JP5226045B2 - Video game control device and video game control program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for controlling the progress of a virtual life game that is a video game that allows a player character to live in a virtual space.

  In recent years, each player has created their own avatar (characters such as animals and robots appearing on the screen (in a virtual space) as a part of the player in a communication tool such as chat) created by each player. Various network services for communicating with each other player via their own avatars are provided.

  In virtual life games provided by such network services, virtual purchases are made for items such as products and services used by players in the game or virtual experience in a virtual store where the player appears in the game or virtual experience world. Then, there is one that records this virtual purchase record and calculates an advertising fee for a sponsor corresponding to the virtual store based on this virtual purchase record (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2002-074152

  However, in such a virtual life game, the item acquisition path by the player is limited for each item in advance, and there is a problem that the game is lacking in preference.

  In other words, when a player desires to acquire a predetermined item in a virtual life game, the player uses an acquisition path (for example, currency in the game) set in advance for each item, except for actions that are transferred from other players. Or clearing an event such as defeating a predetermined enemy character), there is a problem that the desired item may be acquired and there is a case where the preference is lacking.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a variation in an item acquisition route in a so-called virtual life game.

  The video game control device of the present invention is a video game control device that controls the progress of a virtual life game, which is a video game that makes a player character live in a virtual space, and shows the progress of the virtual life game related to the player character. The player character possesses player information storage means for storing player information, item specification rule storage means for storing a plurality of item specification rules for specifying a predetermined item based on a plurality of items, and the player character in the virtual space. A plurality of items based on respective item information indicating the characteristics of the plurality of material items received by the material item receiving means and the material item receiving means for receiving a plurality of possessed items as material items from the possessed items Adopt specific rules A rule determining unit that determines an item specifying rule, and a grant that identifies a predetermined item based on a plurality of material items received by the material item receiving unit as an granted item according to the item specifying rule determined by the rule determining unit The player information is updated in order to give the player character the grant item specified by the grant item specification means instead of the item specification means and the plurality of material items received by the material item reception means. And player information updating means.

  With the above-described configuration, it is possible to give variations to the item acquisition route in the so-called virtual life game.

  The item information includes an item name, an item level determined by at least one of an item acquisition location and a rare value component of the item, and the rule determining means includes the item name and the item in the item information. The item specifying rule may be determined based on the level.

  As the item specifying rule, a normal item specifying rule that specifies only items that can be acquired through life in a virtual space as a predetermined item, and a special item that cannot be acquired depending on life in the virtual space is specified as a predetermined item. A possible special item specifying rule, and the rule determining means is an item specifying rule corresponding to the item name in the item information, and the item specifying rule that matches the item level in the item information You may be set as the structure determined to the item specific rule to employ | adopt.

  As the special item specifying rule, a plurality of special item specifying rules having different probabilities that the special item is specified as a predetermined item is provided, and the rule determining means has a high item level in the item information As a matter of course, a special item specifying rule in which the special item is specified with a high probability as a predetermined item may be determined as the adopted item specifying rule.

  The special item may include a product item that is an item corresponding to the product.

  Furthermore, the video game control program of the present invention is a video game control program for controlling the progress of a virtual life game that is a video game that allows a player character to live in a virtual space, and the progress of the virtual life game related to the player character. A computer comprising: player information storage means for storing player information indicating a plurality of item specification rule storage means for storing a plurality of item specification rules for specifying a predetermined item based on a plurality of items; A material item reception step for receiving a plurality of possession items as material items from among possession items possessed by the player character, and item information indicating characteristics of the plurality of material items received in the material item reception step, respectively. Base And accepting at the material item accepting step according to a rule determining step for determining an item specifying rule to be adopted from among the plurality of item specifying rules, and an item specifying rule determined for the item specifying rule to be adopted at the rule determining step The grant item specifying step that specifies a predetermined item based on a plurality of material items as the grant item, and the grant item specified in the grant item specifying step instead of the plurality of material items received in the material item receiving step In order to give to the player character, a player information update step of updating the player information is executed.

  According to the present invention, in the so-called virtual life game, it is possible to give variations to the item acquisition route.

It is a block diagram which shows the example of a video game control system. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of the storage state of player information. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of the storage state of raising item information. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of the storage state of collection item information. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of the storage state of miracle box information. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of a game screen. It is a conceptual diagram for demonstrating the concept of a miracle box. It is a flowchart which shows the example of a miracle box process. It is a flowchart which shows the example of an advertisement item provision process. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of the game screen containing an advertisement item image.

  Hereinafter, an example of an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

<First Embodiment>
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a video game control system showing an example of an embodiment of the present invention. The video game control system 100 includes a video game control server 10, a plurality of player terminals 21 to 2N (N = 1, 2,...), And a search server 50. The video game control server 10, the player terminals 21 to 2N, and the search server 50 are each connected to a communication network 30 such as the Internet.

