JP2020006022A - Game system - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a game system capable of suppressing halfway completion of an animation displayed at game start wait time.SOLUTION: A game system includes: an operation part for receiving a user's operation; a display part for displaying a game image; a storage for storing game data; and a computer. The game system also includes: game progress means for progressing a game on the basis of a user's operation to the operation part; reading means for reading game data from the storage according to a progress situation of a game; output control means for outputting a predetermined animation to the display part while reading game data; time acquisition means for acquiring expected read time expected to be required for reading game data when reading the game data; and animation determination means for determining an animation with length corresponding to the expected read time as a predetermined animation on the basis of the acquired, expected read time.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a game system.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been known a game system in which a game image is displayed on a display based on the read game data and the like while a game data and a program are read from a recording medium such as a DVD ROM as appropriate and the game is advanced. In such a game system, various proposals have been made to effectively utilize the time required for reading game data and the like, that is, the so-called load time. For example, Patent Literature 1 discloses a game system that outputs an advertisement image (still image and / or moving image) to a monitor while game data or the like is read from a recording medium into a RAM or the like of the game device.

JP 2001-155066 A

  By the way, the amount of data read from the recording medium varies depending on the progress of the game, and the time required for reading varies depending on the progress of the game. Therefore, for example, in the game system disclosed in Patent Literature 1, when an advertisement moving image whose start and end are clear is displayed during the load time, the following problem may occur.

  In other words, when the load time ends, the game is switched to the game image and the game is started even though the displayed advertisement moving image is in the middle. It is not desirable for an advertiser who has created an advertisement video to assume that the advertisement video has been viewed from the beginning to the end. In addition, when the advertisement moving image ends in the middle, the game user or the audience watching the advertisement moving image may have a half-hearted feeling, which may reduce the concentration on the game to be started. Such a problem may occur not only in the case of the advertisement moving image but also in a case where another type of moving image is displayed during the load time.

  In addition, in some games, in addition to the load time, there is a time in which a user or a spectator of the game waits for the start of the game. For example, there is a game such as a soccer game or a computer card game in which a match is started after a user sets a game strategy. In such a game, while a user considers a game strategy, a waiting time may occur for the opponent of the user or the audience of the game. It is conceivable to display an advertisement moving image or the like on the monitor during such a waiting time. In this case as well, it is desirable to suppress the moving image from being terminated halfway.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a game system that can prevent a moving image displayed during a game play start waiting time from being terminated halfway.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, a game system according to a first aspect of the present invention provides an operation unit that receives a user operation, a display unit that displays a game image, a storage medium that stores game data, a computer, A game system that progresses a game based on a user's operation on the operation unit; a reading unit that reads the game data from the storage medium according to the progress of the game; An output control unit that outputs a predetermined moving image to the display unit while reading the data; and a time obtaining unit that obtains an estimated reading time expected to be required to read the game data when starting reading the game data. Based on the obtained expected reading time, a moving image having a length corresponding to the expected reading time is determined as the predetermined moving image. Includes a video determination means for, the.

  According to the above-described game system, a moving image having a length corresponding to the estimated reading time is determined as the moving image displayed while the game data is read, and is displayed on the display unit. Thus, it is possible to prevent the moving image displayed during the data reading from being terminated halfway due to the completion of the reading of the game data.

  The above-mentioned game system includes a storage unit that stores the expected reading time in association with the progress of the game, and the time acquisition unit performs the expected reading corresponding to the progress of the game before the game data is read. The time may be obtained from the storage unit. Since the estimated reading time is stored in advance in the storage unit in association with the progress of the game, the time obtaining means can easily obtain the expected reading time.

  In the above-mentioned game system, the time acquisition means may calculate the expected reading time based on a data amount of the game data to be read. Since the time obtaining means calculates the expected reading time based on the data amount of the game data to be read, it is not necessary to set the expected reading time in advance.

  Further, in the above-mentioned game system, the display unit is a spectator display unit for a spectator other than the user operating the operation unit to view a game image, and the game system includes a user operating the operation unit. A display unit for a user for viewing a game image, wherein the output control unit outputs the moving image determined by the moving image determining unit to the display unit for the spectator while reading the game data; It is not necessary to output to the unit. Thus, for example, in a tournament in which a computer game is held as a competition, the audience can see the moving image determined by the moving image determining means, while the user playing the game does not see the moving image determined by the moving image determining means. To focus on the game.

  The above-mentioned game system further includes a moving image storage unit that stores moving image data of the game moving image in a predetermined storage device, and the moving image determination unit determines the estimated reading time from the moving image data stored by the moving image storage unit. May be generated, and the generated moving image may be determined as the predetermined moving image. Thereby, a moving image suitable for the expected reading time can be displayed on the display unit.

  Further, the game system according to the second aspect of the present invention includes an operation unit for receiving a user operation, a user display unit for a user operating the operation unit to view a game image, and a user other than the user operating the operation unit. A game system comprising: a spectator display unit for a spectator to view a game image; a storage unit for storing data of a plurality of short videos; and a computer, the game strategy being based on a user operation on the operation unit. Output control means for outputting a strategy setting screen for setting to the user display unit, and outputting a predetermined moving image to the audience display unit while the strategy setting screen is being output to the user display unit. Time acquisition means for acquiring the longest strategy setting time at which the strategy setting screen is output; and, from the data of the plurality of short videos, the total video reproduction time Moving image determining means for selecting one or a plurality of short moving image data so as to have a length corresponding to the set time and determining the data as the predetermined moving image, and determining whether or not the setting of the game strategy is completed. Means, and the output control means, after it is determined that the setting of the game strategy has been completed, and when the playback of the short movie being output at the time determined is finished, The output of the short movie to the audience display unit ends.

