JP5908319B2 - Game program and game system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a game program and a game system for controlling character movement in a virtual game space.

  Conventionally, there are games such as action games and role-playing games in which a player character (hereinafter sometimes abbreviated as a PC) is operated in a virtual game space in response to a player's operation. In this type of game, in addition to the PC, there is a non-player character (hereinafter sometimes abbreviated as NPC) that acts together with the PC in the game space and fights in cooperation with the PC in the battle with the enemy character. Some appear. The NPC is a character that cannot be directly operated by the player, and is set so as to act in the game space according to a predetermined rule.

  In such a game, a configuration has been proposed in which an external system such as a server device is accessed via a network to acquire NPC data that acts together with the PC (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2). In particular, in the configuration of Patent Document 1, NPC data that has been grown on a certain game terminal (one account) is stored in the server device, so that the other game terminal (other account) stores the data in the server device. It is possible to use a stored NPC (borrow an NPC).

JP 2002-325971 A JP 2003-957 A

  However, in the configuration of Patent Document 1, even if an NPC borrowed from another account through the server device is allowed to act together with the PC at the own game terminal (own account), the NPC is not used in the game progress based on the own account. Information (eg, knowledge, experience, items, etc.) acquired by is not reflected in the save data of the account that uploaded the NPC. In the configuration of Patent Document 2, the NPC borrowed from the server device can affect the character possessed by the own account, but the information of the NPC possessed by the server device varies depending on the character possessed by the own account. There was no.

  One reason for this is that, for game security, the save data of another account cannot be rewritten (written) without permission according to the game situation of one account. Another problem is that the amount of data in an account whose save data has been rewritten fluctuates when the save data in one account is rewritten by another account. In other words, the saved data of one account is added by another account and the amount of data increases locally, thereby squeezing the data capacity of that one account and hindering game progress in one account. There is a fear. As described above, there is a case where uploading the user's own NPC to an external system and renting the NPC to another account does not provide the benefits obtained thereby, so that there are cases where the game effect is not satisfactory. For this reason, NPC lending and borrowing was not frequently performed. In particular, since there is no merit on the renting side, even if there is a player who wants to borrow an NPC, there are few NPCs that can be rented, and the NPC that he wants to borrow cannot be found. Such a problem is not limited to the mode of lending and borrowing NPCs, and can be said to be a problem that occurs in the same manner as long as an object can be lending and borrowing between a plurality of accounts.

  Therefore, the present invention uses the data acquired by the object of the other account by using the saved data of the other account different from the one account without being rewritten without permission. An object of the present invention is to provide a game program and a game system that can be reflected in an account game.

  A game program according to the present invention includes a server access unit that accesses a computer to a server device connected to the computer via a network, a game space generation unit that generates a virtual game space, and a game progress in the game space. A growth type object whose predetermined characteristic value changes based on the growth type object control means for controlling the growth of the growth type object according to the game situation, the data of the growth type object possessed by one account, Growth type object data upload means for uploading to a storage area assigned to an account at the location of the server device, growth type possessed by another account and stored in the storage area assigned to the other account of the server device Object (hereinafter, rental) Growth object data download means for downloading data of a subject, rental object control means for controlling the growth of the rental object according to the game situation based on the downloaded rental object data in the course of a game based on one account Reward data uploading means for uploading data associated with the rental object in the game progress based on one account (hereinafter, reward data) to a storage area assigned to the one account of the server device, the reward data Is uploaded, the historical information about the upload of the reward data is assigned to the account that uploaded the rental object corresponding to the reward data. History information uploading means for uploading to a stored storage area, and the history information stored in a storage area assigned to another account based on the history information stored in a storage area assigned to one account The reward data corresponding to is downloaded and functions as data update means for updating the data of the one account based on the reward data.

  The growth type object control means is an NPC control means for generating a non-player character (hereinafter referred to as NPC) acting in the game space and controlling the action of the NPC according to the game situation, and the growth type object data The upload means is NPC data upload means for uploading NPC data possessed by one account to a storage area assigned to the one account of the server device, and the growth type object data download means is another NPC data download means for downloading NPC (hereinafter referred to as rental character) data stored in a storage area assigned to the other account of the server device. To your account In the game progress brute may be rented character control means for controlling the operation of the rental character to act the game space based on data of the rental character downloaded.

  The reward data includes knowledge obtained empirically in accordance with the progress of the game in which the NPC acts as the rental character, and the NPC control means includes a plurality of actions associated with the action contents of the NPC or a message to be spoken. Candidate information may be acquired, and the NPC action may be selected from the plurality of action candidate information based on the empirical knowledge, and a message associated with the selected action may be output.

  The history information may include an ID of an account that downloaded the corresponding growth type object.

  The reward data may include data of a predetermined item possessed by an account that has downloaded the growth type object.

