JP2019154780A - Server and program - Google Patents

Abstract

To avoid failure in a bidirectional game experience because of concentration of intervention of progress of a game by a client of a real-time play moving picture of a game within a short period of time.SOLUTION: A server includes a calculation part, a determination part, a transmission part and an intervention part. The calculation part calculates a load index for indicating a load concerning execution of a game being played. The determination part determines a counter value for executing intervention to a game by a client of a real-time play moving picture of the game on the basis of the load index. The transmission part transmits information for indicating a counter value to the client's terminal. The intervention part executes intervention as a target of an execution request to a game in exchange for a counter value in reception of the execution request of the intervention. The determination part determines a counter value to be a first value when the load index indicates a first load, and determines the counter value to be a second value higher than the first value when the load index indicates a second load heavier than the first load.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

  The present invention relates to a game real-time video distribution system that provides an interactive game experience.

  Video games can be classified into a stand-alone type or an online game (for example, a cloud game, an MO (Multiplayer Online) game, an MMO (Massive Multiplayer Online) game). Online games can be further classified into C / S (Client / Server) type and P2P (Peer to Peer) type. The stand-alone type game and the P2P type online game are realized by a player terminal executing a game program, and one or a few tens of players play. On the other hand, particularly in the C / S type, the game server connected to the player's terminal executes a part of the game program (server side program). In the MMO type game, hundreds to millions of people are realized. A player can be connected to the network and play.

  The basic mechanism of a video game is that a player recognizes a game screen, sound, vibration, etc., which are the output of a game program, makes a judgment based on this, inputs an operation, and the game program is based on the operation. This is a repetition of the exchange between the player and the game program in which the game state is changed to generate further output.

  In recent years, in the video sharing system, a video of a genre called game live broadcasting is emerging. The game live broadcasting is a content sharing method in which a player (distributor) plays a game in real time to a large number of audiences. According to the game live broadcast, the audience other than the player can also experience and enjoy the game in a simulated manner.

  Furthermore, in some video sharing systems, the audience can add comments to live broadcast videos. In the live game broadcast, comments made by the audience can be viewed in real time by the distributor in addition to other audiences. Distributors can play according to advice comments or request comments from the audience, and the audience can further comment, etc. to create an interactive game experience.

  Patent Document 1 discloses that the comments input during browsing of the game play video are acquired and aggregated, and the production method is selected [0011]. However, in Patent Document 1, different presentation methods of effects, background materials, and screen decorations are defined, but in any presentation method, the content of the game play itself does not change, only the appearance changes. ([0085], [FIG. 18]).

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-189804 JP, 2014-76176, A

  The influence of the audience on the game progress is limited only by a mechanism in which the audience can comment on the live broadcast video and the distributor can view it. For example, if the distributor overlooks or ignores the comment, no matter how much the audience comments, the audience comment does not affect the progress of the game. In this way, in the conventional live broadcast of the game, only the distributor who is the player can directly participate in the progress of the game, so that the intention of the audience influences the progress of the game regardless of the intention of the distributor. There is no.

  On the other hand, it is also assumed that the audience of the live game broadcast can intervene in the progress of the game, for example, by generating a (sub) event such as an item drop. According to such a framework, in the game, in addition to an event that occurs due to the operation of the distributor who is the player and an event that automatically occurs according to the progress of the game, an event due to the audience's intervention also occurs. Become. This means that more events can occur than when only the player plays the game.

  If a large number of audiences request simultaneous intervention and this causes a number of events that exceed the distributor's and audience's cognitive abilities to occur in a short period of time, even if each event occurred is notified each time. It is difficult for the distributor and the audience to grasp the game state. This may impair the interactive game experience by detracting from the fun of the game and its play video, or hindering communication between the distributor and the audience or between the audience. Furthermore, if a large number of events are generated or attempted to be notified in a short period of time, the processing load on the game execution subject (game server or distributor terminal) increases.

  Rather than unconditionally realizing audience intervention, audience intervention will be reduced if some necessary condition (eg, billing) is provided. However, if this requirement is too strict, only a few enthusiastic audiences will intervene in the progress of the game, and many other spectators may not be able to intervene in the progress of the game and lose a sense of unity. There is sex. On the other hand, if this requirement is too loose, the same problems as in the unconditional case may occur.

  In Patent Document 2, as a mode for setting the price of an object desired by a user, a predetermined price is set to be higher as the processing load is higher, based on information on the processing load of the game control device. ([0013]) and presenting information related to the search fee or search condition to the user ([0051], [0080], FIGS. 11 and 16). However, in Patent Document 2, it is not assumed that an intervention is allowed in the progress of the game by the audience of the real-time play video of the game.

  An object of the present invention is to avoid the failure of an interactive game experience due to the fact that interventions are concentrated in a short time by the audience of a real-time play video of a game.

  A server according to an aspect of the present invention includes a calculation unit, a determination unit, a transmission unit, a reception unit, and an intervention unit. The calculation unit calculates a load index indicating a load related to execution of the game being played. A determination part determines the consideration for the audience of the real-time play animation of a game to implement intervention with respect to a game based on a load parameter | index. The transmission unit transmits information indicating the price to the audience terminal. The receiving unit receives an intervention execution request from the terminal. When the intervention request is received, the intervention unit performs the intervention that is the target of the execution request on the game in exchange for the consideration. The determining unit determines the consideration as the first value when the load index indicates the first load, and determines the consideration as the first value when the load index indicates the second load heavier than the first load. A second value higher than the value is determined.