  According to the above game system, the moving image determination means determines a moving image having a length corresponding to the strategy setting time. Termination can be suppressed. Furthermore, even when the strategy setting is completed within a relatively short time than the preset strategy setting time, it is possible to prevent the moving image displayed on the audience display unit from being terminated halfway.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a game system that can prevent a moving image displayed during a game play start waiting time from being terminated halfway.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a game system according to a first embodiment. It is a figure showing an example of correspondence of a progress situation of a game and expected reading time in expected reading time data. It is a schematic diagram for explaining an example of advertising moving image data. It is a schematic diagram for explaining the moving image generation processing by the moving image generation means. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram for explaining monitor display during game execution and data reading. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the flow of a moving image display process.

<First embodiment>
Hereinafter, a game system according to a first embodiment of the first invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  In the following description, as an example of a game realized by the game system of the present embodiment, two users playing a game (hereinafter, a first user and a second user) operate a controller while looking at a monitor. A fighting game in which players fight each other will be described. The battle game is, for example, a fighting game in which a first user and a second user each select one character from a plurality of characters and operate a controller to fight their own character with the other character.

  In the present embodiment, the battle game is described as being performed in a tournament in which a computer game is held as a competition, that is, a so-called Electronic Sports tournament. That is, the game system according to the present embodiment includes not only monitors 33 and 34 (user display units) for users who participated in the tournament (see FIGS. 1 and 5), but also large monitors for spectators who visited the tournament venue. 35 (display unit for spectators) (see FIGS. 1 and 5) is also provided.

[Hardware configuration]
The configuration of the game system according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a game system 1 according to the present embodiment. The game system 1 includes a game device 2 in which a control unit 21 described later is stored, and two controllers (operation units) 31, 32, three monitors 33, 34, 35, two headphones 36, 37, At least one speaker 38 is provided.

  The game device 2 realizes the above-mentioned battle game by executing the game program 26a. The game device 2 includes a control unit 21 which is a computer for controlling the operation. The control unit 21 is, for example, a CPU and controls the operation of the game device 2. The control unit 21 is connected to a storage unit 22, a media I / F unit 23, a communication I / F unit 24, and an input / output I / F unit 25 via a bus 21a.

  The storage unit 22 is composed of, for example, an HDD that is a large-capacity recording medium, a ROM that is a semiconductor memory such as a mask ROM or a PROM, and a RAM that includes a DRAM or an SRAM. The storage unit 22 stores a later-described moving image display program 22a, replay moving image data 22b, estimated reading time data 22c, and advertisement moving image data 22d.

  The media I / F unit 23 is an interface capable of loading a game medium 26 for executing the above-mentioned battle game. The game medium 26 is, for example, a disk-type recording medium such as a DVD-ROM, in which a game program 26a and game data 26b necessary for executing a game are recorded. The game data 26b includes various data necessary for executing the battle game.

  The game program 26a and the game data 26b are read from the game media 26 and stored in the storage unit 22. Note that, in the present embodiment, all game data 26b in the game media 26 are not read at the time of starting the game, but necessary game data are read in accordance with the progress of the game (for example, a change in the game scene). In the present specification, all game data recorded on the game media 26 and game data appropriately read into the storage unit 22 are not particularly distinguished and are described as “game data 26b”.

  The communication I / F unit 24 is an interface for connecting the game device 2 to a communication network such as the Internet or a LAN. For example, when the game device 2 advances a game while communicating with the outside, the game device 2 communicates with another game device 2 via the communication I / F unit 24 and / or with the server device. Send and receive data.

  The input / output I / F unit 25 is an interface for communicating signals with two controllers 31, 32, three monitors 33, 34, 35, two headphones 36, 37, and at least one speaker 38, which are external devices.

  The two controllers 31 and 32 are devices that receive an operation for performing a competitive game by the first user and the second user, and input operation information corresponding to the operation to the control unit 21 of the game device 2. . The controllers 31 and 32 are game controllers provided with, for example, controls such as buttons.

  The monitors 33, 34, and 35 are display devices that display game images in the battle game, and are, for example, liquid crystal displays. Among the monitors 33, 34, and 35, the monitor 33 is a user display unit for a first user operating the controller 31 to view a game image, and the monitor 34 is a second user operating the controller 32 for displaying a game image. Is a display unit for the user for viewing. The monitor 35 is a spectator display unit for a spectator visiting the E-sports tournament venue to view the game image.

  More specifically, with respect to the game image, a graphic processing unit (not shown) included in the game device 2 draws the game image in a moving image format according to an instruction from the control unit 21. The game image drawn in the moving image format is displayed on the monitors 33, 34, and 35 as a game screen. In the present embodiment, while data is being read from the game media 26, images displayed on the monitors 33 and 34 for the user and the monitor 35 for the audience are different. This will be described later in detail.