  A game system according to the present invention includes a program storage unit that stores the game program and a computer that executes the program stored in the program storage unit.

  According to the present invention, the saved data of another account different from the one account is used in the game progress based on the one account without rewriting it, so that the data acquired by the object of the other account is originally stored. It is possible to provide a game program and a game device that can be reflected in the game of the account.

It is a schematic block diagram which shows the network game system containing the game device in this embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the hardware constitutions of the game device in this embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the functional structure of the game device in this embodiment. It is the figure which showed the content of the reward data in this embodiment schematically. It is the figure which showed the content of the historical data in this embodiment schematically.

  Hereinafter, a game program and a game system according to embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[Game Overview]
The game space of this game is designed in an open world, and the game space that changes as the player character (hereinafter sometimes abbreviated as “PC”) operated by the player moves is displayed seamlessly on the screen of the game device. Is done. The game space shows a part of this open world game space. However, the application target of the present invention is not limited to an open world game. For example, a game in which the game space is divided into a plurality of fields, and when moving between fields, the data of the destination field is loaded and the field before and after the movement is switched and displayed. can do.

  The player advances the game by operating a PC that moves in such a game space. Further, one or a plurality of non-player characters (hereinafter sometimes abbreviated as NPC) accompany the PC as ally characters (up to three ally characters in this embodiment) to form one party. . Each ally character that forms a party moves in the game space together with the PC, and when encountering an enemy character that appears as appropriate, cooperates with each other to fight.

  In addition, each teammate character performs actions according to the situation in various scenes, and also makes statements according to the actions. As a result, it expresses its own intention with respect to the PC, that is, the intention of why the person (NPC) performed such an action. For example, when a party such as a PC enters a certain city, any ally character makes an action of looking around while saying “It is a lively and nice city”. Also, when a predetermined quest occurs by talking with a resident in the city, the friendly character says, for example, "Let's go to the forest and look for it!" Encourage people to leave the city. In addition, when a party that goes out to the forest encounters an enemy character that has been injured on one leg, the friendly character will say "I will attack the other leg!" Take. Further, when the ally character is damaged by the battle with the enemy character, the ally character speaks “Wow!” While performing the attacked reaction.

  In the game according to the present embodiment, the teammate character actively communicates with the PC (or player) through actions and remarks according to the game situation. Further, the action and the content of the remarks change according to the progress of the game, such as knowledge obtained from experience and the states of the enemy and oneself (friend character). Further, the ally character's utterance is displayed as a character string on the display, and the corresponding voice is also output, but at this time, it is output so as to make it easier to grasp the content of the utterance without causing the player to feel uncomfortable. It has become.

  In addition to the NPC created by the player's own game device (one account), the other player's game device (other account) or an NPC previously created by an external system is downloaded to such a friend character via the network. Can be used. In the present embodiment, a party can be composed of one NPC created with his game device and a maximum of two NPCs created with another game device or an external system.

  In the present embodiment, a configuration in which an NPC created by each account is adopted as a target (growth type object) for a rental process to be described later will be described. However, as will be described later, the growth type object is not limited to this, and any object (character, weapon, armor, etc.) whose predetermined characteristic value changes based on the progress of the game in the game space can be used as an aspect of the present invention. The same can be applied.

[Hardware configuration]
A configuration of a game device that realizes the above-described game will be described. The game system in the present embodiment includes the following game device 2 and external devices such as a monitor 19, a speaker 22, and a controller 24 connected to the game device 2, and a game program read from the following disk-type storage medium 30. A game can be played based on 30a and game data 30b. However, in the following, in order to simplify the description, the game device 2 may be simply referred to. FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a network game system including a game device 2 in the present embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of the game device 2 in the present embodiment. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the game apparatus 2 can communicate with another game apparatus 2 and the server apparatus 3 via a network NW such as the Internet or a LAN. The game apparatus 2 includes a CPU 10 that is a computer for controlling the operation thereof, and a disk drive 12, a memory card slot 13, an HDD 14 that constitutes a program storage unit, a ROM 15, and a RAM 16 are connected to the CPU 10 via a bus 11. Yes.

  The disk drive 12 can be loaded with a disk-type storage medium 30 such as a DVD-ROM. The disk-type storage medium 30 will be described in the game program 30a according to the embodiment of the present invention and the present embodiment. The game data 30b such as characters appearing in the game and objects and textures necessary to form the game space are stored. In addition, a card-type storage medium 31 can be loaded in the memory card slot 13 and save data indicating a play status such as a game progress can be stored in accordance with an instruction from the CPU 10.

