JP3449934B2 - GAME DEVICE AND INFORMATION STORAGE MEDIUM - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a game device and an information storage medium.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is known a fishing game machine for business use which allows users to enjoy virtual fishing. In this fishing game device, a player first casts with a rod mounted on the device. Then, move the rod while winding the reel and move the lure on the screen to invite the fish on the screen. Then, when you feel the hit of the fish, wind the reel while watching the condition of the fish. Then catch the fish, taking care not to break the line. According to this fishing game device, it is possible to enjoy virtual fishing without going to an actual fishing spot, and thus the player has gained popularity.

However, with the fishing game devices up to now, only the game of catching fish can be enjoyed, and the caught fish cannot be brought home. This is because the fish that can be caught by the fishing game device is only a virtual fish displayed on the screen.

Further, in the arcade game machine installed in the game facility (location), how to attract the player to the game facility has become a major issue. However, in recent years, the performance of home-use game machines has been remarkably improved, and particularly in terms of image generation, the performance of home-use game machines and the performance of arcade game machines are almost equal. For this reason, it is becoming more and more difficult to attract players to the game facility, motivated by the high performance of the arcade game machine. Therefore, in the arcade game machine, it is an important issue to provide various selling points other than high performance in order to attract the player to the game facility.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a game device and information capable of giving the player enjoyment other than the capture play of the creatures in the creature capture game. To provide a storage medium.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a game device and an information storage medium which can attract many players to a game facility in which an arcade game facility is installed.

[0007]

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention is an arcade game device for a player to play a creature capture game, and captures creatures in a virtual capture field. A means for performing a game operation for the player to play the game, a means for generating a game image including an image of a living thing according to the game operation, and an image of the captured creature of the player on a home-use game device. Means for performing a process of transferring captured biological information including image display information to be displayed to a home-use game device via at least one of a portable information storage device and a network.

According to the present invention, the player can enjoy a creature capturing game in which a creature is captured in the virtual capture field. Then, when the player captures an organism, the captured organism information is transferred to the home-use game device via the portable information storage device or the network. The captured organism information includes image display information for displaying an image of the captured organism on the home-use game machine. Therefore, by reading the transferred captured organism information in the home-use game device, the captured organism can be displayed on the screen of the home-use game device. Therefore, the player feels as if he / she brought back the captured organism. As a result, it becomes possible to provide the player with enjoyment other than the play of capturing the living thing.

According to the present invention, the image information of a living thing is stored in both the storage means of the arcade game device and the storage means of the home game device, and the image display information is designation information of the image information of the creature. It is characterized by being. In this way, it is possible to save the storage capacity used by the portable information storage device, or save communication time and communication cost.

Further, the present invention is characterized in that the captured organism information includes, in addition to the image display information, accompanying information which is information for characterizing the individuality of the captured organism. In this way, even captured organisms of the same image can have different personalities, and the variety of captured organisms can be increased.

The present invention is also characterized in that the incidental information includes at least one of attribute information of the captured organism and history information regarding the captured organism. Further, the present invention is characterized in that the accompanying information includes information input by a player who has captured a captured organism in the past in association with the captured organism.
Further, the present invention is characterized in that the accompanying information includes item information for a player to play at least one of a miniature game using a creature, such as appreciation, collection, breeding, and a creature on a home-use game machine. As described above, various kinds of information can be considered as the incidental information of the present invention.

The present invention is also directed to the appreciation, collection, breeding of living things,
And item information for the player to play at least one of the mini-games using the creature on the home-use game device, via the portable information storage device and / or the network, on condition that the item information is exchanged with the player's biological information. It is characterized by including means for performing a process of transferring to a home-use game machine. By thus enabling the arcade game device to exchange the biological information and the item information, it is possible to give the player an effective motivation to send the player to the game facility where the arcade game device is installed. become.

Further, the present invention receives the player's biological information transferred from the home-use game device via at least one of the portable information storage device and the network, and performs a process of releasing the player's biological object to the virtual capture field. It is characterized by including means for. By doing so, it is possible to give the player the pleasure of releasing the captured organism. Then, for example, if the item information is transferred to the home-use game device on condition that the captured creature is released, the player can be effectively motivated to go to the game facility where the arcade game device is installed. It will be possible.

Further, according to the present invention, unowned list information relating to at least one of creatures and items transferred from a home-use game machine via at least one of a portable information storage device and a network is received, and the list is acquired by a player. And a means for performing a process of selecting the living things and the items. By doing so, it is possible to make the information of the creatures and items that the player does not yet possess as much as possible to be acquired by the player. This allows the player to efficiently collect creatures and items.

The present invention is also a home-use game device for a player to play a game using the creatures captured in a creature-capturing game on an arcade game device, which comprises a portable information storage device and a network. At least one of a means for performing processing for receiving the captured biological information of the player transferred from the arcade game device via at least one, and at least one of viewing, collecting, breeding of the creature, and a mini game using the creature. And a means for generating a game image including an image of a living thing in accordance with the game calculation.