  The two headphones 36, 37 and at least one speaker 38 are devices that output game sound in a battle game. The two headphones 36 and 37 are user sound output devices used by being worn on the heads of the first user and the second user, respectively. The speaker 38 is an audio output device for a spectator at a spectator seat at an E-sports tournament venue.

  For the game sound, more specifically, an audio processing unit (not shown) included in the game device 2 reproduces and synthesizes a digital game sound according to an instruction from the control unit 21, and then decodes the game sound into an analog form. Output to the outside from the headphones 36 and 37 and at least one speaker 38. Note that, in the present embodiment, similarly to the display on the monitors 33, 34, and 35, the headphones 36 and 37, which are sound output devices for the user, and the speakers 38, which are sound output devices for the audience, use the game media 26. The audio output during data reading is different.

[Functional configuration of control unit]
FIG. 1 shows a functional configuration of the control unit 21 of the game device 2. The game device 2 executes the game program 26a and the moving image display program 22a to function as a game progressing unit 41, a moving image storing unit 42, a reading unit 43, a time obtaining unit 44, a moving image determining unit 45, and an output controlling unit 46. I do.

  The game progression unit 41 progresses the game based on the operation of the first user on the controller 31 and the operation of the second user on the controller 32.

  The moving image storage unit 42 stores the moving image data of the game moving image displayed on the monitors 33, 34, and 35 in the storage unit 22. Specifically, the moving image storage unit 42 stores, in the storage unit 22, a moving image (competition moving image) of a battle screen in which the first user and the second user battle in the battle game as the replay moving image data 22b.

  In the present embodiment, the moving image storage unit 42 stores operation information (key input information) of the controllers 31 and 32 associated with time as moving image data. That is, the “moving image data” in the present specification and the claims may be any data that enables a specific moving image to be reproduced on a screen. (Or operation information of the controllers 31 and 32 associated with time).

  The reading unit 43 reads the game data 26b from the game medium 26, which is a storage medium, into the storage unit 22 of the game device 2 according to the progress of the game. Specifically, the reading unit 43 reads, from the game media 26, game data 26b that needs to be read for the future progress of the game, according to the progress of the game. The game data 26b required for the future progress of the game varies depending on the type of the game and the like, and is, for example, map data, object data, character data, and the like in a three-dimensional space.

  It takes several seconds to several tens of seconds for the reading unit 43 to read the game data 26b. In the present embodiment, the game device 2 executes the moving image display program 22a to execute a moving image display process for displaying a predetermined moving image during the reading time (so-called load time). The moving image display processing is executed by the time acquisition unit 44, the moving image determination unit 45, and the output control unit 46.

  The time obtaining means 44 obtains, at the time of reading the game data 26b, an expected reading time expected to be required for reading the game data 26b.

  More specifically, the game data 26b that needs to be read in order to progress the game in the future is determined according to the progress of the game immediately before the data is read, and is read according to the data amount of the game data 26b to be read. The time required for this is largely determined. For this reason, if the progress of the game is known, the time required for reading can be predicted to some extent. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the storage unit 22 stores the expected read time data 22c, which is the data of the expected read time stored in association with the progress of the game. The time obtaining unit 44 obtains the progress of the game before the game data 26b is read from the game progressing unit 41. Then, the time obtaining unit 44 obtains, from the expected reading time data 22c, an expected reading time corresponding to the progress of the game before the game data 26b is read.

  The expected read time data 22c is created before the game starts, and is stored in the storage unit 22. FIG. 2 shows an example of the correspondence between the progress of the game and the expected reading time in the expected reading time data 22c. As shown in FIG. 2, the progress of the game (for example, in the case of the battle game exemplified in the present embodiment, a situation in which the first user and the second user each select a character to start the battle, and the battle is over) Game data to be read in accordance with a situation, a situation in which a game stage is selected, etc. (more specifically, game data that needs to be read in order to progress the game in the future) (game data X to Z in the example in the figure). Is generally determined. Therefore, for example, the expected read time data 22c is created by determining the expected read time based on the data amount of the game data 26b to be read (each data amount of the game data X to Z in the example in the figure).

  Note that the estimated reading time stored in the storage unit 22 does not necessarily have to be determined based on the data amount of the game data 26b to be read. For example, the expected reading time data 22c is created by measuring how many reading times have occurred for each of a plurality of progress situations in the game, and determining the expected reading time based on the measurement result. You may.

  The moving image determining unit 45 determines a moving image having a length corresponding to the expected reading time as a moving image output by the output control unit 46 described later, based on the expected reading time acquired by the time acquiring unit 44. In the present embodiment, the moving image determining unit 45 sets the moving image having the same length as the expected reading time or shorter than the expected reading time as the moving image having the length corresponding to the expected reading time as the moving image output by the output control unit 46. decide. The moving image determining unit 45 includes a moving image selecting unit 45a and a moving image generating unit 45b.

  The moving image selecting unit 45a selects, from a plurality of advertising videos included in the advertising video data 22d stored in the storage unit 22 in advance, an advertising video having the same time as the obtained expected reading time or a shorter time than the expected reading time. I do. Then, the moving image determining unit 45 determines the advertisement moving image selected by the moving image selecting unit 45a as a moving image output by the output control unit 46 described later.

  FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram for explaining an example of the advertisement moving image data 22d. The advertisement moving image data 22d includes a plurality of advertisement moving images and the moving image time of each of the advertisement moving images (in other words, the reproduction time of the moving image). The advertisement moving image data 22d is created before the game starts, and is stored in the storage unit 22. For example, when the estimated reading time acquired by the time acquiring means 44 is 6 seconds, the moving image selecting means 45a outputs the advertisement moving image (for example, the moving image data A in the example of FIG. Alternatively, the moving image data B) is selected.

  The moving image generation unit 45b generates a moving image of the same time as the expected reading time or shorter than the expected reading time from the replay moving image data 22b stored by the moving image storage unit. Then, the moving image determining unit 45 determines the moving image generated by the moving image generating unit 45b as the moving image output by the output control unit 46 described later.

  FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram for explaining generation of a moving image by the moving image generation unit 45b. FIG. 4 shows an example in which the moving image generation unit 45b generates a moving image displayed during the reading time between the first round and the second round in a battle game in which one battle play is composed of a plurality of rounds. It is.

  During the battle in the first round, the moving image storage means 42 stores the operation information of the first user and the second user as the replay moving image data 22b of the first round. When the first round is completed, the reading means 43 starts reading the game data 26b according to the situation, and the time obtaining means 44 obtains an estimated reading time expected to be required for reading the game data 26b. I do.

  Thereafter, the moving image generating means 45b generates a moving image of a shorter time (for example, 2 seconds) than the expected reading time (for example, 3 seconds) using the competitive moving image immediately before starting the reading, that is, the first round of the replay moving image data 22b. I do. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, the moving image generation unit 45b extracts the last scene in the replay moving image for a predetermined time shorter than the expected time, and generates a replay moving image. This is because the last scene in the replay moving image is a scene in which the game in the match (round) has been decided, and is likely to be a scene worth watching for the audience.

  In the present embodiment, the moving image storage unit 42 deletes the replay moving image data 22b stored in the storage unit 22 from the storage unit 22 at a predetermined timing, for example, after the start of the second round using the example of FIG. . By accumulating the replay moving image data 22b in the storage unit 22, it is possible to suppress a reduction in the free space in the storage unit 22 where data can be stored.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the moving image determining unit 45 determines whether the moving image generated by the moving image generating unit 45b or the advertisement moving image selected by the moving image selecting unit 45a is a moving image output by the output control unit 46 described later. decide.

  The output control means 46 controls output to the monitors 33, 34, 35. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram for explaining the display on the monitors 33, 34, and 35 while the game is running and data is being read. As shown in FIG. 5A, during game play, the output control means 46 outputs the same game screen to all the monitors 33, 34, 35. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 5 (B), while reading the game data 26b, the output control means 46 displays different images on the monitors 33 and 34 which are the display units for the user and the monitor 35 which is the display unit for the audience. indicate.

  Specifically, while reading the game data 26b, the output control means 46 outputs the moving image determined by the moving image determining means 45 to the monitor 35, which is a display unit for the audience. Note that FIG. 5B shows an example in which the moving image generated by the moving image generating unit 45b is displayed on the monitor 35. On the other hand, while reading the game data 26b, the output control means 46 does not output the moving image determined by the moving image determining means 45 to the monitors 33 and 34 which are the display units for the user, and indicates a predetermined state indicating that the data is being read. Output an image.

[Movie display processing flow]
Next, the flow of the moving image display process will be described with reference to FIG.

  The moving image display process is started when the game data 26b is read.

  In the moving image display processing, as shown in FIG. 6, first, when reading the game data 26b, the time obtaining means 44 obtains an expected reading time expected to be required to read the game data 26b (step S1). It is not necessary that the timing of starting the reading of the game data 26b and the timing of obtaining the expected reading time completely match, and the time obtaining means 44 obtains the expected reading time immediately before or immediately after the start of reading the game data 26b. Is also good.

  Next, the moving image determining means 45 determines a moving image having the same time as the expected reading time or shorter than the expected reading time based on the obtained expected reading time (step S2).

  Specifically, the moving image selecting unit 45a selects an advertisement moving image having the same time as the expected reading time or a shorter time than the expected reading time, or the moving image generating unit 45b has the same time as the expected reading time or shorter than the expected reading time. Generate time videos. Then, the moving image determining unit 45 determines the advertisement moving image selected by the moving image selecting unit 45a or the moving image generated by the moving image generating unit 45b as the moving image displayed on the monitor 35 during the data reading.

  In step S2, whether the moving image selecting unit 45a selects an advertisement moving image or whether the moving image generating unit 45b generates a moving image depends on, for example, the progress of the game, the expected reading time length, or the amount of game data to be read. In response, the moving image determining means 45 determines.

  After step S2, while reading the game data 26b, the output control means 46 outputs the moving image determined by the moving image determining means 45 to the monitor 35, which is a display unit for the audience (step S3), and the moving image display processing ends. . That is, a moving image shorter than the expected reading time is displayed on the monitor 35, and after the moving image ends, the reading of the game data 26b ends, and the game play screen is displayed.

