JP2009125329A - Game program, recording medium in which game program is recorded, and game machine to which game program is applied - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a new kind of fun in a game which a non-player character is given to the other game machine. <P>SOLUTION: A game program makes a computer function as a game machine 1 connected to the other game machine 1 which carries out the game same as a game, where a hunter C whose movements are directly controlled by operation of the other player and a follower character F whose movements are not directly controlled by the operation of the other player appear to communicate in a wired or wireless manner. The computer receives information on the follower character F transmitted from the other game machine 1, displays an appearance of the follower character F in accordance with the received information on the follower character F on a display screen, reads out a message about stored information on the hunter C when the information on the hunter C is received from the other game machine 1, and outputs such that the follower character F speaks the message which is read out to the outside. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a game program applied to a plurality of communicable game devices, a recording medium recording the game program, and a game device to which the game program is applied.

  Conventionally, game software that can be enjoyed by a plurality of players executing a common game program in a plurality of game devices connected to each other by a wired or wireless LAN has been proposed.

  In such game software, an action game that is progressed when a character (hereinafter referred to as a “hunter”) as a substitute for the player executes a command to subdue a monster that is an enemy character, for example. There is. In this type of action game, when a plurality of players participating in the game perform operations on the game device, hunters operated by each player operate on the game screen, for example, a plurality of hunters cooperate to subdue monsters. It can be said.

  In this action game, like the above monster, a character (hereinafter referred to as a “non-player character”) that cannot be directly controlled by the player is set. A character (hereinafter referred to as “cooking character”) that cooks a hunter, gives a predetermined item, or talks with the hunter is included.

  The hunter is set so that his / her ability can be improved by having the cooking character cook and eat it. Moreover, it is set so that the game development can be advantageously advanced by giving items from the cooking character. For example, depending on the given item, it is possible to generate weapons and armor used to subdue enemy characters, or to make weapons and armor more powerful.

  The cooking character is set with a plurality of levels indicating the ability to make a dish. When the level is high, the type of dish increases or a technique (hereinafter referred to as “skill”) that makes game development advantageous is activated. It becomes easy. The hunter can increase the level of the cooking character by increasing the number of times the cooking character is asked to cook or by giving an item requested by the cooking character, that is, the cooking character can be raised.

  Conventionally, cooking characters appearing in the action game have a kind of master-slave relationship with the hunter as described above, and the hunter nurtures the cooking character to make game development advantageous. Here, the applicant of the present application can give a non-player character nurtured by a hunter (player) to another hunter that is operated and controlled by another game device. When the given non-player character talks about the granting hunter or the result of comparing the hunters, he thought that the action game might add new fun.

  In the gazette shown in Patent Document 1 described below, a game in which a player trains a game character, transmits data of the trained game character to a game device operated by another player, and is trained in the transmitted game device. The contents are described such that the character is further operated by other players.

JP 2001-175175 A.

  The game in the gazette shown in Patent Document 1 mainly has, for example, the game content that the player develops a game character who is a player belonging to a baseball team. Enjoy the development. In this game, the trained game character can be given to another player, that is, the game character can be transmitted to another game device.

  However, in the invention of the above-mentioned publication, once the trained game character is transmitted as data to a game device operated by another player, the transmission source game device is connected to the transmission destination game device in game development. The relationship will be lost. That is, in the transmission destination game device, the received game character does not recognize the game development of the transmission source game device. Therefore, as described above, it is difficult for the received game character to have a conversation about the game development of the transmission source game device.

  The invention of the present application has been conceived under the circumstances described above, and a game program capable of providing new interest in a game in which a non-player character can be given to another game device, and the game It is an object of the present invention to provide a recording medium on which a program is recorded and a game device to which the game program is applied.

  In order to solve the above problems, the present invention takes the following technical means.

  The game program provided by the first aspect of the present invention is capable of executing a game that causes a computer to appear a first character whose operation is directly controlled by a player's operation on the game space. The same game as the above game is executed, in which a second character whose movement is directly controlled by the operation of the other player and a third character whose movement is not directly controlled by the operation of the other player appear. A game program for functioning as a game device that is communicably connected to another game device in a wired or wireless manner, wherein the computer is transmitted from the other game device. A first receiving means for receiving information about the character and the other game device received by the first receiving means; Display control means for displaying the appearance of the third character on the display screen based on the information relating to the third character, and second reception for receiving information relating to the second character transmitted from the other game device. Means, a first storage means for storing a message about information on the second character received by the second receiving means, and the second receiving means from the other game device by the second receiving means. When the information about the character is received, a message about the information about the second character stored in the first storage means is read, and the read message is displayed by the display control means. It functions as a message control means that outputs to the outside so that the third character emits. It is set to (claim 1).

  According to this configuration, the information regarding the third character transmitted from the other game device is received, and the appearance of the third character is displayed on the display screen based on the information regarding the third character received from the other game device. Let Also, the third character displayed on the display screen receives a message based on the information related to the second character received from the other game device, and receives information related to the second character transmitted from the other game device. Output to the outside to emit. For this reason, the third character outputs to the display screen such that the information related to the second character (for example, “the previous master (the second character controlled by another game device) was strong”) is issued as a message. Therefore, the player can recognize the learning status of other players in the game, and can provide new interest to the player.

  Further, in this game apparatus, a plurality of types of messages are provided according to information on the second character, and the computer functions as a first storage unit that stores the plurality of types of messages. The message control unit may select one message from a plurality of types of messages stored in the first storage unit according to a predetermined condition, and output the selected message to the outside. 2).

  In the game program, the information relating to the second character received by the second receiving means includes information representing a history of the second character on the game, The storage means may include and store a plurality of messages corresponding to information representing the history of the second character included in the information related to the second character.

  In this game program, the computer is caused to function as a second storage unit that stores information relating to the first character whose operation is controlled by the game device of the game, wherein the first storage unit is Comparison between the information relating to the second character whose movement is controlled by the other game device received by the second receiving means and the information relating to the first character stored by the second storage means A plurality of messages according to the result may be included and stored.

  In this game program, the information relating to the first character stored by the second storage means may include information representing a history of the first character on the game (claim). Item 5).

  Further, in this game program, the information relating to the third character received from the other game device by the first receiving means includes that the third character has been received from the other game device. Information is included, and the message stored in the first storage means may include a plurality of messages according to information indicating that the third character has been received from the other game device. (Claim 6).

  Further, in this game program, the computer changes the attribute information included in the information related to the third character, thereby increasing the closeness between the third character and the first character to the third character. The message is set to be associated with the intimacy as a condition for selection when the message is selected. The message corresponding to the intimacy set for the third character by the intimacy setting means may be selected from among the messages.

  Further, in this game program, the game includes a content that causes the fourth character to compete against the first and third characters, and the third character responds to a predetermined action of the first character. It is good that it is accompanied, and when it is accompanied by the predetermined action, an attack is applied to the fourth character (claim 8).

  Further, in this game program, the game includes a hunter who is a part of the player as the first character, and an accompaniment character for hunting the hunter as the third character in the game space, The hunting action game may include a monster that is the hunting target of the hunter as the fourth character, and the hunting action of the monster together with the accompanying character.

  The recording medium provided by the second aspect of the present invention is characterized in that the game program provided by the first aspect of the present invention is recorded in a computer-readable manner (claim 10).

  The game device provided by the third aspect of the present invention is capable of executing a game in which a first character whose movement is directly controlled by a player's operation appears in the game space, and is played by other players. A game that can execute the same game as the above game, in which a second character whose operation is directly controlled by an operation and a third character whose operation is not directly controlled by the operation of the other player appear. A first receiving means for receiving information related to the third character transmitted from the other game device, wherein the first receiving means is connected to the game device in a wired or wireless communication manner; The appearance of the third character is displayed on the basis of the information relating to the third character from the other game device received by the first receiving means. Display control means to be displayed; second receiving means for receiving information relating to the second character transmitted from the other game device; and information relating to the second character received by the second receiving means. When information about the second character from the other game device is received by the first storage means for storing a message about the second game device and the second reception means, the information is stored in the first storage means. Message control means for reading out a message about information relating to the second character and outputting the read message to the outside so that the third character displayed by the display control means emits the message. (Claim 11).

  The game program provided by the fourth aspect of the present invention is a computer program that can execute a game for causing a character to appear in the game space and can execute the same game as the game. A game program for causing a computer to function as a game device connected to be communicably wired or wirelessly, wherein the computer receives information on the character transmitted from the other game device. Display control means for displaying the appearance of the character on a display screen according to information on the character from the other game apparatus received by the first receiving means, and the other transmitted from the other game apparatus. Second receiving means for receiving information relating to other players operating the game device; Storage means for storing a message about the information about the other player received by the receiving means, and information about the other player from the other game device being received by the second receiving means, Message control means for reading out a message about information on the other player stored in the storage means and outputting the read message to the outside so that the character displayed by the display control means is emitted. It is characterized by functioning (claim 12).

  The recording medium provided by the fifth aspect of the present invention is characterized in that the game program provided by the fourth aspect of the present invention is recorded in a computer-readable manner (claim 13).

  The game device provided by the sixth aspect of the present invention is capable of executing a game for causing a character to appear in the game space, and wired to another game device capable of executing the same game as the game. Alternatively, the game device is connected to be communicable wirelessly, the first receiving unit receiving information on the character transmitted from the other game device, and the other received by the first receiving unit. Display control means for displaying the appearance of the character on the display screen based on information on the character from the game device, and information on the other player operating the other game device transmitted from the other game device. A message about the second receiving means and information about the other player received by the second receiving means; When the information about the other player from the other game device is received by the storage means and the second receiving means, a message about the information about the other player stored in the storage means is read out And message control means for outputting the read message to the outside so that the character displayed by the display control means emits (claim 14).

  Other features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the detailed description given below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a game system according to the present invention. This game system is configured by a plurality of (four in FIG. 1) portable game devices 1 (hereinafter simply referred to as “game device 1”) that mutually form a network by, for example, a wireless LAN (Local Area Network). ing.

  The game device 1 is communicably connected to another game device 1 via a wireless LAN, so that each player can execute the same game software between the game devices 1 (hereinafter referred to as “wireless LAN function”). Is provided.)

  The game apparatus 1 reads the game program and game data from a dedicated portable recording medium (hereinafter referred to as “game media”, which will be described later) in which the game program and game data are recorded into a memory (described later) in the apparatus. By executing a game program by a CPU (described later), the player can enjoy the game development.