According to the present invention, a player can enjoy watching, collecting, breeding, mini-games, etc. of living creatures by using the captured living creature information transferred via the portable information storage device or the network. Like That is, the player feels as if he / she brought back the captured organism, and can enjoy the captured organism and enjoy the breeding.

Further, the present invention is a business-use game device for a player to play a game, and means for performing a game operation for the player to play the game, and a game image generated according to the game operation. Means, a storage means for storing image information of a display object, and display object information including image display information for displaying an image of a given display object, at least in a portable information storage device and a network. A means for performing at least one of a process of transferring to the home-use game machine and a process of receiving from the home-use game machine via one side, and a storage means of the arcade game machine and a storage means of the home-use game machine. In both of the above, the image information of the given display object is stored, and the image display information is designation information of the image information of the given display object. That.

According to the present invention, it is as if the display object of the arcade game device is actually transferred to the home game device while saving the used storage capacity of the portable information storage device, the communication time and the communication cost. It is possible to give the player an illusion. It is also possible to give the player the illusion that the display of the home-use game machine is actually transferred to the arcade game machine.

Further, the present invention is characterized in that the display object information includes, in addition to the image display information, accompanying information which is information for characterizing the individuality of the given display object. By doing this, even if the display object has the same image,
It is possible to have different personalities and increase the variety of display objects.

[0020]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the following, when the present invention is applied to a fishing game (when the captured organism is a fish)
However, the application of the present invention is not limited to this.

1. In order to solve the problem of attracting a large number of players to a game facility in which a constituent arcade game device is installed, the present inventor has made a fishing game device of a system as shown in FIG. 1 (hereinafter referred to as a slot link system). Is under development.

The arcade game device 1100 includes an arm 1102 mounted and fixed to its housing, and an arm 1.
It has a rod 1104 rotatably and vertically attached to and fixed to 102. A reel 1106 and an operation button 1108 functioning as a game start button or the like are provided at the rear end of the rod 1104.

Further, the arcade game machine 1100 is provided with a slot 1120 for inserting a memory card (in a broad sense, a portable information storage device) 180. This memory card 180 is a home game device 1140.
The slot 1150 can also be inserted.

When the fishing game starts, the player first casts. Then, the grip portion 1109 of the rod 1104 is gripped, and the rod 1104 is moved vertically and horizontally while winding the reel 1106. This makes screen 1
The lure 1114 displayed on the screen 110 moves, and the screen 11
The fish 1112 shown in 10 can be invited. Then, when the player hits the fish 1112, the reel 1106 is wound while observing the pulling condition of the fish 1112. Then, the fish 1112 is caught, taking care not to break the line 1116.

When the player catches the fish 1112, a screen for allowing the player to select whether or not to bring the fish back is displayed. When the player wishes to take the fish 1112 home, the memory card 180 inserted in the slot 1120
On the other hand, captured fish information (in a broad sense, captured biological information) is written. The captured fish information includes image display information, which is information for displaying the fish 1112 on the home-use game device 1140, and accompanying information, which is information for characterizing the individuality of the fish 1112.

The player takes home the memory card 180 in which the captured fish information is written, and inserts it in the slot 1150 of the home-use game machine 1140. Then, the image display information written in the memory card 180 is read by the home-use game machine 1140. Then, based on this image display information, the fish 1112 is displayed on the screen 1160.
Is displayed, and the fish 1112 starts swimming in the player's virtual aquarium. Therefore, the player feels as if he or she actually brought home the fish 1112 he or she caught.

After that, the player plays the home-use game machine 1
Using 140, you can enjoy watching, collecting, raising (raising) fish, and playing mini games with fish. Then, when an item such as a small item to be placed in the virtual aquarium where the fish swims or a food item for raising the fish is desired, the information of the fish that the player wants to let go is written in the memory card 180. The memory card 180 is used as the arcade game device 11
It is inserted into the slot 1120 of 00 to exchange the item with the fish. Also, when the player wants to release the fish he owns, he writes the information of the fish in the memory card 180 and inserts the memory card 180 into the slot 1120 of the arcade game device 1100. Then, the arcade game device 1100 releases the fish.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, in addition to the fun of the conventional fishing game of simply catching a fish, the player can enjoy the fun of bringing the caught fish home and watching or raising it at his / her own house. Can be given to. As a result, the fun of the game can be significantly increased.

FIG. 2 shows an example of a functional block diagram of the arcade game machine.

Here, the processing section 100 performs various processing such as control of the entire apparatus, instruction of instructions to each block in the apparatus, game calculation, etc., and its function is the CPU.
It can be realized by hardware such as (CISC type, RISC type), DSP, ASIC (gate array, etc.) or a given program (game program).

