JP2009535132A - Economic game with game pieces that can be purchased and acquired - Google Patents

Abstract

The game piece management system maintains a plurality of player accounts and allows a player to purchase pieces that are used to play at least one game. Each player account identifies a piece owned by the player. An account management system and a game interface that allows a player to access a game session of an online game and allows the player to select from the player's account at least one piece to use as an active piece in the game session . The player's active piece interacts with another player's active piece, so that in a game session under player control, if the player's active piece invalidates the other player's active piece, the other player The player can acquire and use the invalidated valid piece.

Description

  The present invention relates to an online game. In particular, one aspect of the present invention provides a system for managing pieces used when a player plays an online game.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims priority to the Paris Convention in US Patent Application No. 60 / 795,869, filed May 1, 2006.

  Video games have grown rapidly over the past few decades, and the game industry has grown with it. This phenomenon has led to a wide variety of improvements in game technology in computer software and hardware.

  A video game player with excellent skills may be able to make a living by making use of the player's game skills and knowledge, but video game players with a game as a profession are still very rare in most countries. In addition to sponsor sponsorships and tournament prizes, a number of prior art games provide additional revenue so that gamers can earn economic rewards based on their skill.

  One example is a game called “Project Entropia”, in which a player can convert real-world currency into game-specific currency. Each player controls the characters that can perform various tasks in the game world to increase the in-game currency that the player possesses and can be converted into real world currency.

  Another example of a prior art method that allows a game to make money is to sell characters in a role play game (eg, Sony Everquest 2 ™) and / or if the player is a player The sale of items earned using characters. For example, a player increases the player's character status, power, experience, etc. by increasing the skill and / or quality of play within the game world, and then owns the character. Sell to another player who doesn't want to invest the time or effort required to build the character. The sale of such characters / items is usually done through a sales system which is an auxiliary system for the game itself.

  The inventors have found that there is a variety of unmet needs for systems and methods that allow a video game player with excellent skill to make use of the player's skill to earn revenue. It has recognized.

  In one aspect of the present invention, a game piece management system is provided. The game piece management system includes a piece sales system configured to allow a player to purchase a piece that can be used to play at least one game, and an account management system that maintains a plurality of player accounts. An account management system that identifies each piece by player account and a game interface that allows the player access to a game session of an online game, wherein the player uses it as an active piece in the game session A game interface configured to allow a piece to be selected from the player account of that player, and in a game session under the control of the player, if the active piece of the player invalidates the active piece of another player As can be utilized by a disabled enabled pieces of other player player wins, effective piece of the player mutually interact with effective piece of another player.

  Other aspects of the invention, as well as features of specific embodiments of the invention, are described herein.

  In one embodiment of the present invention, a system and method for running a new type of competitive electronic game is provided. The competitive electronic game is referred to as an economic game in this specification. Any genre of video games can be given the ability to operate as an economic game by using systems and methods according to various embodiments of the present invention. In addition, the development of video games of a new genre can be promoted by the new competitive economic dynamics enabled by using the embodiment of the present invention.

  In a typical economic game, a game environment and game entities that interact within the game environment are provided individually. The game environment can be provided freely by the game administrator or at a certain cost specified by the game administrator. In most cases, a player will need to purchase a game entity first and can use that game entity to play in the provided gaming environment. In some situations, a game entity may be free to use by a player for promotional purposes or for other purposes, but the game entity itself is usually still considered to have a cash value. The number and type of game entities to purchase will vary depending on the player and the nature of the game.

  A hybrid scheme utilizing this method is also possible in certain embodiments of the present invention. That is, in some embodiments, an economic game can be provided that allows a player to play certain elements of play without having to purchase pieces. In order to attract the attention of players who do not want to spend money on game pieces, pieces with small abilities can be provided free of charge. Purchased pieces will have greater abilities, but the many small threats that unpurchased pieces give can be part of a dynamic game that creates interesting obstacles that add another dimension to the battles between purchased pieces. .

  Another feature of a typical economic game according to an embodiment of the present invention is that once a player entity is disabled in game play, that entity can be acquired and used by another player. That is. In some cases, a player with an entity that has revoked an available entity can immediately acquire that available entity. In other cases, a player who owns an entity that has revoked an available entity may need to wait for some specified period of time to acquire that available entity, or some other act It is necessary to do.

  Acquiring game entities through game play provides the winning player with the advantages of an economic game. One advantage is that the player can improve the playability of other people (depending on the type of game) without spending extra costs. Another advantage is that the acquiring player has the potential to generate revenue by selling the entity through a sales system according to an embodiment of the present invention. Note that in some embodiments, revenue will be generated each time a sale is made to a game provider or every time a “resale” transaction is made in an economic game.

Various features of certain embodiments of the present invention are described below. In order to avoid repeated description, the following definitions are used herein where appropriate.
Player: A human or software application that interacts with any game environment or account.

    Game World: An environment that is used in games and provides physics, structure, rules and / or settings for dynamic games. In general, dynamic games include combat and skill. The game world is embodied by data representing a game environment stored in a memory accessible by a game server, game engine, game client, or the like.

    Piece: An element such as an entity that interacts in the game world. Generally, a combat entity within a game world. A piece is embodied by data representing game entity characteristics stored in memory accessible by a game server, game engine, game client, or the like.