  In summary, the game system 1 according to the present embodiment includes controllers 31 and 32 (operation units) that receive operations of the first user and the second user, a monitor 35 (display unit) on which game images are displayed, and A game system 1 including a game medium 26 (storage medium) in which game data 26b is stored and a control unit 21 (computer), wherein the game progresses based on a user operation on controllers 31 and 32. Means 41, reading means 43 for reading the game data 26b from the game media 26 according to the progress of the game, output control means 46 for outputting a predetermined moving image to the monitor 35 while reading the game data 26b, At the time of reading the game data 26b, a time obtaining unit 44 for obtaining an expected reading time expected to be required to read the game data 26b, And a moving image determining unit 45 that determines a moving image having a length corresponding to the estimated reading time as the predetermined moving image based on the obtained expected reading time.

[The invention's effect]
According to the game system 1 of the present embodiment, a moving image having a length corresponding to the estimated reading time is determined as the moving image displayed while the game data 26b is read, and is displayed on the monitor 35. Thus, it is possible to prevent the moving image displayed during the data reading from being terminated halfway due to the completion of the reading of the game data 26b.

  Further, according to the game system 1 of the present embodiment, the expected reading time data 22c, that is, the expected reading time is stored in advance in the storage unit 22 in association with the progress of the game. , You can easily get the expected reading time.

  Further, according to the game system 1 of the present embodiment, the output control means 46 outputs the moving image determined by the moving image determining means 45 to the monitor 35 which is a display unit for the audience while reading the game data 26b. It is not output to the monitors 33 and 34 which are the display units for use. Thereby, in the above-mentioned esports tournament and the like, the audience can see the moving image determined by the moving image determining means 45, but the user playing the game does not see the moving image determined by the moving image determining means 45. And focus on the game.

  Further, according to the game system 1 of the present embodiment, the moving image determining unit 45 generates a moving image having a length corresponding to the expected reading time from the replay moving image data 22b stored by the moving image storing unit 42, and Determined as the moving image output by 46. Therefore, a moving image suitable for the estimated reading time can be displayed on the monitor 35.

(Modification)
The first invention is not limited to the embodiment described above, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the first invention.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, a battle game in which two users compete with each other is illustrated as a game realized by the game system 1, but a game realized by the game system of the first invention is not limited to this. . For example, the game realized by the game system may be a game played by three or more players at the same time, or a game played by one person such as a time attack in a racing game.

  In addition, the game system 1 includes the monitors 33 and 34 for the user and the large monitor 35 for the spectator, but the number and types of the display units included in the first invention are not limited thereto. For example, the game system of the first invention may not include the audience display unit. Further, the output control means 46 may output the moving image determined by the moving image determining means to the user display unit.

  In the above embodiment, the storage unit 22 of the game device 2 stores the moving image display program 22a, the replay moving image data 22b, the estimated read time data 22c, and the advertisement moving image data 22d. Not limited. For example, the game system of the first invention may include an external storage device connected to the game device 2, and the external storage device includes a moving image display program 22a, replay moving image data 22b, estimated reading time data 22c, A part or all of the advertisement moving image data 22d may be stored. For example, the moving image storage unit 42 may store the replay moving image data 22b in an external storage device such as an external hard disk connected to the game device 2 or a server device connected to the game device 2 via a communication network. Good. That is, the “predetermined storage device” in the first invention may be the “storage unit” in the first invention or may not be the “storage unit”.

  In the above embodiment, the moving image display program 22a has been described as a program different from the game program 26a, but the moving image display program 22a may be incorporated in the game program 26a.

  Further, the game system of the first invention may additionally include a device for controlling the display of the monitor 35 while the game data 26b is being read, between the game device 2 that draws the game image and the monitor 35. For example, a video switching device that communicates with each of the game device and the spectator monitor and switches the video displayed on the spectator monitor between the video of the game received from the game device and the video determined by the video determining unit is provided. You may. In this case, the control unit of the game device may function as a game progressing unit, a moving image storage unit, and a reading unit, and the control unit of the moving image switching device may function as a time acquisition unit, a moving image determination unit, and an output control unit. That is, the “computer” of the first invention may be configured by control units of a plurality of devices.

  In the above-described embodiment, the time acquisition unit 44 acquires the progress of the game before the game data 26b is read from the game progress unit 41, but the method by which the time acquisition unit 44 acquires the progress of the game is as follows. Not limited to For example, the game progress may be determined by recognizing a game image during game play using a known image recognition technique. In this case, since the time obtaining unit 44 can obtain the expected reading time independently of the game progressing unit 41, the time obtaining unit 44 can be generally applied to commercially available game software including a game program.

  In the above embodiment, the expected reading time data 22c used by the time acquisition means 44 to acquire the expected reading time is data indicating the expected reading time associated with the progress of the game. The reading time does not have to be associated with the progress of the game.

  For example, the expected reading time data 22c may be data indicating the expected reading time in association with the data amount of the game data 26b to be read instead of the progress of the game. In this case, the time obtaining unit 44 may obtain from the storage unit 22 the expected reading time corresponding to the data amount of the game data 26b read by the reading unit 43 from the expected reading time data 22c stored in the storage unit 22. Good.

  The expected reading time data 22c in this case is created by, for example, measuring the reading time a plurality of times while changing the data amount of the game data 26b to be read, and determining the expected reading time based on the measurement result. It may be.

