JP2007044206A - Game machine and game system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a game machine and a game system for maintaining the interest of a player in a game. <P>SOLUTION: In the game machine 1, army characters C1-C4 including the army character controlled by the player are displayed on a main display 11 and the fight of the army characters C1-C4 with each other is performed on the main display 11. The game machine 1 is provided with a special character control means for making a special character C5 whose attacking object is at least one of the army characters C1-C4 appear on the main display 11 when a prescribed game condition is established. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a gaming machine and a gaming system capable of performing a character battle game in which a plurality of characters or character groups battle each other.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there are known gaming machines and game systems capable of performing a character battle game in which a plurality of characters and character groups battle (compete against) each other. This type of character battle game is a type of game in which the game progresses in real time even during command input by the player, and each character repeats the battle one after another (a so-called real-time simulation game), or a so-called turn-based game (the action on its own side ( There is a game that employs a game system in which a game progresses in such a manner that a turn) and an opponent's action (turn) are alternately performed.
JP 2000-116956 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-6976

  In this type of character battle game, for example, a player who has become dominant at a certain point of time is in a battle state with a character of another player strategically for the purpose of maintaining the situation until the game end time. There are cases in which neither player causes his / her character to enter the battle state for reasons such as avoiding this or because the fighting power between a plurality of characters is antagonizing.

  Then, when the player's own character runs away from the other player's character in order to avoid the dominant player entering the battle state, the other player must track the character that is running away. In some cases, it is not possible to enjoy a mode (hereinafter referred to as a battle mode) in which characters are actually fighting, which is the real thrill of the character battle game. That is, when the state of tracking the escape character (tracking state) continues, the time during which the character enters the battle mode (hereinafter referred to as battle mode time) is shortened by that amount. It will be. Similarly, when each player is stuck in a battle state without causing his / her character to enter the battle state, the battle mode time is shortened accordingly.

  As a result, the time (non-battle mode time) other than the battle mode time in the time that the player is playing the character battle game becomes longer, and the player's interest in the game is reduced.

  On the other hand, even if there is an overwhelming difference in strength between characters at the beginning and middle stages of the character battle game, the interest of each player in the game is also reduced.

  Patent Document 1 discloses a game machine in which teams are organized by a plurality of players, and each team includes characters operated by a computer to avoid a stuck state. Further, Patent Document 2 discloses a technique in which other characters cover a certain character that has been attacked by an opponent among a plurality of characters operated by the subject.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a gaming machine and a gaming system in which the player's interest in games is maintained.

  A gaming machine according to the present invention is a gaming machine in which a plurality of character groups including an operation character group operated by a player are displayed on a display, and a plurality of character groups are played against each other on the display. Special character control means for causing a special character whose attack target is at least one of a plurality of character groups to appear on the display when the above is established.

  In this gaming machine, a special character whose attack target is at least one character group appears on the display when a predetermined game condition is established by the special character control means. When the attack target of this special character is a character group that is running away, it is possible to eliminate the tracking state (that is, the state where another character group is tracking the character group that is running away). . In addition, when the attack target of the special character is a plurality of character groups with which the fighting force is antagonized, the stuck state (that is, the state where the plurality of character groups with which the fighting force antagonizes does not move) It can be resolved. Therefore, in this gaming machine, the time for the plurality of character groups including the operation character group operated by the player to actually fight is increased, and as a result, the player's interest in the game is maintained. In addition, even when the attack target of the special character is a character group having a relatively strong strength among a plurality of character groups, the state in which an overwhelming difference in strength occurs between the character groups is eliminated. The player's interest in the game is maintained.

  Moreover, it further includes battle situation determination means for determining the situation of the battle between the character groups, and the special character control means is a plurality of strength antagonists determined by the battle situation determination means as being competitive with each other among the plurality of character groups. All character groups are preferably attacked by special characters. In this case, it is possible to eliminate the stuck state.

  Further, the game apparatus further comprises battle situation determination means for determining a battle situation between the character groups, and the special character control means is configured to attack the dominant character group determined to be dominant by the battle situation determination means among the plurality of character groups. It is preferable to make it a target. In this case, the tracking state in which the dominant character group escapes is realized.

  The special character control means preferably causes the special character to appear when a predetermined game time has elapsed. In this case, the appearance timing of the special character is controlled by the game time.

  Further, the apparatus further comprises strength parameter comparison means for comparing strength parameters indicating strength of each character group, and the special character control means determines the strongest character group determined to be strongest by the strength parameter comparison means as the attack target of the special character. It is preferable that In this case, the special character can eliminate the state where an overwhelming difference in strength occurs between the character groups.

  Further, it is preferable that the special character control means causes the special character to appear when the strength parameter comparison means detects that a predetermined strength difference has occurred between the character groups. In this case, a special character appears at a timing when a predetermined difference in strength is given.

  A gaming machine according to the present invention is a gaming machine in which a plurality of characters including operation characters operated by a player are displayed on a display, and a plurality of characters are battled on the display, and a predetermined gaming condition is established. In some cases, special character control means for causing a special character whose attack target is at least one of a plurality of characters to appear on a display is provided.

  In this gaming machine, a special character whose attack target is at least one character appears on the display when a predetermined game condition is established by the special character control means. When the attack target of the special character is a character that is running away, it is possible to eliminate the tracking state (that is, a state in which another character is tracking the character that runs away). In addition, when the attack target of the special character is a plurality of characters whose strengths are antagonistic, the stuck state (that is, the state where the plurality of characters whose strengths are antagonistic does not move while facing each other) is resolved. It is possible. Therefore, in this gaming machine, the time during which a plurality of characters including the operation characters operated by the player actually fight each other becomes longer, and as a result, the player's interest in the game is maintained. Also, when the attack target of the special character is a character having a relatively strong strength among a plurality of characters, the difference in strength between the characters is reduced, so that the player's interest in the game is maintained. It will be.