Game play: An interaction of pieces that take place in the game world under the control of the player and create the dynamics of the game.
Invalidation piece: A piece that has been erased, defeated, captured or excluded in play. Invalidation conditions and mechanisms may vary from game to game as specified by the game developer or game administrator.

Acquired piece: A piece that is owned by the player and used in the game world, or resold or exchanged in the sales system.
-Unacquired pieces: Pieces that the player does not have. That is, a piece that has not yet been released by the game administrator. A piece that is acquired when it becomes available for purchase.

    Player Engagement: When pieces belonging to two or more players interact with each other in the game world, these players are expressed as being in a battle state.

Participating players: All players who are currently playing the game. Participating players control a series of pieces within the game world.
FIG. 1 illustrates a system 100 according to one embodiment of the present invention. The system 100 includes a piece sales system 102, an account management system 104, and a game interface 106. Each player using the system 100 has an account managed by the account management system 104. The player purchases a piece for playing the game using the piece selling system 102. Information identifying this purchased piece is transmitted to the account management system 104 as indicated by arrow 108 and recorded in the player's account.

  A player can selectively validate a piece of that player's account. At this time, information specifying the valid piece is transmitted to the game interface 106 as indicated by an arrow 110. The effective piece is used to fight another player's effective piece according to the rules specified by the game manager in the game world. By playing the game with high skill, the player has an opportunity to invalidate and acquire another player's valid piece. Information identifying the earned piece is transmitted to the account management system 104 as indicated by arrow 112, and the earned piece is recorded in the player's account. The player selects a piece contained in the player's account that is not currently valid for sale through the piece sale system 102 through the piece sale system 102, a fixed or variable amount of cash, It can be converted into credits or converted into cash equivalents. When one piece is sold or “cashed”, information identifying the piece for sale is sent to the piece selling system 102 as indicated by arrow 114.

  In some embodiments, one piece is redeemed by sale to another player. In such an embodiment, upon receipt of a purchase request for a piece to be sold, funds / credits are transferred to the seller player's account. In other embodiments, the player can redeem the pieces directly to the game administrator or other designated piece purchasers. In such an embodiment, funds are transferred to the seller player's account immediately after receiving the sales request.

  FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary game piece management system 200 that allows access to two games according to another embodiment of the present invention. Although two players and two games are shown, the system 200 allows any number of players to access any number of games.

  The system 200 includes a piece selling system 210 through which a player can purchase pieces. The player can also sell the player's pieces through the piece sales system 210. The piece sales system 210 can separately track unacquired pieces that have not yet been sold, and acquired pieces that a player has applied for sale, and can also implement a FIFO queue to resell the acquired pieces. . In some embodiments, the game administrator or other entity buys back the earned pieces from the player through the piece selling system 210 at a price that is less than the price at which such pieces are normally sold to other players. be able to.

  In the illustrated example, the players A and B have accounts 220A and 220B (collectively denoted as 220) connected to the piece sales system 210. The piece sales system 210 has a corresponding player. The identification information of the pieces 222A and 222B to be stored is stored. Pieces 222 may include in-game pieces or active pieces 224, sales pieces 226, and other pieces 228 not currently assigned for any particular purpose.

  Each player can selectively activate a piece by, for example, sending a notification of a valid piece to the game X interface 230X and use it in a game denoted as game X (240X). Similarly, each player can selectively activate a piece by, for example, sending a notification of an effective piece to the game Y interface 230Y, and use it in a game denoted as game Y (240Y). When each of the game X interface 230X and the game Y interface 230Y confirms that the player's active piece meets the predetermined minimum requirements, the active piece is associated with the other pieces and the associated game X and Y. You will be able to interact within the game world. Any pieces acquired by the players A and B during the game play are recorded in the credits of the corresponding accounts 220A and 220B of the player by sending a notification of the acquired pieces to the accounts 220A and 220B.

  In some embodiments, players A and B may purchase and sell pieces in real time while playing games X and Y. Also, depending on the game involved and the type of piece, in certain circumstances, pieces of groups that correspond to different games and have the same value can be exchanged for each other. This exchange can create a metagame that enhances the game experience, rewards the enjoyment of the game, becomes a new means of gameplay, and opens up the possibility of a piece exchange market similar to the stock market. This allows virtual economies that were previously separate to be linked by a piece exchange system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  The operation of the exemplary embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 3A shows an exemplary game world in which the exemplary pieces shown in FIG. 3B can interact. 3C and 3D show exemplary accounts for player A and player B as two players.

  FIG. 3E shows an example of a battle state between the piece group of player A and the piece group of player B. FIG. 3F shows an example of the result when player A fails in an attempt to invalidate one piece of player B's piece group. When the result of FIG. 3F is obtained, the player's account is not changed and is maintained as it is. FIG. 3G shows an example of a result when player A succeeds in invalidating one piece of player B's piece group. FIG. 3H shows an example of the game world after player A has acquired the invalidated piece. FIGS. 3I and 3J show the accounts of players A and B after the results of FIGS. 3G and 3H, respectively.

  FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary system 400 according to another embodiment of the present invention. Although system 400 is referred to herein as a “storm” system, the various features included in this system are not necessarily required in all embodiments. In some embodiments, the system 400 provides a means for playing economic games within a web browser. In some embodiments, multiple games can be played directly in the web browser by integrating them into the storm tool as default. To enhance the gaming experience in embodiments where real-time exchange is not required, the game can also be played in a larger window mode such as full screen.

  In-browser play is particularly attractive to ordinary gamers who are not willing to play games with great effort away from surfing the web. The ability to purchase and sell pieces while participating in a game is realized by playing in a browser, which is made possible by using, for example, AJAX web programming technology. Storm systems can take this technology and eliminate most of the work of game producers creating economic games by providing a game portal interface, account management, and game operation / play system. Game browsing, account management, and game operation menus can be provided using an API that is easily integrated into a game by a game creator by a storm server.

  The system 400 includes at least one game engine / server 410. In the exemplary system 400, the game engine (or game engine instance) is a program that is normally executed on a server or the like, manages the game logic itself, and coordinates the game client 420. The game engine / server 410 typically includes the entire game world view managed by the game engine / server and transmitted to the game client 420 (which gives the game client a unique view). Game engine / server 410 further processes player input received through game client 420 and request information received through storm application programming interface (API) 415 from other components of system 400.

  A storm API is connected to each game engine / server 410. In some embodiments, each storm API 415 can be deployed to a program of a connected game engine / server 410. Storm API 415 provides the storm function to the connected game engine / server 410 (and through this engine / server to game client 420), so that the storm system can be used in the game (user account and engine account). Create and coordinate, manage games, game sessions, pieces, piece trades, etc.). Each storm API 415 can include a communication layer responsible for packaging data and ensuring connection security. In some embodiments, the storm API 415 drives updates through the controller and updates by the controller according to publish-subscribe specifications.

  Game client 420 is typically run by a game engine / server 410. The game client 420 maintains an instance of a game program that is typically executed on the player's computer. The game client 420 inputs player input to the game engine / server 410 and receives data and instructions from the game engine / server 410 to generate a unique game world screen.

  Each game client 420 interacts with a storm web server 430 using a storm plug-in 422 and a storm graphical user interface (GUI) 424. The storm GUI 424 may include web content hosted by the storm web server 430, which provides almost the same functionality as the storm API 415 (except for piece modification in the game). Thereby, the game creator can select an option of using a GUI created in advance. The user can access the storm GUI 424 using, for example, the user's web browser. Storm plug-in 422 enables a link between storm GUI 424 and game client 420. The storm plug-in 422 allows the game to be launched with the user's web browser GUI itself. The storm web server 430 is a host of the storm GUI 424 and connects these storm GUIs to one or more storm controllers 440.

  One or more storm controllers 440 are the central component (s) of the exemplary storm system 400 shown in FIG. In some embodiments, the storm controller 440 has the ability to handle multiple game engines / servers 410. In other embodiments, one storm controller 440 can be provided corresponding to each game engine / server 410, or multiple storm controllers 440 can be provided corresponding to each game engine / server 410 to increase scalability. Increase opportunities for collaboration and collaboration.

  Storm controller 440 according to an exemplary embodiment may be considered to have four general functions. As a first function, the controller manages data transfer between the game engine / server (s) 410 and the storm repository 450. As a second function, the controller controls financial transactions through the financial transaction portal 460. As a third function, the controller manages data transfer to and from the storm web server 430 and broadcasts this data to all featured game engines / servers 410. As a fourth function, the controller plays a role of verifying identification information, ensuring system security, and preventing fraud.

  One or more storm repositories 450 can be accessed by a storm controller (s) 440. Storm repository 450 can include, for example, a relational database. Or, the storm repository 450 may include a database group that includes storm players, engines, games, and piece data. Each repository 450 has a function of holding data corresponding to a plurality of game servers 410. Usually, at least one local storm repository 450 is provided for one game engine / server 410, and in this case, a plurality of repositories 450 are provided for one game engine / server 410 as necessary.

  Financial trading portal 460 is connected to storm controller (s) 440. The financial transaction portal 460 provides an appropriate financial transaction system (for example, PayPal, Moneris, etc.) that can be transferred to and from the storm system 400 by accessing from the storm controller (s) 440, for example. Can be included.

  The system 400 can optionally include a global storm interface website / web server 470. The global storm interface website / web server 470 includes, for example, a web-based interface that allows the user to access the user's storm account (s), adjust the account (s), purchase pieces, Can sell and interact with other storm users. The global storm interface website / web server 470 can be a central exchange point for different storm systems.

  The system 400 may further comprise a global storm controller 480 as appropriate. The global storm controller 480 provides similar functionality as the storm controller (s) 440 except that the global storm controller 480 operates between the global storm repository 490 and the global storm website / web server 470. The global storm repository 490 is another optional feature and may include a database (s) that includes storm data from all of the local storm repositories 450 corresponding to all game engines / servers 410.

  FIG. 5 schematically illustrates an exemplary API system 500 according to one embodiment. The API system 500 facilitates integrating the economic gaming infrastructure into an existing gaming user interface. By integrating the multiplayer game server (s) into an API system such as the API system 500, the game producer can quickly modify an existing game or operate a new game as an economic game. The API system 500 includes a game client integration tool, which provides a game menu and simplifies the task of managing accounts. In the illustrated embodiment, the API system 500 includes a game engine 510 and a storm controller 520, an engine-controller API function layer 512 and a communication layer 514 implemented in the game engine 510, and another implementation implemented in the storm controller 520. Connection is established via the communication layer 516 and the API function execution layer 518. Some exemplary functions of layers 512 and 514 are listed in FIG.