  The video game control server 10 is an information processing apparatus such as a WWW server, for example, and is managed by a system administrator. The video game control server 10 has a function of providing a video game to the plurality of player terminals 21 to 2N via the communication network 30. In this example, the case where the video game control server 10 provides a so-called virtual life game will be described as an example.

  In addition, the video game control server 10 in this example includes a material item receiving unit 10A, a rule determining unit 10B, an assigned item specifying unit 10C, a player information updating unit 10D, a breeding item adding unit 10E, and an item level specifying unit. 10F.

  10 A of material item reception parts are the possession items which the player character (for example, avatar) corresponding to each of the several player terminals 21-2N possesses in the virtual space in the virtual life game which the video game control server 10 provides. To have a function of receiving a plurality of possessed items as material items. The material item received by the material item receiving unit 10A is used in the miracle box process (see FIG. 8). The miracle box process will be described in detail later.

  The rule determination unit 10B has a function of determining an item specification rule to be adopted from among a plurality of item specification rules based on each item information indicating the characteristics of the plurality of material items received by the material item reception unit 10A. . It is assumed that “item information” and “item specifying rule” in this example are stored in various DBs (databases) included in the video game control server 10. The DB in which main information related to the virtual life game is stored will be described in detail later.

  The granted item specifying unit 10C has a function of specifying a predetermined item based on a plurality of material items received by the material item receiving unit 10A as a given item according to the item specifying rule determined by the rule determining unit 10B.

  The player information update unit 10D updates the player information in order to give the player character the grant item specified by the grant item specification unit 10C in place of the plurality of material items received by the material item reception unit 10A. It has the function to do. Specifically, the player information update unit 10D performs a process of deleting the material item information from the player information and adding the added item information instead.

  The breeding item provision unit 10E has a function of imparting an item (nurturing item) trained by the player character to the player character in the virtual life game provided by the video game control server 10. Specifically, the nurturing item provision unit 10E performs item nurturing processing (item parameter management, satisfaction of predetermined nurturing conditions, etc.) according to the progress of the virtual life game, and satisfies the predetermined nurturing conditions The process which provides the player with the selected item as a training item is performed.

  The item level specifying unit 10F has a function of specifying the item level of the item information to be added when various item information is added to the player information. The item level will be described in detail later (see FIG. 3).

  In addition, the video game control server 10 in this example includes a game information DB 11 that is a storage medium in which game information indicating various information used for providing a virtual life game is stored, a player information DB 12, and breeding item information. DB13, collection item information DB14, and miracle box information DB15 are provided.

  The player information DB 12 is a storage medium that stores player information indicating the progress of the virtual life game related to the player character.

  FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a storage state of player information in the player information DB 12. As shown in FIG. 2, the player information in this example includes a terminal ID for uniquely identifying a player terminal, a character level indicating a level of a player character corresponding to each player terminal, and each player character. Includes various items possessed (including breeding items, collected items, and special items. Various items will be described later), and growing items indicating items being raised by the player character in the virtual life game. . Note that the information stored in the player information is not limited to this, and various information related to the progress of the video game such as the action history of the player in the virtual life game is stored.

  The breeding item information DB 13 is a storage medium that stores breeding item information indicating information related to the breeding item that is an item that can be acquired by the player character performing the breeding work in the virtual life game. As the “nurturing work” executed in the virtual life game, for example, seed planting, watering, harvesting, and the like can be considered.

  FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a storage state of the training item information in the training item information DB 13. As shown in FIG. 3, the breeding item information in this example includes an item ID for uniquely identifying a breeding item, a breeding item name, an item level, a breeding place level, a rare value component (beautiful level and Size level).

  Here, the values indicating the respective levels set for each breeding item include those for which a predetermined width is set. In this case, each level is determined by the item level specifying unit 10F in advance in the training item information DB 13 based on the situation when the player character acquires the training item (for example, the training process of the training item, the type of the training place, etc.). Identify according to stored criteria (not shown).

  That is, for example, in the case where the breeding item “flower” is at the breeding place level, if the breeding place is “forest” and “desert”, the flower grown in “desert” is the flower grown in “forest” because of the difficulty of breeding. The training place level is higher than.

  The “rare value component” is a value indicating the rarity of the breeding item determined by the contents of the training work in the virtual life game, a predetermined probability, or the like. In this example, the “beautiful level” determined by the beauty of the cultivated item and the “growth size level” determined by the cultivated size of the cultivated item are included as rare value components.

  For example, in the case of the breeding item “real”, if the value indicating the beauty of “real” harvested by the breeding work by the player character is high, the level of cleanliness becomes high. In addition, if the size of the “fruit” is large, the size level at which it grows increases.