The operation unit 130 is for the player to input operation information, and the function thereof can be realized by hardware such as the arm 1102, the rod 1104, the reel 1106, and the operation button 1108 shown in FIG.

The storage section 140 includes a processing section 100, an image generation section 160, a sound generation section 170, a communication section 174, and an I / F section 1.
A work area such as 76, whose function is RAM
It can be realized by hardware such as.

An information storage medium (storage medium from which information can be read by a computer) 150 stores information such as programs and data, and its function is an optical disk (CD, DVD), a magneto-optical disk (MO). ),
It can be realized by hardware such as a magnetic disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape, and a semiconductor memory (ROM).
The processing unit 100 will perform various processes based on information such as programs and data stored in the information storage medium 150.

A part or all of the information stored in the information storage medium 150 is stored in the storage unit 1 when the power of the apparatus is turned on.
Will be forwarded to 40. The information storage medium 150
The information stored in is the program code for performing the processing of the present invention, image information, sound information, display object shape information, table data, list data, player information, and information for instructing the processing of the present invention. , And includes at least one of information for performing processing according to the instruction.

The image generation unit 160 generates various images according to the instruction from the processing unit 100 and the like, and the display unit 162.
Output to the ASI for image generation.
It can be realized by hardware such as C, CPU, and DSP, a given program (image generation program), and image information.

The sound generation section 170 generates various sounds according to an instruction from the processing section 100 and outputs them to the sound output section 172. Its function is that of a sound generation ASIC,
It can be realized by hardware such as a CPU and a DSP, a given program (sound generation program), and sound information (waveform data, etc.).

The communication unit 174 performs various controls for communicating with an external device (for example, a host device or another game device), and its function is the communication ASI.
It can be realized by hardware such as C and CPU or a given program (communication program).

Information for implementing the processing of the present invention may be distributed from the information storage medium of the host device to the information storage medium of the game device via the network and the communication unit 174. The use of the information storage medium of such a host device and the use of the information storage medium of the game device are also included in the scope of the present invention.

The I / F unit 176 serves as an interface for exchanging information with the memory card 180 in accordance with an instruction from the processing unit 100, and the function thereof is the slot 1120 of FIG. It can be realized by a data write / read controller IC controlled by a command from the CPU. In addition, memory card 1
When information exchange with 80 is realized using wireless such as infrared rays, the function of the I / F unit 176 can be realized by hardware such as a semiconductor laser and an infrared sensor.

The processing unit 100 includes a game calculation unit 110, a caught fish information writing unit 112, an exchange processing unit 114, a release processing unit 116, and a selection unit 118.

Here, the game calculation section 110 performs various game calculations for the player to play a game of catching fish in a virtual catching field such as a virtual lake (biological catching game). More specifically, the game calculation unit 110 determines a coin (price) acceptance process, a game mode setting process, a game progress process, a selection screen setting process, a position and direction of a moving body (fish, character, etc.). Processing to determine, processing to control group behavior of moving objects, processing to determine viewpoint position and line-of-sight direction,
The process of playing the motion of the moving body, the process of placing the object in the object space, the process of hit checking,
Various game calculation processes such as a process for calculating a game result (a score), a process for allowing a plurality of players to play in a common game space, and a game over process are performed from the operation information from the operation unit 130 and the memory card 180. Information, game programs, etc. When the present invention is applied to a game other than a fishing game, as a moving body, besides a fish and a character, an insect, an insect, an animal, a bird, a plant, a robot, a car, a tank, an airplane, a spaceship,
You can think of ships, boats, skis, surfboards, balls, bullets, etc.

The captured fish information writing unit 112 is a process for writing captured fish information to the memory card 180 when the player desires to capture the fish and bring the fish home (via a memory card or a network. Processing for transferring to the game device for use). Here, the captured fish information includes image display information that is information for displaying an image of the captured fish on a home-use game machine, and accompanying information that is information for characterizing the individuality of the captured fish.

The exchange processing unit 114 writes the item information into the memory card 180 on condition that the item information is exchanged with the fish information of the player (process for transferring to the home game device via the memory card or the network). )I do. This item information is information on items for viewing, collecting, raising fish, or playing a mini game using fish on a home-use game machine. As such an item, for example, fish bait, figurines such as rocks, aquatic plants and small ornaments placed in a virtual aquarium, and items such as a water purification filter for maintaining the environment can be considered.

The discharge processing unit 116 is used for the memory card 18
A process for reading out the fish information of the player written in 0 (receiving the fish information transferred from the home game device via the memory card or the network) and releasing the fish to the virtual lake (virtual catching field) is performed. To do. More specifically, the storage unit 140 stores the fish species information and the release position information included in the fish information from the memory card 180, and passes the information to the fish school control program.

