JP2007215767A - Game management server - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve the convenience of users of a match-type game via a network. <P>SOLUTION: In this game management server managing a match of a network type match game, an opening forenotice acceptance part 145 accepts an opening scheduled date/hour and opening conditions of a rally from a user and registers them in database. A reservation acceptance part 146 releases a rally opening forenotice to the public and recruits participants instead of the host. A user who wants to participate therein requests a reservation to the reservation acceptance part 146. When accepting the reservation, the reservation acceptance part 146 registers it in the database. When the opening schedule date/hour comes, an execution management part 147 creates necessary data for the opening of the rally and manages the execution of the rally. A result provision part 148 presents the result of the rally. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to game control technology, and more particularly to a game management server that manages games that can be played through a network.

  Battle games that can be played over a network are gaining popularity. In a general network-type battle game, the battle game is managed by a game program that runs on a server, and each user accesses the server to advance the game.

  In a conventional network-type competitive game, when a user accesses the server to enjoy the competitive game, the opponent may not be found, or even if it is found, there may be a difference in level, which may not be appropriate as the opponent. It was.

  This invention is made | formed in view of such a condition, The objective is to provide the technique which improves the convenience of the user of the battle game via a network.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, a game management server according to an aspect of the present invention provides a battle game holding notice and a request for participation in the battle game from a user terminal that hosts the battle game via a network. An advance notice accepting unit for accepting an event, an advance notice of the competition game being published via the network, and an entry reservation accepting part for accepting an appointment for participation in the competitive game from a user terminal participating in the competitive game, and the battle A match management unit that manages the holding of the game, the holding notice receiving unit receives the scheduled date and time of the battle game, and the participation reservation receiving unit presents the scheduled date and time and the reservation reservation It is characterized by accepting.

  It should be noted that any combination of the above-described constituent elements and a representation of the present invention converted between a method, an apparatus, a system, etc. are also effective as an aspect of the present invention.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the technique which improves the user's convenience of the battle game via a network can be provided.

  FIG. 1 shows a configuration of a game system according to the embodiment. The game system 1 according to the present embodiment enables a plurality of users to compete in a game via a network. In the game system 1, a game management server 110 that manages a battle between a plurality of users and a game terminal 10 of each user are connected via the Internet 2, which is an example of a network. The game terminal 10 may have a wireless communication function. In this case, the game terminal 10 may be connected to the Internet 2 via a wireless LAN or the like.

  The game terminal 10 has a game mode in which a game is played locally with an AI character or the like controlled by the game program, and a game mode in which a game is played against other users via the game management server 110. The game management server 110 provides a place for a plurality of users to play against each other, and supports communication between users via a battle game. In the embodiment, a horse racing game in which a user becomes an owner and produces and nurtures a horse and starts running in a race will be described as an example.

  FIG. 2 shows the configuration of the game terminal 10. The game terminal 10 includes a controller 20, an input unit 30, a control unit 40, a parameter holding unit 60, an image processing unit 66, a display device 68, and a communication unit 70. In terms of hardware components, these configurations are realized by a CPU of a computer, a memory, a program loaded in the memory, and the like, but here, functional blocks realized by their cooperation are illustrated. Accordingly, those skilled in the art will understand that these functional blocks can be realized in various forms by hardware only, software only, or a combination thereof.

  The input unit 30 receives a control signal input from the controller 20 operated by the user. The control unit 40 executes a game program based on an instruction from the user received by the input unit 30, and provides a function that allows the user to grow a horse as a horse owner or to start the grown horse for a race. The parameter holding unit 60 holds parameters necessary for the progress of the game. The image processing unit 66 generates a game screen controlled by the control unit 40 and causes the display device 68 to display the game screen. The communication unit 70 controls communication with other devices via the Internet 2.

  The parameter holding unit 60 includes parameters related to the user such as the owner name, ranch name, type of item to be owned, number, expiration date, horse name, gender, age, blood relationship, endurance, instantaneous power, intelligence, personality, physical condition, It holds horse-related parameters such as hunger degree and award history, racetrack name, course length, course type, number of heads, and other parameters necessary for the progress of the game.

