JP2020072807A - Game system and computer program used therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a game system capable of flexibly changing a content of an operation guidance according to an evaluation of an operation which is performed during play of a game.SOLUTION: There is provided a game system for relatively moving an instruction mark based on operation guidance data and a reference mark corresponding to a current time in a game screen for instructing each of plural operations to a user while indicating a period when each operation should be performed, and evaluating each of the plural operations which are performed by a user according to a prescribed evaluation reference in play, the game system being configured to execute at least any one of processing for adding a new instruction mark different from the instruction mark corresponding to the operation described in the operation instruction data and processing for deleting some instruction marks from the instruction marks corresponding to the operations described in the operation instruction data, as correction processing to the operation instruction data, according to a state of the evaluation of the operation.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 16

Description

  The present invention relates to a game system or the like that appropriately evaluates a user's operation while playing a game and changes the game in accordance with the state of evaluation.

  A game system in which an operation to be performed by the user is instructed through a game screen based on predetermined operation instruction data, the instructed operation is compared with the operation actually performed by the user, and the operation of the user is sequentially evaluated during game play. Is well known. For example, a system is widely known in which musical score data describing an operation in accordance with music is prepared in advance as operation instruction data, and a music game is provided in which a user is requested to perform an operation based on the musical score data as the music progresses. In this type of game system, if the difference between the instruction to the user and the skill of the user is large, the interest of the game may be impaired. Therefore, there is proposed a game device that determines whether or not a predetermined level-up condition is satisfied during playing the game, and switches the operation instruction data to more difficult data when the condition is satisfied. (See Patent Document 1). As an example of changing the content of the operation instruction during the game play, in addition to the above, a part of the operations described in the operation instruction data is set in a non-display state and an operation corresponding to a specific instruction mark is performed. If a game system (see Patent Document 2) that causes an instruction mark corresponding to a hidden operation to appear, or if a plurality of players play a common song, one player makes a mistake in the operation. In this case, there is also known a game system (Patent Document 3) in which the mistaken operation is instructed as an operation for another player to recover the operation mistake.

JP, 2001-246156, A JP, 2010-088684, A JP, 2016-000171, A

  In the case of changing the operation instruction data itself like the device of Patent Document 1, if the difference in the degree of difficulty between the operation instruction data is large, the degree of difficulty changes relatively rapidly as the data is switched, The difference between the skill of the user and the difficulty level may be increased rather than reduced, and the interest of the game may be impaired. If a variety of operation instruction data with different degrees of difficulty are prepared for one piece of music, such a fear can be reduced, but in that case, it takes much time and effort to create musical score data. Moreover, in general, in a game system, it is customary to prepare a large number of options such as songs and stages that the user can play, and it is extremely troublesome to prepare various types of operation instruction data for each of those options.

  Therefore, the present invention provides a game system or the like capable of flexibly changing the content of an operation instruction in accordance with the evaluation of an operation performed during game play, without using various types of operation instruction data. With the goal.

  A game system according to an aspect of the present invention includes an instruction mark on a game screen based on operation instruction data in which each of a plurality of operations to be performed by a user during playing a game is associated with a time at which the operation should be performed. Is displayed, a reference sign corresponding to the current time in the game is displayed on the game screen, and the instruction sign and the reference sign are relatively moved within the game screen, thereby An operation instructing means for instructing the user while indicating a time when each operation should be performed, and an operation evaluating means for evaluating each of the plurality of operations performed by the user during play according to a predetermined evaluation standard, The operation instructing means may increase or decrease the number of instruction marks displayed on the game screen according to the state of evaluation by the operation evaluating means. So as to add a new indicator different from the indicator corresponding to the operation described in the operation instruction data, and a part of the instruction from the instruction corresponding to the operation described in the operation instruction data. An operation instruction correction means is provided for executing at least one of the processing for deleting the marker as the correction processing for the operation instruction data according to the state of the evaluation.

  A computer program for a game system according to an aspect of the present invention is an operation in which a computer provided in the game system is described by associating each of a plurality of operations that a user should perform during a game with a time when the operation should be performed. While displaying the instruction mark on the game screen based on the instruction data, the reference mark corresponding to the current time in the game is displayed on the game screen, the instruction mark and the reference mark in the game screen By relatively moving, each of the plurality of operations is instructed to the user while indicating when each operation should be performed, and each of the plurality of operations performed by the user is a predetermined evaluation criterion. According to the operation evaluation means, the operation instructing means evaluates the operation evaluation means during the play. A process of adding a new instruction mark different from the instruction mark corresponding to the operation described in the operation instruction data so that the number of the instruction marks displayed on the game screen may be increased or decreased according to the state of At least one of the processing of deleting a part of the indicator signs from the indicator signs corresponding to the operation described in the operation instruction data is executed as a correction process for the operation instruction data according to the state of the evaluation. The operation instruction correcting means for performing the operation is provided.

The figure which shows the outline of the whole structure of the game system which concerns on one form of this invention. The figure which shows an example of the external appearance of a game machine. The functional block diagram which shows the structure of the principal part of the control system of a game system. The perspective view which shows an example of the game space constructed | assembled as a virtual three-dimensional space. The figure which shows an example of the game screen displayed on a display device based on a game space. The figure which shows an example of sequence data. The functional block diagram which shows the detail of a game provision part. The figure for demonstrating an example of the evaluation standard in an operation evaluation part. The figure for demonstrating the other example of the evaluation standard in an operation evaluation part. The figure for demonstrating the further another example of the evaluation standard in an operation evaluation part. The figure which shows an example of the correspondence of a combo number and a level. The figure which shows an example of the correspondence of a level and the number of balls arrange | positioned in a game space. The figure which shows an example of the correspondence of the duration of a game, the number of combos, and a level. The figure which shows an example of the correspondence of the structure of music, and the position of the indicator for every level. The flowchart which shows an example of the procedure of the sequence process which a game provision part performs in order to produce | generate a game screen. The flowchart which shows an example of the procedure of the ball number correction process which the instruction correction part of a game provision part performs in order to increase or decrease the number of ball images as an instruction mark. The figure which shows the modification of FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing an example of a procedure according to a modified example of the number-of-balls correction process for realizing the relationship of FIG.

  Hereinafter, a game system according to an aspect of the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an outline of the overall configuration of a game system according to an aspect of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the game system 1 includes a center server 2 and a game machine GM. The game machine GM is connected to the center server 2 via the network 3. As an example, the game machine GM may be configured as an arcade (commercial) game machine. An arcade game machine is a game machine for playing a predetermined range of games for a fee or for free. As an example, the game console GM may provide a music game for a fee. Specifically, for example, the game machine GM may offer a music game in the range according to the price in exchange for consumption of a predetermined price. An appropriate number of game machines GM may be installed in a commercial facility such as the store 4.

  The center server 2 is not limited to the example configured by one physical device. For example, one logical center server 2 may be configured by a group of servers as a plurality of physical devices. Further, the center server 2 may be logically configured by using cloud computing. Furthermore, the game machine GM may function as the center server 2.

  Further, the user terminal 5 may be connected to the center server 2 via the network 3, for example. The user terminal 5 is a type of network terminal device that exhibits various functions by executing software distributed from the center server 2. In the example of FIG. 1, a mobile phone (including a smartphone) is used as an example of the user terminal 5. In addition, as the user terminal 5, for example, various network terminal devices such as a personal computer, a portable game machine, and a portable tablet terminal device that can be connected to the network and are provided for personal use of the user are used. Good.

  The network 3 may be configured to implement network communication using the TCP / IP protocol, for example. Typically, the network 3 may be configured by combining the Internet as a WAN and the intranet as a LAN. In the example of FIG. 1, the center server 2 and the game machine GM are connected to the network 3 via the router 3a, and the user terminal 5 is connected to the network 3 via the access point 3b.

  The network 3 is not limited to the form using the TCP / IP protocol. As the network 3, various forms using a wired line for communication or a wireless line (including infrared communication, short-range wireless communication, etc.) may be used. Alternatively, the communication between the user terminal 5 and the game machine GM or the like conforms to a predetermined standard so as to include various information such as a two-dimensional code without using a communication line (including wired and wireless). It may be realized using a code (for example, a two-dimensional code) generated by the above. Therefore, the term network (or communication line) may include a form of transmitting and receiving information without using a line, such as a communication method using such a code.