  A server according to another aspect of the present invention includes a calculation unit, a determination unit, a transmission unit, a reception unit, and an intervention unit. The calculation unit calculates a load index indicating a load related to execution of the game being played. The determination unit determines the required number of persons for the audience of the real-time play video of the game to perform intervention on the game based on the load index. The transmitting unit transmits information indicating the required number of people to the audience terminal. The receiving unit receives an intervention execution request from the terminal. When an intervention request is received from a terminal of more than the required number of spectators, the intervention unit performs an intervention that is a target of the execution request on the game. The determining unit determines the required number of persons as the first value when the load index indicates the first load, and determines the required number of persons as the second index when the load index indicates a second load heavier than the first load. A second value greater than the value of 1 is determined.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the failure of the interactive game experience by the intervention concentrated on the progress of the said game by the audience of the game real-time play animation can be avoided.

The block diagram which shows an example of the delivery system of the real-time play moving image of a game including the auxiliary | assistant server which concerns on embodiment. The figure which shows the modification of FIG. The block diagram which illustrates the auxiliary server in FIG. The conceptual diagram of the operation | movement regarding the price determination of the auxiliary server of FIG. The figure which illustrates an intervention weight table. The figure which illustrates an object weight table. The figure which illustrates the consideration shown to an audience at a certain time. The figure which illustrates the consideration shown to a spectator at the time different from Drawing 7A. The flowchart which illustrates operation | movement of the auxiliary server of FIG. The figure which illustrates the required number of people shown to an audience at a certain time in the modification of an embodiment. The figure which illustrates the required number of persons shown to a spectator at the time different from FIG. 9A in the modification of embodiment.

  Hereinafter, embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings. Hereinafter, elements that are the same as or similar to elements already described are denoted by the same or similar reference numerals, and redundant descriptions are basically omitted. For example, when there are a plurality of identical or similar elements, a common reference may be used to explain each element without distinction, and the common reference may be used to distinguish each element. In addition, branch numbers may be used.

(Embodiment)
The auxiliary server according to the embodiment can be incorporated in a real-time play video distribution system of a game exemplified in FIG. This distribution system includes a distributor terminal 100, a moving image distribution server 200, audience terminals 300-1, 300-2,..., An auxiliary server 400, and a game server 500.

  In the example of FIG. 1, the video distribution server 200 displays a real-time play video of a C / S-type online game executed on the distributor terminal 100 (client) and the game server 500 (server) as the audience terminal 300 (and distributor). To the terminal 100).

  Here, the game may be, for example, a game for raising an artificial life form. In this training game, the player moves the artificial life form to a virtual world called a field, and enjoys watching the ecology and the state that the artificial life form forms a group (clan) and coexists with other groups. Can do. An item (food) for the player to replenish the energy of the artificial life form for the purpose of preventing the death of the artificial life form owned by the player and the destruction of the clan to which the player belongs, and for the purpose of making the clan advantageous. And other effective objects can be dropped onto the field. In this system, not only a distributor who is a player but also a spectator uses the auxiliary server 400 to perform such an intervention, and together with the player (distributor), a favorite artificial life form and a family to which it belongs. You can support it, or you can interfere with hostile activities.

  The distributor terminal 100 executes a game program (client side program). The distributor terminal 100 receives the execution result of the game program (server-side program) from the game server 500, and outputs the game screen / sound (which may include vibration or other feedback). Recognize output. Here, the execution result of the game program may be, for example, the game screen / sound (encoded data) itself or data necessary for generating the game screen / sound such as the game state. May be. For example, in a cloud game, the game screen / sound itself can be transmitted to the distributor terminal 100.

  In the latter example, the distributor terminal 100 determines game material data, for example, an object (specifically, a character, an item, a background, a visual effect) in order to determine drawing of a game screen and output sound. , Etc.) image data, sound effects (SE: Sound Effect), BGM (background music), voice data such as character voice (Character Voice), vibration patterns, etc. are stored in the main memory or auxiliary storage device. There is a need.

  The player recognizes an output from the distributor terminal 100 and inputs an operation to the distributor terminal 100 based on the output. Distributor terminal 100 transmits player operation data to game server 500. Further, the distributor terminal 100 sequentially encodes the game screen / sound and, if necessary, additional images / sounds, and transmits (uploads) the encoded data to the moving image distribution server 200. Here, the additional image / sound may include, for example, an image taken of the distributor, live audio of the distributor, and the like.

  The distributor terminal 100 is an electronic device such as a computer that can execute a game program (client-side program), such as a PC (Personal Computer), a mobile terminal (for example, a tablet, a smartphone, a laptop, a feature phone, a portable game machine, Digital music player, electronic book reader, etc.), VR (Virtual Reality) terminal, AR (Augmented Reality) terminal, game machine, TV receiver (including Internet TV), and the like, but are not limited thereto.

  Distributor terminal 100 is physically separated into a device that executes a game program (game execution device) and a device that encodes image / sound and transmits encoded multimedia data (encoding / uploading device). May be. In this case, the game screen / audio data may or may not be output directly from the game execution device to the encoding / uploading device. In the latter case, the encoding / uploading device can capture the game screen / audio data by, for example, photographing the screen of the display device connected to the game execution device and recording the output sound from the speaker.

  The video distribution server 200 is connected to the distributor terminal 100 and the audience terminal 300 via a network, and can transmit and receive data to and from each other. The video distribution server 200 sequentially receives encoded data from the distributor terminal 100 and transmits it to the audience terminal 300.

  The spectator terminal 300 issues an intervention request for the game based on the operation input from the user, and transmits it to the auxiliary server 400. The audience terminal 300 may be an electronic device similar to the distributor terminal 100. However, the audience terminal 300 does not need the ability to execute the game program.

