JP4078048B2 - A server that controls a system that rents characters over a communication line - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a server that controls a system for renting characters via a communication line such as the Internet.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In conventional game devices and game systems, characters that imitate moving objects such as humans and animals appear, and there are characters that perform various actions in a virtual space formed by a game program. . The action of this character is determined by the game program or reflects the intention of the game player.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, since characters in conventional game devices and game systems are common to an unspecified number of players, and the character and behavior of the characters are selected from predetermined ones, It cannot be unique to emotions, and it is difficult for players to recognize a character as their own property or a character as a familiar presence to them, losing interest in the character or the game itself There was a problem that there were many cases.
[0004]
On the other hand, in recent years, a game called a breeding game has also appeared. However, it is absolutely necessary to select a predetermined character behavior, etc., and the player's emotions and intentions are given to the character. It was not always possible to reflect. For this reason, even if the character is trained, only one of the results predetermined by the game program is selected, and the player gradually gets bored as the game is repeated many times. It was happening.
[0005]
In addition, programs that deliver mail to characters have also appeared, but only send and receive mail via characters, and it is not possible to share information about the contents of emails with program users. However, it was merely a pursuit of visual interest in sending and receiving e-mails.
[0006]
In addition, robots imitating moving objects such as humans and dogs have appeared, and by giving emotions to the owners, there are also things that act like being attached to the owner or guarding the owner. . However, robots exist in the real world to the last, and attention is paid to how similar and the same behavior can be taken compared to humans and dogs.
[0007]
The information input means of a robot such as a dog-type robot is, for example, a sensor corresponding to the eyes or a sensor corresponding to the ears, and the types of information that can be obtained by the robot are extremely scarce. For this reason, sharing information with humans is difficult to say.
[0008]
Furthermore, if you do not purchase the software and robot described above, you cannot determine whether the character or robot is suitable for your personality or life. When it was a great expense, or when it was not suitable for me, it made me feel disappointed and hopeless.
[0009]
The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and allows the character to be easily and easily obtained and used, and allows the operator to interact with the character on the personal topic of the character and information. There is a possibility that the character can feel attachment by sharing the character in the virtual space and the operator in the real space and integrating the character into a part of the life of the operator. It is to provide the resulting server.
[0010]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, in the present invention, a “character or image or an image created based on dialogue result information obtained from a dialogue between the operator of the communication terminal device and the character” or the like. These combinations ”are displayed on the display unit of the communication terminal device when the operator of the communication terminal device and the character perform a new dialogue.
[0011]
In other words, in the present invention, “when the operator of the communication terminal device and the character perform a new conversation with the character or image created based on the dialogue result information, the display of the communication terminal device is displayed. By displaying it on the screen ", the operator and the character can interact with each other on the personal topic of the operator.
[0012]
More specifically, the present invention provides the following.
[0013]
(1) A server capable of transmitting and receiving data to and from the communication terminal device in a state connected to the communication terminal device via a communication line, and character information relating to a character displayed on the display unit of the communication terminal device. Defines the authority for limited use of the character information in the communication terminal device, and the dialogue result information obtained from the dialogue between the operator of the communication terminal device and the character or “limited use of the character information in the past” "Characters or images or a combination thereof" created based on either or both of the dialogue result information obtained from the dialogue between the third party "and the character The server is displayed on the display unit of the communication terminal device when the person and the character perform a new conversation.
[0014]
According to the above-described invention of (1), since “characters or images or a combination thereof” is created based on the dialogue result information, “characters or images or These combinations "can be displayed so that the character speaks to the operator. Therefore, it is possible to position the character as a “partner who sees his actions by the side”, and overturns the fixed idea of “only a character that exists only in the game” that the conventional character has. Thus, the character can be blended into the daily life of the operator, and there is a possibility that the character will feel attachment when the character repeatedly speaks to the operator.
[0015]
In addition, since “characters or images or a combination thereof” is created based on the dialogue result information, it is possible to share “information that only the operator and the character know by both parties” by repeating the dialogue. For example, the operator can recognize the solidarity and sense of unity that only this character knows his secret that no one knows. There is a possibility of giving satisfaction that "I am so intimate with myself."
[0016]
Further, when the “character or image or a combination thereof” is created based on the dialogue result information obtained from the dialogue between the “operator of the communication terminal device” and the character, the character and the operation An operator can have a conversation on a topic that is in line with the current state of the operator, a topic that the operator is interested in, a personal topic of the operator (for example, a topic that cannot be said to humans), etc. . Therefore, for the operator, the dialogue with the character is closely related to his / her daily life, and the operator can recognize the character as “a partner who sees his / her actions side by side”. There is a possibility that attachment to the character will increase.
[0017]
In addition, when “characters or images or a combination thereof” is created based on the dialogue result information obtained from the dialogue between “the character who has used the character information in the past” and the character The character and the operator can interact with each other on a topic that the character does not know about the operator or a topic that the operator does not expect. Therefore, the operator's interest and interest in the character can be increased, and the operator's attachment to the character may increase.
[0018]
(2) The server according to (1), wherein the dialogue result information includes information in which dialogue result information obtained from a dialogue between the operator and the character at that time is accumulated.
[0019]
According to the above-described invention of (2), the dialogue result information includes the “accumulated” dialogue result information obtained from the dialogue between the operator and the character at that time. If a “character or image or a combination thereof” is created based on the dialogue result information, the more dialogue with the character, the longer the time for renting the character or the longer the time since purchase, It becomes possible for the operator to recognize that “the memory of the dialogue with the operator (that is, the dialogue result information) is increasing”, and the attachment to the character may be further increased.
[0020]
(3) The server according to (1), wherein the “character or image or a combination thereof” is created by using information extracted from information included in the dialogue result information.
[0021]
According to the invention of (3) described above, since the topic that the character is going to talk to is extracted from information obtained from past dialogues, for example, the operator is interested in the character. You can talk about the contents, talk about things that make the operator comfortable, and conversely, talk about things that make the ears of the operator hurt or make you laugh. This may increase the attachment of the operator to the character.
[0022]
(4) "Character or image or combination thereof" created based on the dialogue result information is associated with the character information, or as a message from the character, or both The server described in (1) above.
[0023]
According to the above-described invention of (4), it becomes possible to further strengthen the operator's feelings about the character “partner who watches his / her behavior”, and the character can be added to the operator's daily life. There is a possibility that the characters will be melted and the character will also feel attachment.
[0024]
(5) Character information related to the character displayed on the display unit of the communication terminal device, which is a server capable of transmitting and receiving data to and from the communication terminal device in a state of being connected to the communication terminal device via a communication line. The authority for finite use of the character information in the communication terminal device is defined, and “the dialogue result information obtained from the dialogue between the operator of the communication terminal device and the character or“ the character information in the past is limited. “Characters or images or a combination thereof” created based on either or both of the dialogue result information obtained from the dialogue between the “third party used” and the character is stored in the communication terminal device. When the operator and the character perform a new conversation, a program for displaying on the display unit of the communication terminal device ”is displayed on the communication terminal device. A server characterized by being supplied as data.
[0025]
According to the above-described invention of (5), the same advantages as in the above-mentioned (1) can be obtained, and in the communication terminal device supplied with the program, “characters or images or a combination thereof” can be quickly Can be created and displayed on the screen, and there is a possibility that the dialogue between the character and the operator can be performed smoothly.
[0026]
[Definition of terms]
“Character” is a concept that imitates moving objects such as people, animals and plants, and robots, as well as imitating various objects around us, such as empty cans, and imaginary characters. Those having an appearance that makes them want to own are preferable.
[0027]
The “character information” is information including character image information and character personality information, and is a concept indicating information for characterizing the character externally and internally.
[0028]
Furthermore, "finite use" is a concept that allows character use within the restrictions by restricting the character information in terms of time, area, or contents. For example, a character can be displayed on a display unit of a communication terminal device only within a predetermined period, which is a concept corresponding to so-called “rental”. Moreover, it is a concept including a regional restriction that is limited to only those who live in a predetermined area, and a content restriction that allows only a predetermined function to be used.
[0029]
The “rental” described above is a concept indicating that a character can be used in a communication terminal device regardless of whether it is paid or free.
[0030]
Furthermore, “limited use authority” is a concept indicating a qualification that allows limited use of character information, and the server determines this qualification and gives it to the communication terminal device.
[0031]
In addition, “a third party who has finitely used the character information in the past” means a person who has rented the character in the past, and the character has been rented to a plurality of persons in the past. In some cases, it means all or some of them.
[0032]
Furthermore, the “dialogue result information” means, for example, dialog content information in which the content of the dialog is accumulated, keyword information accumulated by conducting a dialogue on words or sentences extracted from e-mails, etc. To do.