  A gaming system according to the present invention is a gaming system in which a plurality of character groups including an operation character group operated by a player are displayed on a display, and a plurality of character groups are played against each other on the display. Special character control means for causing a special character whose attack target is at least one of a plurality of character groups to appear on the display when the above is established.

  In this gaming system, a special character whose attack target is at least one character group appears on the display when a predetermined gaming condition is established by the special character control means. When the attack target of this special character is a character group that is running away, it is possible to eliminate the tracking state (that is, the state where another character group is tracking the character group that is running away). . In addition, when the attack target of the special character is a plurality of character groups with which the fighting force is antagonized, the stuck state (that is, the state where the plurality of character groups with which the fighting force antagonizes does not move) It can be resolved. Therefore, in this gaming system, the time for the plurality of character groups including the operation character group operated by the player to actually fight is increased, and as a result, the player's interest in the game is maintained. Also, when the attack target of the special character is a character group having a relatively strong strength among the plurality of character groups, the difference in strength between the character groups is reduced, so that the player's interest in the game is also increased. Will be maintained.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the game machine and game system with which the maintenance of the player's interest with respect to a game were aimed at are provided.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below. In addition, the same code | symbol is used for the same element and the overlapping description is abbreviate | omitted.

(Overall configuration of game system)
FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram of a game system 100 including a plurality of game machines 1 according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a plurality of game machines 1 and a card vending machine 6. The game system 100 includes a total of three store servers 2 installed in one and two game stores A and B, respectively, and a plurality (in the present embodiment, communicatively connected via a dedicated line 3). 8) gaming machines 1 and card vending machines 6, in-store routers 7 installed in game stores A and B, in-store routers 7, communication line 4a, and center server group 5 connected via the Internet 4 And have. Further, the game system 100 includes a mobile phone 111 that can be connected to the Internet 4 via a base station 110 via a wireless line, and a home game device 112 that can be connected to the Internet 4.

  In each game store A, B, the store server 2, the game machine 1 and the card vending machine 6 are connected by a dedicated line 3 to form an in-store LAN (Local Area Network), and this in-store LAN is an in-store router 7 It is connected to the Internet 4 via.

(Game machine configuration)
The game machine 1 is a gaming machine according to an embodiment of the present invention, and a plurality of military characters (characters, character groups) C1 to C4 belonging to an opponent country described later move on a field map 125 described later. It has image display means for displaying an image of a battle, and causes each of the military characters C1 to C4 to perform operations such as progression, attack, and defense according to the player's operation (mainly touch operation of the touch panel 11a described later). It is configured as follows.

  Among the players (players) of the game machine 1 in the present embodiment, a plurality of players (four in the present embodiment), together with the players using the other game machines 1, the mobile phone 111, and the home game device 112. You can play a character battle game. This character battle game is intended to expand the territory of each country, with each player governing his country as a general and leading the army into other countries ruled by other players. Each army is organized by soldier characters having various abilities such as warriors and wizards, and these soldier characters are governed by one leader character. The player instructs the army to perform various operations by giving instructions to the leader character.

  The characters (i.e., army characters) C1 to C4 indicating the army can be displayed by both the same character as the leader character and a plurality of characters including the leader character and the soldier character. It can be switched by changing the display format (see FIG. 19).

  In addition, the character battle game progresses in real time while referring to an image common to each player. In the case of the game machine 1, four countries of the country of the earth, the country of water, the country of fire and the country of wind are prepared, and the player becomes one of the generals.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the game machine 1 has a main display 11 having a liquid crystal display device on the front surface of the housing 10. In addition, the upper portion of the main display 11 has a sub-display 12 that is also provided with a liquid crystal display device, and speakers 13L and 13R that output sounds used for game effects are arranged on the left and right sides thereof.

  The main display 11 is a display according to the present invention, and displays a game image (for example, a field map 120) corresponding to each stage of the game (details will be described later). The sub-display 12 is configured to display a description of the character battle game and an image at a specific stage of the game.

  Further, the game machine 1 has an operation panel 14 below the main display 11 and a table 15 on the front side of the operation panel 14. The operation panel 14 has a coin insertion slot 16 for inserting coins (game media such as coins and game medals) necessary for executing a game, and a card slot 18 for inserting an ID card 17. ing.

  Each game machine 1 constituting the game system 100 is assigned a machine ID unique to the game machine 100. This machine ID has a server ID unique to each store server 2 and an ID unique to each game machine 1. For example, in the case of each game machine 1 installed in the store A, A01, A02, A03 ... and so on.

  FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the game machine 1 mainly showing the internal configuration. The game machine 1 has a plurality of components centering on a microcomputer 31.

  The microcomputer 31 includes a main CPU (Central Processing Unit) 32, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 33, and a ROM (Read Only Memory) 34. The main CPU 32 operates in accordance with a program stored in the ROM 34, and inputs signals from each component provided on the operation panel 14 via the I / O port 39, while receiving signals from other components. Input / output is performed to control the operation of the entire game machine 1. The RAM 33 stores data and programs (application data and game data described later in this embodiment) used when the main CPU 32 operates. The ROM 34 stores a control program executed by the main CPU 32 and permanent data.

  The game machine 1 also includes a random number generator 35, a sampling circuit 36, a clock pulse generation circuit 37, and a frequency divider 38. The random number generator 35 operates according to an instruction from the main CPU 32 to generate a certain range of random numbers. The sampling circuit 36 extracts an arbitrary random number from random numbers generated by the random number generator 35 in accordance with an instruction from the main CPU 32, and inputs the extracted random number to the main CPU 32. The clock pulse generation circuit 37 generates a reference clock for operating the main CPU 32, and the frequency divider 38 inputs a signal obtained by dividing the reference clock at a constant period to the main CPU 32.

  The game machine 1 further includes a touch panel 11a, a coin sensor 16a, a card reader 18a, a communication control unit 21 and a communication processing unit 22, and further includes an image control circuit 71 and a sound control circuit 72. ing.