  The auxiliary server 400 is connected to the spectator terminal 300 and the game server 500 via a network. The auxiliary server 400 receives an intervention execution request from the spectator terminal 300 and transmits an event generation request based on the request to the game server 500. The event generation request may include, for example, data indicating the type of event to be requested and data indicating a spectator who is the subject of the request (hereinafter referred to as a requester). In the following description, events and sub-events are not distinguished, and both are referred to as events.

  By operating the auxiliary server 400 in this way, for example, at least a part of the viewer's intention to view the real-time play video of the game affects the progress of the game, and eventually the real-time play video viewed by the audience. It is possible to realize an interactive and highly integrated game experience.

  Note that the auxiliary server 400 basically accepts an intervention request from the spectator terminal 300 with conditions. Specifically, the auxiliary server 400 may allow the audience to intervene in the game on the condition that payment of intervention consideration (hereinafter referred to as consideration) is paid. Here, the consideration may be represented by actual goods or may be represented by virtual goods (including points) that can be used in the moving image distribution system. If the spectator wants to perform an intervention in the game, he / she operates the spectator terminal 300 after agreeing to the payment of the price displayed on the spectator terminal 300 and issues an execution request. When the auxiliary server 400 receives the intervention request from the spectator terminal 300, the auxiliary server 400 executes the intervention on the game in exchange for the consideration displayed on the spectator terminal 300 when the request is issued. The payment processing for consideration may be performed by the auxiliary server 400, or may be performed by a payment server different from the auxiliary server 400.

  The auxiliary server 400 calculates a load index indicating a load related to the execution of the game, determines a price based on the load index, and transmits information indicating the price to the audience terminal 300. The details of the load related to the game execution will be described later. Here, the auxiliary server 400 determines the consideration so that the higher the load indicated by the load index, the higher the load. Therefore, since it becomes difficult to intervene when the load is heavy, further increase in the load is suppressed. In other words, it is possible to avoid the failure of the interactive game experience and / or the excessive execution load of the game program in the game execution device due to the complexity of the game state exceeding the recognition ability of the player and the audience. On the other hand, intervention becomes easier when the load is light, so the intervention plays a role in creating a topic, promotes communication between audiences or between audiences and distributors (players), and provides a highly interactive game experience. It becomes possible. For example, since the intervention from the audience can be called in a scene where the intervention from the audience is reduced and lacks excitement, it becomes easy to keep the player / audience's motivation for play / viewing. In addition, it is also possible to expect an effect of inducing a spectator who wants to actively intervene but saves the payment of the consideration to a play video that is expected to have a small load, for example, a play video with a small number of spectators and comments.

  The game server 500 is connected to the distributor terminal 100 and the auxiliary server 400 via a network, and can transmit / receive data to / from each other. The game server 500 executes a game program. In the example of FIG. 1, the game server 500 can be called a game execution device.

  The game server 500 changes the game state based on the player operation data transmitted from the distributor terminal 100 and the event generation request from the auxiliary server 400. The game server 500 sequentially transmits the execution result of the game program to the distributor terminal 100.

  In addition, the number of each apparatus shown in FIG. 1 is only an example. For example, since the number of spectator terminals 300 changes from moment to moment, it may be zero, and may be hundreds or thousands. Further, a Web server, a settlement server, or a comment distribution server not shown in FIG. 1 may be further provided.

  FIG. 2 shows another example of the distribution system for the real-time play video of the game. This distribution system includes a distributor terminal 600, a moving image distribution server 200, audience terminals 300-1, 300-2,.

  In the example of FIG. 2, the video distribution server 200 distributes a real-time play video of a stand-alone game or a P2P online game executed on the distributor terminal 600 to the audience terminal 300 (and the distributor terminal 600). .

  The moving image distribution server 200, the audience terminal 300, and the auxiliary server 400 of FIG. 2 may be the same as the moving image distribution server 200, the audience terminal 300, and the auxiliary server 400 of FIG. However, it is necessary to replace “distributor terminal 100” and “game server 500” in the description related to FIG. 1 with “distributor terminal 600”.

  Distributor terminal 600 executes a game program. Further, it is assumed that distributor terminal 600 stores game material data in its main memory or auxiliary storage device. In the example of FIG. 2, the distributor terminal 600 can be called a game execution device.

  The distributor terminal 600 receives an operation from the player and receives an event generation request from the auxiliary server 400. The distributor terminal 600 changes the game state based on the operation data of the player and the event generation request. Distributor terminal 600 sequentially generates and outputs a game screen / sound based on the game state and game material data.

  The player recognizes the output from the distributor terminal 600 and inputs an operation to the distributor terminal 600 based on the output. Distributor terminal 600 accepts the player's operation and further transitions the game state. Further, the distributor terminal 600 sequentially encodes the game screen / sound and, if necessary, additional images / sounds and transmits them to the moving image distribution server 200.

  Distributor terminal 600 may be an electronic device such as a computer capable of executing a game program, for example, an electronic device similar to distributor terminal 100 in FIG. Distributor terminal 600 is physically separated into a device that executes a game program (game execution device) and a device that encodes image / sound and transmits encoded multimedia data (encoding / uploading device). May be. In this case, the game screen / audio data may or may not be output directly from the game execution device to the encoding / uploading device. In the latter case, the encoding / uploading device can capture the game screen / audio data by, for example, photographing the screen of the display device connected to the game execution device and recording the output sound from the speaker.

  Note that the number of devices shown in FIG. 2 is merely an example. For example, since the number of spectator terminals 300 changes from moment to moment, it may be zero, and may be hundreds or thousands. Further, a Web server, a settlement server, or a comment distribution server not shown in FIG. 2 may be further provided.

