JP7252746B2 - programs and computer systems - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a program or the like for causing a computer system to execute a game.

For example, games in genres called music games, musical performance games, rhythm games, etc. (hereinafter collectively referred to as "music games") have a predetermined timing (target criteria) that matches the rhythm of the music being played. This is a representative example of a game (also called a timing game, etc.) in which the player enjoys how to accurately perform a specified type of operation (an operation input required of the player) according to timing). Since the player can enjoy the operation input according to the rhythm with the favorite music selected by himself/herself as BGM, the game can be played not only by a single player, but also by a plurality of players participating in cooperation or competing against each other. Also popular in multiplayer.

Various techniques have been proposed to increase interest in music games. For example, Patent Literature 1 discloses a technique of displaying a ghost indicator indicating the operation input timing of the player who scored the highest score in the game, in parallel with the instruction display of the performance input timing (reference timing). . The player can enjoy the game as if he were competing with the player who gave the highest score.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-201813

However, the technique of Patent Document 1 reproduces a virtual opponent (virtual player) by displaying a ghost indicator using the play data of the player who gave the highest score. Therefore, it is suitable for those who wish to compete with the game play of the player who gave the highest score at that time, but it is not necessarily suitable for other cases. For example, this is the case when the player wants to grasp his/her play tendency and operation input habits. In this case, since it is possible to control the virtual player as if it were playing against oneself, it is possible not only to grasp one's own play tendency and operation input habits, but also to have a new interest as a timing game. . Also, even in the case of cooperative play with a virtual player whose play tendency and operation input habits are close to one's own, this can be a new interest as a timing game. Also, if a timing game that can realize a battle with a virtual player that plays a close battle can be realized, it will also be a new interest.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a timing game technique capable of realizing control of a virtual player according to an evaluation of an operation input by a player who is currently playing the game.

A first invention for solving the above problems is a program (for example, The game program 501) of FIG. 12 presents the reference operation and the reference timing to the player by moving and displaying the indicator indicating the reference operation with the timing of reaching a given reference position as the reference timing. presentation control means (for example, the presentation control unit 239 in FIG. 12) for sequentially performing the above, and an evaluation means (for example, in the figure 12 operation input evaluation unit 241), which is virtual player control means for controlling the virtual player and determines whether or not to reflect the evaluation result by the evaluation means as the evaluation result of the virtual player for each presentation by the presentation control means; virtual player control means (for example, the ghost evaluation determination unit 245 in FIG. 12) that determines the evaluation result of the virtual player by making a reflection determination; and the evaluation result of the virtual player determined by the virtual player control means (for example, the evaluation result display control unit 251 in FIG. 12). It is a program that makes a computer system work.

According to the first aspect, each time the reference operation and the reference timing are presented by moving and displaying the pointer, the reflection determination is made as to whether or not the evaluation result of the player's operation input for the presentation is to be reflected as the evaluation result of the virtual player. can be performed to determine the results of the evaluation of the virtual player. Then, the evaluation result of the player and the evaluation result of the virtual player can be displayed one after another for each presentation of each indicator. It is possible to realize control of the virtual player according to the operation input evaluation of the player who is currently playing.

A second invention is the program according to the first invention, wherein the evaluation result display control means performs control for synchronizing display timing of the evaluation result of the player and display timing of the evaluation result of the virtual player. be.

According to the second invention, it is possible to simultaneously display the player's evaluation result and the virtual player's evaluation result for the presentation of the reference operation and the reference timing.

Further, a third aspect of the invention is directed to the computer system according to the first or second aspect for causing the computer system to function as reflection result display control means for performing control to display the result of the reflection determination for each of the reference operations after the game is over. It's a program.

According to the third invention, the player can confirm after the game whether the virtual player's evaluation result for each presentation of each indicator reflects the player's evaluation result.

A fourth invention is the program according to any one of the first to third inventions, wherein the virtual player control means changes the reflection reference to be reflected in the reflection determination during the play.

According to the fourth invention, it is possible to change the reflection criterion used for determining whether or not to reflect the evaluation result of the player as the evaluation result of the virtual player during the play.

In a fifth aspect of the invention, the virtual player control means controls the virtual player to cancel the difference between the previous evaluation result of the player and the evaluation result of the virtual player during play. A program according to any one of the first to fourth inventions, which controls the

According to the fifth invention, the virtual player can be controlled during play based on the difference between the evaluation result of the previous player and the evaluation result of the virtual player so as to eliminate the difference. For example, in the case of a match against a virtual player, the virtual player can be controlled so that the match is evenly matched according to the match situation between the player and the virtual player during the match.

In a sixth aspect of the present invention, the timing game has a plurality of periods divided along the progress of the game, and each of the periods has a middle period based on the difference between the evaluation result of the player and the evaluation result of the virtual player. The computer system functions as intermediate progress display control means (for example, the period-by-period win/loss display control unit 247 in FIG. 12) that controls the display of the progress, and the virtual player control means controls the virtual player based on the intermediate progress. It is the program of the 5th invention which controls.

According to the sixth invention, it is possible to display the progress of the game based on the difference between the player's evaluation result and the ghost player's evaluation result for each of a plurality of periods in which the timing game is divided along the progress of the game. Then, the virtual player can be controlled according to the progress of each period. For example, in the case of playing against a virtual player, the virtual player can be controlled so that the game is evenly matched.

In a seventh aspect of the invention, the virtual player control means performs a primary determination of determining the evaluation result of the virtual player based on a given control algorithm for each presentation by the presentation control means, and affirmative determination based on the reflection determination. The program according to any one of the first to sixth inventions, which makes a secondary decision to update the evaluation result of the virtual player when the decision is made.

According to the seventh invention, it is possible to primarily determine the virtual player's evaluation result for each presentation of each pointer using a given control algorithm for controlling the virtual player. When it is determined in the reflection determination for each presentation of each indicator that the evaluation result of the player's operation input is to be reflected as the virtual player's evaluation result, the virtual player's evaluation result for the presentation is updated, A secondary decision can be made that results in an evaluation of the player.

In an eighth aspect, the virtual player control means refers to the player's play tendency data and controls the virtual player so that the evaluation result is in line with the player's play tendency. A program according to a seventh aspect of the present invention, which performs the primary determination.

According to the eighth invention, it is possible to primarily determine the evaluation result of the virtual player so as to follow the play tendency of the player.

In the ninth invention, for each type of standard operation group that is a combination of two or more of the standard operations, the player's operation for the entire standard operation group and/or each standard operation that constitutes the standard operation group is performed. Combination operation evaluation means for evaluating the success or failure of input (for example, the phrase operation input evaluation unit 253 in FIG. 12); , and the statistical processing unit 255 of FIG. 12).

According to the ninth invention, the success or failure of the player's operation input can be evaluated for each type of the reference operation group in which two or more reference operations are combined. Then, the evaluation results are statistically processed, and play tendency data indicating the player's play tendency can be created.

In a tenth aspect of the present invention, a play music score selection means (for example, The computer system functions as the play reception control unit 233) in FIG. 12, the presentation control means performs the presentation based on the play score, and the virtual player control means performs The program according to the eighth or ninth aspect of the invention, which controls whether or not the evaluation result of is set as an evaluation result in line with the player's play tendency based on the difficulty level of the play chart.

According to the tenth aspect, it is possible to control whether or not the evaluation result of the virtual player is to be in line with the player's play tendency, depending on the difficulty level of the play chart.

In the eleventh aspect of the invention, the virtual player control means reflects in the reflection determination when the difficulty is the first level, compared to the second level, which is lower in difficulty than the first level. This is the program of the tenth invention for lowering the standard.

According to the eleventh aspect, it is possible to make it more difficult to reflect the evaluation result of the player's operation input as the evaluation result of the virtual player as the difficulty level of the play musical score is higher.

In the twelfth invention, the computer system functions as virtual player level setting means for setting the play level of the virtual player, and the virtual player control means sets the play level of the virtual player to a first play level. , the program according to any one of the first to eleventh inventions, wherein the virtual player is controlled such that the evaluation result is more likely to be successful than at a second play level lower than the first play level. be.

According to the twelfth invention, the virtual player can be controlled such that the higher the play level of the virtual player, the higher the degree of success of the evaluation result.

In a thirteenth invention, an attribute is set for the virtual player, and the virtual player control means changes the degree of success of the evaluation result based on the attribute of the virtual player. A program according to any of the twelfth inventions.

According to the thirteenth aspect, it is possible to control the virtual player by changing the degree to which the evaluation result is considered successful based on the attributes of the virtual player.

In a fourteenth aspect, the computer system functions as virtual player setting change means for changing settings of the virtual player based on the player's operation input, and the virtual player control means is configured to change the virtual player settings. The program according to any one of the first to thirteenth inventions, wherein the degree of success of the evaluation result is changed based on the setting contents of the changing means.

According to the fourteenth invention, the virtual player can be controlled by changing the setting of the virtual player based on the player's operation input and changing the degree of success of the evaluation result according to the setting.