  The center server 2 provides various game machine services to the game machine GM or its users. As the game machine service, for example, a service of receiving the user identification information from the game machine GM and authenticating the user may be provided. Further, a service may be provided in which the play data of the authenticated user is received from the game machine GM and stored, or the play data to be stored is provided to the game machine GM. Furthermore, the game machine service is a service for distributing and updating the program or data of the game machine GM via the network 3, and matching the users when a plurality of users play a common game via the network 3. It may include a matching service or the like.

  The center server 2 also provides various Web services to the user of the user terminal 5 via the network 3. The Web service may include, for example, a game information service that provides various kinds of information regarding a game provided by the game machine GM. Further, for example, the Web service may include a distribution service that distributes various data or software to each user terminal 5 (including update of data and the like). Furthermore, the Web service may also include other services such as a community service that provides a place for interaction such as information transmission, exchange, and sharing by users, and a service that gives a user ID for identifying each user.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the external appearance of the game machine GM. As shown in FIG. 2, for example, the game machine GM may include a housing 6. Further, the housing 6 may be provided with, for example, the housing portion CA and the control panel portion 7. The accommodation portion CA is a portion that forms a space for accommodating a user therein. Then, for example, the user may play the music game in the accommodation unit CA, that is, inside the housing 6.

  For example, the accommodating portion CA may include the enclosure portion CA1, the stage portion CA2, and the opening portion CA3. The stage portion CA2 is a portion for the user to play the game. Therefore, the stage unit CA2 may be used as a portion for mounting the user. In other words, the stage part CA2 may function as a range in which the user can move inside the housing 6. The stage portion CA2 may function as a part of the enclosure portion CA1. Alternatively, the stage unit CA2 may be omitted. In this case, for example, a common carpet may be used instead of the stage portion CA2 so that a common background (floor surface) is formed in each game machine GM.

  The enclosure portion CA1 is a portion positioned so as to surround the stage portion CA2. For example, the enclosure CA1 includes a front wall CA1a located in front when the user plays a game on the stage CA2, two side walls CA1b located on each of the left and right side surfaces, and a ceiling plate CA1c forming a ceiling above. May be included. The opening CA3 is a portion that is opened to connect the inside and the outside of the housing 6. The opening portion CA3 may be further provided with a pillar portion 8, for example. The column portion 8 is a portion that extends from the ceiling plate CA1c to the stage portion CA2 so as to divide the opening CA3 into right and left portions. As a result, the accommodation portion CA may be provided with two opening portions CA3 positioned on the left and right sides so as to sandwich the column portion 8.

  The control panel section 7 is a section where various devices are provided. For example, as such various devices, the control panel unit 7 may be provided with a control panel. The control panel is a well-known input device for inputting various operations regarding a game. Further, the control panel unit 7 may be configured to house, as various devices, a value collection device for collecting a value, a control unit for providing a music game, or the like. Similarly, the control panel unit 7 has various connections such as an input device for inputting a user's play action (for example, an input device having a rod-shaped operation unit described later) or a display device for displaying various images. The device may be arranged. The play action here is an action in which the user causes the game machine GM to detect his / her own action and causes a reaction in the game in accordance with the action, and in this respect, it is positioned as one mode of the user's operation on the game machine GM. It is what is done. Further, the control panel section 7 may be arranged inside the pillar section 8, for example. That is, it may be arranged inside the accommodating portion CA so as to be located in the shadow (inner side) of the pillar portion 8.

  Further, the housing 6 may be provided with a position detection device 9 inside the housing CA, for example. Specifically, for example, in the accommodation unit CA, two position detection devices 9 may be arranged at two corners of the ceiling plate CA1c so as to be located on a diagonal line. Then, these position detecting devices 9 are accommodated in the accommodating portion CA when, for example, a user's action is used as a play action via a rod-shaped (type held and used by the user) operation unit as described later. It may be used to detect the position of the rod-shaped manipulator within. In addition, the game machine GM may be provided with various input devices and output devices such as a power switch, a power lamp, and a speaker, which are provided in a normal game machine for business use. Is omitted.

  Further, a chair (not shown) may be arranged in the accommodating portion CA (inside the housing 6). That is, the housing 6 may be configured so that the user plays a music game while sitting on a chair in the accommodation unit CA. Specifically, for example, the chair may be arranged near the control panel unit 7 on the stage unit CA2 for convenience of operation. Further, in this case, in order to allow the operation of the control panel unit 7 and the execution of various settings of the input device and the like by a third party (a person other than the user who plays the game), the control panel unit 7 is provided between the chair and the control panel unit 7. May be spaced. That is, the chair may be arranged with a space for allowing a third person to intervene between the chair and the control panel unit 7. On the other hand, when an input device for inputting a user's play action, a display device for displaying a game space for playing a game, and the like are arranged on the control panel unit 7, the user sitting on the chair mounts them. In order to be usable, the chair may be arranged at a position where an input device, a display device or the like is used. That is, the chair may be arranged on the stage portion CA2 so that, for example, a space is formed between the chair and the control panel portion 7 that allows both the intervention of a third party and the use of the input device or the like. ..

  Furthermore, the chair may be arranged at a predetermined interval from the enclosure CA1 so as to allow the user's action as a play action. For example, as the predetermined interval, at least an interval for allowing an operation performed by the user in a state of sitting on a chair may be adopted. Specifically, for example, the chair may be arranged so as to face the front wall CA1a. That is, the chair may be arranged so that the user sits facing the front wall CA1a. Then, the front wall CA1a and the front wall CA1a may be arranged so as to be spaced apart from each other to allow the user's motion. Similarly, the chairs may be arranged so as to be spaced apart from the left and right side walls CA1b so as to allow the user's motion. In other words, the chair has a predetermined space (front space and front space CA1a) between the front wall CA1a and the side wall CA1b so as to allow the user to move left and right sideways and forward when the user is sitting there. It may be different from the lateral spacing). In other words, the enclosure CA1 may be provided so as to form a predetermined space between the front and the side of the chair to allow the movement of the user. When the user sits on a chair and plays, a space is also formed between the user and the ceiling plate CA1c, and thus the upward movement may be allowed.

  Next, a main part of a control system of the game system 1 for providing a music game will be described. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration of a main part of a control system of the game system 1. As shown in FIG. 3, the center server 2 includes a control unit 10 and a storage unit 11. The control unit 10 may be configured as, for example, a computer unit in which a microprocessor and various peripheral devices such as an internal storage device (ROM and RAM, for example) necessary for the operation of the microprocessor are combined. An input device such as a keyboard and an output device such as a monitor may be connected to the control unit 10. However, their illustration is omitted.

  The storage unit 11 is connected to the control unit 10. The storage unit 11 may be configured by, for example, a large-capacity storage medium such as a magnetic tape so that the storage can be held even when power is not supplied. The storage unit 11 stores server data 14 and a server program 15. The server program 15 is a computer program necessary for the center server 2 to provide various services to the game machine GM and the like. When the control unit 10 reads and executes the server program 15, the game unit service management unit 16 and the Web service management unit 17 may be provided inside the control unit 10, for example.

  The game machine service management unit 16 executes processing for providing the above-described game machine service. On the other hand, the web service management unit 17 executes the processing necessary to provide the above web service. The game machine service management unit 16 and the Web service management unit 17 are logical devices realized by a combination of computer hardware and a computer program. It should be noted that various other logical devices may be provided inside the control unit 10. However, their illustration is omitted.

  The server data 14 is data that is referred to when the server program 15 is executed. For example, the server data 14 is ID management data for managing various IDs such as user IDs for identifying each user, play data for managing past performances and unique settings of each user, or It may include later-described sequence data and the like. However, their illustration is omitted.

  On the other hand, the game machine GM is provided with a control unit 20 as a computer, a storage unit 21, a display device DP, a position detection device 9, an input device 22, and a consideration collecting device 23. The storage unit 21, the display device DP, the position detection device 9, the input device 22, and the consideration collecting device 23 are all connected to the control unit 20. Further, the control unit 20, the storage unit 21, and the consideration collecting device 23 may be housed in the control panel unit 7, for example.

