JP2005286670A - Mobile information terminal, server apparatus, network game system, network game control method, and computer program therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a mobile information terminal and a server apparatus capable of interrupting a game at the arrival of a call in a network game performed by the mobile information terminal via the server apparatus. <P>SOLUTION: The mobile information terminal 10 transmits a game program interruption request to the game server apparatus 20 in the case of receiving a start event of interruption processing from an operating system and transmits a game restart request to the game server apparatus 20 when receiving an end event of the interruption processing. When receiving the game interruption request from the mobile information terminal 10, the game server apparatus 20 transmits a game interruption notice to the other mobile information terminals 10 than the mobile information terminal 10 being a transmission source of the game interruption request, stores the mobile information terminal 10 of transmission source as being in an interruption state, and in the case of receiving the game restart request from the mobile information terminal 10 of transmission source the game server apparatus 20 releases the registered interruption state of the mobile information terminal 10 and transmits the game restart notice to all the mobile information terminals 10. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

The present invention relates to a portable information terminal that executes a network game, a server device, an incoming call control system, an incoming call control method, and a computer program thereof.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, various proposals have been made as to what processing is performed when an incoming call is received when a function other than a telephone, such as a game, is used in a mobile phone. For example, Patent Document 1 proposes a technique of saving game data in a memory and resuming the game after the call ends when a call is received while playing a game on a mobile phone.
JP 2001-333153 A

  However, the mobile phone shown in Patent Document 1 can only be interrupted by a mobile phone alone, and in the case of a network-type game played by a plurality of users' mobile information terminals via a server device, There is a problem that it is not possible to interrupt a game on a plurality of users' mobile phones.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to execute a network-type game performed by a plurality of user's portable information terminals via a server device in a portable information terminal such as a cellular phone. Another object of the present invention is to provide a portable information terminal and a server device that can interrupt a game when an incoming call is received.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, the invention described in claim 1 generates event information by a transmission / reception unit connected via a network to a server device provided with a game program, and by incoming calls or user key operations. In the portable information terminal comprising the event generating unit, the event receiving unit that receives the event information from the event generating unit, and the event receiving unit that is being executed when the event receiving unit receives the interrupt event start event information. Game program interruption means for interrupting the game program, and transmitting a game interruption request including an identification number of the terminal itself and interruption reason information indicated by the interruption event to the server device via the transmission / reception unit, and the event reception unit When the event information of the end of interrupt processing is received, the game replay including the identification number of the own terminal is performed. And the game program resuming means for sending a request to the server device via the transceiver, a portable information terminal comprising the.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the game program restarting means receives the game restart notification from the server device via the transmission / reception unit, and stores the interrupted game program. It is characterized by resuming.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in a portable information terminal including a transmission / reception unit connected to a server device including a game program via a network, the transmission / reception unit receives a game interruption notification from the server device. A game program interrupting unit for interrupting the game program being executed; and a game program restarting unit for causing the transmission / reception unit to receive a game restart notification from the server device and restarting the interrupted game program. It is characterized by that.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the third aspect of the present invention, when the game program interruption means receives the game interruption notification and interrupts the game program being executed, the game interruption notification is sent to the game interruption notification. An interruption message configured based on the identification number of the included portable information terminal in the interruption state and the content of interruption reason information is displayed on the display screen.

  The invention according to claim 5 is an identification number of the portable information terminal that is executing the game program in a server device that includes a transmission / reception unit connected to a plurality of portable information terminals via a network and controls the game program. A terminal state storage unit that stores the state of the portable information terminal in association with the portable information terminal, and when the transmission / reception unit receives a game interruption request, the portable information terminal other than the portable information terminal that is the transmission source of the game interruption request A game interruption means for transmitting a game interruption notification to the terminal state storage unit based on the identification information included in the game interruption request, and a transmission / reception unit, If a game resumption request is received from the portable information terminal, the terminal status is determined based on the identification number of the portable information terminal that is the transmission source of the game resumption request. Releases the suspended state registered in the storage unit, a server apparatus being characterized in that and a game resuming unit that transmits the game resumption notification to all the portable information terminal.

  The invention according to claim 6 is a network game system comprising a plurality of portable information terminals and a server device connected to the portable information terminal via a network and controlling a game program. When an interrupt processing start event occurs, a game program interruption request is transmitted to the server device, and when an interrupt processing end event occurs, a game restart request is transmitted to the server device. When a game interruption request is received from an information terminal, a game interruption notification is transmitted to the portable information terminal other than the portable information terminal that is the transmission source of the game interruption request, and the portable information terminal that is the transmission source is suspended. If the game resumption request is received from the portable information terminal as the transmission source, the registered portable information To release the suspended state of the terminal, a network game system and transmits the game resumption notification to all the portable information terminal.

