JP2002143559A - Network participation game system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a network participation game system providing a game execution environment that allows participation through a network to content providers wishing to provide game type content to consumers as an environment for operating the network participation type game in which many consumers can participate and enabling competition with many consumers using the game type content of providers. SOLUTION: The network participation type game system has a plurality of personal servers correspondingly connected to data processing terminals for consumers of a plurality of consumers as users of a game through a communication circuit and local servers correspondingly connected to a data processing device for content providers as provides of game content through a communication circuit and connected to a plurality of personal servers through a communication circuit.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a game system in which a plurality of consumers who are users of a game access a network from their own consumer data processing terminal, and a content provider from which game contents are provided is provided by its own content provider. The present invention relates to a net participation game system that receives game content provided from a data processing device via a network and executes a game.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In early network participation games,
As disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H11-319319, game content is stored in each game terminal, a game is executed by the game terminal itself, information obtained by the terminal is sent to the center, and the information is sent to the center. And each terminal was notified.

As disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 4-156876, there is disclosed a game system in which a consumer can execute a variety of game software while staying at home. That is, a desired game software is selected from among the game software stored in the host computer using the game system at each home, and the selected game software is read into the game system at home via a telephone line and executed. Is what you do. Therefore, the user can easily obtain the game software and receive a service rich in interest. A game system in which a host computer having game software and a terminal device at home are connected via a telephone line, the game software stored in the host computer is read, and a game is played only between the two. Are known.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-327835 discloses a package for reading and processing data corresponding to an area with a large amount of information (such as a background) in a game screen from a package medium and outputting it as first image data. A communication game apparatus comprising: a media processing means; and synthesis means for generating image data of a game screen by synthesizing image data of an area having a small amount of information (such as an appearance character) in the game screen, and the communication game apparatus. Is connected via a communication line, and a communication game management device having image data transmission means for transmitting image data to the communication game device via the communication line is disclosed. It is said that the characters can be used.

[0005] Most of the conventional proposals for providing a game content itself via these networks and making the battles over the network more complex and more real-time have generally involved connecting a plurality of terminals to a single server. The game is made possible by centralized control by the server.

For example, as a conventional device indicating connection via a network, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-829, a horse racing game or the like is implemented by a computer system using a game machine in a game center and a home game machine. Network game system for relaying, and JP-A-9-19-1
As disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 55062, there is a network terminal connected to a game terminal device via a communication line to a communication control server and a host computer (game management device).

[0007] As a conventional device showing a configuration in which a specific type of terminal is connected, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-294260, a plurality of participants use a game gear as a terminal, and a TV game machine is used. , A game network system using a network line such as a karaoke box as disclosed in JP-A-8-289973,
As disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 1-57217, there is a network bingo game system in which a POS terminal is used as a game terminal and connected to a game server via a POS network.

[0008] As a conventional apparatus showing a technique of increasing the variety of a game by processing of a server and cooperation between a server and a terminal, a synchronous command and a priority command are processed as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H11-331221. A data transmission method to be executed by another processing device without changing the order or transmission order, a game system for displaying images in real time to suppress image display delay as disclosed in JP-A-2000-42247, and JP-A-2000-61143 A game system that can effectively utilize a transmission band as described in JP-A-2000-107440 and obtain an image substantially similar to an image generated at the time of display, and a game player as disclosed in JP-A-2000-107440. Game system in which it is difficult to recognize the timing of thinning out or supplementing audio information on a screen. 67, a game system capable of increasing the efficiency of compression transmission processing for an image that is difficult to compress, an interactive system for verifying an event time series as disclosed in JP-A-7-68051. There are safety systems for remote participation in games.

[0009]

As shown in FIG. 9 (a), all of the above-mentioned conventional systems have a configuration in which a plurality of terminals are connected to one server, so that data communication typified by the Internet in the future will take place. When the number of consumers increases explosively, there is a risk that game response may deteriorate due to congestion of the game server and processing may become impossible.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-288393 discloses FIG.
As shown in (b), in a network game system composed of a plurality of game servers, increasing the total number of game terminals that can simultaneously participate in the network game system by accommodating a plurality of players on each game server. However, from the viewpoint of one server, this is a game service that is closed to a consumer who has participated in the server via a network and provides a game service. There is a problem that it is not realized.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. Hei 9-6700 discloses FIG.
As shown in (c), a plurality of servers are connected in a ring via a dedicated line, the communication direction between the servers is one-way, and each server transmits data from an upstream server of an adjacent server. The server receives data and transmits the data including the received data and its own data to a server on the downstream side thereof. A method of sequentially merging own character information and the like from upstream to downstream by a network system in which necessary data is distributed is disclosed. In this method, when the number of participating consumers increases, as the link becomes larger,
There is a problem that it takes time until the character information is distributed to all servers, and the real-time property is impaired.

In each of the conventional systems described above, there is a problem that the number of consumers that can participate is limited and the real-time performance is limited due to the processing capacity limit of the server that performs centralized control.

The present invention has been made in view of the above,
The purpose of the game is to provide a content provider who wants to provide game-type content to consumers as an environment for operating a network participation game in which an unspecified number of consumers can participate via a network. It is an object of the present invention to provide an online participation game system which provides an execution environment and enables a consumer to make a competition communication with an unspecified number of consumers by using the game type content of each provider.