Hereinafter, the auxiliary server 400 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 3 to 8.
The auxiliary server 400 is a computer, for example, a processor that performs input / output control, communication control, and intervention control (that is, implementation of intervention, control of settlement, calculation of load index described later, determination of value, etc.) including. Here, the processor is typically a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and / or a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), but is a microcomputer, an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), a DSP (Digital Signal Processor), or the like. Also good. The auxiliary server 400 includes a memory that temporarily stores a program executed by the processor and data used by the processor in order to realize such processing.

  The auxiliary server 400 may handle all data in an on-memory state, or a part of the data may be saved in the auxiliary storage device. The auxiliary storage device may be, for example, an HDD (Hard Disc Drive), an SSD (Solid State Drive), a flash memory, or the like built in or externally attached to the auxiliary server 400, or a database server accessible from the auxiliary server 400. It may be.

  The auxiliary server 400 may be a combination of a plurality of computers. For example, functional units of the auxiliary server 400, such as a communication unit 410, an intervention control unit 420, and various storage units, which will be described later, may be distributed and implemented in separate computers.

  The auxiliary server 400 can further use a communication I / F (interface) for connecting to the network. The communication I / F may be built in the auxiliary server 400 or may be externally attached to the auxiliary server 400.

  The communication I / F is a module for communicating with the audience terminal 300 and the game execution device (the game server 500 in the example of FIG. 1 and the distributor terminal 600 in the example of FIG. 2) via the network. obtain. For example, the communication I / F receives an execution request for intervention from the spectator terminal 300 and transmits various requests such as an event generation request based on the execution request to the game execution device. Further, the communication I / F can receive data (described later) indicating an object (type) drawn on the game play screen, for example, from the game execution device.

  Next, description of the configuration example of the auxiliary server 400 will be continued using FIG. The auxiliary server 400 of FIG. 3 includes a communication unit 410, an intervention control unit 420, and various storage units.

  The communication unit 410 may be, for example, the communication I / F described above, and receives data from, for example, the spectator terminal 300 or transmits data to the game execution device via the network. Specifically, the communication unit 410 includes a reception unit 411 and a transmission unit 412.

  The receiving unit 411 receives an intervention execution request from the audience terminal 300. Here, the intervention implementation request includes, for example, data indicating the type of intervention requested, data indicating the spectator who is the subject of the request (hereinafter referred to as the requester), and the spectator terminal of the requester when the request is issued The consideration displayed on the screen of 300, that is, data indicating the consideration that the requester has agreed to pay may be included. In the following description, events and sub-events are not distinguished, and both are referred to as events. The data indicating the value may directly indicate the value of the corresponding value or the intermediate parameter, and indicates the value determined / notified or the order of the value determined / notified. There may be.

  The receiving unit 411 may receive data indicating an object drawn on the game play screen from the game execution device. This data can be, for example, an identifier for identifying the type (or individual if necessary) of each target object. As described above, objects can include characters, items, backgrounds, visual effects, and the like. Furthermore, the receiving unit 411 can receive a payment response for consideration from a payment server (not shown). The payment response may include a code that indicates whether the payment has succeeded or failed.

  The receiving unit 411 sends these received data to the intervention control unit 420. Specifically, the reception unit 411 sends an intervention execution request to the intervention execution unit 421, sends data indicating the object to the load index calculation unit 423, and sends a settlement response to the settlement control unit 422.

  The transmission unit 412 receives information indicating the price from the price determination unit 424 and sends it to the audience terminal 300. Such information may be transmitted directly to the audience terminal 300 or may be transmitted to the audience terminal 300 via the moving image distribution server 200 or the like. Details of the information indicating the consideration will be described later. However, the value of the consideration for each intervention may be indicated, or the value of an intermediate parameter for uniquely calculating the consideration for each intervention may be indicated. . Further, the transmission unit 412 may receive a response indicating acceptance / rejection of the intervention request from the intervention execution unit 421 and send the response to the requester's audience terminal 300.

  Further, the transmission unit 412 receives a request for the game execution device, such as an event generation request, from the intervention execution unit 421 and sends it to the game execution device. In addition, the transmission unit 412 can receive a payment request for payment from the payment control unit 422 and send it to a payment server (not shown).

  The intervention control unit 420 may be the aforementioned processor and memory. The intervention control unit 420 receives from the communication unit 410 data such as an intervention execution request, data indicating an object, and a settlement settlement response. The intervention control unit 420 reads necessary data from various storage units. The intervention control unit 420 performs intervention, determines a price, or requests a payment server (not shown) for payment based on data received from the communication unit 410 and / or data read from various storage units. To do. Further, the intervention control unit 420 transmits various data such as various requests to the game execution device, information indicating the determined consideration, a settlement request for the consideration, a response indicating acceptance / rejection of the implementation request for the intervention, and the like. Send to. Specifically, the intervention control unit 420 includes an intervention execution unit 421, a settlement control unit 422, a load index calculation unit 423, and a consideration determination unit 424.

  When the intervention execution unit 421 receives the intervention execution request from the reception unit 411, the intervention execution unit 421 executes the intervention that is the target of the execution request for the game in exchange for the consideration. First, the intervention implementation unit 421 sends an intervention implementation request to the settlement control unit 422 in order to settle the consideration. Then, the intervention execution unit 421 receives a report from the settlement control unit 422 that the settlement has failed / successful.

  When the intervention execution unit 421 receives a report from the payment control unit 422 that the payment is successful, the intervention execution unit 421 generates a request corresponding to the intervention execution request, for example, an event generation request, and sends the request to the transmission unit 412. Further, the intervention implementation unit 421 may generate a response indicating acceptance of the intervention implementation request and send the response to the transmission unit 412 in order to notify the requester that the intervention is implemented. Further, as will be described later, when the load index is calculated based on the received information on the intervention request, the intervention execution unit 421 writes the information in the reception request information storage unit 431.