The invention according to claim 7 is a network game control method for a network game system, comprising: a plurality of portable information terminals; and a server device connected to the portable information terminal via a network and controlling a game program. The process of transmitting a game program interruption request to the server device when an interrupt processing start event occurs, and the game interruption request when the server device receives a game interruption request from the portable information terminal. A process of transmitting a game interruption notification to the portable information terminal other than the portable information terminal of the transmission source, registering the portable information terminal as a suspended state, and when an event for ending interrupt processing occurs in the portable information terminal A process of sending a game restart request to the server device;
When the server device receives a game resumption request from the portable information terminal, canceling the suspended state of the registered portable information terminal and transmitting a game resumption notification to all the portable information terminals, A network game control method characterized by

  The invention according to claim 8 is a network game system comprising a plurality of portable information terminals and a server device connected to the portable information terminal via a network and controlling a game program. The computer functions as means for transmitting a game program interruption request to the server device when an interrupt processing start event occurs, and means for transmitting a game restart request to the server device when an interrupt processing end event occurs. It is a computer program to make it.

  The invention according to claim 9 is a network game system comprising: a plurality of portable information terminals; and a server device that is connected to the portable information terminal via a network and controls a game program. When a game interruption request is received from the portable information terminal, a game interruption notification is transmitted to the portable information terminal other than the portable information terminal that is the transmission source of the game interruption request, and the portable information terminal is suspended. Means for registering as, means for canceling the state of the registered portable information terminal when receiving a game resume request from the portable information terminal, and transmitting a game resume notification to all the portable information terminals It is a computer program to make it.

  According to the present invention, when the portable information terminal receives an interrupt processing start event such as an incoming call, the game program is interrupted, and the server device includes the interrupt information indicating the identification number of the own terminal and the reason for the interruption. Send a suspend request. In addition, when an end event of the interrupt process is received, a game resumption request including the identification number of the own terminal is transmitted. Therefore, when sudden interruption events such as incoming calls are started and ended, the information can be notified to the server device of the network game, and the server device can control the network game based on the information. It becomes.

  In addition, according to the present invention, the mobile information terminal is configured to resume the interrupted game by receiving a game resume notification from the server device. Therefore, based on the control on the server device side, the game can be restarted all at once by synchronizing all the portable information terminals.

  In addition, according to the present invention, in other portable information terminals participating in the game other than the portable information terminal that has received the interrupt processing start event, the game interruption notification is received from the server device, the game is interrupted, In addition, the game is resumed by receiving a game resume notification. Therefore, even if one of the mobile information terminals participating in the game is interrupted, the situation is transmitted to all the mobile information terminals via the server device, and the game is restarted all at once by a game restart notification. Can do.

  In addition, according to the present invention, in other portable information terminals participating in a game other than the portable information terminal that has received the interrupt processing start event, the information on the portable information terminal that caused the interruption and the reason for interruption are obtained. It is configured to display. Therefore, the user of another portable information terminal can know that the interrupted state is not a network failure or the like, but an interrupt event that has occurred in the participating portable information terminal. Thereby, it is possible to prevent a network game participant from misrecognizing the state.

  Further, according to the present invention, when the server device receives the game interruption request from the portable information terminal, the server device stores that the portable information terminal is in an interruption state, and other than the portable information terminal that has transmitted the game interruption request. A game interruption notice is transmitted to all the portable information terminals. Further, when a game resumption request is received, the suspended state of the transmission source portable information terminal is canceled, and a game resumption notification is transmitted to all portable information terminals. Therefore, in the network game, when an interrupted state occurs in at least one mobile information terminal, it is possible to interrupt the game of the mobile information terminal participating in the network game. In addition, when the game can be resumed, the network game can be resumed simultaneously on all the portable information terminals.

  According to the present invention, the network game system transmits a game interruption request when an interruption process occurs, and transmits a game resumption request when the interruption process ends. , A game interruption notification is transmitted to a portable information terminal other than the portable information terminal that is the transmission source of the game interruption notification, and a game resumption notification is transmitted to all portable information terminals when a game resumption request is received. It consists of devices. Accordingly, the system provider can provide a system that can interrupt the network game by integrating the portable information terminal and the server device.

Hereinafter, a portable information terminal, a game server device, and a network game system constituted by the portable information terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram showing a network game system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
In the figure, a portable information terminal 10 is a mobile phone, for example, and can make a call via a mobile phone network provided by a communication carrier (not shown). The portable information terminal 10 stores a network game program in a built-in memory, and executes the program under a user operation. The network 30 is, for example, the Internet, and transmits and receives network game data.

