KR102318447B1 - Apparatus and method for providing game programe - Google Patents

Abstract

Disclosed is a method for providing a game program linked to a broadcast content providing platform.
The method for providing a game program includes identifying, from a user of the game program, a transmission request for broadcast content provided by the broadcast content providing platform in association with the game program, and when there is a user's request for transmission of the broadcast content , providing a graphic object providing the broadcast content to a region of a game interface of the game program.

Description

Game program providing apparatus and method {APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR PROVIDING GAME PROGRAME}

The following embodiments relate to an apparatus and method for providing a game program.

Unlike the previous method in which the subject of producing and providing broadcast content was limited to broadcasting stations, recently, platforms that allow individuals to produce and provide broadcast content are becoming popular.

In addition, an increasing number of users provide personal broadcasting contents based on the real-time game screen they play in conjunction with a game program. Considering the popularized personal broadcasting, if a means is provided to identify a game character providing personal broadcasting in real time within the game program and to watch the broadcasting content provided through the game character in the game program, users of the game program It is expected to be interesting.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the game program providing apparatus identifies a game character that provides personal broadcasting content in association with the game program, and when a predetermined condition is satisfied, the user of the game character provides the broadcasting content providing platform It is possible to provide the broadcasting contents provided by the game program to other game program users.

In addition, the present invention provides a chatting message identical to a chatting message generated in a game program by a user who satisfies a predetermined requirement through a chatting interface provided in a broadcast content providing platform at the same time, so that users who use only the game program and broadcasting are provided. It is possible to provide a means for communication between viewers who watch broadcast content through the content providing platform.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a method for providing a game program linked to a broadcast content providing platform by identifying a transmission request for broadcast content provided by the broadcast content providing platform in conjunction with the game program from a user of the game program. movement; and providing a graphic object providing the broadcast content to a region of a game interface of the game program when the user requests to transmit the broadcast content.

The operation of identifying the transmission request for the broadcast content may include, when the character in the game program of the user is close to the character in the game program of the broadcast content provider providing the broadcast content by a predetermined distance or less, requesting the transmission of the broadcast content It can be identified as having

In the game program providing method according to an embodiment, when the broadcast content is provided in one area of a game interface of the game program, a chat message generated in the broadcast content providing platform is provided in one area of the game interface It may further include an operation to

The method of providing a game program according to an embodiment may further include counting the user as a viewer who is watching the broadcast content when the broadcast content is provided in one area of a game interface of the game program.

In the game program providing method according to an embodiment, when the broadcast content is provided in one area of a game interface of the game program, the same chat message as the chat message generated by the user's game character in the game program is provided. It may further include the operation of providing to the chat window of the broadcast content providing platform.

According to an embodiment, an apparatus for providing a game program linked to a broadcast content providing platform includes a communication unit configured to communicate with a user terminal; and a processor for identifying, from a user of the game program, a transmission request for broadcast content provided by the broadcast content providing platform in conjunction with the game program, wherein the processor is configured to: In this case, the game interface of the game program in which the graphic object providing the broadcast content is arranged in one area may be provided to the user terminal through the communication unit.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the game program providing apparatus provides broadcast content provided in conjunction with the game program to other users who play the game program through a game interface, thereby providing new information to users in a reality where personal broadcasting is generalized. It can provide an interesting element.

1 is a conceptual diagram schematically illustrating an exemplary configuration of an apparatus for providing a game program according to an embodiment.
2 is a diagram illustrating a network configuration of a game program providing system according to an embodiment.
3 is a flowchart illustrating a method of providing a game program according to an exemplary embodiment.
4 is a diagram illustrating an example to which a game program providing method is applied.
5 is a diagram illustrating an example in which a chat message in a game program and a chat message of a broadcasting content providing platform are linked according to an embodiment.

Specific structural or functional descriptions of the embodiments according to the concept of the present invention disclosed in this specification are only exemplified for the purpose of explaining the embodiments according to the concept of the present invention, and the embodiments according to the concept of the present invention are It may be implemented in various forms and is not limited to the embodiments described herein.