  The control unit 20 may be configured as, for example, a computer unit in which a microprocessor and various peripheral devices such as an internal storage device (for example, ROM and RAM) necessary for the operation of the microprocessor are combined. The control unit 20 may be connected to various input devices or output devices similar to other known game machines such as the above-mentioned speaker. However, their illustration is omitted.

  The display device DP is a known display device that displays various images according to the output signal of the control unit 20. For example, the display device DP may display the game space used to progress the music game. In addition, the display device DP includes, for example, a game space (hereinafter, may be referred to as VR game space) including various images for producing a virtual reality (hereinafter, may be referred to as VR) as such a game space. May be displayed. Furthermore, for example, the display device DP may include a guide portion DP1 and a display surface DP2 in order to display such a VR game space. The guide part DP1 is a part for guiding the user's line of sight to the game space. For example, the guide part DP1 may be formed so as to guide the line of sight of the user to the display surface DP2 by covering the field of view of the user. The display surface DP2 is a portion for displaying a game screen corresponding to the game space. For example, game screens corresponding to various game spaces such as the VR game space described above may be displayed on the display surface DP2. Further, the display surface DP2 may be housed in, for example, a housing portion in which the guide portion DP1 is formed so that the display surface DP2 can be visually recognized through the guide portion DP1. Then, the display device DP may be used to look into the display surface DP2 exposed beyond the guide portion DP1 through such a casing portion.

  Specifically, for example, a head-mounted display device (so-called head-mounted display; hereinafter, such a display device DP may be referred to as an HMD) may be adopted as such a display device DP. The HMD is a well-known display device in which the housing and the display device as described above are combined into one. The HMD is generally configured to limit the user's field of view to the display of the game space, for example, via the above-described guiding unit DP1 so that the user's consciousness can enter the game space. Such an HMD is often attached to the user's head in a hands-free manner (so that the hand can be freely moved) via an attachment belt or the like. Further, the HMD may be configured to display a video (image) of the current real space located in the visual field range of the user when mounted on the head of the user. In such a case, for example, the HMD may be provided with a camera (imaging device) for capturing the current real space located in the visual field range. As an example, such an HMD may be used as the display device DP. That is, the head-mounted display device DP is configured to use, as an example, an image in the real space corresponding to the visual field range of the user as at least a part of the game space when the display device DP is mounted on the head of the user. You may. Furthermore, the head-mounted display device DP is, for example, an augmented reality game space in which a real space is expanded by adding a virtual image to a video in the real space, or a real space at the time when the user uses the display device DP. It may be configured to display an image of the real space (an alternative real space that replaces the image of the current physical space) at a different time (including a case of another place) from the (current physical space). .. It should be noted that the display device DP may be provided with a sensor unit (not shown) such as a gyro sensor that detects a physical quantity such as acceleration accompanying the movement of the user's head. The detection signal of the sensor unit is provided to the control unit 20 and referred to for determining the range of the image to be displayed on the display surface DP2.

  The input device 22 is a well-known input device for inputting a play action of a user. For such an input, the input device 22 may output a signal according to a play action to the control unit 10, for example. Further, the input device 22 may be configured to be able to input a user's action as such a play action, for example. More specifically, the input device 22 may include, for example, an operation unit 22a operated by a user. Further, such an operation unit 22a may be configured in a rod shape, for example. Then, through such a rod-shaped operation unit 22a, a motion of swinging the operation unit 22a in various directions like a racket used in sports tennis may be adopted as a play action. That is, the input device 22 may be configured to input, as a play action (an example of a user's operation), an action similar to that of swinging a tennis racket via the operation unit 22a. Further, for example, when the user sits on a chair and plays a game as described above, such an action of swinging a tennis racket is mainly performed in front of, right and left sides of, and above the chair. The action may be used as a play action.

  The position detection device 9 is a well-known detection device for detecting the position of a target. For example, the position detection device 9 may be configured to detect the position of the operation unit 22a as the target position. That is, when the rod-shaped operation unit 22a is shaken in various directions by the user, the position of the operation unit 22a (the locus of movement of the operation unit 22a) may be detected. Specifically, for example, the position detection device 9 may include the two position detection devices 9 arranged at the two corners of the ceiling plate 4c as described above. Then, these two position detection devices 9 are configured to emit infrared rays toward the operation unit 22a based on a signal from the control unit 10 (or at a predetermined cycle under self-control). You may. Further, the operation unit 22a may be configured to receive infrared rays from each position detection device 9. Then, the operation unit 22a acquires its own position by calculating the position based on, for example, the difference in the reception timing of the infrared rays emitted from the two position detection devices 9, and outputs it to the control unit 20. Good (or the reception result may be output to the control unit 20 and the control unit 20 may calculate the position of the operation unit 22a).

  The position detection device 9 is not limited to such a configuration. For example, a camera may be used as the position detection device 9. Alternatively, when the operation unit 22a (or the input device 22) is provided with a gyro sensor or the like capable of calculating its own position, the position detection device 9 may be omitted. On the other hand, in order to improve accuracy, various methods such as an infrared ray sensor and a gyro sensor may be combined.

  The value collection device 23 is a known device for collecting a predetermined value. For example, a card reader or a coin collecting device may be used as the value collecting device 23. Specifically, for example, when the value stored in the card is used as the predetermined value, a card reader that reads and consumes the remaining amount of the value may be used as the value collection device 23. Similarly, when a coin is used as the predetermined consideration, a coin collecting device that collects the coin may be used as the value collecting device 23. Then, the consideration collection device 23 may output a signal according to the collection result to the control unit 20.

  On the other hand, the storage unit 21 is a known unit that stores information such as various data. For example, the storage unit 21 may be configured by, for example, a magnetic recording medium, an optical recording medium, a flash SSD (Solid State Drive), or the like so that the storage can be held even when power is not supplied. A game program 24 and game data 25 are stored in the storage unit 21. The game program 24 is a computer program necessary for the game machine GM to provide a music game. Along with the execution of the game program 24, for example, a game providing unit 27 may be provided inside the control unit 20. The game providing unit 27 executes various kinds of processing necessary for providing a music game. The game providing unit 27 is a logical device realized by a combination of computer hardware and a computer program. It should be noted that various other logical devices may be provided inside the control unit 20. However, their illustration is omitted.

The game data 25 is data referred to as the game program 24 is executed. The game data 25 may include, for example, various data necessary for providing a music game. Further, such data may include sequence data 26, for example. The sequence data 26 is data for guiding the timing of the play action to be performed by the user and the timing of execution. Details of the sequence data 26 will be described later.

  In addition, the game data 25 may be, for example, image data for displaying an image (including a game space) on the display device DP, music data for reproducing music on a speaker, or the above-described ID management data and play. It may include data. Further, for example, at least a part of the ID management data and the play data may be provided from the center server 2 so that a necessary part is included. However, their illustration is omitted.

  Next, an example of the music game provided to the user by the process of the game providing unit 27 will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5. FIG. 4 shows an example of the configuration of a game space as a virtual three-dimensional space constructed to draw a game screen. The game space 30 is a space in which a user virtually enters the inside to play a game, and is a substantially rectangular parallelepiped space surrounded by a front wall 31a, a pair of side walls 31b, a ceiling wall 31c, and a bottom wall 31d. It is configured. A virtual reference plane 32 parallel to the front wall 31a is set in the game space 30, and the user is supposed to play the game at the position of the virtual reference plane 32. An image in the direction in which the user is looking in the game space 30 is displayed on the display device DP.

  When the game is started, a ball 33 appears at an appropriate position on the front wall 31a, and the ball 33 moves toward an appropriate position on the virtual reference plane 32. Therefore, an image in which the ball 33 is flying toward the user is displayed on the display device DP. The front wall 31a, the side wall 31b, the ceiling wall 31c, and the bottom wall 31d are all set as wall surfaces on which the balls 33 bounce. Therefore, as illustrated by the path Wa in the drawing, the ball 33 bounces off the front wall 31a and at least one of the side wall 31b, the ceiling wall 31c, and the bottom wall 31d (bottom wall 31d in the illustrated example). And may behave toward the virtual reference plane 32. Of course, the ball 33 may move from the front wall 31a to the virtual reference plane 32 without colliding with any of the side wall 31b, the ceiling wall 31c, and the bottom wall 31d.