  FIG. 6 schematically illustrates examples of several actions available to a player, according to various embodiments of the present invention. FIG. 7 schematically illustrates examples of several actions available to game providers, according to various embodiments of the present invention. FIG. 8 schematically illustrates examples of several functions available in game sessions and games, according to various embodiments of the present invention. 6-8 are presented for illustrative purposes only and should not be taken as limiting.

A game according to an embodiment of the present invention is executed according to the following contents.
1. The game world and a group of pieces used in the game world are developed, and the game world is made available to the player. The game world may be used free of charge.

2. Piece sets can be obtained through an online sales system. Each piece is offered at a certain price. Each purchased piece is recorded in the player's account credit.
3. The player accesses the game world and validates a piece subset that is the minimum number required to allow game play and that is not an empty set. This minimum requirement can be specified by the game administrator or game developer.

    4). A valid piece held by a player can be earned and / or re-acquired by other participating players through game play if the piece is invalidated. Specifically, throughout the battle, battle players have the opportunity to attempt to acquire each other's possessed pieces through the invalidation mechanism, which is used by the game developer and / or game administrator. Will be able to. An invalidation mechanism typically captures, defeats, defeats, destroys, disables, or overwhelms pieces held by another player. A player who invalidates a piece can immediately acquire the piece. Alternatively, a player who has invalidated a piece needs a certain game play action in order to acquire the invalidated piece. The game developer changes specific rules for acquiring pieces that are invalidated by mistake or automatically invalidated according to the type of game.

    5). A means for selling a piece acquired by a player to another player using a piece management tool that is preferably used in a pair in conjunction with the sales system and complementing the sales system. Is provided. The player can convert the piece group into cash or credit, or convert it into a cash equivalent.

    6). Acquired pieces submitted through the sales system for resale are given higher priority than unacquired pieces for purchase or “new” pieces. Earned pieces can be sold at a discounted price that is cheaper than comparable unacquired pieces.

    7. The sales system can optionally include or be connected to a piece exchange system, where pieces in different games can be exchanged. With such a piece exchange system, a new market for game pieces can be created.

  A distinguishing feature of economic games executed in accordance with embodiments of the present invention is the ability to purchase and sell pieces, and the disabled pieces are permanently out of game play, The fact that it is not ruled out as normal in current video games, and after being defeated, the piece continues to be acquired and reused by someone playing the game. Can be mentioned. Combining these features creates new monetary motivations for both players and game administrators and developers. Furthermore, these new motivations not only work strongly together, but complement the motivational elements already present in the electronic game market.

  Electronic game players are currently motivated by the player's increased character capabilities or increased character possession. Players are also currently motivated by trying to play games with a desire to improve their personal skills. Through the ability to purchase and sell earned playpieces, the distribution of monetary rewards is linked to improved skills, and those who spend time to increase their skills in the game can contribute to the distribution of monetary rewards.

  Another motivation commonly seen when fighting with other players in superior skill is the desire to win. One player wants to defeat another player, but doesn't expect to lose. In an economic game according to various embodiments of the present invention, a new aspect of motivation is added to this existing motivation, which is a monetary gain (and loss of defeat) with superior skill. Because it leads to victory (and defeat) in battle.

  Running games using the systems and methods according to embodiments of the present invention also creates new motivations in the game development industry. Having the ability for a player to acquire an opponent's piece further increases the likelihood that a game producer will receive monetary rewards through game play. Unlike current video games where revenue is generated almost once, developers can recognize that the revenue source is continuous by collecting transaction fees, This is because they are continuously purchased and sold through the piece sales system.

  The motivational elements described above are complemented in many ways. For game producers, it is desirable to secure a continuing source of revenue, as made possible by the piece sales system. In the case of a game player, it is desirable to be able to expect a great return on a person's gameplay skills, as enabled by the ability to sell a person's piece and acquire an opponent's piece. In fact, both players and game producers can benefit from the sales system. Since the act of acquiring the opponent's piece is the purpose of playing the game itself, the game creator wants to find abundant grounds for conceiving game ideas, and the game player wants to play the game with motivation I try to find it in the desire. Only the act of buying and reselling a piece serves to further motivate the player to win the piece.

  With respect to the sales / resale system, several types of sales systems can be provided in accordance with different embodiments of the present invention. For example, an auction sales system and a fixed price sales system are appropriately selected. The selection of the sales system to use depends on the demands of the game producer.

  One type of sales system suitable for certain embodiments is a credit utilization system. In this type of system, a player first purchases credits and then uses the credits to purchase and sell pieces. At any point, the player can change his credit to an equivalent value of cash. Thus, all purchases and sales that are made will strictly include the redemption of credit through the sales system. Regarding the credit sales system, the price referred to in relation to the piece is denoted as the credit usage price.