Since the embodiments according to the concept of the present invention may have various changes and may have various forms, the embodiments will be illustrated in the drawings and described in detail herein. However, this is not intended to limit the embodiments according to the concept of the present invention to specific disclosed forms, and includes all modifications, equivalents, or substitutes included in the spirit and scope of the present invention.

Terms such as first or second may be used to describe various elements, but the elements should not be limited by the terms. The above terms are used only for the purpose of distinguishing one element from another element, for example, without departing from the scope of the present invention, a first element may be called a second element, and similarly The second component may also be referred to as the first component.

When a component is referred to as being “connected” or “connected” to another component, it is understood that the other component may be directly connected or connected to the other component, but other components may exist in between. it should be On the other hand, when it is said that a certain element is "directly connected" or "directly connected" to another element, it should be understood that no other element is present in the middle. Other expressions describing the relationship between elements, such as "between" and "immediately between" or "neighboring to" and "directly adjacent to", should be interpreted similarly.

The terms used herein are used only to describe specific embodiments, and are not intended to limit the present invention. The singular expression includes the plural expression unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

As used herein, terms such as “comprise” or “have” are intended to designate that the described feature, number, step, operation, component, part, or combination thereof exists, and includes one or more other features or numbers. , it is to be understood that it does not preclude the possibility of the presence or addition of steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof.

Unless defined otherwise, all terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs.

Terms such as those defined in a commonly used dictionary should be interpreted as having a meaning consistent with the meaning in the context of the related art, and should not be interpreted in an ideal or excessively formal meaning unless explicitly defined in the present specification. does not

In the following description, the same identification symbols mean the same configuration, and unnecessary redundant descriptions and descriptions of well-known technologies will be omitted.

In an embodiment of the present invention, 'communication', 'communication network' and 'network' may be used as the same meaning. The above three terms refer to a wired/wireless short-distance and wide-area data transmission/reception network capable of transmitting and receiving files between a user terminal, terminals of other users, and a download server.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail by describing preferred embodiments of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a conceptual diagram schematically illustrating an exemplary configuration of an apparatus for providing a game program according to an embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 1 , an apparatus 100 for providing a game program according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a processor 110 and a communication unit 120 , and an external computing device (not shown) through the communication unit 120 . can communicate directly or indirectly with

Specifically, the game program providing apparatus 100 may be a server that generally provides a game program. In terms of hardware, such a server has the same configuration as a typical web server (Web Server) or WAP server (WAP Server). However, in terms of software, it includes program modules that are implemented through languages such as C, C++, Java, Visual Basic, and Visual C and perform various functions. In addition, the server is generally connected to a large number of unspecified clients and/or other servers through an open computer network such as the Internet, receives a request to perform work from the client or other server, derives the work result for it, and provides a computer system and It means computer software (server program) installed for him. In addition, the server, in addition to the above-described server program, a series of application programs (Application Program) operating on the server and in some cases, various databases built inside or outside (DB: Database, hereinafter referred to as "DB") It should be understood as a broad concept that includes Accordingly, the server classifies member subscription information and various information and data on game programs, stores and manages them in a DB, and this DB may be implemented inside or outside the server. In addition, the server may be implemented using server programs that are provided in various ways depending on operating systems such as DOS, Windows, Linux, UNIX, and Macintosh on general server hardware. As a representative example, a website used in a Windows environment, Internet Information Server (IIS), and CERN, NCSA, APPACH, etc. used in a Unix environment may be used.

The processor 110 of the game program providing apparatus 100 includes a micro processing unit (MPU), a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU) or a tensor processing unit (TPU), a cache memory, and a data bus. (data bus) may include a hardware configuration. In addition, it may further include an operating system, a software configuration of an application for performing a specific purpose.

The communication unit 120 of the game program providing device 100 may transmit/receive a request and a response to and from another computing device that is interlocked. As an example, such a request and a response may be performed by the same transmission control protocol (TCP) session. may be performed, but is not limited thereto, and may be transmitted/received as, for example, a user datagram protocol (UDP) datagram.