[0014]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, each of a plurality of consumers who are users of a game accesses a network from their own consumer data processing terminal, A net participating game system in which a content provider, which is a game content provider, receives a game content provided from its own content provider data processing device via a network and executes a game, wherein the plurality of consumers A plurality of personal servers respectively connected to the data processing terminals via a communication line, and a plurality of personal servers connected via a communication line corresponding to the content provider data processing device of the content provider; Connected via a communication network To have and a local server,
The local server is a content provider communication unit that receives game content including a game image, a sound, a game program, and a game name transmitted from the content provider data processing device together with a content registration signal, and stores the received game content. And stores the address of the local server, transmits the game name of the received game content together with the local server address as a game registration signal to the plurality of personal servers via a communication network, A server-to-server communication means for receiving a game use request signal transmitted from a personal server, and further transmitting a content distribution signal to a personal server at a personal server address supplied together with the content distribution signal; Based on a game use request signal received by the server-to-server communication means, a registered game list including a game name, a busy flag indicating that the game is being used, and a user list including a consumer name, a personal server address, and a usage time is generated and held. Receiving the content distribution command from the content transfer control processing means, which starts counting up the usage time, further outputs a content distribution command including the game name and the personal server address, and A game content corresponding to a game name included in the content distribution instruction is read from the content storage database, and a content distribution signal including a game video, a sound, and a game program constituting the game content is generated. Pa Content data transfer means for supplying to the server-to-server communication means for transmission to the personal server at the sonar server address, wherein each of the personal servers includes a game name and a game name transmitted from the server-to-server communication means of the local server. Receiving a game registration signal including the address of the local server,
A server-to-server communication unit that receives a content distribution signal including the game video, audio, and game program transmitted from the local server, and further transmits a game use request signal to the corresponding local server; A content storage database storing a game registration signal including the received game name and the address of the local server, and a content distribution signal including the game video, audio, and game program received by the inter-servam communication means, and a corresponding one of the personal servers. Receives a game participation request signal including a game name and a game operation signal including a command name transmitted from the consumer data processing terminal, and receives a game stream data signal including game video and audio and transmits to the consumer data processing terminal. Consumer through Means for generating a game use request signal obtained by adding a consumer name of the consumer data processing terminal and an address of the personal server to a game participation request signal including a game name received by the consumer communication means. The signal is supplied to the server-to-server communication means to transmit the signal to the corresponding local server, and when the content distribution signal including the game video, audio, and game program received by the server-to-server communication means is stored in the content storage database, Receives and holds the game program included in the content distribution signal, outputs a transfer command including a stream block and a personal server address according to the game program, and outputs a command name from the consumer data processing terminal received by the consumer communication unit. Including Stream transfer control processing means for receiving a game operation signal, processing the game operation signal in accordance with the stored game program, and outputting a transfer instruction including a stream block and a personal server address; and the stream transfer control processing means. , Receiving a transfer command including a stream block and a personal server address from the content server, synthesizing the stream block with game video and audio from the content storage database to generate a game stream data signal including game video and audio. The present invention comprises a stream data synthesizing and transferring means for supplying a stream data signal to the consumer communication means in order to transmit the stream data signal to a consumer data processing terminal.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the local server receives the game content from the data processing device for the content provider, stores the game content in the content storage database, and includes the game name of the game content. Send the registration signal to multiple personal servers,
In addition, based on a game use request signal received from the personal server, a registered game list including a user list including a game name, a consumer name, a personal server address, a use time, and the like is generated and held, and counting up of the use time is started. Then, a content distribution command including the game name and the personal server address is generated, the game content corresponding to the game name included in the content distribution command is read from the content storage database, and a content distribution signal is generated. Each of the personal servers receives the game registration signal and the content distribution signal from the local server, stores them in the content storage database, and outputs the game name and the consumer name in the game participation request signal from the consumer data processing terminal. A game use request signal with a personal server address is generated and transmitted to the local server, and a content distribution signal transmitted from the local server is received in response to the game use request signal, and the game stream data signal is transmitted to the consumer. The game processing signal is transmitted to the data processing terminal, the game operation signal received from the consumer data processing terminal is processed according to the game program, and a transfer instruction including a stream block and a personal server address is output. The video and audio are combined to generate a game stream data signal, which is transmitted to the consumer data processing terminal, so that each consumer can participate by a personal server provided independently for the consumer data processing terminal. That consumer number without being restricted as in the prior art, fast game process, to allow real-time operation and competition, it is possible to widen the versatility of the game.

The present invention according to claim 2 provides the invention according to claim 1.
In the invention described in the above, when the content transfer control processing means of the local server receives a game use request signal from the server-to-server communication means, the content transfer control processing means has already been based on the registered game list held in the content transfer control processing means. If another consumer identifies that the game is in use, participation in all personal servers corresponding to the consumer using the game, consisting of the name of the consumer using the game and the personal server address A participant notification signal generating means for generating a participant notification signal including a user list and supplying the participant notification signal to the server-to-server communication means for transmitting the participant notification signal to all of the personal servers; Receiving the participant notification signal, A participant notification signal transmitting means for transmitting to a personal server, wherein the inter-server communication means of the personal server receives a participant notification signal including a participant user list including the consumer name and the personal server address, and performs stream transfer. A participant notification signal transfer means for transferring to the control processing means, wherein when the stream transfer control processing means receives a participant notification signal including a participant user list including the consumer name and the personal server address, the consumer name and The gist of the present invention is to have a participation list holding means for holding a participation user list including a personal server address.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, when the local server receives the game use request signal, and when another consumer is already using the game, all the personal servers using the game are used. The participant notification signal including the participant user list is generated and transmitted to the personal server. When the personal server receives the participant notification signal including the participant user list, the personal server holds the participant user list. Based on this, all consumers participating in the game can be identified, and a real-time match can be executed for all participating consumers.