  In this embodiment, as a game that can be enjoyed on the game apparatus 1, a virtual society is constructed in the game space, and characters (hereinafter referred to as “hunters”) that are the players of the player appear in the virtual society. A game whose main game development is to execute various requests and commands (hereinafter referred to as “quest”) provided in the virtual society by controlling the operation of the hunter will be described. More specifically, in this game, when a player operates the game apparatus 1, a character operating on the game screen subjugates an enemy character (for example, a dinosaur, hereinafter referred to as “monster”) on the game. It is a so-called hunting action game.

  In this hunting action game, the game devices 1 are connected to each other by the wireless LAN function, and the operation information in each game device 1 is communicated with each other, so that a plurality of players can enjoy a common game development. A mode such as “party play” is provided. In the party play mode, the player can team up with a plurality of other players to receive an order for the same “quest” and cooperate to achieve the “quest”.

  That is, in this hunting action game, a plurality of players can bring the game apparatus 1 to the same place and enjoy the hunting action game in the party play mode while talking to each other. In this game system, each player can communicate with other players via a hunter in the game space, but each player can communicate with other players by directly talking with each other. it can.

  In addition, unlike the party play mode, this hunting action game also has a mode such as “single play” in which each player can enjoy the game development independently.

  In the hunting action game, so-called “non-player characters” that cannot be directly controlled by the player appear. The non-player character is a character that operates based on the program content of a game program (described later) and performs an action that helps a hunter, for example. Some non-player characters can be owned by a hunter (called “hire” in the game). For example, when the hunter hires this non-player character, the hunter cooks or has a conversation with the hunter. Hereinafter, this non-player character is referred to as a “cooking character”. Since the hunter is set so that the ability is increased by eating the dish created by the cooking character, the cooking character indirectly performs an action to help the hunter achieve the “quest”.

  In the present embodiment, as one of the non-player characters, a non-player character (hereinafter referred to as “Otomo character”) who participates in a “quest” such as defeating a monster appears. In other words, if a hunter owns (or hires) this otomo character, the otomo character will be accompanied by a hunter for the hunter to achieve the “quest”, and the otomo character himself will attack the monster etc. Take action to help hunters.

  In this hunting action game, the Otomo character can be given from a hunter that is a player's alternate to another hunter that is a substitute for another player. The assigned Otomo character is owned by the grantee hunter, but the granted Otomo character is allowed to converse with the grantee hunter using various messages, as will be described in detail later. Yes.

  The content of the message includes, for example, content that praises or criticizes the game history of the granting hunter. Or the content which compares the history in the game of the grantor's hunter and grantee's hunter, and praises or criticizes the comparison result is mentioned. Furthermore, examples of the content of the message include impressions, requests, preferences, criticisms, praises, etc. about the current situation of the self.

  The player who is operating the grantee hunter knows the history (degree of acquisition) of the grantee hunter (other players) in this game, the comparison result with the grantee hunter, etc. through a conversation with the otomo character. be able to. Therefore, the player who operates the grantee hunter can feel a sense of superiority or inferiority to the grantee hunter, and the player's motivation for the game can be enhanced.

  In addition, the player who is operating the grantee hunter is related to other players, such as “Otomo character that you gave me saying you like this” and other players' game acquisition level etc. Can be performed in an actual conversation, so that communication between players can be promoted.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of the game apparatus 1 in which the hunting action game is executed.

  The game apparatus 1 includes a CPU 2, a drawing data generation processor 3, a RAM 4, a ROM 5, a drawing processing processor 6, a VRAM (Video-RAM) 7, a D / A (Digital-Analog) converter 8, a display unit 9, a sound processing processor 10, The amplifier 11, the speaker 12, the operation unit 13, the media drive unit 14, the wireless LAN module 15, and the bus 16 are configured.

  In the game apparatus 1, the game media 17 in which the hunting action game software is recorded is loaded into the media drive unit 14, and the game program and game data in the game media 17 are read from the media drive unit 14 into the RAM 4, and the game is played by the CPU 2. By executing the program, the player can enjoy the game contents. The player can advance the game by operating each operation member (not shown) of the operation unit 13.

  The CPU 2 comprehensively controls the progress of the game by executing the game program read from the game media 17 into the RAM 4 by the media drive unit 14 as described above.

  More specifically, the CPU 2 is based on the player operation signal from the operation unit 13 in the single play mode, and via the player operation information from the operation unit 13 and the wireless LAN function in the party play mode. Based on the operation information from the other game devices 1 (such as action command information for the hunter and information on the change of the position of the hunter on the game screen) as needed from the game media 17 and the game program and image data. Etc. are read into the RAM 4. Then, the contents of the three-dimensional image to be displayed on the display unit 9 are determined by processing these data and executing the game program. Further, the drawing data generation processor 3 generates drawing data necessary for the contents, and the drawing data is transferred to the drawing processing processor 6 to perform drawing processing.

  Further, the CPU 2 determines the sound effect or BGM sound content to be output from the speaker 12, causes the sound processor 10 to generate sound data for the sound content, and outputs sound based on the sound data from the speaker 12. Let

  The drawing data generation processor 3 performs various arithmetic processes necessary for the drawing process. The CPU 2 determines a game image to be displayed on the display unit 9 and reads out image data (for example, data indicating the positional relationship between the hunter, non-player character, monster, and background) necessary for drawing the game image from the RAM 4. This is supplied to the drawing data generation processor 3. Further, the CPU 2 supplies operation information input from the operation unit 13 to the drawing data generation processor 3.

  The drawing data generation processor 3 calculates data necessary for drawing based on the image data and operation information supplied from the CPU 2 and supplies the calculation result to the drawing processor 6.

  The RAM 4 provides an area for storing the game program and game data read from the game media 17 by the media drive unit 14 and a work area for the CPU 2 to process the game program. In the RAM 4, game programs and game data necessary for the progress of the game are read from the game media 17 and stored.

  The game program describes processing procedures and various instructions to be executed by the CPU 2, and includes contents for controlling the game screen, sound, and the like in accordance with operation signals from the operation unit 13. include. The game data includes, for example, the background, hunter, non-player character and monster polygon data, texture data, image data such as light source data, menu screen, item list, hunter and non-player character status, etc. In addition to image data for information display, etc., voice data used as BGM and various sound effects, message data using characters and symbols, and the like are also included.

  In addition, as shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, the game data includes a message table that stores the contents of messages used by the Otomo character for conversation with the hunter who is the master. When the Otomo character has a conversation with the hunter, one message is selected from the messages stored in the message table and read out, and used for the conversation. The message table is read from the game media 17 into the RAM 4 when the hunter moves to a predetermined location (for example, “kitchen (described later)”). The message table is resident in the RAM 4 while the hunter is in place. In this case, the RAM 4 functions as “first storage means” recited in the claims. Details of the message table will be described later.

  Note that “conversation” here does not mean that the players actually exchange words, but the hunter speaks to the otomo character, and the otomo character responds to the action. To do. More specifically, as will be described later, when the hunter moves to a position near the otomo character and the player performs a predetermined operation (for example, when the “O” button is operated), a message is displayed on the display screen near the otomo character. One message selected from the table is displayed in text. In the present embodiment, these operations and operations are collectively referred to as “conversation”.

  The ROM 5 stores a basic program indicating a basic function of the game apparatus 1 such as a disk loading function, a game program stored in the game media 17 and a procedure for reading game data, and the like. When the game media 17 is loaded in the media drive unit 14, the CPU 2 operates the media drive unit 14 according to the basic program in the ROM 5, reads the game program and game data from the game media 17 into the RAM 4, and sets the game start state.

  The game program is configured by combining a plurality of programs. For example, the operation of the hunter displayed on the display unit 9 is controlled based on the operation information, or the hunter receives an order for a “quest”. Game progress program for controlling game development when "quest" is achieved, etc., network control program for controlling transmission / reception of data (eg, status data of hunters, non-player characters, etc.) between players And a graphic control program for controlling a three-dimensional image to be displayed on the display unit 9.

  The drawing processor 6 generates a game image every 1/30 seconds, for example, and displays it on the display unit 9. The drawing processor 6 calculates data necessary for drawing based on the image data and operation information supplied from the CPU 2 and causes the VRAM 7 to perform drawing processing based on the calculation result.

  The VRAM 7 performs image data drawing processing, and outputs and displays it on the display unit 9 via the D / A converter 8. The VRAM 7 is provided with a texture buffer 71 and a screen buffer 72. The texture buffer 71 is a buffer for performing preprocessing for creating two-dimensional image data to be displayed on the display unit 9. The screen buffer 72 is a buffer area for storing the image data of each frame displayed on the display unit 9, and has two configurations such as screen buffers 72A and 72B. The screen buffers 72A and 72B have the same memory structure and memory capacity.

  By providing the two screen buffers 72A and 72B in the VRAM 7, it is possible to smoothly perform the drawing process of each frame on the display unit 9, for example, every 1/30 seconds. That is, in the case of the drawing process for displaying the image data on the display unit 9, the image data of the next frame is displayed in the other screen buffer 72B while the display process on the display unit 9 is performed using the one screen buffer 72A. , And this process is alternately performed between the screen buffer 72A and the screen buffer 72B, thereby smoothly performing the drawing process.

  The D / A converter 8 converts the image data output from the VRAM 7 into an analog signal and outputs the analog signal to the display unit 9. The D / A converter 8 is provided with a switch circuit (not shown) for switching between the image data from the screen buffer 72A and the image data from the screen buffer 72B. Switching of the switch circuit is controlled by the drawing processor 6. Is done.

  As described above, the display unit 9 displays various information regarding the operation state of the game apparatus 1, the progress state of the game, and the game content. The display unit 9 is configured by a light emitting element including, for example, a transflective color liquid crystal display and an LED, which is provided at approximately the center of the surface of the apparatus main body configured by a thin rectangular parallelepiped having a horizontally long rectangular front shape. . The operation state (power on / off, mode setting state, etc.) of the game apparatus 1 is displayed by turning on the light emitting element, and various information relating to the progress of the game and game contents are displayed on the transflective color liquid crystal display. Let

  The sound processor 10 performs various arithmetic processes necessary for processing to generate sound such as sound effects. The sound processor 10 reads sound effects or BGM sound data from the RAM 4 based on a sound command from the CPU 2, performs necessary processing and D / A conversion processing, and outputs the processed sound to the amplifier 11. The amplifier 11 amplifies the audio signal input from the audio processor 10 with a predetermined amplification degree, and then outputs it to the speaker 12. Note that one speaker 12 is provided at each of the left and right ends of the apparatus body, and stereo output is possible.