[0033]
The “information extracted from the information included in the dialogue result information” is, for example, “all or a part of information obtained from the dialogue with the person who currently rents the character” or “past "All or part of the information obtained from the dialogue with the person who rented the character (all or part)".
[0034]
Furthermore, as “related to the character information”, for example, a “character or image or a combination thereof” in which a character appears, and as “a message from the character”, for example, “Character or image or a combination thereof” including a message from the character is included.
[0035]
A “communication terminal device” is composed of the portable communication terminal device 10, the portable game device 60, or the mobile phone 70 described later. The server 4 is a “server”, and the public telephone line network 2 or the mobile telephone line network 3 is a “communication line”.
[0036]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
[0037]
[System configuration]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a character rental system 1 having a portable communication terminal device 10, a portable game device 60, and a mobile phone 70 (hereinafter referred to as communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70) according to the present invention. is there. In the character rental system 1 shown in FIG. 1, a portable game device 60 is connected to the public telephone line network 2, and the portable game apparatus 60 is connected to the server 4 via the public telephone line network 2. Various information can be received from 4.
[0038]
Further, the portable communication terminal device 10 or the mobile phone 70 can be connected to the mobile phone network 3 through the base station 5 and can access the server 4 through the public phone network 2. Has been made.
[0039]
The server 4 described above is configured to manage the addresses of the communication terminal devices 10, 60, and 70. The server 4 includes various information transmitted from the communication terminal devices 10, 60, or 70, such as passwords. This information can be identified.
[0040]
[Configuration of communication terminal device]
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70. As shown in FIG.
[0041]
In the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70 shown in FIG. 2, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 12, ROM 14, RAM 16 and nonvolatile RAM 18 are connected to the bus line 30, and the CPU 12 is ROM 14, RAM 16 or nonvolatile RAM 18. Each part is controlled in accordance with the program stored in.
[0042]
A keyboard 32 and a controller 34 are connected to the bus line 30 via the input interface 22. The bus line 30 is connected to a display interface 24, a sound processing circuit 25, and a communication interface 21 that exchanges information with the public telephone network 2.
[0043]
A display device 41 is connected to the display circuit 24 described above, and a speaker 42 is connected to the sound processing circuit 25. On the display device 41, various types of information including information on a character to be described later is displayed according to a command from the CPU 12.
[0044]
Further, a timer 20 for measuring a time such as a program execution time is connected to the bus line 30. When a signal for starting the timer is issued from the CPU 12, the timer 20 initializes the timer value and starts counting the timer value. When a signal for stopping the timer is issued from the CPU 12, the timer 20 stops counting the timer value and supplies the timer value at that time to the bus line 30. The date and time are set based on this timer value.
[0045]
[Server configuration]
Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the server 4 that controls the system for renting characters via a communication network such as the Internet includes a hard disk drive 88, a CPU 82, a ROM 84, a RAM 86, a communication interface circuit 90, It is composed of The hard disk drive 88 notifies a program for communicating with the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70, a program for an unregistered user process, a program for a registered user process, a program for processing interactive information, and a rental deadline. A processing program, a program such as a program for processing rental completion information, and a program for displaying a character image on the display device 41 of the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70 are stored.
[0046]
With the configuration as described above, the communication terminal apparatus 10, 60 or 70 and the server 4 are connected via the public telephone line network 2 or the mobile telephone line network 3 and can transmit and receive data. Means that “data can be transmitted / received to / from the communication terminal device while being connected to the communication terminal device via the communication line”.
[0047]
In the following, the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70 and the server 4 are activated in advance, and the variables used in the CPU 12 and CPU 82 described above are initialized to predetermined values, and the communication terminal device 10, 60 is used. Or 70 and the server 4 shall operate | move normally.
[0048]
[Outline of character rental system]
FIG. 4 shows an outline of a system for renting a character. In the present specification, the term “rental” indicates that a character can be used in the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70 regardless of whether it is paid or free.
[0049]
The operator of the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70 designates and accesses the server 4 that rents the character. Thereby, the guidance information about character rental is displayed on the display device 41 of the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70, and the appearance and character of the character are introduced. A plurality of types of characters are prepared, and the operator can select a character that seems to be compatible with him or a character of interest.
[0050]
The operator who has selected the character performs a predetermined procedure to apply for rental of the character. As a result, user registration is performed, and character rental such as character image data and personality information is received from the server.
[0051]
The trial period will be calculated simultaneously with the start of character rental. In this trial period, the character can be used free of charge in the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70. For example, when a mail or phone call is received at the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70, a display that tells the character that the incoming call has been received, a display where the character asks a question about the content of the mail, Is displayed to invite the game to the operator.
[0052]
During the trial period, restrictions may be placed on the function of character use. For example, it is possible to provide a function that cannot be used, such as telling about incoming calls but not telling about incoming mails.
[0053]
As described above, in the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70, it is possible to know more about the character of the character by interacting with the rented character or playing a game. After using the character for a while, if the operator determines that the character is not compatible with the character or gets bored with the character, the character can be exchanged.
[0054]
When the predetermined trial period has elapsed, the server notifies the server whether or not to extend the rental period. When the operator wants to extend the rental period, the rental period can be extended by paying a predetermined number of chips to the server.
[0055]
This chip increases by interacting with the character or playing a game, and indicates the degree of exchange with the character. As will be described later, the number of chips varies depending on the number of times and time of dialogue with the character and the result of the game against the character. Further, chips may be purchased in exchange for a predetermined amount. In this way, even if the operator likes characters, it is difficult to provide time for interaction with the characters, or even operators who are not good at games, the number of chips can be increased. A character can be rented.
[0056]
Furthermore, when the extended period has elapsed or when the operator desires to purchase a character, the operator can purchase the character by paying more chips. By purchasing the character, the operator can use the character permanently in the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70.
[0057]
If the operator desires, the character may be purchased even during the trial period. In this case, a large number of chips to be paid may be set.
[0058]
[Description of server operation]
(Registration process for registered or unregistered users)
The subroutine executed in the server 4 is shown in FIG.
[0059]
The subroutine shown in FIG. 5 is called and executed at a predetermined timing from a main routine (not shown) executed in advance.
[0060]
First, it is determined whether or not communication with the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70 is possible (step S11). When it is determined that communication with the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70 is not possible, this subroutine is immediately terminated.
[0061]
When it is determined that communication with the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70 is possible, the user ID issued from the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70 is received (step S12). The user ID is identification information for identifying the operator of the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70, and is determined by the server 4 as will be described later.
[0062]
Next, it is determined whether or not the operator of the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70 connected to the server 4 is a registered user (step S13). This determination is made based on whether or not the above-described user ID exists. That is, when the server 4 receives the user ID, it determines that it is a registered user, and when it does not receive the user ID, it determines that it is an unregistered user.
[0063]
If it is determined in step S13 that the user is not a registered user, that is, if it is determined that the user is an unregistered user, an unregistered user process described later is called and executed (step S14). On the other hand, when it is determined that the user is a registered user, a registered user process described later is called and executed (step S15).
[0064]
After executing the process of step S14 or S15 described above, this subroutine is terminated.
[0065]
(Processing for unregistered users)
FIG. 6 shows a subroutine of unregistered user processing called and executed in step S14 described above.
[0066]
First, guide information related to character rental is transmitted to the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70 (step S21).
[0067]
When the guide information related to character rental is transmitted from the server 4, the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70 receives this guide information, and the display unit of the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70 displays, for example, FIG. As shown in (a), a message such as “Welcome to the character rental site” or a character such as “Return”, “Continue” or “Select” is displayed on the display unit 41 of the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70. A message appears prompting you to select a rental process for.
[0068]
When the operator of the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70 selects a desired process, information on the process is transmitted from the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70 to the server 4.
[0069]
Next, it is determined whether information indicating that the processing is to be continued is received from the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70 (step S22). When information indicating that processing is not continued is received, this subroutine is immediately terminated.
[0070]
On the other hand, when information indicating that processing is to be continued is received, character selection processing is performed (step S23). In this selection process, one character type is selected as a character from a plurality of character types. As will be described later, the server 4 prepares a plurality of character types as characters so that one character can be selected from the plurality of character types. By performing such processing, it is possible to “select freely from a plurality of character types”.
[0071]
Further, the information indicating that the above-described processing is continued constitutes “permission request information for finite use of the character information in the communication terminal device”.
[0072]
The selection process described above may generate a random number and select a character type corresponding to the random number. In this case, one character type corresponding to the random number is selected from a plurality of character types.