Further, the present invention according to claim 3 provides the invention according to claim 2.
In the invention described, when the stream transfer control processing means of the personal server receives the game operation signal including a command name from the consumer communication means,
If it is identified from the participating user list held by the stream transfer control processing means that another consumer is already using the game, the game stream competition user is sent to all personal servers corresponding to the other consumer. A game stream battle user information signal transmission control means for supplying an inter-server communication means for transmitting an information signal, wherein the inter-server communication means of the personal server receives the game stream battle user information signal and outputs a stream block And a game server for supplying a personal server address to the stream data synthesizing / transferring means. The stream data synthesizing / transferring means transmits the stream block and the personal server address from the game stream opponent user information signal receiving means. When receiving the game stream, the video stream and the video from the content storage database are combined with the stream block, and the game stream data signal including the video and the voice is supplied to the consumer communication means for transmission to the personal server at the personal server address. The point is to have means.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, when the personal server receives the game operation signal and identifies that another consumer is already using the game, the personal server transmits the game operation signal to the other consumer. The game server sends the game stream battle user information signal to all the corresponding personal servers, and upon receiving the game stream battle user information signal, the personal server synthesizes the game video and audio from the content storage database into the stream block, and outputs the game stream data signal. Is transmitted to the personal server, the information of the opponent can be captured in real time, and the real-time game operation and the battle can be executed at high speed.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect of the present invention, the consumer communication means of the personal server receives a game end signal from a corresponding consumer data processing terminal and the stream transfer control processing means. When the stream transfer control processing means receives the game end signal, it terminates the game processing and holds the stream transfer control processing means in the participation list holding means of the stream transfer control processing means. A game use stop notification signal transmission control that generates a game use stop notification signal including a consumer name and a game name based on a participating user list including a consumer name and a personal server address, and supplies the signal to a server-to-server communication means for transmission to a local server Means for communicating between said local servers. Means for receiving a game use stop notification signal and supplying the game use stop notification signal to the content transfer control processing means, and wherein the content transfer control processing means includes the game name including the consumer name and the game name. When the stop notification signal is received, the counting up of the usage time corresponding to the consumer name performed in the content transfer control processing means is stopped, and a content transmission stop command for the consumer name is supplied to the content data transfer means. In addition, a game use status notification signal including the name of the consumer who stopped the game, the personal server address, and the usage time up to the time when the count-up was stopped is supplied to the content provider communication means so as to be transmitted to the content provider data processing device. Sugege It has a beam utilization notification signal transmission control unit, the content provider communication means, and summarized in that with a game usage notification signal transmitting means for transmitting the game usage status notifying unit in the content provider data processing system.

According to the present invention, when the personal server receives the game end signal, the personal server terminates the game processing, generates a game use stop notification signal, and transmits the signal to the local server. When the game use stop notification signal is received, the counting of the use time corresponding to the consumer name is stopped, and a game use status notification signal including the stopped use time is transmitted to the content provider data processing device. In the data processing device for the content provider, it is possible to charge the consumer using the usage time information of the game usage status notification signal.

[0022]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a net participation game system according to one embodiment of the present invention. The network participation game system shown in FIG. 1 includes a plurality of consumer data processing terminals 1A, 1B, and 1C owned by a plurality of consumers A, B, and C, respectively, who are game users.
And a plurality of personal servers 3A, 3B, 3 connected via a communication network to provide a consumer space.
C, and a plurality of data processing devices 5a, 5b for the content provider a provided in the plurality of content providers a, b, which are the game content providing sources, respectively.
And a plurality of local servers 7a and 7b which are connected via a communication network and provide a content space. The plurality of personal servers 3A, 3A
B and 3C are mutually connected in a mesh form, and the plurality of local servers 7a and 7b are connected to all the personal servers 3A,
Radially connected to 3B and 3C.

FIG. 2 corresponds to the data processing device 5a for the content provider a, between the personal servers 3A, 3B constituting the net participation game system shown in FIG. 1 and the corresponding consumer data processing terminals 1A, 1B. Between the local server 7a and the personal server 3
FIG. 9 is a diagram showing exchange of stream data and control signals between A and 3B and a corresponding local server 7a. In FIG. 2, the local server 7a and the personal servers 3A and 3B respectively include a content storage database 41 and a content storage database 79, which will be described later, constituting a game cache for accelerating a processing operation including a content read / write operation. Have. In FIG. 2 and subsequent drawings, thick arrows indicate the flow of stream data such as video, audio, and game programs, and thin arrows indicate the flow of control signals.

As shown in FIG. 2, the data processing device 5a for the content provider a sends the corresponding local server 7
The game contents including the game video, the sound, the game program, and the game name are transmitted as stream data to a, and in response to this, the game name and the local server address are transmitted from the local server 7a to each of the personal servers 3A and 3B. The included game registration signal is transmitted as a control signal.

Also, the consumer data processing terminal 1
A, 1B transmits a game participation request signal including a game name to the corresponding personal server 3A, 3B, and includes a game name, a user name, and a personal server address from the personal servers 3A, 3B to the local server 7a. A game use request signal is transmitted as a control signal, and a content distribution signal including game video, audio, and a game program is transmitted as stream data from the local server 7a to the consumer data processing terminals 1A and 1B, and the personal servers 3A and 3B are transmitted. , A game stream data signal including game video and audio is transmitted as stream data to the corresponding consumer data processing terminals 1A and 1B, respectively.

Further, the consumer data processing terminal 1
A, 1B transmits a game operation signal including a command name to the corresponding personal server 3A, 3B as a control signal. Also, a participant notification signal including a participant user list including a user name and a personal server address is transmitted from the local server 7a to the personal server 3B as a control signal.

A game end signal is transmitted as a control signal from the consumer B data processing terminal 1B to the personal server 3B, and a game use stop notification signal including a user name and a game name is transmitted from the personal server 3B to the local server 7a. A game use status notification signal including a user name, a personal server address, and a use time is transmitted as a control signal from the local server 7a to the corresponding content provider a data processing device 5a.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a detailed configuration of the personal server 3A used in the net participation game system shown in FIG. Here, the configuration of the personal server 3A will be described as a representative, but the other personal servers 3B and 3C have the same configuration.

As shown in FIG. 3, the personal server 3A
Is the consumer communication means 31, the server communication means 3
3, a stream transfer control processing unit 35, a stream data combining and transferring unit 37, a personal database 39, and a content storage database 41.