The selection unit 118 reads the unpossessed list information written in the memory card 180 (receives the unpossessed list information transferred from the home-use game machine via the memory card or the network), and is acquired by the player. Perform processing to select fish and items to be
Here, the uncarried list information is information for identifying fish or items that the player does not yet carry. By the processing of the selection unit 118, it is possible for the player to obtain fish or items that he or she does not yet own.

As a portable information storage device in this embodiment, other than a memory card, for example, FIG.
A PDA (Personal Digital Assistant or portable game device) 900 as shown in FIG. This PDA 900 includes a display unit 902 and an operation unit 904.
It has (buttons, cross key) and it is possible to enjoy the game play by itself. This PDA900
Can be inserted into the slot of the arcade game device, and also into the slot of the main body device of the home game device or the slot of the game controller of the home game device. As a result, it becomes possible to exchange information between the PDA 900 and the arcade game machine, and between the PDA 900 and the home game machine, and to exchange information between the home game machine and the arcade game machine. realizable.

As shown in FIG. 3B, the PDA 90 is used by using radio waves such as infrared rays and radio waves without using slots.
Information exchange between 0 and arcade game machines, PDA900
Information may be exchanged between the PDA 900 and another home PDA 900, and information may be exchanged between the PDA 900 and another PDA.

Also, instead of playing a game of watching, collecting, raising, a mini game using fish, etc. on a home game device, P
It may be performed by DA900.

Information such as captured fish information is transferred from a home-use game machine to a business-use game machine or from a business-use game machine to a home-use game machine using a portable information storage device such as a memory card or PDA. Although it is particularly desirable to transfer to the Internet, it may be transferred using a network.

FIG. 4 shows an example of a game system in which commercial game devices (game terminals) 200-1 to 200-N are connected to a host device 204 via a network 202. The connection in this case may be any form such as direct connection using an I / O port or the like, connection via a small-scale network such as a LAN (local area network), or connection via a wide area network such as the Internet. . Also, as the network topology, various topologies such as a bus type, a ring type, a tree type, and a star type can be adopted. For example, a tree-type topology is desirable when connecting with the IEEE 1394 or USB standard.

In the case of the configuration of FIG. 4, the processing of the present invention is distributed between the host device and the game device (game terminal) (when the server is provided, the host device, the server and the game device). You may do it. Information for realizing the processing of the present invention is stored in the information storage medium of the host device and the information storage medium of the game device (or the information storage medium of the host device, the information storage medium of the server, and the information storage medium of the game device). It may be distributed and stored. Also, one of the connected game devices may function as a host device. The network 202 may be connected and used only when necessary, or may be always connected.

Although the arcade game device is connected to the host device via the network in FIG. 4, the home game device may be connected to the host device via the network.

FIG. 5 shows a configuration example of the host device.

As shown in FIG. 5, this host device includes a processing unit 300, an operation unit 330, a storage unit 340, an information storage medium 350, an image generation unit 360, a display unit 362, and a communication unit 3.
Including 74. The function of the operation unit 330 is realized by hardware such as a keyboard. The operator operates this operation unit 330 to perform communication management and the like. Then, some or all of various information for implementing the processing of the present invention is stored in the information storage medium 350, and the communication unit 3
74, and is communicated with the game device of FIG. 2 via the network.

FIG. 6 shows an example of the configuration of a home-use game machine.

As shown in FIG. 6, this home-use game machine has a processing section 400, an operating section 430, a storage section 440, an information storage medium 450, an image generation section 460, a display section 462, a sound generation section 470, and sound output. Unit 472, communication unit 474, I / F
Includes portion 476.

Game calculation section 410 included in processing section 400
Is the operation information from the operation unit 430 or the information storage medium 450.
The game calculation is performed based on the game program, data, etc. stored in. More specifically, fish appreciation, collection,
Performs game calculations for the player to play and play mini-games using fish. Then, a game image and a game sound according to the result of the game calculation are generated by the image generation unit 460 and the sound generation unit 470 and output from the display unit 462 and the sound output unit 472. The player plays the game while looking at the game image and listening to the game sound.

The catching fish information reading unit 412 included in the processing unit 400 performs a process for reading the catching fish information written in the memory card 180 (the catching fish information transferred from the arcade game device through the memory card or the network). Process for receiving information).

Further, the exchanged fish / released fish information writing unit 414 included in the processing unit 400 is a process for writing information of a fish desired by the player to be exchanged or a fish desired to be released to the memory card 180 (via a memory card or a network). Processing for transferring to the arcade game machine).

Note that each unit in FIGS. 5 and 6 has substantially the same function as each unit having the same name in FIG. 2 and can be realized by substantially the same hardware, and therefore a detailed description thereof will be omitted here.

When the game device is connected to the host device via the network as shown in FIG. 4, the management unit 3 of the host device 204 is connected as shown in FIG.
It is desirable that 10 manages the virtual lake (virtual capture field).