  The touch panel 11 a is provided so as to cover the display screen of the main display 11, detects the position of the place touched by the player's finger, and inputs a position signal corresponding to the detected position to the main CPU 32. The player uses the touch panel 11a to input an operation mainly for giving a command to the leader character (for example, causing the army character to escape from the enemy character, or causing the army character to go to reinforcements). For example, in the touch panel 11a, a conductive material is applied to the surface of a rectangular transparent plate, a voltage is applied from the electrodes arranged on the squares of the transparent plate, and a slight current change caused by touching a player's finger is applied to the electrodes. Detect and detect the position of the part touched by the player's finger.

  The coin sensor 16a detects a coin inserted from the coin insertion slot 16, and outputs a detection signal corresponding to the detection to the main CPU 32. The card reader 18 a reads card information such as a player ID recorded on the ID card 17 inserted into the card slot 18 and inputs the read card information to the main CPU 32.

  The communication control unit 21 operates according to an instruction from the main CPU 32 and controls connection and disconnection of a line for communicating with the store server 2. The communication processing unit 22 operates in accordance with an instruction from the communication control unit 21 and executes transmission / reception of data performed via the dedicated line 3.

  The image control circuit 71 controls the image display on each of the main display 11 and the sub display 12 to display an image on the main display 11 indicating that the army character battles on a field map described later. Displays a description of the character battle game and an image for production.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the image control circuit 71 includes an image control CPU 71a, a work RAM 71b, a program ROM 71c, an image ROM 71d, a video RAM 71e, and a VDP (Video Display Processor) 71f. The image control CPU 71a is based on the parameters set in the microcomputer 31 and is stored in the main display 11 and the sub display 12 in accordance with an image control program (related to display on the main display 11 and the sub display 12) stored in advance in the program ROM 71c. Determine the image to be displayed. The work RAM 71b is configured as a temporary storage unit when the image control CPU 71a executes the image control program.

  The program ROM 71c stores an image control program, various selection tables, and the like. The image ROM 71d stores dot data for forming an image. The video RAM 71e is configured as a temporary storage unit when an image is formed by the VDP 71f. The VDP 71f has a control RAM 71g, forms images according to the display contents of the main display 11 and the sub display 12 determined by the image control CPU 71a, and outputs the formed images to the main display 11 and the sub display 12. .

  The sound control circuit 72 inputs sound signals for outputting sound from the speakers 13L and 13R to the speakers 13L and 13R. From the speakers 13L and 13R, for example, a sound for exciting the game is output at an appropriate time after the game is started.

(Configuration of store server, card vending machine, in-store router)
As shown in FIG. 6, the store server 2 has a CPU 201, ROM 202, RAM 203, communication processing unit 204, communication control unit 205, and data storage unit 206 that stores application data. The CPU 201 operates while reading / writing data from / to the RAM 203 according to a program stored in the ROM 202, while the communication control unit 205 operates the communication processing unit 204 according to an instruction from the CPU 201. The store server 2 transmits and receives data to and from each game machine 1 installed in each game store A and B via the dedicated line 3, and transmits (downloads) application data to each game machine 1, Relay of data transmission / reception between the game machines 1 and the center server group 5 is performed. The application data includes various types of data (such as game image data) used to execute a character battle game performed on the game machine 1.

  The card vending machine 6 has an operation unit for a player to input personal information and a card issuing unit, and the card issuing unit performs a game unique to each player by a predetermined input operation using the operation unit. The card information including the person ID is stored and the ID card 17 is issued.

  The in-store router 7 connects the in-store LAN formed in each of the game stores A and B and the LAN formed in the center server group 5 via the communication line 4 a and the Internet 4.

(Configuration of center server group)
The center server group 5 includes a plurality of game servers (two game servers 101 and 102 in FIG. 1) installed corresponding to each game, and a database server 103, and each game server has a dedicated line 104. Are connected to each other to form a LAN, and the LAN is connected to the Internet 4 via a router (not shown).

  The game server 101 is installed to execute a character battle game, and includes a CPU 301, a ROM 302, a RAM 303, a communication processing unit 304, a communication control unit 305, and a data storage unit 306 as shown in FIG. . In the game server 101, the CPU 301 operates while reading / writing data from / to the RAM 303 according to a program stored in the ROM 302, while the communication control unit 305 operates the communication processing unit 304 according to an instruction from the CPU 301.

  The game server 101 exchanges data with each store server 2 via the Internet 4. Then, the entry data transmitted from each game machine 1, mobile phone 111, and home game machine 112 is received, the player participates in the character battle game (entry) reception and updates the player participation information, The player who becomes the opponent is determined, and the result of the opponent determination is transmitted to the database server 103.

  The game server 102 is installed to execute another game, and has the same configuration although the stored data and programs are different from those of the game server 101.

  The database server 103 includes a CPU 401, a ROM 402, a RAM 403, a communication processing unit 404, a communication control unit 405, and a data storage unit 406. In the database server 103, the CPU 401 operates in accordance with a program stored in the ROM 402 while reading / writing data from / to the RAM 403, while the communication control unit 405 operates the communication processing unit 404 in accordance with an instruction from the CPU 401. Data is transmitted and received via the server 2 and the Internet 4. The data storage unit 406 stores a player ID, a password used for player authentication, a game type, and game data. The player ID is read from the ID card 17 by the game machine 1 and transmitted.

  The game data includes the power parameters (values determined by attack power and defense power, which will be described later) for each military character, and data indicating the history of the character battle game for each player. This game data is transmitted from the database server 103 to the game machine 1 and used in the character battle game.

