JP3765640B2 - Host computer and information storage medium in multiplayer game system - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a host computer and an information storage medium in a multiplayer game system .
[0002]
[Background Art and Problems to be Solved by the Invention]
Computer communication in which a plurality of remote terminal devices (including image display devices such as displays) are connected to at least one host computer via a communication line such as a telephone line, and each terminal device transfers and receives data In the system, a communication multiplayer game in which a plurality of players handling each terminal device can play in one game space has been conventionally performed.
[0003]
However, such communication multiplayer games are limited in the number of participants due to restrictions such as memory and communication lines, and since an unspecified number of system users participate, they can not participate when they want to play, they can participate However, there is a problem that a game character desired by the player is selected by another player first. In this case, it is necessary to wait for a long time with the communication line connected, or to give up and connect at another time. However, it is not always possible to participate and select a desired game character.
[0004]
The present invention has been made in view of the problems as described above, and an object of the present invention is to shorten a waiting time in a state where a communication line that is uncomfortable for a player playing a communication multiplayer game is connected. Another object of the present invention is to provide a host computer and an information storage medium in a multiplayer game system for shortening the connection time of a communication line.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention is an image generation method used in a game device capable of transferring data of a multiplayer game via a communication line, and the multiplayer game includes a plurality of selectable players. Configuring at least one game space composed of game characters, wherein the player selects and reserves at least one of the game characters in each of the game spaces, and each of the game spaces reserved by the player or another player A reservation status screen for displaying the reservation status of the game character is generated.
[0006]
According to the present invention, the step of allowing the player to make a reservation for the game character and the reservation status screen for displaying the reservation status of the game character reserved by the player or another player are generated. That is, the reservation status of the player game character can be confirmed, and a game character that has not yet been reserved can be reserved in advance. The player may connect the communication line before the game in the game space where the reserved game character appears is started. Thereby, there is no waiting time while connecting the communication line for participating in the game, and the game character to be used can be used reliably.
[0007]
In the above description, the “game device” is a device capable of transferring data of a multiplayer game via a communication line, and includes an image display device such as a CRT. It can be applied to various game devices such as home game devices and arcade game devices, and even if the game device is not a game-dedicated device but a terminal device such as a personal computer or multimedia terminal capable of data processing. Applicable. A “multiplayer game” is a game in which a plurality of players can participate in a single game space. If the game satisfies the conditions, the type of simulation game, action game, race game, role playing game, etc. Applicable regardless. The “game character” is a character, a race car, a country of a simulation game, an organization, or the like that can be instructed by an input means by a player in a multiplayer game. The game character in the present invention is not necessarily displayed on the image.
[0008]
Further, the present invention is characterized in that at least one of the character data of the plurality of game characters is different from character data of other game characters. In this way, the character data of the game character used by each player, that is, the ability and appearance of the character are different, making the multiplayer game interesting and selecting the character itself interesting.
[0009]
Further, the present invention is characterized in that the multiplayer game is composed of a plurality of the game spaces, and at least one of the game spaces has a different game start time. That is, if a plurality of games are played at the same time, the burden of data processing on a game device (host computer) that processes game data in an integrated manner becomes excessive. Therefore, by making the start times different, the number of games played simultaneously can be reduced, and the burden of data processing can be reduced.
[0010]
Further, the present invention is characterized in that the reservation status screen includes at least one of player information of other reserved players, past game results, or past selection frequency of the game character. In this way, the player can determine the participation of the player and the selection of the character by seeing the competence of the other player, for example, which game character win rate, popularity, etc. Can increase the awareness of participation and make the game more interesting.
[0011]
The present invention is also a game apparatus capable of transferring data of a multiplayer game via a communication line, and the multiplayer game constitutes at least one game space composed of a plurality of game characters that can be selected by the player. A reservation means for the player to select and reserve at least one of the game characters in each of the game spaces, and a reservation status for displaying the reservation status of the game character in each of the game spaces reserved by the player or another player It includes display means, and game start notifying means for performing a process of notifying the start of the game in the game space reserved by the reservation means. Further, the game start notifying means is incorporated as data at the time of reservation by the reservation means.
