JP5988576B2 - Computer program and game device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a computer program and a game device that control the movement of a non-player character in a virtual game space.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there are games such as an action game and a role playing game that cause a player character (PC) to move in a virtual game space in response to a player's operation. In addition, in this type of game, there may be a non-player character (NPC) that acts in the game space together with the PC and fights in cooperation with the PC in the battle with the enemy character. The NPC is a character that cannot be directly operated by the player character, and is set to act in the game space according to a predetermined rule.

  Some NPCs have conversations with PCs depending on the game situation. Thus, for example, there are Patent Documents 1 to 5 that disclose a technique in which characters appearing in a game talk with each other. Among them, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for diversifying NPC emotion expressions during conversation by changing the shape of the display frame of the NPC in addition to the conversation contents. In Patent Document 2, in an online game in which a plurality of PCs operated by a plurality of users appear in the same game space, an attempt is made to prevent the smooth progress of the game from being impaired due to repeated remarks by some users. Technology is disclosed.

  Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-228561 discloses a technique for expressing a conversation realistically by changing the sound quality during the conversation according to the distance between the PC and the NPC. Patent Document 4 discloses a technique for determining the display time according to the number of past display times of a specific character string in consideration of the fact that the user reads the same character string faster as it gets used to it. . In Patent Document 5, a user can specify PC behavior even during a conversation with an NPC, and a technique for realizing a more natural conversation between characters by changing the conversation content of the NPC according to the behavior. Is disclosed.

JP 2000-107457 A JP 2010-057890 A JP 2010-110622 A Japanese Patent No. 3686927 Japanese Patent No. 3965111

  By the way, for example, an NPC that acts together with a PC is a partner who cooperates with the PC for a long time, unlike other characters that appear temporarily during the game. Therefore, if such an NPC is a character with a weak intention and personality, a trust relationship with the user is not established, and no attachment is made, so it cannot be a partner who can truly cooperate. On the other hand, in order to make an NPC self-express, as in the examples of Patent Documents 1 to 5, means for allowing conversation between the NPC and the PC is effective. However, the mechanical impression of NPC cannot be completely wiped away by simply talking or adding emotional expression by other means (for example, the means shown in Patent Document 1). NPC that gives the user an impression of personality cannot be realized.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a computer program and a game device that can realize an NPC that can give a user an impression of having their own intention and personality.

  A computer program according to the present invention generates a computer with game space generation means for generating a virtual game space and a non-player character (hereinafter referred to as NPC) that moves in the game space. The NPC control means functions as an NPC control means for controlling the action of the NPC, and the NPC control means is associated with the action content of the NPC and the message to be spoken, and is stored in the storage unit in advance. The NPC action is selected, and a message associated with the selected action is output to the output unit.

  With such a configuration, for an NPC that cannot be directly operated by the user, a message related to the action selected by the NPC can be displayed on the display (or voice output from the speaker) and can be grasped by the user. For example, the NPC can take various actions depending on the game situation (game progress, setting contents such as the attribute of the NPC, etc.), but when taking a certain action, the action purpose can be stated. it can. Thereby, since the user can know the intention of the action selected by the NPC, the user can feel the intention and personality of the NPC. In addition, the NPC expresses itself by combining specific actions and remarks in this way, but the expression method is the same as that performed by a real person. Therefore, the NPC can express his intention and personality in more detail, and helps to build a trust relationship with the user.

  Further, the NPC control means may select an action of the NPC from a plurality of the action candidate information according to a game situation. With such a configuration, the NPC can take an appropriate action according to the game situation that changes sequentially as the game progresses, and can output (display output or audio output) a message that matches the situation.

  Further, the computer is caused to function as an NPC acquisition knowledge storage unit that stores, in a storage unit, knowledge that the NPC has empirically acquired according to the progress of the game, and the NPC control unit includes at least a part of the action candidate information. It is good also as determining whether it can select as an action of said NPC based on the information memorized by said NPC acquisition knowledge storage means. With such a configuration, the NPC can take an action that makes use of, for example, past experience, and can make an appropriate statement based on the experience during the action. As a result, the user can realize that the NPC is growing through experience and can easily build a trust relationship.

  Further, whether or not thinning is possible and priority are set for each of the messages, and the NPC control means is a case where a plurality of message output requests are simultaneously made to the same NPC, and the thinning is impossible. When a message is included, only the message may be output, and when only a message that can be thinned out is included, a message with a higher priority may be output preferentially. With such a configuration, the message messages with relatively low importance (thinning is possible) are moderately thinned, thereby limiting the number of message messages from the same NPC that are output at the same time and having high importance ( Message messages that cannot be thinned out can be expressed reliably.

  The NPC is set with a waiting time for message output timing, and the NPC control means determines whether or not the waiting time has elapsed since the last message was output for the message that cannot be thinned out. Regardless of whether or not this is output in response to a request that has occurred, the message that can be thinned out does not output the request that has occurred until the waiting time has elapsed since the last message was output, It is good also as outputting what requested | required after the said waiting time passed. With such a configuration, it is possible to give the “number” individuality to the NPC, and at the same time, it is possible to suppress the number of messages by the NPC control means without making the user feel unnatural. it can.

  A game device according to the present invention includes a program storage unit that stores any one of the computer programs described above, and a computer that executes the program stored in the program storage unit.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the computer program and game device which can implement | achieve NPC which can make a user hold the impression which has a truly own intention and individuality can be provided.

It is a mimetic diagram explaining an outline of a game system concerning an embodiment of the invention. It is a block diagram which shows the hardware constitutions of a game device. It is a block diagram which shows the functional structure of a game device. It is a schematic diagram which shows the database with which an NPC action candidate memory | storage part is provided. It is a schematic diagram which shows the outline | summary of a message ordering process. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of a message ordering process. It is a schematic diagram which shows the outline | summary of a message display process. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of a message display process.