(Game machine operation details)
Next, the operation content of the game machine 1 having the above configuration will be described with reference to the flowcharts shown in FIGS. In the following description, an example in which each player operates the four game machines 1 out of the eight game machines 1 installed in the game store A and plays the same character battle game will be described. To do.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an operation procedure of game processing from the start to the end of the game in each game machine 1. In FIG. 8 and FIGS. 9 to 14 and 16 described later, step is abbreviated as S. In the following description, as shown in FIG. 20, four game machines 1 operated by four players are referred to as game machines 1A, 1B, 1C, and 1D, and a game machine that is the main in explaining the present invention. 1 is a game machine 1A, and a game machine 1 operated by a player (hereinafter referred to as an “enemy player”) as an opponent of a player who operates the game machine 1A (hereinafter referred to as a “self player”) 1B, 1C, 1D. It is assumed that the self player is a real player, but the enemy player can be a CPU player, which will be described later, in addition to a real player, in the absence of a real player.

  The game machine 1 (1A and 1B, 1C, 1D) transmits a download request for application data to the store server 2 when the power is turned on. On the other hand, when the store server 2 receives the download request, the game has transmitted the download request. Application data is transmitted to the machine 1 (1A and 1B, 1C, 1D).

  When the game machines 1A, 1B, 1C, and 1D receive application data, the application data is stored in the RAM 33. In the game machines 1A, 1B, 1C, and 1D, when the main CPU 32 reads the application data, the game machine 1A operates as a game progress control means to advance the character battle game in accordance with the player's operation input. The game machines 1A and 1B, 1C, and 1D are configured to display images on the main display 11 while synchronizing with each other via the store server 2.

  When the game machine 1A starts the game process, the game machine 1A proceeds to step 1 and includes a coin insertion, an ID card insertion, a password input, and a game start process, which will be described later, including a process of receiving the result of the opponent determination by the game server 101. I do. In step 2, an army formation process is performed by the player's operation. In this army formation process, the country 1a in which the player of the game machine 1A himself serves as a general (hereinafter also referred to as “own country”. Note that the countries 1b, 1c, 1c, 1d is also referred to as an “enemy country”). When the army formation process is performed in this way, the army character (operation character, operation character group) operated by the self player is determined, and the self player performs the progress and battle with the army character.

  Next, in the game machine 1A, the process proceeds to step 3, and a character battle process described later is performed. When the character battle process is completed, it is determined whether or not the winning / losing decision is made at all stages to be described later, or whether or not the player of the game machine 1A has input an end instruction. If not, the process returns to step 3 to execute the character battle process. Proceeding to step 5, from the result of the character battle process performed so far, a rank determination process for determining the rank of each player who has participated in the character battle game is performed. In the subsequent step 6, based on the result of the character battle process. Then, a parameter change process for changing the parameters of each character is performed.

  Further, when proceeding to step 7, while displaying the character battle game result such as the battle result, the database server 103 receives the data indicating the character battle game result via the store server 2 in order to update the game data. Post-processing to be sent to 103 is performed. In subsequent step 8, card return processing is performed, and when the ID card 17 inserted by the player of the game machine 1 </ b> A is returned from the card slot 18, the game processing ends.

  Then, when starting the character battle process, the main CPU 32 proceeds to step 21 as shown in FIG. 10, performs a world map display control process, and causes the main display 11 to display a world map image 90 to be described later. Then, the world map image 90 is displayed on the main display 11 as shown in FIG. In subsequent step 22, the process waits until stage selection for designating any of stage images 91, 92, 93, 94,... Described later included in world map image 90 is performed. The stage selection information indicating the stage selected by stage selection (hereinafter referred to as “selected stage”) is transmitted to the store server 2, while the stage selection information in the game machines 1 B, 1 C, and 1 D is received from the store server 2. . Next, it progresses to step 24 and a selection stage battle | competition process is performed. At the start of the game, for example, the same number of stages are assigned to each country 1a, 1b, 1c, 1d so as to antagonize the power by the main CPU 32 as an assigning means described later.

  The selected stage battle process is performed according to the flowchart shown in FIG. When the selected stage battle process is started, the main CPU 32 proceeds to step 35 and performs display control of the field map in the selected stage. Here, for example, if a stage indicated by a stage image 91 described later is a selected stage, a field map 120 as shown in FIG. 18 is displayed on the main display 11. In the subsequent step 36, it is determined whether or not a battle instruction is input based on information input from the touch panel 11a.

  Here, the battle instruction mainly relates to a battle with an army character of another country (country 1b in the case of the game machine 1B) against an army character (for example, the army character of the country 1a in the case of the game machine 1A) by the player. If it is an instruction and the battle instruction is input, the process proceeds to step 37. If no battle instruction is input, the process proceeds to step 38 without executing step 37.

  In step 37, character attack / defense processing is performed according to the battle instruction input in step 36, and another country (for example, country 1b) is assigned to the team led by the army character (for example, the army character of country 1a) according to the battle instruction. ) Attack or defend against army characters. Next, when proceeding to step 38, it is determined whether or not there is a character contact where armed characters belonging to different countries (for example, country 1a and country 1b) are in contact with each other. The battle process is performed, but if there is no character contact, the process proceeds to step 40 without executing step 39.

  In step 40, it is determined whether or not the selected stage is a home stage to be described later, and if it is the home stage, the process proceeds to step 41. If not, the process proceeds to step 43, and the base winner determination condition constituting the battle condition described later is Control to be changed.

  Then, in step 41, it is determined whether or not the character of the home country 1a has reached one of the bases described later (the base winner determination condition for the home stage is that the character of the home country has reached one of the bases). Equivalent). When the character of the home country 1a reaches one of the bases, the winner at that base is determined to be the home country 1a, and the base winner determination condition is satisfied. At this time, the process proceeds to step 42 to update a base securing management table 80 described later. Otherwise, the selected stage battle process is terminated without executing step 42.