  A system according to an embodiment of the present invention that utilizes a credit sales system can include several games in which specific credit types are recognized. In this case, the player can use the player's credits so as to be exchangeable in all the games in which the credit type is recognized. Also, in such an embodiment, players are allowed to exchange player pieces in one game with pieces in another game based on the relative credit value of the piece to be exchanged. Thus, the player can flexibly cope with any game in which the player can use the funds thrown into the pieces.

  These games can be distinguished by the motivational characteristics of any game, and to some extent, “individuality” that attracts players can be given to these games. When the various qualities of a game are combined more harmoniously, these qualities affect the better feelings of the game player who wants to play the game. As noted above, the various functions provided in accordance with embodiments of the present invention can be combined individually and synergistically to influence motivational factors and play economic games unavoidably to individual humans. Work to make you want. Thus, economic games have off-the-shelf elements that affect the personality needed to make the game worthwhile. Introducing strong gameplay motivation factors into the game is a difficult task for game producers. Thus, having a ready-made format that is incorporated into the motivation factor provides a great advantage for the game producer.

[Example]
As mentioned above, many video game genres can be adapted to the economic game format. Certain types of online multiplayer games can be greatly enhanced by the systems and methods according to embodiments of the present invention. In the following description, some non-limiting examples of economic games are presented, and various ways in which the format can be utilized in a common video game genre.

<War game>
A war-type economic game is exemplified by a multiplayer online game, in which the player orders the army and organizes the army. Using strategy and tactics, a player wins an opponent piece in battle and attempts to win a game-related target by defeating the opponent piece (eg, a game-related target Can be rewarded for territory, money, or perhaps a bonus piece).

  Individuals purchase and sell pieces through the sales system. Depending on the game to be executed, the piece may include anything having an army function, such as a warrior / soldier, weapon, armor, and the like. Several sales systems are suitable for this task. An example of a sales system is a fixed price sales system. In this system, the acquired pieces are always sold in the order of using the previously acquired pieces before the unacquired pieces. Or, a bidding sales system similar to E-Bay, where pieces are bid by the highest bidder. In fixed price sales systems, pieces are typically priced according to the game play value / performance of these pieces. In an auction system, the price of a piece group represents the value of these pieces according to market acceptance.

  Certain guidelines are involved in performing invalidation and acquisition. In the actual method of invalidation, actions such as defeating, defeating, and capturing are performed using all provided combat means, and examples of the combat means include a projectile that fires fire and a fight. Several embodiments can be used in the acquisition method, for example, the invalidated piece is immediately acquired by the player who has defeated the piece, or the invalidated piece is placed on the battlefield / space in the battle character of one participating player's army. Announces that it has officially captured the piece by attacking and defeating the invalidation piece, and will remain there until extra interesting elements are added to the dynamic game. Depending on the game to be executed, instead of immediately giving the player the ability to use the newly acquired piece in the game play, the player who has acquired the piece will be given a few short periods of time after acquiring the piece, for example several It is desirable not to allow having the ability to use or activate pieces over time. This will allow multiple players to use the acquired piece immediately, for example, assuming that two players are fighting, during the subsequent battle, , Can prevent situations where soldiers will be defeated and fluctuate as they are captured. In a dynamic game, the fluctuations are very stable and no player has the ability to control the opponent. In contrast, a dynamic game causes a dominant army to grow exponentially with respect to the amount of pieces in the armed army whenever an individual army becomes slightly dominant. Can occur. This situation is due to a snowball phenomenon where the army becomes more dominant as soon as the battle piece is acquired. Of course, these characteristics are desirable and can be an interesting feature of the game. That said, the results of invalidation and acquisition need to be appropriately incorporated and used in the game elements.

<Chess>
For example, standard online chess rules such as those provided by Yahoo (TM) Chess can be supplemented with an economic game format. In the exemplary economic format chess game, chess pieces are purchased and sold through a non-bidding sales system. Earned pieces are sold at a discounted price for unacquired pieces. Acquired pieces are sold in a FIFO format.

A fixed price can be set for all pieces to reflect the following guidelines:
1. A chess piece is a basic unit because it is sold at a price according to a standard pawn (chess piece equivalent to shogi step) pricing system.

    2. The king is priced to a value of (the entire chess army (−king) + a certain value). Therefore, the pricing method follows the following format. Each of A, B, U, and P is a dollar price that satisfies 0 <P ≦ U.

ゲームは、時間制御付きで、または時間制御無しでプレイすることができる。３つのシナリオのうちの一つは、いずれかの完了ゲーム、すなわち、引き分け、制限時間内の勝利、またはチェックメイト（自分の駒で敵のキングに攻撃をかけ、敵のキングが逃げる場所がなくなってしまった状態）のような時間に関係のない勝利から得られる。一つのルールが全ての結果に適用される。すなわち、或るピースがプレーヤによって捕獲されると、そのピースを捕獲側プレーヤが獲得して再販売する、次のゲームに使用する。従って、引き分けが生じると、各プレーヤは自分の残りのピース、及び捕獲によって勝ち取ったピースを保持する。プレーヤが対戦相手を制限時間内に打ち負かす場合、勝利者は敗北者のキングを更に保持する。プレーヤが対戦相手のキングをチェックメイトする場合、勝利者側のプレーヤは、キングを含むチェックメイトされた相手方のプレーヤのピースの全てを保持する。コイントス機能を追加して、いずれのプレーヤが先手としてプレイするかを決めることが望ましい。全ての後続のゲームでは、プレーヤは先手を交互に持ち合ってプレイする。