For example, when the 1P player selects the fishing point (capture point) FP1, the game device transmits the point selection information to the host device. Then,
The host device transmits capture point information that is information regarding the fishing point FP1 (information indicating whether or not to allow play at the selected capture point) to the game device. That is, the number of players who can play with one fishing point is limited (the number of players is managed by the host device), and the player who secures a good fishing point earlier can give a better fishing result. .

When the 1P player releases fish (individually released) to the virtual lake, the release information is transferred from the game device to the host device. Then, the host device performs a process for releasing the fish into the virtual lake (a process of passing the fish species information and the release position information to the fish school control program) based on the release information. In this case, the release information includes accompanying information such as comment information input by the 1P player. Therefore, as shown in E1 of FIG.
When the P player fishes, the 2P player can read this comment information.

Further, the host device performs a process of changing weather information of the virtual lake in real time. Then, on the basis of the weather information that changes in real time, the management process of the fish swimming in the virtual lake (animals acting in the virtual catching field) is also performed. For example, the weather information at each point of the virtual lake is obtained based on the weather information in the real world, and the weather information is passed to the fish school control program.

Further, the host device is E2, E3, E in FIG.
As shown in 4, the processing of selecting a release point of the virtual lake according to a given schedule and releasing the fish to the release point (regular release) is also performed. In this case, the host device also performs processing for transferring the advertising information including the release point information, the release time information, the released fish information, etc. to the game device. This makes it possible to provide the player with effective information for searching for a better fishing spot.

2. Features of this Embodiment FIGS. 8A, 8B, 9A, and 9B show examples of game images generated by this embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 8A, the player first selects a cast point. Then, the rod 1104 of FIG. 1 is operated to perform casting, and
As shown in (B), when the hit comes, the reel 11 of FIG.
Roll up 06. Whether or not a hit has come is arm 11
This can be transmitted to the player by vibrating the rod 1104 via 02.

When the player succeeds in fishing the target fish, an image as shown in FIG. 9A is displayed. On the other hand, when a so-called outer road is caught, an image as shown in FIG. 9B is displayed.

Now, as shown in FIG. 9A, when a target fish, especially a rare fish or a giant fish, is caught, it is the player's feeling that he wants to bring the fish home. However, with the fishing game devices used so far, the fish caught cannot be brought home, and at best, the ranking display of the fish caught and the like have to be satisfied. Therefore, the hunting desire of the player cannot be satisfied yet.

On the other hand, according to the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the arcade game machine 1100 is provided with the slot 1120 into which the memory card 180 can be inserted. Therefore, when the player desires to take back the caught fish, the captured fish information can be written in the memory card 180. And this memory card 180
By inserting into the slot 1150 of the home-use game machine 1140, the fish 1112 caught can be displayed on the screen 1160. In other words, the player can feel as if he or she brought back the caught fish 1112.
Further, the player can enjoy watching, collecting, breeding, mini-games and the like of the captured fish on the home-use game machine 1140.

Since the memory card 180 is compact in size so that it can be easily carried, its memory capacity is also generally small. Therefore, image information such as fish (for example, three-dimensional shape information,
Texture information, color information, etc.)
Writing on itself is not a good idea.

Therefore, in this embodiment, the fish (display object in a broad sense) is stored in both the image information storage unit 142 of the arcade game device of FIG. 2 and the image information storage unit 442 of the home game device of FIG. The image information of the
0 and 450 may be provided with the image information storage units 142 and 442). Then, as shown in FIG. 10, the memory card 1
As the image display information stored in 80, SNK which is the designation information (designation number) of the fish image information is stored. In this way, the designated information SNK is stored in the memory card 180.
If it is stored in, the used storage capacity of the memory card 180 can be saved as compared with the case where the image information of the fish itself is stored. Then, as shown in FIG. 10, the image information of the fish designated by the designation information SNK is stored in both the image information storage unit 142 of the arcade game device and the image information storage unit 442 of the home game device. Therefore, even if the fish image information itself is not written in the memory card 180, it is possible to give the player the illusion that the fish image is transferred from the arcade game device to the home game device. That is, the fish caught by the arcade game device can be displayed on the home game device without pressing the used storage capacity of the memory card 180. Also, when transferring captured fish information via a network, for example, the amount of data transferred via the network can be reduced.
The communication time and communication cost can be saved.

Note that various modifications can be made to the designation information of the fish image information. For example, in FIG. 11, the designation information is associated with the fish combination designation information KSN and the parts combination information PCN. If 64 kinds of fish species are prepared and 3 head parts, 3 body parts and 3 tail parts are prepared as parts, 64 × 3 × 3
× 3 = 1728 types of fish (fish of different colors and shapes) can be represented. This makes it possible to increase the variation of fish without increasing the data amount of the designated information so much.