  The local ranch management unit 41 produces and raises horses on the ranch, feeds and trains them, and provides a ranch function for cultivating racehorses and manages its operation. In order to distinguish from a ranch established by the game management server 110, which will be described later, the ranch in the game terminal 10 is referred to as “local ranch”, and the ranch in the game management server 110 is referred to as “net ranch”.

  The local ranch management unit 41 presents actions that can be selected by the user who is the owner as a menu, and receives a selection instruction from the user. The local ranch management unit 41, for example, gives an item such as food to the horse, trains the horse, grazes the horse freely, takes it to the net ranch to sell the horse, and holds the horse locally or on the net It is possible to select an action such as running in a race or crossing a stallion and stallion.

  The local ranch management unit 41 displays, for example, an animation in which the horse eats food or an animation in which the horse is running on the image processing unit 66 according to the content of the action instructed by the user. Further, the local ranch management unit 41 changes the parameters held in the parameter holding unit 60 as necessary. For example, when feeding a horse, the hunger degree of the horse is decreased and the physical condition is improved. When the horse is trained, parameters such as the endurance, instantaneous power, and intelligence of the horse are increased.

  The local ranch management unit 41 provides a store function for the user to purchase items and the like. The user can purchase items such as food, medicines, and harnesses at the store in exchange for money used in the game. Items necessary for breeding horses can be purchased at a store provided by the local ranch management unit 41, purchased at a store of another user established in the game management server 110, or the game management server 110. It can be obtained at the production facilities prepared for.

  The local ranch also has the function of a production ranch. The game management server 110 can purchase a stallion and stallion from other users and breed them to breed a racehorse. You can experience the real thrill of a real horse owner, such as obtaining a mare that excels in one ability and a stallion that excels in another, and breeding racehorses with excellent pedigree.

  The local ranch management unit 41 records the specified horse in the parameter holding unit 60 when the user selects an action of transporting the horse to the net ranch in order to sell a stallion or foal or start a racehorse. In addition, when connecting to the game management server 110 next time, the designated horse data is uploaded to the game management server 110. The racehorse will return to the local ranch when the race is over, so you can upload it as many times as you want, but since stallions and foals are uploaded for sale, uploading will leave the local ranch and multiple Cannot be uploaded once. The uploaded horse is given an ID, and after the user once transports the horse to the net ranch, that is, after uploading the horse data to the game management server 110, the game is reset without saving and the same again. Even if a horse is to be uploaded, since the horse with the same ID has already been uploaded to the internet ranch, the upload is prohibited. This prevents the same horse from being uploaded and propagated multiple times.

  The racehorse is not sold, but uploads data to the game management server 110 to participate in the race. Therefore, even if the racehorse is uploaded a plurality of times, the horse does not multiply. As will be described later, racehorse data will be uploaded in order to participate in a tournament that will be announced in the game management server 110 and scheduled to be held in the future. It is more natural to control the racehorse to stay on the local ranch by simply sending the racehorse data and reserving participation rather than controlling it to disappear. In addition, by doing this, the user can make a reservation for participation in a plurality of tournaments at the same time. Even in this case, the same horse may not be allowed to run in a plurality of tournaments held simultaneously or on the same day. When the game management server 110 accepts a racehorse participation reservation, the game management server 110 may acquire the participation status in other races and confirm whether or not a reservation for participation in a race held at the same time is made. Record the date and time of the tournament reserved for participation in the 10 side in the parameter holding unit 60 or the like, and prohibit it when reserving participation in a race to be held at the same time when reserving participation in the tournament. You may do it.

  When the local ranch management unit 41 selects an action for starting a racehorse in a locally held race, the local ranch management unit 41 gives control to the race control unit 42.

  The race control unit 42 controls a horse race. The race control unit 42 reads out the parameters related to the race from the parameter holding unit 60, presents a list of races that can be run to the user, and accepts a race selection instruction. At this time, conditions such as a race name, a racetrack name, a course length, a racetrack type, a racetrack state, a head stand, and the like of each race are presented to the user. Thereby, the user can select the race of the condition which his racehorse is good at.