  Hereinafter, a computer program and a game device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the present embodiment, an example is an action game in which a player character (PC) operated by a user acts in a virtual game space, and the game progresses while fighting against enemy characters appropriately arranged in the game space. explain. In this game, a friend character (NPC), which is a non-player character that cooperates with the player character, appears.

[Game Overview]
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram for explaining an outline of a game system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The game space of this game is designed as an open world, and the game space that changes as the player character operated by the player moves is displayed seamlessly on the screen of the game device. The game space of FIG. 1 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.

  In the game space 100 shown in FIG. 1, a city 101 and a forest 102 are illustrated. In addition to this, the game space 100 can include various terrain such as hilly areas, deserts, caves, and underwater. The player character PC can move in the game space 100 in accordance with these terrains. The player character PC is accompanied by one or a plurality of teammate characters NPC (a maximum of three teammate characters NPC1 to NPC3 in the present embodiment) to form one party. Each ally character NPC that forms a party moves in the game space 100 together with the player character PC, and when encountering an enemy character that appears as appropriate, cooperates with each other to fight.

  In addition, each ally character NPC executes actions according to the situation in various scenes, and also makes statements according to the actions. As a result, the player character PC expresses its own intention, that is, the intention of why the player (NPC) performed such an action. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, when a party such as a player character PC enters a certain city 101, one of the allied character NPCs performs an operation of looking around while saying “It is a lively and nice city”. Further, when a predetermined quest is generated by talking with a resident in the city 101, the friendly character NPC, for example, goes to the forest 102 and "Let's go to the forest and look for it" according to the content of the quest. Speak and encourage them to leave town 101. In addition, when a party that goes out to Forest 102 encounters an enemy character who has been injured on one leg, the friendly character NPC will say "I will attack the other leg!" Take the posture. Further, when the ally character NPC is damaged due to the battle with the enemy character, the ally character NPC says “Wow!” While taking the attacked reaction.

  In the game according to the present embodiment, the teammate character NPC positively communicates with the player character PC (or user) positively by actions and remarks according to the game situation. Further, as will be described in detail later, the action and the content of the comment change according to the progress of the game, such as knowledge obtained from experience, the state of the enemy and oneself (friend character). Furthermore, the ally of the ally character NPC is displayed as a character string on the display, and the corresponding voice is also output, but at this time, the utterance is output so that the user does not feel uncomfortable and the content of the utterance is easy to grasp. It is like that.

[Hardware configuration]
A configuration of a game device that realizes the above-described game will be described. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of the game apparatus 2. As shown in FIG. 2, the game apparatus 2 can communicate with another game apparatus 2 and the server apparatus 3 via a communication network NW such as the Internet or a LAN. The game apparatus 2 includes a CPU 10 which is a computer for controlling the operation thereof, and the CPU 10 is connected to a disk drive 12, a memory card slot 13, an HDD 14 and a ROM 15 constituting program storage means, and a RAM 16 via a bus 11 Has been.

  The disk drive 12 can be loaded with a disk-type recording medium 30 such as a DVD-ROM. The disk-type recording medium 30 includes a game program 30a according to the embodiment of the present invention and a description in the present embodiment. Further, game data 30b such as characters PC, NPC1 to NPC3, enemy characters appearing in the game to be played, and objects and textures necessary to form the game space 100 are also recorded. In addition, a card-type recording 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 recorded in accordance with an instruction from the CPU 10.

  The HDD 14 is a large-capacity recording medium built in the game apparatus 2 and records a game program 30a and game data 30b read from the disk-type recording medium 30, and save data and the like. The ROM 15 is a semiconductor memory such as a mask ROM or PROM, and stores a startup program for starting the game apparatus 2, a program for controlling an operation when the disk type recording 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 or game data 30b necessary for the execution from the disk-type recording medium 30 or the HDD 14 in accordance with the game play status. To record temporarily.

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

  Among them, the graphic processing unit 17 draws a game image including the game space 100 and each character in accordance with an instruction from the CPU 10, and further draws a message remarked by the teammate character NPC over the game image. In addition, an external monitor (output unit) 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. Further, it is displayed on the display 19.

  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. Therefore, 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 has a 2.4 GHz band wireless communication module, is wirelessly connected to the controller 24 attached to the game apparatus 2, and can transmit and receive data. The user can input a signal to the game apparatus 2 by operating an operation element (not shown) such as a button provided in the controller 24, and can perform an action of the player character PC displayed on the display 19. It is controllable. The network interface 25 connects the game apparatus 2 to a communication network NW such as the Internet or a LAN, and can communicate with another game apparatus 2 or the server apparatus 3. Then, by connecting the game apparatus 2 to another game apparatus 2 via the communication network NW and transmitting / receiving data to / from each other, it is possible to display a plurality of player characters PCs synchronously in the same game space. . Therefore, multiplayer in which a plurality of people advance the game together is possible.

[Functional configuration of game device]
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the game apparatus 2 described above. As shown in FIG. 3, the game apparatus 2 has the following functions 40 to 43, 50 to 55, and 60 to 61 by executing the game program of the present invention. And these game space generation part 40, PC control part 41, NPC control part 42, game progress control part 43, NPC action candidate storage part 50, NPC acquisition knowledge storage part 55, message storage part 60, message display part 61 are Specifically, the following functions can be realized. In terms of hardware, these functions are implemented by the CPU 10, HDD 14, ROM 15, RAM 16, graphic processing unit 17, video conversion unit 18, audio synthesis unit 20, audio conversion unit 21, network interface 25, etc. shown in FIG. It is configured.