Now, the storage capacity of the image information storage section of the arcade game machine and the home game machine is finite, and the amount of image data of fish is very large. Therefore, the types of fish images that can be prepared are limited. Therefore, the variety of fish images that can be shown to the player cannot be increased, resulting in a lack of interest in the game.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, the captured fish information to be written in the memory card includes accompanying information that is information for characterizing the individuality of the fish, in addition to the image display information (designating information).

FIG. 12 shows an example of accompanying information. In this example, the accompanying information includes attribute information such as fish name, birthplace (region ID), body length, weight, and age, history information, and message information (information input by the player in a broad sense).

If attribute information is included in the accompanying information, even fish of the same image can be given different personalities by giving different names, for example.

The body length and weight of the fish change depending on the age of the fish and the breeding of the player. When the body length or weight of the fish increases, it is desirable to make the image of the fish actually visible look larger by scaling the three-dimensional shape information of the fish or the like. Also, the age changes, for example, the age of one year increases with the passage of one month in the real world.

By including history information in the accompanying information, the player can know what kind of player the fish has been fished and bred in the past. As a result, it is possible to give each fish different personalities even if they have the same image.

If the accompanying information includes message information, the player can see the message of the player who caught the fish in the past. That is, as shown in FIG. 13, first, the first player attaches his message to the fish in the home-use game machine and releases the fish in the arcade game machine. Then, when the second player catches the fish on the arcade game machine and takes it home, the message of the first player can be seen on the home game machine. As a result, the player can enjoy a game such as e-mail using fish, and the game can be made even more interesting.

The input information of the player is not limited to the message. For example, as shown in FIG.
The player's face photograph (player identification image) 8 may be attached to the fish as player input information.

Further, the accompanying information may include item information used for fish appreciation, collection, breeding, and a mini game using fish.

For example, as shown in FIG. 14A, a player who takes home a fish caught by an arcade game machine returns the fish caught to a virtual aquarium 1 created by the home game machine.
It can be released to zero. At this time, if there is item information in the accompanying information of the fish, the fish exhales the item from the belly. Such items include:
For example, sunken ships 12, rocks and other figurines, small fish 16,
It is possible to consider a water purification filter 18 or the like that is an object that maintains the environment of the virtual water tank 10. By placing the sunken ship 12 and the rock 14 in the virtual aquarium 10, it is possible to satisfy the player's appreciation. Further, the small fish 16 can be used as a bait for a giant fish. Further, by placing the water purification filter 18, generation of algae can be suppressed, and a better viewing environment and breeding environment can be maintained.
It should be noted that the player uses the virtual water tank 1
It may be arranged at an arbitrary position of 0.

Further, the item information of the course parts 20, 21, 22 as shown in FIG. 14B may be included in the accompanying information. A course 24 for a fish race (mini game using fish) can be created by collecting and completing these course parts 20, 21, and 22. The success or failure of a fish race is determined by adding randomness to the type and weight of the fish. However, by feeding bait such as small fish obtained by the arcade game device to the fish before the start of the race, the speed of the fish, the strength of the drive, the acceleration, etc. are increased, and the race can be advantageously advanced.

Further, in the present embodiment, appreciation, collection, breeding,
Items used in mini games and the like can be exchanged for fish owned by the player. That is, as shown in FIG. 15, when there are many fish of the same kind among the fish bred by the home-use game machine, the information of several of them is written in the memory card. Then, the memory card is inserted into the slot of the arcade game device, the fish / item exchange mode is selected on the mode selection screen, and the desired item is selected. Then, the fish information written in the memory card and the item information prepared in the arcade game device are exchanged. For example, by obtaining a bait item, it becomes possible to advantageously proceed with a fish breeding game on a home-use game device. Also, by getting items such as figurines and purification filters, you can improve the viewing environment and breeding environment.

As described above, by allowing exchange of fish information and item information in the arcade game machine, the player is effectively motivated to go to the game facility where the arcade game machine is installed. be able to. This is because, when the food is lost and the fish are weak, the player has no choice but to go to the game facility where the arcade game device is installed and exchange items with the fish.

Further, in the present embodiment, as described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 7, the fish possessed by the player can be released to the virtual lake (virtual catching field) created by the arcade game device. There is. At the time of this release,
By attaching a message to the fish as described above, messages can be exchanged between players. In addition, for example, by giving fish feed to the player in return for releasing the fish, it is possible to give the player an effective motivation to go to the game facility.

In addition, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 16, the memory card 180 stores uncarried list information about fish, items, etc. in addition to the image display information and accompanying information. In FIG. 16, those having a flag of 1 are fish or items already possessed, and those having a flag of 0 are fish or items not yet possessed. The selection unit 118 of the arcade game device reads out the uncarried list information and selects a fish or item to be acquired by the player based on the uncarried list information. For example, the player is allowed to acquire only fish or items that he / she does not have, or the probability of acquiring fish or items that he / she does not have is increased. By doing so, the possibility of acquiring the same fish or item in duplicate is reduced, and the player can collect fish and items more efficiently. Also,
If you are lucky enough to get fish and items that you already have, you can get fish and items that you do not already have, and if you are unlucky, you can get them. Can not be put in. As a result, a lottery element can be added to the game, and the game can be made more interesting.