  When the user selects a race on which the racehorse will run, the race control unit 42 automatically generates parameters for other racehorses in order to hold the race. Depending on the type of race, the ability of other horses may be determined. For example, in the case of a GI race, a large number of horses with excellent abilities may run.

  When the race control unit 42 generates the parameters of the running horse, the race control unit 42 calculates the race result by a predetermined algorithm. The race control unit 42 may calculate temporal changes such as the position and speed of each horse at predetermined time intervals and display the state of the race by the image processing unit 66. In addition, data such as the calculated position and speed of each horse may be recorded in the parameter holding unit 60 so that the state of the race can be replayed later. Further, the race results may be recorded in the parameter holding unit 60.

  When the race is over, the race control unit 42 gives a prize according to the performance of the user's horse and records it in the parameter holding unit 60. At this time, a parameter indicating the horse ability or the like may be changed. For example, when a horse achieves excellent results, parameters such as endurance and intelligence may be improved. Further, the results of the user's horse are recorded in the parameter holding unit 60 as a history. Thus, the user can enjoy a horse racing race from the standpoint of the owner.

  In the game system 1 according to the present embodiment, not only race horses raised over hand salt are allowed to run in races performed in the game terminal 10, but also a place for other users' horses to run and compete in races in which they participate. To do. It also provides a place to buy and sell horses and items with other users and to exchange information by creating a community. The net ranch control unit 43 controls communication with the net ranch provided in the game management server 110. The net tournament control unit 44 controls the hosting and participation of a horse racing race held in the game management server 110. These functions will be described later together with the description of the game management server 110.

  FIG. 3 shows the internal configuration of the game management server 110. The game management server 110 includes a control unit 140, a user database 160, a tournament database 161, and a communication unit 170. These configurations can also be realized in various forms by hardware only, software only, or a combination thereof.

  The control unit 140 provides a place for a plurality of users to play against each other, and executes a function for supporting communication between users via a battle game. The user database 160 stores information on users registered in the service provided by the game management server 110. The tournament database 161 stores information on the battle game managed by the game management server 110. The communication unit 170 controls communication with other devices via the Internet 2.

  When there is an access from the user's game terminal 10, the authentication unit 149 authenticates whether or not the game terminal 10 is a registered regular user's terminal. For first-time users, a user registration screen is presented, an ID for identifying the user and the ranch name of the net ranch are accepted, and the ID and ranch name do not overlap with those already registered or other problems Is checked and registered in the user database 160. At this time, information unique to the game terminal 10 such as the Mac address of the game terminal 10 is acquired and registered in association with the user ID. When there is an access from the game terminal 10, the authentication unit 149 acquires the Mac address of the game terminal 10, further receives an input of an ID from the user, and authenticates by checking the user database 160. If the authentication is successful, a list of services provided by the game management server 110 is presented to the game terminal 10 and a selection instruction is received from the user.

  The net ranch management unit 141 manages the operation of the net ranch. Unlike local ranches, net ranches do not produce and nurture horses, but operate farming facilities, mining minerals, and operating production facilities that process acquired items. A function is provided for temporarily storing horses to be used and for opening a store for selling items obtained by the user to other users.

  The user can set up a production facility such as agricultural products and minerals on the net ranch, and can sell the product in the facility to other users or download it to the local ranch and use it. Money earned from the sale of deliverables can be used to purchase mares, stallions, and foals. The internet ranch management unit 141 manages the passage of time, and uses the points given every day to carry out ranch construction and production of agricultural products. That is, the deliverables are not obtained one after another instantly, but the deliverables cannot be obtained unless a predetermined time has actually passed.

  The net ranch management unit 141 acquires horse data uploaded from the local ranch of the game terminal 10 and temporarily stores it in the net ranch until the sale is concluded. Further, when a user purchases a horse from another user by a shopping function described later, the horse's data is acquired and temporarily stored on the net ranch until it is downloaded to the local ranch. When the user selects an action of transporting a horse stored in the internet ranch to the local ranch, the internet ranch management unit 141 transmits the selected horse data to the game terminal 10. Thereby, the horse purchased on the net can be reared on the local game terminal 10 or used for breeding.