A fifteenth invention is a computer system (for example, arcade game machine 1300 in FIG. 1) for executing a timing game in which a player plays with a computer-controlled virtual player, wherein an indicator indicating a reference operation is placed at a location. presentation control means for sequentially presenting the reference operation and the reference timing to the player by moving and displaying the timing of reaching a given reference position as the reference timing; and virtual player control means for controlling the virtual player, wherein for each presentation by the presentation control means, the evaluation result by the evaluation means is evaluated by the virtual player. virtual player control means for determining whether or not to reflect the evaluation result of the player to determine the evaluation result of the virtual player; and evaluation of the player by the evaluation means for each presentation by the presentation control means. A computer system comprising evaluation result display control means for performing control to sequentially display results and evaluation results of the virtual player determined by the virtual player control means.

According to the fifteenth invention, it is possible to realize a computer system having the same effect as the first invention.

1 is a perspective external view showing an example of the configuration of an arcade game machine; FIG. The figure which shows an example of a game screen. The figure which shows an example of the time difference evaluation criteria according to difficulty. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a game screen in the ghost battle mode; The figure which shows the data structural example of the applied play tendency data. FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining ghost evaluation primary determination processing; 4 is a flowchart for explaining game progress control processing focusing on one note. 4 is a flowchart showing the flow of ghost evaluation determination processing; FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a data configuration example of a trace rate setting table; The figure which shows the other example of a game screen. FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining ghost evaluation correction processing; FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example functional configuration of an arcade game machine; The figure which shows the data structure example of music data. The figure which shows the data structural example of a phrase list. 4 is a flowchart showing the flow of game processing. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of the device configuration of a home-use game device according to Modification 1;

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In addition, the present invention is not limited by the embodiments described below, and the forms to which the present invention can be applied are not limited to the following embodiments. Moreover, in the description of the drawings, the same reference numerals are given to the same parts.

FIG. 1 is a perspective external view showing an example of the device configuration of an arcade game device 1300 according to this embodiment. The arcade game device 1300 is a dedicated game cabinet for a music game with a motif of playing a percussion instrument, and is installed, for example, in a section of a store such as an arcade or a shopping center. This arcade game machine 1300 is a computer system to which the present invention is applied, and is connected for communication with a server system 1100 via a network 9 .

A network 9 means a communication channel capable of data communication. That is, the network 9 includes a dedicated line (dedicated cable) for direct connection, a LAN such as Ethernet (registered trademark), a telephone communication network, a cable network, and a communication network such as the Internet. Any wireless.

The arcade game apparatus 1300 includes an operation input device 1305 for the player 1 to input various operations on an operation console 1303 projecting in front of the game main unit 1301 . The operation input device 1305 of this embodiment has an external shape that imitates a Japanese drum, and incorporates pressure sensors and vibration sensors in various places. When the player 1 hits the operation input device 1305 with a dedicated operation stick 1307 in the same manner as hitting a Japanese drum, an operation input signal is output to the control board 1350 from the sensor at the location of the hit. In FIG. 1, two operation input devices 1305 are provided so that a plurality of players 1 can play the game at the same time, but the number can be set as appropriate.

In addition, a display 1311 for displaying a game screen and a speaker 1313 for outputting game sounds are provided on the upper portion of the game main unit 1301 .

On the other hand, a reader/writer device 1330 , a coin insertion device 1340 , and a control board 1350 are provided below and inside the game main unit 1301 . The reader/writer device 1330 performs contactless communication with the IC card 3, which is a portable card-type storage medium, to read and write data.

The IC card 3 can be purchased, for example, from an issuing machine installed at an appropriate location such as the store, or from an issuing machine (not shown) inside the game main unit 1301 . A unique card ID is assigned to the IC card 3, and when an account is registered through a predetermined registration procedure at an issuing machine or the like, the account (player ID) issued to the player 1 is associated with the card ID. Then, when the IC card 3 is held (touched) over the reader/writer device 1330 and the game is started, it is possible to use play data (for example, past play history, etc.) associated with the card ID. Become. Also, the IC card 3 has a prepaid card function, and can be used for payment of the play value instead of inserting coins into the coin inserting device 1340 . For example, when the IC card 3 is charged by purchasing game coins, and the IC card 3 is touched on the reader/writer device 1330 prior to playing the game, the play consideration can be paid from the balance of the charged game coins. It's like It should be noted that the configuration is not limited to the IC card 3, and a configuration using a wrist watch, a smart phone, a mobile phone, a portable game device, etc., compatible with non-contact IC card technology may also be used. Alternatively, it may be configured to read and write a magnetic stripe card having a magnetic tape. Of course, even without the IC card 3, the game can be played by inserting coins and paying the play price.

The control board 1350 includes electronic components such as a CPU 1351 , various microprocessors such as GPU and DSP, various IC memories 1353 such as VRAM, RAM, and ROM, and a communication device 1355 for communication connection to the network 9 . Then, the CPU 1351 or the like executes the game program to perform arithmetic processing, and controls each part of the arcade game machine 1300 based on the operation input to the operation input device 1305 to execute the music game. Part or all of the control board 1350 may be realized by ASIC, FPGA, or the like. Necessary programs such as game programs and various setting data are stored in the IC memory 1353 in advance, or downloaded from the server system 1100 at an appropriate timing and configured to be updated and stored in the IC memory 1353 .

Here, the server system 1100 performs processing for managing the game of this embodiment. Specifically, the server system 1100 issues a unique player ID to the player 1 who has purchased the IC card 3 and completed user registration. Information related to the player 1, such as the player ID, card ID, and play data, is accumulated as the user registration data 7 in the storage unit 1140 and centrally managed. In this embodiment, the user registration data 7 includes play tendency data 700 . Then, the server system 1100 updates the user registration data 7 of the player by rewriting the play tendency data 700 of the corresponding player based on the upload of the play tendency data from the arcade game machine 1300 with the uploaded contents. . The server system 1100 also performs processing related to login/logout of the player 1 who touches the reader/writer device 1330 with the IC card 3, distribution of data necessary for executing the game on the arcade game device 1300, and the like.

In addition, in this embodiment, the operation input form is an operation using the operation stick 1307, but it is also possible to adopt other forms according to the contents of the timing game. For example, a motion, which is the physical movement of the player himself/herself, can be used as an operation input form. In that case, a motion recognition method that recognizes the motion of the player 1 from the image captured by the video camera 1321 and the distance measurement result by the distance measurement sensor 1323 is adopted, and the motion recognition chip 1357 is appropriately mounted on the control board 1350 . Also, the operation input may be a button operation.

[Overview of the game]
The arcade game device 1300 of this embodiment executes a music game in which Japanese drums are played virtually as a timing game. Therefore, during the game, the display 1311 displays a game screen including musical scores of play music, and the speaker 1313 outputs the sound of the play music and the tapping sounds of Japanese drums according to the operation input. While listening to the play music output from the speaker 1313, the player strikes the operation input device 1305 with the operation stick 1307 according to the notes appearing on the game screen of the display 1311, and enjoys playing the play music.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a game screen. As shown in FIG. 2, the game screen W1 includes a belt-shaped musical score display portion 10 that traverses the screen to the left and right, an elapsed time display portion 23 from the start of play, a song title display portion 25, a difficulty level display portion 27, Prepare. The design of the musical score display unit 10 can be set as appropriate, but in this embodiment, a reference position 11 shown on the left side of the screen and a musical note N (Na, Nb) as an indicator moved toward the reference position 11 are displayed. , a measure delimiter line 15 indicating a delimitation of measure units in the play song, an evaluation result display portion 17, a player character display portion 18, and a score display portion 19 are included.

The reference position 11 is provided at a position to which the moving and displayed note N will eventually reach, and indicates a reference position for indicating the arrival timing as a reference timing (target operation input timing). In this embodiment, only one display is provided on one musical score display unit 10, but a configuration may be adopted in which a plurality of displays are provided.

The note N is prepared with a different design for each type of standard operation (standard operation type). The musical note N appears from the right side of the score display section 10, and is displayed so as to flow toward the reference position 11 along with the bar dividing line 15 in synchronization with the audio reproduction of the play music. Then, according to the timing when the note N reaches the reference position 11, it is presented to the player that it is the reference timing for inputting the operation of the reference operation type.

In this embodiment, there are two standard operation types (corresponding note N types). One is a circular note (Don) Na representing an operation input to hit the drum face (hitting face) of the drum-shaped operation input device 1305, and the other is the edge of the drum face and the body of the operation input device 1305. is a rectangular note (katsu) Nb representing an operation input for striking the outer periphery (outer edge of the striking surface) of the . Of course, reference operations and notes other than the two types illustrated can be set as appropriate.

The evaluation result display unit 17 displays the result of evaluation of the player's operation input with respect to presentation of the reference operation and the reference timing by the moving display of the note N at any time. For the operation input evaluation, for example, the timing at which the center of the note N overlaps the center line of the reference position 11 is set as the reference timing, and the type of the overlapped note N is set as the reference operation type. This is done by evaluating the time difference from the timing of the performed operation input (operation input timing) and the difference or similarity between the reference operation type and the operation input type (operation input type), which is the second evaluation item. A higher evaluation is given when the reference operation type and the operation input type match and the time difference between the reference timing and the operation input timing is smaller. In this embodiment, for example, when the standard operation type and the operation input type are different, the operation input is set to "impossible". Then, when the standard operation type and the operation input type match, the time difference between the standard timing and the operation input timing is evaluated as "good", "acceptable", or "impossible" using a criterion (time difference evaluation criterion) related to the time difference. It is evaluated in four stages of "through".