  The game server device 20 receives data from the mobile information terminals 10 of a plurality of users via the network 30, and in the case of a game that requires synchronization of game progress, synchronization of data transmitted from each mobile information terminal 10 To send and receive. In the case of a game that does not require strict synchronization, transmission / reception is performed by simply transferring data from one portable information terminal 10 to another portable information terminal 10. These methods may be used in combination depending on the type of game.

FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram showing the portable information terminal 10 and the game server device 20 according to the present embodiment. The configuration of the portable information terminal 10 indicates both a terminal that interrupts a network game when an interrupt event occurs due to an incoming call or the like, and a terminal that interrupts a network game being executed by an instruction from the game server device 20.
In the figure, a portable information terminal 10 includes an event generation unit 11 that generates an interrupt event by an incoming call or the like, an event reception unit 12 that receives the generated interrupt event, a game control unit 13 that controls a network game program, a game The server device 20 includes a transmission / reception unit 17 that communicates with the game server device 20 and a screen display unit 18 that displays information.

The event generation unit 11 is, for example, an operating system, and generates an event when a user operates a key provided in the portable information terminal 10 to start another program in addition to an incoming call.
The event receiving unit 12 receives an event that interrupts the game by the operating system, such as reception of an electronic mail or reception of Bluetooth, in addition to the event of an incoming call.

  The game control unit 13 performs basic control for starting, executing, and ending the game. The game control unit 13 includes a game interruption control unit 14 and a game resumption control unit 15. In the game interruption control unit 14, the event reception unit 12 receives an interrupt event, receives the event, and transmits a game interruption request to the game server device via the transmission / reception unit 17. Then, the game program being executed is interrupted, the game program is held in the program hold storage unit 16, and the memory is released for processing related to the interrupt event.

In the case of the portable information terminal 10 participating in a network game other than the occurrence of the interrupt event, the game interruption control unit 14 receives a game interruption notification from the game server device 20 via the transmission / reception unit 17. The game is interrupted. And the message comprised based on the identification number of the portable information terminal 10 of the transmission origin of a game interruption request | requirement and interruption reason information is displayed on the screen display part 18 at a game interruption notification.
The game resumption control unit 15 transmits a game resumption request to the game server device 20 via the transmission / reception unit 17 when the event reception unit 12 receives an interrupt event that has been processed, for example, a call end event. Further, the game restart notification is received from the game server device 20, the game program held in the program hold storage unit 16 is returned, and the game is restarted.

In the figure, a game server device 20 includes a transmission / reception unit 21 that performs transmission / reception with a plurality of portable information terminals 10, a game progress control unit 22 that performs progress management of a game program, etc. The unit 25 is configured.
The terminal state storage unit 25 stores the state of the portable information terminal 10 participating in the game for each identification number, for example, a telephone number.

  In the game progress control unit 22, when the game progress interruption control unit 23 receives a game interruption request from the portable information terminal 10 via the transmission / reception unit 21, the transmission source portable information terminal included in the game interruption request 10 identification number is read. The identification number is, for example, a telephone number or an IP (Internet Protocol) address. Also, the type of interrupt event that occurred in the portable information terminal 10 included in the game interruption request and information on the reason for interruption are read out, the information is stored in the terminal state storage unit 25 using the identification number as a key, and the state is changed. Register as suspended.

Next, the user name of the portable information terminal 10 that transmitted the interruption request is detected from the user names of the portable information terminal 10 stored in association with the identification numbers. Then, the game interruption notification including the user name and the reason for interruption is transmitted to all the portable information terminals 10 other than the game interruption request transmitted via the transmission / reception unit 21.
In the game progress control unit 22, when the game progress resumption control unit 24 receives a game resumption request from the portable information terminal 10 via the transmission / reception unit 21, the game progression resumption control unit 24 stores the game resumption request stored in the terminal state storage unit 25. The suspended state of the source mobile information terminal 10 is canceled. The cancellation of the suspended state is specifically updating the state information registered in the terminal state storage unit 25 to the execution state. Thereafter, it is confirmed that the state information of all the portable information terminals 10 is not in the suspended state, and a game restart notification is transmitted to all the portable information terminals 10 participating in the network game.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a format of data stored in the terminal state storage unit 25 of the game server device 20. In the figure, ID (Identification) is an ID for identifying a user. The state is the state of each portable information terminal 10, and in the figure, the terminal with ID 0001 is receiving, and the portable information terminals 10 of 0002 and 0003 are in a suspended state. In the game data, information unique to the network game is stored. For example, data relating to the progress of the game and data such as the skill, level, and position of the character selected by the user are stored.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing processing for interrupting and resuming the network game.
In the figure, first, the mobile information terminals 10a, 10b, and 10c execute a network game via the game server device 20 (steps S1a, S1b, and S1c), and the game server device 20 manages data between the mobile information terminals. Perform (step S1). In addition, the game server device 20 progresses a game program while sharing data between the portable information terminals. Here, a call arrives at the portable information terminal 10a (step S2). The user of the portable information terminal 10a starts a call (step S3), the event receiving unit 12 of the portable information terminal 10a receives an incoming event, and transmits a game interruption request to the game server device 20 (step S4).