  The “item level” indicates the value of the item determined from the breeding place level and the rare value component. The item level is specified by the item level specifying unit 10F when the item is given to the player character. In this example, the item level specifying unit 10F specifies, as the item level, the sum of the training item level and the rare value component when the training item is given to the player character.

  The collected item information DB 14 is a storage medium that stores collected item information indicating information related to a collected item that is an item that can be acquired by the player character performing a collection operation in the virtual life game. Note that examples of the “collecting work” executed in the virtual life game include fishing and insect trapping.

  FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of the storage state of the collection item information in the collection item information DB 14. As shown in FIG. 4, the collected item information in this example includes an item ID for uniquely identifying a collected item, a collected item name, an item level, a collection location level, and a rare value component (collection time level). And size level).

  Here, since the configuration of the collection item information corresponds to the configuration of the cultivation item information, the collection item information and the cultivation item information are hereinafter collectively referred to as “item information” as appropriate. The “collection place level” in the collection item information is data corresponding to the “cultivation place level” in the breeding item information. Hereinafter, the collection place level and the breeding place level are collectively referred to as “item acquisition place level” as appropriate. Call.

  The miracle box information DB 15 is a storage medium that stores miracle box information including a plurality of item specifying rules for specifying a predetermined item based on a plurality of items.

  FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the storage state of the miracle box information in the miracle box information DB 15. As shown in FIG. 5, the miracle box information in this example includes a box ID for uniquely specifying the miracle box, a box name, a selection condition, and an item specifying rule.

  Here, the “selection condition” indicates a condition for selecting each box in a miracle box process (see FIG. 8) described later. In this example, it is assumed that “material item” and “determination level” are set as selection conditions. In the “material item”, combinations of various items are set (in FIG. 5, it is indicated by a combination of item IDs, but it is sufficient that the combination of items can be specified. Or, if a genre is set for an item, it may be a combination of genres.) Here, the rule regarding the combination of items is not particularly limited, and may be of the same type (for example, breeding items) or a plurality of types (nurturing item, collection item, and special item). The “determination level” is a level calculated according to the item level of the item information indicating the item received as the material item. In this example, the rule determination unit 10B calculates the sum of the item levels included in the item information indicated by the item received as the material item as the determination level.

  Further, in this example, the item specifying rule is usually used when specifying an granted item attribute ratio and an item (ordinary item) that can be acquired by life in the virtual space as an item (given item) to be given to the player character. It includes an item specifying ratio and a special item specifying ratio used when an item (special item) that cannot be acquired depending on the life in the virtual space is specified as a grant item.

  Here, the “grant item attribute ratio” is a rule for determining the attribute of the grant item. In this example, the grant item attribute ratio indicates which of the normal item and the special item is the grant item. It should be noted that the miracle box information in which either the ratio of the normal item selected or the ratio of the special item selected is “0” may be included. In this example, an item specifying rule that specifies only a normal item as a grant item is called a “normal item specification rule”, and an item specification rule that can specify a special item as a grant item is called a “special item specification rule”. I will do it. Further, a rule other than the ratio, for example, “predetermined mini-game win / loss” may be set.

  In addition, in order to identify the granted item after the attribute of the granted item is identified according to the granted item attribute ratio, the item specification rule indicates the item candidate and the rate at which the item candidate is selected. Item specific percent and special item specific ratio) are stored in association with each other.

  That is, in the miracle box process (see FIG. 8), which will be described later, for example, when a miracle box with box ID “B2” is selected, the granted item becomes a normal item with a probability of 90%. Further, the granted item becomes an item corresponding to the item ID “C1” with a probability of 80% of the normal items.

  Information relating to “special items” that can be given in the miracle box process (for example, item name, item level, and other effects when used) may be stored in the game information DB 11 or the breeding item. Or it is good also as a structure classified into the collection item and memorize | stored in each breeding item information DB13 and collection item information DB14.

  In the miracle box information in this example, when the material item is the same, the higher the determination level is, the higher the ratio of the special item in the granted item attribute ratio is set. By adopting such a configuration, the rule determination unit 10B has a higher probability that the higher the item level in the item information of the item received as a material item is, the higher the determination level is. The item specifying rule to be specified is determined as the item specifying rule to be adopted.

  Each of the player terminals 21 to 2N is managed by each player, and is configured by various information processing devices such as a portable game device, a stationary game device, a computer device, and a mobile phone. In addition, it is assumed that the player terminals 21 to 2N in this example include a Web browser that can execute a portal site provided by the search server 50 and a virtual life game provided by the video game control server 10.

  The search server 50 is a server that provides a portal site, and has a function as a search engine that searches various information from various information devices connected to the communication network 30. In addition, the search server 50 in this example receives search character strings from the plurality of player terminals 21 to 2N via the video game control server 10. Further, the search server 50 has a function of notifying the video game control server 10 of the search history of each of the plurality of player terminals 21 to 2N, the access history to the web page, and the like as player information.