  The game space generation unit 40 generates the game space 100 as described above and displays it on the display 19. For example, with the movement of the player character PC, the three-dimensional virtual game space 100 is generated based on data such as objects and textures included in the game data 30b. Further, in order to display the game space 100 on the monitor 19 of the game apparatus 2, a two-dimensional image is generated when the generated game space 100 is photographed with a predetermined virtual camera. Note that the game apparatus 2 according to the present embodiment generates 30 frames of this two-dimensional image per second and sequentially displays them on the display 19.

  The PC control unit 41 generates the player character PC and controls the movement of the player character PC in the game space 100 according to the operation of the controller 24 by the user or according to the game situation. For example, by operating the controller 24, the user can move the player character PC in the game space 100, give an instruction to the teammate character NPC, or cause the enemy character to perform an attacking action. .

  The NPC control unit 42 generates a teammate character NPC and controls the movement of the teammate character NPC in the game space 100 according to the game situation. For example, in accordance with the action of the player character PC by the user's operation, various actions such as causing the ally character NPC to execute a predetermined action, entering a predetermined area, generating a quest, encountering an enemy character, receiving damage, etc. An ally character NPC is caused to perform an action according to the game situation and a remark according to the action.

  The game progress control unit 43 controls the progress of the game in accordance with the user's operation and the passage of time in the game. For example, when the player character PC performs a predetermined action by a user operation, a predetermined event is generated and a predetermined moving image is reproduced for a certain period. Further, the environment in the game space 100 is changed with the passage of time in the game. Furthermore, when an enemy character appears in various places of the game space 100 according to the location of the player character PC or when the player character PC approaches the enemy character within a predetermined distance, the player character PC is attacked against the enemy character. I will let you.

  The NPC action candidate storage unit 50 stores information on actions performed by the teammate character NPC according to the game situation and remarks corresponding to the actions. This includes a detailed message database (hereinafter referred to as “DB”) 51, an action DB 52, a hostile thought DB 53, and an area quest reaction DB 54. Details of these databases will be described later.

  The NPC acquisition knowledge storage unit 55 stores knowledge acquired by the teammate character NPC through experience. For example, knowledge obtained by talking with other non-player characters in the city 101, places where they have been, knowledge gained from battles with enemy characters (enemy weaknesses, effectiveness of attacks, etc.), from the player character PC Information (especially necessary for the progress of the game) such as received instructions is accumulated in the NPC acquisition knowledge storage unit 55. The NPC control unit 42 causes the teammate character NPC to perform actions and remarks according to the game situation based on such knowledge. More specifically, in the NPC acquisition knowledge storage unit 55, data relating to experience and knowledge (for example, parameters such as individual experience contents and flags corresponding to the knowledge, and cumulative values indicating the degree of experience and knowledge) Keep it. Then, this data is updated in accordance with conditions such as whether or not the user has experienced or knowledge. Accordingly, the NPC control unit 42 can determine the presence or absence of experience or knowledge from the updated data, and can cause the teammate character NPC to perform actions and statements based on the experience and knowledge. Thus, the teammate character NPC of this game has a learning function.

  The message storage unit 60 is a memory that temporarily stores a message that the friendly character NPC intends to speak appropriately, and has, for example, a queue structure. Further, the message display unit 61 appropriately takes out the message of the friend character NPC stored in the message storage unit 60 and displays it on the display 19.

Database details
Next, with reference to FIG. 4, the details of each database provided in the NPC action candidate storage unit 50 will be described. First, the detailed message list 51a shown in FIG. 4 is information stored in the detailed message DB 51 described above. In the detailed message list 51a, a plurality of specific message contents that are uttered by the teammate character NPC are registered. Each message content is associated with information such as ID, life, priority, and availability of thinning.

  Among these, “ID” is information for identifying a plurality of messages from each other, and one message is specified by one ID. “Life” is a parameter representing the expiration date of each message, and more specifically, indicates an upper limit time that can be continuously stored in the message storage unit 60. In the present embodiment, this life is managed by the number of frames. The “priority” is a parameter indicating the importance of each message, and a higher priority is set for a message that is more necessary to be displayed on the display 19. In the present embodiment, the priority is set by a numerical value of 1 to 5, and a message having a larger numerical value is positioned with higher importance. “Thinning availability” is a parameter indicating whether or not a message can be thinned out for each message. That is, the game device 2 according to the present embodiment, as will be described later, when the ally character NPC tries to issue a plurality of messages at the same time, or when the same ally character NPC tries to issue messages continuously For example, some messages may be thinned out. In this case, in order to determine whether thinning is possible, the parameter is set for each message.

  By the way, the messages registered in the detailed message list 51a are classified into action messages, hostile thinking messages, area reaction messages, and quest reaction messages.

<Action message>
An action message is a predetermined action that restores physical strength, etc. when an enemy character is discovered, when the status of the friendly character NPC itself changes (it is petrified, poisoned, physically damaged, etc.) This is a message issued by a friendly character NPC in response to a predetermined action, such as when an enemy character is defeated, when a battle with an encountered enemy character is judged disadvantageous, or when a command from the player character is returned. . For example, as shown in FIG. 1, a message such as “Wow!” That is issued when damage is received by an attack from an enemy character is included. Note that, in practice, messages that are not classified into any of the other messages of hostile thinking, area reaction, and quest reaction are applicable.

  As shown in FIG. 4, in such an action message, information relating the action content and the ID corresponding to the message is registered in the action list 52a separately from the detailed message list 51a. The list 52a is stored in the action message DB 52 (FIG. 3). Therefore, when the action of the teammate character NPC is determined from the action list 52a of the action DB 52, the corresponding message is also determined by referring to the ID corresponding to this action and the detailed message list 51a. In the action list 52a shown in FIG. 4, each action is described in text for convenience of explanation, but actually, data (ID) for specifying the content of each action is registered.