  The HDD 14 is a large-capacity storage medium built in the game apparatus 2 and stores the game program 30a and game data 30b read from the disk-type storage medium 30, save data, and the like. The ROM 15 is a semiconductor memory such as a mask ROM or PROM, and stores an activation program for activating the game apparatus 2, a program for controlling an operation when the disk type storage medium 30 is loaded, and the like. The RAM 16 is composed of DRAM, SRAM, or the like, and reads a game program 30a to be executed by the CPU 10 and game data 30b necessary for the execution from the disk-type storage medium 30 or the HDD 14 in accordance with the game play situation. Memorize temporarily.

  Further, the graphic processing unit 17, the audio synthesis unit 20, the wireless communication control unit 23, and the network interface 25 are connected to the CPU 10 via the bus 11.

  Among these, the graphic processing unit 17 draws a game image including a game space and each character in accordance with an instruction from the CPU 10. An external monitor 19 is connected to the graphic processing unit 17 via a video conversion unit 18, and the game image drawn by the graphic processing unit 17 is converted into a moving image format by the video conversion unit 18, and the monitor 19 Is displayed.

  The audio synthesizing unit 20 reproduces and synthesizes digital game sound in accordance with instructions from the CPU 10. An external speaker 22 is connected to the audio synthesis unit 20 via an audio conversion unit 21. Accordingly, the game sound reproduced and synthesized by the audio synthesizing unit 20 is decoded into an analog format by the audio converting unit 21 and further outputted from the speaker 22 to the outside.

  The wireless communication control unit 23 includes a 2.4 GHz band wireless communication module, and is wirelessly connected to the controller 24 attached to the game apparatus 2 so that data can be transmitted and received. The user can input a signal to the game apparatus 2 by operating an operator (not shown) such as a button provided in the controller 24 and can control the operation of the PC displayed on the monitor 19. It has become. The network interface 25 connects the game apparatus 2 to a network NW such as the Internet or a LAN, and can communicate with the server apparatus 3. Then, each of the plurality of game devices 2 is connected to the server device 3 via the network NW, the NPC created by the game device 2 is uploaded to the server device 3, and the data of the NPC is transferred to another game device 2. By downloading, it is possible to download the NPC generated by another account (game device 2) in the same game space and to advance the game with the NPC possessed by the other account and the own PC and NPC It has become.

  The server device 3 stores storage areas RA-A, RA-B, RA-C,... For storing the game state of each game device 2 for each of the plurality of game devices 2 (hereinafter sometimes collectively referred to as RA-i). have. Each game device 2 is given a different account (right to access the server device 3) for each game device 2, and an ID (identification code) is provided for each account. Therefore, when each game device 2 accesses the corresponding storage area RA-i of the server device 3 via the network NW, the game device 2 has its own account i (i = A, B, C,...) , And after receiving predetermined authentication in the server device 3, the storage area RA-i corresponding to the account i can be accessed. In principle, one account i is assigned to one game apparatus 2.

  As shown in FIG. 1, save data of the corresponding account i is uploaded from the game apparatus 2 and stored in each storage area RA-i of the server apparatus 3. Specifically, save data in one account stored in one game device 2, particularly PC data (for example, level, strength, etc.) at the time of saving and NPC data possessed by the account i, respectively, The data is uploaded to the server device 3 and stored in the storage area RA-i corresponding to the account i of the game device 2.

  Furthermore, the server device 3 has a ranking creation unit 4 that counts the rankings of each account according to predetermined parameters such as the progress of the same game. The ranking created by the ranking creation unit 4 can be displayed on the game screen by each game device 2 accessing the server device 3. Also, in this ranking, in addition to the ID of the account that owns the NPC, the information of the NPC that the account has (for example, information limited to some extent among all NPC information such as level, job, gender, equipment skill, etc.) It is possible to browse. In addition to the above information, for example, the NPC all information includes more detailed parameter values such as strength and information such as physique.

[Functional configuration of game device]
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the game apparatus 2 in the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 2, the game apparatus 2 includes a control unit including a CPU 10, an HDD 14, a ROM 15, a RAM 16, a graphic processing unit 17, a video conversion unit 18, an audio synthesis unit 20, an audio conversion unit 21, a network interface 25, and the like. Operates as a computer. Then, as shown in FIG. 2, the control unit of the game apparatus 2 executes the game program 30a of the present invention, whereby server access means 41, game space generation means 42, character control means 43, NPC data upload means ( Functions such as a growth type object data upload unit) 44, an NPC data download unit (growth type object data download unit) 45, a reward data upload unit 46, a history information upload unit 47, and a data update unit 48 are exhibited.

  Among these, the server access means 41 accesses the server apparatus 3 connected to the computer of the game apparatus 2 via the network NW as described above, and performs the following upload and download.

  The game space generation means 42 generates a virtual game space in which the character operates and each character that operates in the game space, and displays the character on the monitor 19. For example, the game space generation means 42 reads data such as objects and textures included in the game data 30b as the PC moves, and generates a three-dimensional virtual game space. Furthermore, in order to display the game space on the monitor 19 of the game apparatus 2, the game space generation unit 42 generates a two-dimensional image when the generated game space is photographed with a predetermined virtual camera.