The game can be played with or without time control. One of the three scenarios is one of the completed games: draw, win within the time limit, or checkmate (attack the enemy king with your piece, leaving no place for the enemy king to escape) Obtained from time-independent wins. One rule applies to all results. That is, when a piece is captured by a player, the piece is used for the next game that the capturing player acquires and resells. Thus, when a draw occurs, each player holds his remaining pieces and the pieces won by capture. If the player beats the opponent within the time limit, the winner further holds the loser's king. When a player checkmates an opponent's king, the winning player holds all of the pieces of the opponent's checked-mate player, including the king. It is desirable to add a coin toss function and decide which player plays first. In all subsequent games, the player plays with his first hand alternately.

  When the game ends due to an unexpected situation such as communication interruption or game server failure, it is necessary to control the game time by forcibly applying special rules. Some solutions in these cases may include some of the following solutions. If a player becomes unable to communicate during the game, play continues normally. The player can return to the game when his player's communication connection is re-established. However, when the time control is applied to the game, the player loses all the elapsed time in a state where the player is in his / her turn while communication is not possible. In fact, the player may lose the game before reconnecting. When the game server breaks down, each player who was playing at the time of the server failure is returned to the original state in the form that the acquired piece is controlled to the state before starting the game, so the influence of the failure appears and the game There is no play at all. Alternatively, (army held by each player) + ("estimated extra" ability from all pieces captured by the player during the game before the failure). Another possibility is to simply ignore the failure and let the player hold (pieces acquired before failure)-(pieces lost) as usual.

  Similar rules can be applied to other types of games to deal with unexpected game terminations. Such rules can vary from game to game and can be specified by the game developer and / or game administrator.

<First-person shooter>
In the exemplary first person shooter economy game, the invalidation method is a standard method that can be used to defeat an opponent's piece, i.e. destroy the opponent's piece with a weapon such as a gun and bomb Can be the same. When the opponent's piece is defeated, the owner who defeated the piece can acquire the defeated piece. At this point, the new owner will use the earned piece to sell or sell the piece using the piece sales system to play or reclaim the cash price for that piece. can do.

<Example of economic game interface>
By separating elements common to multiple different economic games, a universal economic game interface server (EGIS) system according to an embodiment of the present invention can be implemented. Such a system can provide the online sales and resale system and the tracking and online trading infrastructure needed to support acquisition and sales transactions. Since EGIS systems typically also include development tools, game developers can easily insert the necessary functions that allow the developer's game to interact correctly with the server.

  In some embodiments, the EGIS system provides several sales system types, such as a fixed price bidding sales system and / or a credit-based sales system. If multiple sales system types are provided, it is left to the game creator to decide which sales system to use for the game and interface with the EGIS system.

  Pieces purchased and sold are tracked and recorded by secure methods implemented in the EGIS system, and these methods are probably integrated with the provided development tools. In some games, it is also necessary to track pieces unique to these games. A tracking system implemented in such a game needs to be synchronized with a piece confirmation and tracking system implemented in an EGIS (economic game interface server) system. Accordingly, a standardized method of implementing a game tracking system and synchronizing the game tracking system and the EGIS tracking system can be provided as part of the EGIS system. To meet all requirements for tracking pieces, the EGIS system client and server components provide the ability to record acquisitions and prove, or at least assure, the ownership and specificity of acquired pieces. .

  While the EGIS system is optional, it becomes the game producer's centralized Internet host and identifies the location of the game world components required to play the game with which the related game pieces interact, Component groups can also be distributed.

<Examples of expected benefits>
By using the economic game format while achieving the availability of the EGIS server, benefits can be brought to the gaming industry in several ways. New untapped markets can be opened up by developing new genre games. Formats bring games that are produced as simple and off-the-shelf means to the market and generate revenue from the games. In addition, the availability of EGIS servers also makes tools and infrastructure ready-made means to bring these games to the market and generate revenue from these games.

  The economic game structure is a source of ideas for game ideas that have not been studied so far. With new paradigms (theoretical framework) in the video game industry, in particular new game styles and game genres, new markets have historically emerged and computing and game technologies have always improved with new markets. This case occurs in the early 1990s when the Wolfstein 3D engine that created the first person 3D shooting game genre in the game industry appeared. This ultimately led to a huge advance in 3D rendering technology, followed by games developed to explore this genre. Similarly, a requirement for an economic game requires a technology that does not yet exist, or a technology that has not yet been developed to a sufficient level to accomplish some of the required tasks. For example, the online trading capabilities required for certain embodiments need to meet security, speed, and deterministic standards that push current technology to its limits. In particular, the inventors have stated that future developments in communications using web servers will be triggered by economic game formats, and the results of development can be used in various embodiments of the present invention. Predict.

  Implementation of the method and system according to embodiments of the present invention can increase demand by attracting potential new players to the game community, and the game industry as a whole is thus in demand. Will enjoy the economic benefits. Historical examples of this phenomenon can be easily found. The creation of a first person 3D shooting game has also brought this result. With the spread of new genres, diversity and work are created, and more products are put on the market.