Here, in the music game of this embodiment, the player selects the play difficulty level along with the music to be played before starting the play, and the selected play difficulty level (Fig. 2, "Easy") is displayed. The selectable difficulty levels are, for example, three levels of "easy", "normal", and "difficult" in descending order. Note that the number of difficulty levels may be two, or may be four or more.

In this embodiment, for example, time difference evaluation criteria are prepared for each of three levels of difficulty, and the time difference of the first evaluation item is evaluated using the time difference evaluation criteria according to the play difficulty level selected by the player. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the time difference evaluation criteria for each difficulty level, with the time difference evaluation criteria for "normal" in the upper part (a), the time difference evaluation criteria for "easy" in the middle part (b), and the time difference evaluation criteria for "difficult". are shown in the lower part (c).

As shown in FIG. 3A, in the case of using the "normal" time difference evaluation criteria, when evaluating the time difference, if the absolute value of the time difference is less than ΔT1, it is "good". If the difference is longer than ΔT2 and less than ΔT3, it is judged as “impossible”. Then, when the time difference is ΔT3 or more, it is determined as “through (there was no operation input)”. Here, ΔT1<ΔT2<ΔT3.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3(b), when the time difference evaluation criteria of "easy" is used, it is difficult to judge "impossible" which is relatively inferior evaluation, and on the contrary, relatively good evaluation is made. Threshold ΔT21 (ΔT3≧ΔT21>ΔT2) is applied to relax the time difference evaluation criteria so that it is likely to be judged as “possible”. That is, the threshold value ΔT21 is brought close to the same value as or close to the threshold value ΔT3, making it difficult to make a determination of “impossible”.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3(c), when using the time difference evaluation criterion of “difficult”, ΔT22 smaller than the threshold ΔT2 and ΔT12 smaller than the threshold ΔT1 are applied to evaluate the time difference “good” and “acceptable”. Tighten standards. Therefore, it is difficult to make a judgment of "good" or "acceptable", and it becomes easy to make a judgment of "improper".

Return to FIG. The score display unit 19 displays the accumulated game score given to the player according to the result of the operation input evaluation.

[principle]
In the game of this embodiment, a ghost competition mode is provided in which the player competes with a "ghost player", which is a computer-controlled virtual player, and competes for evaluation with the same play song with the same play difficulty level.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a game screen in the ghost battle mode. As shown in FIG. 4, the game screen W2 in the ghost battle mode is configured by adding a ghost score display section 30 and a win/loss display section 40 by period to the game screen W1 shown in FIG.

The musical score display unit 30 for ghosts is basically designed in the same way as the musical score display unit 10, and displays the musical score of the play music. Specifically, the ghost musical score display section 30 includes a reference position 31 shown on the left side of the screen. The musical score display unit 30 for ghosts is arranged vertically so that the reference positions 11 and 31 of the musical score display unit 10 and the reference positions 11 and 31 are aligned. displayed moving.

The ghost score display section 30 also includes a ghost evaluation result display section 37 , a ghost character display section 38 that displays a character representing a ghost player (ghost character), and a ghost score display section 39 .

The ghost evaluation result display section 37 displays the ghost player's evaluation result (hereinafter also referred to as "ghost evaluation result") for the presentation of the reference operation and the reference timing by the movement display of the note N at any time.

The ghost score display section 39 displays the accumulated game score given to the ghost player according to the ghost evaluation result.

The period-by-period win/loss display section 40 displays the midway progress determination period set for the play song and the win/loss during the midway progress determination period. In the present embodiment, for example, each period (five periods 1 to 5 in FIG. 4) obtained by dividing the period from the start of reproduction Ts to the end of reproduction Te of the play song into two or more is set in advance as the midway progress determination period. . During the game, the arcade game device 1300 executes the period-by-period win/loss display control process each time the playback time passes one midway progress determination period. The game score obtained by the ghost player during the period is compared with the score accumulated during the period to determine whether the game is won or lost during the interim progress evaluation period. The period-by-period win/loss display section 40 displays, for example, the winner in the corresponding frame for the midway progress determination period in which the win/loss is determined after the playback time has elapsed.

In this ghost battle mode, the computer (in this embodiment, the arcade game device 1300) controls the progress of the ghost player's game play so that the ghost player's skill is as competitive as the player's. For this purpose, the result of the player's operation input evaluation for each presentation of each note N (player evaluation result) is used to control the ghost player, more specifically, the evaluation result of the ghost player for each presentation of each note N (ghost evaluation result ) is used to determine

As a simple procedure, prior to the start of the game, the ghost evaluation result is primarily determined for each note N that constitutes the play chart (ghost evaluation primary decision process). On the other hand, during the game, it is determined whether or not to reflect the player evaluation result as the ghost evaluation result for each presentation of each note N. Then, a secondary determination is appropriately made to update the primarily determined ghost evaluation result using the reflection determination result (reflection result), and the ghost evaluation result is determined (ghost evaluation determination process). In addition to the operation input evaluation for each note N described above, a phrase operation input evaluation process for evaluating the success or failure of the player's operation input for the phrase is executed for the primary determination of the ghost evaluation result. Then, the evaluation results related to the phrase are statistically processed for each type of phrase, and the applied play tendency data 600 is created and updated.

(1) Phrase Operation Input Evaluation Processing In this embodiment, the score of a song that the player can select as a play song is a reference operation group (a reference operation composed of a sequence of two or more notes) in which two or more reference operations are combined. group: hereinafter also referred to as “phrase”). The number of notes that make up a phrase (hereinafter also referred to as "composition notes") is not particularly limited, but, for example, the entire phrase (from the first note to the last note that makes up the phrase) should fit in one bar. , is included in the score.

A difficulty level is set in advance for each phrase based on the arrangement order, number, rhythm, and the like of the constituent notes that make up the phrase. For example, the difficulty level of capturing a phrase is divided into three stages, "easy", "normal", and "difficult", in descending order. In addition, the number of stages of capture difficulty may be two stages, or may be four stages or more. For example, each combination of notes surrounded by a dashed line in FIG. 4 corresponds to a phrase. As shown in FIG. 4, when moving and displaying the phrase portion on the musical score display section 10, a mark MK that encloses the constituent notes is attached so that the player can recognize that the combination of these notes constitutes one phrase. Present.

Then, in the phrase operation input evaluation process, for each phrase included in the play musical score, if the result of the operation input evaluation for all the constituent notes of the phrase is "good" or "acceptable", it is regarded as successful. However, if it is "impossible", it is determined as a failure, and the success or failure of the player's operation input for the phrase is evaluated.

This phrase operation input evaluation process is performed, for example, after the game ends, and the success or failure of each phrase included in the play score is evaluated. However, the evaluation may be performed during the game, and the success or failure of the phrase may be evaluated at the time when the operation input evaluation is performed for the last note of the phrase, or each time the intermediate progress determination period elapses. It may be evaluated. Also, the evaluation result may be reflected in the game score. Specifically, a predetermined number of points may be added when the operation input is evaluated as successful, and a predetermined number of points may be deducted when the operation input is unsuccessful. Also, in that case, the score to be added or subtracted may be changed in consideration of the result of the operation input evaluation for each constituent note of the phrase. For example, if the operation input evaluation for all notes is "good" when the operation input is evaluated as successful, the additional points may be increased. Alternatively, a configuration is also possible in which the number of points to be added or subtracted is changed according to the capture difficulty of the phrase. For example, the higher the capture difficulty, the larger the additional points for success.

(2) Statistical Processing Statistical processing uses the play trend data 700 (see FIG. 1) managed for each player in the server system 1100 . More specifically, the play tendency data 700 is downloaded from the server system 1100 to the arcade game device 1300 when the player touches the reader/writer device 1330 with the IC card 3 to log in to the server system 1100. It is stored in arcade game device 1300 as applied play tendency data 600 until logout. In the statistical processing, the applied play tendency data 600 is used to statistically process the evaluation results related to phrases. It is also possible to employ a configuration in which the user registration data is stored in the arcade game device 1300 instead of being stored in the storage unit 1140 of the server system 1100 . In that case, the play tendency data 700 will be stored in the arcade game device 1300 and updated as appropriate.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a data configuration example of the applied play tendency data 600. As shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 5, the applicable play tendency data 600 stores phrase-by-phrase tendency data 610 prepared for each type of phrase in association with a player ID 601 . One phrase-by-phrase trend data 610 includes a phrase ID 611, and the number of operation inputs 613 for the phrase ("Dodoka" in the example of FIG. 4) in a game already played by the player with the corresponding player ID 601. , among them, the number of successes 615, the phrase success rate 617 as the overall success rate that is the success rate, and the breakdown of the operation input evaluation for each constituent note of the phrase ("good", "acceptable", ”) 619 , an operation unit success rate 621 that is a success rate for each constituent note, an evaluation rank 623 , and a weak point 625 .

Then, in the statistical processing, first, the evaluation result for each phrase evaluated in the phrase operation input evaluation process is reflected in the applied play tendency data 600 . Specifically, the operation input count 613 of the relevant phrase is updated, the success count 615 is updated as appropriate, and the operation input evaluation breakdown 619 for each constituent note is updated.