The consumer communication means 31 holds the address of the corresponding consumer A data processing terminal 1A, that is, the consumer address, and includes a game participation request signal including a game name and an instruction name from the consumer A data processing terminal 1A. When a game operation signal and a game end signal are received, each of the received signals is transferred to the stream transfer control processing means 35. When a game stream data signal including game video and audio is received from the stream data synthesizing transfer means 37, this signal is received. It is configured to transfer the received signal to the consumer A data processing terminal 1A.

The server-to-server communication means 33 holds the address of the personal server 3A itself, that is, its own personal server address, and stores the local server 7a (in FIG. 3, the local server 7a is shown as an example; 7b), the game registration signal including the game name is received and stored in the content storage database 41, and the participating user including the user name and the personal server address of the user as the participating user list from the local server 7a. When the participant notification signal including the list is received, the participant notification signal is transferred to the stream transfer control processing means 35, and when the content distribution signal including the game video, audio, and the game program is received from the local server 7a, this is transmitted to the content storage database 41.
When the game use request signal including the game name and the user name is received from the stream transfer control processing means 35,
After giving the address of the personal server 3A itself held by the inter-server communication means 33 itself to this signal, the signal is transferred to the local server 7a, and the stream transfer control processing means 35 stops using the game including the user name and the game name. When the notification signal is received, it is transferred to the local server 7a. When the game stream block and the destination personal server address are received from the stream data synthesizing and transferring means 37, the destination personal server 3B ( In FIG. 3, the personal server 3B is shown as an example, but the personal server 3B may be transferred to another personal server 3C. On the contrary, when a game stream battle user information signal is received from the external personal server 3B, the stream is transmitted. Data synthesis transfer means 37 It is configured to forward the stream block and a personal server address.

The stream transfer control processing means 35 receives the game program stored in the content storage database 41, and
1 is added to the user name which is a consumer name stored in the personal database 39 in advance to the game participation request signal, and a game use request signal is supplied to the server-to-server communication means 33.
A game use stop notification signal is formed by adding the held user name and game name to the game end signal received from 1, and this signal is supplied to the server-to-server communication means 33.
Upon receiving a game operation signal including an instruction name from the consumer communication means 31, the game operation signal is processed according to the game program, and a stream block number, a personal server address, and a transfer instruction are supplied to the stream data synthesizing and transferring means 37. Server communication means 33
Receives a participant notification signal including a participant list composed of a user name and a personal server address from the user, and transfers the personal character stored in the personal database 39 to a plurality of personal server addresses in the participant list. It is configured to send a transfer command to the combining transfer means 37.

The stream data synthesizing transfer means 37 synthesizes the game video and audio from the content storage database 41 with the stream block received from the inter-server communication means 33 in accordance with the transfer command received from the stream transfer control processing means 35, and It is configured to be supplied as a stream data signal to the consumer communication means 31 and to transfer the personal character of the personal database 39 to the inter-server communication means 33.

The personal database 39 stores a user name as a consumer name of the consumer A data processing terminal 1A corresponding to the personal server 3A and a virtual character.

The content storage database 41 forms a game cache for storing a game content list, and stores a game registration signal including a game name received from the server-to-server communication means 33 and a content distribution signal including game video, audio, and a game program. I do.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a detailed configuration of the local server 7a used in the network game system shown in FIG. Here, the configuration of the local server 7a will be described as a representative, but the other local servers 7b have the same configuration.

As shown in FIG. 4, the local server 7a
Has a server-to-server communication unit 71, a content provider communication unit 73, a content transfer control processing unit 75, a content data transfer unit 77, and a content storage database 79.

The server-to-server communication means 71 holds its own local server address, which is the address of the local server 7a itself, and a personal server 3B (in FIG. 4, the personal server 3B is shown as an example. A game use request signal including a game name, a user name, and a personal server address received from the personal server 3A or 3C is supplied to the content transfer control processing means 75, and the personal server 3B
When the game use stop notification signal including the user name and the game name is received from the content transfer control processing means 75, the signal is transferred to the content transfer control processing means 75. The personal server 3B adds the own local server address held by itself and transmits it to the personal server 3B, and sends a participant notification signal including a participant user list including the user name and the personal server address received from the content transfer control processing means 75. And a content distribution signal including the game video, audio, and game program received from the content data transfer unit 77 is transferred to the personal server 3B.

The content provider communication means 73 holds the address of the content provider a corresponding to the local server 7a, that is, the address of the data processor 5a for the content provider a, and also stores the address of the game from the data processor 5a for the content provider a. Upon receiving a content registration signal composed of video, audio, game program, and game name, the signal is stored in the content storage database 79, and the registered game name is supplied to the content transfer control processing means 75. Is transmitted to the data processing device 5a for the content provider a including the user name, the personal server address, and the usage time received from the server.

The content transfer control processing means 75 sends a game registration signal including the game name to the server-to-server communication means 71 based on the registration data name received from the content provider communication means 73, and receives the game registration signal from the server-to-server communication means 71. The game name, busy flag,
And a registered game list including a user list including a user name, a personal server address, and a use time is created and held in the content transfer control processing means itself. And a content distribution command indicating the start of transmission composed of a personal server address.
7 and receives a game use stop notification signal from the server-to-server communication means 71, stops counting up the usage time held therein, and sends a content distribution instruction indicating transmission stop to the content data transfer means 77. , And a game use status notification signal is supplied to the content provider communication means 73.

When the content data transfer means 77 receives a content distribution command indicating the start of transmission from the content transfer control processing means 75, the content data transfer means 77 reads out the game video, audio, and game programs stored in the content storage database 79, and It is configured to be supplied to the inter-server communication means 71 as a distribution signal.

The content storage database 79 constitutes a game cache for storing a game content list, and stores a content registration signal including game video, audio, a game program, and a game name received from the content provider communication means 73.

Next, the game processing of the network game system shown in FIG. 1 will be described with reference to the sequence diagrams shown in FIGS.

First, the operation at the time of registering the game content will be described with reference to FIG.