  Here, the virtual life game executed in this example will be described. One purpose of the virtual life game in this example is to perform gardening in a virtual space.

  FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a game screen displayed on the display device included in each of the player terminals 21 to 2N in the video game of this example. As shown in FIG. 6, the game screen includes an avatar P as a player character operated by the player, a search screen display area 110 that accepts input of a search character string, a cultivation area 120, and an owned cultivation area display area 130. An item display area 140, a display screen change button group display area 150 that accepts a display screen change request, and various processes in a virtual life game (for example, for a player who is playing a virtual life game in the same virtual space) And an action button group display area 160 for receiving a request to execute a conversation process or a shooting process for saving a game screen as an image.

  The search screen display area 110 includes a search character string reception area 111 that accepts input of a search character string, a search button 112 that accepts a search execution request for a Web page using the search character string accepted in the search character string acceptance area, and a video game And a hint display area 113 for displaying a hint related to a recommended search character string recommended for proceeding with. Here, the hint displayed in the hint display area 113 may be configured to be displayed by the video game control server 10 according to a predetermined program from the game information and the player information, or a system administrator of the video game control server 10. It is good also as a structure which displays the hint input by (1).

  The cultivation area 120 is an area in which the avatar P can move, and the cultivatable item “seed” (the grown item becomes the cultivated item “flower”, and the cultivated item “fruit” can be harvested by continuing the cultivating work. This is an area where an item set in advance as an item can be cultivated. As the video game progresses, the player seeds the cultivation area 120, waters it, raises fertilizer, blooms flowers, sells the bloomed flowers, and obtains virtual currency to advance the virtual life game. Note that the growable item information indicating information related to the growable item may be stored in the grow item information DB 13 in a state associated with the grow item information, or may be stored in another DB.

  The owned cultivation area display area 130 is an area that displays the cultivation area acquired by the player in accordance with the progress of the virtual life game. In addition to the cultivation area, the player can also acquire pets and miscellaneous items.

  The item display area 140 is a display area that shows items that can be used by the player in the virtual life game (including breeding items, growable items, collected items, and special items). For example, when the player has the basic item “seed”, the seed icon 141 is displayed to be selectable.

  Note that a virtual area indicating a virtually created area such as a town and an avatar operated by the players of the player terminals 21 to 2N are also displayed on the game screen. Moreover, the object displayed on a game screen is not limited to these, For example, the avatar which is not operated by the player may be displayed.

  The virtual area is created as two-dimensional data by a bitmap, for example. In this example, it is assumed that the avatar P is created as two-dimensional data using a sprite image (vector format image).

  In the virtual life game of this example, the avatars operated by each player in the “forest” prepared in advance as a virtual area communicate with each other while performing actions related to gardening and gardening (chat Etc.), earning points equivalent to money and buying goods such as miscellaneous goods that decorate the forest, and performing a virtual life.

  That is, the “virtual life game” is a game for enjoying a virtual life using an avatar as a player's alternation, and the video game control server 10 stores a virtual field and various contents for progressing the “virtual life game”. Provided to each of the player terminals 21 to 2N.

  Next, “miracle box”, which is another feature of the virtual life game in this example, will be described.

  FIG. 7 is a conceptual diagram for explaining the concept of the miracle box. FIG. 7 shows the correspondence between the miracle box 201, the material item group 202, and the assigned items 203 and 204. As shown in FIG. 7, the miracle box 201 receives the material item and outputs the granted item 203 (ordinary item “table”) or the granted item 204 (special item “round table”) according to a predetermined rule. To do.

  In addition, the miracle box 201 in this example is configured to include items that are difficult to associate with material items (for example, flowers and fish) as material items to be output (for example, tables and round tables). Invisible items). With such a configuration, the player can be interested in the miracle box, and the use of the miracle box can be encouraged. Note that the miracle box 201 may be configured to output items related to the material item group 202 (for example, a dish using flowers and fish, a table depicting flowers and fish, etc.).

  Next, the operation of the video game control server 10 of this example will be described.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an example of the miracle box process executed by the video game control server 10. The miracle box process is started, for example, in response to the video game control server 10 receiving a request for using the miracle box by the player. Here, an example will be described in which the video game control server 10 receives a miracle box use request from the player A who operates the avatar P as a player character by the player terminal 21. Note that detailed descriptions of processes not particularly related to the present invention may be omitted.

  In the miracle box process, the video game control server 10 first accepts selection of a material item (or material item group, the same applies hereinafter) from the player terminal 21 (step S801).

  When the selection of the material item is accepted, the video game control server 10 calculates the determination level of the accepted material item (step S802). Here, the video game control server 10 refers to the item level in the item information corresponding to the material item by the rule determination unit 10B, and calculates the sum of the plurality of item levels as the determination level.