[0073]
The hard disk drive 88 of the server 4 stores a character introduction database as shown in FIG. This database stores images of a plurality of character types and messages corresponding to the character types. In step S23 described above, the database is searched to read out the character type image and the message corresponding to the character type.
[0074]
Next, the read image of the character and a message corresponding to the character are transmitted to the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70 (step S24).
[0075]
When a character image or a message corresponding to the character is transmitted from the server 4, the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70 receives the image of the character or a message corresponding to the character, and the communication terminal device 10. , 60 or 70, for example, as shown in FIG. 7B, a character image, a message from the character, and a message prompting selection of processing are displayed.
[0076]
By performing such processing, it is possible to “display a display image related to selection on the display unit of the communication terminal device”.
[0077]
The operator of the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70 determines whether or not the displayed character is acceptable, and inputs whether it is possible or not by a key operation. The information on availability is transmitted from the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70 to the server.
[0078]
The server 4 receives the propriety information transmitted from the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70, and determines whether to accept the character introduced by the operator (step S25). When it is determined that the operator does not want to rent the introduced character, the process returns to step S23 described above, and the character selection process is performed again.
[0079]
By performing such processing, it is possible to “make the character freely selectable from a plurality of character types so that the character can be exchanged in the communication terminal device”.
[0080]
If it is determined in step S25 described above that the operator wants to rent the introduced character, user registration processing is performed (step S26). This user registration process is performed by communicating predetermined information such as the name of the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70, an e-mail address or a telephone number for communication between the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70 and the server 4. When the server 4 receives the information from the terminal device 10, 60 or 70 and determines that there is no defect, the user registration is completed. By performing this process, the operator of the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70 changes from an unregistered user to a registered user, and one user ID to be described later is determined for the operator.
[0081]
After finishing the process of step S26, the program of a character use system is transmitted to the communication terminal device 10, 60, or 70 (step S27).
[0082]
The program of the character use system includes a program for displaying the rented character in the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70. For example, when a mail or phone call is received at the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70, based on a program for displaying an image such that the rented character tells the incoming mail or phone call or the content of the mail A program for displaying an image in which the character asks the operator a question, and a program for displaying an image in which the character invites the game.
[0083]
Further, if the above-described character use system program includes a function of limited use authority for character use, the communication terminal device 10, 60, or 70 manages the limited use time limit. . With such a configuration, characters can be used only for a predetermined rental period in the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70, and the server 4 transmits “limited use of character information” by the program transmitted by the server 4. Is given to the communication terminal device.
[0084]
Further, as will be described later, the server 4 may manage a limited use time limit. In this case, when the time limit for finite use is approaching, the server 4 transmits information to that effect to the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70, and the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70 is based on the transmitted information. Thus, the character information is limited.
[0085]
In the case of such a configuration, the server 4 manages the time limit for finite use, and therefore “determines the authority for finite use of character information in the communication terminal device”. Further, since the information on the limited use period is transmitted to the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70, the server 4 also "gives the communication terminal device the authority of limited use for character information".
[0086]
The program of the character use system described above may be a program language suitable for communication and display, and is a program created by a programming language such as JAVA (registered trademark), for example.
[0087]
Next, the character image data displayed on the display device 41 of the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70 is transmitted to the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70 (step S28). By performing such processing, “character information can be supplied as data to the communication terminal device” is performed.
[0088]
In the case where the image data is included in the program transmitted in step S27, the image data need not be transmitted independently.
[0089]
Next, the question information about whether to take over the past history is transmitted to the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70 for the character information and the dialogue result information for determining the character and personality of the character. The character personality information is information on the character personality formed based on the dialogue between the operator of the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70 and the character, as will be described later. Further, as will be described later, the dialogue result information is the information representing the character of the character, which is obtained by accumulating the contents of the dialogue between the operator and the character and the words (keywords) used in the dialogue.
[0090]
The communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70 displays the question information transmitted from the server 4 on the display device 41, and prompts the user to input whether or not to take over the past history. The operator of the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70 operates the keyboard 32 or the controller 34 to select and input an answer as to whether or not to take over the past history. The communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70 transmits information on this answer to the server 4.
[0091]
Here, the answer as to whether or not to take over the past history may be “take over all past history (or not take over)” or “take over part of the past history”. Then, in the case of “taking over a part of the past history”, for example, “the character's“ previous ”rental owner's history is taken over, but the previous rental owner's history is not taken over” or “ It is possible to select such that “all previous history of the rental owner is taken over, but“ previous ”rental owner history is not taken over”.
[0092]
The server 4 receives information on whether or not to take over the past history transmitted from the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70, and determines whether or not to take over the past history of personality information (step S29). ). When it is determined that the past history of the personality information is not inherited, the process proceeds to step S31 described later.
[0093]
On the other hand, when it is determined that the past history of the personality information is taken over, the past history of the personality information of the character is transmitted to the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70 (step S30). By performing such processing, “character information can be supplied as data to the communication terminal device” is achieved. In addition, “character information including personality information is supplied as data to the communication terminal device”.
[0094]
Next, the database as shown in FIG. 9 to be described later is updated in the server 4 (step S31). This database stores the operator information of the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70 and the information of the rented character, and is stored in the hard disk 88 of the server 4.
[0095]
After completing the above-described processing, this subroutine is terminated.
[0096]
By performing the processes of steps S27, S28, and S29 described above, "character information relating to the character displayed on the display unit of the communication terminal device and a program including a program for displaying the character are supplied to the communication terminal device as data. To do.
[0097]
Display image displayed on the display device 41 of the communication terminal device 10, 60, or 70 when the server 4 transmits guidance information for renting a character to the communication terminal device 10, 60, or 70 in step S21 described above. Is shown in FIG. 7A is an enlarged view of the display unit of the mobile phone 70 shown in FIG.
[0098]
A message “Welcome to the character rental site” from the server 4 is displayed at the top of the display section. In the center of the display unit, a character image as an example of the character is displayed. Further, a selection frame of “Continue” and “Return” indicating options for continuing or returning the processing is displayed at the bottom of the display unit.
[0099]
In step S24 described above, when a character image or a message corresponding to the character is transmitted to the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70, it is displayed on the display device 41 of the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70. A display image is shown in FIG. FIG. 7B is an enlarged view of the display unit of the mobile phone 70 shown in FIG. 1, as in FIG. 7A.
[0100]
In the upper part of the display part, the character introduction sentence from the server 4 "I am a cute character. I want to play with you" is displayed. An image of an introduction character is displayed in the center of the display unit. Furthermore, a selection frame of “next” and “return” indicating options for proceeding to the next process or returning is displayed in the lower left part of the display unit. Furthermore, a “select” frame for selecting the displayed character is displayed in the lower right part of the display unit.
[0101]
FIG. 8 shows an example of a character introduction database that is referred to when the message from the character is transmitted to the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70 in step S24 described above.
[0102]
The left column stores character types. For example, character types such as “bullish character”, “cute character”, and “slow character” are stored.
[0103]
In the center column, names of characters corresponding to character types are stored. For example, names of characters such as “□ -chan”, “○ -chan”, “× -chan”, and the like are stored.
[0104]
In addition, the right column stores self-introduction documents from each of the characters. For example, “I am □. It ’s fun to play with me.” “My name is ○ "I want to play with you.", "I am X. Maybe you should play with me."
[0105]
The character introduction database also stores image data of the introduction character, and image data is read out together with the character introduction sentence.
[0106]
FIG. 9 shows a database generated or updated in step S31 described above.
[0107]
The first column is an area where the user ID is stored. This user ID is for identifying the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70 or the operator of the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70. When the user registration process in step S26 is completed, the server 4 Assign.
[0108]
The second column is an area where the character ID is stored. This character ID is for identifying the rented character, and is assigned by the server 4 when the user registration process in step S26 is completed. The character ID includes information for identifying the character type.
[0109]
The third column shows the number of rentals and shows the number of times that character has been rented in the past.
[0110]
The fourth column stores the rental start date, and stores the date when the user registration process in step S26 described above is completed.
[0111]
The fifth column indicates whether or not the character rental is in the trial period. For example, when the character is in the trial period, the value to be stored is set to “1”, and when it is not the trial period, The value to be stored is set to “0”.
[0112]
The sixth column indicates whether or not the character rental is during the extension period. For example, when the character rental is not in the extension period, the value to be stored is set to “0”, and when it is in the extension period, Memorize the number of extensions.
[0113]
The seventh column stores whether or not a character has been purchased. For example, when a character is not purchased, the stored value is set to “0”, and when the character is purchased, the stored value is “ 1 ”is set.
[0114]
The eighth column stores the number of chips. This number of chips increases when the registered user takes care of the character, for example, interacts with the character or plays a game with the character.