[0012]
According to the present invention, it is provided with notifying means for notifying the player of the start of the game when the game start time of the reserved game space approaches. As a result, the player can prevent disadvantages such as forgetting the start time of the reserved game and not being able to participate in the game. In the above description, the “game start notifying means” is constituted by various methods that can be sensed by the player, such as making a sound and displaying on the screen.
[0013]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Next, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
[0014]
FIG. 1 shows an example of a functional block diagram of a terminal device that can realize reservation of a game character of the present embodiment. The communication control unit 10 transmits / receives various data to / from a host computer and other terminal devices via a communication line, transmits / receives data for executing a game, receives data such as a reservation status, a reservation instruction, etc. It is used for sending data. The operation unit 12 corresponds to a keyboard or a game controller, and operation information obtained by the operation unit 12 is input to the processing unit 14. The processing unit 14 includes a game processing unit 16, a reservation status display setting unit 18, and a reservation setting unit 20, and game data based on operation information, data obtained from the communication control unit 10, and a given program. Processing, reservation status display data processing, reservation instructions, and the like. The image generation unit 22 synthesizes a reservation status screen, a game screen, and the like in accordance with instructions from the processing unit 14 and outputs them to the display unit 24. The display unit 24 corresponds to a CRT, LCD, or the like.
[0015]
FIG. 2 shows an example of the reservation status screen. In this embodiment, as an example of a multiplayer game in which a plurality of players can participate, a fantasy role-playing game in which six types of game characters 30 operated by six players cooperate to explore the maze, respectively. A multiplayer game played through such a communication line is played with the following configuration. The terminal device assigned to each participating player is connected to a host computer (not shown) via a communication line such as a telephone line in a state where data transfer is possible. The game data is processed by each terminal device. In response to an operation input from the player, the processing unit 14 of the terminal device processes the data, and transmits some data to the host computer. The host computer performs overall processing on the data received from each terminal using a given program, and transmits the result to each terminal device. Each terminal device processes data received from the host computer and further displays a game screen on the display unit 24 such as a CRT. In this way, most of the processing of the game data is performed by each terminal device, and only part of the data is transmitted / received to / from the host computer. However, depending on the computing power of the host computer and the data capacity of information storage, most processing of game data may be performed by the host computer.
[0016]
In this game, up to six players can participate in one game space. A player can select one of six types of game characters 30, but cannot select a game character 30 selected by another player in the same game space. The six types of game characters 30 have different character images appearing on the game screen and have different abilities. That is, the data of each game character 30 is different. For example, a “warrior” has strong power but lacks intelligence and can use a sword, while a “mage” has weak power but is skilled and can use magic. FIG. 2 is a reservation status screen of the game displayed on the display, and is divided by game start time. A game that starts from a certain game start time constitutes one game space, and is configured to end in a few minutes to a few hours. When each game start time arrives, the game in the game space starts regardless of the number of players, and participation during the game is not allowed. On the reservation status screen, six types of game characters 30 are displayed in each game space, indicating that the game character 30 with the reserved marker 32 has already been reserved by another player. . For example, the characters 30a, 30b, 30c in the game space starting at 10:00 on January 20, 1997 are reserved. The reservation cursor 34 is a cursor for giving a reservation instruction, and may be displayed by an instruction from the operation unit 12 by the player, or may be displayed from the beginning on the reservation status screen. The player moves the reservation cursor 34 up, down, left and right using the operation unit 12, points to the game character 30 in the game space to be reserved, and makes a reservation by selecting it. The reserved game character 30 cannot be selected. The reservation status screen is generated by the reservation status display setting unit 18 of the processing unit 14 based on the reservation status data received from the communication control unit 10. The reservation instruction described above is processed by the reservation setting unit 18 of the processing unit 14, and the data is transmitted to the host computer via the communication control unit 10.