  The character control means 43 controls the movement of the character in the game space according to the operation of the controller 24 by the player and the progress of the game. The character control means 43 includes a PC control means 431 for controlling the action of the PC operated by the player, and an NPC control means (growth type object control means) 432 for controlling the action of the NPC possessed by the account assigned to the player. And rental character control means (rental object control means) 433 for controlling operations of NPCs (rental characters) possessed by other accounts.

  The NPC character control means 432 and the rental character control means 433 obtain a plurality of action candidate information in which the action contents of the NPC or rental character and the message to be spoken are associated with each other, and empirical information is obtained from the plurality of action candidate information. The action of the NPC or rental character is selected on the basis of the knowledge obtained in the above, and a message associated with the selected action is output. Thereby, as above-mentioned, it can implement | achieve that a teammate character performs the action and remarks according to the game condition.

  The NPC data uploading unit 44 uploads NPC data (created and stored in the game device 2) possessed by one account i to the server device 3 and assigned to the one account i. Store in RA-i. Further, the NPC data download means 45 downloads NPC (hereinafter, rental character) data stored in the storage area RA-j owned by the other account j and assigned to the other account j of the server device 3. To get it. That is, the NPC data of one account i uploaded by the NPC data upload means 44 can be rental character data (shown as RC data in FIG. 1) downloaded by the NPC data download means 45 in another account j. .

  The NPC data downloaded by the NPC data download means 45 in one account i is stored as a rental character in the game apparatus 2 in the one account i. Then, in the progress of the game executed by the game apparatus 2, the rental character can accompany the PC and NPC originally stored in the game apparatus 2. At this time, each character is controlled by the character control means 43. As a result of such game progress, data obtained in association with the rental character is stored in the game apparatus 2 as reward data.

  The reward data is not particularly limited as long as at least one piece of information used based on the game progress is included. For example, the reward data includes at least one of an experience value of the rental character, a value based on the experience value, a skill such as a special ability of the rental character, an in-game currency, an item, and knowledge.

  The reward data upload means 46 uploads the reward data associated with the rental character in the game progress based on one account i to the server device 3 and stores it in the storage area RA-i assigned to the one account i. Let Further, the history information uploading unit 47 uploads the rental information corresponding to the reward data of the server device 3 with the history information related to the upload of the reward data when the reward data is uploaded to the server device 3. The data is stored by uploading it to the storage area RA-j assigned to j. By storing such history information in the storage area RA-j assigned to the account j, the NPC possessed by the account j is lent out by the account i, and data obtained as a result (that is, reward data) is The account j can be notified that it can be received.

  Of course, the computer functions as the reward data upload means 46 and the history information upload means 47 also in the game apparatus 3 of the account j. For example, in the game progress based on the account j, when the NPC of the account i is accompanied as a rental character, the reward data upload means 46 uploads the reward data to the storage area RA-j assigned to the account j of the server device 3. At the same time, the history information uploading means 47 uploads the history information to the storage area RA-i assigned to the account i of the server device 3.

  Based on the history information stored in the storage area RA-i assigned to one account i, the data updating means 48 stores the history information stored in the storage area RA-j assigned to the other account j. The corresponding reward data is obtained by downloading, and the data of the one account i is updated based on the reward data. For example, if the reward data is an NPC experience value, the experience value is added to the NPC experience value stored in the game apparatus 2. For example, if the reward data is an item, the item can be used in the game progress based on the account i (added to the item list).

  As described above, in the plurality of game apparatuses 2 of this embodiment, the computer is connected to the server access unit 41, the NPC data upload unit 44, the NPC data download unit 45, the reward data upload unit 46, the history information upload unit 47, and the data update. By functioning as the means 48, a rental process for renting an NPC possessed by each game device 2 (account associated with) to another game device 2 (account associated with) is performed.

[NPC rental processing]
A flow of NPC rental processing will be described with reference to FIG. Here, a case where the game apparatus 2 of the account A rents an NPC possessed by the game apparatus 2 of the account B will be mainly described. As shown in FIG. 1, in the following, the sign (A or B here) after each character data is the ID of the account (lender) who uploaded the character. In FIG. 1, the data flow described below is indicated by a one-dot chain line (upload) and a broken line (download). The line indicating the data flow in FIG. 1 directly connects the storage areas, but in any flow, it is realized by communication between the game apparatus 2 and the server apparatus 3 via the network NW. The

  First, in the game devices 2 of the accounts A and B, a game is played using a PC and an NPC possessed by itself. In the present embodiment, an offline game that is not connected to the server device 3 or another game device 2 is performed except for the NPC rental process described later. At this time, the computer of each game apparatus 2 functions as PC control means 431 and NPC control means 432, and controls the action of each character. When the PC and NPC party is located at a predetermined position (for example, an inn) in the game space and performs a predetermined operation (for example, staying), the computer of each game device 2 functions as the NPC data upload means 44, The NPC data at that time is stored in the storage areas RA-A and RA-B of the corresponding accounts of the server apparatus 3 (refer to (1) in FIG. 1 in particular regarding the account B). The NPC data stored in the storage areas RA-A and RA-B includes, for example, parameters (level and strength, etc.), equipment, and NPC appearance information (face texture, height and physique of the NPC). Information such as information) is reproducible as a rental character in another game apparatus 2. Similarly, in this embodiment, PC data is also stored in the storage areas RA-A and RA-B of the server device 3.