When a game provider, for example, a content provider a intends to register a game content, a game content including a game video, a sound, a game program, and a game name is registered from the data processor 5a for the content provider a. Along with the signal, it transmits to its own local server 7a.

When the local server 7a receives the game content and the content registration signal through the content provider communication means 73, the content provider communication means 73 transmits the game content including the game video, audio, game program, and game name to the content registration signal. Is supplied to the content storage database 79, the game content is stored in the content storage database 79,
The registered game name is supplied to the content transfer control processing means 75. Upon receiving the registered game name, the content transfer control processing means 75 supplies a game registration signal including the game name to the server-to-server communication means 71. Communication means between servers 7
When receiving the game registration signal, 1 adds the address of its own local server to the game registration signal including the game name and transmits the signal to all personal servers 3. Each of the local servers 7a and 7b holds the addresses of all the personal servers 3 in advance, for example, in the server-to-server communication means 71, the content transfer control processing means 75, the content storage database 79, and the like. Here, when the personal servers 3A, 3B, 3C and the local servers 7a, 7b are described as representatives, alphabetic symbols are omitted, and the personal servers 3 and the local server 7 are described. .

In each personal server 3,
When the server communication unit 33 receives the game registration signal including the game name, the server registration unit 33 stores the game registration signal including the game name in the content storage database 41 together with the address of the local server 7a that has transmitted the signal.

As described above, the registration of the game content from the data processor 5a for the content provider a is performed in the local server 7a dedicated to itself and all the personal servers 3, and as a result, the content stored in the local server 7a is stored. The database 79 stores game contents including game video, audio, game programs, and game names, and the content storage database 41 of each personal server 3 stores game registration signals including game names.

Next, the operation when the consumer participates in the game will be described.

When a user of the game, for example, consumer A intends to participate in the game, as shown in FIG. 5, the consumer A's data processing terminal 1A includes a game name for the personal server 3A dedicated to himself / herself. A game participation request signal is transmitted.

In the personal server 3A, when the consumer communication means 31 receives a game participation request signal including the game name from the consumer A data processing terminal 1A, the signal is supplied to the stream transfer control processing means 35, Check if the first game is already registered. If it has been registered, the stream transfer control processing means 35 adds the user name stored in the personal database 39 to the game participation request signal and generates a game name and a game use request signal including the user name. It is supplied to the communication means 33. The server-to-server communication means 33 assigns the address of its own personal server 3A held by itself to the game use request signal, and transmits the signal to the local server 7a holding the game.

When the local server 7a receives the game use request signal including the game name, user name, and personal server address from the personal server 3A by the inter-server communication means 71, the signal is transferred to the content transfer control processing means 75. I do. Content transfer control processing means 7
5 creates a registered game list including a game name, a use flag, and a user list including a user name, a personal server address, and a use time from the game use request signal received from the server-to-server communication means 71, and performs the content transfer control. While holding it in the processing means itself, it starts counting up the usage time in the processing means and supplies the content data transfer means 77 with a content distribution command indicating the start of transmission consisting of the game name and the personal server address.

When the content data transfer means 77 receives a content distribution command indicating the start of transmission composed of a game name and a personal server address, the content data transfer means 77 is composed of a game video, a sound, and a game program corresponding to the game name from the content storage database 79. The game content is read out and supplied to the server-to-server communication means 71 as a content distribution signal.

When the server communication means 71 receives the game content including the game video, audio, and the game program together with the content distribution signal, it transmits the game content and the content distribution signal to the personal server 3A.

As shown in FIG. 7, the game video and audio are composed of a plurality of game stream blocks, each of which is provided with a block number. The game program is similar to the game program shown in FIG. When a game operation command such as an A button, a B button, a right button, a left button, or the like is sent from a consumer, processing such as interruption, resumption, and execution of a designated block is performed as processing corresponding to the currently executed game stream block. Perform

In the personal server 3A, when the server-to-server communication means 33 receives the content distribution signal including the game content, the content distribution signal including the game content including the game video, audio, and the game program is stored in the content storage database 41. . Further, the stream transfer control processing means 35 receives the game program stored in the content storage database 41 and holds the game program therein.

When the stream transfer control processing means 35 receives the game program, it supplies a transfer instruction including a stream block number and a personal server address to the stream data synthesizing transfer means 37 according to the game program. When receiving the transfer command including the stream block number and the personal server address from the stream transfer control processing means 35, the stream data synthesizing transfer means 37 stores the game video and audio from the content storage database 41 into the stream block according to the transfer command. The combined data is supplied to the consumer communication means 31 as a game stream data signal including a game video and a sound.

When the consumer communication means 31 receives a game stream data signal including game video and audio from the stream data synthesizing and transferring means 37, it transfers the signal to the consumer A data processing terminal 1A. As a result, in the data processing terminal 1A for consumer A,
The game in which the content A is desired to participate or use is displayed on the display screen, and the game is started. The consumer A starts the game while watching the displayed game, and the input means of the consumer A data processing terminal 1A. To input a game operation signal including a command name. The game operation signal including the instruction name is transmitted from the consumer A data processing terminal 1A to the personal server 3A, and is received by the consumer communication means 31 in the personal server 3A.

Upon receiving the game operation signal including the command name from the consumer A data processing terminal 1A, the consumer communication means 31 supplies this signal to the stream transfer control processing means 35. Stream transfer control processing means 3
5 receives the game operation signal including the command name, performs processing according to the game program held by itself, and sends a transfer command consisting of a stream block number and a personal server address to the stream data synthesizing transfer means 3.
7

When the stream data synthesizing and transferring means 37 receives the transfer command including the stream block number and the personal server address from the stream transfer control processing means 35, the stream data combining and transferring means 37 stores the game video from the content storage database 41 into the stream block in accordance with the transfer command. , And synthesizes the sound and supplies it to the consumer communication means 31 as a game stream data signal including the game video and the sound. The consumer communication means 31 transmits the game stream data signal to the consumer A data processing terminal 1A. In this way, the game is continued at the consumer A data processing terminal 1A of the consumer A.