  When the intervention execution unit 421 receives a report from the settlement control unit 422 that the settlement has failed, the intervention execution unit 421 cancels the intervention. Further, the intervention execution unit 421 may generate a response indicating rejection of the intervention execution request and send the response to the transmission unit 412 in order to inform the requester that the intervention is not performed. Here, various reasons are assumed for the failure of the settlement. Therefore, the intervention execution unit 421 may include data indicating the reason why the intervention execution request is rejected in this response. For example, when reporting a payment failure, the goods held by the requester are less than the consideration (ie, the balance is insufficient), and the consideration indicated by the data included in the implementation request (hereinafter referred to as the declaration consideration) is incorrect. The reason is assumed. These reasons may be reported by the settlement control unit 422 to the intervention execution unit 421 together with the settlement failure.

  The settlement control unit 422 receives an intervention execution request from the intervention execution unit 421. The settlement control unit 422 reads from the consideration storage unit 433 the history of consideration of the intervention that is the subject of the implementation request, and determines whether or not the reported consideration of the implementation request is appropriate. For example, if the reported consideration does not match any of the considerations determined in the past, or if it is too old (for example, if the consideration is determined two or more times ago, it is the consideration determined more than a predetermined time ago) ), Etc., the settlement control unit 422 may report to the intervention execution unit 421 that the settlement has failed because the reported consideration is incorrect.

  On the other hand, when the settlement control unit 422 determines that the reported consideration is appropriate, the settlement control unit 422 may request a settlement server (not shown) to settle the reported consideration. Specifically, the payment control unit 422 may send a payment request for consideration to the transmission unit 412 and receive a payment response to the payment request from the reception unit 411. Then, the settlement control unit 422 may determine whether the settlement has succeeded or failed based on the settlement response, and report the result to the intervention execution unit 421.

  The payment process may be performed by the auxiliary server 400 or another server instead of the payment server.

  The load index calculation unit 423 calculates (1) information of an implementation request for intervention that has been received within a unit period before calculating the load index (hereinafter simply referred to as reception request information), and (2) calculates the load index. Based on one or both of objects drawn on the game play screen at a certain previous time point, a load index indicating a load related to execution of the game being played is calculated. In addition, for example, the weight storage unit 432 may acquire information such as a CPU usage rate and a memory usage amount from the game execution device, and calculate a load index in consideration of the information. The load index calculation unit 423 sends the calculated load index to the consideration determination unit 424.

  The load index calculation unit 423 may calculate the load index periodically, for example, every several tens of seconds or every few minutes, in order to make the compensation follow the short-term fluctuation of the load. Note that the period may be fixed or variable. This period may or may not coincide with the unit period.

  Here, the load can be regarded as an execution load of the game program in the game execution device, but can also be regarded as a cognitive load of the game state of the player and the audience. The former load may become almost no problem due to an increase in hardware capability of the game execution device. On the other hand, although the cognitive ability of a human game state is considered to be somewhat different depending on the information processing ability of the person and the play experience of the game, there are physiological limitations. Therefore, even when the hardware capability of the game execution device is sufficiently high, it is meaningful to stop the audience intervention so that the latter load does not become excessively large.

  First, the operation of the load index calculation unit 423 in the case (1) will be described. The load index calculation unit 423 receives the reception request information from the reception request information storage unit 431. Here, the reception request information may be, for example, a value obtained by counting the number of intervention execution requests received within (1-1) unit period, or (1-2) received within the unit period. It may be data indicating the type of intervention targeted for each intervention request.

  With respect to (1-1) above, the load index calculation unit 423 may calculate the load index by substituting the number of execution requests as it is, or by substituting it into some mathematical expression. For example, the mathematical formula may calculate a statistical value. As the number of execution requests increases, more intervention is performed on the game, so the load index calculation unit 423 calculates a load index indicating a heavier load.

  For the above (1-2), the load index calculation unit 423 reads out the intervention weight assigned to each execution request from the weight storage unit 432. This intervention weight is defined in advance for each type of intervention that is the subject of the implementation request, and is stored in the weight storage unit 432 in association with the type of intervention. Therefore, the load index calculation unit 423 can read the intervention weight assigned to the execution request from the weight storage unit 432 using the type of intervention of each execution request indicated by the reception request information as a key. The weight storage unit 432 may use the sum of the intervention weights as a load index, or may calculate the load index by substituting it into some other mathematical expression. For example, the mathematical formula may calculate a statistical value.

  Here, for example, a larger value may be defined for the intervention weight that causes a heavier load. For example, it is assumed that the load caused by performing the first type of intervention is heavier than the load caused by performing the second type of intervention. In this case, the intervention weight assigned to the implementation request for the first type of intervention may be defined larger than the intervention weight assigned to the implementation request for the second type of intervention. Since the heavier load intervention is performed on the game as the weight assigned to the execution request is larger, the load index calculation unit 423 calculates a load index indicating a heavier load.

  An example of an intervention weight table associating the type of intervention with its intervention weight is shown in FIG. In FIG. 5, intervention weights are assigned in three stages from 3 (highest) to 1 (lowest). Therefore, within the unit period, an execution request for “drop food (low value) to the field” (intervention weight 1) and an execution request for “drop object (high value) to the field” (intervention weight 2) ) And an execution request (intervention weight 3) for “dropping a new artificial life into the field”, the load index calculation unit 423, for example, sets “6” which is the sum of these as a load index. May be calculated as Since FIG. 5 is merely an example, it is possible to assign the intervention weight differently from FIG.