  When the determination level is calculated, the video game control server 10 refers to the miracle box information, and determines the miracle box corresponding to the material item and the determination level as the miracle box to be adopted (step S803). Thereby, the item specific rule to employ | adopt is determined.

  When the miracle box to be adopted is determined, the video game control server 10 starts a miracle box event according to the game information stored in the game information DB 11 (step S804). Here, the “miracle box event” means that the player terminal 21 outputs a predetermined game screen or music indicating that the material item is converted to the granted item.

  When the miracle box event is started, the video game control server 10 determines the attribute of the grant item (ordinary item or special item) to be given to the avatar P according to the grant item attribute ratio corresponding to the determined miracle box (step S805). ). In addition, the video game control server 10 realizes the selection of the attribute with the probability set in the miracle box information as the attached item attribute ratio by the general method using a random number, for example, by the grant item specifying unit 10C. The same applies to the determination of the granted item.

  When the attribute of the grant item is determined, the video game control server 10 determines the grant item to be granted to the avatar P according to the item specification ratio (normal item specification ratio or special item specification ratio) corresponding to the determined attribute (step S806). ).

  When the grant item is specified, the video game control server 10 updates the player information in order to give the specified grant item to the avatar P instead of the material item by the player information update unit 10D (step S807). .

  Specifically, the player information update unit 10D deletes item information indicating the material item corresponding to the adopted miracle box from the player information, and adds item information indicating the specified granted item to the player information. At this time, the video game control server 10 performs a process of specifying the item level of the granted item by the item level specifying unit 10F.

  When the player information is updated, the video game control server 10 determines whether or not there is a remaining material item (that is, a material item that has not been used for specifying the granted item) (step S808). Here, if it is determined that there are remaining material items (Y in step S808), the video game control server 10 proceeds to the process in step S802.

  On the other hand, when it is determined that there are no remaining material items (or when an input indicating that the remaining material items are not used is received from the player terminal 21 or the like) (N in step S808), the video game control server 10 The box event ends (step S809), and the process here ends. If there is a limit on the number of times the miracle box is used, the video game control server 10 refers to the limit information indicating the limit contents and proceeds to the process of step S802 (N in step S808). Or it is good also as a structure which determines whether it transfers to the process of step S809 (Y of step S808).

  As described above, in the above-described embodiment, a video game control device (for example, a video game) that controls the progress of a virtual life game that is a video game for allowing a player character (for example, an avatar P) to live in a virtual space. The control server 10) stores a player information DB 12 that stores player information indicating the progress of the virtual life game related to the player character, and an item specifying rule storage that stores a plurality of item specifying rules that specify a predetermined item based on a plurality of items. Part (for example, miracle box information DB15), a plurality of possessed items are accepted as material items from possessed items possessed by the player character in the virtual space, and the characteristics of the accepted plurality of material items are respectively shown. Each item information (for example, Based on the item identification rule, the item identification rule to be adopted is determined among the plurality of item identification rules, and the predetermined item based on the plurality of material items received in accordance with the item identification rule determined as the item identification rule to be adopted (For example, a normal item or a special item) is specified as a grant item, and the player information is updated in order to grant the specified grant item to the player character instead of the received plurality of material items. In so-called virtual life games, it is possible to give variations to item acquisition paths.

  In other words, since the material item can be changed to another item according to the rule determined based on the item as the material item, the item acquisition route can have variations, and the game The preference can be improved.

  In the embodiment described above, item information (for example, breeding item information and collected item information) is an item level determined by at least one of an item name, an item acquisition location, and a rare value component of the item. (For example, a breeding place level or a collection place level indicating a level according to an item acquisition place, a clean level indicating a level according to a rare value component of the item, a grown size level, a collection time level, and a magnitude. And the video game control device (for example, the video game control server 10) determines the item specifying rule based on the item name and the item level in the item information. , It is now possible to associate granted items with the characteristics of material items .

  That is, for example, as a valuable item in a virtual life game is used as a material item, an item specifying rule that has a higher probability of obtaining a valuable item as an assigned item can be adopted. Note that the configuration of the item information is not limited to this, and for example, a configuration may be adopted in which a plurality of items are classified into a predetermined category. In this case, it is preferable that the item specification rule storage unit (for example, the miracle box information DB 15) includes an item category as one element constituting the selection condition.

  Further, although not specifically mentioned in the above-described embodiment, the player may be configured such that the item level cannot be recognized by the player in the virtual life game. With such a configuration, even when the player uses a combination of the same items multiple times as a material item, a miracle box (that is, an item identification rule) that the player does not expect may be employed. You can prevent getting bored with box events. In this case, an item level used for determining the item specifying rule in the virtual life game and an item level in other scenes (for example, a scene where an item is sold) are provided separately. A recognizable configuration is preferable.