  The operation unit 13 is for inputting an operation command to the CPU 2. The operation unit 13 includes a power switch for turning on / off the power, a wireless switch for using a wireless LAN, and a plurality of operation buttons necessary for playing a game. The plurality of operation buttons are, for example, direction keys including four keys, up, down, left, and right, four operation buttons “◯”, “△”, “×”, and “□”, and a menu screen for displaying the menu screen. These are operation buttons or the like generally provided in the game apparatus 1 such as a menu button, a “SELECT” button, and a “START” button.

  The “START” button is basically an operation button for instructing “game start” at the start of the game, and the “SELECT” button is basically an operation for selecting a game operation mode or the like at the start of the game. Although it is a button, it also functions as an operation button for inputting a specific command (for example, a command such as “deletion” or “confirmation” in editing work) while the game is in progress by the game program.

  The direction key is operated mainly for designating a movement direction of a hunter displayed on the display unit 9 and designating a selection direction for selecting a selection item displayed on the menu screen. The “○” button, “△” button, “×” button, and “□” button indicate, for example, the type of hunter action (type of attack / defense, type of run / jump / bend, etc.) during the game progress. Specify, display information about hunters (hunter status, information about acquired items, etc.), and command specific items (eg “detail display” and “confirm”) on the menu screen ) To input.

  The media drive unit 14 reads game programs, game data, and the like recorded on the game media 17 from the game media 17.

  The game media 17 is composed of, for example, an optical disk or the like, and the game media 17 is recorded with a game program prepared in both a single play mode and a party play mode, and various data necessary for executing the game program. Has been. As described above, the game program includes a game progress program, chat control with other players when a team is formed with a hunter operated by another player, and operation data of the game apparatus 1 of other players. A network control program for controlling data such as a graphic control program for displaying a three-dimensional image is included.

  The wireless LAN module 15 is a communication module for configuring a network by performing data communication with another game apparatus 1 by a wireless LAN compliant with, for example, the communication standard IEEE802.11b (used frequency band 2.4 GHz, communication speed 11 Mbps). is there. The wireless LAN module 15 performs data communication with the wireless LAN module 15 of the other game apparatus 1 in, for example, an ad hoc mode, and the operation information of the operation unit 13 and the game status with the other game apparatuses 1. It performs the function of sending and receiving various information such as data to each other. The “wireless LAN module 15” functions as “first receiving means” and “second receiving means” recited in the claims.

  Here, an outline of the hunting action game according to the present embodiment will be described.

  As described above, the hunting action game is based on the fact that a hunter that is a player's alternation appears in the virtual society in the game space and various quests are achieved through the hunter.

  The virtual society is, for example, a society in which a plurality of types of monsters as enemy characters live in an environment similar to the real world (an environment similar to a natural environment such as a forest, a hill, a jungle, a desert, and a lake). In addition, the “quest” subjugates or captures monsters (hereinafter referred to as “subjugation”), and other things that exist in the virtual society (for example, fish, insects, animals, mushrooms, wild plants, etc., plants and jewelry). Such as minerals, etc.), or obtaining specific items (such as huge eggs) placed in a virtual society.

  The “quest” includes a wide variety of contents, and is classified into a plurality of levels, for example, “low”, “medium”, “high”, and the like according to the difficulty level of achievement. For example, when the difficulty level of “quest” is classified into 8 levels of levels L1 to L8, “quest” of level L1 to L3 is low class, “quest” of level L4 and L5 is middle class, level L6 to The L8 “quest” is classified as a high class. The “quest” includes a “village head quest” received from the village head (described later) and a “meeting hall quest” to be arranged at the meeting place (described later).

  Monsters include multiple types of monsters with different attack and defense powers. The higher the difficulty level of the “quest”, the higher the attack power and defense power of the monsters to be subjugated. In addition, the types of other items or specific items (hereinafter referred to as “items”) that can be collected or acquired by the “quest” class are different.

  A hunter can acquire multiple weapons with different attack power and armor with different defense power as the game progresses, and the player equips the hunter with the desired weapon and armor from the acquired multiple weapons and armor Can do. In addition, the hunter can acquire items for making tools, weapons, and armor that assist the attack power and defense power as the game progresses. In the virtual society, there is an armor shop that buys and sells weapons, armor, and items, and an armor shop that manufactures weapons and armor, and hunters purchase armor and items using the currency distributed in the virtual society. Or can be manufactured.

  When the player completes the “quest” by operating the hunter, a reward is paid for the achievement of the “quest”. The reward increases as the “quest” level increases. Each player receives an order for a “quest” by himself and does not only proceed with the game to achieve the “quest”, but also recruits friends for the “quest” he has ordered, The player can apply for a “quest” for recruiting friends, and can form a team of a predetermined number of players to advance a game to achieve a common “quest”.

  Players get rewards while completing various “quests” for hunters, and purchases and manufactures armor and items from armor shops using the rewards. You can experience life in Japan.

  When the player achieves the “quest” by operating the hunter, a point for the hunter set in the “quest” to obtain a title is given to the hunter separately from the reward. In addition, multiple ranks (hereinafter referred to as “hunter ranks”) indicating the ability to subjugate monsters are set for hunters, and the hunter rank of each hunter increases each time a predetermined “quest” is cleared. .

  When a player joins a game for the first time, the hunter is given the minimum necessary equipment, living funds and residence. Accordingly, the player operates the game apparatus 1 to control the movement of the hunter in the virtual society, obtains a reward while performing a “quest” according to the hunter rank, and uses the reward to obtain necessary weapons and items. The process of obtaining is repeated. As the hunter rank of the hunter rises, it becomes possible to accept orders for “quests” with a higher difficulty level (quest level), and if a “quest” with a higher difficulty level is achieved, a higher reward can be obtained. Can experience how the hunter's living environment in the virtual society improves as the game progresses.

  In the virtual society of the hunting action game, a field where a hunter lives and receives an order for a “quest” and prepares for the “quest” (hereinafter referred to as “base field”) is provided. .

  FIG. 6 shows an example of a basic scene configuration when a hunter receives an order for a “quest” in the game space and goes on a journey to achieve the “quest”.

  The “village” as the base field is provided with a plurality of facilities such as “meeting place”, “home”, “farm”, “training place”, and the like. FIG. 6A is a diagram illustrating a “village” square, and is a scene that is first displayed on the display unit 9 when the game is started or restarted by the player.

  A “armor shop” and a “general shop” (both not shown) are provided in the “village” square. The “armor shop” is a facility where the weapons and armor owned by Hunter A can be manufactured and strengthened. In addition, “General Store” is a facility where Hunter A can buy and sell items. Although not shown in the figure, the “village” square is connected to “farm” and “training place”, and Hunter A can head to “farm” or “training place” arbitrarily. . The “farm” is a facility where items such as fish, insects, minerals and plants can be collected, and the “training place” is a facility where Hunter A can improve his / her ability by performing predetermined training. .

  Although not shown in the figure, non-player characters such as “village chief” and “travel merchant” stand in the “village” square. The “village head” is a character that provides the hunter A with a “quest (village head quest)” and advises the hunter A regarding hunting and the like. The “travel merchant” is a character that gives a hunter character or a cooking character to Hunter A or buys or sells items.

  As shown in FIG. 6A, the “village” plaza is provided with “meeting hall S1” and “home S2”. It is possible to move to the meeting place S1 and home S2, and return to the square from the meeting place S1 and home S2.

  FIG. 6B is a diagram illustrating a scene of “meeting place S1” displayed on the display unit 9. When the player moves Hunter A in “village” to “meeting place S1”, the screen of the display unit 9 is switched to the scene “inside the meeting place” in FIG. At the same time, the wireless LAN module 15 is activated and shifts to a communicable state for transmitting and receiving information to and from other game apparatuses 1. This communication state is continued even when a trip to achieve “Quest” is made from “Meeting hall S1” to “Hunting field (see FIG. 6C, described later)”, but “Meeting hall S1”. Canceled when entering the village. That is, a wireless LAN is configured with another game apparatus 1 in the scenes of FIGS. 6B and 6C.

  The “meeting hall S1” is a facility where a plurality of hunters gather to exchange information, form a team, and receive an order for a “quest”. For example, Hunter A can receive an order for “Quest” by having a conversation with Miss Receptionist B. The “meeting hall S1” has an “online meeting hall” where a player (hunter) enters to perform a party play, and a player (hunter) enters a “meeting hall quest” without performing a party play. An “offline meeting place” is available.

  When the hunter A whose operation is controlled by the player moves to the “online meeting hall” and another hunter C whose operation is controlled by another player also moves to the “online meeting hall”, the other hunter C becomes the “online meeting hall”. Information indicating that it has entered and information related to other hunters C (information for drawing other hunters C, position information at the “online meeting place”, etc.) are transmitted to game device 1 on which hunter A is operated. At the same time, similar information regarding the hunter A is transmitted from the game device 1 of the hunter A to the other game device 1 where the other hunter C is operated. In the following description, the game apparatus 1 on which the hunter A is operated is referred to as “game apparatus 1A”, and the game apparatus 1 on which the hunter C is operated is referred to as “game apparatus 1C”.

  In the game apparatus 1A in which the hunter A is operated by sending and receiving these pieces of information, the hunter C is displayed in the “online meeting place” displayed on the display unit 9 by the drawing processor 6 based on the received information about the hunter C. A drawing process for making the character appear is performed. Similarly, in the game apparatus 1C in which the hunter C is operated, based on the received information about the hunter A, an image in which the hunter C enters the “meeting place S1” where the hunter A exists on the display unit 9 by the drawing processor 6. A drawing process for switching to is performed.

  As will be described later, when each hunter gathers at the “online meeting place”, the status data of each hunter (hereinafter referred to as “status data”) is mutually stored in each game device 1 operated by each player. Sent and received. Note that the player can check the contents of the status data in the form of a guild card described later. The status data includes information about the Otomo character. By sending and receiving these status data, for example, Hunter A can give the Otomo character he owns to another Hunter C, or can transmit information about the Otomo character to other Hunter C. . The status data of the player and other players is stored in the RAM 4. In this case, the RAM 4 functions as a “second storage unit” recited in the claims.