  Further, when the process proceeds to step 43 (in this case, the selected stage is an away stage described later), the character in the home country 1a defeats any character in the enemy countries 1b, 1c, 1d protecting the base, and the base is It is determined whether or not it has been suppressed (defeating a character in the enemy country that protects the base by the home country character corresponds to the base winner determination condition in the away stage). When the character of the home country defeats the character of the enemy country that protects the base, the winner at the base is determined to be the home country, and the base winner determination condition is satisfied. At this time, the process proceeds to step 42 to update the base securing management table. Otherwise, the selected stage battle process is terminated without executing step 42.

  The base winner determination condition is a condition for determining a winner at each base, and is set for each base with the above contents. Further, the base winner determination condition is not limited to the above-described condition as long as the selected stage is set to a different condition for the home stage and the away stage. For example, in the case of the home stage, the flag set at each base is taken, and in the case of the away stage, the character of the enemy country protecting the base is defeated and the flag is taken.

  When the selected stage battle process is completed, the process returns to FIG. 10 and proceeds to step 25 where a battle result reflecting process for reflecting the result of the selected stage battle process on the field map 120 is performed, and the field map 120 according to the result of the selected stage battle process. Is updated. That is, if the base is controlled, this is reflected in the field map 120 by the processing of the main CPU 32, and the changed field map is displayed on the main display 11.

  Next, proceeding to step 26, the main CPU 32 determines whether or not a castle base to be described later is suppressed and the castle base winner determination condition is satisfied in the selection stage. If the castle base is not suppressed, the process proceeds to step 27. However, when the castle base is controlled, that is, when the winner of the selected stage is determined by the control of the castle base, the process proceeds to step 28 without executing step 27. Further, when proceeding to step 27, it is determined whether or not all the bases in the selected stage are suppressed, and when all the bases are suppressed and the winner of the selected stage is determined, the process proceeds to step 28. . Otherwise, the main CPU 32 operates as a special character control means to perform a special character lottery process (step 31) described later, and then returns to step 24 to repeat the above process.

  Proceeding to step 28, in order to determine the winner of the selected stage by controlling the castle base or all the bases, a winning country determination process is performed to determine the country that has won the selected stage. In this case, the winner of the selected stage is the country that has controlled the castle base or the country that has the largest number of bases that have been controlled.

  In order to execute step 28, a positive determination (YES) needs to be made in step 26 or step 27. Thus, the main CPU 32 as the battle condition setting means sets the battle condition using the base winner determination condition and the castle base winner determination condition.

  In the following step 29, the reward management table as a reward management means for managing the rewards acquired by each country in the selected stage battle process is updated, and the reward acquisition process accompanying the end of the stage is performed. Further, when proceeding to step 30, the main CPU 32 operates as an assigning means and assigns the selected stage according to the result of the selected stage battle process (character battle at the selected stage), so that the selected stage is newly added to the winning country. Assign to. In this case, the main CPU 32 updates the country area 80b in which the base name area 80a in the base securing management table 80 is the castle base to the country that has won. In addition, the main CPU 32 performs an update process for assigning the world map to the content after the assignment, and thereafter, the updated world map image 90 is displayed on the main display 11. When step 30 ends, the character battle process ends.

  Although not shown, the characters of each country perform attack and defense processing in accordance with the player's battle instruction as described above, but perform other operations in real time such as moving without being in response to the player's battle instruction. .

  Next, the special character lottery process in step 31 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

  In the game machine 1, a special character may appear on the main display 11 in addition to the military character described above. This special character is not the character operated by the four players described above, but the main CPU 32 appears on the main display 11 as a special character control means and determines its action style. The appearance of this special character is almost the same as other military characters. And the special character performs the operation | movement which made any army character the attack object like other army characters.

  In the special character lottery process, first, in step 51, a check process is performed to determine whether or not a special character has already appeared on the field map of the main display 11. If a special character has not yet appeared, the process proceeds to step 52. If a special character has already appeared, the special character lottery process is terminated.

  In the subsequent step 52, the main CPU 32 detects a time from when the competitive game is actually started (for example, an elapsed time after the game start process is ended, hereinafter referred to as a game time). In the next step 53, a check process is performed to determine whether or not the game time has passed a predetermined time (for example, 15 minutes). If the predetermined game time is reached, the process proceeds to step 54. If the predetermined game time is not yet reached, the special character lottery process is terminated.

  In the following step 54, the main CPU 32 uses the random numbers obtained by the random number generator 35 and the sampling circuit 36 described above to perform a lottery to determine whether or not a special character appears. In the next step 55, a winning check process is performed. If a win is made, the process proceeds to step 56 to perform a special character appearance process. If not, the special character lottery process is terminated.

  Next, the special character appearance process will be described with reference to FIG. When the special character appearance process starts and the process proceeds to step 61, the main CPU 32 operates as a battle situation determination means, and determines the battle situation (that is, the battle situation) between the armed characters in the character battle game. Specifically, it is determined by the number of bases secured, the number of soldiers, the number of usable items, etc., or a combination thereof.

  As a result of the battle situation determination, if the army character is not antagonistic and any of the army characters is dominant, the process proceeds to step 63 and the first special character C5 is displayed on the field map 120 of FIG. After that, the special character lottery process is terminated. This first special character is the above-mentioned special character, and the army character determined to be dominant in the battle situation determination (that is, the dominant army character) is the attack target. That is, the first special character performs an aggressive action (for example, attack, chasing, ambush, etc.) on the dominant army character (dominant character group), and leads the battle situation of the dominant army character in a disadvantageous direction. In order to make the first special character perform an aggressive action, a known AI technique (artificial intelligence technique) is used.

  On the other hand, as a result of the battle situation determination, if a plurality of army characters are antagonistic, the process proceeds to step 63 to cause the second special character C5 to appear on the field map 120 of FIG. 18, and then the special character lottery process is terminated. To do. The second special character is the special character described above, and each of the army characters determined to be antagonistic in the battle situation determination (that is, the antagonistic army character) is the attack target. That is, the second special character performs an aggressive action (for example, attack or chasing) on each antagonistic army character (antagonist character group), and guides the antagonistic army character in a direction in which dominance is between them. In order to cause the second special character to perform an aggressive action, the well-known AI technique is also used.