[0115]
FIG. 10 shows a time chart when the above-described subroutine of FIG. 6 is executed. The left vertical line indicates the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70, and the right vertical line indicates the server 4.
[0116]
When the processing in step S21 described above is executed, the character rental guidance information is transmitted from the server 4 to the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70.
[0117]
On the other hand, when the process is continued, information indicating that the process is continued is transmitted from the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70 to the server 4.
[0118]
When the process of step S24 is executed, introduction information such as a character image for introduction is transmitted from the server 4 to the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70.
[0119]
On the other hand, when the introduced character is rented, information indicating consent is transmitted from the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70 to the server 4.
[0120]
In step S27, the character use system program is transmitted from the server 4 to the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70, and when it is determined that the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70 has received all of the program, it is received. Information indicating the end is transmitted from the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70 to the server 4.
[0121]
Furthermore, when character image data is transmitted from the server 4 to the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70 in step S28, and it is determined that the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70 has received all of the character image data, Information indicating the end of reception is transmitted from the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70 to the server 4.
[0122]
In step S29, the server 4 transmits, to the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70, question information about whether or not to take over the past history for the character information that determines the character of the character.
[0123]
On the other hand, when taking over the history, the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70 transmits information to that effect to the server 4.
[0124]
[Description of operation of communication terminal device]
(Operation when receiving mail / operation when receiving a call)
When the character is rented by the above-described procedure and the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70 receives the mail, an image as shown in FIG. 11 is displayed on the display device 41 of the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70. The
[0125]
At the top of the screen, you ’ll see a message from your character, like “Kana got an email. Read it now?”. In addition, an image of the rented character is displayed at the center of the screen. Further, at the bottom of the screen, a frame indicating whether the mail is “read” or “not read” is displayed.
[0126]
In this way, when the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70 receives a mail while the character is rented, the character informs that effect.
[0127]
In addition, when the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70 receives a call, a display is made in which the character informs that effect.
[0128]
As shown in FIG. 11, while the character is rented, information indicating that the character is currently rented, such as “rental”, may be displayed on the screen. By performing such processing, “display a display image related to the notification information relating to the limited use of character information is displayed on the display unit of the communication terminal device”.
[0129]
(Action to ask a question from the character)
In some cases, the character asks questions about the contents of the received mail. An example is shown in FIG. For example, a word is extracted from the received mail and the question is what the word means.
[0130]
As shown in FIG. 12 (a), at the top of the screen, “What is“ Normal ”? Is displayed. The word “correct line” is a word extracted from the received mail. A character image is displayed at the center of the screen. In addition, a frame for selecting “answer” and “no answer” is displayed at the bottom of the screen.
[0131]
When the operator answers the question from the character, a screen as shown in FIG. 12B is displayed. On the left side of the screen, categories to which words can belong, for example, “location”, “food”, “game name”, and “person name” are displayed.
[0132]
When the operator answers this, the character also asks a question and likes / dislikes “Masayuki” at the top of the screen. A question from the character “is displayed. At the bottom of the screen, a frame for selecting whether the word indicates “like” or “dislike” is displayed. The operator answers the question from the character as described above.
[0133]
The question from this character is registered in a keyword database, which will be described later, and is reflected in the character of the character.
[0134]
Moreover, in order to make it easy to extract words, a standardized mail format may be used. Further, in the above-described embodiment, the case where a word is extracted from the content of the received mail and the character asks a question about the word is shown, but the word may be extracted from the content of the transmitted mail. Furthermore, a word may be extracted from the contents of an incoming or outgoing call by processing such as voice recognition technology, and the character may ask a question about the word.
[0135]
In addition, the character can ask questions about various other contents rather than just asking about the contents of mail and telephone. The processing performed at this time will be described in detail in “Image Display Processing During Dialogue with Character” to be described later.
[0136]
(Game action against character)
Further, when the character is rented, there may be a display in which the character offers the game battle to the operator. An example of this is shown in FIG.
[0137]
As shown in FIG. 13A, a challenge message from the character “Would you like to play with me?” Is displayed at the top of the screen. In addition, a frame for selecting “Yes” or “No” for a challenge from the character is displayed at the bottom of the screen.
[0138]
When the operator receives a challenge from the character, the game is started.
[0139]
When the game ends, for example, when the character wins, a screen as shown in FIG. 13B is displayed. At the top of the screen is a message from the character, “Do you want me to win again?”, And at the bottom of the screen, you can choose whether to play the game again or not. A frame is displayed.
[0140]
As described above, the exchange with the character is deepened through the notification of the reception and transmission of the mail, the notification of the outgoing and incoming calls, the question about the content of the mail and the telephone, the battle of the game, and the like.
[0141]
(Registered user processing)
FIG. 14 shows a registered user processing subroutine that is called and executed in step S15 described above.
[0142]
First, it is determined whether or not the information issued from the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70 is information indicating that it is desired to transmit dialogue information (step S41). When it is determined that it is not information indicating that the dialog information is to be transmitted, the menu display information is transmitted to the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70 (step S42).
[0143]
When the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70 receives the information for displaying the menu, an image as shown in FIG. 15 is displayed on the display device 41 of the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70.
[0144]
At the top of the screen, a message “Please select the desired process” is displayed, and below that, a list of processes, for example, “Character exchange”, “Rental extension”, “Character purchase”, “End” Is displayed.
[0145]
When the operator of the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70 selects a desired process, the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70 transmits information identifying the selected process to the server 4.
[0146]
The server 4 receives the information for identifying the selected process, and determines whether or not the process desired by the operator of the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70 is character exchange (step S43).
[0147]
When it is determined that the process desired by the operator is not character exchange, other processes such as rental extension and character purchase are performed (step S44), and the process proceeds to the above-described step S31.
[0148]
When it is determined that the process desired by the operator is character exchange, the processes of steps S23 to S31 are executed. The processes in steps S23 to S31 are the same as those shown in FIG. 5, and are denoted by the same reference numerals.
[0149]
In step S41 described above, when it is determined that the information issued from the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70 is information indicating that it is desired to transmit the dialog information, the dialog information is received (step S45).
[0150]
Note that the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70 transmits the dialogue information to the server 4 at a predetermined timing, for example, at night or in the morning. For example, when transmitting at night, the conversation information for one day of the day is transmitted to the server 4. Further, when transmitting in the morning, the conversation information for the previous day is transmitted to the server 4. By performing such processing, even when the storage capacity of the RAM 16 or the nonvolatile RAM 18 of the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70 is small, the dialog information can be sufficiently stored, and the dialog information is accurately stored in the server 4. It can be sent.
[0151]
Further, the transmission timing may be matched with the action of the displayed character. For example, it may be transmitted at night after the message “I'm sleepy, I'm going to sleep” from the character is displayed on the display device 41 of the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70. In the morning, the message “Good morning!” From the character may be transmitted after being displayed on the display device 41 of the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70.
[0152]
Further, the dialogue information described above is composed of items as shown in FIG. 16, for example.
[0153]
The items include the number of times of interaction with the character, the time of interaction with the character, and the number of responses to calls from the character such as “Good morning!” And “Good night”. The number of answers includes the number of answers to the call from the character and the number of times it is ignored.
[0154]
In addition, the item includes the number of answers to the question about the word included in the mail. The number of answers includes the number of answers and the number of answers.
[0155]
Furthermore, the items of dialogue information include the number of times the operator has called the character, the number of times the game has been played with the character, the classification of the word that the character has asked, and the like.
[0156]
As described with reference to FIG. 12 above, the classification of the words asked by the character is a category of what the word means and another classification of likes / dislikes.
[0157]
In step S45 described above, after receiving the dialogue information, the dialogue information processing described later is executed (step S46), and the personality information and the keyword information generated by the dialogue information processing are transmitted to the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70 ( In step S47), the process proceeds to step S31 described above.
[0158]
(Interaction information processing)
FIG. 17 shows a subroutine for interactive information processing that is called and executed in step S46 described above.
[0159]
First, the total number of conversations is calculated from the number of conversations already stored in the database and the number of conversations newly received from the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70 (step S51). Next, the total interaction time is calculated from the interaction time already stored in the database and the interaction time newly received from the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70 (step S52).
[0160]
Next, the number of answers to the call from the character already stored in the database, the number of answers to the call newly received from the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70, and the answer to the call The total number of times is calculated (step S53). Next, the total number of times the call is ignored is calculated from the number of times that the call from the character already stored in the database is ignored, the number of times that the call newly received from the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70 is ignored, and Step S54).
[0161]
Next, the number of times the question about the word from the character already stored in the database was answered, and the question about the word from the character newly received from the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70 was answered. The total number of times answered to the question is calculated from the number of times (step S55). Next, the number of times that the question about the word from the character already stored in the database is not answered, and the number of times that the new question received from the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70 is not answered The total number of unanswered questions is calculated (step S56).
