JP3455418B2 - Network game system - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a network game system in which a game player and a game server are connected via a communication line, and a plurality of game servers are connected via a network.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a network game system disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-327835. In this network game system, many game terminals 1 are connected to one game server 3 via a communication line 4, and the game server 3 has a communication processing unit and a control computer built therein.

As an example of a network game, a plurality of players act as a plurality of appearing characters in a shared game space, operate in the game space, and exchange messages. That is, in the plurality of game terminals 1 connected to the network, the shared game space and the appearing characters indicating the player and other players are displayed on the display screen. The user transmits a motion request of the appearing character indicating himself or a message transmission request from the game terminal 1 to the game server 3. The game server 3
In response to these requests, the information necessary for the action of the appearing character and the display of the message is distributed to each game terminal 1. In each game terminal 1, the action character on the screen is operated according to the delivered action information, and the delivered message is displayed on the screen.

[0004]

In the conventional network game system as described above, only the players of the game terminals 1 connected to the same game server 3 can play the game, and the ability of the game server 3 and There is a problem that the type of game that can be executed and the maximum number of players are limited by the communication delay performance between the game terminal 1 and the game server 3.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned problems of the conventional example, and enables players of game terminals connected to different game servers to play in a shared game space, and a large number of people participate. It is an object to provide a network game system that can perform.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A network game system according to the present invention is a game that stores information about appearing characters that share a game space with a game program storage area that is connected to a network and stores a game program in a memory. A plurality of network game server devices each having a data storage area; and a plurality of network game terminal devices respectively connected to the respective network game server devices via a communication line. By executing a game program of an arbitrary network game server device connected via a network, the character becomes an appearance character in the shared game space, operates in the game space, exchanges messages, and the network game server. The device stores the information of the appearing characters in different partial areas according to the communication distance between the network game server device and the network game terminal device inside the game data storage region, and the game data is stored between the network game server devices. by the Turkey replace the data stored in the storage area data, all network game terminal devices playing simultaneously, the network includes a plurality
A local network game server device connected to
Area network and this local area network
Connected to the network via a communication control device and other communication control equipment.
Connected to other local area networks via
Wide area network
The game data storage area of the game server
Network connected to network game server device
Area for storing the appearance character information of the game terminal device
And other networks on the same local area network.
Network game connected to the game server device
An area for storing the appearance character information of the terminal device and a window
Other network game servers on the dorea network
The emergence of network game terminal devices connected to
Separated from the area for storing character information,
This area is the communication distance between network game terminals.
Message type considering the communication delay caused by
Are categorized into multiple levels, and each level is directly
Appearing characters that can send messages have been decided
It is characterized by that.

[0007]

Further, the network game terminal device displays on the display screen all the appearing characters that share the game space by using all the appearing character data in the game data storage area, and the network game terminal devices are connected to each other. According to the communication distance, it is possible to distinguish between an appearing character that can directly send a message and an appearing character that cannot directly send a message.

Further, the network game terminal device is characterized in that it is possible to directly send a message to the appearing character regardless of the communication distance by changing the latency message to a level at which it can be transmitted. To do.

[0010]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a network game system according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. In FIG. 1, 1 is a network game terminal device, 2 is a player who operates the network game terminal device 1, 3 is a network game server device, 4 is a communication line which connects the network game terminal device 1 and the network game server device 5, Is a local area network for connecting a plurality of network game server devices 3, 6
Is a wide area network for connecting a plurality of local area networks 5, and 7 is a communication control device for connecting the local area networks 5 to the wide area network.

As shown in FIG. 2, the network game terminal device 1 controls the communication with the network game server device 3 and controls each component in the network terminal device 1. Control device 10
0, the display device 101 for displaying the state of the appearing character in the game space, and the operation of the appearing character which is the operation target of the player among the appearing characters in the game space, and inputs a message. And an input device 102 for

As shown in FIG. 3, the game server device 3 has a network communication control device 300 for connecting to the local area network 5 and a communication line 4.
A communication control device 301 for connecting to a plurality of game terminals 1 via a CPU, and a CPU 30 for executing a game program
2 and a memory device 303 for storing a game program and game data.

As the internal configuration of the memory 303 in the game server device 3, as shown in FIG. 4, a region 304 for storing a game program and a region 305 for storing the state of the appearing character in the game space. Have and.

Here, the above-mentioned game data storage area 305
As shown in FIG. 5, the inside of is classified into three according to the communication distance from the game server, and the same server game storing the information of the appearing character operated by the player connected to the same game server. Data storage area 3054
And another server game data storage area 3055 on the same LAN for storing information of the appearing character operated by the player connected to another game server on the same LAN, and W
A LAN other server game data storage area 3056 for storing information of an appearing character operated by a player connected to another game server on the AN.

Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the inside of the game data storage area 305 takes into consideration the communication delay (latency) of the appearing characters which can directly send a message according to the communication distance from the game server. Then, the message types are classified into, for example, three types. That is, a message is transmitted to the opponent's appearing character with a short time delay,
A low-latency message character data storage area 3051 that collectively stores appearance characters that can transmit low-latency messages, and a collection of appearance characters that can transmit medium-latency messages that convey messages to opponent appearance characters with a medium time delay Latency message character data storage area 30
52, and a high latency message character data storage area 3053 for collectively storing the appearing characters capable of transmitting the high latency message, which conveys the message to the appearing character of the opponent with a relatively large time delay.