  In the above-described embodiment, as an item specifying rule, an item attribute (for example, a normal item or a special item) to be assigned is determined by a grant item attribute ratio, and an item having the determined attribute is specified as a grant item. Since the normal item specifying ratio or the special ratio is used, it is possible to give variations to items that can be acquired by the player using the material item. In addition, the determination method of an item specific rule is not limited to this.

  That is, the item specification rule includes a normal item specification rule (for example, box A) that specifies only items that can be acquired by life in the virtual space (for example, a normal item) as a predetermined item, and a life in the virtual space. And a special item specifying rule (for example, boxes B, C, and D) that can specify a special item that cannot be acquired as a predetermined item, and a video game control device (for example, video game control server 10) is provided. The item specification rule corresponding to the item name in the item information (for example, breeding item information and collected item information), and the item level in the item information (for example, the determination level that is the sum of the item levels of the material items) is suitable Decide on item specific rule to adopt item specific rule That only needs to be configured.

  In the above-described embodiment, a plurality of special item specifying rules having different probabilities that a special item is specified as a predetermined item is provided as a special item specifying rule, and a video game control device (for example, video game control) is provided. As the item level in the item information (for example, the determination level that is the sum of the item levels of the material items) is higher, the server 10) sets a special item specifying rule that specifies a special item with a higher probability as a predetermined item. Since it is set as the item specific rule to employ | adopt, it becomes possible to give the motive which uses an item with a high item level as a material item effectively with respect to a player.

  Although not specifically mentioned in the above-described embodiment, the special item is a product item corresponding to a product (for example, an item imitating a form of a product that can be used in real life, or a product used in real life) It is good also as a structure containing the item which can be exchanged for possible goods. By adopting such a configuration, it becomes possible to effectively promote the sponsor's product of the virtual life game.

  In this case, as a material item to which a product item may be given, an item that has been set in advance as an item related to the product item (for example, an item that serves as an advertisement related to a provider of a product corresponding to the product item) It is preferable that the advertising item or the like is set. With such a configuration, the advertising role of the advertising item can be emphasized. In addition, for example, when the virtual life game is a game whose main axis is item training, it is preferable that the training item is associated with the sponsor.

  Hereinafter, an example of another embodiment of the present invention in the case where the virtual life game has the main item as an item will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that other embodiments described below will be described with a focus on differences from the first embodiment described above. Therefore, the same components as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted. Unless otherwise specified, the same components are assumed to be the same.

<Second Embodiment>
In the second embodiment, the video game control server 10 includes a search character string receiving unit 10a, an item search character string specifying unit 10b, and a breeding item provision determining unit 10c (not shown). Further, it is assumed that the information on the product and the sponsor (sponsor information) is stored in association with each other (not shown) in the breeding item information, the special item information, and the miracle box information.

  Further, in the present embodiment, it is assumed that the sponsor information is not associated with the growable item information. And the advertising item which is a breeding item with which sponsor information was matched is matched as a candidate of the breeding item which can grow a growable item. That is, the growable item in this example is an item that can be a plurality of types of items depending on the breeding situation and the like.

  Here, the “sponsor information” includes a description about the characteristics of the product, a price of the product, a description about the sponsor, information about a Web page provided by the sponsor, and the like. In addition, the miracle box information DB 15 that stores the item specifying rule includes a box that can be selected when a breeding item (advertisement item) in which predetermined sponsor information is associated with the material item is included. In addition, it is assumed that a special item (product item) associated with sponsor information is set as a grant candidate item in a box including an advertising item as a material item. In addition, it is good also as a structure by which a merchandise item is included as a raw material item, and it is good also as a structure by which an advertising item is included in a provision candidate item.

  The search character string receiving unit 10a has a function for receiving a search character string for the search server 50 to perform information search. Specifically, the search character string receiving unit 10a performs a search input to the search character string input area 111 (see FIG. 6) in the search screen display area 110 in the virtual life game executed at each of the player terminals 21 to 2N. Receive a string.

  The item search character string specifying unit 10b receives a search character string received by the search character string receiving unit 10a (a character string received for performing a Web search by the search server 50. For “item search character string”, “Web In response to receiving “search string” or “basic search string”, the item corresponding to the search string among the various items indicated by the item information (that is, the item name in the item information, etc.) The item search character string for searching for (items including the search character string) is specified.

  Specifically, the item search character string specifying unit 10b specifies words included in the search character string and specifies each word as an item search character string. The method for specifying the item search character string is not limited to this, and for example, the search character string may be specified as the item search character string as it is. When the video game control server 10 includes thesaurus data, a word similar to the word included in the search character string may be included in the item search character string. Thereby, the video game control server 10 can specify the “search character string” and the “item search character string” substantially simultaneously.