  Each hunter is provided with a card similar to a business card in the real world (hereinafter referred to as “guild card”), and this guild card can be exchanged with other hunters at the “online meeting hall”. By referring to this guild card, the hunter can confirm the status of himself or another hunter. A part of the information such as the status stored in the guild card is used when the Otomo character described later issues a message.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a guild card.

  On the upper left side of the guild card 18, there is provided a hunter specific information display area 18a for displaying information specific to the hunter, and an equipment display area for displaying information on weapons and armor currently equipped by the hunter at the right center. 18b is provided, and on the right side of the equipment display area 18b, a friendship degree display area 18c for displaying information on the friendship points is provided. Below the hunter-specific information display area 18a and the equipment display area 18b, A self-introduction area 18d describing the self-introduction is provided.

  In the hunter specific information display area 18a, information such as a hunter title, a hunter name, a hunter rank, and a battle history is displayed. In the equipment display area 18b, the equipment that the hunter is currently equipped with is “weapon”, “head equipment”, “body equipment”, “arm equipment”, “waist equipment”, and “leg equipment” from the top. Is displayed. In the friendship degree display area 18c, the integrated value of the friendship degree for each hunter is displayed by the amount of points accumulated in the flame type container 18e. The friendship level represents the closeness between hunters. In the self-introduction display area 18d, a simple self-introduction message of the hunter is displayed in characters.

  In addition to the contents described in the guild card, the status data of the hunter includes, for example, the hunter's unique ID, the weapon used by the hunter and the frequency of use, and the number of medals. When cards are exchanged, they are exchanged between hunters as status data. The unique ID of the hunter is set for the hunter when the player creates the hunter at the start of the game, and serves as hunter identification information.

  In this hunting action game, in addition to the base field, as shown in FIG. 6 (c), a field in which hunter A moves to achieve a “quest” in which monster D lives and subjugates monster D, etc. (Hereinafter referred to as “hunting field”). Hunter A can move from the “village” or “meeting hall S1” to the hunting field. In the hunting field, for example, a plurality of areas having different monster types and habitat environments such as “snowy mountain”, “dense forest”, “desert”, and “swamp” are provided.

  In each area, a plurality of areas having different land conditions such as “base camp”, “plain field”, “snow field”, and “cave” are set. “Base camp” is a scene that is displayed on the display 9 first when Hunter A enters each area of the hunting field, and the items collected by the hunting field at the hunting field are delivered or rested. It is an area where you can. Hunter A can move to each area from the “base camp”, and can move between areas in a predetermined area.

  Hunter A, operated by each player, accepts an order for a “quest” from the base field “village” and receives a single “quest”, or teams up with other hunters C for party play. Go to the hunting field according to. In the hunting field, the hunter A performs an action (for example, collecting a predetermined item, subjugating a predetermined monster D, etc.) to achieve the “quest” in each region.

  FIG. 6D shows a scene of “Home S <b> 2” displayed on the display unit 9. “Home S2” is a facility where items owned by Hunter A can be stored and where Hunter A can rest. When the hunter A is laid down on the bed b1, the game is saved.

  As shown in FIG. 6E, “home” is provided with a “kitchen” where Hunter A can eat and talk with non-player characters. In the “kitchen”, as a non-player character that cannot be directly controlled by the player, for example, there is a cooking character E that has the appearance of a cat that cooks for Hunter A.

  Hunter A can own (or hire) a plurality of cooking characters E as being like a servant. Specifically, the hunter A can obtain the cooking character E from the “travel merchant (not shown)” or the like with a suitable amount for the first and the second and subsequent animals. When the cooking character E is hired by the hunter A, the cooking character E comes to live in this “kitchen”.

  Hunter A moves to this “kitchen” and can cause cooking character E to cook by giving instructions to cooking character E or by providing food (such as raw meat or fish). Further, the hunter A can converse with the cooking character E, give the cooking character E the ingredients requested by the cooking character E, or be given a predetermined item from the cooking character E. Hunter A can increase his ability (for example, physical strength and attack power) by eating the food cooked by cooking character E.

  In the present embodiment, apart from the cooking character E that makes the above-described cooking, as described above, when the hunter A goes to a “quest” such as hunting or collecting, the appearance of a cat that can be taken together as an attendant Otomo character F who appeared. When the otomo character F encounters the monster D or the like during hunting, the otomo character F acts to assist the hunter by attacking the monster D or the like alone.

  The hunter A can acquire (or hire) the Otomo character F from the “travel merchant” or the like with an appropriate amount. When the Otomo character F is hired by Hunter A, it will live in the “kitchen”. Hunter A can own up to a predetermined number (for example, 13) of Otomo characters F under predetermined conditions.

  In “Kitchen”, if you have multiple Otomo characters F, you can select the Otomo character F to be taken as a companion to “Quest”, change the rank (described later) of the Otomo character F, or eliminate the Otomo character F (Referred to as “dismissal” in the game) or newly acquired within a predetermined number of ranges.

  The Otomo character F is divided into, for example, two classes. For example, “Regular” and “Reserve” are set in the class, and Hunter A can associate the Otomo character F registered in “Regular” with “Quest”. For example, up to 3 animals can be registered in the “regular”, and up to 10 animals can be registered in the “record”. The player can arbitrarily register the Otomo character F in “regular” and “reserved” by a predetermined operation, or exchange between “regular” and “reserved”.

  In the Otomo character F, various statuses are set in the form of data. FIG. 8 shows an example of a guild card (hereinafter referred to as “character card”) for an otomo character representing the status of the otomo character F. The status data represented by the character card 19 is stored in the RAM 4 together with the guild card 18 described above when the hunter A owns the Otomo character. As shown in FIG. 8, the character card 19 can be displayed on the display screen of the display unit 9 by the operation of the player.

  When the guild card is exchanged with another player, the data represented by the guild card 18 is also transmitted to and received from the game apparatus 1 operated by the other player. In this case, the status data represented by the character card 19 and the data represented by the guild card 18 are also transmitted to and received from other game apparatuses 1. That is, after the guild card 18 is exchanged, the game device 1 of the player can display the status of the Otomo character owned by the other player using the character card 19, and the game device 1 of the other player The status of the Otomo character owned by itself can be displayed using the character card 19.

  Further, when the guild card 18 is not exchanged with another player and the Otomo character is given to another player, the status data represented by the character card 19 is represented by the guild card 18. It is separately transferred to the game device 1 of another player without accompanying data.

  In the character card 19, the face and unique name ("Patricia" in the figure) of the Otomo character are described in the upper part, and each status and its value are described in the lower part.

  To explain each status, the “level” is a level that is more advantageous as it is higher in battle (for example, 20 levels are set). The higher this level is, the higher the physical strength and attack power when going out to hunting etc. And the defense power increases, and it becomes advantageous by the hunter who took the Otomo character for hunting. Although not shown in FIG. 8, “battle experience value” is set as the status of the Otomo character, and the “level” stage is determined by this “battle experience value”. The “combat experience value” is increased when the Otomo character is taken to the “quest” and the “quest” is successful.

  “Attack power” is a numerical value of damage given to a monster during a battle with a monster, and the higher this value, the greater the damage to the monster. “Defensive power” represents the difficulty of receiving damage to a monster or the like during a battle with a monster or the like. When this value is high, the damage is more difficult to receive.

  “Natsuki degree” indicates the familiarity of the Otomo character with the player, and the “question” is increased when the “quest” is successful. As shown in FIG. 8, the “degree of nasty” is represented by, for example, the number of hearts (for example, four at the maximum). If the “degree of nasty” is high (the number of hearts is large), unnecessary behavior of the Otomo character is reduced. Take action to recover faster than when you take damage during a battle with a monster, or approach the physical distance (the distance that follows the hunter) from the hunter when you are taken to hunting. In other words, the shorter the distance from the hunter, the higher the “degree of nagging”.

  As the status data for representing the number of hearts, the initial value when hired by a hunter is set to, for example, “3500”. The “degree of nagging” varies, for example, between “0 and 7000”. For example, when the “degree of nasty” is “0 to 999”, the number of hearts is displayed in the “Natsuki degree” column of the character card 19 in FIG. Is not represented, and when “degree of nasty” is “1000 to 2499”, the number of hearts is one, and when “degree of nasty” is “2500 to 4499”, the number of hearts is two and “degree of nasty” is In the case of “4500 to 5999”, the number of hearts is set to three, and in the case where the “degree of familiarity” is “6000 to 7000”, the number of hearts is set to four.

  The Otomo character may be given to other hunters, but immediately after being given, it is assumed that there is no familiarity between the Otomo character and other hunters, and the “degree of nasty” is “0”. To "". Further, as described later, the “degree of nagging” is used as one of the selection conditions when each message stored in the message table shown in FIGS. 3 to 5 is selected.

  “Woman” represents the appearance characteristics of a cat as an Otomo character, and a plurality of types are prepared. When a hunter first hires an otomo character, it is randomly determined, but depending on the hunter's quest level, the otomo character's type of fur is different, and the higher the quest level, the more rare "Otomo character" has appeared.

  “Personality” refers to behavior during battle with monsters, such as bomb lovers or close combat lovers, recklessness or timidity, and whether or not the boss's monster has an attack target for each monster type. There are different types. This “personality” is also randomly determined when the hunter first hires an Otomo character.

  “Attack system” indicates whether the user tends to prefer to cut a monster or attack the monster. “Attack tendency” means that when attacking monsters, etc., it tends to prefer to attack at a long distance using, for example, a bomb, or to attack at a short distance using a sword, etc. Is shown. These “attack line” and “attack tendency” are also randomly determined when the hunter first hires an Otomo character.

  The “special ability” is an ability that the Otomo character can have a plurality of types of, for example, a special ability such as quick action and quick recovery when receiving damage. The Otomo character is set to have, for example, three or less special abilities. In FIG. 8, an example (“42 points” in the drawing) of points for acquiring “special abilities” (hereinafter referred to as “Nyanko points”) is displayed in the “special abilities” column. The type of “special ability” that can be acquired is determined based on the value of “Nyanko point”, and the player can set the “special ability” within the acquirable range. The acquired “special ability” is displayed below the “special ability” column in FIG. According to the figure, “paralysis attack technique”, “recovery horn flute” and “cat bomber” are displayed.