<Hostile thought message>
The hostile thinking message is a message expressing the thought of the friendly character NPC when fighting the enemy character, and has a content corresponding to the action selected by the friendly character during the battle. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, a message such as “I will attack the other leg!” Issued by a teammate character NPC corresponds to an enemy character who is injured on one leg. As described above, the hostile thinking message includes message contents expressing the intention of the teammate character NPC as to why the teammate character NPC has taken the action during the battle.

  The hostile thinking DB 53 shown in FIG. 3 stores a hostile thinking list 53a as shown in FIG. The hostile thinking list 53a is a list that is referred to when determining the action of the teammate character NPC when fighting an enemy character. Specifically, an action purpose corresponding to a condition such as an enemy state or one's own state is registered, and a rank is set for this action purpose. Further, the ID of the message corresponding to the action purpose (that is, the hostile thinking message) is registered in association with the action purpose. Therefore, when the action of the teammate character NPC during battle is determined, the corresponding message is also determined by referring to the ID corresponding to the action and the detailed message list 51a.

  The items corresponding to the action purpose described in the hostile thinking list 53a will be outlined. The “enemy state” is the state of the enemy character that the party including the player character PC is fighting against. Specifically, the “injury on one leg”, “flying”, “turning back” ”. “Own state” is the state of the friendly character NPC in the party. For example, “my state” includes current physical fitness value, possessed skills (such as magic and skill), knowledge, combat experience, personality, gender, etc. Associated. In addition, the action content that can be selected by the friendly character NPC when the condition is satisfied is set in the “action purpose”, and the effectiveness when the action is executed is set as a numerical value in the “rank” .

  Here, even if the attack content (behavior purpose) set against the enemy in the same state is the same, the rank and the content of the hostile message can be set differently depending on the experience content of the friendly character NPC. . For example, as shown in FIG. 4, when a goblin (enemy state) injured one leg is encountered and the same action (action objectives 1 and 2 including “attack the other leg”) is executed. Even so, different ranks and messages can be set depending on whether or not there has been an attack on the other leg against the same goblin in the past (your state). In the example shown in Fig. 4, a high rank is set for Action Objective 1 when there is experience in attacking the other leg in the past. "If you attack the other leg, you can do fatal damage. A message (ID: 2001) that makes use of past experience is set. On the other hand, a low rank is set for the action purpose 2 when there is no such experience, and a message (ID: 2002) is simply set to “attack the other leg!”. In this way, the ally character NPC can express a message utilizing the past experience.

  Note that the “knowledge” and “combat experience” included in the “my state” of the hostile thinking list 53a are not merely a quantitative amount of knowledge or battle experience, but what kind of knowledge and battle experience. It is possible to register qualitative contents about whether there is. Therefore, for example, with regard to the action objectives 1 and 2 in FIG. 4, even a friendly character NPC who has experienced many opponents has experienced attacking the other leg against the goblin who injured one leg. If not, the action purpose 2 is executed, and at that time, it can only say “I will attack the other leg!” (ID: 2002). On the other hand, even if it is a friendly character NPC with a small number of battles with the enemy character, if there is experience of attacking the other leg against the goblin who injured one leg, it can execute Action Objective 2 In some cases, he can make a statement based on his experience: “If you attack the other leg, you can do fatal damage!” (ID: 2001).

  In the example of FIG. 4, if there is an experience of attacking the other leg, both of the action objectives 1 and 2 can be executed. In this case, the action objective with a higher rank (here, The action purpose 1) is selected. Even if the enemy's state is the same, different behavioral purposes may be registered according to his / her state. For example, as shown in the hostile thinking list 53a in FIG. 4, the condition is that a person has encountered a goblin injured one leg (enemy state) and has attacked the other leg (my state). An action purpose (behavior purpose 3) may be set as “attack the other leg with a hammer”. As a result, not only the message, but also the action content, the past experience is utilized.

  In the hostile thinking list 53a shown in FIG. 4, for convenience of explanation, the enemy's state, own state, action purpose, rank, etc. are described in text or characters. ID) is registered. Further, the registration contents of “behavior purpose” are subdivided from those shown in FIG. 4. For example, the attack site (target) in the body of the enemy character and the attack contents against the target may be registered separately. Good. In addition, in the case where a plurality of enemy characters are encountered at the same time, for example, an enemy character such as an enemy character closest to itself (a friend character NPC) or an enemy character specified as a target by a user operation or the like is specified. Information can also be included in the registration information of “behavioral purpose”. Also, in the case where there are a plurality of enemy characters that can be the target of the “enemy state” in the hostile thinking list 53a, for example, the enemy character closest to itself (a friend character NPC) or the user's operation as described above It is possible to specify an enemy character such as an enemy character specified by the above. In this case, the enemy character that is the target of the “enemy state” and the enemy character that is the target of the “action purpose” may be matched.

<Area reaction message / Quest reaction message>
The area reaction message is a message issued by the teammate character NPC when a party enters a predetermined area set in the game space 100. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, a message such as “It's a lively and nice city” issued when the party character NPC looks around when the party enters the city 101 corresponds. The quest reaction message is a message issued by the teammate character NPC when a predetermined quest (request) is generated for the party. That is, in this game, for example, as shown in FIG. 1, when the player character PC has a conversation with a resident of the city 101, a quest “Find a rare item in the forest 102” occurs. You can set it to send a message such as “Let's go to the forest and look for it!” As described above, when a predetermined condition is satisfied, a predetermined quest for the player character PC is generated, and a message issued by the teammate character when the quest is generated is a quest reaction message. In this way, the area response message and the quest response message indicate that the ally character NPC has taken the action when taking action when the ally character NPC enters the predetermined area or when the quest occurs. Contains message content that expresses NPC's will.