[0017]
Next, an example of a reservation instruction according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. The player instructs the display of the reservation status screen through the operation unit 12 (step S1). In response, the processing unit 14 of the terminal device transmits a request signal for reservation status data to the host computer (step S2), the host computer transmits the current reservation status data, and the terminal device receives it (step S3). The reservation status display setting unit 18 of the terminal device processes the reservation status data and displays it on the display unit 24 (step S4). Next, the player gives a reservation instruction. The operation unit 12 moves the reservation cursor 34 on the reservation status screen, and issues a reservation instruction in accordance with the game character 30 to be reserved (step S5). The reservation setting unit 20 checks whether the instructed game character 30 has already been reserved, and does not accept a reservation instruction if it has been reserved (step S6). If not reserved, the reservation data is transmitted to the host computer (step S7). The host computer receives the reservation data and rewrites the reservation status data (step S8). A reservation is made as described above.
[0018]
An example of the flow of the multiplayer game in the present embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. First, a reservation must be made to participate in the multiplayer game (step T1). The player selects the game space (time) and game character 30 that he / she wants to participate using the terminal device, and gives the reservation instruction described above with reference to FIG. 3 (step T2). The player who made the reservation instruction may disconnect the connection between the terminal device and the host computer until shortly before the reserved game starts, or may end the terminal device system itself ( Step T3). When it is time to start a certain game space, the host computer checks whether it is in a state where data can be transmitted and received with the terminal that has made a reservation for participation in the game space, that is, whether it is in a connected state. A terminal device that is not connected at that time cannot participate in the game (step T4). A multiplayer game is started between the terminal devices whose connection has been confirmed, and each player plays the game using the reserved character (steps T5 to T7). The host computer automatically performs operations for characters that are not reserved.
[0019]
A hardware configuration example of a terminal device that can realize the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. In the terminal device shown in the figure, a CPU 100, a ROM 102, a RAM 104, an information storage medium 106, a sound synthesis IC 108, an image generation IC 110, and I / O ports 112 and 114 are connected by a system bus 116 so as to be able to transfer data to each other. . A display 118 is connected to the image generation IC 110, a speaker 120 is connected to the sound synthesis IC 108, and a control device 122 and a communication device 124 are connected to the I / O port 112, respectively. The information storage medium 106 stores game programs, other programs, game image information, and the like, and a CD-ROM, game cassette, IC card, MO, FD, memory, or the like is used. The ROM 102 stores initialization information of the terminal device body. The control device 122 corresponds to a keyboard or a game controller, and is a device for inputting a result of a determination made by the player in accordance with the progress of the game and a reservation instruction to the terminal device body.
[0020]
The communication device 124 exchanges various types of information used inside the terminal device with the outside. The communication device 124 is connected to a host computer or another terminal device via a communication line, and transmits / receives given information according to the game program. It is used for things.
[0021]
In accordance with a program stored in the information storage medium 106, a system program stored in the ROM 102, a signal input by the control device 122, a signal received by the communication device 124, etc., the CPU 100 performs control of the entire device and various data processing. . The RAM 104 is a storage means used as a work area of the CPU 100 and stores the given contents of the information storage medium 106 and the ROM 102, the calculation result of the CPU 100, and the like.
[0022]
Further, the terminal device is provided with a sound synthesis IC 108 and an image generation IC 110 so that suitable output such as game sounds and game screens can be performed. The sound synthesis IC 108 is an integrated circuit that synthesizes game sounds such as sound effects and background sounds based on information stored in the information storage medium 106 and the ROM 102, and the synthesized game sounds are output by the speaker 120. The image generation IC 110 is an integrated circuit that generates pixel information to be output to the display 118 based on image information sent from the RAM 104, the ROM 102, the information storage medium 106, and the like. As the display 118, a so-called head mounted display (HMD) can be used.
[0023]
2 and FIG. 7 to be described later include an information storage medium 106 that stores a program for performing the processing shown in the flowcharts of FIGS. 3 and 4, a CPU 100 that operates according to the program, and an image. This is realized by the generation IC 110 or the like. Note that the processing performed by the image generation IC 110, the sound synthesis IC 108, and the like may be performed in software by the CPU 100 or a general-purpose DSP.