  Among the above statuses of the Otomo character, “Combat Experience Value”, “Natsuki Degree”, and “Nyanko Point” take the Otomo Character to the “Quest”, and if the “Quest” is successful, It is going to rise. In this case, if the “battle experience value” increases, the “level” also increases according to the value.

  In addition, among the above statuses of the Otomo character, “combat experience value”, “attack power”, “defense power”, “degree of nagging” and “Nyanko point” are predetermined training (eg shadow boxing, abdominal muscle exercise, etc.) By doing so, these values can be raised within a predetermined range. In this way, the hunter can so-called “nurture” the otomo character by achieving a “quest” in which the otomo character is accompanied, or by allowing the otomo character to perform training.

  Although not shown in FIG. 8, “foster parent name”, “foster parent hunter's unique ID”, “otomo character's own unique ID”, and “number of otomo” are stored as the status of the otomo character.

  “Foster parent” is a hunter or player who first hires the Otomo character, and the name is stored as the status. The name “foster parent” can be arbitrarily set by the player as the name of the hunter or player. The term “foster parent” as used herein refers to a hunter who directly hires an Otomo character from a “travel merchant” or the like. In the case of granting to a hunter different from that of the hunter, the assigned hunter is not said to be a “foster parent”.

  The “unique ID of the foster parent hunter” is identification information of the hunter or player who first hired the Otomo character. As described later, the “foster parent's unique ID” is used when the Otomo character issues a message and selects a message table storing the message.

  The “unique ID of the otomo character itself” is set when the otomo character is hired by a hunter and serves as identification information for the otomo character. The unique ID of the Otomo character itself is not changed even if it is given to another hunter and owned by another hunter.

  “Number of Otomo” represents the number of times when the hunter causes the Otomo character to participate in the “quest” and the “quest” succeeds. “Number of Otomo” is reset to “0” immediately after the Otomo character is given, because the other hunters have never used the Otomo character for the “Quest”.

  In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 9, a player (hunter) can give his / her own Otomo character to a plurality of other players (hunters). For example, the player P1 can give, for example, “Patricia (a unique name of the otomo character)” which is an otomo character owned by the player P1, to the players P2, P3, and P4, respectively. In this case, the self-owned Otomo character is maintained as it is, that is, the otomo character owned by itself is given to other players. Therefore, two Otomo characters with the same unique ID exist by one granting action.

  Specifically, when a hunter operated by a player moves to an “online meeting place” and a plurality of players including himself / herself gather at the “online meeting place”, the respective game apparatuses 1 are mutually connected using the wireless LAN function. By performing communication, it is possible to transmit data related to the Otomo character to the game apparatus 1 of another player. In the game apparatus 1 of the other player, the hunter whose operation is controlled by the game apparatus 1 of the other player can own the otomo character by receiving the transmitted data regarding the otomo character.

  In this case, various status data such as the unique ID, unique name, foster name, unique ID and level of the foster parent hunter possessed by the Otomo character given to the other players P2, P3, and P4 by the player P1 are almost unchanged. It will be taken over by other players P2, P3 and P4. Therefore, it is determined whether or not the Otomo character is an Otomo character given by another player by referring to its own unique ID, foster parent name, and the unique ID of the foster parent's hunter as status data of the Otomo character. can do.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 9, the player P2 can give the otomo character given from the player P1, for example, to the player P5, and the player P3 can give the otomo character given from the player P1, for example, the players P6, P7. Respectively. Also in this case, the various status data possessed by the Otomo character is directly passed on to the player P5 or the players P6 and P7. Therefore, there are a plurality of Otomo characters having the same unique information (unique ID, unique name, foster name, etc.) between players.

  The player can perform the operation of assigning the otomo character to other players any number of times under a predetermined condition, and can acquire a predetermined item from the otomo character when the number of times the otomo character is applied increases. As this item, the value of the skill used to increase the status value of the Otomo character (for example, the value of the attack power, the value of the defense power, etc.) is increased. And so on.

  The feature point of this embodiment is that the otomo character owned by the hunter issues a wide variety of messages to the hunter, and in particular, the otomo character given by another hunter makes a message about the other hunter. It is to emit.

  Here, the message table will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 3 to 5 again. The message table is divided into, for example, three message tables (A), (B), and (C) depending on the content of the message. Each message table stores a plurality of types of messages. When the Otomo character issues a message, one message is selected from the message table. The message table to be referred to is determined according to a predetermined condition, and one message is selected from the messages stored in the determined message table. Is selected.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the message table (A) stores, for example, a message spoken by a character when the hunter is an Otomo character who is directly hired by a “travel merchant” or the like. In the message table (B), as shown in FIG. 4, when the otomo character is given by another hunter and the hunter of the grantee has the guild card of the hunter of the grant source, Speaking messages are stored. In the message table (C), as shown in FIG. 5, when the otomo character is given from another hunter and the hunter of the grantee does not have the guild card of the granter hunter, Speaking messages are stored.

  More specifically, the message table (A) stores messages about advice and hints that are advantageous in the game, messages about the history of hunters who hired Otomo characters, and the like. The messages stored in the message group (A) are roughly classified into (A1) greeting message, (A2) message regarding breeding of Otomo characters, (A3) message regarding special abilities, and (A4) history of hunters. The message etc. regarding are stored.

  As a message about the greeting of (A1), there is a message such as “Thank you for hiring” as shown in FIG. This greeting message is forcibly selected when the hunter has a conversation with any of the Otomo characters for the first time. As the message regarding the breeding of the Otomo character in (A2), for example, a message of advice regarding the breeding such as “the parameters raised by the training are different” may be mentioned.

  The message regarding the special ability of (A3) includes a message of advice regarding the special ability, such as “Recovery speed will be greatly increased if experience is gained”. The message regarding the history of the hunter to which (A4) is given is a message that points out the most frequently used weapon that the hunter uses for 30 times or more and praises its advantage. It is done. For example, the message is “The upper blaze often used by my husband is cool.”

  Each message is given a unique symbol or number, and the “degree of familiarity” of the Otomo character for determining whether or not the message is a selection target is set (FIGS. 3 to 5). ("0" to "4" correspond to the number of hearts in the "Adhesion degree" column of the character card shown in FIG. 8).

  In other words, messages that do not correspond to the current “degree of familiarity” of the Otomo character are excluded from the selection targets. More specifically, the message (see the category “nurturing” in FIG. 3) such as “I ’m going to be able to increase the level even if there is a break” is “0”, “1”, “2” "(Indicating that" 1 "is set in the" Adhesion ") field. Therefore, a message such as “I ’m going to be able to increase the hitting level even after a break” is selected when the Otomo character ’s current “going level” is “0”, “1”, or “2”. If the current “degree of familiarity” is “3” or “4”, the message is not selected.

  As will be described later, the message is set such that a favorable message is output to the hunter as the “degree of familiarity” increases. As described above, when “degree of familiarity” is set as the selection target criterion, it is possible to make the Otomo character speak an appropriate message according to the current “degree of familiarity”.

  The message table (B) is a characteristic part of the present embodiment. The message table (B) is roughly classified into (B1) a greeting message, (B2) a message representing the current situation, etc. (B3) A message about the history of the granting hunter, (B4) a message about the comparison result between the granting hunter and the granting hunter, (B5) a message about breeding the Otomo character, and (B6) the granting destination Stores messages related to hunter history.

  More specifically, as the greeting message of (B1), as shown in FIG. 4, a message such as “You have been sent. Note that this greeting message is also forcibly selected when the hunter has a conversation with any Otomo character for the first time, as in the greeting message of (A1).

  The message indicating the current situation of (B2) is further classified into a plurality of types, and (B2a) a message expressing an impression of the current situation, for example, “My previous husband was better”, (B2b) “ A message for the hunter of the grant source, such as “How is my previous husband?”, A message that expressed nostalgia, (B2c) A message that expresses the impression of the hunter of the grant destination, such as “I am not used to the new husband yet,” (B2d) A message that expresses gratitude to the grantee hunter, such as “Thank you for raising me”, (B2e) A message about a quest, such as “My husband, if you die, you are together.”

  The fact that the otomo character is given by another hunter is determined from the status data of the otomo character, so that the message is set based on this, and the message is a selection target.

  Also for the message stored in the message table (B), the “degree of familiarity” for determining whether or not the message is a selection target is set. In the message expressing the impression of the situation of (B2a), for example, a message such as “I wish the previous husband was better” is selected when the current “degree of nasty” is “0” (see “Natsuki in FIG. 4”). The message “Degree” is not possible, and the message “Miyako Nya if you live” is selected when the current “Natsuki degree” is “1”. A message such as “I don't know” is selected when the current “degree of nasty” is “2”. That is, each message is set so that the content of the message that is likely to be spoken by the Otomo character becomes more favorable to the grantee hunter in response to the increase in the “degree of familiarity”.

  Messages regarding the history of the granting hunter in (B3) are classified into multiple types, for example, pointing out weapons that are frequently used by the granting hunter, such as “The previous husband often used upper blaze.” And messages about the number of quests cleared by the granting hunter, such as “The previous husband has almost cleared quests”.

  For example, in the message regarding the quest clear count of the granting hunter, the message is stored as follows depending on the quest clear count. For example, as shown in the column of “history” in FIG. 4, if the granting hunter ’s quest is cleared from 0 to 49 times, for example, a message that criticizes the granting hunter as described above. It becomes a selection target. Also, if the granting hunter's quest is cleared 50 to 199 times, for example, a message such as “The previous husband's quest is cleared normally” is selected. Also, if the granting hunter ’s quest has been cleared 200 to 499 times, for example, a message that praises the granting hunter, such as “the previous husband ’s quest ’s clearing count is amazing.” It becomes.

  The “Clear Count” in the message regarding the quest clear count of the granting hunter refers to the clear count of the quest, which is the status data included in the “Guild Card” of the granting hunter. Selected messages are selected.

  In addition, messages that refer to the status data of the granting hunter include messages related to the number of medal of the granting hunter, messages related to the hunter rank of the granting hunter, and so on. Depending on the message, different messages are selected.

  As an example of the message regarding the comparison result between the granting hunter and the granting hunter in (B4), there is a message regarding the comparison of the number of times the quest has been cleared. Specifically, as shown in the column of “comparison” of FIG. 4, the granting hunter's quest is cleared more than the granting hunter's quest, and the difference is, for example, 50 or more. Sometimes, a message that praises the granting hunter is selected. Here, for example, a message such as “The previous husband has more quest clears” is stored.