  In the game apparatus 2 of the account A, when it is desired to use an NPC of another account as a rental character, the computer of the game apparatus 2 functions as the server access means 41 and accesses the server apparatus 3. In the present embodiment, when the PC is located at a predetermined position (for example, a place with a monument where the rental character can be summoned) in the game space based on the account A, the NPC of another account is used as the rental character. Rental processing for (rental) can be started.

  As described above, the server device 3 stores the ranking data created by the ranking creating unit 4. The game device 2 of the account A can browse the ranking of the NPC possessed by each account by accessing the ranking data. For example, the ranking is created in descending order of usage rate (rental rate) by other accounts for each NPC level. The ranking is associated with the ID of an account possessing the NPC and the minimum necessary information (for example, parameters such as attributes and strength) indicating the characteristics of the NPC and the like for reference.

  In the game in the present embodiment, in the game device 2 of the account A, NPCs of other accounts that can be rented are limited to NPCs having a level equal to or lower than the level of the PC of the account A. Therefore, when the ranking data of the server device 3 is accessed from the game device 2 of the account A, only rankings of NPCs that are equal to or lower than the level of the PC of the account A may be viewable. In the ranking displayed on the game screen of the game device 2 of the account A, when the player selects one of the account IDs of the NPC, the computer displays the above information of the NPC associated with the account ID. Based on this information, the player determines whether to rent the NPC.

  When the NPC to be rented is determined by the operation of the player (in this case, the NPC of the account B is determined), the computer of the game apparatus 2 of the account A functions as the NPC data download means 45. That is, the computer of the game apparatus 2 of the account A accesses the storage area RA-B assigned to the account B of the server apparatus 3 and uses the NPC data B stored in the storage area RA-B for the game of the account A. Download to the device 2 (see (2) shown in FIG. 1). As shown in FIG. 1, the rented NPC data is stored as RC data B in the game device 2 of the account A.

  Note that if the server device 3 is not connected via the network NW, NPC data stored in advance in the game data 30b in each game device 2 may be used. Similarly, when there is no NPC owned by another account that can be rented in the network NW (for example, immediately after the start of operation of the server apparatus 3), the NPC data stored in the server apparatus 3 in advance is downloaded and used. Alternatively, NPC data stored in advance in the game data 30b in each game apparatus 2 may be used. Even when the server device 3 becomes an NPC lender, the server device 3 may receive reward data from the borrower and update the data of the NPC based on this. In this case, when borrowing the NPC next time, a game is played using the grown NPC.

  In the game device 2 of the account A, it is possible to play a game by forming a party with PC, NPC and rental characters using RC data B in addition to PC data A and NPC data A. At this time, the computer of the game apparatus 2 of the account A functions as the PC control unit 431, the NPC control unit 432, and the rental character control unit 433, and controls the operation of each character. The rental character may be leveled up based on the experience value in the same manner as other PCs and NPCs of the party, or the rental character does not level up, and the currency in the online game (for example, PC) It is also possible to acquire (used when renting an NPC with a level higher than the level of).

  In the game progression based on the account A borrowed rental character, not only can the rental character become the strength of the party, but the game can be advantageously advanced, and the NPC held by the account A can act together with the rental character. Accordingly, it is possible to update the knowledge of the NPC held by the account A based on the knowledge of the rental character. Thus, the account A can receive various benefits by borrowing rental characters.

  Even when the account A borrows the NPC of the account B as a rental character, the game apparatus 2 and the server apparatus 3 of the account B still store the NPC data possessed by the account B. Therefore, there is no restriction on the account B using the NPC owned by the account B to advance the game. In addition, while the account A borrows the NPC of the account B, it is not prevented that another account (for example, C) rents the NPC of the account B (rental the same NPC to a plurality of accounts). .

  In the game progress based on account A, if a party of PC, NPC and rental character is located at a predetermined position (for example, an inn) in the game space and performs a predetermined operation (for example, staying), the game device of account A As described above, the second computer stores the PC and NPC data at that time in the storage area RA-A assigned to the account A of the server device 3. For example, the computer of the game apparatus 2 of the account A functions as the reward data upload means 46 by performing an operation of returning the rental character (separating from the rental character) in the inn. That is, the computer creates data associated with the rental character so far as reward data B, and stores the reward data B by uploading it to the storage area RA-A assigned to the account A of the server device 3. (See (3) shown in FIG. 1).