2 is a diagram illustrating a network configuration of a game program providing system according to an embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 2 , the game program providing system 200 includes a game program providing device 210 , a broadcast content providing device 230 , and user terminals 240 - 1 , 240 - 2 , ..., 240 -N through a network ( 220) may be in the form of being connected through.

The user terminals 240 - 1 , 240 - 2 , ..., 240 -N may refer to terminal devices of individual users that relay the user's playing of a game program or viewing of broadcast content through a broadcast content providing platform. . The user terminals 240-1, 240-2, ..., 240-N refer to terminals capable of transmitting and receiving various data using a communication intermediary device including an AP according to a user's key operation, and a tablet PC (Tablet PC). ), a laptop, a personal computer (PC), a smart phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), and a mobile communication terminal. . The user terminals 240-1, 240-2, ..., 240-N may include a foldable smartphone. The user terminals 240-1, 240-2, ..., 240-N are terminals that perform voice or data communication using an AP and a communication network, and provide a program or protocol for communicating with an external device via the AP and the communication network. It refers to a terminal having a memory for storing, a microprocessor for operating and controlling the execution of a corresponding program, and the like. In the user terminals 240-1, 240-2, ..., 240-N, a client program for accessing a broadcast content providing platform may be installed, and the user provides broadcast content through a membership registration and log-in procedure for the corresponding client program. You can access the platform. In addition, the user terminals 240-1, 240-2, ..., 240-N may have a game program installed, and the user accesses the game program through a membership registration and log-in procedure for the corresponding client program to play the game. can On the other hand, the user terminals (240-1, 240-2, ..., 240-N) is preferably manufactured in a form equipped with a touch screen in order to perform input and output through the user's manipulation, and input according to the user's manipulation. You can run the game program through The user terminals 240-1, 240-2, ..., 240-N may be referred to as clients or peers.

The game program providing device 210 has the same configuration as that described in FIG. 1 , and the game program is played by each user through the user terminals 240 - 1 , 240 - 2 , ..., 240 -N. A series of related processes can be controlled.

The broadcast content providing apparatus 230 may provide the broadcast content individually generated by the content provider to the user terminals 240 - 1 , 240 - 2 , ..., 240 -N connected to the broadcast content providing platform. The broadcast content providing apparatus 230 may provide the broadcast content produced by the content provider to the user terminals 240 - 1 , 240 - 2 , ..., 240 -N connected to the channel of the corresponding content provider. In addition, when the content provider interworks with the game program and produces broadcast content linked to the game play performed by the content provider, the broadcast content providing device 230 receives the game program related to the content provider's game play from the game program providing device 210 . The data may be received, and broadcast content generated based thereon may be provided to the user terminals 240 - 1 , 240 - 2 , ..., 240 -N. For example, broadcast content linked to game play includes a game interface screen in which a game character of a content provider performs a game play and a screen shot separately by the content provider (eg, a content provider playing a game, etc.) This may be broadcast content provided at the same time. The meaning of the term content provider as used herein may mean an individual user who generates a personal broadcast through its own broadcasting system. In addition, producing broadcast content in conjunction with a game program means producing broadcast content based on real-time play of one's own game program, which is broadcast content based on a game program play image of a content provider may mean to produce

The game program providing apparatus 210 according to an embodiment provides, through a game interface, broadcast content provided by a content provider that provides broadcast content in conjunction with a game program to another user satisfying a predetermined condition. can Through this, it is possible to provide a new element of interest to users who play the game program in the current situation where personal broadcasting contents provided in conjunction with game programs are common.

In the drawings, the broadcast content providing device 230 and the game program providing device 210 are shown as different entities, but according to an embodiment, when the subject providing the game program and the subject operating the broadcast content providing platform are the same , the broadcast content providing apparatus 230 and the game program providing apparatus 210 may be implemented through a single configuration.