  Conversely, if the granting hunter ’s quest is cleared less than the granting hunter ’s quest, and the difference is, for example, 50 times or more, a message that praises the granting hunter is selected. . For example, a message such as “Now my husband has more quest clears. As expected” is stored.

  The message about the comparison result between the granting hunter and grantee hunter refers to the status data of the granting hunter and the status data of the grantee hunter. Selected messages are selected.

  In addition to this, examples of messages about the comparison result between the granting hunter and the granting hunter include messages relating to the comparison of the number of medals, messages relating to the comparison of the total level values of owned otomo characters, and usage frequency Message regarding the comparison of high weapons.

  The message related to (B5) breeding of the character in the message table (B) and the message related to (B6) the history of the hunter of the grant destination are the messages related to the breeding of the character (A2) in the message table (A) shown in FIG. , And (A4) messages similar to the hunter history.

  The message table (C) is also a feature of the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 5, the message table (C) is roughly classified into (C1) greeting message, (C2) current message. A message representing a situation, etc., (C3) a message about breeding, and (C4) a message about a history of a hunter are stored.

  (C1) greeting message, (C3) training message, and (C4) hunter history message are stored in (A1), (A2), and (A4) of the message table (A) described above. The same message is used. In addition, the message indicating the current status of (C2) is the same as the message stored in (B2) of the message table (B) described above.

  As described above, the message tables (B) and (C) store messages issued when the Otomo character is given from another player. Specifically, for example, a message that praises or criticizes the history of the granting hunter on the game is stored. Alternatively, a message for comparing the history of the granting hunter and the granting hunter on the game and praising or criticizing the comparison result is stored. Furthermore, for example, a message representing impressions, requests, preferences, criticisms, praises, etc. about the current situation of the self (Otomo character) is stored.

  The player who is operating the grantee hunter knows the history (degree of acquisition) of the grantee hunter (other players) in this game, the comparison result with the grantee hunter, etc. through a conversation with the otomo character. be able to. Therefore, the player who operates the grantee hunter can feel a sense of superiority or inferiority to the grantee hunter, and the player's motivation for the game can be enhanced.

  Also, the player who is operating the grantee hunter and other players, for example, “The Otomo character that you received said about you like this” and other players regarding the degree of game acquisition, etc. Since it can be performed in actual conversation, communication between players can be promoted.

  Note that each message stored in the message tables (A), (B), and (C) shown in FIGS. 3 to 5 is an example, and other messages may be stored instead of these messages. Good.

  Next, the giving process when the Otomo character is given between hunters will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. 10 and the display screens (FIGS. 6 and 11 to 15) displayed on the display unit 9. FIG.

  In each game device 1, when the player gives an instruction to start or restart the game, the image data at the start or restart of the hunter's game and the game progress program in the base field are read from the game media 17, and the image data Based on the above, a game screen at the time of starting or resuming the game is displayed on the display unit 9, and the game is ready.

  In the present embodiment, when the game is started for the first time, or when the game is temporarily ended and then restarted, the game is set to be possible from the “village” square as the base field. As shown in FIG. 6, an image of the state where the hunter A is in the “village” square is displayed on the display unit 9, and the player advances the game by controlling the operation of the hunter from this display state.

  Then, for example, when the player controls the operation of the hunter to move to the “online meeting place” for receiving the “quest”, the image data in the “online meeting place” and the “online meeting place” are transferred from the game media 17. The game progress program in “” is read from the game media 17 to the RAM 4, and the game screen in the “online meeting place” is displayed on the display unit 9 as shown in FIG.

  At this time, if the player who operates the other game device 1 similarly moves the hunter C operated by himself / herself to the “online meeting hall”, the game device 1 of the player who operates the hunter A from the other game device 1 Movement information indicating that the hunter C has moved to the “online meeting place” and information regarding the hunter C are transmitted. In each game device 1, based on the movement information and the information about the hunter, as shown in FIG. 6B, the hunter A and the other game devices 1 that are controlled by the game machine of the display unit 9 by themselves. An image in which the controlled Hunter C is in the “online meeting room” is displayed.

  Hereinafter, the game apparatus 1 operated by the hunter A will be described. In this display state, the game apparatus 1 determines whether or not an operation for displaying a menu has been performed by the player as shown in FIG. Is performed (S1). When there is no operation for displaying the menu (S1: NO), the operation wait state is entered. If it is determined that an operation for displaying a menu has been performed (S1: YES), it is determined whether or not Hunter A owns one or more otomo characters (S2). When one or more Otomo characters are owned (S2: YES), it is determined whether or not there are one or more other hunters C in the “online meeting place” (S3).

  If there is one or more other hunters C in the “online meeting place” in step S3 (S3: YES), the condition for assigning the Otomo character is established. As shown in FIG. Is displayed on the right side of the display screen (S4). The menu includes "items" for operations related to items, "compositions" for operations related to compounding, "quest confirmations" for confirming "quests", "actions" for operating some actions, “Player list” for displaying a list of players in the “meeting hall”, “Guild card” for performing operations related to “Guild cards”, “Otomo passing” for giving Otomo characters to other players, etc. Is included as an item.

  In the case where Hunter A does not own one or more Otomo characters in Step S2 (S2: NO), or in the case where one or more other Hunters C are not in the “online meeting place” in Step S3 (S3: NO), The menu list 21 is displayed. In this case, the item “Otomo passing” in the menu is displayed in gray, so that the player cannot operate and set the item (S5). That is, if Hunter A does not have one or more otomo characters, or if there is not one or more other hunters C in the “online meeting hall”, hunter A grants otomo characters to other hunters C. Because you can't.

  Next, it is determined whether or not the item “handling” is operated (S6). Here, when the player performs an operation of canceling the assignment of the Otomo character (S6: Cancel), the menu list 21 is hidden (S7), and the process returns to Step S1. An example of the canceling operation is an operation of the “x” button by the player. Further, when there is no operation of the item “handling” (S6: NO), the operation wait state is entered.

  When the item “handling” is operated in step S6 (S6: YES), as shown in FIG. 12, “handing”, “regular”, and “refusal” for giving the otomo character to another hunter C. Then, a sub-menu 22 is displayed in which items “Replace” for replacing the Otomo character and “Dismiss” for dismissing the Otomo character are displayed (S8).

  Next, it is determined whether or not the setting operation of the item “pass” has been performed from the submenu 22 showing “pass”, “replacement”, and “dismiss” (S9). When there is no setting operation for the item “pass” (S9: NO), the operation wait state is entered. Further, when the operation setting of the item “pass” is performed by the player (S9: YES), a list 23 of otomo characters owned by Hunter A is displayed on the upper right portion of the display screen as shown in FIG. 13, for example. (S10).

  Next, it is determined whether any Otomo character is selected from the list 23 of Otomo characters owned by Hunter A (S11). When there is no selection operation of any of the Otomo characters (S11: NO), the operation wait state is entered.

  When any of the Otomo characters to be assigned is selected (S11: YES), a list of Hunter Cs as grant destinations is displayed (S12). In this case, a list 24 of other hunters C operated by other players gathered at the “online meeting place” as the grant destination is displayed as shown in FIG. 14, for example.

  Next, it is determined whether or not any hunter is selected from the list 24 of other hunters C (S13). When there is no selection operation of any hunter (S13: NO), it will be in the operation waiting state.

  When the hunter C as the grant destination is selected and operated (S13: YES), a motion indicating that the hunter A has been given is displayed as shown in FIG. 15, for example (S14). That is, a state in which Hunter A is giving the Otomo character F to Hunter C is displayed. At this time, data related to the otomo character F is transmitted from the game apparatus 1 where the hunter A is operated to the game apparatus 1 where the hunter C is operated. In addition to the status data, the data related to the Otomo character F includes a display execution command for displaying the Otomo character F on the display unit 9 of the game apparatus 1 on which the hunter C as the grant destination is operated.

  In other words, the image data of the Otomo character is pre-installed in the game program, and the game device 1 that is the grant destination receives the display execution command from the game device 1 that is the grant source, if necessary. Image data is read from the game data, and the otomo character is displayed on the display unit 9. Therefore, the image data of the otomo character is not actually transmitted / received between the game apparatuses 1, but is displayed as if the otomo character has been provided from the game apparatus 1 that is the grant source to the game apparatus 1 that is the grant destination. Is done.

  Next, it is determined whether or not the information indicating that the otomo character has been received from the game apparatus 1 on which the hunter C, to which the otomo character is given, is operated (S15). When the information indicating that the Otomo character is received from the game device 1 as the grant destination is received (S15: YES), the number of Otomo character grants is updated (S16).

  On the other hand, whether or not the otomo character is to be canceled by the player's operation (for example, operation of the “x” button) while the information indicating that the otomo character has been received from the game device 1 as the grant destination is not received (S15: NO). A determination of whether or not is made (S17). When the player performs an operation of canceling the assignment of the Otomo character (S17: YES), the Otomo character giving process is terminated without updating the number of times of giving. That is, before receiving the information indicating that the otomo character has been received from the game device 1 as the grant destination, the otomo character can be canceled by the player's operation.

  If the player does not perform an operation to cancel the assignment of the Otomo character (S17: NO), the process returns to step S15. In other words, the determination processing of step S15 and step S17 is repeated and waits until information indicating that the otomo character has been received from the game device 1 as the grant destination or until the player performs an operation to cancel the grant of the otomo character. .

  Next, the receiving process when receiving the Otomo character will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. 16 and the display screen (FIGS. 17 to 20) displayed on the display unit 9.

  In order to receive the otomo character, it is necessary that the grant destination hunter C has been moved to the “online meeting place” as in the case where the otomo character is given. That is, in the game device 1 where the grantee hunter C is operated, it is determined whether or not information indicating that the data of the otomo character has been transmitted from any game device 1 (S21). When the information is received by the game apparatus 1 (S21: YES), as shown in FIG. 17, a cat icon 25 representing an Otomo character blinks and is displayed at the upper center of the display screen (S22).

  That is, when the grantee player moves the hunter to the “online meeting place”, the cat icon 25 is displayed on the display screen, so that one of the hunters tries to give the otomo character to himself / herself. Can be recognized.

  Next, it is determined whether or not an operation for displaying a menu has been performed (S23). This is because it is necessary to display a menu in order for the player as the grant destination to acquire the Otomo character.