  In addition, a method for funding the actual cost of producing and supplying a game with an economic game format according to an embodiment of the present invention is more advantageous than a prior art format because fees and sales are obtained by a piece selling system. It will be a more “real-world” approach. Game utilization can be determined by analyzing the percentage and amount of earned pieces submitted for sale and the percentage and quantity of purchased pieces, so for certain economic games, the game utilization is This will be reflected in the utilization rate of the piece sales system. Costs cannot be overestimated or underestimated as easily as other methods under the economic game format. This is because costs are collected when the game is used. In this respect, funding for economic games can inevitably be done according to usage rates, so the way to cover operational costs is much closer to the real world than other methods such as collecting monthly subscription fees. Become a method.

  The form of marketing and the means of obtaining profits from production games can be simplified by the economic game structure. An economic game structure can have normal marketing and funding methods that take advantage of the commissions and sales from the sales system, allowing game creators to focus more on the production of the game, and these Can reduce the effort required to bring the game to market and to benefit from the game. By introducing the EGI system, it is possible to further simplify the problem of sending a game to the market and making a profit from the game. This is because it is not necessary to construct a sales system and a tracking / transaction-related infrastructure for each game. The game creator simply takes in the client tools necessary for the producer's game and immediately adopts the basic economic game structure and introduces it into the producer's game. The EGI server can also provide significant advantages to small game production ventures by providing an inexpensive and quick way to get the game to market and immediately start profiting from the game.

  Certain economic game structures can act to facilitate creativity in the video game market by providing a foundation for new game genres that have not been explored before. As mentioned earlier, the myriad possibilities of video game types are suddenly opened by incorporating acquisition functions. New genres and game styles are pursued with great effort on either the game player or game producer side. In the case of game players, the development of new genres is attractive to players. For game creators, the difficult task of innovation is made easier by pursuing the possibility of a wealth of game ideas that are barely touched. Certainly, as a source of artistic ideas, game creators have found that economic game concepts offer significant advantages for the purpose of creating innovative products that game players appreciate.

  For economic reasons, it may at least partially prohibit the use of acquisition functions prior to creation of an economic game format according to certain embodiments of the present invention. In contrast, prior art games that can be characterized by the ability to acquire an opponent's piece are generally not economically feasible to run and maintain. The reason for this is that it is difficult to maintain the infrastructure that tracks and executes the sales activities required to support the acquisition function, which is always proportional to the proportion of transactions that it is seeking to acquire. This is because there is a need for a method of investing in business activities so that the state of receiving the income to be continued for a considerable period of time. The absence of such funding sources may at least partially affect the situation where the act of acquisition is not used in prior art game formats.

  However, a continuous means of funding the infrastructure required for an economic game according to an embodiment is convenient because it can be realized through fees and sales earned by the piece selling system. Appropriate levels of revenue use supply and demand dynamics that naturally appear due to overlapping influences of player interest, skill, game dynamics, piece selling systems, and the ability to acquire opponent pieces. Can be generated by a type of economic game. In fact, economic games are usually observed in all systems that follow supply and demand, and will be played faithfully to the restraints and balances that are expected. Intuitively, through analysis (currently beyond the scope of this document), this type of system can be used to continuously fund acquisition transactions. The principle can be clarified. Thus, a given economic game format provides a solution to the economic factors that would otherwise prevent the execution and deployment of the acquired game.

  By supporting the acquisition function with the piece sales system (financially, with respect to game play, etc.) and conversely with the piece sales system with the acquisition function, these two functions are combined in an embodiment of the present invention, It produces results that are larger than the combined results that these functions can produce individually. Furthermore, the predetermined economic game format provides a financial solution for introducing the acquired game into the game world.

  By providing the portal with the possibility of exchanging pieces across different types of games, the system and method according to certain embodiments allows game creators to utilize a wide direct marketplace. This situation, which can be done, can provide significant benefits to small game producers. Since more games are given the function of being executed as an economic game, the effects of viruses can be predicted with the spread and expansion of exchanges and gameplay. The probability of revenue from sales increases as the game becomes more likely to be played each time a game is added to the list. Relative buying and selling (as long as the game creator chooses to allow buying and selling for any particular game) can be done between multiple games, so play new games coming into the economic game portal The number of times a gamer will generate sales is not proportional to the number of players currently playing a new game. Rather than being proportional, the number of times tied to sales is proportional to the number of equally priced pieces already present in all games that allow relative trading.

  Further, when the game is not popularized, the faithful player layer tries to continue to play the game for a long period of time after the game is no longer widely spread and popularized. A game with a small customer base can still survive because the presence of buyers and sellers, which are essentially uninterrupted, can be exploited through relative buying and selling. An ugly phrase common to this type of phenomenon is “targeting the“ long-tail ”of the market”, where a small market can often be the largest section in any given market There is.

  The system and method according to certain embodiments further provides the possibility of game pieces being bought and sold as in the stock market. Piece prices can be determined by market requirements and market forces, allowing players and / or investors to invest in pieces / attributes that they wish to purchase and sell, and allowing them to earn. This situation can bring benefits not only to the game player but also to people other than the game player.