[0162]
Next, the number of calls made to the character already stored in the database, the number of calls made to the character newly received from the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70, and the total number of calls made to the character from Is calculated (step S57).
[0163]
Furthermore, the total number of game executions is calculated from the number of game executions already stored in the database and the number of game executions newly received from the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70 (step S58).
[0164]
Next, a character personality setting process (to be described later) is performed (step S59), a keyword setting process is performed (step S60), and this subroutine is terminated.
[0165]
(Personality setting process)
An example of a database used for the personality setting process in step S59 described above is shown in FIG.
[0166]
FIG. 18A shows a database for defining basic personalities determined according to each character type. The basic personality is, for example, “winning”, “squatting”, “cute”, “mischievous”. Further, the above-mentioned basic personality is determined by quantifying the five personality parameters, “extroversion”, “collaboration”, “diligence”, “emotional stability”, and “intelligence”.
[0167]
For example, for a cheerful character, the extroversion is set high and the emotional stability is set low. For cute characters, high coordination and diligence are set.
[0168]
The basic personality determined by these five personality parameters is determined first, and as the character is rented and interacts with the operator of the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70, the value of the personality parameter is changed. It will change. As shown in the example of FIG. 18B, as the character is rented and interacts with the operator, the value of the personality parameter changes. For example, when the dialogue time with the operator is long or when the number of dialogues is large, the value of the personality parameter is changed so that the personality is good for the operator. Also, when the dialogue time with the operator is short or the number of dialogues is small, the value of the personality parameter is changed so as to avoid the operator.
[0169]
In this way, the character's personality is gradually changed by dialogue with the operator, and the values of the five personality parameters that determine the personality are stored as a personality database as shown in FIG. 18B. . Since the character of the character gradually changes according to each of the operators who rented the character in this way, the operator tries to care for the character frequently and can feel attachment to the character. It becomes.
[0170]
In the personality database shown in FIG. 18B described above, the user ID for identifying the operator of the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70 or the operator of the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70 is rented to this operator. The character ID for identifying the character and the values of the five personality parameters are stored, and the character of the character rented by one operator can be determined.
[0171]
By performing such processing, even if only a predetermined number of character types are prepared, character types having personalities corresponding to each of a plurality of operators can be generated. is there.
[0172]
As described above, information obtained by answering questions from characters about the contents of received or transmitted mail, contents of incoming or outgoing calls, or playing games with characters. By processing the dialogue information as shown in FIG. 17, it is determined based on the exchange between the operator of the communication terminal device and the character, and based on the dialogue information, FIG. By performing the process of updating the personality parameter that is the personality information as shown, the personality information that determines the personality of the character displayed on the display unit of the communication terminal device is exchanged between the operator of the communication terminal device and the character. It is determined based on
[0173]
Note that the values of the five personality parameters described above may be changed only within a predetermined range, for example, ± 1. By doing so, it is possible to prevent the character's personality from changing greatly from the basic personality.
[0174]
Further, as described above, the character of the character is formed in correspondence with the dialogue with the owner who rented the character. By performing such processing, if the owner who rents the character has changed, the character formed by the previous owner is inherited, and the database shown in FIG. 18B is updated. It will be going.
[0175]
In the embodiment described above, the five parameters “extroversion”, “collaboration”, “diligence”, “emotional stability”, and “intelligence” are quantified as parameters that determine the character of the character. However, the parameters characterizing the character of the character are not limited to these five parameters, and elements used for so-called personality diagnosis and the like may be converted into numerical values.
[0176]
As described above, since the character's personality is formed by dialogue with the owner, at the beginning of renting the character, the character formed by the past owner becomes the character's personality. In addition, as the dialogue time with the new owner becomes longer or the number of conversations increases, the character of the character changes and becomes a character formed by the new owner.
[0177]
When renting a character, it may be possible to select whether the character's personality is a basic personality or inherits a personality changed by a past owner. In step S29 of FIG. 6 described above, the determination as to whether or not to take over the past history of personality information is performed by this selection process, and is transmitted to the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70 in step S30. The past history of the character information of the character is personality information corresponding to the personality formed by the past owner.
[0178]
(Keyword setting process)
FIG. 19A shows an example of a word database used for the keyword setting process described above. The example of the word database shown in FIG. 19A shows a database for one character ID. Words for all operators who have rented the character from the past to the present are displayed. It is something to remember.
[0179]
Here, in FIG. 19A, “use” in the fifth column indicates whether or not the stored word can be used when the character performs a dialogue, and “1” is used. “0” indicates that it cannot be used. As described above, in this embodiment, the operator can select whether to take over the past history (part or all) of the character (see step S29 in FIGS. 6 and 14). The status of the history transfer is indicated by the “1” or “0” flag of “use”.
[0180]
The database shown in FIG. 19 corresponds to a keyword information database as “dialog result information”.
[0181]
In addition, as described above with reference to FIG. 12, the word is extracted from the contents of the mail or telephone sent to the operator who has rented the character, and as described above, the character operates various contents. The words obtained by asking the user a question, the category of the word and the classification of likes / dislikes are obtained by the character asking the operator about the word and answering the question.
[0182]
A keyword database is generated based on the word database described above. As shown in FIG. 19B, the keyword database is obtained by extracting a predetermined number of words, for example, 10 words, from the word database. In step S47 of FIG. 14 described above, this keyword database is transmitted from the server 4 to the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70. Thus, by extracting only a predetermined number of words as keywords, keywords can be stored sufficiently even when the storage capacity of the RAM 16 or the nonvolatile RAM 18 of the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70 is small. is there.
[0183]
In addition, in the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70, it is possible to make a display calling to the operator of the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70 from the character using this keyword. For example, as shown in FIG. 20, a keyword “Kanna-chan” can be used to display a message from a character such as “Kanna-chan has not received a call recently.
[0184]
As described above, the word extracted from the mail is stored as a keyword, and the character is used by the character to display the message, thereby possibly increasing the closeness between the character and the operator.
[0185]
Moreover, it is good also as determining the word extracted reflecting the character of a character. The word extraction method is changed based on the personality parameter values stored in the personality database. For example, when a cute character is rented, only favorite words are extracted. In this way, a message from the character using only the operator's favorite word is displayed. For example, when the operator favors the person “Kanna-chan” and “person” “Kanna-chan” is registered as “like” in the word database shown in FIG. Then, “Kanna-chan”, which is one of the favorite words, is extracted and stored in the word database shown in FIG. When a mail from “Kanna-chan” is received, a message such as “A mail has arrived from Kanna-chan” is displayed.
[0186]
In the case of a bullish character, only disliked words are extracted. If it does in this way, the message from the character using only the word which an operator dislikes will be displayed. For example, when the operator dislikes the person who is “right” and the “person” who is “right” is registered as “dislike” in the word database shown in FIG. One of the correct words, “correct line”, is extracted and stored in the word database shown in FIG. When a call comes in from the “right line”, a message such as “That right line has made a call” is displayed.
[0187]
In the above-described embodiments, the case where the word is extracted as it is is shown. However, not only the word but also the phrase or clause of the sentence may be extracted, and the extracted word may be converted into a synonym or antonym. It is good also as performing an appropriate process. By doing so, a message with a larger amount of information can be displayed, or a message that more strongly reflects the character of the character can be displayed.
[0188]
By processing in this way, it is possible to “process the information obtained by the alternating current based on the personality information and supply it as the data to the communication terminal device” or “obtained by the alternating current Information can be processed based on the personality information, supplied to the communication terminal device as the data, and displayed on the display unit of the communication terminal device.
[0189]
By processing in this way, the character of the character can be reflected in the message, and there is a possibility that the character will feel close or interested. In addition, there is a possibility that the character in the virtual space and the operator in the real space can be inseparably linked, and the character and information can be shared.
[0190]
[Image display processing during dialogue with character]
As described above, the character can ask not only about the contents of mail and telephone, but also about various other contents.
[0191]
The database used for this processing is shown in FIGS. These databases may be held by the server 4, or may be held by the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70.
[0192]
Here, FIG. 19 shows a database of keyword information as “dialogue result information” (the contents of the database have been described above), and FIG. 30 shows dialogue content information as “dialogue result information”. A database related to (dialog history) is shown. The database shown in FIGS. 19 and 30 is updated every moment according to the dialogue between the character and the operator.
[0193]
Here, FIG. 30 shows a database that stores the contents of the dialogue with the character. The “user ID” is in the first column, the “date and time of dialogue” is in the second column, and the “dialog of dialogue” is in the third column. "Content" stores a flag indicating whether or not to "use" in the fourth column.