  In this embodiment, when a rental character dies during a game based on the account A and leaves the party, the rental character is returned when the party leaves the party. That is, the data associated with the rental character from the rental until the party leaves is created as reward data. However, at this time, the reward data is not uploaded to the server device 3 but is stored in the game device 2 of the account A in which the game is in progress. Therefore, even when the NPC owned by the same account B is rented, the game apparatus 2 can store reward data (a plurality of reward data packs) for a plurality of rental times. Then, in the game progress based on the account A, the reward data uploading unit 46 performs the operation in the predetermined place (inn) as described above to return the rental character accompanying the party at that time. Reward data packs for past rental characters that have left the party are also uploaded to the server device 3 together. In addition, the timing which accesses the server apparatus 3 and memorize | stores reward data is not restricted to this. For example, the game data may be saved by the user's operation at any timing during the progress of the game, the game may be over, the game may be started, or the predetermined timing of the game progress It may be when the game data is automatically saved (auto-saved) by (for example, passing a checkpoint).

  After uploading the reward data B to the server apparatus 3, the computer of the game apparatus 2 of the account A deletes the rental character data and the reward data stored in the game apparatus 2. Note that the account of the renter who uploaded the rental character (here, B) is stored in the game device 2 of the account A so that the rental character of the same account B can be easily rented from the next time. Also good. At this time, the information stored in the game device 2 is the ID of the account possessing the NPC and the minimum necessary information (for example, attribute and strength), as in the ranking data generated by the ranking generation unit 4 of the server device 3. Etc.).

  FIG. 4 is a diagram schematically showing the contents of reward data in the present embodiment. In FIG. 4, a list of reward data is shown, but such a list of reward data does not necessarily have to be displayed on the game screen. Such a list of reward data is information stored in the computer (GDD 14 or the external storage medium 31) of the game apparatus 2 of the account A that is the borrower of the rental character.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the reward data includes the ID of the account to which the reward data is to be given (B in the above example) and a value based on the experience of the rental character in the game based on the account A (here, for example, Online currency RIM and acquired knowledge) according to the experience value of the rental character are included. Further, the reward data may include data of a predetermined item possessed by the account A who downloaded the rental character. In this case, when the rental character is returned in the game progress based on the account A, the player arbitrarily selects an item (present item) to be given to the rental character (account B player who owns the rental character). Thus, the data of the present item is included in the reward data. When giving a present item, the player can give a desired item from among the items possessed in the account A. The item assigned as the reward data is deleted from the save data in the game apparatus 2 of the account A when the reward data is uploaded to the server apparatus 3.

  Furthermore, as information accompanying the rental character, for example, evaluation of the rental character and a comment on the rental character can be attached to the reward data (not shown). This makes it possible to easily convey the impression and advice of the account A player using the rental character to the account B player who originally owns the NPC without separately implementing functions such as e-mail and bulletin board in the game. it can. Such a comment may be attached when the lender uploads the NPC.

  The computer also functions as history information uploading means 47 when uploading reward data to the server device 3. In other words, the computer of the game device 2 of the account A stores the history information regarding the upload of the reward data in the account B that originally possesses the rental character to which the reward data of the server device 3 is uploaded (the lender). By uploading to the allocated storage area RA-B, it is stored as history data (see (4) shown in FIG. 1).

  FIG. 5 is a diagram schematically showing the contents of history data in the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 5, the history information is a history in which only minimum information such as an account ID (A in this case) acquired by downloading the corresponding rental character and the rental date and time is written in time series. Configured as data (a certain number of cases are stored so that they can be viewed as a history). The history data can be realized by building a system such as a footprint function in SNS (Social Networking Service) on the server device 3, for example. By making the configuration of the history information the minimum information, an increase in the data capacity required for each storage area RA-A, RA-B,... Is suppressed, and consequently an increase in the data capacity required for the server device 3. Can be suppressed.

  Next, a process of updating the NPC data of the account B on the game device 2 of the account B based on the reward data obtained by the own NPC by playing with the other account A will be described. In the game apparatus 2 of the account B that has uploaded the NPC used as a rental character in the game progress based on the account A, the party including the PC of the account B is located at a predetermined position (for example, inn) in the game progress based on the account B At this time, the history data (list display as shown in FIG. 5) is displayed on the game screen by accessing the storage area RA-B assigned to the account B of the server device 3 ((5 shown in FIG. 1). )reference).