  Then, an interruption process of the game being executed is performed (step S5). The game server device 20 receives the game interruption request, and registers the reason for interruption and the state of interruption due to the incoming call using the identification number of the portable information terminal 10a as a key (step S6). And the user name of the portable information terminal 10 which transmitted the interruption request is detected from the user name of the portable information terminal 10 stored in association with the identification number. Then, a game interruption notice including the user name and the reason for interruption of the incoming call is transmitted to the portable information terminals 10b and 10c (step S7). The mobile information terminals 10b and 10c that have received the game interruption notification display on the screen that the game is interrupted by receiving the user name of the mobile information terminal 10a and receiving a call (steps S7a and S7b), and interrupting the game ( Steps S8a, S8b).

  Thereafter, when the call ends in the portable information terminal 10a (step S9), the event receiving unit 12 of the portable information terminal 10a receives the call end event (step S10). And a game resumption request | requirement is transmitted to the game server apparatus 20 (step S11). The game server device 20 that has interrupted the game receives the game resumption request, searches for information stored using the transmission source identification number included in the game resumption request as a key, and executes the corresponding information. The status is updated and the presence / absence of the suspended mobile information terminal is confirmed (step S12). If all the portable information terminals 10 are not in the suspended state, a game resumption notification is transmitted to all participating portable information terminals 10a, 10b, and 10c (step S13). The portable information terminals 10a, 10b, and 10c receive the game restart notification (steps S13a, S13b, and S13c), and restart the game (steps S14a, S14b, and S14c).

Note that the game server device 20 recognizes one combination including a plurality of portable information terminals 10 as a group, and the above processing is performed for each group. Therefore, the state of the portable information terminal 10 stored in the game server device 20 Are managed in groups.
Further, the processing of the game interruption state shown in steps S5, S8a, and S9a depends on the connection method supported by the portable information terminal. When supporting only HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol), it is necessary to periodically communicate with the game server device 20 from the portable information terminal 10 and detect the game resumption notification on the portable information terminal 10 side.

  When TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) is supported, a connection state is maintained between the portable information terminal 10 and the game server device 20, and notification is performed from the game server device 20 as described above. Further, if the waiting portable information terminals 10b and 10c support multitasking, it is possible to start another application program even in the suspended state.

  In addition, when there is an incoming call to the suspended portable information terminal 10, the game server device 20 also stores the state and continues the suspended state until all the portable information terminals 10 are not suspended. Also, the suspended portable information terminal 10 may be able to escape from the network game. If the suspended portable information terminal 10 cannot be resumed for a long time, the portable information terminal 10 causing the interruption is forcibly disconnected, The game may be resumed.

FIG. 5 shows the screens of the portable information terminals 10a, 10b, and 10c during execution of a game program such as a role-playing game performed by a plurality of users. It corresponds to the processing of.
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the screen display of the suspended portable information terminals 10b and 10c. In the above description, it has been described that the message is configured based on the identification number of the portable information terminal that has caused the interruption state included in the game interruption request and the interruption reason information. Here, the server replaces the identification number in advance with the name of the participating user, and reads the message indicating that the incoming call is received based on the information indicated by the interruption reason information. The message is composed and displayed.

  The above-described portable information terminal and game server device have a computer system inside. The process of interrupting and resuming the network game described above is stored in a computer-readable recording medium in the form of a program, and the above processing is performed by the computer reading and executing this program. Here, the computer-readable recording medium means a magnetic disk, a magneto-optical disk, a CD-ROM, a DVD-ROM, a semiconductor memory, or the like. Alternatively, the computer program may be distributed to the computer via a communication line, and the computer that has received the distribution may execute the program.