The unpossessed list information may be transferred to the arcade game device via the network instead of the memory card.

3. Processing of this Embodiment Next, a detailed processing example of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.
This will be described using the flowchart of 0.

17 and 18 are flow charts relating to the processing of the arcade game machine.

First, it is judged whether or not coins have been inserted by the player (whether the price has been paid) (step S1),
If it is inserted, it is determined whether a memory card is inserted in the slot (step S2). Then, if inserted, fish information (exchange fish information, released fish information) is read from the memory card (step S3).

Next, a selection screen is displayed to let the player select whether or not to exchange the item with the fish as described with reference to FIG. 15 (step S4). When the player makes a selection, a fish and item exchange process is performed (step S5). That is, the fish information (exchange fish information) is read (or deleted) from the memory card, and the item information is written in the memory card.

Next, a selection screen is displayed to let the player select whether or not to release the fish as described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 7 (step S6). When the player makes a selection, a fish releasing process is performed (step S7). That is, the fish information (released fish information) is read from the memory card, and the fish species information and the release position information included in the read fish information are passed to the fish school control program.

Next, the fishing game is started (step S8 in FIG. 18). Then, it is determined whether or not the fish has been caught (step S9), and when the fish is caught, a selection screen is displayed to let the player select whether or not to bring the caught fish back (step S10). Then, when the player desires to bring it back, the captured fish information (designating information, accompanying information) is written in the memory card (step S1).
1). Finally, it is determined whether or not the game is over (step S12). In addition, in step S2 of FIG.
When it is determined that the memory card is not inserted in the slot, the writing process to the memory card is not performed (steps S13 and S14).

19 and 20 are flowcharts relating to the processing of the home-use game machine.

First, it is determined whether or not the memory card is inserted in the slot (step T1). If the memory card is inserted, the captured fish information written in step S11 of FIG. 18 is read (step T2). On the other hand, if not inserted, the default fish information is read from the storage unit or the information storage medium (step T3).

Next, the image of the captured fish and the accompanying information shown in FIG. 12 are displayed (step T4). Next, it is determined whether or not the captured fish is a released fish of another player (step T5), and if it is a released fish, the message of the other player is displayed as described in FIG. 13 (step T6).

Next, the uncarried list information described with reference to FIG. 16 is displayed (step T7). Then, the captured fish are released to the virtual aquarium shown in FIG. 14 (A), and the item is placed in the virtual aquarium (step T8).

Next, the player is made to select whether to play the watching game, the breeding game or the mini game, and the player is made to play the watching game, the breeding game or the mini game according to the selection (steps T9 and T10). , T1
1, T12).

Next, a selection screen is displayed to let the player select whether or not the fish and item are to be exchanged on the arcade game machine (step T13 in FIG. 20). If exchange is to be performed, the exchange is performed. Let the player select fish (step T1)
4).

Next, the player is asked to select whether or not to release the fish on the arcade game device by displaying a selection screen (step T15). When releasing the fish, the player is allowed to select the fish to be released (step T15). Step T16). Then, the player is allowed to select whether or not to attach a message to the fish to be released (step T17), and when attaching, a message is input to the player (step T18).

Finally, when exchanging, write information of exchange fish (designating information, accompanying information) to the memory card,
When the fish are released, the information on the released fish is written in the memory card (step T19).

The present invention is not limited to that described in the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made.

For example, although the case where the present invention is applied to the fishing game has been described in the present embodiment, the present invention can also be applied to a creature capturing game other than the fishing game, for example, a capturing game of insects, animals, plants and the like.

The invention in which the image information of the display object is stored in both the storage means of the arcade game device and the storage means of the home-use game device and the designation information of the image information is used as the image display information is Various games other than capture games (competitive games such as car racing games, motorcycle games, ski games, fighting games, robot fighting games, sports games such as baseball and soccer, shooting games such as gun games, music playing games, dance games) , Role playing games, quiz games, puzzle games,
Applicable to fishing games).

It is particularly preferable that the image display information is the designation information of the image information, but it may be the image information itself (or the compressed image information).

The accompanying information described in FIG. 12 is particularly desirable, but the accompanying information of the present invention is not limited to this.

Further, the present invention can be applied to various game devices such as a large attraction device in which a large number of players participate, a simulator, a multimedia terminal, and a system board for generating a game image.

[0110]

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining the principle of the present embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration example of an arcade game machine.

3A and 3B are diagrams for explaining PDA and infrared communication.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration example when an arcade game device is connected to a network.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a host device.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a home-use game machine.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a virtual lake managed by a host device.

FIGS. 8A and 8B are diagrams showing an example of a game image generated according to the present embodiment.