Subsequently, a phrase success rate 617 is aggregated from the updated number of successes 615 and updated, and an operation unit success rate 621 for each constituent note is aggregated from the updated breakdown 619 and updated. The operation unit success rate 621 is obtained, for example, as the probability that the operation input evaluation result for the constituent note is "good" or "acceptable".

Also, the evaluation rank 623 of the operation input for the phrase by the player is updated. For example, the updated phrase success rate 617 is evaluated according to three ranks of “strong,” “normal,” and “unskilled,” and the evaluation rank 623 is updated. The relationship between the phrase success rate 617 and each rank may be determined in advance. Note that the rank is not limited to three stages, and may be two stages or four or more stages.

Also, based on the operation unit success rate 621, a reference operation that the player is not good at in the phrase is determined. For example, the component note with the lowest operation unit success rate 621 is determined as the weak reference operation, and the weak point 625 is updated as the weak point 625 . The weak point 625 is set, for example, as data indicating the number of the constituent note determined to be the weak point, counted from the beginning of the phrase. The weak point 625 does not necessarily have to be set, and two or more constituent notes may be set. For example, a component note whose operation unit success rate 621 is less than a predetermined threshold value is determined as a weak reference operation, and if there is no corresponding component note, the weak point 625 is not set. On the other hand, if there are two or more corresponding constituent notes, they may be set as weak point 625 .

Here, the statistical processing includes, in addition to each of the illustrated processes, for example, a process of determining whether or not the number of failed operation inputs for the phrase has exceeded a predetermined number of times, and a process of determining whether or not the A process of determining whether the operation input of the phrase was successful or unsuccessful, or a process of counting the number of successes or failures in the predetermined period can be included. Then, the processing result can be stored in the play tendency data 700 (applied play tendency data 600) and used to control the ghost player.

The applied play tendency data 600 updated by statistical processing as described above is uploaded to the server system 1100 as the latest play tendency data 700 of the player when the player ends the game play and logs out. The memory contents of 1100 are rewritable.

(3) Ghost evaluation primary determination process In the ghost evaluation primary determination process, the ghost evaluation result is primarily determined for each note on the play sheet by AI control using the applied play tendency data 600 according to a given control algorithm prepared in advance. do. FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining the ghost evaluation primary determination process, and schematically shows the ghost evaluation results primarily determined for each note forming the play musical score as a result of the process.

For example, three types of control algorithms are prepared for each difficulty level of the play music score that can be selected as the play difficulty level (three levels of "easy", "normal", and "difficult" in this embodiment), and the player selects the play difficulty level. A control algorithm that responds to inputs is used to primarily determine ghost evaluation results.

Specifically, the control algorithm corresponding to the difficulty level “easy” is prepared as a control algorithm in which ghost evaluation results primarily determined for each note are likely to be in line with the applicable play tendency data 600 . In this embodiment, as described above, the applied play tendency data 600 is created and updated by statistically processing the evaluation results related to phrases. Therefore, the player's strengths and weaknesses in the operation input for the phrase are reflected in the phrase part included in the play musical score, and the ghost evaluation result is primarily determined. That is, for each note of the phrases 161, 163, 165 included in the play musical score, the evaluation result corresponding to the phrase success rate 617 and the operation unit success rate 621 for each constituent note is primarily determined as the ghost evaluation result. For example, with a first probability between 90% and 100%, the evaluation result is set as the ghost evaluation result.

Conversely, the control algorithm corresponding to the difficulty level "difficult" is prepared as a control algorithm that makes it difficult for the ghost evaluation results that are primarily determined for each note to conform to the applicable play tendency data 600. FIG. For example, with a second probability lower than the first probability (for example, a predetermined probability between 20% and 50%), the evaluation result corresponding to the phrase success rate 617 and the operation unit success rate 621 for each constituent note is obtained as a ghost evaluation result. and

(4) Ghost Evaluation Finalization Process In the ghost evaluation finalization process, each time a musical note is presented, a ghost evaluation result for that presentation is determined. FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining progress control of a game (game progress control process) relating to one note (note of interest). In actual processing, game progress control processing is repeated for each note to control the progress of game play by the player and the ghost player. Then, the ghost evaluation confirmation process is performed in the course of this game progress control process.

In the game progress control process, first, reference operation and reference timing presentation control by movement display of the note of interest is performed (step a1). Then, if there is an operation input by the player to strike the striking surface of the operation input device 1305 or the outer edge of the striking surface in response to the presentation of the note of interest (step a3: YES), the operation input evaluation is performed (step a5). ). If there is no operation input for the presentation (step a3: NO), the player evaluation result is "through" (step a7). By the processing up to this point, the player evaluation result is evaluated in four levels of "good", "acceptable", "improper", and "through".

Then, in the following step a9, a ghost evaluation confirmation process is executed to confirm the final ghost evaluation result of the note of interest. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the flow of ghost evaluation determination processing. As shown in FIG. 8, in the ghost evaluation determination process, first, using the trace rate as a reflection criterion, reflection determination is performed as to whether or not the player evaluation result is to be reflected as the ghost evaluation result (step b1).

Here, the trace rate is set before the start of the game as a probability of determining "reflect" in the reflection determination (positive determination of the reflection determination). Specifically, the arcade game device 1300 executes trace rate setting processing before starting the game, and sets the trace rate using a trace rate setting table prepared in advance.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a data configuration example of a trace rate setting table. As shown in FIG. 9, the trace rate setting table is a data table that defines the correspondence relationship between the performance of the ghost player and the trace rate. The condition of the ghost is, for example, five levels of "extremely poor condition", "bad condition", "normal condition", "excellent condition", and "excellent condition". Then, the trace rate is set in a range of, for example, 78% or more and 99% or less, and is set so as to increase stepwise as the ghost player's condition improves. The trace rate is the probability of affirmative determination of the reflection determination, and is basically to make the battle with the ghost a close battle.

For example, if the ghost player is in particularly good condition, the trace rate is set within the range of 97% to 99%, so the reflection determination will be affirmative with a high probability. Therefore, it is possible to make it difficult to widen the point difference between the player and the ghost player. Conversely, when the ghost player is in the worst condition, ie, in the worst condition, the trace rate is set to a low value within the range of 78% to 80%. However, the setting range of the trace rate and the specific numerical value of the price range for each tone of the ghost player are only examples, and may be set as appropriate.

As a specific procedure of the trace rate setting process, first, upon receiving the selection operation of the ghost battle mode by the player, the ghost player's condition in the game to be started is randomly selected from the five stages of conditions. The condition of the selected ghost may be presented to the player by display control on the selection screen of the ghost battle mode. Then, the value range of the trace rate corresponding to the selected tone is read from the trace rate setting table, and the trace rate applied to the current game (applied trace rate) is set within that range.

Return to FIG. Using the trace rate set as described above, a reflection determination is made as to whether or not the player evaluation result should be reflected as the ghost evaluation result. Optionally, a secondary decision is made to update the determined ghost evaluation results. Specifically, first, it is determined whether the player evaluation result for the presentation of the note of interest is different from the ghost evaluation result primarily determined for the note of interest. If both are the same (step b5: YES), the primarily determined ghost evaluation result is determined as it is (step b7). Through this processing, the player evaluation result is reflected as the ghost evaluation result. On the other hand, if the player evaluation result for the note of interest is different from the primarily determined ghost evaluation result (step b5: NO), the player evaluation result or the primarily determined ghost evaluation result is randomly selected with a probability of 1/2. select and confirm the ghost evaluation result (step b9). If the player evaluation result is selected, it will be reflected as the ghost evaluation result. It should be noted that since the reflection determination based on the trace rate is affirmative at step b3, the player evaluation result may be unconditionally reflected (updated) as the ghost evaluation result at step b9.

If it is determined not to be reflected as a result of the reflection determination in step b3 (step b3: NO), for example, the ghost evaluation result is fixed as it is (step b11).

Then, as shown in FIG. 7, after the ghost evaluation determination process is executed, the evaluation result synchronous display control process for displaying the player evaluation result and the ghost evaluation result in synchronization with each other is executed. (step a11). FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a game screen at display timings of player evaluation results and ghost evaluation results. As shown in the game screen W3 of FIG. 10, by the evaluation result synchronous display control process, the evaluation result display unit 17 displays the player evaluation result for the presentation of the note N-1 of interest, and the ghost image of the note N-1 of interest is displayed. At the same time, the evaluation result is displayed on the ghost evaluation result display section 37 .

Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 7, the player's game score is calculated and updated according to the player evaluation result, and the ghost player's game score is calculated and updated according to the ghost evaluation result (step a13).

(5) Ghost Evaluation Correction Processing As described above, the ghost evaluation result is primarily decided before the game starts, and the ghost evaluation result is finally determined by appropriately making a secondary decision during the game. In the present embodiment, the primarily determined ghost evaluation result is further corrected during the battle (ghost evaluation correction processing) so that the battle situation between the player and the ghost player is evenly matched from beginning to end. Specifically, the primarily determined ghost evaluation result for the next play-in-progress judgment period is corrected based on the win/loss in each in-progress judgment period judged to be in-progress in the period-by-period win-loss display control process. The ghost evaluation finalization process, which is a secondary determination for finally finalizing the ghost evaluation result, is performed during play during the interim progress determination period.

FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining ghost evaluation correction processing. Specifically, the upper part (a) shows the case where the playback time has passed the midway progress determination period of period 1 and the winner of period 1 is the player, and the winner of period 1 is the ghost player. The lower part (b) shows the case where As shown in FIG. 11(a), if the player is the winner in the midway progress determination period that has passed, the modification is made to make it easier for the ghost player to win in the next midway progress determination period (period 2 in FIG. 11(a)). I do. Specifically, for example, among the notes belonging to period 2, some of the notes (notes N-11 to 14 in FIG. 11A) for which the primarily determined ghost evaluation result is "impossible" (notes N-11 to 14 in FIG. 11 ( In a), the notes N-11, 13) are corrected to "good" or "acceptable". According to this, it is possible to increase the probability that the ghost evaluation result will be "good" or "acceptable" when the reflection determination is negative, and it is possible to realize a modification that makes it easier for the ghost player to win. At that time, the content of the correction may be changed according to the difference in the accumulated period between the player and the ghost player in the elapsed period 2. FIG. For example, if the player wins by a large margin, the number of notes to be corrected is increased, and all of them are corrected to be "good". On the other hand, if the player wins by a small margin, the number of notes to be corrected may be reduced, and all of them may be corrected as "acceptable". A correspondence relationship between the difference in the accumulated period and the number of notes to be corrected may be set in advance, and the number of notes corresponding to the difference in the accumulated period may be corrected.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 11(b), if the ghost player is the winner in the elapsed mid-course determination period, the correction is made in the next period 2 to make it easier for the player to win. For example, among the notes belonging to period 2, some of the notes (notes N-21 to 29 in FIG. 11(b)) for which the primarily determined ghost evaluation result is "good" or "acceptable" ) corrects the notes N-21, 23, 28, 29) to "impossible". According to this, it is possible to increase the probability that the ghost evaluation result will be rejected when the reflection determination is negative, and it is possible to realize a correction that makes it easier for the player to win. In this case, as in the above case, the number of notes to be corrected and the content of correction may be set in advance according to the difference in the accumulated period, and the correction may be performed.

The midway progress determination period in which the ghost evaluation correction process is performed is the period to be played from now on. During the play during this period, the above-described secondary determination process for finalizing the ghost evaluation result is performed.

[Function configuration]
FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing an example of the main functional configuration of the arcade game machine 1300. As shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 12, the arcade game machine 1300 includes an operation input unit 100, a medium reading unit 110, a coin detection unit 120, a processing unit 200, an image display unit 390, a sound output unit 392, and a communication unit. A unit 394 and a storage unit 500 are provided.

The operation input unit 100 is used by the player to input various operations related to game play. It can also be realized by an element that detects movement and orientation, such as a sensor, tilt sensor, geomagnetic sensor, and the like. In FIG. 1, the operation input device 1305 corresponds to this.

The medium reading unit 110 reads information from the IC card 3 and outputs the information to the processing unit 200 , and writes information according to the control of the processing unit 200 . In FIG. 1, the reader/writer device 1330 corresponds to this.

The coin detection unit 120 detects that coins corresponding to the play value have been inserted, and outputs a detection signal to the processing unit 200 . In FIG. 1, the coin inserting device 1340 corresponds to this.

The processing unit 200 is realized by, for example, a microprocessor such as a CPU or GPU, electronic components such as ASIC, FPGA, IC memory, etc., and controls input/output of data with each unit of the device including the operation input unit 100 and the storage unit 500. conduct. Based on predetermined programs and data, operation input signals from the operation input unit 100, data received from the server system 1100, and the like, various arithmetic processing is performed to control the operation of the arcade game device 1300. FIG. In FIG. 1, the CPU 1351 of the control board 1350 corresponds to this.

The processing section 200 includes a game management section 230 , an image generation section 290 , a sound generation section 292 and a communication control section 294 .

The game management unit 230 performs various processes related to game execution management. In this embodiment, the game management unit 230 includes a play tendency acquisition update control unit 231, a play acceptance control unit 233, a trace rate setting unit 235, a ghost evaluation primary determination unit 237, a presentation control unit 239, and an operation input an evaluation unit 241, a reflection determination unit 243, a ghost evaluation determination unit 245, a period win/loss display control unit 247, a ghost evaluation correction unit 249, an evaluation result display control unit 251, a phrase operation input evaluation unit 253, A statistical processing unit 255 is included.

The play tendency acquisition update control unit 231 communicates with the server system 1100 when the player who owns the IC card 3 logs in, downloads the play tendency data 700 of the player, sets it as the applied play tendency data 600, and converts it into the playing data 580. Store. Also, when the player logs out, communication with the server system 1100 is performed, and the applied play tendency data 600 is uploaded as the latest play tendency data of the player. Note that in the case of a configuration in which the arcade game device 1300 alone is used without using the server system 1100, the same data as the data stored in the storage unit 1140 of the server system 1100 is stored in the storage unit 500. , the play tendency data stored in the storage unit 500 may be updated to the latest data.

The play reception control unit 233 performs control for receiving selection input by the player regarding the selection of music to be played and the play difficulty level before the start of the game.

The trace rate setting unit 235 executes a trace rate setting process, and uses a trace rate setting table 570 to set an applied trace rate 581 to be applied to the current game.

The ghost evaluation primary determination unit 237 executes ghost evaluation primary determination processing before the start of the game, and uses the applied play tendency data 600 (the play tendency data 700 of the player who plays the game) for each note constituting the play chart. to primarily determine the ghost evaluation result.

The presentation control unit 239 displays the play musical score in synchronization with the reproduction of the play music, and performs control for presenting the standard operation and the standard timing to the player. In this embodiment, the musical score display unit 10 moves and displays a note corresponding to the standard operation type, and controls the note so that it overlaps the reference position at the standard timing (see FIG. 2). correspond to

The operation input evaluation unit 241 performs an evaluation (first evaluation item) based on the time difference between the reference timing and the operation input timing based on the player's operation input. Then, it evaluates whether or not the standard operation type and the operation input type match (second evaluation item), and calculates and updates the player's game score.

The reflection determination unit 243 determines whether or not to reflect the player evaluation result as the ghost evaluation result for each presentation of each note.

The ghost evaluation determination unit 245 selects one of the player evaluation result and the primarily determined ghost evaluation result using the result of the reflection determination by the reflection determination unit 243, and determines the final ghost evaluation result.

The period-by-period win/loss display control unit 247 executes the period-by-period win/loss display control process each time an interim progress determination period elapses during the game, and determines the win/loss between the player and the ghost player during the elapsed interim progress determination period. Then, for example, the winner is displayed in the period-by-period win/loss display section 40 as the midway progress of the match.

The ghost evaluation correction unit 249 executes ghost evaluation correction processing when the interim progress determination period elapses, and corrects notes belonging to the next interim progress determination period according to the win or loss between the player and the ghost player during the interim progress determination period. to fix ghost evaluation results.

The evaluation result display control unit 251 executes evaluation result synchronous display control processing, and performs control to sequentially display the player evaluation result and the ghost evaluation result for each note presented by the presentation control unit 239 . In this embodiment, the display timing of the player evaluation result on the evaluation result display unit 17 for one presentation is synchronized with the display timing of the ghost evaluation result on the ghost evaluation result display unit 37, and each evaluation result is displayed at the same time. .

The phrase operation input evaluation unit 253 executes phrase operation input evaluation processing, and evaluates the success or failure of the player's operation input for each phrase included in the play musical score.

The statistical processing unit 255 statistically processes the evaluation result by the phrase manipulation input evaluation unit 253 for each phrase, and updates the applied play tendency data 600 .

The image generation unit 290 generates a game screen based on the processing result of the game management unit 230 and outputs an image signal of the generated game screen to the image display unit 390 . For example, it can be implemented by a processor such as a GPU, a digital signal processor (DSP), a video signal IC, a program such as a video codec, an IC memory for drawing frames such as a frame buffer, an IC memory used for developing texture data, and the like.

The sound generation unit 292 is realized by, for example, a processor such as a DSP or a voice synthesis IC, an audio codec that can reproduce sound files, and the like, and generates BGM of the game such as play music and sound effects based on the processing result of the game management unit 230. A sound signal of the operation sound is generated and output to the sound output unit 392 .

The communication control unit 294 performs communication connection and data processing for data communication with an external device (mainly the server system 1100) via the communication unit 394, and implements data exchange with the external device.

The image display section 390 displays various game images based on the image signal input from the image generation section 290 . For example, it can be realized by a display device such as a flat panel display, cathode ray tube, projector, or head-mounted display. In FIG. 1, the display 1311 corresponds to this.

The sound output unit 392 is for outputting sound such as BGM of the game based on the sound signal input from the sound generation unit 292 . In FIG. 1, the speaker 1313 corresponds to this.

The communication unit 394 connects with the network 9 to realize communication. For example, it can be realized by a wireless communication device, a modem, a TA, a jack of a communication cable for wired use, a control circuit, or the like. In FIG. 1, the communication device 1355 corresponds to this.

The storage unit 500 stores in advance a program for operating the arcade game device 1300 and realizing various functions of the arcade game device 1300, data used during execution of the program, or the like. is stored temporarily each time. For example, it can be realized by IC memories such as RAM and ROM, magnetic disks such as hard disks, and optical disks such as CD-ROMs and DVDs. In FIG. 1, the IC memory 1353 mounted on the control board 1350 corresponds to this.