[0024]
FIG. 6 shows an example of a multiplayer game system including a host computer 1000 and a terminal device 1004 connected to the host computer 1000 via a communication line 1002. The host computer 1000 has an information storage medium such as a controllable magnetic disk device, magnetic tape device, and memory, and a CPU 1008 that controls the entire system and processes various data. Each terminal device 1004 and a telephone line, ISDN, etc. They are connected via a communication line 1002. The host computer 1000 performs the above-described reservation data management, data communication control, game system control, and other arithmetic processing, and the information storage medium 1006 stores information for the arithmetic processing.
[0025]
Depending on the computing capacity and information storage capacity of the host computer 1000, it is possible to have more roles. For example, the role of the terminal device 1004 is transmitted from the host computer to the host computer and received from the host computer. Based on the image information, only the output to the display is performed, and other game operations, data processing, etc. for carrying out the present embodiment are performed by the host computer 1000, and information for that is stored in the information storage medium 1006 of the host computer 1000. It may be remembered.
[0026]
Next, another embodiment to which the present invention is applied will be described. FIG. 7 shows an example in which information displayed on the reservation status screen is displayed in more detail. A player information display field 52 is provided under the name of each game character 50. The player information display field 52 displays information on the player who reserved the game character 50, and is composed of a player ID number 54, a player name 56, and the number of game wins 58 for that player. The player ID number 54 is a number given when participating in the multiplayer game, and the player name 56 is a name or nickname that is not necessarily a real name. Furthermore, the number of game wins 58 is the number of times that the player who won the most points among the participants in the game space wins the points obtained through the adventure in the multiplayer game of this embodiment. That is. A game character 50a with a blank player information display field 52 indicates that no reservation has been made yet. Such player information is transmitted to the host computer together with the reservation data for instructing the reservation, and the host computer calculates and transmits the information as reservation status data to each terminal device. The participation in the game space can be determined with reference to the personal information of such other players.
[0027]
Further, a sub information display field 60 is provided on the reservation status screen. The sub-information display column 60 includes a winning count ranking 62, a highest score ranking 64, and a character popularity ranking 66. As for these information, the result of the past game is memorize | stored in the host computer, and it transmits to each terminal device as reservation status data. Similar to the player information, it is possible to determine participation in the game with reference to the information of other players, and it can be used as a reference for selection of game characters.
[0028]
FIG. 8 is a functional block diagram for explaining an example of another embodiment including a game start notifying means for notifying a player before the reserved game space starts. The present embodiment further includes an audio generation unit 80 and an alarm setting unit 82 in addition to the functions of the terminal device. When the player performs a reservation operation, the start time of the game space reserved in the alarm setting unit 82 is stored. When the built-in timer (calendar) of the alarm setting unit 82 reaches several minutes before the stored time, the arm setting unit sends a signal to the sound generation unit 80. Receiving it, the sound generator 80 generates a warning sound and prompts the player to connect the communication line. This function prevents the player from forgetting the time to start playing.
[0029]
The present invention is not limited to that described in the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made.
[0030]
For example, although applied to the fantasy role playing game in the said Example, it is applicable to various other games. In the above-described embodiment, the present invention is applied to a terminal device such as a personal computer. However, the present invention can be applied to other devices capable of data communication such as a game dedicated device and a multimedia terminal.
[0031]
In the above embodiment, a host computer having a different configuration from each terminal device is used. However, one of the terminal devices connected to the communication line has the function, or the function is distributed to each terminal device. It is also possible to eliminate the need for a host computer.
[0032]
In the above embodiment, the player ID number, the player name, and the number of game wins are displayed as the player information. However, other information can be displayed as long as the information is related to the reserved player. For example, the sex, age, game history, etc. of the player correspond to this.
[0033]
In addition, the game start notifying means according to the present invention is not limited to generating a warning sound as in the above-described embodiment, but also displays a start display on the image or turns on the power when the terminal device is turned off to give a warning. Various applications are possible.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an example of a functional block diagram of the present embodiment.