  As described above, the game machine 1 attacks the army characters C1 to C4 when a predetermined game condition is satisfied (that is, when a predetermined game time has passed and the appearance lottery is won). The target special character (first special character or second special character) C5 appears on the field map 120 (125) of the main display 11 (see FIGS. 18 and 19).

  Then, the main CPU 32 performs an aggressive action on the dominant army character after determining the battle situation in the character battle game. Here, a player who is in an advantageous position in the game who operates the dominant army character generally performs a defensive action (for example, avoids a battle, runs around, does not launch an attack, etc.). In such a case, the other players must track the dominant army character that runs away, and when it is tracking, the mode (battle mode) in which the army characters that are the best part of the character battle game are actually fighting each other. I can't enjoy it. As a result, the time during which the player enters the battle mode (battle mode time) is shortened accordingly, and the interest of the player in the character battle game gradually decreases.

  However, when the first special character appears as described above, the first special character ambushes or pursues the dominant army character, so the time for the other army characters to track the dominant army character is reached. Is significantly shortened. As a result, since the battle mode time is extended, the player's interest in the battle game is maintained.

  Further, the main CPU 32 performs an aggressive action on each antagonistic army character after determining the battle situation in the character battle game. Here, when a plurality of army characters are competing with each other, the player who controls them does not make an attack from himself in order to see the other player's way out, and the stalemate may continue. Even in such a case, the battle mode cannot be enjoyed, and the battle mode time is shortened accordingly, and the interest of the player in the character battle game is reduced.

  However, when the second special character appears as described above, the second special character attacks each antagonistic army character, so that the power balance between the antagonistic army characters is lost. This eliminates the stalemate state. As a result, since the battle mode time is extended, the player's interest in the battle game is maintained.

  In particular, since the player's interest is decreasing at the end of the game, the player's interest is controlled more effectively by controlling the appearance timing so that a special character does not appear unless a predetermined game time has elapsed. Maintenance of interest is planned. In addition, since the appearance lottery is performed, the special character appears or does not appear, so the appearance of the special character is surprising and dramatic for the player.

  As another aspect of the special character lottery process described above, an aspect as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 14 is also possible.

  In this aspect, first, when proceeding to step 71, the main CPU 32 operates as a strength parameter comparison means, and compares the strength parameters of the respective army characters C1 to C4. This strength parameter indicates the strength of each of the army characters C1 to C4, and is specifically as shown in the table of FIG. That is, the product of the numerical values of the soldier number parameter, the attack power parameter, and the defense power parameter of each army character C1 to C4 is used as the strength parameter of each army character C1 to C4. Note that the database indicating the contents of the table shown in FIG. 15 may be stored in advance in the RAM 33, for example.

  Then, comparing the strength parameters, whether or not the difference between the strength parameter of the army character having the largest strength parameter and the strength parameter of the second largest army character is a predetermined strength difference (for example, 2000). Or in step 72. If there is a predetermined strength difference, the process proceeds to step 73, and if not, the process proceeds to step 77.

  In step 73, it is checked whether or not a special character has already appeared on the field map of the main display 11. If a special character has not yet appeared, the process proceeds to step 74. If a special character has already appeared, the special character lottery process is terminated.

  In the subsequent step 74, the main CPU 32 uses the random numbers obtained by the random number generator 35 and the sampling circuit 36 described above, and performs a lottery to determine whether or not to make a special character appear. In the next step 75, a winning check process is performed. If a win is made, the process proceeds to step 76. If not, the special character lottery process is terminated.

  In step 76, the third special character C5 appears on the field map 120 of FIG. The third special character is the special character described above, and the army character (that is, the strongest army character) determined to have the maximum strength in the strength parameter comparison is the attack target. That is, the third special character performs an aggressive action (for example, attack, chase, ambush, etc.) on the strongest army character (strongest character group), and leads to a direction of reducing the strength parameter of the strongest army character. In order to cause the third special character to perform an aggressive action, a known AI technique is used.

  On the other hand, in step 77, a check process is performed to determine whether or not the third special character has already appeared on the field map of the main display 11. If the third special character has already appeared, the process proceeds to step 78. If the third special character has not yet appeared, the special character lottery process is terminated.

  In step 78, the third special character appearing on the field map is eliminated, and then the special character lottery process is terminated.

  As described above, in another aspect of the special character lottery process, when a predetermined game condition is satisfied (that is, when a predetermined difference in strength is applied and an appearance lottery is won), the army character C1 A special character (third special character) C5 that targets .about.C4 appears on the field map 120 (125) of the main display 11 (see FIGS. 18 and 19).

  Then, the main CPU 32 performs an aggressive action on the strongest army character found when the strength parameter comparison is performed. Here, when there is an overwhelming difference in strength between the army characters, the interest of each player in the game is reduced. However, when the third special character appears as described above, the third special character attacks the strongest army character, so the strength parameter of the strongest army character is reduced. As a result, since the difference in strength between the respective army characters C1 to C4 is reduced, the player's interest in the battle game is maintained.

  When the predetermined strength difference disappears, the routine proceeds from step 72 to step 77, where the third special character disappears in step 78, so that the weakest strongest army character is attacked by the third special character indefinitely. The situation of continuing is avoided.

  In particular, when a third special character appears at a timing with a predetermined difference in strength, the player no longer feels interest in the game due to the difference in strength regardless of the beginning, middle and end of the game. A third special character appears. Therefore, the player's interest can be more effectively maintained. In addition, since the appearance lottery is performed, the special character appears or does not appear, so the appearance of the special character is surprising and dramatic for the player.

  Here, the world map image 90 and the stage images 91, 92, 93, 94. The world map image 90 is an image showing a world map that is a stage of a character battle game by the game machine 1, and serves as one unit when the character battle game is executed. Are included (a plurality of stages including stages indicated by the stage images 91, 92, 93, 94). Note that the stage images 91, 92, 93, and 94 indicate the stages assigned to the countries 1a, 1b, 1c, and 1d, respectively.