  The area / quest reaction list 54a as shown in FIG. 4 is stored in the area / quest reaction DB 54 shown in FIG. This list 54a is a list that is referred to when the ally character NPC enters a predetermined area or when a quest occurs. Specifically, a condition such as a predetermined entry area or a generated quest, an action purpose corresponding to the condition, and an ID of a message corresponding to the action purpose (that is, the area reaction message or the quest reaction message) are associated and registered. Has been. Accordingly, when the teammate character NPC enters a predetermined area, an action to be taken when entering the area is determined, and a message corresponding to the action is also determined. Further, when a quest occurs in the party to which the teammate character NPC belongs, an action to be taken when the quest occurs is determined, and a message corresponding to the action is further determined.

  The contents of the area / quest reaction list 54a will be described more specifically. Since the area response message basically includes entry into a predetermined area, the areas are associated with each other. However, an area reaction message may be issued when entering a predetermined area in a situation where a predetermined quest is occurring. In this case, the generated quest may be associated with the area response message as a condition in addition to the entry area. The quest reaction message is associated with both the entry area and the generated quest as conditions. Therefore, when a predetermined quest occurs in a situation where a party exists in a predetermined area, the corresponding quest response message satisfies the condition. When a message is issued only when a quest occurs, regardless of the location in the game space 100, the entire game space 100 may be set as the entry area.

  The items described in each of the lists 52a to 54a described above are examples, and other condition items for issuing a message may be added. For example, the knowledge / experience and possession skill of the friendly character NPC may be included in the area reaction message and the quest reaction message as conditions. In addition, for any message, the environment of the game space 100 (day and night, good or bad view, etc.) may be included as a condition item, and even if the message is other than a hostile thinking message, the personality and gender of the friendly character NPC Etc. may be included as condition items.

  The actions and remarks of the teammate character NPC described above are executed by the “message ordering process” and the “message display process” in the game apparatus 2, and the remarked message is displayed on the display 19. In simple terms, the “message ordering process” selects a message suitable for the situation and stores it in the message storage unit 60 (ordering) when it is time for the ally character NPC to speak according to the game situation. It is processing to do. Further, the “message display process” is a process for displaying the message stored in the message storage unit 60 on the display 19 while appropriately selecting the message. These processes are performed independently of each other, and each process proceeds regardless of the progress of the other process. Hereinafter, these processes will be sequentially described.

  First, a procedure for determining a message to be ordered in the message ordering process will be described. The game device 2 determines the game status (for example, the status of the friendly character NPC, whether or not an enemy character has been encountered, the status of the enemy character, the entry area, the generated quest, etc.) every predetermined frame (for example, every frame). Then, the action of the teammate character NPC is determined from each of the lists 52a to 54a, and a message corresponding to the action (a “primary message” to be described later) is determined. Accordingly, there may be only one message or a plurality of messages determined for each predetermined frame.

  For example, when an action to be executed is determined from those included in the action list 52a based on the game situation, a message (primary message) corresponding to this action is determined as an ordering target. Then, it is determined whether or not a predetermined action (for example, an action when receiving an enemy attack) has been determined. If the predetermined action is not determined, the hostile thinking action is determined, and a message (primary message) corresponding to this hostile thinking action is also determined as an ordering target. Further, the behavior of the area quest reaction is determined, and a message (primary message) corresponding to this behavior is also determined as an ordering target. On the other hand, if the action is determined as a predetermined action, the action of the area quest reaction is determined without determining the action of hostile thinking, and the message (primary message) corresponding to this action is determined as the ordering target.

  In the case of this example, if the predetermined action is not determined, there is a possibility that a maximum of three types of messages (primary messages) may be simultaneously ordered, and if the predetermined action is determined, a maximum of 2 Different types of messages may be subject to ordering at the same time. In the message ordering process, the message determined in this way is appropriately thinned out, and the finally extracted message is stored in the message storage unit 60. Next, the message ordering process will be specifically described.

[Message order processing]
FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing an outline of the message ordering process. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the flow of the message ordering process. In this embodiment, the process executed for each frame is shown. Such processing is mainly executed by the NPC control unit 42. As shown in FIG. 6, in the message ordering process, first, an order target message determined for each of the friendly characters NPC1 to NPC3 is received (step S10). That is, when a message that satisfies the conditions set in the lists 52a to 54a is newly generated depending on the game situation, the NPC control unit 42 performs this message (hereinafter also referred to as “primary message”) as in the above-described example. ) Is temporarily held in the RAM 16, for example.

  As described above, a plurality of messages may be simultaneously determined for ordering for the same ally character NPC. In addition, for a plurality of teammate characters NPC, each message may be determined as an ordering target at the same time. In such a case, all messages determined to be ordered are accepted (step S10). However, there may be a case where a plurality of hostile thought messages are determined as orders for the same friendly character NPC. In this case, of the actions corresponding to each hostile thinking message, only one action having the highest rank (that is, a highly effective action) is determined as a hostile thinking action, and one hostile corresponding to this action is determined. The thought message is determined as an order target.

  Next, the NPC control unit 42 checks the ordered list and thins out the same primary message received in step S10 as the message stored in the ordered list (for example, the same ID). (Step S11). Here, the “ordered list” is a list that stores messages finally ordered by the message ordering process shown in FIG. 6, that is, a tertiary message stored in the message storage unit 60. For example, the NPC control unit Created by 42. This list is updated every time the message ordering process is executed. At the time of update, the ID of the newly ordered tertiary message is stored, and the ID that has passed a predetermined period (for example, 20 seconds) after being stored is deleted. By performing the process of step S11 using such an ordered list, the same message as any ally character NPC has spoken within the latest predetermined time (in the above example, within the last 20 seconds). The message order has been canceled. This prevents a message having the same content from being repeated in a short time and does not give the player a sense of incongruity.