  Next, the operation of the load index calculation unit 423 in the case (2) will be described. The load index calculation unit 423 receives data indicating an object drawn on the game play screen at a certain point in time from the reception unit 411. Then, the load index calculation unit 423 reads out the object weight assigned to each object from the weight storage unit 432. The object weight is defined in advance for each type (or individual) of the object, and is stored in the weight storage unit 432 in association with the object. Therefore, the load index calculation unit 423 can read out the object weight assigned to the object from the weight storage unit 432 using the object type indicated by the data received from the reception unit 411 as a key. The weight storage unit 432 may calculate the load index by using the sum of the object weights as a load index or by substituting it into some other mathematical expression. For example, the mathematical formula may calculate a statistical value.

  Here, for the object weight, for example, a larger value may be defined for an object that causes a heavier load. For example, a load (for example, a management / drawing load or a human cognitive load) caused by the presence of the first type object on the game play screen may be the same screen. Assume that it is heavier than the load caused by the presence of the second type of object. In this case, the object weight assigned to the first type object can be defined larger than the object weight assigned to the second type object. Since the management / drawing / recognition load of the game play screen increases as the weight assigned to the object increases, the load index calculation unit 423 calculates a load index indicating a heavier load.

  FIG. 6 shows an example of an object weight table that associates object types with their object weights. In FIG. 6, object weights are assigned in five stages from 5 (highest) to 1 (lowest). Therefore, on a game play screen at a certain point in time, two “player characters” (object weight 5), one “enemy character” (object weight 5), and one item (low value) (object weight 1) ) Is drawn, the load index calculation unit 423 may calculate, for example, “16”, which is the sum of these, as the load index. Since FIG. 6 is merely an example, it is possible to assign object weights differently from those in FIG.

  The consideration determining unit 424 receives the load index from the load index calculating unit 423, and calculates the consideration based on the load index. Specifically, the consideration determining unit 424 determines the consideration so as to increase as the load indicated by the load index increases. For example, when the load index indicates the first load, the consideration is determined to be the first value, and when the load index indicates the second load that is heavier than the first load, the consideration is determined from the first value. May be determined to be a high second value. The consideration determining unit 424 may determine the consideration so as to increase monotonously with respect to the increase in load indicated by the load index (that is, not to decrease with respect to the increase in load). The consideration may increase linearly with respect to the weight of the load, or may increase non-linearly (for example, stepwise). The consideration determining unit 424 sends information indicating the determined consideration to the transmission unit 412 and further writes the information in the consideration storage unit 433.

  The consideration determining unit 424 may individually determine the consideration for each type of intervention based on the load index, but instead may determine a common variation ratio among the types of intervention. This variation ratio corresponds to an intermediate parameter of consideration. In this case, the consideration for each type of intervention can be uniquely derived by multiplying the reference consideration predefined for the type by this variation ratio. Thus, the spectator terminal 300 can display the latest values for all types of considerations only by notifying the variation ratio without notifying all types of considerations every time the consideration is updated (however, in the spectator terminal 300, the reference consideration is displayed). Is known). This contributes to a reduction in overhead related to notification of information indicating the consideration. Also, even if a new type of intervention is added due to game program updates, etc., it is not necessary to create additional program code to determine the price of the intervention, and define a new reference price Just do it.

  As described above, when the load index calculating unit 423 periodically calculates the load index, the consideration determining unit 424 may also periodically determine the consideration. Accordingly, the transmission unit 412 repeatedly transmits information indicating the value to the audience terminal 300, and the audience terminal 300 can display the latest price on the screen every time the information is received. For example, it is assumed that a screen as shown in FIG. 7A is displayed on the screen of the audience terminal 300 at one time, and a screen as shown in FIG. 7B is displayed at another time. Each of these represents an intervention menu screen including an intervention button as a GUI (Graphical User Interface) part (widget) for issuing an intervention execution request. In FIG. 7A and FIG. 7B, the intervention button indicates an intervention for which an execution request is issued and a consideration for performing the intervention. In the example of FIG. 7A, it can be seen that the value of each intervention is cheaper than the example of FIG. 7B. Thus, the spectator can determine the timing of his / her intervention while watching changes in the price.

  However, it is not essential to display the latest price on the screen each time the spectator terminal 300 receives information indicating the price. For example, if the page displaying the game real-time play video is different from the page displaying the intervention menu screen, the information received when the spectator operates the spectator terminal 300 to change to the latter screen is displayed. Based on this, the latest price may be displayed. Further, it is not essential to immediately notify all the audience terminals 300 of this consideration every time the auxiliary server 400 determines the consideration. That is, when the spectator moves to the page screen that displays the intervention menu screen by operating the spectator terminal 300, the spectator terminal 300 transmits a request for acquisition of the consideration to the auxiliary server 400, and the auxiliary server 400 responds accordingly to the latest information. Information indicating the price may be returned.

  Here, with reference to FIG. 4, how the auxiliary server 400 operates regarding determination of the consideration will be conceptually described. In the example of FIG. 4, the load index calculation unit 423 calculates the load index according to the example (1-1).

  The receiving unit 411 receives one intervention execution request in the unit period T1. The load index calculation unit 423 calculates a load index based on the request reception number (1) in the unit period T1 after the end of the unit period T1. The consideration determining unit 424 determines the consideration fluctuation ratio r to 1 based on the load index. Information indicating the change ratio is notified to the spectator terminal 300, and the spectator terminal 300 recalculates the price based on the notified change ratio, and displays the latest price (100P) on the screen.