  If it is determined that the operation for displaying the menu has been performed (S23: YES), as shown in FIG. 18, a list 26 of menus is displayed on the right side of the display screen of “online meeting place” (S24). ). In this case, the menu list includes “status”, “detailed information”, “document”, “option”, “player log” for displaying the character status, “reception” for receiving the character, etc. Included as In addition, when an operation for displaying the menu is not performed in step S23 (S23: NO), an operation waiting state is entered.

  Thereafter, it is determined whether or not the “Receive” item has been operated by the player (S25). If the “Receive” item is not operated (S25: NO), an operation waiting state is entered. Further, for example, when an operation for canceling “reception” (for example, operation of “x” button) is performed in order to prevent the player from receiving the Otomo character (S25: cancel), the reception process ends.

  Further, when the item “Receive” is operated in Step S25 (S25: YES), a list 27 of Hunters C in “Online Meeting House” is displayed as shown in FIG. 19 (S26). In this case, a cat icon 28 is displayed to the right of the name of the player who operates the game apparatus 1 that has transmitted the Otomo character data. As a result, the player as the grant destination can recognize which player is trying to grant the Otomo character.

  Next, it is determined whether or not the “O” button of the operation unit 13 indicating that the Otomo character is received (S27). If the “O” button is not operated (S27: NO), the operation waiting state is set. Become. Further, for example, when a cancel operation (for example, an operation of the “x” button) is performed so that the player does not receive the Otomo character (S25: cancel), the reception process ends.

  Also, when the “O” button is operated in step S27 (S27: YES), whether or not the transmitted unique ID of the Otomo character matches the unique ID of each Otomo character owned by the receiving player. Is discriminated (S28). If the unique IDs match (S28: NO), a failure message indicating that the data of the Otomo character cannot be received is displayed (S29). For example, a failure message such as “The same Otomo character exists. Cannot be received any more. Press the ○ button” is displayed.

  In other words, possessing a plurality of Otomo characters with the same unique ID is prohibited because the data processing becomes complicated, and the determination process in step S28 is a process for implementing the prohibited items. When the player operates the “◯” button in response to the failure message, the process is terminated.

  If the unique IDs do not match in step S28 (S28: YES), it is determined whether there is a vacancy in the number of Otomo characters owned by the receiving player (S30). That is, when an Otomo character is received, the received Otomo character is registered in “Reserve”, and therefore, it is determined here whether or not there is an empty “Reserve”. If there is no vacancy in “Reserve”, any Otomo character registered in “Reserve” can be dismissed by the player's operation. Further, by registering the Otomo character registered in “Reserve” in “Regular” by the operation of the player, it is possible to make a space in “Reserve”.

  If there is no vacancy in the number of Otomo characters owned (S30: NO), a failure message indicating that the Otomo character data cannot be received is displayed (S31). For example, “There are too many copies to receive any more Otomo characters. Press the“ ○ ”button. ”Is displayed. When the player operates the “◯” button in response to the failure message, the process is terminated.

  On the other hand, if there is a vacancy in the number of Otomo characters owned in Step S30 (S30: YES), as shown in FIG. 20, a message 29 indicating that the Otomo character has been received is displayed (S32). In this case, the content of the received status data of the Otomo character is stored in the RAM 4 as character card status data (S33). In this case, among the statuses of the Otomo character, the value of “degree of play” and the value of “number of times of Otomo” are reset to “0” and stored. This is because the otomo character is not attached to the new master hunter and has never been associated with the new master hunter.

  Thereafter, information indicating that the Otomo character has been received is transmitted to the game device 1 as the grant source (S34), and the Otomo character receiving process is terminated.

  When the otomo character is granted to the grantee hunter as described above, the grantee hunter owns the otomo character, and the hunter can associate the otomo character with the "quest" Training. In this embodiment, the grantee hunter and the assigned Otomo character can talk.

  FIG. 21 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure when the grantee hunter has a conversation with the Otomo character.

  The Otomo character is given to the grantee hunter, and when it is hired by the grantee hunter, it comes to live in the “kitchen” of the grantee. The Otomo character returns a message to the grantee hunter when spoken by the grantee hunter. Thereby, the conversation between the hunter and the Otomo character is performed.

  First, it is determined whether or not an operation for entering the “kitchen” by the hunter has been performed (S41). When the operation for entering the “kitchen” by the hunter is not performed (S41: NO), the operation wait state is entered. On the other hand, when the hunter enters the “kitchen” (S41: YES), the hunter moves to the “kitchen”, that is, the display screen of the display unit 9 is a hunter as shown in FIG. The scene of “Kitchen” with A is displayed. Thereafter, it is determined whether or not Hunter A speaks to the Otomo character F (S42). Specifically, it is determined whether or not the hunter A has moved to a position near the otomo character F and has spoken to the otomo character F depending on, for example, whether or not the “◯” button is operated.

  When it is determined that the hunter A does not speak to the Otomo character F (S42: NO), the operation wait state is entered. On the other hand, if it is determined that the hunter A has spoken to the Otomo character F (S42: YES), it is determined whether or not the condition for passing the item is satisfied (S43). That is, when a condition for passing some item to Hunter A is established, it is recognized that it is more important for Hunter A to acquire an item than to have a conversation with Otomo Character F. The process has priority over the conversation process.

  Note that the case where the condition for passing the item is satisfied includes a case where the “otomo number” of the Otomo character F exceeds a predetermined number, a case where the number of times the Otomo character F is given exceeds a predetermined number, and the like. .

  When the condition for passing the item is satisfied (S43: YES), the process for passing the item is performed (S44), and a message for passing (for example, a message such as “Now to pass the ticket”) is displayed on the display screen. (S45).

  On the other hand, if the condition for passing the item is not satisfied (S43: NO), whether or not the totomo character F is the totomo character hired by the hunter A (whether it is an totomo character given by another player). No) is determined (S46). When the Otomo character F is an Otomo character hired by Hunter A (S46: YES), the selection lottery process is performed with reference to the message table (A) shown in FIG. S47). That is, the message table (A) storing the message spoken by the otomo character hired by the hunter is referred to, and one of the messages stored in the message table (A) is selected by the selection lottery process described later. The

  FIG. 22 is a flowchart showing the processing procedure of the selection lottery process. In the selection lottery process, a message displayed on the display screen of the display unit 9 is selected when the Otomo character has a conversation with the hunter.

  When the message is reproduced (displayed on the display screen), the content of the displayed message is temporarily stored in the RAM 4, and thereafter, when a new message is displayed, the previously stored message is deleted. That is, only the message displayed immediately before is stored.

  In this selection lottery process, messages that are not subject to selection are excluded from the multiple types of messages stored in the referenced message table, and the remaining messages are selected and finally displayed. One message to be selected is selected.

  First, it is determined whether or not a greeting message has already been selected (S61). That is, when the hunter talks with the otomo character, when the otomo character talks with the hunter for the first time, this is a process for selecting a greeting message. If no greeting message has already been selected (S61: NO), a greeting message is selected (S62). When the message table (A) shown in FIG. 3 is referred to, the message “Thank you for hiring” in (A1) is forcibly selected.

  If a greeting message has already been selected (S61: YES), processing for excluding the greeting message as a message to be selected is performed (S63). That is, for example, the message “Thank you for hiring” in (A1) is excluded from the messages to be selected.

  Next, as a process of selecting a message to be a lottery target, a process of excluding the previous message stored in the RAM 4 is performed (S64). This process is performed in order to avoid the player from feeling persistent and annoying when messages are continuously displayed.

  Next, as a process of selecting a message to be a lottery target, a process of excluding a message that does not match the current “degree of familiarity” is performed (S65). An Otomo character has a “degree of familiarity” set as the familiarity with the grantee hunter, and messages that do not match the current “degree of familiarity” are excluded based on the current “degree of familiarity” of the Otomo character. The For example, if the current “natsuki level” of the Otomo character is “2”, messages in which “2” of the “natsuki level” is not set are excluded from the messages to be selected. Specifically, when the message table (A) shown in FIG. 3 is referred to, a message such as “Recovery speed will be very fast when gaining experience” in the column of the type “ability” Since “2” of “degree” is not set, it is excluded from messages to be selected.

  Next, as a process of selecting a message to be a lottery target, a process of excluding messages that do not meet the current conditions when performing a message is performed (S66). For example, in the message regarding the history of (A4) (see FIG. 3), there is a message such as “point out the most frequently used weapon from weapons that are used more than a predetermined number of times and praise the advantage”. When the number of times the weapon is used is less than or equal to the predetermined number, the message is excluded because the condition does not follow this message.

  After the process of excluding messages is performed in steps S63, S64, S65, and S66, lottery (for example, random lottery) is performed on the remaining messages that are not excluded (S67). One message is selected by the lottery.

  Returning to FIG. 21, if the otomo character that the hunter is trying to talk to in step S46 is not the otomo character hired by himself (S46: NO), that is, if the otomo character is an otomo character given by another hunter, It is determined whether or not the granting hunter's guild card is possessed (S48).

  Specifically, the determination of whether or not the hunter's guild card is given is based on the unique ID of the foster hunter included in the status data of the Otomo character and the data of the guild card of the other hunter. This is performed depending on whether or not the included unique ID of the hunter matches.

  If the hunting guild card is given (S48: YES), the message table (B) shown in FIG. 4 stored in the RAM 4 is referred to and the selection lottery process is performed (S49). In other words, the grantee hunter is trying to talk to the Otomo character given by the grantor hunter, and the grantee hunter previously met with the grantor hunter at the “online meeting hall” and exchanged guild cards. If it is owned, the message table (B) is referred to and a selection lottery process is performed.

  The selection lottery process in this case is the same as the selection lottery process shown in FIG. 22 except that the message table to be referenced is different.

  If it is determined in step S48 that there is no guild card as the granting source (S48: NO), the message table (C) shown in FIG. 5 stored in the RAM 4 is referred to and a selection lottery process is performed (S50). . That is, if the grantee hunter is trying to talk to the Otomo character given by the granter hunter, but the grantee hunter does not own the grantor hunter's guild card, the message table (C) The selection lottery process is performed with reference.

  The selection lottery process in this case is the same as the selection lottery process shown in FIG. 22 except that the message table to be referenced is different.