Next, the operation will be described. Each player 2 operates the network game terminal 1 connected to the game server device 3 via the communication line 4, and executes the game program stored in the game server device 3. The game program is executed on the CPU 302, and an image showing an appearing character operated by a player and an image showing an appearing character operated by another player sharing the same game space are displayed on the display device 101 of the game terminal device. , And other images showing the game space are displayed. By operating the input device 102, the player moves the appearing character that he or she operates or sends a message to another appearing character.

Information about all characters appearing in the same game space is stored in the same server game data storage area 3054 of the low latency message character data storage area 3051.
The processes of changing the action of the appearing character by operating the player 2 and transmitting a message to another appearing character are all performed by the game program executed on the CPU 302.

There are a plurality of types of messages that can be directly transmitted to other appearing characters. The game player selects an appearing character to which a message is to be transmitted, selects a message that can be transmitted to the opponent, and transmits the message.

The message transmitted to the appearing character is transmitted to the opponent's game server via the game server and then reflected on the display screen of the game terminal.

Further, FIG. 6 shows a block configuration of a game data storage area on each game server and a game data showing information of a appearing character in the configuration of the network game system according to the embodiment of the present invention. is there. In FIG. 6, 3057 is a game data storage area of the game server # 1, 3058 is a game data storage area of the game server # 2, and 3059 is a game data storage area of the game server # 3, which are the game server # 1 and the game server #. 2 is connected via a LAN. The game server # 3 is connected to the game server # 1 and the game server # 2 via the WAN.

Next, the operation will be described. In FIG. 6, there are four game players directly connected to the game server # 1, and each of the appearing characters 200, 20.
It is assumed that 1, 202, and 203 are operated. this house,
The appearing characters 200 and 201 belong to a category (level) in which only low latency messages can be sent, the appearing character 202 belongs to a category (level) in which only medium latency messages can be sent, and the appearing character 203 belongs only to high latency messages. Classification that can be sent (level)
Belong to.

In the other game server storage area on the LAN, the appearing characters 310, 311, 312 are stored in an area of the same classification as the latency on the server directly connected to the game player operating each of them. Has been done. Further, in the WAN other game server storage area, the appearing characters 400, 401, 402 are stored in an area of the same classification as the latency on the server directly connected to the game player operating each of them. .

In FIG. 6, it is assumed that there are three game players directly connected to the game server # 2, each operating the appearing characters 310, 311 and 312. 310 belongs to a classification (level) that can transmit only low latency messages, 311 belongs to a classification (level) that can transmit only medium latency messages, and 312
Belongs to a classification (level) that can only send high latency messages.

The characters 200, 201, 202, 203 appearing in the other game server storage area on the LAN.
Are stored in an area of the same classification as the latency on the server to which the game player operating each of them is directly connected. Further, in the WAN other game server storage area, the appearing characters 400, 401, 402 are stored in an area of the same classification as the latency on the server directly connected to the game player operating each of them. .

Further, in FIG. 6, it is assumed that there are three game players directly connected to the game server # 3, each operating the appearing characters 400, 401, 402. The appearing character 400 belongs to a classification (level) that can transmit only low latency messages, the appearing character 401 belongs to a classification (level) that can only transmit medium latency messages, and the appearing character 402 sends only high latency messages. Belong to the possible classification (level).

The appearance character information is not stored in the other game server storage area on the LAN. further,
Characters 200, 201, 310, 202, 311, 203, 3 appear in the WAN other game server storage area.
12 are stored in an area of the same classification as the latency on the server directly connected to the game player operating each.

On the game server # 1, the appearing character 201 can directly send the message 71 to another appearing character 200 having the same latency level. However, the appearing characters 310 and 400
Cannot send messages directly because they are not at the same latency level. Appearing characters 202 and 20 operated by users connected to the same server
Similarly, 3 cannot directly send a message.

On the game server # 1, the appearing character 202 can directly send the message 72 to another appearing character 311 having the same latency level. A player connected to the game server # 1 operates the appearing character 202 to enter the appearing character 311.
When a message is transmitted to the appearance character 311 in the game data storage area of the game server # 2, the message 73 is transmitted to the appearance character 311 and the player terminal of the appearance character 311 receives the message from the appearance character 202. A display indicating that it has been done is displayed.

On the game server # 1, the appearing character 203 can directly send the message 74 to another appearing character 402 having the same latency level. A player connected to the game server # 1 operates the appearing character 203 to enter the appearing character 402.
When a message is sent to the character server, the message 75 is sent to the appearing character 402 in the game data storage area of the game server # 3, and the player terminal of the appearing character 402 receives the message from the appearing character 202. A display indicating that it has been done is displayed.