  Next, the NPC control unit 42 determines whether or not an order request for a plurality of primary messages has been received for the same ally character NPC (step S12). And when this is received (step S12: YES), a "simultaneous request thinning process" is performed on a plurality of primary messages related to the same ally character NPC (steps S13 to S15). This process is a process of thinning out a plurality of primary messages that have been accepted for ordering at the same time for the same ally character NPC, and that can be thinned out. Specifically, referring to the detailed message list 51a, it is determined whether or not a plurality of primary messages related to the same ally character NPC includes a message that cannot be thinned out (step S13). If a message that cannot be thinned out is included (step S13: YES), only a message that cannot be thinned out is selected (step S14). On the other hand, if there is no message that cannot be thinned out (in other words, only a message that can be thinned out is included) (step S13: NO), for example, one of the messages that can be thinned out is selected. (Step S15).

  In addition, when there are a plurality of messages that can be thinned out, each message is selected as appropriate based on the priority, such as selecting the message with the highest priority as not to be thinned out. Here, when each primary message selected through the simultaneous request thinning process (steps S13 to S15) or only one primary message for the same ally character NPC is received (step S12: NO). These messages are referred to as “secondary messages” for convenience (step S16). Therefore, when there are a plurality of primary messages that cannot be thinned out, the plurality of primary messages excluding those that can be thinned out become secondary messages. When there is no primary message that cannot be thinned out and only a primary message that can be thinned out is included, one or more primary messages selected from the primary messages are secondary messages.

  Subsequently, “number reduction processing” is performed for the secondary message (steps S17 to S21). This process is a process of adjusting the ordering frequency of the secondary message according to the individuality of the number of each character NPC. Specifically, the parameter value T1 relating to the number is acquired for the friendly character NPC (that is, the ordering requester) whose order is the secondary message (step S17). As shown in FIG. 5, each friend character NPC1 to NPC3 is set with a parameter T1 indicating the number of units in addition to the sex, and the number of units is smaller as the parameter value is longer. For example, the male friend character NPC1 is set to 60 seconds, the female friend character NPC2 is set to 3 seconds, and the male friend character NPC3 is set to 20 seconds. Accordingly, the teammate character NPC1 has the smallest number of mouths, and the teammate character NPC2 has the largest number of mouthpieces. Such information is stored in a suitable place such as the NPC control unit 42 and may be a parameter that can be separately adjusted by a user operation.

  If there is a secondary message for which an order is requested for the teammate character NPC1, a numerical parameter value T1 (T1 = “60 seconds” in the example of FIG. 5) is acquired for the teammate character NPC1 (step S17). Further, an elapsed time T2 from when the message regarding the ally character NPC1 is actually ordered immediately before is acquired (step S18). Then, the magnitudes of T1 and T2 are compared (step S19). As a result, when the elapsed time T2 is smaller than the parameter value T1 (step S19: NO), the detailed message list 51a is then displayed to determine whether or not the secondary message for which the order request has been made for the teammate character NPC this time. Judgment is made by reference (step S20). As a result, if the message can be thinned out (step S20: YES), this message is thinned out. That is, this message is not ordered (step S21), and the ordered list is updated (step S24). The message ordering process in this frame is terminated.

  On the other hand, when the secondary message that determines whether or not thinning is possible is not thinning (step S20: NO), or when it is determined that the elapsed time T2 is longer than the number parameter value T1 (step S19: YES), The message requested to be ordered for the friendly character NPC1 this time is determined to be the message to actually place an order (step S22). Here, the message decided to be actually ordered through the number thinning process is referred to as a “tertiary message” for convenience. Then, the game apparatus 2 stores (orders) the tertiary message in the message storage unit 60 (step S23), and further updates the ordered list (step S24), thereby ending the message ordering process in this frame. Note that such number thinning processing is executed for all secondary messages. Then, display on the display 19 is performed using the finally ordered message (see “message display processing” below).

  In this way, in the message ordering process of the game device 2, a message (primary message) corresponding to an action whose condition is satisfied according to the game situation is ordered each time. However, instead of placing an order for all the requested primary messages, we narrow down to secondary messages with a reduced number of targets by simultaneous request thinning processing, and further reduce the number of subjects to tertiary messages by number thinning processing. . As a result, the number of messages displayed on the display 19 can be suppressed without causing the user to feel unnaturalness, and the visibility of the user can be improved and the processing load on the game apparatus 2 can be reduced.

  In particular, according to the “simultaneous request thinning process”, by setting a message that feels unnatural when multiple messages are displayed at the same time to “thinning is possible”, such a message from the same ally character NPC It is possible to prevent a plurality of images from being displayed on the display 19 at the same time. On the other hand, a message that does not feel unnatural even if multiple messages are displayed at the same time is set to “cannot be thinned”. Thereby, a plurality of such messages from the same ally character NPC can be simultaneously displayed on the display 19 without a sense of incongruity. In addition, according to the “decimation processing”, it is possible to express the individuality (slight number) of each teammate character NPC and to suppress the number of displayed messages without unnaturalness. The target to be narrowed down by the message ordering process is “message”, and the “action” itself associated with the message is executed by the teammate character NPC regardless of the message ordering process.

  Note that, in the process of thinning out the same primary message as that stored in the ordered list shown in step S11, a process according to whether or not thinning is possible is performed as in the simultaneous request thinning process and the number thinning process. It is good as well. That is, when the same primary message as that stored in the ordered list is received, it is determined with reference to the detailed message list 51a whether the primary message can be thinned out. The thinning-out message may be thinned out, while the thinning-out impossible message may not be thinned out.

  By the way, in the process of ordering a message and storing it in the message storage unit 60 (step S23), as shown in FIG. 5, the corresponding ID is stored instead of the message itself. In the present embodiment, the life, priority, and identification information of the ally character NPC corresponding to the message are also stored in association with the ID. However, since these pieces of information (life, priority, and identification information of the friendly character NPC) are used in a typical example of the message display process described below, in order to achieve the above-described effects as the message ordering process, It is not essential.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the message storage unit 60 according to the present embodiment employs a message queue configuration, and the access from the message ordering process and the following message display process Access can be performed asynchronously. Therefore, the processing load on the CPU 10 can be reduced, and the CPU 10 can be constituted by two CPUs, and each CPU can be in charge of each process. However, this is also exemplified as a preferable configuration in combining the message ordering processing and the message display processing according to the present embodiment, and is not necessarily limited to this configuration.