The storage unit 500 stores a game program 501 , a music list 510 , music data 530 , a tracing rate setting table 570 , and in-play data 580 .

The game program 501 is a program for causing the processing section 200 to function as the game management section 230 . Programs for functioning as the image generation unit 290, the sound generation unit 292, and the communication control unit 294 can be included as appropriate.

The song list 510 stores a list of songs that can be selected as songs to be played by the player who plays the arcade game device 1300 .

The song data 530 stores data relating to songs that can be selected as play songs. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a data configuration example of one song data 530. As shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 13 , the song data 530 includes a unique song name 531 , song voice data 533 and score data 540 .

The music audio data 533 is music data for reproducing the corresponding music as a play music.

The musical score data 540 is data for moving and displaying notes on the musical score display unit 10 . The musical score data 540 is prepared for each play difficulty level, and defines the arrangement order and arrangement position of notes, the arrangement position of bar division lines B, and the like.

Specifically, one musical score data 540 includes a musical score number 541 for identifying the musical score data 540, an applied play difficulty level 543 indicating for which play difficulty level the musical score data 540 is prepared, Includes a BPM (Beats Per Minute) 545 representing a tempo that serves as a reference for the length of time for one beat, a time signature 547, a phrase list 548, an intermediate passage determination period setting 549, and musical note configuration data 550 for each bar. .

The phrase list 548 stores a list of phrases included in the musical score. FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a data configuration example of the phrase list 548. As shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 14, the phrase list 548 is a data table in which constituent note numbers, phrase types, and capture difficulty levels are set in association with phrase numbers. A phrase number is a serial number attached to a phrase included in the musical score. The note number 559 of the constituent note is set as the constituent note number.

The midway progress determination period setting 549 defines each midway progress determination period that divides the reproduction time of the musical score. For example, the bar number 551 of the bar 560 forming the midway progress determination period is stored for each midway progress determination period.

The measure-by-measure note configuration data 550 is prepared for each measure 560 that constitutes the musical score. A piece of musical note configuration data 550 for each bar includes a bar number 551, a playback time range 553 indicating from where to where in the playback time the bar 560 corresponds, a note type 557 and a note number 559 associated with a position 555. and have

The position 555 is the position where the note N is arranged based on the time signature 547 in the measure 560, and determines the reference timing of the associated note N. In the example of FIG. 13, the position of the bar 560 when the bar 560 is divided into quarter notes, eighth notes, and sixteenth notes (grid: quarter note first grid 561, quarter note second grid 562, quarter note third grid 563, quarter note fourth grid 564, . . . , sixteenth note fifteenth grid 565).

The note type 557 defines the type of note N arranged at the corresponding position 555, that is, the standard operation type. The note number is an identification number uniquely assigned to the note.

The trace rate setting table 570 stores the correspondence relationship between the ghost player's performance and the trace rate (see FIG. 9).

The in-play data 580 stores various data describing the progress of the game. This in-play data 580 includes applied play tendency data 600 , applied trace rate 581 , player evaluation result data 583 , ghost evaluation result data 585 , and win/loss result data 587 by period. In addition, the play song name, the play difficulty selected by the player before playing, the score data selected based on the play song name and the play difficulty (hereinafter referred to as "reference score data") 540, the score number 541 of the play It stores the elapsed time from the start (corresponding to the playback time of the music being played in this embodiment), the player's game score, and the like. Of course, data other than these can be included as appropriate.

The player evaluation result data 583 stores the player evaluation results in chronological order for each note (reference timing) forming each bar 560 of the reference musical score data 540 .

The ghost evaluation result data 585 stores ghost evaluation results in chronological order for each note (reference timing) forming each bar 560 of the reference musical score data 540 .

The period-by-period win/loss result data 587 stores the win/loss judgment results of the player and the ghost player in each intermediate progress judgment period set in the intermediate progress judgment period setting 549 of the reference musical score data 540 .

[Process flow]
FIG. 15 is a flowchart for explaining the flow of game processing in the ghost battle mode. The processing described here is implemented by the game management unit 230 reading and executing the game program 501 . It should be noted that the payment of the play price will be omitted as it will be performed as usual.

First, the player who plays the game completes the login procedure using the IC card 3 . When the player logs in, the play tendency acquisition update control unit 231 downloads and acquires the player's play tendency data 700 from the server system 1100, and stores it in the playing data 580 as the applied play tendency data 600 (step S1).

Subsequently, the play reception control unit 233 performs control for receiving selection inputs of play music and play difficulty (step S3). The selection input result is held in the in-play data 580 .

Subsequently, the trace rate setting unit 235 executes a trace rate setting process to set an applied trace rate 581 to be applied to the current game (step S5). Further, the ghost evaluation primary determination unit 237 executes ghost evaluation primary determination processing, and primarily determines the ghost evaluation results for all the notes forming the play musical score (step S7).

After that, playback of play music is started, and the game is started (step S9). In this embodiment, the game play progress control process described with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8 is repeatedly performed for each note according to the reference score data 540 of the play music. Specifically, the presentation control unit 239 starts musical score display synchronized with the reproduction of the play music according to the reference musical score data 540 . As a result, the musical notes forming each measure appear in the order of the measure number 551 on the game screen (music score display section 10) and are moved and displayed. Further, the operation input evaluation unit 241 starts the operation input evaluation, and calculates/updates the game score based on the evaluation result. On the other hand, the ghost evaluation determination unit 245 determines the ghost evaluation result using the reflection determination result of the reflection determination unit 243, and calculates and updates the game score of the ghost player. Then, the evaluation result display control unit 251 displays the player evaluation result and the ghost evaluation result in synchronism for each musical note presentation.

During the game, the period-by-period win/loss display control unit 247 monitors the progress of the interim progress determination period. Then, when the playback time has passed one midway progress determination period (step S11: YES), the win/loss display control process by period is executed (step S13). Specifically, it determines whether the player and the ghost player have won or lost in the midway progress determination period that has passed, and controls the display of the winning/losing result (for example, the winner) on the period-by-period winning/losing display section 40 .

Subsequently, the ghost evaluation correction unit 249 executes ghost evaluation correction processing (step S15). Specifically, depending on whether the winner determined in step S13 is the player or the ghost player, the primarily determined ghost evaluation result for the note belonging to the next midway progress determination period is corrected.

Then, until the reproduction of the play music is completed (step S17: NO), the process returns to step S13 and repeats the above-described processing. If the reproduction of the play music is finished (step S17: YES), the play result is displayed (step S19).

After that, the phrase operation input evaluation unit 253 executes the phrase operation input evaluation process, and evaluates the success or failure of the operation input performed by the player in the current game for each phrase included in the play musical score (step S21). Specifically, for each phrase set in the phrase list 548 of the reference musical score data 540, the result of operation input evaluation of each constituent note is read out from the player evaluation result data 583 to determine success or failure.

Subsequently, the statistical processing unit 255 executes statistical processing to update the applied play tendency data 600 (step S23). Specifically, first, the evaluation result in step S21 is reflected in the applied play tendency data 600, and the number of operation inputs 613, the number of successes 615, and the breakdown 619 are updated for each phrase. Then, the phrase success rate 617 and the operation unit success rate 621 are totaled and updated from the updated values, and the evaluation rank 623 and weak points 625 are updated.

When the player logs out, the play tendency acquisition update control unit 231 uploads the applied play tendency data 600 to the server system 1100 as the latest play tendency data of the player (step S25). Upon receiving this upload, the server system 1100 rewrites and updates the play tendency data 700 in the user registration data 7 of the corresponding player.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, each time reference operation and reference timing are presented by moving notes, it is determined whether or not the player's operation input evaluation (player evaluation result) is to be reflected as the ghost evaluation result. A reflection determination can be made to determine the ghost evaluation results. Then, for each note-by-note presentation, the player evaluation results and the ghost evaluation results can be displayed simultaneously, for example. Therefore, it is possible to control the ghost player according to the player's operation input evaluation. Even if there is no past data such as the player's past play data, it is possible to realize the control of the ghost player according to the player's operation input evaluation.

It should be noted that the form to which the present invention can be applied is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and the addition, omission, or change of constituent elements can be applied as appropriate.

[Modification 1]
For example, the computer system of the present invention is not limited to the arcade game machine 1300 of the above-described embodiment, but can be realized by the home game machine 1400 owned by the player. FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a device configuration example of the home-use game device 1400. As shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 16, a home-use game device 1400 comprises a game device main body 1410, a display 1420 having a speaker 1421, and a drum-shaped controller 1430, and is a Japanese drum performance game which is a kind of music game. can enjoy.

The drum-shaped controller 1430 is connected to the game device body 1410, and the display 1420 is connected to the game device body 1410 by a cable K capable of transmitting image signals and sound signals. The drum-shaped controller 1430 includes a set of a drum body 1431 imitating a Japanese drum and a drumstick 1435, and a plurality of sets are connected so that a plurality of players can play the game at the same time. In FIG. 16, two sets of drum-shaped controllers 1430 (1430a, 1430b) are connected so that two players can play the game at the same time. A drum main body 1431 of the drum-shaped controller 1430 has a drum main body 1431 on which a hitting surface 1433 is formed for the player to perform an operation input to hit the hitting surface or the outer edge of the hitting surface.