It is a schematic block diagram of the network game system which is one Embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic block diagram of the portable information terminal and game server apparatus in the same embodiment. It is the figure which showed the data format of the terminal state memory | storage part in the same embodiment. It is a flowchart of the game interruption and resumption process in the same embodiment. It is the figure which showed the display screen of the portable information terminal in game execution in the same embodiment. It is the figure which showed the display screen of the portable information terminal which is waiting for game resumption in the embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

10 mobile information terminal 20 game server device 30 network

Claims (9)

In a portable information terminal comprising: a transmission / reception unit connected to a server device including a game program via a network; and an event generation unit that generates event information by receiving a telephone call or a user's key operation,
An event receiver for receiving the event information from the event generator;
When the event reception unit receives the interrupt process start event information, the game program being executed is interrupted, and the game interrupt request including the identification number of the terminal and the interrupt reason information indicated by the interrupt event is transmitted and received. Game program interruption means for transmitting to the server device via a section;
A game program restarting means for transmitting a game restart request including the identification number of the own terminal to the server device via the transmission / reception unit when the event reception unit receives interrupt event end event information;
A portable information terminal comprising: The game program restarting means includes
The mobile information terminal according to claim 1, wherein a game resumption notification is received from the server device via the transmission / reception unit, and the suspended game program is resumed. In a portable information terminal having a transmission / reception unit connected via a network with a server device having a game program,
Game program interruption means for interrupting the game program being executed when the transmission / reception unit receives a game interruption notification from the server device;
Game program restarting means for receiving a game restart notification from the server device and transmitting / receiving the interrupted game program;
A portable information terminal comprising: The game program interruption means includes
When receiving the game interruption notification and interrupting the game program being executed, the game interruption notification is configured based on the identification number of the portable information terminal in the interruption state and the content of the interruption reason information included in the game interruption notification. 4. The portable information terminal according to claim 3, wherein the interruption message is displayed on a display screen. In a server device that includes a transmission / reception unit connected to a plurality of portable information terminals via a network and controls a game program,
A terminal state storage unit that stores the state of the portable information terminal in association with the identification number of the portable information terminal that is executing the game program;
When the transmission / reception unit receives a game interruption request, it transmits a game interruption notification to the portable information terminal other than the portable information terminal that is the transmission source of the game interruption request via the transmission / reception unit. Game interruption means for storing interruption reason information in the terminal state storage unit based on the included identification information;
When the transmission / reception unit receives a game resumption request from the portable information terminal, the suspended state registered in the terminal state storage unit is canceled based on the identification number of the portable information terminal that is the transmission source of the game resumption request. And a game restarting means for transmitting a game restart notification to all the portable information terminals,
A server device comprising: In a network game system comprising a plurality of portable information terminals and a server device connected to the portable information terminal via a network and controlling a game program,
The portable information terminal transmits a game program interruption request to the server device when an interrupt processing start event occurs, and transmits a game restart request to the server device when an interrupt processing end event occurs,
When the server device receives a game interruption request from the portable information terminal, the server device transmits a game interruption notification to the portable information terminal other than the portable information terminal that is the transmission source of the game interruption request. When the portable information terminal is stored as a suspended state and a game resumption request is received from the portable information terminal as a transmission source, the suspended state of the registered portable information terminal is canceled and all the portable information terminals are A network game system characterized by transmitting a game resumption notification. In a network game control method of a network game system comprising a plurality of portable information terminals and a server device connected to the portable information terminal via a network and controlling a game program,
A process of transmitting a game program interruption request to the server device when the mobile information terminal generates an interrupt processing start event;
When the server device receives a game interruption request from the portable information terminal, it transmits a game interruption notification to the portable information terminal other than the portable information terminal that is the transmission source of the game interruption request, and interrupts the portable information terminal. Registering as a state,
A process of transmitting a game resumption request to the server device when the portable information terminal generates an interruption process end event;
When the server device receives a game resumption request from the portable information terminal, canceling the suspended state of the registered portable information terminal and transmitting a game resumption notification to all the portable information terminals;
A network game control method comprising: In a network game system comprising a plurality of portable information terminals and a server device connected to the portable information terminal via a network and controlling a game program,
A computer of the portable information terminal;
Means for transmitting a game program interruption request to the server device when an interrupt processing start event occurs;
Means for transmitting a game restart request to the server device when an interrupt processing end event occurs;
A computer program that functions as a computer program. In a network game system comprising a plurality of portable information terminals and a server device connected to the portable information terminal via a network and controlling a game program,
A computer of the server device;
If a game interruption request is received from the portable information terminal, a game interruption notification is transmitted to the portable information terminal other than the portable information terminal that is the transmission source of the game interruption request, and the portable information terminal is registered as an interruption state. Means to
Means for canceling the registered state of the mobile information terminal and transmitting a game restart notification to all the mobile information terminals when receiving a game restart request from the mobile information terminal;
A computer program that functions as a computer program.

Images