  A racket 34 is provided on or near the virtual reference plane 32 of the game space 30. The racket 34 is an example of an object arranged in the game space 30 corresponding to the operation unit 22a of the input device 22. When the user enters the accommodation portion CA of the housing 6 and holds the operation portion 22a in his / her hand, the racket 34 is arranged at a position and orientation corresponding to the position and orientation of the operation portion 22a. When the user performs an operation such as shaking the operation unit 22a, the position and orientation of the racket 34 changes in the game space 30 according to the operation. That is, the user can virtually operate the racket 34 in the game space 30 via the operation unit 22a. When the user operates the racket 34 so as to match the arrival position and the arrival time of the ball 33, the ball 33 is hit back by the racket 34 and moves to the front wall 31a side along the predetermined path Wb. However, the path Wb of the ball 33 that has been hit back (indicated by hatching in the drawing) appropriately changes depending on the operating condition of the racket 34, as illustrated by the broken line in the drawing. The ball 33 hit back by the racket 34 may be processed so as to disappear from the game space 30 at the time of reaching the front wall 31a, or at an appropriate time before or after that, or may bounce off the front wall 31a again. It may be processed toward the virtual reference plane 32.

  On the other hand, if the user cannot properly operate the racket 34 in accordance with the ball 33, a mistake occurs and the ball 33 disappears from the game space 30. As described above, in the example of FIG. 4, a game such as tennis or squash is played in which the user virtually hits the ball 33 flying toward the user from at least the front wall 31a with the racket 34. When a game battle is performed between the game machines GM via the network 3, the front wall 31a may function as the virtual reference plane 32 for the user of the opponent. That is, when the opponent user appropriately operates the racket 34, the ball 33 bounces off the front wall 31a toward the user, and when the opponent user cannot operate the racket 34 appropriately. The game content may be set so that the ball 33 disappears from the game space 30 on the front wall 31a or at an appropriate position before and after the front wall 31a. The time at which the ball 33 appears on the front wall 31a (including the time at which the hit ball 33 rebounds at the front wall 31a) and the time at which the ball 33 reaches the virtual reference plane 32 are based on the sequence data 26. Controlled. The paths Wa and Wb along which the ball 33 moves and the moving speed V are controlled based on the time when the ball 33 should be positioned on the front wall 31a or the virtual reference plane 32 and the operating condition of the racket 34. These points will be described later.

  FIG. 5 shows an example of a game screen displayed on the display surface DP2 of the display device DP based on the game space 30 described above. The game screen 40 in FIG. 5 represents a state in which the game space 30 is observed at a predetermined viewing angle along the direction of the user's line of sight as a two-dimensional image. On the game screen 40, a front wall image 41a, a side wall image 41b, a ceiling wall image 41c and a bottom wall image 41d corresponding to the front wall 31a, the side wall 31b, the ceiling wall 31c and the bottom wall 31d in the game space 30, respectively, and a virtual reference. A reference mark 42 corresponding to the surface 32, a ball image 43 as an example of an instruction mark corresponding to the ball 33, and a racket image 44 corresponding to the racket 34 are displayed. The reference mark 42 indicates the current time during the play of the game, and is along the outline frame of the virtual reference plane 32, that is, the line of intersection between the virtual reference plane 32 and the side wall 31b, the ceiling wall 31c, and the bottom wall 31d. It is displayed as a rectangular frame image. In FIG. 5, the ball image 43 flying toward the user from the front wall image 41a is shown by hatching, and the ball image 43 hit back to the front wall image 41a by the user is shown by white. In the example of FIG. 5, the ball image 43 of two balls flying toward the user is displayed and the ball image 43 of one ball hit by the user is displayed. However, the ball image 43 displayed in one screen is The number of balls, in other words, the number of balls 33 existing in the game space 30 is appropriately changed according to the state of evaluation with respect to the user's operation during the game play. This point will be described later.

  On the game screen 40, rectangular auxiliary frames 45A and 45B indicating a specific time during the game are also displayed. The time indicated by the auxiliary frames 45A and 45B is set to a time later than the present time indicated by the reference sign 42 by a predetermined time in the future. As an example, the auxiliary frame 45A is a position corresponding to a time delayed by a time length corresponding to one bar of the music played during the game, and the auxiliary frame 45B is a position corresponding to a time delayed by a time length corresponding to two measures of the music. Displayed in. However, the auxiliary frames 45A and 45B may be displayed so as to move in the game space 30 at a speed adapted to the reproduction of the music. In that case, for example, the auxiliary frames 45A and 45B can be displayed so as to move in the game space 30 in accordance with the position of the first beat in each bar of the music, or the position such as a bar break.

  Furthermore, an evaluation image 46 is also displayed on the game screen 40. The evaluation image 46 is an image that presents the user with information related to the evaluation of the operation sequentially executed by the game providing unit 27 during the game play. In the illustrated example, the number of combos is displayed as “+500 COMBO” as the information related to the evaluation. The combo number is a continuation state that quantitatively indicates the continuation state of the operation that has obtained a predetermined evaluation by the game providing unit 27, that is, the extent to which the operation that has obtained the predetermined evaluation continues (or continues). It is an example of a value. Counting the number of combos will also be described later.

  FIG. 6 shows an example of the sequence data 26. The sequence data 26 is data that describes the contents of the operation that the user should perform during playing the game, and is the basic data for displaying the ball image 43. The sequence data 26 includes at least a set of records as information associating the arrival time of the ball 33 with respect to the virtual reference plane 32 and the arrival position on the virtual reference plane 32. That is, one set of records is information that specifies at what time on the virtual reference plane 32 the ball 33 should be reached at which time during the game. The user can virtually hit back the ball 33 by operating the racket 34 in accordance with the arrival time and the arrival position specified in the record. Although FIG. 6 shows a set of records, a large number of records are actually recorded in the sequence data 26 according to the music. The time of arrival at the front wall 31a is set to a time that matches the music, such as the beat position of the music played during the game. When the ball 33 hit by the user with the racket 34 bounces again on the front wall 31 a, the arrival time and the arrival position of the hit ball 33 with respect to the front wall 31 a are also described in the sequence data 26. The arrival time in this case is also set to a time that matches the music. The arrival position can be designated by the coordinate value in the game space 30 on the virtual reference plane 32 or the front wall 31a. When the behavior of the ball 33 is controlled so that the ball 33 bounces on the front wall 31a, the arrival time and the arrival position described in each record in the sequence data 26 are displayed on either the virtual reference plane 32 or the front wall 31a. Information may be included that specifies whether it is a corresponding one.

  FIG. 7 is a functional block diagram showing details of the game providing unit 27. The game providing unit 27 includes a data acquisition unit 50, an instruction correction unit 51, a coordinate calculation unit 52, an operation evaluation unit 53, a combo management unit 54 as a logical device realized by a combination of the control unit 20 and the game program 24. Also, a screen generation unit 55 is provided. The data acquisition unit 50 reads a record of a range to be displayed on the game screen 40 (hereinafter, also referred to as a display range) from the sequence data 26. The range to be displayed may be, for example, a range of a predetermined number of bars (two bars as an example) from the current time in the music toward the future. The instruction correction unit 51 determines a new ball 33 different from the ball 33 corresponding to the operation (the operation specified by the arrival time and the arrival position) included in the record read by the data acquisition unit 50 according to the combo number. By adding or deleting the balls 33, the number of ball images 43 as instruction indicators displayed on the game screen 40 is increased or decreased. The increase and decrease of the ball 33 by the instruction correction unit 51 will be described in detail later.