The game device main body 1410 also includes a control unit 1411 having a CPU, an IC memory, etc., and an information storage medium reading device such as a CD-ROM 1441 . Then, the game apparatus main body 1410 executes various game processes based on the programs and data read from the CD-ROM 1441 and the like, the tapping signals from the drum-shaped controller 1430, and the like. to generate Furthermore, the generated image signal and sound signal are output to the display 1420 to display the game screen on the display 1420 and output the game sound from the speaker 1421 .

Game information including programs, data, etc. necessary for the game device main body 1410 to perform game processing is stored, for example, as storage media removable from the game device main body 1410, such as a CD-ROM 1441, an IC memory 1443, a memory card 1445, and the like. stored in In addition, in this modification, the play tendency data of the player who plays the home-use game device 1400 is stored in the IC memory 1443, the memory card 1445, or the like together with the play data and the like. Then, home-use game machine 1400 performs statistical processing using the play trend data.

In the home-use game device 1400 configured as described above, the player, while viewing the game screen displayed on the display 1420, hits the hitting surface 1433 with the drumstick 1435 in time with the set piece output from the speaker 1421. to operate the drum-shaped controller 1430 to enjoy the Japanese drum performance game.

[Modification 2]
Further, in the above embodiment, the arcade game device 1300 controls the progress of the game in a stand-alone game system. A mode is also possible in which the server system 1100 (see FIG. 1) controls the progress of the process. That is, it can also be a client-server system.

Also, the player terminal in that case can be realized by a user terminal possessed by the player. A user terminal may take the form of a personal computer, a smart phone, a tablet computer, a portable game machine, or the like. The form of the home-use game machine shown in Modification 1 can also be used.

[Modification 3]
Also, after the game in the ghost battle mode is over, the result of reflection determination may be displayed so that the player can check it. For example, after the game is over, a replay screen having the same screen configuration as the game screen W2 of FIG. 4, etc., is displayed to reproduce the game play of the player and the ghost player in the game. At the time of this replay display, the game management unit 230, as a reflection result display control means, controls whether or not the ghost evaluation result for each presentation of each note reflects the player evaluation result as a reflection result. do. For example, in the replay screen, control is performed so that the corresponding reflection results are displayed following the notes that are moved and displayed on the ghost musical score display section 30 . Alternatively, control may be performed to attach the corresponding reflection result near the ghost evaluation result displayed on the ghost evaluation result display section 37 as needed on the replay screen.

[Modification 4]
Further, in the above-described embodiment, the trace rate used to determine whether or not to reflect the player evaluation result as the ghost evaluation result is set before the start of the game, but it may be changed during the match. . For example, when the midway progress determination period has passed, adjustment may be made based on the win or loss between the player and the ghost player during the midway progress determination period. Specifically, the applied trace rate to be applied in the next midway progress determination period is adjusted to be lower when the player wins, and adjusted higher when the ghost player wins. Conversely, it may be adjusted higher if the player wins, and adjusted lower if the ghost player wins. It is preferable if the ghost evaluation correction unit 249 makes the adjustment.

Also, the trace rate is set in accordance with the trace rate setting table 570 according to the tone of the ghost selected for each game, but may be set in accordance with the play difficulty level. Specifically, the higher the play difficulty, the lower the trace rate is set. For example, the play difficulty may be set to 97% for "easy", 90% for "normal", and 83% for "difficult".

[Modification 5]
Further, in the above-described embodiment, the ghost evaluation result is primarily determined using the applied play tendency data 600, and the ghost evaluation result for the next period is corrected according to the win/loss between the player and the ghost player for each intermediate progress determination period. We have shown an example of controlling the ghost player by Alternatively, the ghost evaluation results may be primary determined or modified to control the ghost player. For example, the ghost player may be controlled according to the player's level (player level). For example, the ghost evaluation result may be primarily determined according to the player level, or the primarily determined ghost evaluation result may be corrected according to the player level.

In the former case, for example, multiple types of control algorithms are prepared in association with possible values of the player level, and the primary decision is made using the control algorithm according to the player level of the player playing the game. realizable. The control algorithm for each player level is determined, for example, as an algorithm such that the higher the corresponding player level, the higher the ghost evaluation result that is primarily determined as "good" or "acceptable."

In the latter case, for example, the primary It can be realized by adjusting the ghost evaluation result for each determined note.

In this modified example, the game management unit 230 updates the player level of the player based on the player's play time, play frequency, play record, etc., and includes it in the user registration data 7 for management.

Also, instead of the player's play level, the ghost player can be controlled using a play level set for the ghost player. Specific processing can be realized in the same way as in the case of using the player level. In that case, the game management unit 230 sets the play level of the ghost player as virtual player level setting means.

[Modification 6]
A virtual player can also be controlled using a play level set for a competing ghost player (virtual player). Specific processing can be realized in the same way as in the case of using the player level described in Modification 5. In that case, the game management unit 230 sets the play level of the virtual player as virtual player level setting means.

Alternatively, a configuration is also possible in which the virtual player is controlled using attributes determined for the competing virtual player. The attributes of the virtual player include the rarity, type, and attributes of the virtual player itself, the rarity, type, and attributes of the virtual player character (for example, the ghost character in FIG. 4) representing the virtual player, and the virtual player or the virtual player character. Includes settings such as strengths and weaknesses as a performer. The specific processing in this case can also be realized in the same manner as in the case of using the player level described in Modification 5.

That is, a plurality of control algorithms may be prepared in association with various attribute values, and primary determination may be made using a control algorithm corresponding to the attributes of the virtual player or virtual player character.

Alternatively, corrections after primary determination may be made according to the attributes of the virtual player or virtual player character. For example, the higher the rarity, the higher the degree of success in the evaluation result (the ratio of the number of notes that are "good" or "acceptable"). If it is a virtual player, it is possible to make corrections so that the degree of success is higher when the music to be played is enka music than for other music.

[Modification 7]
Also, the settings of the virtual player may be changed based on the player's operation input. Specifically, for example, an item that can increase the degree of success of an evaluation result or an operation input for setting points for increasing the degree of success is received, and settings of the virtual player are changed. In that case, the game management section 230, as virtual player setting means, changes the settings of the virtual player based on the player's operation input.

Then, the virtual player may be controlled according to the setting contents of the setting. Specific processing can be realized in the same manner as in Modifications 5 and 6. FIG. That is, the primary determination may be made using a control algorithm according to the set item type and points, or the primary determination may be corrected accordingly. Also, when an item is set in the settings of the virtual player, the player may be allowed to input an operation for activating the item. In this case, it is preferable to perform temporary control such that the degree of success of the evaluation result is increased or a special control algorithm is used to make a primary decision only for a predetermined period of time from the input of the activation operation.

[Modification 8]
As described in the modified example above, when a device other than an arcade game device is used as a player terminal (user terminal), depending on the computing power of the device, the ghost evaluation finalization process may take a long time to process, resulting in a processing delay. may occur. In that case, the display timing of the player evaluation result and the ghost evaluation result by the evaluation result synchronous display control process may be delayed by several frames. During this delayed time, the ghost evaluation determination process can be performed interruptively. If no processing delay occurs, the display timing of the evaluation result synchronous display control process may be executed as prescribed.

[Other Modifications]
Also, in the above embodiment, an example of competitive play in which a player competes against a ghost player has been shown, but a cooperative play in which a player forms a team with a virtual player and performs a duet game to aim for a high score. In the case of , the same application is possible.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1300... Commercial-use game apparatus 1305... Operation input device 1350... Control board 100... Operation input part 110... Medium reading part 120... Coin detection part 200... Processing part 230... Game management part 231... Play tendency acquisition update control part 233... Play Reception control unit 235 Trace rate setting unit 237 Ghost evaluation primary determination unit 239 Presentation control unit 241 Operation input evaluation unit 243 Reflection determination unit 245 Ghost evaluation determination unit 247 Win/loss display control unit by period 249 Ghost evaluation Modification unit 251 Evaluation result display control unit 253 Phrase operation input evaluation unit 255 Statistical processing unit 290 Image generation unit 292 Sound generation unit 294 Communication control unit 390 Image display unit 392 Sound output unit 394 Communication unit 500... Storage unit 501... Game program 510... Music list 530... Music data 533... Music audio data 540... Music score data 548... Phrase list 549... Midway progress determination period setting 550... Musical note configuration data for each measure 570... Trace rate setting table 580 In-play data 600 Applied play tendency data 610 Phrase-specific tendency data 617 Phrase success rate 621 Operation unit success rate 623 Evaluation rank 625 Weak point 581 Applied trace rate 583 Player evaluation result data 585 Ghost evaluation Result data 587 Win/loss result data by period 1100 Server system 1140 Storage unit 7 User registration data 700 Play trend data 9 Network

Claims (18)