Next, as described above, an operation in the case where another consumer B wants to participate in the game while the consumer A is playing the game will be described.

This operation is similar to the operation when the consumer A tries to participate in the game, as shown in the lower part of FIG.
Transmits a game participation request signal including the game name to the personal server 3B dedicated to itself, and the game participation request signal is transmitted from the personal server 3B to the local server as a game use request signal including the game name, the user name, and the personal server address. 7a.

When the local server 7a receives the game use request signal including the game name, the user name, and the personal server address, as described above, the game name, the user name (consumer B), and the personal server address (the personal server 3B) ), A registered game list including a user list including the usage time is created and held in the content transfer control processing means of the local server 7a, and the usage time therein is started to be counted up. As shown below 5, a content distribution signal including game video, audio, and a game program is transmitted to the personal server 3B. When the personal server 3B receives the content distribution signal,
A game stream data signal including game video and audio is transmitted to the consumer B data processing terminal 1B, thereby causing the consumer B to participate in the game.

As described above, the local server 7a causes the consumer B to participate in the game,
When a registered game list including a user list including a user name, a personal server address, and a use time is created and stored in the content transfer control processing unit 75 of the local server 7a, the content transfer control processing unit 7
5 from the registered game list including the user list including the game name, the user name, and the personal server address held by the user for all the personal servers participating in the game, the user name and the participating user including the personal server address. The participant notification signal including the list is transmitted from the content transfer control processing means 75 of the local server 7a to all the personal servers 3 participating in the game via the inter-server communication means 71 as shown in the upper part of FIG. To notify. In this case, the user name and the personal server address of the participant list included in the participant notification signal are, as shown in the upper part of FIG. 6, the consumer A and its personal server address, and the consumer B and its personal server address. Become.

When the personal server 3 receives the participant notification signal including the participant list by the inter-server communication means 33, the personal server 3 transfers the participant notification signal to the stream transfer control processing means 35. The stream transfer control processing means 35 directly transmits the personal characters of the own consumer stored in the personal database 39 to the personal servers 3 of all the users listed in the participating user list without passing through the local server 7. To deliver. By direct distribution in this manner, information can be exchanged without the central local server 7, and a bottleneck in server processing can be avoided. In addition, each personal server 3 that has received the information determines whether or not the information is necessary for its own consumer (if the game has a multi-stage configuration, selects only the information that is being executed on the same stage, etc.). Is determined), and synthesized with the game video and transmitted to the consumer A data processing terminal 1A.

Next, as described above, in the case where the consumer A participates in the game being executed by the consumer A and the consumers A and B compete with each other, that is, the operation at the time of the competition execution is shown in FIG. This will be described with reference to the description in the middle.

When the consumer B participates in the game executed by the consumer A, the consumer A operates the input means of the data processing terminal 1A for the consumer A in order to perform a desired operation while watching the displayed game. Then, when a game operation signal including the command name is input, the game operation signal including the command name is transmitted from the consumer A data processing terminal 1A to the personal server 3A as shown in the middle of FIG. The data is received by the consumer communication means 31 in the server 3A.

Upon receiving the game operation signal including the command name from the consumer A data processing terminal 1A, the consumer communication means 31 of the personal server 3A supplies the game operation signal to the stream transfer control processing means 35. Upon receiving the game operation signal including the command name, the stream transfer control processing means 35 performs processing in accordance with the game program held by itself, and converts the transfer command consisting of the game stream block and the personal server address into stream data synthesis transfer means 37. To supply.

When the stream data synthesizing and transferring means 37 receives a transfer command including the game stream block and the personal server address (personal server 3A, 3B) from the stream transfer control processing means 35, the stream data synthesizing and transferring means 37 The game video and audio from the content storage database 41 are synthesized,
Consumer A via the consumer communication means 31 as a game stream data signal including game video and audio
The data is transmitted to the data processing terminal 1A, and the game is executed in the data processing terminal 1A for the consumer A of the consumer A. In addition, the stream data synthesizing and transferring means 37, as described above, When a transfer instruction including a game stream block and a personal server address (personal server 3A, 3B) is received, if the presence of an address of another personal server 3B is identified from the personal server address, the game stream block and the personal server The address (personal server 3B) is supplied to the inter-server communication means 33.

Upon receiving the game stream block and the personal server address (personal server 3B) from the stream data synthesizing and transferring means 37, the server-to-server communication means 33 sends a game stream battle user information signal to the personal server 3B of this personal server address. Send When there are more consumers participating in the game, the game stream battle user information signal is transmitted to all the consumers (consumer X) participating in the game. It is.

When the personal server 3B receives the game stream battle information signal from the personal server 3A by the inter-server communication means 33, it transfers the stream block and the personal server address to the stream data synthesizing and transferring means 37.

When the stream data synthesizing and transferring means 37 of the personal server 3B receives the game stream block and the personal server address from the server-to-server communication means 33, it synthesizes the game stream block with the game video and audio from the content storage database 41. ,
Consumer B via the consumer communication means 31 as a game stream data signal including game video and audio
Thus, the game in response to the game operation signal from the consumer A is executed in the consumer B data processing terminal 1B of the consumer B.

Similarly, when the consumer B inputs a game operation signal including an instruction name from the consumer B data processing terminal 1B, the game operation signal is transmitted from the consumer B data processing terminal 1B to the personal server 3B. . Similarly, in response to the game operation signal, the personal server 3B transmits a game stream battle user information signal from the personal server 3B to the personal servers 3 of all consumers including the consumer A participating in the game. You.

Then, a game stream battle user information signal is transmitted from the personal server 3B to the personal server 3A of the consumer A, which is one of them. Upon receiving the game stream battle user information signal, the personal server 3A synthesizes the game stream and the game video and audio from the content storage database 41 into the game stream block in the same manner as described above, and outputs the game stream data signal including the game video and audio. To the consumer A data processing terminal 1A. As a result, the game in response to the game operation signal from the consumer B is also executed in the consumer A data processing terminal 1A of the consumer A.