  Similarly, the receiving unit 411 receives three intervention execution requests in the unit period T2. The load index calculation unit 423 calculates a load index based on the request reception number (3) in the unit period T2 after the end of the unit period T2. Then, the consideration determining unit 424 determines the consideration fluctuation ratio r to 3 based on the load index. Information indicating the change ratio is notified to the audience terminal 300, and the audience terminal 300 recalculates the price based on the notified change ratio, and displays the latest price (300P) on the screen.

  In the example of FIG. 3, various storage units include a reception request information storage unit 431, a weight storage unit 432, and a consideration storage unit 433. These storage units may be a single memory as described above, or a combination of a memory and an auxiliary storage device.

  The reception request information storage unit 431 stores reception request information. The reception request information is written or rewritten by the intervention execution unit 421. The reception request information is read by the load index calculation unit 423. However, the reception request information may not be used at all in the calculation of the load index (example (2) above). In this case, the reception request information storage unit 431 can be deleted.

  The weight storage unit 432 stores the intervention weights in association with the type of intervention, for example, in the form of an intervention weight table shown in FIG. 5, and / or the object weight table, for example, in the form of an object weight table shown in FIG. The object weight is stored in association with the type (or individual). The intervention weight and / or the object weight may be written to the weight storage unit 432 or rewritten at the time of installing or updating the program of the auxiliary server 400, for example. The intervention weight and / or the object weight are read by the load index calculation unit 423.

  However, one or both of the intervention weight and the object weight may not be used at all in calculating the load index. For example, intervention weights may be unnecessary except in the above example (1-2), and object weights may be unnecessary in other than the above example (2). In the example (1-1), both the intervention weight and the object weight may be unnecessary. In this case, the weight storage unit 432 can be deleted.

  The consideration storage unit 433 stores information indicating the consideration. Specifically, the consideration storage unit 433 can also store information indicating when the consideration has been determined or in what order, in association with the information indicating the consideration. These pieces of information may be necessary for the settlement control unit 422 to check that the reported consideration is not illegal. Information indicating the value may be written or rewritten by the value determination unit 424. Information indicating the consideration is read by the settlement control unit 422.

  Next, an operation example of the auxiliary server 400 for one unit period will be described with reference to FIG. In the example of FIG. 8, the load index calculation unit 423 calculates the load index according to the example of (1) above.

  First, when the reception unit 411 receives an intervention execution request from the spectator terminal 300 (step S701), the intervention execution unit 421 executes an intervention that is a target of the execution request in cooperation with the settlement control unit 422 (step S701). S702). However, the intervention implementation unit 421 may reject the implementation request depending on the success or failure of the payment of the consideration. This process is repeated until the unit period expires (step S703), and the process proceeds to step S704. On the other hand, the operation of FIG. 8 can start in parallel for the next unit period. That is, the intervention implementation unit 421 starts to implement the intervention that is the target of the implementation request received in the next unit period.

  In step S704, the load index calculation unit 423 calculates the load index based on the intervention request received during this unit period. Next, the consideration determining unit 424 determines the consideration based on the load index calculated in step S704 (step S705). Next, the transmission unit 412 transmits information indicating the consideration determined in step S705 to the audience terminal 300 (step S706).

  As described above, the auxiliary server according to the embodiment calculates a load index indicating a load related to the execution of the game, determines a price based on the load index, and transmits information indicating the price to the audience terminal. . More specifically, the auxiliary server determines the consideration so that the higher the load indicated by the load index, the higher the load. Therefore, since it becomes difficult to intervene when the load is heavy, further increase in the load is suppressed. In other words, it is possible to avoid the failure of the interactive game experience and / or the excessive execution load of the game program in the game execution device due to the complexity of the game state exceeding the recognition ability of the player and the audience. On the other hand, intervention becomes easier when the load is light, so the intervention plays a role in creating a topic, promotes communication between audiences or between audiences and distributors (players), and provides a highly interactive game experience. It becomes possible. For example, since the intervention from the audience can be called in a scene where the intervention from the audience is reduced and lacks excitement, it becomes easy to keep the player / audience's motivation for play / viewing. In addition, it is also possible to expect an effect of inducing a spectator who wants to actively intervene but saves the payment of the consideration to a play video that is expected to have a small load, for example, a play video with a small number of spectators and comments.

(Modification)
In the said embodiment, an auxiliary | assistant server determines a consideration so that it may become so high that the load which a load parameter | index shows is heavy. By the way, the conditions imposed on intervention are not limited to consideration. For example, when the audience requests XX people to perform the intervention, the intervention may be performed instead of the consideration. In this modification, the required number of people is changed instead of the consideration.

  That is, the auxiliary server according to the modification includes a required number determining unit (not shown) instead of the consideration determining unit 424. And this required number determination part determines a required number so that it may increase so that the load which a load parameter | index shows is heavy. For example, when the load index indicates the first load, the required number of persons is determined as the first value, and when the load index indicates the second load heavier than the first load, the required number of persons is determined as the first value. A second value greater than the value may be determined.

  In the auxiliary server according to the modification, the transmission unit 412 transmits information indicating the required number of people to the audience terminal 300 instead of the consideration. As a result, for example, it is assumed that a screen as shown in FIG. 9A is displayed on the screen of the spectator terminal 300 at one time, and a screen as shown in FIG. 9B is displayed at another time. These all represent an intervention menu screen. In FIG. 9A and FIG. 9B, the intervention button indicates an intervention for which an execution request is issued and a required number of persons for executing the intervention.

  Further, in the auxiliary server according to the modified example, a function unit related to payment, for example, the payment control unit 422 may be unnecessary. In addition, when the receiving unit 411 receives an intervention request from the spectator terminals 300 of the required number or more by the receiving unit 411, the intervention executing unit 421 executes the intervention that is the target of the execution request for the game. .