  The coordinate calculation unit 52 follows the information about the arrival time and the arrival position of the ball 33 identified by the data acquisition unit 50 and the instruction correction unit 51, and the operation situation information of the operation unit 22 a given from the input device 22. The moving paths Wa and Wb of the ball 33 in the above are determined, and the position of the ball 33 on the moving paths Wa and Wb is repeatedly calculated for each frame of the game screen 40. For example, regarding a record in which the arrival time and the arrival position with respect to the virtual reference plane 32 are designated, the record corresponds to a time earlier than the arrival time by a predetermined time length (matches the time length of the display range). The ball 33 is arranged at a predetermined position on the front wall 31a, the moving path Wa of the ball 33 toward the virtual reference plane 32 is appropriately determined, and then the ball 33 is moved to the virtual reference plane 32 at the time designated by the sequence data 26. The moving speed of the ball 33 required to reach the designated position is calculated. Then, based on the moving speed of the ball 33 and the time difference between the current time and the arrival time of the game, the position of the ball 33 on the moving path Wa can be calculated as the coordinate of the ball 33.

  Regarding the ball 33 hit back by the racket 34, the position where the ball 33 is hit back by the racket 34 is the same as above even when the time and position at which the ball 33 should reach the front wall 31a are designated. From the arrival position of the front wall 31a to the arrival position of the front wall 31a, the movement speed for the ball 33 to reach the front wall 31a at the designated time is calculated, and the movement speed and the current time of the game are calculated. The coordinates of the ball 33 can be calculated based on the time difference from the arrival time of the front wall 31a. However, when determining the movement path Wb, at least one of the time and position at which the racket 34 catches the ball 33, the direction of the gut surface of the racket 34, and the speed (or acceleration) at which the racket 34 is operated. The travel route Wb may be set in consideration of three parameters (hereinafter, may be referred to as operation parameters).

  For example, like in actual tennis or squash, the timing at which the racket 34 is operated, the position of the racket 34 at which angle the ball 33 hits, or the speed (or acceleration) of the racket 34. The moving path Wb may be set so that the moving direction or moving speed of the ball 33 changes depending on whether the ball 33 is shaken. Even if the moving path Wb is appropriately changed, by adjusting the path length of the moving path Wb and the moving speed of the ball 33, the ball 33 may reach the front wall 31a at a designated time. It is possible to control the movement of the. When the arrival time and the arrival position of the ball 33 with respect to the front wall 31a are not specified, and the ball 33 hit by the racket 34 disappears on the front wall 31a or before and after it without bouncing on the front wall 31a, the racket. The movement path Wb and the movement speed of the ball 33 may be determined based on the operation parameter of 34.

  The operation evaluation unit 53 sequentially evaluates each operation performed by the user during playing the game according to a predetermined evaluation standard. For example, the operation evaluation unit 53 identifies the individual user based on the information indicating the operation status of the operation unit 22a provided from the input device 22 and the arrival time and arrival position information of the ball 33 provided from the instruction correction unit 51. Sequentially evaluate operations during game play. As a result, the operation evaluation unit 53 functions as an example of operation evaluation means. Alternatively, the operation evaluation unit 53 may evaluate the user's operation by referring to the coordinate information of the ball 33 provided from the coordinate calculation unit 52, in addition to or instead of the information provided from the instruction correction unit 51.

  FIG. 8 shows an example of an operation evaluation method based on the arrival time and arrival position information. In the example of FIG. 8, a spherical determination area 60 is set around the arrival position of the ball 33 with respect to the virtual reference plane 32. When the user hits the ball 33 back with the racket 34, if the reference position of the racket 34 at the time of contact between the ball 33 and the racket 34 is within the determination area 60, it is evaluated that the operation corresponding to the ball 33 has succeeded. If the reference position is outside the judgment area 60, or if the user cannot hit the ball 33 back, it is evaluated that the operation has failed. The reference position of the racket 34 can be set to a position suitable for hitting the ball 33, for example, and typically set to the center position of the racket 34 on the gut surface or the center position of the sweet spot on the gut surface. You can The determination area 60 is further divided into a plurality of small areas 61, and the user operation is higher as the reference position of the racket 34 at the time when the ball 33 and the racket 34 contact each other is closer to the arrival position of the ball 33. The operation of the user may be evaluated in multiple stages, such as being evaluated.

  The determination area 60 in FIG. 8 detects when the ball 33 and the racket 34 contact each other and how much the reference position deviates with reference to the arrival time and the arrival position of the ball 33 with respect to the virtual reference plane 32. The user's individual operation is evaluated while the evaluation criterion is whether or not the deviation is within the allowable range defined by the determination area 60 or the small area 61. The determination area 60 is sufficient if it can define the allowable range for the timing and position of the operation of the racket 34 with respect to the flying of the ball 33, and the shape thereof is not limited to the spherical shape. For example, as shown in FIG. 9, a cylindrical determination area 60 may be set along the depth direction (in other words, the time axis direction) of the game space 30 with the arrival position of the ball 33 on the virtual reference plane 32 as a reference, Further, the determination area 60 may be divided into a plurality of small areas 61. In addition, the determination area 60 may be set to an ellipsoidal shape, a rugby ball shape, or any other appropriate three-dimensional shape. The determination area 60 is not limited to the example provided symmetrically in the depth direction of the game space 30 with respect to the arrival position of the ball 33 on the virtual reference plane 32. The determination area 60 may be set along the movement path Wa of the ball 33.

  The operation evaluation unit 53 may evaluate each operation of the user according to a criterion different from the evaluation criterion based on the timing of the operation and the displacement of the position. For example, as shown in FIG. 10, a target 62 is placed in the game space 30 as a kind of object, and when the ball 33 hit by the racket 34 hits the target 62, it is evaluated that the operation is successful, and the ball 33 is evaluated. An evaluation criterion may be adopted in which the operation is judged to have failed when the target is out of the target 62. In this case, how the ball 33 flying toward the user is hit back by the racket 34 is determined based on the operation parameter of the racket 34, and the movement route and the movement speed of the ball 33 are determined according to the determination result. The presence or absence of collision with the target 62 may be determined and controlled. For the determination of the movement path and the like, a method of calculating the influence of the operation parameter of the racket 34 on the behavior of the ball 33 according to a physical law so that the behavior of the ball in actual tennis or squash can be reproduced may be adopted. .. The information on the movement route and the movement speed can be received from the coordinate calculation unit 52, but may be calculated by the operation evaluation unit 53. In the example of FIG. 10 as well, the target 62 is divided into a plurality of small areas 63, and the user operation is divided into a plurality of stages so that the smaller the area 63 closer to the center, the higher the evaluation when the ball 33 hits. You may. Although the target 62 is circular in FIG. 10, the target 62 may have an appropriate shape, and a target 62 having a certain figure like a character may be prepared. The target 62 may be stationary in the game space 30 or may move appropriately. In addition to the above, the operation evaluation unit 53 may evaluate the superiority or inferiority of each operation of the user according to an appropriate evaluation standard.

  Returning to FIG. 7, the combo management unit 54 acquires the evaluation result of each operation from the operation evaluation unit 53, monitors the continuation state of the operation for which a predetermined evaluation is obtained, and if it is continuing, The continuation number is counted as an example of the continuation value. For example, when the operation evaluation unit 53 determines that the operation has succeeded, the combo management unit 54 regards the operation as an operation for which a predetermined evaluation is obtained, and when such an operation is continuous (hereinafter , Such a continuous operation is sometimes called a combo operation.) The continuous number can be counted. As illustrated in FIGS. 8 to 10, when the user's operation is evaluated in a plurality of stages, the operation that has been evaluated at a certain level or higher (for example, the best evaluation) is obtained as the predetermined evaluation. If the operation evaluated in such a manner is continuous, the number of continuous operations may be counted. Note that if an operation that does not obtain the predetermined evaluation occurs even once, the number of continuations may be reset to 0 assuming that the combo operation is not continued. If the operation is continued so as to satisfy the condition, a relief measure may be set such that the continued number is integrated without being reset. For example, it is possible to set such that the relief is recognized when the operation for which the best evaluation is obtained continues for a predetermined number of times after the operation error.