[0194]
In the example shown in FIG. 30, in the third column, “contents of dialogue” is stored as a set of “question” and “response to it”.
[0195]
“Use” in the fourth column indicates whether or not the stored conversation contents can be used when the character performs a conversation. “1” indicates that the character can be used, and “0” indicates that the character can be used. Indicates that it cannot be used. As described above, in this embodiment, the operator can select whether or not to take over the past history (part or all) of the character (see step S29 in FIGS. 6 and 14). The history transfer status is indicated by the “use” “1” or “0” flag.
[0196]
FIG. 31 shows a database of messages used by the character during dialogue. The database shown in FIG. 31 is set by the server 4 in advance.
[0197]
FIG. 31A shows a database of “general message” that can be used as a message alone, such as “What are you doing now?”, And FIG. What did you do? A database of “embedded message” that can be made into a message by incorporating a word into the part of “xxx” such as “”.
[0198]
In FIG. 31, each message is associated with a predetermined category in order to indicate a situation in which the message is used.
[0199]
(Explanation of image display processing during dialogue)
FIG. 29 shows a subroutine of processing for displaying an image on the display device 41 of the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70 when the character and the operator interact. This subroutine is used, for example, after making / receiving a call or sending / receiving mail, after a preset time has elapsed, or when an execution command for this subroutine is transmitted from the server 4, etc. It is called from a main routine that is executed in advance and executed.
[0200]
First, it is determined whether or not a general message is displayed as a message to be displayed first (step S111). For example, after making / receiving a call or sending / receiving mail, you can display a built-in message to ask questions about the contents of the call or mail, or after a preset time has elapsed Or, when the execution instruction of this subroutine is transmitted from the server 4, a general message is displayed.
[0201]
If it is determined that the general message is displayed, the general message arbitrarily selected from FIG. 31A is displayed on the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70 (step S113). For example, when the message selected from FIG. 31A is “Where did you go yesterday?”, The message is displayed as shown in FIG.
[0202]
When the operator makes some response to the displayed message, the response information for the message is processed (step S114), and a message corresponding to the response information is displayed (step S115).
[0203]
For example, in response to the message “Where did you go yesterday?” From the character as shown in FIG. 33A, after the operator selects the selection frame “answer”, the communication terminal device When the operation button 10, 60, or 70 is pressed and “amusement park” is input and responded, the information “amusement park” is stored in the database of FIGS. 19 and 30 in step S114. (At this time, you may ask "the category of the word", "like / dislike", etc. if necessary). Then, what did you do with the built-in message “xxx” corresponding to the category of the word from FIG. "And then incorporate the word into the message to display the message" What did you do at the amusement park? "
[0204]
Subsequently, it is determined whether or not to end this subroutine (step S116). For example, in response to the message “What did you do at the amusement park?” Displayed in step S115, if the operator selects the “No answer” selection frame, this subroutine is terminated as it is. If a selection frame of “answer” is selected and some response is made, the processing from step S114 onward is repeated.
[0205]
For example, in this step S116, when the operator selects the selection frame of “answer” and inputs “I saw fireworks” and responds, in step S114, the information “I saw fireworks” 19 and FIG. 30 are accumulated in the database (at this time, the reply information “I saw fireworks” may be accumulated in the database of FIG. Just fine). Then, in order to conduct a dialogue using this response information, in step S115, it is determined from FIG. 31 (a) that the category of the information ("Fireworks are seen" belongs to the category "Action" from the verb "Mita". Select the general message “Is it fun?” According to the message, and display the message.
[0206]
In step S116, since the displayed message is a “question-type message” “Is it fun?”, If the operator does not select the “no answer” selection frame, step S114 and subsequent steps are further performed. The process is repeated.
[0207]
For example, in this step S114, when the operator selects the selection frame “answer” and inputs “yes” and responds, the information “yes” is stored in the database of FIG. 30 in step S114. To accumulate. Then, in order to conduct a dialogue using this reply information, in step S115, the general message “good” is selected from FIG. 31A, and the message is displayed.
[0208]
In step S116, since the displayed message is “a message that is not a question format”, “it was good”, it is determined that the dialogue is to be ended, and this subroutine is ended.
[0209]
On the other hand, if it is determined in step S111 that an embedded message is to be displayed, a message is arbitrarily selected from FIG. 31B (for example, a message “Did you eat“ xxx ”recently?”) And FIG. Or the word or sentence extracted from FIG. 30 (for example, the word “Tonkatsu” whose category is the same as the selected message) is incorporated into the message (step S112), for example, as shown in FIG. A message such as “I have eaten pork cutlet recently?” Is displayed on the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70 (step S113).
[0210]
In response to this message, for example, when the operator selects and returns a selection frame “No”, the information “No” is stored in the database of FIG. 30 in step S114. Then, in order to conduct a dialogue according to the answer “NO”, a general message “why?” Selected from FIG. 31A is displayed in step S115.
[0211]
In step S116, since the displayed message is a “question-type message” “why?”, If the operator does not select the “no answer” selection frame, the steps after step S114 are further performed. The process is repeated.
[0212]
In response to the message “Why?” From the character, the operator selects the “Respond” selection frame and then presses the operation button of the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70 to “Diet”. If the response is input, the information “being dieted” is accumulated in the database of FIGS. 19 and 30 in this step S114 (at this time, “diet The response information “is present” may be stored in the database shown in FIG. 19 while being separated by words, and may be stored as it is in the database shown in FIG. In order to conduct a dialogue using this response information, a general message “Please do your best!” Selected from FIG. 31A is displayed in step S115.
[0213]
As described above, when the character and the operator interact, the process shown in FIG. 29 is repeated, and the process of step S114 is repeated and stored in the database of FIGS. 19 and 30. Information (dialogue result information) is accumulated.
[0214]
In other words, the “dialogue result information” includes information obtained by accumulating dialogue result information obtained from the dialogue between the operator at the time (the same is true for past operators) and the character.
[0215]
As an example, FIG. 32 shows how keyword information stored in the database of FIG. 19 is accumulated.
[0216]
FIG. 32 (a) shows how keyword information is accumulated as an operator and a character interact when an operator rents a "character that has not been rented to anyone in the past". Show.
[0217]
FIG. 32B is obtained from the dialogue with the operator as the operator and the character interact with each other when the operator rents “a character that has been rented to others in the past”. The keyword information is accumulated (the shaded portion in FIG. 32 (b) indicates the keyword information obtained from the dialogue with the operator).
[0218]
Although not shown, the dialog content information stored in the database of FIG. 30 is also accumulated in the same manner as shown in FIG.
[0219]
As shown in FIG. 32, as the operator and the character interact, the “dialogue result information with the operator” increases. Therefore, if a new dialogue is performed using the dialogue result information, The more conversations with the character, the longer the time for renting the character or the longer it has been purchased, the more “the memory of the conversation between the character and the operator (ie, the speech result information) increases. It is possible for the operator to recognize that “there is a character”, and there is a possibility that attachment to the character will be further increased.
[0220]
Then, the processing in steps S114 to S115 and S112 to S115 (see FIG. 29) described above is performed as follows: “dialogue result information obtained from dialogue between the operator of the communication terminal device and the character or“ the character in the past “Characters or images or a combination thereof” created based on either or both of the dialogue result information obtained from the dialogue between the third party who used the information finitely and the character This corresponds to a process of “displaying on the display unit of the communication terminal device when the operator of the terminal device and the character perform a new conversation”.
[0221]
Further, in the database shown in FIG. 19 and FIG. 30, the status of taking over the past history is indicated by the “use” flag, so “the“ character or image or a combination thereof ”is included in the dialogue result information. It is realized that the information is created using information extracted from information (information indicated by a flag “1” of “use”).
[0222]
Furthermore, the image shown in FIG. 33B corresponds to “a character or an image created based on the dialogue result information, or a combination thereof”, and this image is “associated with the character information. Either or both, or as a message from the character.
[0223]
According to the processing of the present invention as described above, it is possible to display an “image” suitable for dialogue with the operator so that the character speaks to the operator.
[0224]
For example, when the “image” is created based on the dialogue result information obtained from the dialogue between the “operator of the communication terminal device” and the character, the character and the operator The conversation can be performed on a topic in accordance with the current state of the operator, a topic that the operator is interested in, a personal topic of the operator (for example, a topic that cannot be said to humans), and the like.
[0225]
Further, when the “image” is created based on dialogue result information obtained from dialogue between the character and the “person who has used the character information in the past in the past”, the character and the operation The operator can interact with the subject on a topic that the character does not know, or a topic that the operator does not expect, and the operator's interest and interest in the character can be increased.