  The above-described embodiments are merely specific examples for helping understanding of the concept of the present invention, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. The embodiment can add, delete, or convert various components without departing from the gist of the present invention.

  In the above-described embodiment, several functional units have been described. However, these are merely examples of mounting each functional unit. For example, a plurality of functional units described to be mounted on one device may be mounted over a plurality of separate devices, or conversely described as mounted over a plurality of separate devices. It is also possible that the functional unit thus configured is implemented in one apparatus.

  The various functional units described in the above embodiments may be realized by using a circuit. The circuit may be a dedicated circuit that realizes a specific function, or may be a general-purpose circuit such as a processor.

  At least a part of the processing of each embodiment described above can be realized by using, for example, a processor mounted on a general-purpose computer as basic hardware. A program for realizing the above processing may be provided by being stored in a computer-readable recording medium. The program is stored in the recording medium as an installable file or an executable file. Examples of the recording medium include a magnetic disk, an optical disk (CD-ROM, CD-R, DVD, etc.), a magneto-optical disk (MO, etc.), and a semiconductor memory. The recording medium may be any recording medium as long as it can store the program and can be read by the computer. The program for realizing the above processing may be stored on a computer (server) connected to a network such as the Internet and downloaded to the computer (client) via the network.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100,600 ... Distributor terminal 200 ... Movie distribution server 300 ... Spectator terminal 400 ... Auxiliary server 410 ... Communication part 411 ... Reception part 412 ... Transmission part 420 ... Intervention control unit 421 ... Intervention execution unit 422 ... Settlement control unit 423 ... Load index calculation unit 424 ... Consideration determination unit 431 ... Reception request information storage unit 432 ... Weight storage unit 433 ..Compensation storage unit 500 ... Game server

Claims (11)

A calculation unit that calculates a load index indicating a load related to execution of the game being played;
A determination unit for determining a consideration for an audience of the real-time play video of the game to perform intervention on the game based on the load index;
A transmission unit for transmitting information indicating the consideration to the audience terminal;
A receiver that receives the intervention request from the terminal;
An intervention unit that implements an intervention that is a target of the implementation request for the game in exchange for the consideration when the implementation request for the intervention is received;
The determination unit determines the consideration to be a first value when the load index indicates a first load, and when the load index indicates a second load heavier than the first load. Determining the consideration to a second value higher than the first value;
server.   The server according to claim 1, wherein the calculation unit calculates the load index based on the execution request received within a unit period before calculating the load index.   The server according to claim 2, wherein the calculation unit calculates the load index based on the number of execution requests received in the unit period. The calculation unit calculates the load index based on an intervention weight assigned to the execution request received in the unit period;
The intervention weight is predefined for each type of intervention that is the subject of the implementation request.
The server according to claim 2. The weight assigned to the request to perform the first type of intervention is greater than the weight assigned to the request to perform the second type of intervention;
The load resulting from performing the first type of intervention is heavier than the load resulting from performing the second type of intervention;
The server according to claim 4. The calculation unit calculates the load index based on an object weight assigned to an object drawn on the play screen of the game at a certain time before calculating the load index,
The object weight is predefined for each type of object,
The server according to claim 1. The calculation unit periodically calculates the load index,
The determination unit periodically determines the consideration based on the load index,
The transmission unit periodically transmits information indicating the consideration to the terminal,
The terminal displays the latest price on the screen every time it receives the information indicating the price.
The server according to claim 1. The determination unit determines a variation ratio that is an intermediate parameter of the consideration based on the load index,
The transmission unit transmits the fluctuation ratio as information indicating the consideration to the terminal,
The consideration is a value obtained by multiplying the reference consideration predefined for the type of intervention corresponding to the consideration by the variation ratio.
The server according to claim 1. A calculation unit that calculates a load index indicating a load related to execution of the game being played;
A determination unit that determines a required number of persons for the audience of the real-time play video of the game to perform intervention on the game based on the load index;
A transmission unit for transmitting information indicating the required number of people to the audience terminal;
A receiver that receives the intervention request from the terminal;
An intervention unit that implements an intervention that is a target of the implementation request for the game when the implementation request for the intervention is received from a terminal of an audience of the required number or more,
The determining unit determines the required number of persons as a first value when the load index indicates a first load, and when the load index indicates a second load heavier than the first load. Determines the required number of people to a second value greater than the first value,
server. Computer
Means for calculating a load index indicating a load related to execution of the game being played;
Means for determining, based on the load index, a consideration for an audience of the real-time play video of the game to perform intervention on the game;
Means for transmitting information indicating the consideration to the audience terminal;
Means for receiving a request to perform the intervention from the terminal;
A program for causing the game to function as a means for performing an intervention subject to the implementation request in exchange for the consideration when the implementation request for the intervention is received,
The determining means determines the consideration to be a first value when the load index indicates a first load, and when the load index indicates a second load heavier than the first load. Determines the consideration to be a second value higher than the first value;
program. Computer
Means for calculating a load index indicating a load related to execution of the game being played;
Means for determining the number of persons required for the audience of the real-time play video of the game to perform intervention on the game based on the load index;
Means for transmitting information indicating the required number of persons to the audience terminal;
Means for receiving a request to perform the intervention from the terminal;
A program for causing the game to function as a means for performing an intervention that is a target of the implementation request when the intervention implementation request is received from a terminal of a spectator or more of the required number of persons,
The determining means determines the required number of persons to be a first value when the load index indicates a first load, and the load index indicates a second load heavier than the first load. Determining the required number of people to a second value greater than the first value,
program.