and the reward to be given to the mid-participating user is determined. If the predetermined condition is satisfied, the lottery probability of the rare item for the quest is the same as the lottery probability of the rare item to determine the reward given to the preceding user when the quest is completed, and the predetermined If the condition is not satisfied, it may be lower than the rare item lottery probability for determining the reward given to the preceding user when the quest is completed.

In addition, multiple opportunities may be prepared for rewarding by completing one quest. In this case, the reward determination method of making the expected value of the reward given to the late participant user smaller than that of the preceding user when it is determined that the predetermined condition is not met is a method of determining the reward given to the user in a plurality of reward giving opportunities. It may be applied to all of them, or may be applied to some of them.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the elapsed time counting means 54 counted the quest elapsed time from the time when the introduction movie ended, but the starting point of the quest elapsed time by the elapsed time counting means 54 is not limited to this. For example, when the elapsed time counting means 54 is a quest aimed at subjugating the enemy character N, for example, when the player character P discovers the enemy character N to be subjugated in the quest field Sb, or when the player character P is participating in the quest. The time point at which any player character P corresponding to the user first damages the enemy character N may be set as the starting point of the quest elapsed time.

Further, in the above embodiment, the determining means 58 determines whether or not the acquired quest elapsed time is within the preset time, but the determining means 58 determines whether or not another condition is established. may For example, it may be determined whether or not the remaining physical strength of the enemy character to be subjugated in the quest is equal to or less than a set value (for example, 50%).

Further, the search condition setting means 55a may set search conditions for narrowing down not only the distress signal quest stored in the server device 3 but also other quests. Also, the game device 2 may not function as the search condition setting means 55a. In this case, for example, on the game screen D1 shown in FIG. 2, for example, on the game screen D1 shown in FIG. When B3 is selected, the quest list requesting means 55 requests the server device 3 for a second quest list including all distress signal quests.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, when a distress signal is transmitted, a quest related to the distress signal can be participated by other users as a distress signal quest. It is also applicable to games that include joinable quests. For example, the present invention can be applied to a game including a quest in which other users can freely join in the middle of a quest that has already started, regardless of the dispatch of a distress signal by a preceding user.

1: Game system
2: Game device
3: Server equipment
50: means of communication
51: Virtual space generation means
55a: Search condition setting means
56: Quest Participation Means
58: Judgment means
60: Means of Reward Giving
70: means of communication
77: Remuneration determination means

Claims (5)

A game that can be played cooperatively by a plurality of users, and in which other users (hereinafter referred to as mid-participating users) can participate in a quest started by a predetermined user (hereinafter referred to as preceding user). A game program that realizes
A computer on which operation input is performed by the midway participation user,
virtual space generating means for generating the virtual space of the game;
communication means for communicating with another computer on which the preceding user performs operation input;
Quest participation means for participating from the middle of a quest started by the preceding user in the virtual space;
determination means for determining whether or not a predetermined condition is satisfied when the midway participation user participates in the quest midway;
function as a reward granting means for granting a reward to the midway participating user when the quest started by the preceding user is completed;
The reward given when completing the quest is an item,
According to the quest, as a reference value of the expected value of the reward to be given to the preceding user when the quest is achieved, the number of items to be given when the quest is achieved is preset,
The reward granting means is
When the predetermined condition is satisfied, the same number of items as the reference value is selected based on the selection probability set according to the quest, based on the expected value according to the reference value. determining the same number of items as the reference value as a reward to be given to the midway participation user;
When the predetermined condition is not satisfied, according to the reference value, and with an expected value smaller than when the predetermined condition is satisfied, the number less than the reference value responds to the quest. A game program for determining a number of items less than the reference value as a reward to be given to the midway participant user by drawing lots for items based on the lottery probability set by the game program. The determination means acquires the elapsed time from a predetermined time after the quest is started by the preceding user to the time when the midway participating user participates in the quest midway, and determines the elapsed time as the predetermined condition. 2. The game program according to claim 1, wherein it is determined whether or not a condition that the time is within the set time has been established. Said quest has multiple rewarding opportunities,
3. A game program according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein rewarding by said rewarding means is applied to a portion of said plurality of rewarding opportunities. A game that can be played cooperatively by a plurality of users, and in which other users (hereinafter referred to as mid-participating users) can participate in a quest started by a predetermined user (hereinafter referred to as preceding user). A game program that realizes
the computer,
Communication means for communicating with each of the first computer on which the preceding user performs operation input and the second computer on which the midway participation user performs operation input;
Determination means for determining whether a predetermined condition is satisfied when the midway participation user participates in the middle of the quest started by the preceding user;
When the quest started by the preceding user is completed, it functions as a reward determination means for determining the reward given to the midway participation user and the preceding user,
The reward given when completing the quest is an item,
According to the quest, as a reference value of the expected value of the reward to be given to the preceding user when the quest is achieved, the number of items to be given when the quest is achieved is preset,
The remuneration determining means is
When the predetermined condition is established, the expected value corresponding to the reference value is used to draw items based on the same number as the reference value, based on the drawing probability set according to the quest. determining the same number of items as the reference value as a reward given to the midway participation user;
When the predetermined condition is not satisfied, according to the reference value, and with an expected value smaller than when the predetermined condition is satisfied, the quest is responded to by a number less than the reference value. a game program for determining a number of items less than the reference value as a reward to be given to the midway participant user by drawing lots for items based on the lottery probability set by the game program. A program storage unit storing the game program according to any one of claims 1 to 4 ;
and a computer that executes the program stored in the program storage unit.

Images