Finally, the operation for terminating the game will be described with reference to the lower part of FIG.

For example, if consumer A is consumer A
When a game end signal is input from the data processing terminal 1A, the game end signal is transmitted to the personal server 3A. When receiving the game end signal by the consumer communication unit 31, the personal server 3 </ b> A transfers the game end signal to the stream transfer control processing unit 35. Upon receiving the game end signal, the stream transfer control processing means 35 terminates the game processing operation in the personal server 3A, and adds the user name and the game name held by the stream transfer control processing means 35 itself to the game. A use stop notification signal is generated and sent to the inter-server communication means 33. The server-to-server communication means 33 transmits a game use stop notification signal including the user name and the game name to the local server 7a.

When the local server 7a receives the game use stop notification signal including the user name and the game name from the personal server 3A by the inter-server communication means 71, it supplies this signal to the content transfer control processing means 75. When the content transfer control processing means 75 receives the game use stop notification signal, the content transfer control processing means 75 stops counting up the game use time for the consumer A who is the user A, and performs the content data transfer means. A content distribution command indicating stop of transmission to consumer A is sent to 77, and a user name (consumer A) who stopped the game, a personal server address, and a point in time when the count-up is stopped are sent to content provider communication means 73. A game use status notification signal including the use time is supplied. The content provider communication unit 73 transmits the game use status notification signal including the user name, the personal server address, and the use time to the content provider a data processing device 5a. The data processing device 5a for the content provider a charges the consumer A of the user name based on the game use status notification signal including the use time.

Further, when the content data transfer means 77 of the local server 7a receives a content distribution command from the content transfer control processing means 75 indicating that transmission to the consumer A is stopped, the content data transfer means 77 notifies the consumer A that the game has been stopped by another participation. Participant notification signal including a participant list (participant list from which Consumer A has been removed) consisting of the changed user name and personal server address to notify the participant. Person's personal server 3 (3B, ...)
To notify the change of the participating user list.

As described above, in this embodiment, the personal server corresponding to the consumer data processing terminal of each consumer independently processes information from the consumer data processing terminals of all consumers, and For example, it is possible to selectively synthesize only the information of consumers appearing in the same game scene, to enable faster game processing than before, and to enable real-time operation and competition, and to provide a variety of games. Can be expanded.

[0080]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Supports multiple personal servers connected via communication lines corresponding to multiple consumer data processing terminals of multiple consumers who are game users, and supports content provider data processing devices of content providers that provide game content And a local server connected to a plurality of personal servers via a communication network, each of the plurality of consumers accessing the network from their own consumer data processing terminal, Since the provider receives the game content provided from the data processing device for its own content provider via the network and executes the game, the personal server provided independently corresponding to the consumer data processing terminal of each consumer is used. The number of consumers that can be added is not limited as before, and information on opponents can be captured in real time, enabling high-speed game processing, real-time operation and competition, and expanding the variety of games Can be.

According to the present invention, when the local server receives the game use request signal, and when another consumer is already using the game, the participating user list is displayed on all personal servers using the game. Generate a participant notification signal including and send to the personal server,
When the personal server receives the participant notification signal including the participating user list, the personal server retains the participating user list. Therefore, the personal server identifies all consumers participating in the game based on the participating user list, and identifies the participating consumers. Real-time matches can be run against all consumers.

Further, according to the present invention, when the personal server receives the game operation signal and identifies that another consumer is already using the game, all personal computers corresponding to the other consumer are used. The game server sends the game stream match user information signal to the personal server, and upon receiving the game stream match user information signal, the personal server synthesizes the game video and audio from the content storage database into the stream block, and sends the game stream data signal to the personal server. Since the transmission is performed, the information of the opponent can be captured in real time, and the real-time game operation and the battle can be executed at high speed.

According to the present invention, upon receiving the game end signal, the personal server ends the game processing, generates a game use stop notification signal, and transmits the signal to the local server. When the signal is received, the counting of the usage time corresponding to the consumer name is stopped, and the game usage status notification signal including the stopped usage time is transmitted to the content provider data processing device. , The consumer can be charged using the usage time information of the game usage status notification signal.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a net participation game system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 shows a configuration between the personal server constituting the network game system shown in FIG. 1 and the corresponding consumer A data processing terminal, between the content provider data processing device and the corresponding local server, and between the personal server and the personal server. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing exchange of stream data and control signals with a corresponding local server.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a detailed configuration of a personal server 3A used in the network game system shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a detailed configuration of a local server used in the network game system shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a sequence diagram showing a game content registration operation and a game participation operation of the net participation game system shown in FIG. 1;

6 is a sequence diagram showing an operation subsequent to FIG. 5, a battle execution operation, and a game end operation of the network game system shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a game stream block in the personal server of the network game system shown in FIG. 1;

8 is a diagram showing an example of a game program processed in a personal server of the net participation game system shown in FIG.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing a conventional network game.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1A, 1B, 1C Consumer data processing terminal 3A, 3B, 3C Personal server 5a, 5b Content provider data processing device 7a, 7b Local server 31 Consumer communication means 33, 71 Inter-server communication means 35 Stream transfer control processing means 37 Stream Data synthesis and transfer means 41, 79 Content storage database 73 Content provider communication means 75 Content transfer control processing means 77 Content data transfer means

Continued on the front page F term (reference) 2C001 AA00 AA17 CB00 CB01 CB08 CC02 DA00 DA04 5B049 BB61 CC21 DD01 DD05 EE07 FF03 FF04 FF06 FF09 GG04 GG07