  The shopping management unit 142 has a function of browsing a store established on another user's net ranch to purchase items and horses that are sold, or to make a successful bid for horses that other users are leaning on. provide. When the user purchases an item or a horse from another user, the money used in the game management server 110 is paid to the other user. This money may be used in common with the local game terminal 10, but in this embodiment, the money that can be used in the game terminal 10 and the money that can be used in the game management server 110 are distinguished. The game management server 110 is a system in which money is earned by selling a product produced at a production facility of an internet ranch and a horse is purchased using the money as a fund.

  The community management unit 143 provides a function that supports communication between users. When the user is browsing a store of another user, the community management unit 143 can send a message to the user or request registration as a partner capable of transmitting the message.

  The online tournament management unit 144 manages the tournament in which a plurality of users participate and compete. The net tournament management unit 144 provides a function for a user to host a tournament or to participate in a tournament hosted by another user. It also provides functions for recruiting participants for the tournament to be held and for controlling the progress of the tournament when the tournament is scheduled to be held.

  FIG. 4 shows the internal configuration of the online tournament management unit 144. The net tournament management unit 144 includes a holding notice reception unit 145, a participation reservation reception unit 146, an execution management unit 147, and a result presentation unit 148. Similarly to the web server, the net tournament management unit 144 may have a function of generating and presenting a screen in response to a request from the game terminal 10, and the net tournament control unit 44 of the game terminal 10 Similar to the browser, it may have a function of displaying a screen presented from the online tournament management unit 144 and transmitting a request using a button or an input field provided on the screen.

  The event notice reception unit 145 accepts an event advance notice from a user who intends to host the event, and accepts a recruitment request for participants. At this time, the holding notice accepting unit 145 accepts the scheduled date and time of the tournament, the deadline and date of the participation reservation, the conditions regarding the race, the conditions regarding the participants, and the like. The conditions regarding the race may be the name of the race, the name of the racetrack where the race is held, the course length, the race type, the number of heads, and the like. For example, when a tennis game tournament is held, the court type, the number of sets, and the number of games may be used. When a golf game tournament is held, the course name, the number of holes, and the like may be used. . The weather conditions and the racetrack conditions may be specified by the organizer as conditions relating to the race, or these may be left as uncertain factors and determined by the execution management unit 147 when the tournament is held. . The condition regarding the participant may be an upper limit or a lower limit of the number of participants, a racehorse's gender, age, award history, or the like, or may be a condition regarding the user. Upon receiving information such as the scheduled date and time of the tournament and conditions, the event notice receiving unit 145 registers it in the event database 161.

  When the holding notice accepting unit 145 accepts the holding notice, the participation reservation accepting unit 146 publishes the notice of holding the event so that other users can view it, and recruits participants on behalf of the organizer. FIG. 5 shows an example of a participation reservation reception screen presented by the participation reservation reception unit 146. The participation reservation reception screen 200 displays the scheduled date and conditions of the tournament scheduled to be held, conditions, and the like. The participation reservation reception screen 200 is provided with a reception button 201 for receiving a user's participation reservation. When the user clicks the reception button 201, the participation reservation reception unit 146 receives the user's participation reservation. The participation reservation reception unit 146 determines whether or not the user who has reserved the participation meets the condition when the condition regarding the participant is set by the organizer, and permits the participation reservation if the condition is satisfied, If they do not match, reject. The participation reservation receiving unit 146 acquires horse data from the game terminal 10 of the user who has permitted the participation reservation and registers it in the tournament database 161. The participation reservation receiving unit 146 may change the parameters registered in the tournament database 161 in response to the change in the physical condition of the horse before the scheduled date and time. Alternatively, assuming that the user trains and finishes the horse by the scheduled date and time, the execution management unit 147 may acquire the horse data from the game terminal 10 when holding the race. .