  The continuation number counted by the combo management unit 54 is appropriately notified to the instruction correction unit 51 and the screen generation unit 55 as the combo number. The instruction correction unit 51 refers to the combo number and corrects the sequence data 26 so as to add a new ball 33 different from the ball 33 described in the sequence data 26. As a result, the addition of the ball 33 corresponds to the addition of the ball image 43 as an example of the instruction mark on the game screen 40. The screen generation unit 55 refers to the coordinates of the ball 33 calculated by the coordinate calculation unit 52 to virtually construct the game space 30, and refers to the information on the movement of the user's head provided from the display device DP. The user's line-of-sight direction with respect to the game space 30 is determined, and a game screen 40 as a two-dimensional image of the game space 30 observed at a predetermined viewing angle along the line-of-sight direction is generated and provided to the display device DP. When the game screen 40 is generated, the screen generation unit 55 acquires supplementary information of the game such as the number of combos counted by the combo management unit 54, and the game space 30 is displayed in the game space 30 so that the information is also displayed on the game screen 40. To construct.

  Next, the process of increasing or decreasing the number of balls 33 by the instruction correction unit 51 will be described. The instruction correction unit 51 changes the number of balls 33 according to the number of combos, and at that time divides the number of combos into a plurality of levels and controls the number of balls 33 according to the level. FIG. 11 shows an example of a basic correspondence relationship between the combo number Nc and levels. In this example, when the combo number Nc is less than 50, it is set to level 1, when it is 50 or more and less than 100, it is set to level 2, when it is 100 or more and less than 150, it is set to level 3, and when it is 150 or more, it is set to level 4. However, the correspondence relationship between the combo number Nc and the level may be appropriate. In the example of FIG. 11, the level increases by one step each time the combo number Nc increases by 50, but the difference in the combo number Nc between the levels may be appropriate. In the example of FIG. 11, the combo numbers 50, 100, and 150 correspond to an example of a predetermined value that divides the continuous value into a plurality of stages.

  FIG. 12 shows the correspondence between the level and the number of balls 33. The number of balls in FIG. 12 means the number of balls 33 whose arrival time is designated in the reading range of the sequence data 26, that is, the display range (corresponding to two measures as an example). That is, it is the number of balls 33 flying toward the user among the balls 33 displayed in one screen of the game screen 40. The number of balls is set to 1 in level 1, 2 in level 2, 3 in level 3, and 4 in level 4. That is, each time the level increases by one step, the number of balls 33 (however, balls that fly toward the user) displayed in one screen increases by one. The instruction correction unit 51 refers to the combo number Nc notified from the combo management unit 54 to determine the level of the user, and according to the level, the sequence data is changed so that the number of balls 33 in one screen changes according to FIG. Correct 26.

  FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of changes in the number of combos and the level, in which the elapsed time of the game is set on the horizontal axis, the number of combos is set on the right vertical axis, and the level is set on the left vertical axis. In the example of FIG. 12, it is assumed that the number of combos is gradually increased with the lapse of time in the game, and the level is increased to 4 at time Tm. When the continuation of the combo operation is stopped at that time Tm, the combo number is reset to 0, which is an initial value. However, with regard to the level, it only drops by one level from level 4 to level 3. This is because, if the level is returned to the initial value of 1 when the combo operation is interrupted, the number of the balls 33 is sharply reduced, and the difficulty level of the game is significantly reduced accordingly, which may impair the interest. Because there is. After the combo operation is stopped, the combo number is maintained at the level 3 until the combo number is integrated to the range corresponding to the level 4. Then, when the combo number reaches the range of 150 or more corresponding to the level 4, the level rises to 4 again, and the number of the balls 33 increases by one. It should be noted that level 3 when demoting from level 4 corresponds to an example of the specific stage. In the example of FIG. 11, the specific stage is set to be one level lower than the level 4, but the specific stage is lower than the level before the combo operation is cut off, and is lower than the level when the combo number is 0, which is the minimum value. It only needs to be in the high range.

  In the instruction correction unit 51, how to change the number of balls 33 may be appropriately determined, but as an example, the number of balls 33 may be increased or decreased as shown in FIG. FIG. 14 shows the correspondence relationship between the composition of the music and the arrival time of the ball 33 at the levels 1 to 4 with respect to the virtual reference plane 32. The circles attached to each of the levels 1 to 4 indicate the arrival times, and the hatched circles indicate the arrival times corresponding to the balls 33 newly added to the lower level. In the example of FIG. 14, it is assumed that the range (display range) of the sequence data 26 acquired by the data acquisition unit 50 is set to 2 bars of the music. Further, in FIG. 14, the music has a time signature of 4/4, and the beat position of each bar of the music is indicated by quarter notes, but it goes without saying that the actual composition of the music is not limited to this.

  In the example of FIG. 14, first, in level 1, the sequence data 26 as the original data is used as it is, and the number of balls 33 is not changed by the instruction correction unit 51. In this case, the sequence data 26 is constructed assuming that one ball 33 reaches the virtual reference plane 32 for every two measures of the music. As an example, the time when the ball 33 reaches the virtual reference plane 32 is set to the position of the first beat every two measures. Next, in level 2, the instruction correction unit 51 adds the ball 33 so that one ball 33 reaches the virtual reference plane 32 every two measures. The additional position may be set, for example, so that the arrival time of the ball 33 is the middle of the arrival time of the level 1, that is, the position of the first beat of the second bar in one display range. Furthermore, in level 3, a new ball 33 is added so that the appropriate position for each display range, for example, another beat position such as the 3rd beat of the first bar is the arrival time of the ball 33. A new ball 33 is added such that the beat position of the ball 33, for example, the position of the third beat of the second bar is the arrival time of the ball 33. When the level is lowered, for example, when the level 4 is demoted to the level 3, the ball 33 added at the time of the promotion from the level 3 to the level 4 is deleted.

  FIG. 15 shows a procedure of sequence processing executed by the game providing unit 27 to generate the game screen 40. The process of FIG. 15 is a process that is repeatedly executed in synchronization with the drawing cycle of an image on the display device DP. When the sequence processing is started, the data acquisition unit 50 of the game providing unit 27 acquires the current time of the game (step S1), acquires the sequence data 26 included in the display range based on the current time, and corrects the instruction. It is provided to the unit 51 (step S2). Next, the instruction correction unit 51 corrects the number of balls 33 to be placed in the game space 30 based on the number of combos counted by the combo management unit 54 (step S3). Next, the coordinate calculation unit 52 of the game providing unit 27 acquires the corrected sequence data 26 from the instruction correction unit 51 (including the case where there is no correction), and based on the data, the virtual reference plane of the game space 30. The arrival position and the arrival time of the ball 33 with respect to 32 are specified (step S4). If the ball 33 hit by the racket 34 is present in the game space 30 and the position and the time at which the ball 33 should reach the front wall 31a are designated by the sequence data 26, in step S4. Its location and time are also specified.

  Next, the coordinate calculation unit 52 calculates the movement path and movement speed of the ball 33 to be arranged in the game space 30 based on the arrival position and the arrival time acquired in step S4 (step S5). However, the process of step S5 may be omitted for the ball 33 whose moving path and moving speed have been calculated in the sequence processing up to the previous time. After that, the coordinate calculation unit 52 calculates the coordinates of the ball 33 in the game space 30 at the next drawing time according to the movement path and the movement speed of the ball 33, and provides the calculation result to the screen generation unit 55 (step S6). .. The screen generation unit 55 arranges the ball 33 in the game space 30 according to the given coordinates of the ball 33 (step S7). Note that an object indicating the number of combos and other incidental information and the like may be further arranged in the game space 30.

  Next, the screen generation unit 55 determines the line-of-sight direction of the user according to the information indicating the movement of the user's face provided from the display device DP (step S8). After that, the screen generation unit 55 generates the game screen 40 as a two-dimensional image obtained by observing the game space 30 in the viewing direction of the user at a predetermined viewing angle (step S9). After the processing of step S9, the game providing unit 27 ends the current sequence processing. The game screen 40 generated in step S9 is converted into a video signal to be displayed on the display device DP and provided to the display device DP. Thereby, the game screen 40 as illustrated in FIG. 5 is displayed on the display surface DP2 of the display device DP.