  The item grant determination unit 10c applies an advertisement item to the player characters (for example, avatars) of the player terminals 21 to 2N according to the progress of the virtual life game at each of the player terminals 21 to 2N, the usage contents of the search server 50, and the like. It has a function of determining whether to give or not based on a predetermined standard. In this example, the item provision determination unit 10c refers to the growable item information and determines the breeding item to be given to the player when the item growth condition of the growable item is satisfied.

  FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the advertisement item provision process executed by the video game control server 10. The advertisement item provision process is started in response to the virtual life game being started at the player terminals 21 to 2N, for example. Here, a case where advertisement item information (that is, breeding item information having sponsor information) is added to the player information according to the progress of the game will be described as an example. Note that detailed descriptions of processes not particularly related to the present invention may be omitted.

  In the advertisement item provision process, the video game control server 10 first refers to the player information and determines whether there is an item being nurtured (step S901). In this example, when the player A uses an item stored as a cultivatable item in the virtual life game, the video game control server 10 stores the used item as a cultivatable item being cultivated. Specifically, in response to the player A performing an operation of sowing the cultivatable item “seed” in the cultivation area 120 (or an operation of filling the seed in the cultivation area 120), the video game control server 10 determines that the player The information DB 12 stores that the cultivatable item is in the cultivated state, the cultivating place of the cultivatable item, and the like.

  If it is determined that there is no item being raised (Y in step S901), the video game control server 10 determines whether or not an item growth condition corresponding to the item being raised is satisfied (step S902). If it is determined that the item growth condition is not satisfied (N in step S902), the video game control server 10 proceeds to the process in step S906 and the game displays a screen.

  On the other hand, if it is determined that the item growth condition is satisfied (Y in step 902), the video game control server 10 searches the search history (ie, within 3 days before the item granting condition is satisfied) (ie, within 3 days before the item granting condition is satisfied) (ie, It is determined whether or not the search character string received from the player terminal 21 has a sponsor name corresponding to the breeding item in which the item being grown can grow (step S903). Here, if it is determined that there is no sponsor name of the merchandise item corresponding to the breeding item in the search history within the predetermined period (N in step S903), the video game control server 10 proceeds to the process in step S905 described later.

  On the other hand, if it is determined that the search history within the predetermined period has a sponsor name corresponding to the cultivated item in which the item being cultivated can grow (Y in step S903), the video game control server 10 accesses the access history within the predetermined period. Then, it is confirmed whether or not there is access to the Web page provided by the sponsor corresponding to the cultivated item (step 904).

  When the presence / absence of access to the web page provided by the sponsor corresponding to the cultivated item that the item being cultivated can grow is confirmed, the video game control server 10 uses the item granting determination unit 10c as a result of the cultivatable item growth. A breeding item is determined (step S905). At this time, if there is no sponsor name in the search history (N in step S903), the item assignment determination unit 10c determines an advertising item associated with predetermined sponsor information as a growth result. Moreover, in this example, as the candidate of the training item that the growable item can grow, “the training item selected when there is no access history to the Web page included in the search history” and “included in the search history” In addition, it is assumed that there is a “nurturing item to be selected when there is an access history to the Web page”. At this time, the video game control server 10 may be configured to be able to determine a growth item that is not associated with sponsor information as a growth result.

  When determining the advertising item as the growth result, the video game control server 10 displays the advertising item image (step S906). In this example, the video game control server 10 displays a game screen including an advertisement item image on the player terminal 21 (that is, the player terminal 21 receives information for displaying a game screen including the advertisement item image on the player terminal 21). To the terminal 21).

  FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a game screen including an advertisement item image. As shown in FIG. 10, the advertisement item image B is displayed in the cultivation area 120 on the game screen. At this time, when the video game control server 10 adds the advertising item information to the player information of the player A, as a result, the advertising item is given to the player A at this time. That is, in this case, the advertisement item is given to the player A regardless of the intention of the player A.

  When the game screen including the advertisement item image is transmitted, the video game control server 10 determines whether or not an advertisement item acquisition request is received from the player terminal 21 (step S907). In this example, the player terminal 21 transmits an advertisement item acquisition request to the video game control server 10 in response to the selection of the advertisement item image B by the player A.

  When the advertisement item acquisition request is not received (N in step S907), the video game control server 10 proceeds to the process in step S901. On the other hand, when receiving the advertisement item acquisition request (Y in step S907), the video game control server 10 deletes the advertisement item image B from the game screen (step S908).

  When the advertising item is deleted from the game screen, the video game control server 10 updates the player information so that the player A can use the advertising item indicated by the advertising item information (step S909), and proceeds to the processing of step S901. To do.

  For example, the advertisement item provision processing ends in response to the closing of the Web browser at the player terminal 21.