The network 220 is a connection structure or user terminals 240-1, 240-2, ..., 240-N that enables information exchange between respective nodes, such as terminals and servers, a multi-channel broadcast content providing platform providing apparatus It refers to a network connecting the 210 and the broadcast content providers 230-1, 230-2, ..., 230-N. Network includes Internet, Local Area Network (LAN), Wireless Local Area Network (LAN), Wide Area Network (WAN), Personal Area Network (PAN), 3G, 4G, LTE, Wi-Fi, etc. However, the present invention is not limited thereto. The network may be a closed network such as a LAN or WAN, but is preferably an open type such as the Internet. The Internet is a TCP/IP protocol and several services existing in its upper layers, namely HTTP (HyperText Transfer Protocol), Telnet, FTP (File Transfer Protocol), DNS (Domain Name System), SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol), SNMP ( It refers to a worldwide open computer network structure that provides Simple Network Management Protocol), NFS (Network File Service), and NIS (Network Information Service). In addition, when the user terminals 240-1, 240-2, ..., 240-N are mobile communication terminals or smart phones, the network may include a mobile communication network such as 3G, 4G, LTE, Wi-Fi, or the like. As used herein, the term 'server' refers to a logical structural unit, and it is obvious to those skilled in the art that the present invention is not necessarily a physically separate component.

Hereinafter, an operation of the game program providing apparatus 210 will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

3 is a flowchart illustrating a method of providing a game program according to an exemplary embodiment.

In step 310, the game program providing apparatus may identify a transmission request for broadcast content provided by the broadcast content providing platform in conjunction with the game program from the user of the game program. The game program providing apparatus receives, from the user terminal through the communication unit, the location information of the current user's first game character in the game program, information related to the user input received by the user terminal, and provides information about broadcast content based on the received information. A transfer request can be identified.

The game program providing device requests transmission of broadcast content when the current user's first game character is close to the second game character of the content provider who provides broadcast content on the broadcast content providing platform in conjunction with the game program by a predetermined distance or less It can be identified as having In addition, the game program providing apparatus displays, on the second game character of the content provider, a graphic object indicating that broadcast content is currently being provided through a broadcasting platform, and determines an area determined mainly by the second game character as the content area. and, when the first game character is located in the content providing area, it may be identified that there is a current user's request for transmission of broadcast content. According to an embodiment, the content providing area may be expressed separately from other areas through an arbitrary marker in the game interface.

According to another embodiment, when receiving a user input for receiving broadcast content in the game program, the game program providing apparatus may identify that there is a transmission request for the broadcast content. For example, the user input may include a touch input, a voice input, and a text input received through the user terminal. When the user terminal corresponds to a mobile phone, the user input may include an operation of shaking the mobile phone. A user input related to a transmission request for broadcast content is not limited to the presented example, and may be determined as any user input that may be performed through a user terminal.

When it is identified that there is a user's request for transmission of broadcast content through step 320 , the game program providing apparatus provides a graphic object providing broadcast content to an area of the game interface of the game program through step 330 . can do. The broadcast content may be the same content as the content provided through the broadcast content providing platform, or may be content in which a portion of the content is edited.

According to an embodiment, when broadcast content is provided in one area of a game interface of a game program, a current user in the broadcast content providing platform may be counted as a viewer who views the broadcast content. Since the number of viewers in the broadcast content providing platform can be directly related to the revenue of the content provider, based on this situation, the current user corresponding to the first game character who views the video related to the broadcast content in the game program is also broadcast content. can be counted as viewers of To this end, the game program providing device may collect information on a game character located in the content providing area and provide it to the broadcast content providing device, or may provide counting result information to the broadcast content providing device.

According to an embodiment, when the broadcast content is provided in one area of the game interface of the game program, the same chat message as the chat message generated based on the first game character in the game program is transmitted to the broadcast content in the broadcast content providing platform. It may be provided through a corresponding chat window. When the broadcast content is provided in one area of the game interface of the game program, the same chat message as the chat message corresponding to the first game character generated in the game program is provided to other viewers watching the broadcast content on the broadcast content providing platform As a result, communication between a viewer connected to the broadcast content providing platform and a user who plays a game program without accessing the broadcast content providing platform may proceed.

Also, when the broadcast content is provided in one area of the game interface of the game program, the game program providing apparatus may provide a chat message generated in the broadcast content providing platform through one area of the game interface. Through this, the current user corresponding to the first game character can check the chat message generated on the broadcast content providing platform in relation to the broadcast content through the game interface.