[0226]
Furthermore, since “dialogue result information” includes “accumulated” dialogue result information obtained from the dialogue between the operator and the character at that time, the more dialogue with the character, As the time during which the character is rented or after the purchase is longer, the memory of the dialogue between the character and the operator (that is, the dialogue result information) can be increased.
[0227]
In addition, since the “image” is created using information extracted from the information included in the dialogue result information, it is possible to set the topic spoken by the character to be close to the preference of the operator. It becomes possible.
[0228]
Note that the image display processing as described above may be performed by either the server 4 or the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70. When the communication terminal device 10, 60, or 70 performs the above-described processing, the server 4 updates the “image” created based on the “dialog result information” between the operator of the communication terminal device and the character. When a dialogue is performed, a program to be displayed on the display unit of the communication terminal device is supplied to the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70 as data. In this case, the same advantages as described above can be obtained, and in the communication terminal device supplied with the program, the “image” can be quickly created and displayed. Can communicate smoothly.
[0229]
[Rental expiration notification process]
When the character rental deadline is approaching, the server 4 transmits a message to that effect to the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70. The process at this time is shown in FIG.
[0230]
First, it is determined whether it is time to notify the rental deadline (step S81). This timing is a timing for comparing the rental start date recorded in the database shown in FIG. 9 with today's date and notifying, for example, the rental end date or the day before the rental end date. It is determined.
[0231]
If it is determined that it is not time to notify, this subroutine is immediately terminated. On the other hand, when it is determined that it is time to notify the rental deadline, information indicating that the rental deadline is approaching is transmitted to the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70 (step S82).
[0232]
When the guidance information indicating that the rental deadline is approaching is transmitted from the server 4, the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70 receives this guidance information, and the display unit of the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70 displays For example, as shown in FIG. 22, on the display unit 41 of the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70, a message such as “I can play with me until now. I will play with me from now on” A message such as "I can play with you until tomorrow. I want to play with you again."
[0233]
By performing such processing, a message that the expiration date of the rental period is approaching is transmitted from the server 4 to the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70. Therefore, “character information relating to the character displayed on the display unit of the communication terminal device” Can provide the communication terminal device with notification information relating to the limited use of the device. Further, since the message received by the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70 is displayed on the display device 41 on the communication terminal device, “the display image related to the notification information relating to the limited use of character information is displayed on the communication terminal device. It is displayed on the display section ”.
[0234]
Note that as shown in FIG. 22A or 22B, a message reflecting the character of the character may be displayed. For example, a bullish message is displayed for a bullish character, and a cute message is displayed for a cute character. By doing so, it is possible to produce a character with personality and to make the character feel more attached and interested.
[0235]
In the above-described embodiment, the case where the rental deadline is notified on the end date of the rental or on the day before the rental date is shown. However, it may be notified every other time, for example, after starting the rental.
[0236]
[Character purchase processing]
FIG. 23 shows a subroutine of character purchase processing that is called and executed when the purchase of a character is selected in step S44 of FIG. 14 described above. As described above, in step S44 of FIG. 14, processing such as rental extension and character purchase is also performed.
[0237]
First, the guide information regarding the purchase of the character is transmitted to the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70 (step S101). When the guide information about the purchase of the character is transmitted from the server 4, the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70 receives this guide information, and the display unit of the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70 displays, for example, FIG. After a message such as “Do you know about being able to buy me?” Is displayed on the display section of the display device 41 of the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70 as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 24 (b), a message such as “I need 50 or more chips to buy me” is displayed on the display section of the display device 41 of the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70. .
[0238]
By performing such processing, information indicating that the rented character can be purchased, that is, the right to use the character permanently can be obtained by the display unit 41 of the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70. In other words, it is displayed that it is possible to switch from “limited use authority”, which is the rental of the character, to “permanent use authority”, which is the purchase of the character. In this way, it is possible to “display the display image relating to the ability to change the authority for limited use to the authority for permanent use on the display unit of the communication terminal device”.
[0239]
By doing so, it is possible to accurately convey to the operator of the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70 that the character can be purchased, and to remind the user that the character can be personalized. Or the opportunity to deepen the relationship with the character.
[0240]
Next, the guide information regarding the chip is transmitted (step S102). When the guide information on the chip is transmitted from the server 4, the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70 receives this information, and the display unit of the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70 displays, for example, FIG. As shown in the message on the display unit 41 of the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70, a message such as “If you play with me or play with me, you can increase the chip.” As shown in FIG. 25B, a message such as “Other than that, you can increase the number of chips by exchanging money for chips” is displayed.
[0241]
By performing the process as described above, it is possible to deepen the "interaction" between the operator and the character by playing the game with the character, taking care of the opponent and taking care of the character, and playing together. In addition, the degree of “AC” can be replaced with “consideration” that is a chip, and “AC can be converted into consideration for the AC”. It can also be accompanied by “interaction with the character”.
[0242]
Moreover, by doing in this way, it is possible to accurately tell the operator of the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70 how the character can be purchased, and an operation that has already acquired chips sufficiently. The person can know that the character can be purchased with peace of mind. In addition, there is a possibility that an operator who has not yet acquired a chip can be caused to feel that it is necessary to sufficiently exchange with the character ahead.
[0243]
In addition, it is clear that characters can be purchased even by operators who are economically afforded, operators who like characters but who are not good at games, and operators who cannot spend extra time. Therefore, there is a possibility that these operators can be relieved and can interact with the character.
[0244]
Next, the number of chips owned by the operator of the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70 is obtained, and information indicating whether or not the operator can purchase a character is transmitted (step S103). When information indicating whether or not the operator can purchase the character is transmitted from the server 4, the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70 receives this information, and the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70 receives the information. When the character can be purchased on the display unit, for example, as shown in FIG. 26 (a), the display unit 41 of the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70 displays “You are now 62 I have a tip so I can buy me. " If the character cannot be purchased with the current number of chips, a display indicating that the character cannot be purchased at the present time is displayed.
[0245]
Next, it is determined whether or not the character can be purchased (step S104). If it is determined that the character cannot be purchased, this subroutine is immediately terminated.
[0246]
On the other hand, when it is determined that the character can be purchased, information indicating whether or not to purchase the character is transmitted (step S105). When information indicating whether or not to purchase a character is transmitted from the server 4, the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70 receives this information, and the display unit of the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70 displays, for example, 26B, a message such as “Would you buy me?” And a selection frame of “Buy” or “Do not buy” are displayed.
[0247]
The operator of the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70 operates the keyboard 32 or the controller 34 to select and input an answer as to whether or not to purchase a character. The communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70 transmits information on this answer to the server 4.
[0248]
When the server 4 receives, from the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70, information indicating whether or not to purchase a character after the processing in step S105 described above, whether or not the information is information indicating that the character is to be purchased. Is determined (step S106).
[0249]
When it is determined that the received information is information indicating that the character is not purchased, this subroutine is immediately terminated. On the other hand, when it is determined that the received information is information for purchasing a character, the above-described database shown in FIG. 9 is updated (step S107), and this subroutine is terminated.
[0250]
The above-described database shown in FIG. 9 includes information on whether or not a character has been purchased and items for managing the number of chips. By updating these items, the fact that the character has been purchased is updated. Or the change in the number of chips can be updated, and a character that has been rented can be purchased based on the number of chips indicating the degree of exchange with the character. Servers and systems that can be switched to “permanent use authority” can be constructed.
[0251]
By performing the process as described above, it is possible to “change the authority of limited use to the authority of permanent use” or “change the authority through consideration for exchange”. .
[0252]
By doing so, the character that you are accustomed to during rental can be used permanently, and the operator will be conscious of his own character, and there is a possibility that he can associate with the character with peace of mind under this consciousness. It happens. Furthermore, information exchanged only between the operator and the character can be shared, and there is a possibility that the character may be enhanced to be positioned as a so-called life partner.
[0253]
[Rental completion processing]
In addition, when the end date of the rental period comes, it is necessary to prohibit the use of characters in the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70. This process is shown in FIG.
[0254]
First, it is determined whether it is time to transmit rental completion information (step S91). If it is determined that it is not time to transmit the rental completion information, this subroutine is immediately terminated.
[0255]
When it is determined that it is time to transmit the rental completion information, the rental completion information is transmitted to the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70 (step S92).
[0256]
When the rental completion information is transmitted from the server 4, the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70 receives this rental completion information and sets the flag value used in the program executed in the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70. A predetermined value, for example, 1 is set. This flag indicates whether the character is being rented or has been rented. When the character is being rented, the value of the flag is “0”. The value of the flag is “1”.