  FIG. 16 shows details of the ball number correction processing executed in step S3 of FIG. When the ball number correction process is started, the instruction correction unit 51 first determines the combo number Nc counted by the combo management unit 54 (step S11), and then determines the current level of the user (step S12). The current level of the user can be appropriately determined by storing it in the internal storage device of the control unit 20 every time the processing of FIG. 16 is performed. Next, the instruction correction unit 51 determines whether the combo number Nc acquired in step S1 has reached a range corresponding to a level one step higher than the current level determined in step S2 (step). S13). If the combo number Nc has reached the range corresponding to the next level, the instruction correction unit 51 raises the level by one step (step S14) so that the number of balls 33 displayed on one screen increases by one. In addition, information such as the arrival time and the arrival position corresponding to the new ball 33 is added to the sequence data 26 acquired in step S1 of FIG. 15 (step S15). The adding method in this case may be as shown in FIG. 14, for example.

  When it is determined in step S13 that the combo number Nc has not reached the range corresponding to the next level, the instruction correction unit 51 determines whether the combo number Nc has been reset (step S16). If not reset, the instruction correction unit 51 confirms whether or not the current level determined in step S12 is 1 (step S17), and if the level is not 1, demotes the user's level by one level (step S18). .. After that, the instruction correction unit 51 corrects the sequence data 26 so that the number of the balls 33 displayed on one screen is decreased by one and the balls 33 added at the level before the demotion are deleted. Is changed (step S19). For example, in the case of demoting to level 3 at level 4 before demoting, correction was made so far that 3 balls 33 were added to one screen for sequence data 26 as original data. Next time, the correction content is changed so that two balls 33 are added per screen.

  After adding the ball 33 in step S15 or deleting the ball 33 in step S19, the instruction correction unit 51 ends the processing of this time. If it is determined to be level 1 in step S17, the instruction correction unit 51 ends the current process without changing the level because there is no room for demotion. When determining in step S16 that the combo number Nc has not been reset, the instruction correction unit 51 maintains the correction corresponding to the current level (step S20), and thereafter ends this processing.

  In the above embodiment, the data acquisition unit 50, the instruction correction unit 51, the coordinate calculation unit 52, and the screen generation unit 55 of the game providing unit 27 cooperate to execute the sequence processing of FIG. The instruction correction unit 51 functions as an example of the operation instruction correction means by executing the processing of FIG.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and may be implemented in an appropriately modified or changed form. For example, in the above embodiment, as shown in FIG. 13, after the combo operation is stopped and the level is demoted by one level, the same level is maintained unless the number of combos is increased to the range corresponding to the level before demoting. It was supposed to be done. However, the level change after demotion may be controlled as shown in FIG. 17, for example. In the example of FIG. 17, even after the combo number is reset to 0 and demoted from level 4 to level 3 at the time Tm, the difference in the combo number between the levels thereafter (the example of FIG. 11). Then, if the difference between all levels is 50.), the level is promoted by one level. In this case, even if the combo operation is interrupted by a slight mistake, the level is promoted and the number of balls 33 is increased by continuing the combo operation by the number corresponding to the difference. As a result, the difficulty level will rise relatively early after the level is demoted, and it is possible to reduce or eliminate the possibility that the interest of the game will be impaired due to the level not rising. However, in the case of FIG. 17, the level rise after demoting occurs early, so the upper limit of the level is set higher than that of level 4 in FIG. 11, so that a game of even higher difficulty can be provided. Good.

  FIG. 18 shows a procedure of ball number correction processing corresponding to FIG. The process of FIG. 18 is obtained by adding steps S13A and S13B instead of step S13 of FIG. In step S13A, the instruction correction unit 51 determines whether or not the increase number (increment) of the combo number Nc since the most recent level change has reached the difference in the combo number between the levels, and if it has reached the step S13B. Then, it is determined whether or not the level has reached the upper limit level. Then, if the upper limit level has not been reached, the instruction correction unit 51 proceeds to step S14, and if the upper limit level has been reached, the current processing ends without promoting the level. If the increased number does not reach the difference in step S13A, the instruction correction unit 51 proceeds to step S16. By executing such processing, the level can be controlled as shown in FIG. In this case as well, the instruction correction unit 51 functions as an example of instruction correction means.

  In the above embodiment, the ball image 43 is increased or decreased by referring to the number of combos as the evaluation state, but the evaluation state is not limited to this, and the evaluation results for a series of operations performed during the game play should be integrated. The evaluation state may be determined in various forms as long as the skill of the user can be estimated by. For example, when the user's evaluation of each operation is high, the gauge amount is increased, while when the evaluation is low, the gauge amount is decreased, and when the gauge amount is maintained at a predetermined level or more for a certain period of time, an indicator mark is displayed. Processing such as addition may be performed. Alternatively, instead of or in addition to the number of operations that have been given a predetermined evaluation, the time length during which the predetermined evaluation is continued is measured, and an indicator is added when the time length reaches a predetermined value. The processing may be performed based on the duration time such as That is, the continuous value that quantitatively indicates the continuous state of the operation for which the predetermined evaluation is obtained is not limited to the number of combos, and may be the duration of the combo operations, or the number of combos or the duration of the combo operations may be gauged. It may be a value replaced with the amount, physical strength and other parameters.

  The evaluation of the user's operation is not limited to the example performed for each single operation. For example, the user operation may be evaluated in an appropriate unit such as a unit of one measure. Alternatively, a modification is possible in which the success or failure of the operation is determined at appropriate intervals such as one bar unit while the evaluation is performed for each single operation, and the combo number is added when the operation is successful.

  In the above embodiment, only the indicator mark based on the sequence data 26 as the original data is displayed at the level 1, and the indicator mark is gradually added as the level increases. For example, the sequence data 26 shown in FIG. By applying the correction processing so that the instruction correction unit 51 deletes the instruction signs corresponding to some operations among the operations described in the sequence data 26 every time the level is lowered, in correspondence with the level 4 state. Alternatively, increase or decrease of the indicator mark may be realized according to the evaluation state. The sequence data 26 as the original data is made to correspond to an intermediate level, and the instruction correction unit 51 adds a new instruction mark as the level rises, while the instruction correction unit 51 makes a new addition as the level decreases. You may make it delete the instruction mark of a part. That is, the correction process for changing the number of instruction signs includes a process of adding a new instruction sign to the operation instruction data as the original data and a process of deleting a part of the instruction signs corresponding to the operation instruction data. It suffices to perform at least one of the processes on the operation instruction data as the original data.

  In the above embodiment, the number of indicator signs displayed on one screen is increased or decreased one by one according to the change in level, but the increase or decrease of indicator signs is not limited to this, and may be implemented in an appropriate form. For example, it is possible to make a modification such that the larger the level is, the larger the number of indicator signs is increased. Alternatively, the number of indicator signs may be controlled so that the average number of indicator signs appearing on one screen increases as the level increases while the number of indicator signs displayed on one screen is indefinite.

  The user operation is not limited to the mode in which the user physically operates a physical operation member such as the operation unit 22a. For example, the concept of the user's operation includes the act of causing the game system to detect a part of the body such as the hand or foot of the user and causing the game to generate a reaction corresponding to the part.

  In the above embodiment, the ball image 43 as an example of the instruction mark is instructed to the user by moving the ball image 43 toward the reference mark 42. However, while the instruction mark remains stationary on the game screen, The mark may be moved, or both the indication mark and the reference mark may be moved to instruct the user to operate. The game system is not limited to a form in which a plurality of game machines are connected to each other via a network, and is a so-called stand-alone game machine, a stationary game machine, a portable game machine, a personal computer or a smartphone. A game system may be configured as a game machine using a personal computer device such as.

  Various aspects of the present invention derived from each of the above-described embodiments and modifications will be described below. In the following description, in order to facilitate understanding of each aspect of the present invention, corresponding members illustrated in the accompanying drawings are additionally shown in parentheses, but the present invention is limited to the illustrated forms by this. Not a thing.