In the case of a user provided with a graphic object providing broadcast content, the game program providing apparatus according to an embodiment includes a graphic object providing broadcast content until the user's game character deviates from the game character of the content provider by a predetermined distance or more. offer can be maintained. It is highly likely that a large number of game characters are located around the game character of the content provider. In this case, since there is a high possibility that a user who exists at the boundary of the content providing area unintentionally deviates from the content providing area, broadcast content may be provided in an unstable manner. Accordingly, the game program providing apparatus can maintain the connection of the broadcast content and the chat message until the user deviates from the content providing area by a predetermined distance or more. Through this, even when a plurality of other game characters exist around the game character of the content provider, the game program providing apparatus can stably provide broadcast content and a chatting service based thereon.

4 is a diagram illustrating an example to which a game program providing method is applied.

4 (a) is a view in which the first game character 420 of the current user exists outside the content providing area 412 for the second game character 410 corresponding to the user who provides broadcast content through the broadcasting platform. show the situation A graphic object 411 indicating that broadcast content is being provided in association with a current game program may be disposed on the second game character 410 .

4 (b) shows that the first game character 420 is positioned inside the content providing area 412, so that the user of the second game character 410 provides broadcast content provided through the broadcast content providing platform. It shows a situation where the graphic object 430 is placed on the game interface. The graphic object 430 may include a real-time image of a content provider as shown.

5 is a diagram illustrating an example in which a chat message in a game program and a chat message of a broadcasting content providing platform are linked according to an embodiment.

According to an embodiment, when the first game character 420 is located inside the content providing area 412 generated around the second game character 410 , the game program is based on the first game character 420 . The same chat message 542 as the chat message 521 generated in may be provided to the chat window 540 of the broadcast content providing platform. Accordingly, in the chat window 540, a message 541 of a viewer accessing the broadcast content providing platform and a chat message 542 of the current user corresponding to the first game character 420 not directly connected to the broadcast content providing platform ) can be mixed. In this case, the user's connection type corresponding to each chatting message may be identified through a separate graphic object.

In the game interface of the current user corresponding to the first game character 420 located in the content providing area 412, the same chat messages 530 and 531 as the chatting messages provided through the chat window 540 of the broadcasting content providing platform. ) may include a displayed area. Through this, the current user corresponding to the first game character 420 can check the chatting contents made in the corresponding platform even if the current user does not access the broadcast content providing platform.

In the above, even though all the components constituting the embodiment of the present invention are described as being combined or operating in combination, the present invention is not necessarily limited to this embodiment. That is, within the scope of the object of the present invention, all the components may operate by selectively combining at least one.

In addition, all of the components may be implemented as one independent hardware, but some or all of the components are selectively combined to perform some or all functions of the combined components in one or a plurality of hardware program modules It may be implemented as a computer program having Codes and code segments constituting the computer program can be easily deduced by those skilled in the art of the present invention.

Such a computer program is stored in a computer readable storage medium (Computer Readable Media), read and executed by the computer, thereby implementing the embodiment of the present invention. The storage medium of the computer program may include a magnetic recording medium, an optical recording medium, and the like.

In addition, terms such as "comprises", "comprises" or "have" described above mean that the corresponding component may be embedded, unless otherwise stated, so that other components are excluded. Rather, it should be construed as being able to further include other components.

All terms, including technical and scientific terms, have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention belongs, unless otherwise defined. Terms commonly used, such as those defined in the dictionary, should be interpreted as being consistent with the meaning in the context of the related art, and are not interpreted in an ideal or excessively formal meaning unless explicitly defined in the present invention.

The methods disclosed herein include one or more acts or steps for achieving the method described above. Method acts and/or steps may be interchanged with each other without departing from the scope of the claims. In other words, unless a specific order for acts or steps is specified, the order and/or use of specific acts and/or steps may be modified without departing from the scope of the claims.