On the game server # 2, the appearing character 312 can directly send the message 76 to another appearing character 203 having the same latency level. A player connected to the game server # 2 operates the appearing character 302 to enter the appearing character 203.
Message 77 is sent to the appearing character 203 in the game data storage area of the game server # 1, and the player terminal of the appearing character 203 receives the message from the appearing character 312. A display indicating that it has been done is displayed.

Next, FIG. 7 shows the block configuration of the game data storage area on each game server and the game data showing the information of the appearing characters in the configuration of the network game system according to the embodiment of the present invention. Is. In FIG. 7, 3057 is a game data storage area of the game server # 1, 200 is an appearing character operated by a player connected to the game server # 1, 311
Indicates an appearing character operated by a player connected to the game server # 2.

In FIG. 7, initially, the appearing character 20
0 belongs to a level capable of transmitting a low latency message. On the screen of the game terminal, an appearing character 311 operated by the game server # 2, which belongs to a level capable of transmitting a medium latency message, is displayed.
Here, it is assumed that the player of the appearing character 200 wants to directly send a message to the appearing character 311. In this case, first, an operation 78 from the game terminal temporarily changes the level to a level at which the medium latency message can be transmitted, and then the message 79 is transmitted to the appearing character 311 belonging to the same latency level.

[0033]

As described above, according to the present invention, in the game data storage area on the network game server device in the network game system, the game data storage area is separated depending on the communication distance between the game server and the player. by storing the information of the appearance character portion area, the effect there it becomes possible to construct a network game system many players can play simultaneously Ru.

Further, in the network game system, in the game data storage area, the information of the appearing characters is separately stored in the partial areas according to the communication distance between the game server and the player, and at the same time, depending on the type of message. the store to isosamples classify appeared character capable of transmitting message directly, the effect of making it possible to construct a network game system many players can play simultaneously.

Further, in the network game system, all players share the same game space, all characters appearing on the screen of the game terminals, and a message can be directly transmitted according to the communication distance between the game terminals. There is an effect that it is possible to identify the appearing character and send a message.

Further, in the network game system, the latency operation can be performed by the input operation from the game terminal.
By changing the message to a level at which it can be sent, it will be possible to send messages directly to all appearing characters by selecting the message type, even for appearing characters with a long communication distance. effective.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a network game system according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a configuration of the network game terminal device 1.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of a configuration of a game server device 3.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an example of an internal configuration of a memory 303 in the game server device 3.

5 is a block diagram showing an example of an internal configuration of a game data storage area 305. FIG.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing characters that appear in a game data storage area in game servers # 1, # 2, and # 3 and messages exchanged between them.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing how an appearing character changes the message type and sends a message to another appearing character in the game data storage area.

FIG. 8 shows a configuration example of a network game system in a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 network game terminal device, 2 players, 3
Network game server device, 4 communication lines, 5 local area network, 6 wide area network, 7 communication control device, 71-77, 79 message sent from appearing character to appearing character, 78
The appearance character moves from the low latency message character data storage area to the medium latency message character data storage area, 100 terminal control device, 101 display device, 102 input device, 200-2
03 Appearing characters connected to game server # 1, 3
10 to 312 Appearing characters connected to game server # 2, 400 to 402 Appearing characters connected to game server # 3, 300 network communication control device, 3
01 communication control device, 302 CPU, 303 memory, 304 game program storage area, 305 game data storage area, 3051 low latency message character data storage area, 3052 medium latency message character data storage area, 3053 high latency message character data storage area.

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A plurality of network game server devices each having a game program storage area connected to a network for storing a game program in a memory and a game data storage area for storing information of appearing characters sharing a game space. And a plurality of network game terminal devices connected to the respective network game server devices via communication lines, and the network game terminal devices are arbitrary network game server devices connected via the network. As a character appearing in the shared game space by operating the game program, the network game server device operates in the game space and exchanges messages. Contains information appearing character in separate partial areas in accordance with the communication distance between the over server device and network game terminal unit, replace the network game stored in the game data storage area between a server device data Turkey , All network game terminal devices play at the same time, and the network is a plurality of network game servers.
The local area network to which the device is connected and this
Connects to a local area network via a communication controller.
And other local error via other communication control devices.
Wide area network connected to the network
And the game of the above network game server device
The data storage area is the same network game server device.
Characters of network game terminals connected to
Local area net and the area that stores information
Connected to another network game server device on the work
Character Information of Appeared Network Game Terminal
And other areas on the wide area network
Network connected to the network game server device
Area for storing the appearance character information of the game terminal device
, And each area is a network game.
Considers communication delay caused by communication distance between mobile terminals
Then, the message types are categorized into multiple levels.
You can directly send a message for each level
A network game system characterized by a fixed appearance character . 2. The network game system according to claim 1.
System, the network game terminal device
The display screen will show all appearance keys in the game data storage area.
All sharing game space with character data
Appearing characters are displayed and the network game terminal device
You can send a message directly according to the communication distance between
You can send a message directly with the character
A network game system characterized by making it possible to distinguish between characters that cannot appear . 3. The network game system according to claim 2.
System, the network game terminal device
Change the intensity message to a level at which it can be sent
So, regardless of the communication distance, for characters that appear
A network game system characterized by enabling direct message transmission .