  When the player of the account B browses the history information of the server device 3 and selects any of the history information, the computer of the game device 2 of the account B functions as the data update means 48 and the selected history Reward data corresponding to the information is acquired by downloading from the storage area RA-A assigned to the account A (see (6) shown in FIG. 1). Further, the data updating unit 48 updates the data of the account B based on the downloaded reward data. For example, when the in-game currency RIM is included in the reward data, the in-game currency RIM possessed by the player (PC) and the in-game currency RIM included in the reward data are added together in the game progress in the account B. Further, when the reward data includes knowledge and experience values acquired by the rental character in the game progress based on the account A, the knowledge and experience included in the NPC data B of the game apparatus 2 in the account B are included in the reward data. Combine values. When the computer of the game apparatus 2 determines the presence / absence of history information and detects history information, the reward data may be automatically updated based on the history information.

  As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 5, when there are a plurality of history data that is not updated in the game apparatus 2 in the account B for the NPC possessed by the account B, the storage area of each account corresponding to each of them The process of downloading from is performed.

  As described above, the NPC of the account B can be grown or an item can be obtained according to the game content played by the account A using the NPC possessed by the account B as a rental character. For example, suppose that the NPC of account B enters a cave that has never been played in the game progress based on account B and finds a treasure chest while the NPC of account B acts as a rental character. In this case, the reward data from account A includes knowledge about where the treasure chest is in the cave. Therefore, if such reward data is downloaded and combined with the account B NPC data, the account B NPC will tell you where the treasure chest is in the cave that has never been played in the game progress based on account B. You will know the information. For this reason, when entering the cave for the first time in the progress of the game based on the account B, the NPC of the account B can issue a message such as “There is a treasure box when proceeding to the right” when it is located on the branch road in the cave.

  The knowledge as described above is stored in advance in the game data 30b, and whether or not the NPC has knowledge is identified and managed by a flag or the like. In other words, in the above example, when the flag regarding the presence of the treasure chest in the cave is set and the message regarding the presence of the treasure chest in the cave is set, a message such as “There is a treasure chest when you go to the right” Is set. When the account B obtains the reward data from the account A, it is set so that a flag about the knowledge about the existence of the cave treasure chest is set for the NPC. This makes it possible to realize an event in which the message is issued when the NPC is located on the branch path in the cave.

  As described above, according to the above configuration, when one account A rents an NPC of another account B, the reward data associated with the game based on the account A accompanied by the NPC is used as the NPC borrower of the server device 3. Is stored in the storage area RA-A assigned to its own account A. In the storage area RA-B of the server apparatus 3 assigned to the account B that uploaded the NPC, only history data for notifying who has been rented is stored. As a result, the account B on the loan side of the NPC accesses the storage area RA-A allocated to the borrower account A and downloads the reward data related to the NPC stored in the storage area RA-A. .

  As a result, the data related to the NPC of the account B that is rented out to the account A as a rental character and used in the game progress based on the account A can be reflected in the save data of the account B by the operation of the account B itself. it can. At this time, since the reward data based on the account A is stored in the server device 3, when the account B downloads the reward data, the account A in which the reward data is created does not have to be online. . Moreover, since the save data of the rented account B in the game device 2 is updated by the account B itself, the borrower's one account A uses the data of another account B different from the own account A without permission. It is possible to eliminate the need for rewriting.

  Thus, the data (reward data) related to the rental character used in the game progression based on each account i (A in the above example) is stored in the storage area RA-i (above described) assigned to each account i of the server device 3. In the example, RA-A) is stored, so even if an NPC possessed by another account j (RA-B in the above example) is rented as a rental character to many other accounts (A, C, etc.) Only the amount of data in the storage area RA-j (RA-B in the above example) of the account j does not increase locally. That is, since the reward data for the use of one rental character is distributed and stored for each used account, the data capacity of the rented account j (RA-B in the above example) is improperly compressed. Can be prevented. Therefore, the storage capacity of the server device 3 can be used efficiently, and smooth game progress can be performed in any account.

  Furthermore, unknown information, new items, and the like can be obtained in both the rental character account and the borrowing account. In this way, it can be expressed that the NPC has actually gone away from his / her own account (player) and taken to another account (other player) and has grown up and returned. For this reason, rental characters are also lent and borrowed actively, and the amount of information in the game handled in the game progress based on one account can be increased. That is, it is possible to make a player feel as if the game is being played by a plurality of people even though the game is being played alone, and a richer game effect can be performed.

  Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various improvements, changes, and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

  For example, in the above embodiment, the PC data, NPC data, reward data, and history data of each account i are all stored in the storage area RA-i assigned to each account i of one server device 3. Although described, the aspect of the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the history data of each account i may be stored in another server. In this case, only the own account i can upload and rewrite the storage area RA-i assigned to each account i assigned to the server device 3, and no other account j can write to it. Can be. In addition, the configuration of the server device 3 can be changed as appropriate, such as storing the ranking generation unit 4 in another server device, or configuring the storage area RA-i of each account i with a plurality of server devices.