  The system and method according to certain embodiments further allows pooled play in the account as a team. A player group can agree to belong to one team account. Since pieces obtained by team members can be pooled in an account, not only game play resources but also monetary profits obtained from sales of these pieces can be distributed among team members. These players can participate in a certain game and play as a team. In some games, players can benefit from organizing teams with other players in game play. Players can also reduce the magnitude of their individual losses with pooled resources available from their team accounts.

  Systems and methods according to certain embodiments further allow sponsored play. The sponsor entity can benefit by associating the entity's trademark or name with a skilled player in an economic game. In addition, the sponsor can obtain a profit by acquiring a large dividend from a prize earned by a player with excellent skill. The sponsor can open a sponsor account from which a player is provided with a certain amount of game play resources provided by the sponsor. A player can earn revenue by selling pieces and splits such revenue with the sponsor. Sponsors can also be sponsors of teams that are instructed to play together.

  Those skilled in the art can understand from the description of the present specification, but many changes and modifications may be made without departing from the technical idea or technical scope of the present invention in carrying out the present invention. Can be added. The technical scope of the present invention should be construed according to the contents defined by the claims.

It is a figure which shows the example of the game piece management system by one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the game piece management system connected to the game by another embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows the example of a game world. It is a mimetic diagram showing an example of a piece used in the game world of Drawing 3A. It is a schematic diagram which shows the example of a player account. It is a schematic diagram which shows the example of a player account. It is a figure which shows the example of the mode of the battle performed between the pieces of two players. It is a figure which shows the example of the mode of the battle performed between the pieces of two players. It is a figure which shows the example of the mode of the battle performed between the pieces of two players. It is a figure which shows the example of the mode of the battle performed between the pieces of two players. It is a schematic diagram which shows the example of a player account. It is a schematic diagram which shows the example of a player account. It is a figure which shows the example of the storm system by one Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of an API according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows the example of the some action which can be utilized by the player. It is a schematic diagram which shows the example of some acts available by a game provider. It is a schematic diagram which shows the example of the some function which can be utilized in a game session and a game.

Claims (17)

A game piece management system,
A piece sales system configured to allow a player to purchase pieces that can be used to play at least one game;
An account management system that maintains a plurality of player accounts and identifies pieces owned by a player by each player account;
A game interface configured to allow a player access to a game session of an online game and to allow the player to select from the player account of the player at least one piece for use as an active piece in the game session; ,
In a game session under the control of a player, when the active piece of the player invalidates the valid piece of another player, the player obtains and uses the invalidated valid piece of the other player A game piece management system in which the active piece of the player interacts with the active piece of another player.   The invalidated valid piece of the other player is acquired as an acquired piece by the player, and information identifying the acquired piece is supplied to the account management system and recorded in the player account of the player. Item 4. A game piece management system according to item 1.   The game piece management system according to claim 2, wherein the invalidated valid piece of the other player is automatically acquired by the player when it is invalidated.   The game piece management according to claim 2, wherein the invalid piece of the other player is made available to the player after the valid piece of the player performs the invalidation by executing a predetermined acquisition operation. system.   The piece sales system accepts pieces provided by the player for sale, and supplies information identifying the sold pieces to the account management system, whereby the sales of the pieces provided by the player for sale are stored in the player. The game piece management system of claim 1, configured to record in an account.   6. The game piece management system according to claim 5, wherein the piece sales system stores pieces provided for sale by a plurality of players in a FIFO queue.   The game piece management system according to claim 7, wherein the piece sales system is configured such that a player can purchase a piece for sale from the FIFO queue in preference to another piece.   The piece selling system is configured to allow a player to purchase a piece for sale from the FIFO queue at a discounted price than an equivalent piece not stored in the FIFO queue. Item 8. The game piece management system according to Item 7.   The game piece management system according to claim 5, wherein the piece sales system is configured to buy back a piece provided for sale by the player at a price lower than a purchase price paid for the piece.   The game piece management system of claim 1, comprising a plurality of game interfaces that allow a player to access game sessions of a plurality of online games.   The game piece management system according to claim 10, wherein the piece sales system includes a piece exchange system that enables exchange of pieces in different games.   The game piece management system of claim 1, comprising a graphical user interface that facilitates simultaneous play of one or more games and the purchase, sale, or exchange of groups of pieces. A method of running an economic game,
Mounting a game engine including computer-readable instructions for operating an online game on a server accessible by a plurality of player terminals;
Provide multiple game pieces consisting of data recorded on computer readable media purchased by a player through a piece sales system operable to record one or more purchased pieces in one or more player accounts To do,
An active piece in which an online game is executed when a notification of one or a plurality of valid pieces is received from one or a plurality of players, and a valid piece owned by one player is owned by another player Running the game session to cause an interaction between the plurality of game pieces that can be acquired by
Recording one or more acquired pieces in the acquiring player account;
A method comprising:   14. Providing a plurality of game pieces for purchase by the player through a piece sales system includes receiving notification of one or more earned pieces for sale from one or more player accounts. the method of.   15. The method of claim 14, wherein providing a plurality of game pieces for purchase by the player through a piece sales system includes providing earned pieces at a lower price than unacquired pieces.   15. The method of claim 14, wherein providing a plurality of game pieces for purchase by the player through a piece sales system includes providing acquired pieces in preference to unacquired pieces.   The method of claim 16, comprising using a FIFO queue for sale of acquired pieces.

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