[Message display processing]
FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing an outline of the message display process. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the flow of message display processing. In the present embodiment, processing executed for each frame is shown. Such processing is mainly executed by the message display unit 61. The message display unit 61 basically selects and outputs (displays) the messages stored in the message storage unit 60 in the order in which they are stored, that is, the messages stored earlier. However, if they are simply output in the stored order, the ally character NPC's speech becomes unnatural, which may give the user a sense of discomfort. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 8, in the message display process according to the present embodiment, the messages stored in the message storage unit 60 are first organized (steps S30 to S33).

  Specifically, the message display unit 61 first checks the life of each message, and deletes the message whose life value has disappeared from the message storage unit 60 (step S30). That is, as already described, in each message, the life value is set using the number of frames as a parameter indicating the expiration date. The game apparatus 2 performs a process of subtracting the life value of the message stored in the message storage unit 60 every time the frame process (generation and display) is executed every 1/30 seconds. Then, for each frame, it is determined whether or not there is a message whose life value has disappeared (becomes zero) by this subtraction process, and the message whose life value has disappeared is deleted from the message storage unit 60.

  For example, the life value of the message with ID “1003” shown in the detailed message list 51a of FIG. 4 is set to “30f”. Accordingly, the limit of the period during which this message can remain in the message storage unit 60 is 30 frames (1 second in the present embodiment) after being stored, and if it is not displayed on the display 19 during that time, it is the 31st frame. It is deleted from the message storage unit 60. As a result, the expired message is deleted, and the message whose display timing is missed is not displayed.

  Further, the message display unit 61 determines whether or not there are a plurality of messages having the same contents (that is, the same ID) in the message storage unit 60. Is thinned out (step S31). For example, if the enemy character is continuously damaged multiple times in a short time by a continuous attack of the enemy character, a plurality of “Wow!” Messages are ordered successively by the message ordering process described above, and these messages are stored in the message storage unit 60. May be stored. When such messages having the same contents are actually displayed continuously, some messages are erased in order to cause the user to feel uncomfortable. For example, only the message stored first is left, and the message having the same content stored later is deleted.

  In determining whether or not the messages in the message storage unit 60 have the same content, it may be performed regardless of the difference in the friendly character NPC corresponding to each message, or a message related to the same friendly character NPC The identity of the message content may be determined only for. Further, the fact that a plurality of messages have the same content does not necessarily require that the text indicating each message be the same for each character.

  When performing the thinning process shown in step S31, the life value of the earliest message may be overwritten with the life value of the latest message having the same content. It can be said that a plurality of messages having the same content stored in the message storage unit 60 have a relatively high necessity to be displayed. Accordingly, by overwriting the life value with the latest one, the first message can remain in the message storage unit 60 for a long period of time while avoiding continuous display of the same message, and can be displayed easily.

  Further, the message display unit 61 determines whether or not there are a plurality of predetermined messages having different contents regarding the same ally character NPC, and when it is determined that there are a plurality of messages as a result, the older message is deleted. (Step S32). For example, in this game, the player character PC can instruct the teammate character NPC, and the commanded teammate character NPC performs an action corresponding to the command, and further displays a message (command reaction message) corresponding to the action. It has become. Here, after the player character PC commands “help me!” To the teammate character NPC, there is a case where the teammate character NPC commands “go!” Again before actually coming to help. In such a case, the fact that the ally character NPC comes to help the player character PC based on the previous command or says “I will help” in spite of commanding “Go!” This is an action that is not suitable for the user, and causes the user to feel uncomfortable. Therefore, for a predetermined message (in the present embodiment, an instruction reaction message), the ally character NPC can execute a reaction that matches the latest game situation by deleting the old message as described above. .

  Further, the message display unit 61 sorts the messages in the message storage unit 60 in order of priority (step S33). Specifically, the message storage unit 60 according to the present embodiment employs a message queue configuration as already mentioned, and the messages are arranged from the head to the tail in the order in which they are stored. Then, they are taken out and displayed in order from the first message. In this step S33, processing is performed in which the messages arranged in this way are rearranged so that the higher the priority, the closer to the top, regardless of the order of storage. This makes it easier to retrieve important messages that are highly necessary to be displayed on the display 19.

  Next, the message display unit 61 determines whether or not the display number condition is cleared (step S34). That is, based on the current number of displays on the display 19, it is determined whether or not there is an empty frame for displaying a new message. In the present embodiment, considering the visibility of the user, the number of messages that can be simultaneously displayed on the display 19 is, for example, three. If three messages are already displayed (step S34: NO), no new message is displayed in this frame. The message display unit 61 separately performs a process of deleting a message already displayed on the display 19 when a predetermined time (eg, 4 seconds) has elapsed. Accordingly, if the displayed message is deleted and there is an empty frame, it is determined that the display number condition is cleared (step S34: YES).

  If the display number condition is cleared, it is subsequently determined whether or not the standby time condition is cleared, that is, whether or not a predetermined standby time has elapsed in the case of continuous display (step S35). More specifically, in the present embodiment, the corresponding voice is output simultaneously with the message display by the character string. In the present embodiment, since 30 frames are processed per second, a message can be displayed every 1/30 seconds at the fastest if there is an empty frame and there is no limit. However, when a plurality of messages are displayed in such a very short time and the corresponding sound is output, it is recognized by the user that the plurality of sound outputs are performed almost simultaneously, and it is difficult to hear each sound. . Therefore, even if there is a vacant frame, it is first determined whether or not a predetermined waiting time has elapsed since the start of the previous message display. If it is determined that it has not elapsed (step S35: NO), no new message is displayed in this frame. On the other hand, if it is determined that it has elapsed (step S35: YES), the first message in the message storage unit 60 is taken out, this message is displayed on the display 19, and the corresponding voice is output (step S36). . Note that the standby time can be arbitrarily set. For example, the standby time may be determined randomly every 1/10 seconds to 1/2 seconds. However, if the waiting time is constant, the user is made aware of the mechanical control feeling, so it is preferable that the waiting time is randomly determined as described above.