  For example, when creating the expected read time data 22c, an average value of the read time measurement results may be set as the expected read time. In this case, it is desirable that the moving image determination unit 45 determines a moving image that is not the same time as the expected reading time but is shorter than the expected reading time. Further, for example, when creating the expected read time data 22c, the longest read time of the read times measured a plurality of times may be set as the expected read time.

  Further, the time obtaining unit 44 may obtain the expected reading time without using the expected reading time stored in the storage unit 22 (that is, the expected reading time data 22c). For example, the time obtaining unit 44 may calculate the expected reading time based on the data amount of the game data 26b to be read. In this case, it is possible to save the trouble of setting the expected reading time in advance (that is, creating the expected reading time data 22c). The time obtaining means 44 uses the amount of game data 26b to be read and other information (such as computer performance (specifications) and the processing load of the computer) that affects the length of the reading time, to perform the expected reading. The time may be calculated.

  In addition, the time acquisition unit 44 may use the estimated reading time data 22c stored in the storage unit 22 and calculate the expected reading time in accordance with the progress of the game. For example, if the progress of the game before the game data 26b is read is included in the predicted read time data 22c prepared in advance, an expected read time corresponding to the progress is obtained, and the expected read time data is obtained. If it is not included in 22c, the expected reading time may be calculated based on the data amount of the game data 26b to be read.

  In the above-described embodiment, the moving image determining unit 45 outputs the moving image having the same time as the expected reading time or shorter than the expected reading time as the moving image having the length corresponding to the expected reading time by the output control unit 46. Although determined as a moving image, the “moving image of a length corresponding to the estimated reading time” is not limited to this. For example, the "moving image having a length corresponding to the expected reading time" includes a moving image having the same time as the expected reading time or a time shorter than the expected reading time, and an expected reading time that does not cause an excessive waiting state in the game progress. Includes longer videos. The “moving image having a time longer than the expected reading time such that the waiting state does not excessively occur in the game progress” is, for example, a moving image having a length of 110% of the expected reading time or a moving image having a time one second longer than the expected reading time. It is.

  As a result of the determination of the moving image determined by the moving image determining means 45 that is longer than the expected reading time, when the reading of the game data is completed while the moving image determined by the moving image determining means 45 is being reproduced on the monitor, the output control is performed. The means 46 may delay the display of the game play screen until the video being played ends. Also, despite the fact that the moving image determining means 45 has determined a moving image having a time equal to or shorter than the expected reading time, the moving image determined by the moving image Even when the data reading is completed, the output control means 46 may delay the display of the game play screen until the reproduced moving image ends.

  The moving image determining unit 45 may not include both the moving image selecting unit 45a and the moving image generating unit 45b, and may include only one of the moving image selecting unit 45a and the moving image generating unit 45b.

  The moving image selection means 45a does not need to select one moving image, and a plurality of moving images may be selected as long as the total moving image reproduction time becomes a length corresponding to the estimated reading time. To explain using the example of FIG. 3, for example, when the estimated reading time acquired by the time acquiring unit 44 is 10 seconds, the moving image selecting unit 45 a Moving image data C of 7 seconds may be selected. That is, the moving image determination unit 45 may determine a plurality of moving images having a time shorter than the expected reading time.

  In addition, the moving image determining unit 45 may determine a moving image having a length corresponding to the expected reading time as a moving image to be displayed at the reading time by a combination of the moving image selecting unit 45a and the moving image generating unit 45b. For example, when the estimated reading time acquired by the time acquiring unit 44 is 3 seconds, the moving image selecting unit 45a selects the moving image data whose moving image time is 1 second, and the moving image generating unit 45b selects the moving image data based on the replay moving image data. Replay moving image data for two seconds may be generated. Then, the moving image determining unit 45 may determine the combination of the one-second moving image selected by the moving image selecting unit 45a and the two-second replay moving image generated by the moving image generating unit 45b as the moving image to be displayed during the reading time.

  Further, for example, when the estimated reading time acquired by the time acquiring unit 44 is 3 seconds, the moving image generating unit 45b may generate 3 seconds of replay moving image data based on the replay moving image data. Then, the moving image selection unit 45a may select moving image data of 3 seconds of moving image data to be wipe-displayed at one corner of the 3 second replay moving image.

  The moving image generation unit 45b may generate replay moving image data in which a partial screen display is changed from the battle moving image displayed on the monitor. For example, the moving image generating unit 45b may generate replay moving image data (for example, moving image data in which the texture of the advertisement image is pasted on the background, the floor, or the like) with the advertisement image, which is not displayed on the actual battle screen.

  Note that the plurality of advertisement moving images included in the advertisement moving image data 22d may include advertisement moving images having the same moving image time. The moving image selection unit 45a may select the advertisement moving image in a predetermined order, or may select the advertisement moving image in a priority order according to an advertisement fee paid by the advertiser.

  In FIG. 4, the moving image generation unit 45b extracts the last scene in the replay moving image for a predetermined time shorter than the expected time and generates a moving image for displaying during the data reading time. The method of generating a moving image by the generation unit 45b is not limited to this. For example, the moving image generating unit 45b extracts one or more moving image portions from the replay moving image for a time equal to or shorter than the expected time and generates a moving image for displaying during the data reading time. May be. For example, the moving image generating unit 45b may generate the moving image such that a scene having a highest change rate of a predetermined parameter (such as a character's physical strength gauge) per unit time is included in the replay moving image.