FIG. 2 is an example of a reservation status screen generated according to the present embodiment.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a reservation instruction according to the present embodiment.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining the flow of the multiplayer game of the present embodiment.
FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration that implements the present embodiment;
FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a multiplayer game system according to the present embodiment.
FIG. 7 is an example of a reservation status screen according to another embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 8 is a functional block diagram of another embodiment of the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
10 communication control unit 12 operation unit 14 processing unit 16 game processing unit 18 reservation status display setting unit 20 reservation setting unit 22 image generation unit 24 display unit 30 game character 32 reserved marker 34 reservation cursor 52 player information display field 60 sub information display Field 80 Voice generation unit 82 Alarm setting unit 1000 Host computer 1002 Communication line 1004 Terminal device

Claims (4)

A host computer in a multiplayer game system in which a plurality of game devices transmit and receive data via a communication line,
With respect to a plurality of scheduled multiplayer games that each player wishes to participate in for a plurality of scheduled multiplayer games that are started when the start time comes, input of selection reservations for game characters to be operated by the player and Selection reservation accepting means for accepting a reservation for participation in the multiplayer game via each of the game devices ;
Reservation status data storage means for storing reservation status data regarding the presence or absence of selection reservation for a plurality of game characters of the plurality of scheduled start multiplayer games;
Based on the current reservation status data, a reservation status data update unit that checks whether the selected reserved game character has been reserved, and if not reserved, accepts a reservation and updates the reservation status data;
Means for providing reservation status data for generating a reservation status screen for displaying a reservation status of a plurality of game characters of the scheduled multiplayer game based on the reservation status data to the reservation status screen generating means of each game device When,
A host computer in a multiplayer game system, comprising: In claim 1 ,
Game result storage means for storing past game results of the player in association with the player information;
Before Symbol reservation situation data update means,
When a reservation is received from a given game device, the player information on which the reservation has been made is stored in association with the reservation status data,
Means for providing the reservation status data to the reservation status screen generation means of each game device,
Based on the player information stored in association with the reservation status data, the past game result of the player is read, and the player information of each player who reserved the game character, the past game result, or the past selection of the game character A host computer in a multiplayer game system, characterized in that data capable of generating a reservation status screen for displaying at least one of the frequencies in association with a reservation status is provided to the reservation status screen generation means of the game device . Send and receive data through a plurality of game devices communication lines, an information storage medium readable program is stored computer for causing a computer to function as means for controlling a multi-player game system,
The computer,
Selection of game characters to be operated by oneself for a plurality of characters appearing in a scheduled start multiplayer game that each player desires to participate in a plurality of scheduled start multiplayer games having different game spaces to be started when the start time comes Selection reservation accepting means for accepting reservations and reservations for participation in the multiplayer game via the game devices ;
Reservation status data storage means for storing reservation status data regarding the presence or absence of selection reservation for a plurality of game characters of the plurality of scheduled start multiplayer games;
Based on the current reservation status data, a means for checking whether or not the selected and reserved game character has been reserved, and if not reserved, accepting a reservation and updating the reservation status data;
Means for providing reservation status data for generating a reservation status screen for displaying a reservation status of a plurality of game characters of the scheduled multiplayer game based on the reservation status data to the reservation status screen generating means of each game device When,
An information storage medium storing a program for functioning as a storage medium. In claim 3 ,
A program that causes a computer to function as game result storage means for storing past game results of the player in association with player information;
Reservation status data update means
When a reservation is received from a given terminal device, the player information that made the reservation is stored in association with the reservation status data,
Means for providing the reservation status data to the reservation status screen generation means of each game device,
Based on the player information stored in association with the reservation status data, the past game result of the player is read, and the player information of each player who reserved the game character, the past game result, or the past selection of the game character An information storage medium characterized in that data capable of generating a reservation status screen for displaying at least one of the frequencies in association with the reservation status is provided to the reservation status screen generation means of the game device .

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