  When the deadline date designated by the organizer arrives, the participation reservation reception unit 146 closes the participation reservation, deletes the reception button 201 from the participation reservation reception screen 200, and changes to a display such as “participation deadline”. When the scheduled date and time specified by the organizer arrives, the execution management unit 147 is controlled. Thus, since the user can entrust the game management server 110 to recruit and manage the participants of the battle game, the user can easily enjoy the battle game with other users. Once the organizer and the participants have made a declaration and reservation, the communication may be cut off until the scheduled date and time arrives, so there is no need to wait. You can train and enjoy local game modes. In addition, since participants can reserve participation, it is possible to avoid the situation where the maximum number of participants has already been reached and access to the tournament is not possible when accessing the scheduled date and time of the tournament. . Since the organizer can set conditions such as the level of the participants, the participants can participate in the tournament according to the conditions and can enjoy a battle with a desired opponent. The participation reservation receiving unit 146 may remind the organizer or the user of the participant by a communication means such as an e-mail before the scheduled date and time.

  The execution management unit 147 manages the execution of the race when the set scheduled date and time arrives. The execution management unit 147 determines the race method according to the number of users who have made participation reservations. For example, in a 12-headed race, if the number of participating horses is 48, the final race with the top three of each may be performed after four qualifying races. Further, the execution management unit 147 determines a horse frame number and the like. At this time, if necessary, conditions related to the race are set. As described above, when the execution management unit 147 determines the weather conditions and the raceway state at the time of the race without specifying the organizer, the weather condition and the raceway state are determined by generating random numbers. Similarly, in the case of other competitive games, the game conditions and rules are determined, and matching of the battles is made to prepare for the start of the battle.

  In the case of a horse racing game, the race is established even if the participant's user is not present when the race is held. Therefore, the execution management unit 147 may automatically execute the race when the scheduled date and time arrives, and disclose the result so that the organizer and the participants can view it. However, in this case, the organizer just declared that the tournament was held, and would hardly be involved in the tournament holding. Therefore, in this embodiment, data necessary for holding the tournament is sent to the game terminal 10 of the organizer, and the tournament is executed on the game terminal 10 of the organizer. Thereby, the user of the organizer can fully enjoy the joy and excitement of hosting the tournament.

  FIG. 6 shows the execution procedure of the battle game according to the embodiment. When the event announcement notice unit 145 of the game management server 110 accepts the event announcement from the organizer's game terminal 10 (S2), the participation reservation acceptance unit 146 makes the event announcement available for viewing by other users. Recruit participants on behalf of the organizer (S4). When the participation reservation accepting unit 146 accepts the participation reservation for the tournament from the participant's game terminal 10 (S6), the participation reservation accepting unit 146 acquires the data of the horses running from the participant's game terminal 10 to obtain the tournament database. 161 is registered (S8).

  When the scheduled date and time of the tournament arrives, the execution management unit 147 generates data necessary for hosting the tournament and waits for the organizer's access (S10). When the organizer accesses the game management server 110 from the game terminal 10 and displays the tournament participation reservation acceptance screen 200 by the net tournament control unit 44, as shown in FIG. 5, the tournament is executed in the tournament column hosted by himself / herself. Since the button 202 is provided, it is clicked to request the execution of the tournament (S12). The execution management unit 147 transmits data necessary for the execution of the tournament to the game terminal 10 (S14).

  When the online tournament control unit 44 completes the data download, it temporarily disconnects (S16). This is for releasing resources used for communication and effectively utilizing resources of the game terminal 10 when the tournament is executed. If the game terminal 10 has sufficient resources, the process may proceed to the next step while being connected. The net tournament control unit 44 causes the race control unit 42 to execute a race based on the downloaded data (S18). As described above, when the qualifying race and the final race are set, the qualifying race is first executed, and the final race is executed based on the result. At this time, unlike the normal local game mode, the state of the race is not displayed. This is to prevent a race result that is not convenient for the organizer from being reset and executed again or not being uploaded to the game management server 110.