  As described above, in the above-described second embodiment, an advertisement item is assigned to an avatar that is a player character based on the use state (search history or access history) of the search server 50 by the player. did. With such a configuration, it is possible to perform an advertisement according to the preference of the player in the virtual life game.

  Further, by storing the sponsor information in association with the item identification rule, the advertisement item acquired by the player in the advertisement item provision process (see FIG. 9) is converted into the miracle box process (see FIG. 8), it is possible to effectively advertise the product of the sponsor of the virtual life game.

  Although not particularly mentioned in the second embodiment described above, it may be configured to include a collection item associated with sponsor information. In this case, for example, it may be configured such that the player can guess the sponsor information corresponding to the collected item in a state (for example, a background) where the collected item can be collected in the virtual space. With such a configuration, it is possible to avoid an advertisement that the player does not intend at all.

  Note that the video game control system 100 according to the first and second embodiments described above can be applied not only to virtual life games that can grow seeds and pets, but also to video games that use items. . Further, the present invention can be applied not only to a game executed by a client server type system but also to a game that can be executed by reading game software using a single game device.

  Although not particularly mentioned in the first and second embodiments described above, the video game control server 10 has been described above according to a control program (video game control program) stored in a storage device included in the video game control server 10. Perform various processes.

  Although not particularly mentioned in the first and second embodiments described above, a plurality of growth stages may be provided before growing from a growable item to a growable item. Moreover, you may be set as the structure including the case where a special item grows into another cultivation item.

  According to the present invention, in a video game provided as a network service, in particular, in a virtual life game, it is useful for enabling variation in an item acquisition route.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Video game control server 10A Material item reception part 10B Rule determination part 10C Granted item specific | specification part 10D Player information update part 10E Raised item provision part 10F Item level specific part 11 Game information DB
12 Player information DB
13 Training item information DB
14 Collection item information DB
15 Miracle Box Information DB
21 to 2N player terminal 30 communication network 50 search server 100 video game control system

Claims (6)

A video game control device for controlling the progress of a virtual life game, which is a video game that makes a player character live in a virtual space,
Player information storage means for storing player information indicating the progress of the virtual life game relating to the player character;
Item specifying rule storage means for storing a plurality of item specifying rules for specifying a predetermined item based on a plurality of items;
Material item receiving means for receiving a plurality of possessed items as material items from possessed items possessed by the player character in the virtual space;
Rule determining means for determining an item specifying rule to be adopted among the plurality of item specifying rules based on each item information indicating the characteristics of the plurality of material items received by the material item receiving means;
Grant item specifying means for specifying a predetermined item based on a plurality of material items received by the material item receiving means as a grant item according to the item specification rule determined by the item specification rule adopted by the rule determining means;
Player information updating means for updating the player information in order to give the player character the grant item specified by the grant item specifying means instead of the plurality of material items accepted by the material item accepting means. And a video game control device. The item information includes an item name, an item level determined by at least one of an item acquisition location and a rare value component of the item,
The video game control device according to claim 1, wherein the rule determining means determines an item specifying rule based on the item name and item level in the item information. As the item specifying rule, a normal item specifying rule that specifies only items that can be acquired through life in a virtual space as a predetermined item, and a special item that cannot be acquired depending on life in the virtual space is specified as a predetermined item. There are special item identification rules that are possible,
The item determination rule according to claim 2, wherein the rule determination unit determines an item specification rule that corresponds to the item name in the item information and that matches an item level in the item information as the item specification rule to be adopted. Video game control device. As the special item specification rule, a plurality of special item specification rules having different probabilities that the special item is specified as a predetermined item are provided,
The rule determination means determines the special item specification rule that adopts the special item specification rule that specifies the specific item as a predetermined item with a high probability as the item level in the item information is higher. The video game control device described. The video game control device according to claim 3, wherein the special item includes a product item that is an item corresponding to a product. A video game control program for controlling the progress of a virtual life game that is a video game that makes a player character live in a virtual space,
Player information storage means for storing player information indicating the progress status of the virtual life game relating to the player character, and item specification rule storage means for storing a plurality of item specification rules for specifying a predetermined item based on a plurality of items. Computer
A material item receiving step of receiving a plurality of possessed items as material items from possessed items possessed by the player character in the virtual space;
A rule determining step for determining an item specifying rule to be adopted from among the plurality of item specifying rules, based on the respective item information indicating the characteristics of the plurality of material items received in the material item receiving step;
In accordance with the item specification rule determined in the item specification rule adopted in the rule determination step, an assignment item specification step for specifying a predetermined item based on a plurality of material items received in the material item reception step as an assignment item,
A player information update step for updating the player information in order to give the player character the grant item specified in the grant item specification step instead of the plurality of material items received in the material item reception step. And a video game control program to execute.

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