  Further, the present invention can be applied to a configuration in which data is communicated between a plurality of game devices without using a dedicated server device. In this case, each game device also functions as a server device. For example, NPC data and history information are stored in the lender game device, and reward data is stored in the borrower game device. Communication between game devices may be based on P2P or Bluetooth.

  Further, in the above description, in the game progress based on one account, the explanation is based on a mode in which a party is formed with a single PC, a single NPC, and a maximum of two rental characters. The number of NPCs possessed by the account and the number of rental characters that can be rented at the same time are not limited to this, and various applications are possible.

  In the above description, the example in which the growth type object is NPC has been described. However, the aspect of the present invention is not limited to this as long as the object has a predetermined characteristic value that changes based on the game progress in the game space. Absent. For example, the growth type object includes weapons and armor that grow (change) a predetermined specific value (for example, a status value or an attribute) as the game progresses. The status value and attributes change as the game progresses. The status value (attack, defense, etc.) increases (or decreases) depending on the battle experience, and the status value increases when multiplied by other items. (Or descending) or adding a new attribute (such as increasing the attack power against a specific enemy). In addition, growth of growth-type objects is not limited to growth in the direction of improving ability (acquisition of knowledge, increase of status value such as increasing attack power, etc.) but also growth in direction of reduction of ability (for example, knowledge For example, a status value such as a forgotten or low attack power may be included).

  Further, in the above description, the case where one player plays an offline game (a configuration in which the player is online only while performing the NPC rental process) is illustrated, but the present invention allows a plurality of players to share their player characters. The present invention can also be applied to online games that appear in the game space and act in cooperation with each other.

  Further, although the stationary game apparatus has been described in the present embodiment, the present invention can be preferably applied to computers such as portable game apparatuses, mobile phones, and personal computers.

  The present invention can be used in a game progression based on one account without rewriting the saved data of another account different from the one account, and the data acquired by the object of the other account is used as the original account. Useful for reflecting in the game.

2 Game device (game system)
3 server device 30a game program 30b game data 41 server access means 42 game space generation means 43 character control means 44 NPC data upload means (growth type object data upload means)
45 NPC data download means (growth type object data upload means)
46 Reward data upload means 47 History information upload means 48 Data update means 431 PC control means 432 NPC control means (growth type object control means)
433 Rental character control means (rental object control means)
NW network RA-A, RA-B, RA-C, storage area

Claims (6)

Computer
Server access means for accessing a server device connected to the computer via a network;
Game space generation means for generating a virtual game space;
A growth type object control means for generating a growth type object whose predetermined characteristic value changes based on a game progress in the game space, and controlling the growth of the growth type object according to a game situation;
Growth object data upload means for uploading growth object data possessed by one account to a storage area assigned to the one account of the server device,
Growth object data download means for downloading data of a growth object (hereinafter referred to as rental object) possessed by another account and stored in a storage area assigned to the other account of the server device,
Rental object control means for controlling the growth of the rental object according to the game situation based on the downloaded rental object data in the game progress based on one account;
Reward data uploading means for uploading data (hereinafter referred to as reward data) associated with the rental object in the game progress based on one account to a storage area assigned to the one account of the server device,
History information uploading means for uploading history information related to the upload of the reward data to a storage area assigned to the account that uploaded the rental object corresponding to the reward data when the reward data is uploaded; and Based on the history information stored in the storage area assigned to one account, the reward data corresponding to the history information stored in the storage area assigned to another account is downloaded, and the reward data A game program that functions as data update means for updating data of the one account based on the above. The growth type object control means is an NPC control means for generating a non-player character (hereinafter referred to as NPC) acting in the game space and controlling the action of the NPC according to the game situation.
The growth type object data uploading means is an NPC data uploading means for uploading NPC data possessed by one account to a storage area assigned to the one account of the server device,
The growth type object data download means downloads NPC data download means for downloading NPC (hereinafter, rental character) data stored in a storage area assigned to the other account of the server device. And
The rental object control means is a rental character control means for controlling an operation of the rental character acting in the game space based on the downloaded rental character data in a game progress based on one account. The game program according to 1. The reward data includes knowledge obtained empirically according to the progress of the game in which the NPC acts as the rental character,
The NPC control means acquires a plurality of action candidate information associated with the action content of the NPC or a message to be spoken, and based on the empirically obtained knowledge from the plurality of action candidate information. The game program according to claim 2, wherein a message associated with the selected action is output while the action is selected.   The game program according to claim 1, wherein the history information includes an ID of an account that has downloaded the corresponding growth type object.   The game program according to claim 1, wherein the reward data includes data of a predetermined item possessed by an account that has downloaded the growth type object. A program storage unit storing the game program according to claim 1;
A game system comprising: a computer that executes a program stored in the program storage unit.

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