  In addition, each stage included in the world map is assigned to each country, for example, the same number immediately after the start of the character battle game so that the power of each player antagonizes, and the stage assigned to each country is the stage ( Governance stage). As described above, according to the result of the character battle, the allocation of the stage to each country changes and the world map is updated, so the power distribution in each country changes at any time. Each stage is governed by any country, so from the character that belongs to the country that governs that stage, it is the home stage (local battle area) that is governed by the country to which it belongs. From the viewpoint of a character belonging to a country that does not rule the stage, it is an away stage (enemy battle zone) that is governed by a country to which it does not belong.

  Furthermore, in each stage, there are set bases that influence the progress of the character battle game and are the targets of the character army of each country. Each base is set by the main CPU 32 as the base setting means so that the arrangement is different for each stage. The base is assumed to be a facility that is made up of buildings related to local industries, such as an ironworks and a woodworking plant, and materials can be obtained by controlling them. Further, the obtained material is registered and managed in the reward management table. In each stage, the castle of the country to which the stage is assigned and becomes the governing country is arranged in the center, and each base is arranged around the castle. As shown in FIG. 18, in the stage image (FIG. 18 shows a field map 120 corresponding to the stage indicated by the stage image 91), a castle image 121 showing the center castle and a base image 122 showing each base. , 123, 124..., And a route image 121 a indicating a route connecting the castle image 121 and the base images 122, 123, 124.

  The base securing management table 80 is a base securing management means, which is a country that has controlled the base or castle base provided in each stage, that is, the base winner determination condition or the castle base winner determination condition is satisfied. It is a table for managing the country. As shown in FIG. 21, the base securing management table 80 includes a management area 80c that associates a base name area 80a in which a base name indicating each base is registered with a country area 80b in which a suppressed country is registered. It is provided for each stage, and in each item, initial values are registered at the beginning of the character battle game. According to the base securing management table 80 shown in FIG. 21, at the stage indicated by the stage image 91 (shown as stage 91. The stage 92 is indicated by the stage image 92), the country 1a controls the castle base 121. The bases 122, 123, and 124 are managed as being controlled by the countries 1a, 1b, and 1a, respectively. That is, in the stage shown by the stage image 91, the countries 1a, 1b, and 1a satisfy the base winner determination conditions for the bases 122, 123, and 124, and the castle base winner determination conditions are satisfied. Is country 1a.

  On the other hand, the main CPU 32 executes an interrupt process that interrupts the character battle process every predetermined time (for example, 1 ms) according to the flowchart shown in FIG. When starting the interrupt process, the main CPU 32 proceeds to step 111, temporarily saves the program being executed stored in the storage area (register) in the memory, and proceeds to step 112. In step 112, the main CPU 32 determines whether or not there is a battle screen touch. If there is a battle screen touch, the process proceeds to step 113 to control the display of the battle screen, and the process proceeds to step 114. For example, the process proceeds to step 114 without executing step 113. In step 114, it is determined whether or not there has been a field map touch. If there has been a field map touch, the process proceeds to step 115 to control the display of the field map, and the process proceeds to step 116. Without proceeding to step 116. Then, the register of the program saved at step 116 is restored, and the character battle process is resumed from the point where it was interrupted (saved).

  Here, the battle screen touch means a touch operation for switching the field map displayed on the main display 11 to the battle screen during the selected stage battle process. The field map touch means a touch operation for switching the battle screen to the field map. For example, when the field map 125 as shown on the left side of FIG. 19 is displayed on the main display 11, a finger or the like is touched on the position indicated by the arrow a (the battle message displaying the character string “in battle”). Touching, a battle screen 126 as shown on the right side of FIG. 19 is displayed. In addition, when the battle screen 126 is displayed, a field map 125 is displayed by touching and touching the position indicated by the arrow b (map window 127) with a finger or the like.

  The field map 125 is displayed on the main display 11 when a character battle is being performed at the selected stage, and the leader characters of each country face each other on the route indicated by the route image 121a in addition to the respective sites. It is an image showing that. In addition, the battle screen 126 is an image showing details of a character battle that is being performed at a location designated by touching the battle screen (a state in which soldier characters from various countries are confused and battle each other).

  As described above, in the gaming machine 1, as shown in steps 40 to 43 in the stage battle process of FIG. 11, when a character belonging to the country plays a character battle at the home stage and when a character battle is played at the away stage And the battle condition is changed. Therefore, in the gaming machine 1, when a player plays a character battle at each of a plurality of stages, the strategy or tactics in the character battle can be changed depending on whether the stage is a home stage or an away stage. Therefore, the gaming machine 1 is adapted to give instructions to the player for the player character in the case of the home stage and the away stage in accordance with the stage attribute (whether the stage is the home stage or the away stage). (For example, in the case of a home stage, a strategy that prioritizes base control is adopted), and the strategy or tactics that the player takes can be made diverse. In this way, the game machine 1 has improved the playability of the character battle game.

  In the case of the game machine 1, since the battle condition is set using the base winner determination condition and the castle base winner determination condition, the battle condition is configured by a plurality of conditions, and the battle condition itself varies. Can have sex. Also in this respect, the game machine 1 is improved in the playability of the character battle game.

  Further, the game machine 1 has a base securing management table 80 as a base securing management means, and manages the countries that have met the base winner determining condition or the castle base winner determining condition by the base securing management table 80. . Therefore, it is possible to reliably manage whether or not the base winner determination condition or the castle base winner determination condition is satisfied, and which country satisfies the condition.

(Game start process)
The game start process of step 1 is performed according to the flowchart shown in FIG. FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the operation procedure of the game start process.

  When the game start process is started, the main CPU 32 proceeds to step 11 to perform a message output process and instructs the image control circuit 71 to send a predetermined message (coin insertion request, ID card insertion request and password input request) to the main display 11. ) Is displayed. Subsequently, steps 12 and 13 are executed.