[0257]
When the above-described rental completion information is received from the server 4, the flag value is set to “1”. When the value of this flag is set to “1” and an attempt is made to display a character or to call a character, for example, a message as shown in FIG. 28, “The rental period has passed. "I can't play with you anymore, but if you'd like, please sign up again. Then you can play with me again." Is displayed on the display device 41 of the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70. The operation of functions using characters is prohibited.
[0258]
By performing such processing, the server 4 performs “giving the communication terminal device authority for limited use of character information” and “determines authority for limited use of character information in the communication terminal device”. It also does.
[0259]
In addition, the value of the above-described flag indicates whether or not “limited use authority” is given, and “the limited use authority for character information is provided to the communication terminal device independently of the program. It gives "giving".
[0260]
In this case, it is possible to visually indicate that the rental period has ended by displaying only the message without displaying the character image. In addition, since the character image is not displayed, it is possible to cause a feeling of wanting to meet the rented character again, and to make the character feel rented again.
[0261]
Further, the content of the message may reflect the character of the rented character so far. By doing so, the operator can remember the character and feel the desire to display the character again, which can be used as a motivation to rent the character again.
[0262]
In the above-described embodiment, “limited use of character information” is shown when the rental is due. However, only regional restrictions or predetermined functions corresponding to persons living in a predetermined area are shown. It is good also as a content restriction which enables to use.
[0263]
【The invention's effect】
According to the present invention, the character can be easily and easily obtained and used, and the “character or image etc.” created based on the “dialog result information” is newly updated by the operator of the communication terminal device and the character. By displaying the information on the display unit of the communication terminal device when interacting with the character, it is possible to have the character interact with the personal topic of the operator. Since the character in the virtual space and the operator in the real space are inseparably linked to each other and the character is melted into a part of life, there is a possibility that the character feels attachment.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a character rental system.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of a communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of a server 4;
FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing an outline of a system for renting a character.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a subroutine executed in the server 4;
6 is a flowchart showing a subroutine of unregistered user processing called and executed in step S14 of the flowchart of FIG.
FIG. 7A is a diagram illustrating an example of a message displayed on the display unit of the display device 41 of the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70 when guidance information for renting a character is transmitted from the server 4. FIG. 5B is a diagram illustrating an example of a message prompting the selection of a character.
FIG. 8 is a table showing an example of a character introduction database that is referred to when a message from a character is transmitted to the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70 in step S24.
FIG. 9 is a table showing an example of a database generated or updated in step S31.
FIG. 10 is a time chart when the subroutine of FIG. 6 is executed.
FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of an image displayed on the display device 41 of the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70 when the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70 receives a mail.
FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of an image displayed on the display device 41 of the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70 when a character asks a question about the content of received mail.
FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of an image displayed on the display device 41 of the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70 when a character offers a game battle to an operator.
FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing a subroutine of unregistered user processing called and executed in step S15 of FIG. 5;
15 is a diagram illustrating an example of an image displayed on the display device 41 of the communication terminal device 10, 60, or 70 when the communication terminal device 10, 60, or 70 receives information for menu display. FIG.
FIG. 16 is a table showing items included in dialogue information between a character and an operator.
FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing a subroutine for interactive information processing that is called and executed in step S46 of the subroutine of FIG. 14;
FIG. 18 is a table showing an example of a database used for character personality setting processing;
FIG. 19 is a table showing an example (a) of a word database used for keyword setting processing and an example (b) of a keyword database generated based on the word database.
FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating an example of a display when a character calls an operator of the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70 using a keyword.
FIG. 21 is a flowchart showing a subroutine of processing for transmitting information from the server 4 to the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70 when the character rental period is approaching.
FIG. 22 shows that when the guide information that the rental deadline is approaching is transmitted from the server 4, the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70 receives this guide information, and the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70 It is a figure which shows an example of the image displayed on a display part.
FIG. 23 is a flowchart showing a character purchase subroutine that is called and executed when the process of step S44 of FIG. 14 is executed;
24 is a diagram illustrating an example of an image displayed on the display unit of the communication terminal device 10, 60, or 70 after the process of step S101 in FIG. 23 is executed.
FIG. 25 is a diagram showing an example of an image displayed on the display unit of the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70 after the process of step S102 of FIG. 23 is executed.
FIG. 26 shows an example (a) of an image displayed on the display unit of the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70 after the process of step S103 of FIG. 23 and the process of step S105 of FIG. FIG. 6B is a diagram illustrating an example (b) of an image displayed on the display unit of the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70.
FIG. 27 is a flowchart showing a subroutine of processing when the end date of the rental period comes.
FIG. 28 is a diagram illustrating an example of a message displayed on the display unit of the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70 when rental completion information is received from the server 4.
FIG. 29 is a flowchart showing a subroutine of processing for displaying an image on the display device 41 of the communication terminal device 10, 60 or 70 when a character and an operator interact with each other.
FIG. 30 is a table showing an example of a database related to dialogue content information as “dialog result information”.
FIG. 31 is a table showing a database of messages used by a character during dialogue, wherein (a) shows a database of “general message” and (b) shows a database of “built-in message”.
FIG. 32 is a diagram showing a state in which keyword information stored in the database of FIG. 19 is accumulated.
33A is a diagram showing an example of an image on which a “general message” is displayed, and FIG. 33B is a diagram showing an example of an image on which a “built-in message” is displayed.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 Character rental system
2 Public telephone line network (communication line)
3 Mobile phone network (communication line)
4 servers
10 Portable communication terminal device (communication terminal device)
41 Display device (display unit)
60 Portable game device (communication terminal device)
70 Mobile phone (communication terminal device)

Claims (2)

A server that is capable of transmitting and receiving data to and from the communication terminal device in a state connected to the communication terminal device via a communication line, stores predetermined data, and includes a word database and a keyword database,
Means for determining the authority for finite use by transmitting a program stored in the server and causing the character to be used for a predetermined period, to the communication terminal device;
Means for extracting a word contained in an email sent to the communication terminal device that has received the program;
Means for generating data relating to a question about the word based on the word and the predetermined character data stored in the server;
Means for displaying data related to the question about the word on the display unit of the communication terminal device by transmitting data related to the question about the word to the communication terminal device;
When data related to the question is displayed on the display unit of the communication terminal device, the communication terminal device transmits data related to the category and the operator's preference as the answer to the question about the word stored in the server. Means for displaying data related to the answer to the question about the word on the display unit of the communication terminal device;
When to display the data relating to answers to questions about the word to the communication terminal device, a select input for data relating to operator preference answers become categories and operator questions about the words in the communication terminal device by performing, means for receiving data on answers to questions about the words about the operator of the communication terminal device,
When data related to an answer to a question about the word related to an operator of the communication terminal device is received, the word is registered in the word database, and data related to an answer to the question about the word is classified into the category of the word and Means for registering as data relating to an operator of the communication terminal device;
A predetermined number of words are extracted from the words registered in the word database based on the number of frequent words stored in the server, and further data relating to the category of the word and the operator of the communication terminal device is extracted. And means for registering in the keyword database;
And a means for transmitting to the communication terminal device, the keyword registered in the keyword database, a category of the keyword, and data relating to an operator of the communication terminal device. A server that is capable of transmitting and receiving data to and from the communication terminal device in a state connected to the communication terminal device via a communication line, stores predetermined data, and includes a word database and a keyword database,
Means for determining the authority for finite use by transmitting a program stored in the server and causing the character to be used for a predetermined period, to the communication terminal device;
Means for extracting a word contained in an email sent by the communication terminal device that has received the program;
Means for generating data relating to a question about the word based on the word and the predetermined character data stored in the server;
Means for displaying data related to the question about the word on the display unit of the communication terminal device by transmitting data related to the question about the word to the communication terminal device;
When data related to the question is displayed on the display unit of the communication terminal device, the communication terminal device transmits data related to the category and the operator's preference as the answer to the question about the word stored in the server. Means for displaying data related to the answer to the question about the word on the display unit of the communication terminal device;
When to display the data relating to answers to questions about the word to the communication terminal device, a select input for data relating to operator preference answers become categories and operator questions about the words in the communication terminal device by performing, means for receiving data on answers to questions about the words about the operator of the communication terminal device,
When data related to an answer to a question about the word related to an operator of the communication terminal device is received, the word is registered in the word database, and data related to an answer to the question about the word is classified into the category of the word and Means for registering as data relating to an operator of the communication terminal device;
A predetermined number of words are extracted from the words registered in the word database based on the number of frequent words stored in the server, and further data relating to the category of the word and the operator of the communication terminal device is extracted. And means for registering in the keyword database;
And a means for transmitting to the communication terminal device, the keyword registered in the keyword database, a category of the keyword, and data relating to an operator of the communication terminal device.

Images