9A and 9B are also diagrams showing an example of a game image generated according to this embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a method of using designation information of image information as image display information.

FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining a method of using, as designation information, information in which parts combination information is associated with fish species designation information.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of accompanying information.

FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining a method of accommodating a player's message with a player's released fish.

14 (A) and 14 (B) are views for explaining items to be placed in a virtual aquarium and items of course parts for forming a course.

FIG. 15 is a diagram for explaining a method of exchanging an item with a fish of a player.

FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating unowned list information.

FIG. 17 is an example of a flowchart showing a detailed processing example of the present embodiment.

FIG. 18 is an example of a flowchart showing a detailed processing example of the present embodiment.

FIG. 19 is an example of a flowchart showing a detailed processing example of the present embodiment.

FIG. 20 is an example of a flowchart showing a detailed processing example of the present embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

100 processing unit 110 Game calculation unit 112 Captured fish information writing section 114 Exchange processing unit 116 Discharge processing section 118 sorter 130 Operation unit 140 storage 142 Image information storage unit 150 information storage medium 160 image generator 162 display 170 sound generator 172 sound output section 174 Communication unit 176 I / F section 180 memory card 200 (200-1 to 200-N) Professional game machine 202 network 204 host device 300 processing unit 310 Management Department 330 Operation unit 340 storage 350 information storage medium 360 image generator 362 display 374 Communication unit 400 processing unit 410 Game calculation unit 412 Captured fish information readout section 414 Exchange fish / released fish information writing section 430 Operation unit 440 storage 442 Image information storage unit 450 Information storage medium 460 image generator 462 display 470 sound generator 472 sound output section 474 Communication unit 476 I / F section 1100 Commercial game devices 1102 arm 1104 rod 1106 reel 1108 Operation button 1110 screen 1112 fish 1114 lure 1116 lines 1120 slots 1140 Home game consoles 1150 slots 1160 screen

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (56) Reference JP-A-4-26432 (JP, A) JP-A-9-168667 (JP, A) Jugemu September 1998 issue, Japan, Recruit Co., Ltd., September 1998 Vol. 1, No. 4, Vol. 10, Vol. 42, pp. 60-61 Pokemon Red, Green, Blue Victory Strategy, Futabasha Co., Ltd., October 15, 1997, 1st edition, page 015 (58) Fields investigated (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) A63F 13/00-13/12

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. A player A game device for business in order to play a biological capture game, a game Starring perform game operations for the player organisms capture game to capture organisms virtual capturing field to play
Calculating means, means for generating a game image including an image of a living thing according to the game calculation, and captured organism information including image display information for displaying an image of the captured organism of the player on the home game device And a means for performing processing for transferring the game to the home-use game machine via at least one of the portable information storage device and the network, and at least one of the portable information storage device and the network.
To the creature that has been transferred from the home game device via
Receiving the information about the unowned list,
In the above-mentioned creature acquisition game which is calculated by the game,
The creatures to be acquired by the
The image display information is a biological image information, or image information obtained by compressing the image information.
Or stored in the image information storage means of the home game device
Any of the designation information that designates the image information of the living thing.
In the game , the selecting means selects only the creatures that the player does not own.
Process that allows players to win
The creature acquisition game for creatures that the player does not own.
The process of increasing the acquisition probability in the game
A game device characterized by being played based on strike information . 2. The process according to claim 1, wherein the biological information of the player transmitted from the home-use game device is received via at least one of the portable information storage device and the network, and the creature of the player is released to the virtual capture field. A game device including means for performing. 3. A computer-readable information storage medium, which is a game play for performing a game operation for a player to play a creature capture game for capturing creatures in a virtual capture field.
Calculating means, means for generating a game image including an image of a living thing according to the game calculation, and captured organism information including image display information for displaying an image of the captured organism of the player on the home game device And a means for performing processing for transferring the game to the home-use game machine via at least one of the portable information storage device and the network, and at least one of the portable information storage device and the network.
To the creature that has been transferred from the home game device via
Receiving the information about the unowned list,
In the above-mentioned creature acquisition game which is calculated by the game,
The creatures to be acquired by the
As a selecting means for performing a selecting process based on a program including a program for operating an arcade game device, the image display information is image information of a living thing, or image information obtained by compressing the image information,
Or stored in the image information storage means of the home game device
Any of the designation information that designates the image information of the living thing.
In the game , the selecting means selects only the creatures that the player does not own.
Process that allows players to win
The creature acquisition game for creatures that the player does not own.
The process of increasing the acquisition probability in the game
An information storage medium characterized by being performed based on strike information . 4. The processing according to claim 3, which receives the player's biological information transferred from the home-use game device via at least one of the portable information storage device and the network, and releases the player's biological information to the virtual capture field. commercial gain as a means for carrying out the
An information storage medium including a program for operating a memory device.