  A game system (1) according to one aspect of the present invention is based on operation instruction data (26) in which each of a plurality of operations to be performed by a user during game play is described in association with a time at which the operation should be performed. The instruction mark (43) is displayed on the game screen (40), the reference mark (42) corresponding to the current time in the game is displayed on the game screen, and the instruction mark and the reference mark are displayed. Operation instructing means (50, 51, 52, 55, S1 to S9) for instructing the user while relatively moving each of the plurality of operations by indicating a time when each of the operations should be performed by relatively moving in the game screen. And an operation evaluation means (53) for evaluating each of a plurality of operations performed by the user during play according to a predetermined evaluation standard, wherein the operation instructing means includes the operation. A new instruction mark different from the instruction mark corresponding to the operation described in the operation instruction data is added so that the number of the instruction marks displayed on the game screen is increased or decreased according to the evaluation state in the evaluation means. At least one of the processing for deleting the part of the indicator from the indicator corresponding to the operation described in the operation instruction data, as a correction process for the operation instruction data, the evaluation state The operation instruction correcting means (51, S11 to S20) for executing the operation is provided.

  A computer program (24) for a game system according to an aspect of the present invention operates a computer (20) provided in the game system (1) for each of a plurality of operations that a user should perform during a game. An instruction mark (43) is displayed on the game screen (40) on the basis of the operation instruction data (26) described in association with the power time, and the reference mark (42) corresponding to the current time of the game is displayed. Displaying on the game screen and moving the instruction mark and the reference mark relatively within the game screen, thereby instructing the user of each of the plurality of operations while indicating the time when each operation should be performed. The operation instructing means (50, 51, 52, 55, S1 to S9) to be operated, and the plurality of operations performed by the user are respectively processed according to a predetermined evaluation standard. The function of the operation evaluation means (53) for evaluating during the operation is performed so that the operation instruction means increases or decreases the number of instruction marks displayed on the game screen according to the evaluation state of the operation evaluation means. A process of adding a new indicator different from the indicator corresponding to the operation described in the operation instruction data, and deleting a part of the instruction indicators from the instruction corresponding to the operation described in the operation instruction data The operation instruction correcting means (51, S11 to S20) for executing at least one of the processings to be performed as the correction processing for the operation instruction data according to the state of the evaluation is provided. is there.

  According to the above aspect, the number of instruction signs is increased or decreased according to how the user's operation is evaluated, so that the difficulty level of the game can be changed according to the skill level of the user. Moreover, the increase / decrease of the instruction mark is determined by the process of adding a new instruction mark different from the instruction mark corresponding to the operation described in the operation instruction data, or from the instruction mark corresponding to the operation described in the operation instruction data. Since it is realized by the process of deleting the instruction mark of the section, it is possible to change the difficulty level without selectively using a plurality of types of operation instruction data having different difficulty levels. Furthermore, the difficulty level can be flexibly changed by appropriately adjusting a rule or the like for increasing or decreasing the number of instruction signs. This makes it possible to appropriately change the difficulty level according to the skill of the user and reduce or eliminate the risk of spoiling the interest of the game.

  Note that the computer program according to one embodiment of the present invention may be provided in a state of being stored in a storage medium. If this storage medium is used, for example, by installing and executing the computer program according to the present invention in a computer, the game system of the present invention can be realized using the computer. The storage medium storing the computer program may be a non-transitory storage medium such as a CDROM.

  In the above aspect, the operation instruction correction means, when the continuous value quantitatively showing the continuous state of the operation for which a predetermined evaluation is obtained by the operation evaluation means reaches a predetermined value, The correction process may be executed so as to increase. According to this, when the operation for which the predetermined evaluation is obtained is continuously performed, it is considered that the skill of the user is equal to or higher than the difficulty level of the current game, and the number of instruction signs is increased. As a result, the difficulty level of the game can be increased to a level suitable for the skill of the user.

  Further, the operation instruction correcting means decreases the number of the instruction markers when the operation for which the predetermined evaluation is obtained is interrupted after the number of the instruction markers has increased in the correction processing. The correction process may be changed as follows. According to this, in the case where the predetermined evaluation cannot be obtained, the difficulty level of the game can be appropriately adjusted according to the skill of the user by reducing the number of instruction signs accordingly.

  Further, the continuation value is divided into a plurality of steps by a plurality of predetermined values, and the operation instruction correcting means corrects the number of the instruction marks to be gradually increased each time the continuation value reaches a predetermined value of each step. When the processing is executed and the continuation is interrupted, the step is lower than the step corresponding to the continuation value at the time when the continuation is interrupted, and the step when the continuation value is the minimum value The correction process may be executed so that the number of the indicator signs is controlled according to a higher specific step. According to this, even if the state in which the predetermined evaluation cannot be obtained occurs and the number of continuations is returned to the minimum value, the number of indicator signs does not decrease to the number corresponding to the step of the minimum value and corresponds to the specific step. It is controlled by the number. Therefore, it is possible to prevent a sharp decrease in the difficulty level.

  When the continuation is interrupted, the operation instruction correcting means, when the continuation is interrupted, the continuation value of the subsequent operation reaches the predetermined value corresponding to the step at which the continuation is interrupted until the continuation value reaches the predetermined value. The correction process may be executed so that the number of the devices is controlled. In this case, after the continuation is cut off and the number of indicator signs is changed to the one corresponding to the specific stage, the correction process for the increase or decrease of the indicator signs will be performed unless the continuation value increases until the stage before the change is reached. The content is maintained corresponding to the specific stage. Therefore, it is possible to eliminate the possibility that the difficulty level of the game is excessively increased due to the increase in the number of indicator signs corresponding to the increase in the continuation value after the continuation is cut off.

  When the continuation is cut off, the operation instruction correction means executes the correction processing such that the number of the instruction signs gradually increases each time the continuation value for the subsequent operation reaches a predetermined value in each stage. Good. In this case, after the continuation is cut off and the number of indicator signs decreases to the number corresponding to the specific stage, the number of indicator signs can be increased relatively early in accordance with the increase in the continuation value. Therefore, it is possible to eliminate the possibility that the state where the difficulty level of the game does not change excessively continues and the interest of the game is impaired.

  In the above aspect, the game is configured as a music game for instructing the user to perform an operation in accordance with reproduction of a music piece, and the operation instruction data includes a specific beat in the music piece and a time when the operation should be performed. And the operation instruction correction means is configured as the correction processing so that the position in the music other than the specific beat is set as the timing of the operation corresponding to the new instruction mark. You may perform the addition process. According to this, if the operation instruction data defines the operation according to a specific beat position of the music, a new instruction mark is added to a position other than the specific beat position according to the evaluation state of the user's operation. It is possible to increase the difficulty level of the game. Therefore, the operation instruction data can be created relatively easily, and the correction process is applied so that the user can request the operation even at a position other than the specific beat position of the music, thereby enhancing the interest of the game.

1 game system 20 control unit (computer)
22 input device 22a operation unit 26 sequence data (operation instruction data)
27 Game Providing Section 30 Game Space 32 Virtual Reference Plane 33 Ball 34 Racket 40 Game Screen 42 Reference Mark 43 Ball Image (Instruction Mark)
50 Data acquisition unit (operation instruction means)
51 instruction correction unit (operation instruction means, operation instruction correction means)
52 Coordinate calculation unit (operation instruction means)
53 Operation evaluation unit (operation evaluation means)
54 combo management unit 55 screen generation unit (operation instruction means)

Claims (1)

While displaying an instruction mark on the game screen based on the operation instruction data in which each of the plurality of operations to be performed by the user during the game play is associated with the time when the operation should be performed, the current time in the game A reference mark corresponding to the above is displayed on the game screen, and the instruction mark and the reference mark are relatively moved within the game screen, so that each operation of each of the plurality of operations should be performed. And operating instruction means for instructing the user while indicating
Operation evaluation means for evaluating each of the plurality of operations performed by the user during play according to a predetermined evaluation standard,
The operation instruction means has an instruction indicator corresponding to the operation described in the operation instruction data so that the number of instruction indicators displayed on the game screen is increased or decreased according to the evaluation state of the operation evaluation means. At least one of a process of adding a new indicator different from the above and a process of deleting a part of the indicator from the indicator corresponding to the operation described in the operation instruction data, As a correction process for the above, a game system provided with an operation instruction correction means that is executed according to the evaluation state.

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