As used herein, a phrase referring to “at least one of” in a list of items refers to any combination of these items, including single members. As an example, "at least one of a, b, or c:" means a, b, c, ab, ac, bc, and abc, as well as any combination with multiples of the same element (e.g., aa , aaa, aab, aac, abb, acc, bb, bbb, bbc, cc, and ccc or any other ordering of a, b, and c).

As used herein, the term “determining” encompasses a wide variety of operations. For example, “determining” may include calculating, computing, processing, deriving, investigating, looking up (eg, looking up in a table, database, or other data structure), ascertaining, etc. . Also, “determining” may include receiving (eg, receiving information), accessing (accessing data in a memory), and the like. Also, “determining” may include resolving, choosing, choosing, establishing, and the like.

The above description is merely illustrative of the technical spirit of the present invention, and various modifications and variations will be possible without departing from the essential characteristics of the present invention by those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains.

Therefore, the embodiments disclosed in the present invention are not intended to limit the technical spirit of the present invention, but to explain, and the scope of the technical spirit of the present invention is not limited by these embodiments. The protection scope of the present invention should be construed by the following claims, and all technical ideas within the scope equivalent thereto should be construed as being included in the scope of the present invention.

100...Game program providing device 200...Game program providing system

Claims (12)

A method for providing a game program linked to a broadcasting content providing platform, the method comprising:
identifying, by the game program providing apparatus, a transmission request for broadcast content provided by the broadcast content providing platform in association with the game program from the user of the game program; and
When it is identified that there is a transmission request of the user for the broadcast content, the game program providing device provides a graphic object providing the broadcast content to a region of a game interface of the game program
including,
The operation of the game program providing device identifying the transmission request for the broadcast content includes:
A game program in which the game program providing device identifies that there is a request for transmission of the broadcast content when the character in the game program of the user approaches the character in the game program of the broadcast content provider providing the broadcast content by a predetermined distance or less How to provide. delete According to claim 1,
The operation of the game program providing device identifying the transmission request for the broadcast content includes:
When there is an input of the user for receiving the broadcast content in the game program, the game program providing device identifies that there is a transmission request for the broadcast content
How to provide game programs. According to claim 1,
When the game program providing device provides the broadcast content to one area of the game interface of the game program,
An operation of the game program providing device providing a chat message generated in the broadcast content providing platform to one area of the game interface
A method of providing a game program further comprising a. According to claim 1,
When the game program providing device provides the broadcast content to one area of the game interface of the game program,
Counting, by the game program providing device, the user as a viewer watching the broadcast content
A method of providing a game program further comprising a. According to claim 1,
When the game program providing device provides the broadcast content to one area of the game interface of the game program,
An operation of the game program providing apparatus providing a chatting message identical to the chatting message generated by the user's game character in the game program to a chatting window of the broadcast content providing platform
A method of providing a game program further comprising a. In the game program providing device linked with the broadcasting content providing platform,
a communication unit for performing communication with the user terminal;
A processor for identifying, from a user of the game program, a transmission request for broadcast content provided by the broadcast content providing platform in conjunction with the game program
including,
The processor is
When there is a user's request for transmission of the broadcast content, a game interface of the game program in which a graphic object providing the broadcast content is disposed in one area is provided to the user terminal through the communication unit,
The processor is
A game program providing apparatus for identifying that there is a transmission request for the broadcast content when the character in the game program of the user approaches the character in the game program of the broadcast content provider providing the broadcast content by a predetermined distance or less. delete 8. The method of claim 7,
The processor is
When there is an input of the user for receiving the broadcast content in the game program, identifying that there is a transmission request for the broadcast content
Game program providing device. 8. The method of claim 7,
When the broadcast content is provided in one area of the game interface of the game program,
The processor is
Providing a chat message generated in the broadcast content providing platform to one area of the game interface
Game program providing device. 8. The method of claim 7,
When the broadcast content is provided in one area of the game interface of the game program,
The processor is
Counting the user as a viewer watching the broadcast content
Game program providing device. 8. The method of claim 7,
When the broadcast content is provided in one area of the game interface of the game program,
The processor is
A game program providing apparatus for providing a chatting message identical to a chatting message generated by the user's game character in the game program to a chatting window of the broadcast content providing platform.

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