A program for causing a computer system to run a timing game in which a player plays with a computer-controlled virtual player, comprising:
presentation control means for sequentially presenting the reference operation and the reference timing to the player by moving and displaying the indicator indicating the reference operation with the timing of reaching a given reference position as the reference timing;
evaluation means for evaluating the input type and input timing of the operation input performed by the player for each presentation by the presentation control means;
virtual player control means for controlling the virtual player, wherein for each presentation by the presentation control means, a reflection determination is made as to whether or not the evaluation result by the evaluation means is to be reflected as the evaluation result of the virtual player; virtual player control means for determining player evaluation results;
The control of displaying the evaluation result of the player by the evaluation means and the evaluation result of the virtual player determined by the virtual player control means one after another for each presentation by the presentation control means is defined as the evaluation of the player. evaluation result display control means for synchronizing the display timing of the result with the display timing of the evaluation result of the virtual player ;
A program for causing the computer system to function as a computer. A program for causing a computer system to run a timing game in which a player plays with a computer-controlled virtual player, comprising:
presentation control means for sequentially presenting the reference operation and the reference timing to the player by moving and displaying the indicator indicating the reference operation with the timing of reaching a given reference position as the reference timing;
evaluation means for evaluating the input type and input timing of the operation input performed by the player for each presentation by the presentation control means;
virtual player control means for controlling the virtual player, wherein for each presentation by the presentation control means, a reflection determination is made as to whether or not the evaluation result by the evaluation means is to be reflected as the evaluation result of the virtual player; virtual player control means for determining player evaluation results;
Evaluation result display control for sequentially displaying the evaluation result of the player by the evaluation means and the evaluation result of the virtual player determined by the virtual player control means for each presentation by the presentation control means. means,
Reflection result display control means for controlling display of the result of the reflection determination for each of the reference operations after the game is over;
A program for causing the computer system to function as a computer. A program for causing a computer system to run a timing game in which a player plays with a computer-controlled virtual player, comprising:
presentation control means for sequentially presenting the reference operation and the reference timing to the player by moving and displaying the indicator indicating the reference operation with the timing of reaching a given reference position as the reference timing;
evaluation means for evaluating the input type and input timing of the operation input performed by the player for each presentation by the presentation control means;
virtual player control means for controlling the virtual player, wherein for each presentation by the presentation control means, a reflection determination is made as to whether or not the evaluation result by the evaluation means is to be reflected as the evaluation result of the virtual player; virtual player control means for determining the evaluation result of the player and changing the reflection criteria to be reflected in the reflection determination during the play ;
Evaluation result display control for sequentially displaying the evaluation result of the player by the evaluation means and the evaluation result of the virtual player determined by the virtual player control means for each presentation by the presentation control means. means,
A program for causing the computer system to function as a computer. The virtual player control means controls the virtual player based on the difference between the previous evaluation result of the player and the evaluation result of the virtual player during play so as to eliminate the difference.
A program according to any one of claims 1 to 3 . The timing game has a plurality of periods separated along the progress of the game,
Intermediate progress display control means for controlling display of an intermediate progress based on the difference between the evaluation result of the player and the evaluation result of the virtual player for each period;
functioning the computer system as
The virtual player control means controls the virtual player based on the intermediate progress.
5. A program according to claim 4 . For each presentation by the presentation control means, the virtual player control means performs a primary decision for determining an evaluation result of the virtual player based on a given control algorithm, make a secondary decision to update the evaluation results of
A program according to any one of claims 1-5 . The virtual player control means makes the primary determination based on the control algorithm for controlling the virtual player so as to obtain an evaluation result in line with the player's play tendency by referring to the player's play tendency data.
7. A program according to claim 6 . A combination operation for evaluating the success or failure of the player's operation input for each type of a reference operation group that is a combination of two or more of the reference operation groups and/or for each reference operation that constitutes the reference operation group. evaluation means,
play tendency creating means for statistically processing the evaluation results of the combination operation evaluating means to create the play tendency data;
8. The program according to claim 7 , for causing said computer system to function as a program. Play music score selection means for selecting a play music score based on the player's selection operation from among a plurality of music scores having different degrees of difficulty for which the reference operation and the reference timing are set;
functioning the computer system as
The presentation control means performs the presentation based on the play musical score,
The virtual player control means controls, in the primary determination, whether or not the evaluation result of the virtual player is to be an evaluation result in line with the player's play tendency, based on the difficulty level of the play chart.
A program according to claim 7 or 8 . When the difficulty level is the first level, the virtual player control means lowers the reflection standard to be reflected in the reflection determination compared to the second level, which is lower in the difficulty level than the first level.
10. A program according to claim 9 . virtual player level setting means for setting the play level of the virtual player;
functioning the computer system as
The virtual player control means controls the virtual player so that when the play level of the virtual player is the first play level, the evaluation result is more likely to be successful than when the play level is the second play level which is lower than the first play level. control a virtual player,
A program according to any one of claims 1-10 . Attributes are set for the virtual player,
The virtual player control means changes the degree of success of the evaluation result based on the attributes of the virtual player.
A program according to any one of claims 1-11 . virtual player setting change means for changing the settings of the virtual player based on the player's operation input;
functioning the computer system as
The virtual player control means changes the degree of success of the evaluation result based on the settings of the virtual player setting change means.
A program according to any one of claims 1-12 . A program for causing a computer system to run a timing game in which a player plays with a computer-controlled virtual player, comprising:
presentation control means for sequentially presenting the reference operation and the reference timing to the player by moving and displaying the indicator indicating the reference operation with the timing of reaching a given reference position as the reference timing;
evaluation means for evaluating the input type and input timing of the operation input performed by the player for each presentation by the presentation control means;
A virtual player control means for controlling the virtual player, wherein for each presentation by the presentation control means, an evaluation result by the evaluation means is reflected as an evaluation result of the virtual player, so that the player's operation input and the virtual player are evaluated. virtual player control means for determining the evaluation result of the virtual player by performing a reflection determination as to whether or not to perform reflection control for making the virtual operation input of the player the same;
For each presentation by the presentation control means, control is performed to sequentially display the evaluation result of the player by the evaluation means and the evaluation result of the virtual player determined by the virtual player control means for the presentation. Evaluation result display control means for performing
A program for causing the computer system to function as a computer. A computer system for executing a timing game in which a player plays with a computer-controlled virtual player, comprising:
presentation control means for sequentially presenting the reference operation and the reference timing to the player by moving and displaying the timing of reaching a given reference position as the reference timing of an indicator indicating the reference operation;
evaluation means for evaluating the input type and input timing of the operation input performed by the player for each presentation by the presentation control means;
virtual player control means for controlling the virtual player, wherein for each presentation by the presentation control means, a reflection determination is made as to whether or not the evaluation result by the evaluation means is to be reflected as the evaluation result of the virtual player; virtual player control means for determining player evaluation results;
The control of displaying the evaluation result of the player by the evaluation means and the evaluation result of the virtual player determined by the virtual player control means one after another for each presentation by the presentation control means is defined as the evaluation of the player. evaluation result display control means for synchronizing the display timing of the result with the display timing of the evaluation result of the virtual player ;
A computer system with A computer system for executing a timing game in which a player plays with a computer-controlled virtual player, comprising:
presentation control means for sequentially presenting the reference operation and the reference timing to the player by moving and displaying the timing of reaching a given reference position as the reference timing of an indicator indicating the reference operation;
evaluation means for evaluating the input type and input timing of the operation input performed by the player for each presentation by the presentation control means;
virtual player control means for controlling the virtual player, wherein for each presentation by the presentation control means, a reflection determination is made as to whether or not the evaluation result by the evaluation means is to be reflected as the evaluation result of the virtual player; virtual player control means for determining player evaluation results;
Evaluation result display control for sequentially displaying the evaluation result of the player by the evaluation means and the evaluation result of the virtual player determined by the virtual player control means for each presentation by the presentation control means. means and
Reflection result display control means for controlling display of the result of the reflection determination for each of the reference operations after the game is over;
A computer system with A computer system for executing a timing game in which a player plays with a computer-controlled virtual player, comprising:
presentation control means for sequentially presenting the reference operation and the reference timing to the player by moving and displaying the timing of reaching a given reference position as the reference timing of an indicator indicating the reference operation;
evaluation means for evaluating the input type and input timing of the operation input performed by the player for each presentation by the presentation control means;
virtual player control means for controlling the virtual player, wherein for each presentation by the presentation control means, a reflection determination is made as to whether or not the evaluation result by the evaluation means is to be reflected as the evaluation result of the virtual player; virtual player control means for determining the evaluation result of the player and changing the reflection criteria to be reflected in the reflection determination during the play ;
Evaluation result display control for sequentially displaying the evaluation result of the player by the evaluation means and the evaluation result of the virtual player determined by the virtual player control means for each presentation by the presentation control means. means and
A computer system with A computer system for executing a timing game in which a player plays with a computer-controlled virtual player, comprising:
presentation control means for sequentially presenting the reference operation and the reference timing to the player by moving and displaying the timing of reaching a given reference position as the reference timing of an indicator indicating the reference operation;
evaluation means for evaluating the input type and input timing of the operation input performed by the player for each presentation by the presentation control means;
A virtual player control means for controlling the virtual player, wherein for each presentation by the presentation control means, an evaluation result by the evaluation means is reflected as an evaluation result of the virtual player, so that the player's operation input and the virtual player are evaluated. virtual player control means for determining whether or not to perform reflection control for making the virtual operation input of the player the same as that of the virtual player, and determining the evaluation result of the virtual player;
For each presentation by the presentation control means, control is performed to sequentially display the evaluation result of the player by the evaluation means and the evaluation result of the virtual player determined by the virtual player control means for the presentation. evaluation result display control means for performing
A computer system with

Images