  For example, the moving image generation unit 45b may divide the replay moving image at a predetermined time and weight the divided moving image portions (replay scenes). Then, the moving image generating means 45b may select moving images having higher weights in order from the plurality of divided moving image portions, and generate a moving image having a length corresponding to the estimated reading time. When the estimated reading time is longer than the actual reading time, the output control means 46 may additionally output to the monitor 45 in the descending order of the weight in the moving image parts not selected by the moving image generating means 45b. In addition, the moving image generation unit 45b may generate a moving image in which a moving image portion having the highest weight is repeatedly displayed a plurality of times for a time corresponding to the expected reading time among a plurality of divided moving image portions. If there are many moving parts with a high weight, the moving image generating unit 45b may generate a moving image longer than the expected reading time.In this case, the output control unit 46 displays the game play screen until the generated moving image ends. May be delayed.

  In the above embodiment, the moving image generating unit 45b used the moving image data immediately before starting the data reading, but the moving image generating unit 45b does not use the moving image immediately before starting the data reading, but the past replay moving image before that. May be generated. The moving image storage unit 42 does not have to delete the replay moving image data 22b stored in the storage unit 22.

  The moving image selecting means 45a may select from a plurality of moving images of another type, such as a profile moving image of an opponent user, prepared in advance in the storage unit 22 instead of the advertisement moving image. In addition, the moving image generating unit 45b generates a moving image to be displayed during the data reading time from the replay moving image data stored by the moving image storage unit 42, but from another type of moving image data prepared in advance in the storage unit 22, A moving image to be displayed during the data reading time may be generated.

<Second embodiment>
Hereinafter, a game system according to the second embodiment of the second invention will be described. The present embodiment relates to the reproduction of a moving image during a waiting time while a user considers a game strategy, not a waiting time for reading game data.

  A competitive computer card game will be described as an example of a game realized by the game system of the present embodiment. In this competitive game, two users who play the game (hereinafter, a first user and a second user) operate the controller while viewing a strategy setting screen for setting a game strategy, and set the game strategy. . For example, each of the first user and the second user creates a deck by selecting a card to be used during play from a plurality of available cards. In this competitive game, a time during which a strategy can be set (hereinafter, a strategy setting time) is set in advance. When the setting of the game strategy is completed within the strategy setting time, play of the game is started from that point. If the user does not complete the strategy setting within the strategy setting time, the strategy setting is automatically closed and the game starts.

  Also in the present embodiment, a description will be given assuming that the battle game is played in an E-sports tournament. That is, similarly to the first embodiment, the game system according to the present embodiment includes not only the monitors 33 and 34 (user display units) for the users who participated in the tournament, but also a large-sized audience for the spectators who visited the tournament venue. A monitor 35 (audience display unit) is also provided.

  The configuration of the hardware of the game system of the present embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment, and a description thereof will be omitted. The description of the functional configuration of the control unit 21 that is the same as that of the first embodiment is omitted.

[Functional configuration of control unit]
In the present embodiment, the output control means 46 outputs a strategy setting screen to each of the monitors 33 and 34. On the strategy setting screen displayed on the monitor 33, the game strategy is set based on the operation of the first user on the controller 31, and on the strategy setting screen displayed on the monitor 34, the game strategy is set based on the operation of the second user on the controller 32. A game strategy is set. In addition, the output control means 46 outputs a predetermined moving image to the audience monitor 35 while the strategy setting screen is being output to the monitors 33 and 34.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the time obtaining means 44 obtains the strategy setting time, which is the longest time for outputting the strategy setting screen, instead of obtaining the expected reading time. The time obtaining unit 44 obtains a strategy setting time from a game program or game data stored in the storage unit 22, for example.

  In addition, the moving image determination unit 45 determines, from among the plurality of advertisement moving image data 22d (short moving image data) stored in the storage unit 22, a total moving image reproduction time corresponding to the strategy setting time (for example, 60 seconds). One or a plurality of pieces of advertisement moving image data 22d are selected so that the predetermined moving image displayed on the monitor 35 is determined. For example, when the strategy setting time is 60 seconds, the moving image determination unit 45 may select, for example, six advertisement moving images of 10 seconds, for example, so that the total moving image reproduction time is 60 seconds.

  In the present embodiment, by executing the game program 26a and the moving image display program 22a, the game device 2 functions as a determination unit in addition to the functional units described in the first embodiment.

  The determining means determines whether the setting of the game strategy of each user has been completed. The output control means 46 is provided after the determination means has determined that the setting of the game strategy for all users has been completed, and when the reproduction of the advertisement moving image being output at the time determined by the determination means ends. Then, the output of the advertisement moving image to the monitor 35 ends.

  Note that the output control means 46 causes the monitors 33, 34, and 35 to display the game play screen after the output of the advertisement moving image to the monitor 35 ends.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the moving image determination unit 45 determines a moving image having a length corresponding to the strategy setting time. It is possible to prevent the moving image displayed on the monitor 35 from being terminated halfway.