  When the net tournament control unit 44 finishes the execution of all the races, it generates tournament result data and reconnects to the game management server 110 (S20). If the reconnection is successful, the net tournament control unit 44 uploads tournament result data to the game management server 110 (S22). The result presentation unit 148 generates and publishes a result presentation screen based on the acquired tournament result data (S24). For the first time, the organizer can view the results of the tournament (S26). Thereafter, the participant can access the result presentation screen at any time to view the result of the tournament (S28). In another example, when a tournament is executed on the organizer's game terminal 10, the result may be displayed in the same manner as in the normal game mode so that the organizer can see the result. The result of the race may be distributed directly from the game terminal 10 of the organizer to the game terminal 10 of the participant.

  In this way, the organizer himself can execute the race and calculate the result, thereby giving the organizer a sense of achievement. In order to reduce the event that the organizer does not execute the tournament or upload the result, prizes or rare items may be given as compensation for the organizer to execute the tournament. In addition, when a result is not uploaded from the organizer for a predetermined period, another user, an administrator of the game management server 110, or the like can execute the tournament on behalf of the organizer and upload the result. It may be.

  Information indicating the reliability of the organizer may be presented on the participation reservation reception screen 200. For example, the number of tournaments hosted by the organizer in the past and the number of tournaments for which results were actually uploaded can be presented, and the participant can determine whether or not the host is the organizer of the tournament. You may do it.

  The present invention has been described based on the embodiments. This embodiment is an exemplification, and it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications can be made to combinations of the respective constituent elements and processing processes, and such modifications are also within the scope of the present invention. is there.

It is a figure which shows the structure of the game system which concerns on embodiment. It is a figure which shows the structure of a game terminal. It is a figure which shows the internal structure of a game management server. It is a figure which shows the internal structure of a net | game competition management part. It is a figure which shows the example of the participation reservation reception screen which a participation reservation reception part shows. It is a figure which shows the execution procedure of the battle | competition game which concerns on embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

  1 game system, 2 internet, 10 game terminals, 20 controller, 30 input unit, 40 control unit, 41 local ranch management unit, 42 race control unit, 43 net ranch control unit, 44 net tournament control unit, 60 parameter holding unit, 66 image processing unit, 68 display device, 70 communication unit, 110 game management server, 140 control unit, 141 net ranch management unit, 142 shopping management unit, 143 community management unit, 144 net tournament management unit, 145 holding notice reception unit, 146 Participation reservation reception unit, 147 execution management unit, 148 result presentation unit, 149 authentication unit, 160 user database, 161 tournament database, 170 communication unit.

Claims (5)

From the terminal of the user who hosts the competitive game, via the network, the preliminary announcement of the competitive game, and the preliminary announcement reception unit that accepts a request for recruitment to the competitive game,
A participation reservation accepting unit that publishes a preview of the battle game via the network and receives a reservation for participation in the battle game from a terminal of a user who participates in the battle game;
A battle management unit for managing the holding of the battle game,
The holding notice accepting unit accepts the scheduled date and time of the battle game,
The participation reservation receiving unit receives the participation reservation by presenting the scheduled date and time. The holding notice accepting unit accepts the rules or conditions of the battle game,
The participation reservation reception unit presents the received rule or condition together with the holding notice,
The game management server according to claim 1, wherein the battle management unit manages the battle game in accordance with the rules or conditions.   The game management server according to claim 1, wherein the battle management unit determines matching of battles among users who have made the participation reservation, and causes the determined users to battle. The battle game is a game that does not require user operation,
The battle management unit transmits data related to a user who participates in the battle game to a user terminal that hosts the battle game to execute the battle game,
The game management server further includes a result presentation unit that acquires an execution result of the competitive game from a user terminal that hosts the competitive game and publishes the execution result via a network. To 5. The game management server according to any one of 3. The battle game is a horse racing game in which a horse character trained by the user races.
The participation reservation receiving unit acquires horse data to be run from a user terminal participating in the battle game,
The battle management unit transmits the data of the horses to be run to the terminal of the hosting user to execute the race,
The game management server according to claim 4, wherein the result presentation unit acquires and publishes the result of the race.

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