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of consumers who are users of a game access a network from their own consumer data processing terminal, and a content provider, which is a game content provider, sends a network from its own content provider data processing device to a network. A game system that receives a game content provided through the Internet and executes the game, wherein a plurality of personal servers connected via communication lines respectively corresponding to the consumer data processing terminals of the plurality of consumers And a local server connected via a communication line corresponding to the content provider data processing device of the content provider and connected to the plurality of personal servers via a communication network. Is Content provider communication means for receiving game content including game video, audio, a game program, and a game name transmitted from the content provider data processing device together with a content registration signal; a content storage database for storing the received game content; Holding the address of the local server, transmitting the game name of the received game content together with the local server address as a game registration signal to the plurality of personal servers via a communication network, and transmitting the game name from the personal server. An inter-server communication means for receiving an incoming game use request signal, and further transmitting a content distribution signal to a personal server at a personal server address supplied together with the content distribution signal; Game name, game use flag indicating that the use of the basis of the over-time use request signal,
A registered game list including a user list including a consumer name, a personal server address, and a use time is generated and held, a count-up of the use time is started, and a content distribution instruction including the game name and the personal server address is further performed. Receiving the content distribution command from the content transfer control processing unit, reading out the game content corresponding to the game name included in the content distribution command from the content storage database, Content data to be generated to generate a content distribution signal including a game video, a sound, and a game program to be configured, and to be supplied to the inter-server communication means in order to transmit the content distribution signal to the personal server at the personal server address. Transfer means, each of the personal servers receives a game registration signal including the game name and the address of the local server transmitted from the server-to-server communication means of the local server, A server-to-server communication means for receiving a content distribution signal including the coming game video, audio, and game program, and further transmitting a game use request signal to a corresponding local server; and a game name and a local server received by the server-to-server communication means. A content registration database storing a game registration signal including the address of the game, a game image, a sound, and a content distribution signal including the game program received by the server-to-server communication means, and transmitted from a corresponding consumer data processing terminal of each personal server. Game name A consumer operation request signal, a game operation signal including a command name, a game stream data signal including a game image and a voice, and a consumer communication means for transmitting the game stream data signal to a consumer data processing terminal; and receiving by the consumer communication means. A game use request signal in which the consumer name of the consumer data processing terminal and the address of the personal server are added to the game participation request signal containing the game name, and transmits the game use request signal to the corresponding local server. When the content distribution signal including the game video, audio, and the game program received by the server-to-server communication means and received by the server-to-server communication means is stored in the content storage database, the game program included in the content distribution signal is Receiving and holding the game A transfer instruction including a stream block and a personal server address is output according to a program, and a game operation signal including an instruction name from a consumer data processing terminal received by the consumer communication means is received, and the game operation signal is held and stored. Stream transfer control processing means for processing according to the game program and outputting a transfer instruction including a stream block and a personal server address; receiving a transfer instruction including the stream block and the personal server address from the stream transfer control processing means; A game video and audio from the content storage database are combined with the stream block to generate a game stream data signal including the game video and audio,
And a stream data synthesizing and transferring means for supplying the consumer communication means for transmitting the game stream data signal to the consumer data processing terminal. 2. The content transfer control processing means of the local server, when receiving a game use request signal from the inter-server communication means, based on a registered game list held in the content transfer control processing means. If another consumer identifies that the game is in use, participation in all personal servers corresponding to the consumer using the game, consisting of the name of the consumer using the game and the personal server address A participant notification signal generating means for generating a participant notification signal including a user list and supplying the participant notification signal to the inter-server communication means for transmitting the participant notification signal to all of the personal servers; The inter-communication means receives the participant notification signal and A participant notification signal transmitting means for transmitting to the personal server, wherein the inter-server communication means of the personal server receives a participant notification signal including a participant user list including the consumer name and the personal server address, and performs stream transfer control. A participant notification signal transfer means for transferring to the processing means, wherein the stream transfer control processing means, upon receiving a participant notification signal including a participant user list including the consumer name and the personal server address, the consumer name and personal information 2. The online participation game system according to claim 1, further comprising participation list holding means for holding a participation user list including a server address. 3. The stream transfer control processing means of the personal server, when receiving the game operation signal including a command name from the consumer communication means, stores the participating user list held by the stream transfer control processing means. If it is determined from the above that another consumer is already using the game, the game stream supplied to the server-to-server communication means to transmit the game stream battle user information signal to all personal servers corresponding to the other consumer A game stream having a fighting user information signal transmission control means, wherein the inter-server communication means of the personal server receives the game stream fighting user information signal and supplies a stream block and a personal server address to the stream data synthesizing transfer means; Competition user information Receiving the stream block and the personal server address from the game stream battle user information signal receiving means, the stream data combining and transferring means combines the stream block with the game video and audio from the content storage database. 3. A net participation game system according to claim 2, further comprising means for supplying a game stream data signal including game video and audio to consumer communication means for transmission to the personal server at the personal server address. 4. The consumer communication means of the personal server includes a game end signal receiving means for receiving a game end signal from a corresponding consumer data processing terminal and supplying the game end signal to the stream transfer control processing means. The control processing means, upon receiving the game end signal, terminates the game processing and, on the basis of the consumer name and the participating user list comprising the personal server address held in the participation list holding means of the stream transfer control processing means. Generates a game use stop notification signal including the game name and the game name,
A game use stop notification signal transmission control means for supplying the server use communication signal to the local server for transmission to the local server, wherein the server use communication means of the local server receives the game use stop notification signal and receives content transfer control processing means Receiving the game use stop notification signal including the consumer name and the game name, the content transfer control processing means performs the operation in the content transfer control processing means. Stop counting up the usage time corresponding to the consumer name, supply a content transmission stop command for the consumer name to the content data transfer unit, and determine the name of the consumer who stopped the game;
A game use status notification signal transmission control unit for supplying the content provider communication unit with a game use status notification signal including a personal server address and a use time up to the time point when the counting up is stopped, to the content provider communication unit; 3. The net-participating game system according to claim 2, wherein the content provider communication unit includes a game usage status notification signal transmitting unit that transmits the game usage status notification unit to the content provider data processing device.