  Further, when the game strategy setting for the first user and the second user is completed within the strategy setting time, the game is started from the point of completion of the setting without waiting for the end of the strategy setting time. In this case as well, the output control means 46 determines whether or not the reproduction of the advertisement moving image being output has ended after the determination means has determined that the setting of the game strategy has been completed, and at the time determined by the determination means. Then, the output of the advertisement moving image to the monitor 35 ends. Then, after the output of the advertisement moving image is completed, the game play is started. Therefore, even when the setting of the strategy is completed in a relatively shorter time than the preset strategy setting time, the moving image displayed on the monitor 35 while the user sets the strategy may be terminated in the middle. Can be suppressed.

(Modification)
The second invention is not limited to the embodiment described above, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the second invention.

  For example, in the second embodiment, a modification similar to the modification of the above-described first embodiment is possible.

  For example, the game realized by the game system of the second embodiment may be a game played by three or more players at the same time, or a game played by one person such as a time attack in a racing game. For example, the moving image determination means 45 may select from a plurality of different types of moving images, such as a profile video of a competing user, prepared in the storage unit 22 in advance, instead of the advertisement moving image.

  The second invention is also applicable to online battle games. That is, in the game system of the second invention, for example, the first game device input by the first user, the second game device input by the second user, and the first user and the second user play against each other. A device for controlling the output of the play screen to a large audience monitor may be provided. In this case, at least one of the control unit of the first game device, the control unit of the second game device, and the control unit of the device that controls the output of the large monitor functions as each functional unit of the second invention.

  "Movies with a length corresponding to the strategy setting time" include videos with the same time as the strategy setting time or shorter than the strategy setting time, and longer than the strategy setting time that does not cause excessive waiting for the game progress Includes time videos. The “moving image having a time longer than the strategy setting time that does not cause an excessive waiting state in the game progress” is, for example, a moving image having a length of 110% of the strategy setting time or a moving image having a time longer than the strategy setting time by 1 second It is.

  For example, if one of the two users playing the game completes the setting of the game strategy and the other user is setting the game strategy, the user who has completed the setting of the game strategy will have a waiting time. Occurs. In this case, the output control means 46 may output the advertisement moving image to the monitor for the user who has completed the setting of the game strategy. In this case, the moving image determining means 45 determines the total moving image reproduction time from the plurality of advertisement moving image data 22d (data of the short moving image) stored in the storage unit 22 from the time when the setting of the game strategy is completed. The plurality of advertisement video data 22d are selected so as to have a length corresponding to the length until the end of the strategy setting time, and determined as the above-described predetermined video displayed on the monitor for the user who has completed the setting of the game strategy. May be.

1: Game system
21: Control unit
22: Storage unit
22a: Video display program
22b: Replay video data
22c: Expected read time data
22d: Advertising video data
26: Game media (recording media)
26a: Game program
26b: Game data
31, 32: Controller (operation unit)
33, 34: Monitor (display unit for user)
35: Monitor (audience display)
41: Game progress means
42: Movie storage means
43: Reading means
44: Time acquisition means
45: Movie determination means
46: Output control means

Claims (6)

A game system comprising: an operation unit for receiving a user operation; a display unit on which a game image is displayed; a storage medium on which game data is stored; and a computer,
Game progress means for proceeding a game based on a user operation on the operation unit;
Reading means for reading the game data from the storage medium according to the progress of the game;
Output control means for outputting a predetermined moving image to the display unit while reading the game data;
At the start of reading the game data, time acquisition means for acquiring an expected reading time expected to be required to read the game data,
A game system comprising: a moving image determining unit that determines a moving image having a length corresponding to the expected reading time as the predetermined moving image based on the obtained expected reading time. The game system includes a storage unit that stores the expected read time in association with the progress of the game,
2. The game system according to claim 1, wherein the time acquisition unit acquires the expected reading time corresponding to a progress state of the game before the game data is read from the storage unit. 3.   The game system according to claim 1, wherein the time acquisition unit calculates the expected reading time based on a data amount of the game data to be read. The display unit is a spectator display unit for spectators other than the user operating the operation unit to view the game image,
The game system includes a user display unit for a user operating the operation unit to view a game image,
4. The output control unit according to claim 1, wherein, while reading the game data, the moving image determined by the moving image determining unit is output to the display unit for the audience and not output to the display unit for the user. The game system according to claim 1. A moving image storage means for storing moving image data of the game moving image in a predetermined storage device,
The moving image determining unit generates a moving image having a length corresponding to the expected reading time from the moving image data stored by the moving image storing unit, and determines the generated moving image as the predetermined moving image. 5. The game system according to any one of 4. An operation unit for receiving a user operation, a user display unit for a user operating the operation unit to view a game image, and a spectator display unit for a spectator other than the user operating the operation unit to view the game image And a storage unit for storing data of a plurality of short moving images, and a computer,
A strategy setting screen for setting a game strategy based on a user operation on the operation unit is output to the user display unit, and a predetermined moving image is output while the strategy setting screen is being output to the user display unit. Output control means for outputting to the display unit for the audience,
Time acquisition means for acquiring the strategy setting time that is the longest time the strategy setting screen is output,
From the data of the plurality of short videos, one or a plurality of data of the short videos is selected so that the total video playback time becomes a length corresponding to the strategy setting time, and the video determined as the predetermined video is selected. Determining means;
Determining means for determining whether the setting of the game strategy has been completed,
The output control means, after it is determined that the setting of the game strategy is completed, and when the reproduction of the short movie being output at the time of the determination is completed, the output to the audience display unit A game system for ending the output of the short movie.

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