  In order to start the game, the player inserts a coin from the coin insertion slot 6, inserts the ID card 17 into the card slot 18, and inputs a password using the touch panel 11a or the like. Then, a detection signal of the inserted coin is input from the coin sensor 16a to the main CPU 32, and card information stored in the ID card 17 is input from the card reader 18a. When all these inputs are received, the process proceeds to step 13 where the main CPU 32 instructs the communication control unit 21 to operate the communication processing unit 22 and transmits the read card information and the input password to the store server 2.

  In subsequent step 14, the process waits until a response signal indicating an authentication result indicating that the player is a registered player is received from the center server group 5. When the response signal is received, the process proceeds to step 15. In step 15, it waits until it receives the opponent determination data which shows the result of the opponent determination by the game server 101, and will progress to step 16 if the opponent determination data is received. While waiting to receive the opponent determination data, the game machine 1 displays an image indicating that it is waiting on the main display 11.

  Next, when proceeding to step 16, it is determined from the received opponent determination data whether or not four players as opponents are gathered. When four players are gathered, the game start process is ended. To do. If four people are not gathered, the process proceeds to step 17 and waits until a predetermined waiting time elapses. When the waiting time elapses, the process proceeds to step 18 and the main CPU 32 has insufficient capacity (four players) (this) Is a player set by the process of the main CPU 32 and is also referred to as a CPU player), the game start process ends.

  By the way, in the above-described embodiment, the game machine 1 capable of playing a character battle game has been described as an example. However, the game machine 1 is also applicable to game machines capable of playing other character battle games. In the character battle game in the game machine 1 described above, a plurality of countries are prepared as a battle character group including a plurality of characters, and a character battle in which a plurality of characters belonging to different countries battle each other is performed. However, the present invention may be a game machine in which a character battle in which a plurality of characters battle each other is performed. For example, the present invention can also be applied to a game machine in which one character belongs to each country and each character can play against each other. In the case of this game machine, since there is one character belonging to each country, it is not necessary to perform the army formation process (step 2) like the above-described game machine 1.

  Moreover, although the game machine 1 includes the main display 11 and the sub display 12, the main display 11 and the sub display 12 may be separated. Furthermore, the special character is not necessarily required to have the same appearance as that of the army character, and can be appropriately changed in form.

  In the above embodiment, the case where the game machine 1 has the special character control means, the battle situation determination means, and the strength parameter comparison means has been described as an example, but each of the means can be either the game machine 1 or the store server 2. A game system (a game system according to the present invention) may be configured as described above. In addition to the game machine 1 and the store server 2, a game system may be configured by providing a device having the same function as each of the above means.

1 is a system configuration diagram of a game system including a plurality of game machines according to the present invention. It is a perspective view showing a plurality of game machines and a card vending machine. It is a perspective view which shows the whole structure of a game machine. It is a block diagram of the game machine which mainly shows an internal structure. It is a block diagram which shows an example of an internal structure of an image control circuit. It is a block diagram which shows a store server. It is a block diagram which shows a game server and a database server. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement procedure of the game process from the start of a game in a game machine to completion | finish. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement procedure of a game start process. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement procedure of a character battle process. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement procedure of a selection stage battle | competition process. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement procedure of a special character lottery process. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement procedure of a special character appearance process. It is the flowchart which showed the other aspect of the special character lottery process shown in FIG. It is the table | surface which showed the strength parameter of each army character. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement procedure of an interruption process. It is a figure which shows an example of a world map. It is a figure which shows an example of a field map. It is a figure which shows an example of a field map and a battle screen. It is a block diagram showing a store server and four game machines 1. It is a figure which shows an example of a base ensuring management table.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Game machine, 2 ... Store server 5 ... Center server group 11 ... Main display, 11a ... Touch panel 12 ... Sub display, 17 ... ID card 31 ... Microcomputer 32 ... CPU, 33 ... RAM, 34 ... ROM
100 ... Game system,
C1-C4 ... army characters, C5 ... special characters

Claims (8)

A gaming machine in which a plurality of character groups including an operation character group operated by a player are displayed on a display, and a battle between the plurality of character groups is performed on the display,
A gaming machine comprising special character control means for causing a special character targeted for attacking at least one of the plurality of character groups to appear on the display when a predetermined game condition is established. A battle situation determination means for determining a battle situation between the character groups;
The said special character control means makes all the some battle force antagonistic character groups determined by the said battle situation determination means that the battle force is antagonistic among the said several character groups as the attack object of the said special character. The gaming machine according to 1. A battle situation determination means for determining a battle situation between the character groups;
2. The gaming machine according to claim 1, wherein the special character control unit sets a dominant character group determined to be dominant by the battle situation determination unit among the plurality of character groups as an attack target of the special character.   The gaming machine according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the special character control means causes the special character to appear when a predetermined gaming time has elapsed. Further comprising strength parameter comparison means for comparing strength parameters indicating strength of each character group,
2. The gaming machine according to claim 1, wherein the special character control means sets the strongest character group determined to be strongest by the strength parameter comparison means as an attack target of the special character.   The game according to claim 5, wherein the special character control means causes the special character to appear when it is detected by the strength parameter comparison means that a predetermined strength difference has occurred between the character groups. Machine. A gaming machine in which a plurality of characters including an operation character operated by a player are displayed on a display, and a battle between the plurality of characters is performed on the display,
A gaming machine comprising special character control means for causing a special character whose attack target is at least one of the plurality of characters to appear on the display when a predetermined game condition is established. A game system in which a plurality of character groups including an operation character group operated by a player are displayed on a display, and a battle between the plurality of character groups is performed on the display,
A gaming system comprising special character control means for causing a special character targeted for attacking at least one of the plurality of character groups to appear on the display when a predetermined game condition is established.

Images