  In the selection lottery process in any one of steps S47, S49, and S50, the selected lottery message is read from one of the message tables and output (S51). That is, as shown in FIG. 23, the read message 30 is displayed on the display screen of the display unit 9 so that the Otomo character F emits to the hunter A.

  In this way, one message is selected based on the history of the hunter, the comparison result between the hunters, etc., on the condition that the character is an Otomo character hired by himself or owns the guild card of the grant source. Therefore, the hunter can talk with the Otomo character through a variety of messages, and the player can obtain a novel and interesting new feature. In addition, the content of the message includes things such as giving up the hunter, sometimes hesitating, or talking about the thoughts of the hunter who was the previous master to increase the eagerness, so that the game Can increase the willingness to.

  In addition, it is possible to recognize the current status of other players through messages of the Otomo character, or to recognize differences in game history (degree of mastery) with other players through messages of the Otomo character. Players can talk about this in an actual conversation, thereby activating communication.

  Of course, the scope of the present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above. For example, although the present embodiment has been described assuming that the non-player character is designed with a cat as a motif, the non-player character is not limited to a cat. Further, the non-player character given to another player is not limited to the above-mentioned Otomo character, and may be a cooking character, for example, or may be another non-player character.

  In the above embodiment, the message issued by the Otomo character is stored in the RAM of the game device operated by the player to whom the Otomo character is assigned. However, the message is not limited to this. May be stored in the RAM of the game device operated by the player, and the character may be added and data about the message may be transmitted.

  Further, in the above embodiment, the unique ID of the foster parent hunter is stored as the status data of the otomo character, and the message is selected with reference to the unique ID of the foster parent hunter stored, but the otomo character is added. Sometimes, the unique ID of the grantee hunter may be stored instead of the unique ID of the foster parent hunter, and the unique ID may be used for selecting a message.

  In this way, a hunter who is a grant source hunter but is not a foster parent (e.g., corresponds to the player P2 shown in FIG. 9). When the player P2 gives the player P5 “Patricia” which is an otomo character, The player P5 is a hunter who gives “Patricia” but is not a foster parent of “Patricia”), and the assigned otomo character sends a message based on the status data included in the guild card of the hunter. Can be emitted.

  In addition, the Otomo character may exchange actions, for example, when issuing a message to the hunter. For example, if the content of the message criticizes the hunter, face it to the hunter, for example, if it is content that expresses feelings about the previous master, raise the face upwards, For example, in the case of content that compliments the history of a hunter, an action (operation) such as rolling and spreading both hands to the side may be performed together with a message.

  Further, the content of the message may be output as audio from the speaker 12.

  In the above embodiment, the Otomo character is allowed to converse with the hunter in the “kitchen”, but when the Otomo character is used for a quest, for example, the hunter field etc. You may make it talk with a hunter about etc.

  Further, in the above embodiment, a game has been described in which a hunter and a non-player character appear, a non-player character is given from another game device, and the given non-player character issues a message regarding the granting hunter. Instead of this, the player is given a predetermined character (which may be a substitute character or a non-player character) from another player, and the given character is the other player of the granting source. It is good also as a game which issues the message about.

  In the present embodiment, the hunting action game has been described as a game to which the invention is applied. However, the applied game is not limited to this, and other action games, role-playing games, racing games, fighting games, and the like You may make it apply also to a game.

  Moreover, although the said embodiment demonstrated the case where communication was performed between the some game apparatuses 1 which mutually comprised the network by wireless LAN, it replaced with this structure and a some game is provided via communication lines, such as the internet. For example, the device 1 may be configured to be connected to a game server. In this case, as the game apparatus 1, for example, a home video game machine or a personal computer equipped with game software for an online game having a function capable of communicating with a game server via a communication line is employed.

It is a block diagram which shows an example of the game system which concerns on this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the internal structure of a game device. It is a figure which shows an example of a message table (A). It is a figure which shows an example of a message table (B). It is a figure which shows an example of a message table (C). It is a figure which shows an example of a basic scene structure at the time of a hunter receiving a "quest" order on the game space and going on a journey for achieving the "quest". It is a figure which shows an example of a guild card. It is a figure which shows an example of a character card. It is a figure for demonstrating the addition form of the Otomo character of a player. It is a flowchart which shows the giving process of an Otomo character. It is a figure which shows an example of the display screen of an "online meeting place." It is a figure which shows an example of the display screen of an "online meeting place." It is a figure which shows an example of the display screen of an "online meeting place." It is a figure which shows an example of the display screen of an "online meeting place." It is a figure which shows an example of the display screen of an "online meeting place." It is a flowchart which shows the reception process of an Otomo character. It is a figure which shows an example of the display screen of an "online meeting place." It is a figure which shows an example of the display screen of an "online meeting place." It is a figure which shows an example of the display screen of an "online meeting place." It is a figure which shows an example of the display screen of an "online meeting place." It is a flowchart which shows the conversation process of an Otomo character. It is a flowchart which shows the selection lottery process of a message. It is a figure which shows an example of the display screen of "kitchen".

Explanation of symbols

1 game machine 2 CPU
3 drawing data generation processor 4 RAM
5 ROM
6 Drawing processor 7 VRAM
9 Display unit 10 Audio processor 11 Amplifier 12 Speaker 13 Operation unit 14 Media drive unit 15 Wireless LAN module 17 Game media 30 Message A Hunter C Other hunter D Monster E Cooking character F Otomo character P1 to P7 Player

Claims (14)

Computer
A game in which a first character whose action is directly controlled by a player's operation can be executed in the game space, and a second character whose action is directly controlled by another player's operation; A third character whose movement is not directly controlled by the operation of the other player appears, and a wired or wireless communication is possible with another game device capable of executing the same game as the game. A game program for causing a game device to function,
The computer,
First receiving means for receiving information on the third character transmitted from the other game device;
Display control means for causing the appearance of the third character to be displayed on a display screen based on the information relating to the third character from the other game device received by the first receiving means;
Second receiving means for receiving information on the second character transmitted from the other game device;
First storage means for storing a message about information about the second character received by the second receiving means;
When the information about the second character from the other game device is received by the second receiving means, the message about the information about the second character stored in the first storage means is read out. Message control means for outputting the read message to the outside so that the third character displayed by the display control means emits,
A game program characterized by being made to function. A plurality of types of the messages are provided according to information on the second character,
The message control means includes
The game program according to claim 1, wherein one message is selected according to a predetermined condition from a plurality of types of messages stored in the first storage means, and the selected message is output to the outside. The information relating to the second character received by the second receiving means includes information representing a history of the second character on the game,
The message stored in the first storage means includes
The game program according to claim 2, wherein a plurality of messages corresponding to information representing the history of the second character included in the information related to the second character are included. The computer,
Function as second storage means for storing information relating to the first character whose movement is controlled by the game device of the player;
The message stored in the first storage means includes
Comparison result between the information related to the second character whose movement is controlled by the other game device received by the second receiving means and the information related to the first character stored by the second storage means The game program according to claim 2, wherein a plurality of messages corresponding to the message are included.   The game program according to claim 4, wherein the information related to the first character stored by the second storage unit includes information representing a history of the first character on the game. The information relating to the third character received from the other game device by the first receiving means includes information that the third character has been received from the other game device,
The message stored in the first storage means includes
The game program according to claim 2, wherein a plurality of messages corresponding to information indicating that the third character has been received from the other game device is included. The computer,
Intimacy setting means for setting the intimacy between the third character and the first character to the third character by changing attribute information included in the information relating to the third character; Function
Each message is set in association with the intimacy as a condition for selection,
The message control means includes
The game program according to any one of claims 2 to 6, wherein a message corresponding to the closeness set for the third character by the closeness setting means is selected from the plurality of messages. The game includes content for playing against a fourth character that is hostile to the first and third characters,
The third character is associated with the predetermined action of the first character, and attacks the fourth character when the third character is associated with the predetermined action. 8. The game program according to any one of 7.   In the game space, a hunter who is a part of the player as the first character, a companion character for hunting the hunter as the third character, and a fourth character as the fourth character in the game space The game program according to any one of claims 1 to 8, which is a hunting action game including a monster that is a hunting target of a hunter and causing the hunter to hun the monster together with the accompanying character.   A recording medium in which the game program according to any one of claims 1 to 9 is recorded so as to be readable by a computer. A game in which a first character whose action is directly controlled by a player's operation can be executed in the game space, and a second character whose action is directly controlled by another player's operation; And a third character whose movement is not directly controlled by the operation of the other player, and connected to another game device capable of executing the same game as the game so as to be communicable in a wired or wireless manner. A game device,
First receiving means for receiving information on the third character transmitted from the other game device;
Display control means for causing the appearance of the third character to be displayed on a display screen based on the information relating to the third character from the other game device received by the first receiving means;
Second receiving means for receiving information on the second character transmitted from the other game device;
First storage means for storing a message about information about the second character received by the second receiving means;
When the information about the second character from the other game device is received by the second receiving means, the message about the information about the second character stored in the first storage means is read out. Message control means for outputting the read message to the outside so that the third character displayed by the display control means emits,
A game apparatus comprising: Computer
In order to function as a game device capable of executing a game for causing a character to appear in the game space and connected to another game device capable of executing the same game as the game in a wired or wireless manner. Game program
The computer,
First receiving means for receiving information on the character transmitted from the other game device;
Display control means for displaying the appearance of the character on a display screen based on information about the character from the other game device received by the first receiving means;
Second receiving means for receiving information relating to another player operating the other game device transmitted from the other game device;
Storage means for storing a message about information about the other player received by the second receiving means;
When the information about the other player is received from the other game device by the second receiving means, a message about the information about the other player stored in the storage means is read and read. Message control means for outputting to the outside so that the character displayed by the display control means emits a message,
A game program characterized by being made to function.   A recording medium in which the game program according to claim 12 is recorded so as to be readable by a computer. A game device capable of executing a game for causing a character to appear in the game space and connected to another game device capable of executing the same game as the game in a wired or wireless manner,
First receiving means for receiving information on the character transmitted from the other game device;
Display control means for displaying the appearance of the character on a display screen according to information about the character from the other game device received by the first receiving means;
Second receiving means for receiving information relating to another player operating the other game device transmitted from the other game device;
Storage means for storing a message about information about the other player received by the second receiving means;
When the information about the other player from the other game device is received by the second receiving means, the message about the information about the other player stored in the storage means is read out and read out. Message control means for outputting to the outside so that the character displayed by the display control means emits a message,
A game apparatus comprising:

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