  As described above, in the message display process of the game apparatus 2, not all the messages in the message storage unit 60 are displayed, but the message storage unit 60 is arranged. As a result, it is possible to delete a message whose expiration date has expired and the freshness has dropped (step S30), to thin out the same message (step S31), and to delete an old message of the same ally character NPC that no longer matches the situation (step S31) S32), it is possible to make it easy to extract a message having a high priority (step S33). Furthermore, by limiting the number of displays, the visibility of the user is improved (step S34), and by providing a predetermined time interval for continuous display, it is easy for the user to hear the voice output together with the message display. (Step S35).

  In the present embodiment, the case where all the processes shown in steps S30 to S33 are executed in the message display process is illustrated, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, steps S30 to S33 need not be executed in each message display process, and may be executed every predetermined number of times. Alternatively, each time a new message is ordered by the message ordering process, one or a plurality of processes among steps S30 to S33 may be executed. Moreover, it is good also as performing the process of step S30-S33 regarding the organization of the message storage part 60, and the process of step S34-S35 performed in relation to the message currently displayed on the display 19 by a mutually independent routine. .

[Others]
As mentioned in the description of the hostile thinking list 53a, the hostile thinking message shown in FIG. 4 may include messages having the same action purpose and different conditions set (action purpose 1, FIG. 4). 2). For example, for two messages with the same action objective of “attacking the other leg”, one set “experience attacking the other leg” as one's own combat experience, and the other It may be set as “no battle experience”. In this case, the former is set higher in rank than the latter. As a result, while the battle experience is inexperienced, the former action is excluded from the selection candidates and the latter action is the selection candidate. However, because the rank is low, another action that satisfies the condition but has low effectiveness is selected. There is a possibility. Thereby, the immaturity of the teammate character NPC is expressed. On the other hand, if a lot of battles are experienced and the condition of “has attacked the other leg” is met, the former action will be included in the selection candidates, and the rank (effectiveness) ) Is high, so it is more likely to be selected. Thereby, the user can feel the growth of the friend character NPC due to the experience of the battle.

  Further, even if the action purpose is the same, the set value of the rank and the content of the message may be varied depending on the experience. For example, when fighting with an enemy character, if you have a meaningful experience in the past with the enemy character, set it to a higher rank and be told that you have such experience. A message is set (see message (ID: 2001) corresponding to action purpose 1). On the other hand, when such an experience is not experienced, a low rank is set, and a message that indicates that the experience is poor is set (see message corresponding to action purpose 2 (ID: 2002)). Thereby, as a significant experience is gained, a higher-ranking action is selected, and accordingly, a message corresponding to the action, that is, a message that can be said to have been obtained from the experience can be displayed. Note that the behavioral purpose, the rank, and the message may be set differently depending on the difference in experience.

  As described above, the “decision availability” shown in the detailed message list 51a in FIG. 4 is a criterion for decimation in steps S13 and S20 of the message ordering process. The setting criterion is the importance of each message. It can be determined on the basis of the degree of self-expression contribution of the ally character NPC. For example, it is conceivable that area response messages, quest reaction messages, and some action messages cannot be thinned, and other action messages and hostile thought messages can be thinned. Note that the number parameter (the parameter acquired in step S17), which is the determination criterion for the number thinning in step S20 of the message ordering process, may be fixedly set for each ally character NPC, or the game situation It may be set to be variable according to the above. For example, when fighting a strong enemy character, in a dangerous terrain environment such as a cliff, or in an extremely cold area, the number of mouthpieces is reduced (the mouthpiece parameter becomes longer). It is good. On the other hand, an “association degree” to the player character PC that changes based on the accompany accumulated time to the player character PC is set. The number may be variable so that the number parameter becomes short.

  In this game, the game device 2 of the user A and the game device 2 of the user B are connected via the network NW, and the friend character NPC-B (and the acquired knowledge information thereof) of the user B is connected to the game of the user A. Can be loaded into device 2. Then, the user A can play with the teammate character NPC-B as a member of his party. In this case, since the game progress statuses of the user A and the user B are different, for example, there is a possibility that the borrowed ally character NPC-B has already experienced a quest that has not been achieved by the party operated by the user A. Therefore, in this game, the teammate character NPC-B can provide effective advice to the player character PC of the user A based on his own experience and knowledge.

  The present invention can be applied to a computer program and a game device that can realize an NPC that can give a user an impression of having their own intention and personality.

2 game device 19 display 30a game program 30b game data 40 game space generation unit 42 NPC control unit 50 NPC action candidate storage unit 55 NPC acquisition knowledge storage unit 60 message storage unit 61 message display unit 100 game space NPC ally character PC player character

Claims (2)

Computer
Game space generation means for generating a virtual game space;
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;
NPC acquisition knowledge storage means for storing knowledge acquired by the NPC empirically as the game progresses in a storage unit; and
Communication means for transmitting and receiving data to and from other computers;
Function as
The NPC control means selects an action of the NPC according to a game situation from a plurality of action candidate information stored in advance in the storage unit in association with the action content of the NPC and a message to be spoken. Whether a message associated with the selected action is output to the output unit , and at least a part of the action candidate information can be selected as an action of the NPC based on information stored by the NPC acquisition knowledge storage unit Determine whether or not
When the communication means loads a non-player character (hereinafter referred to as another NPC) generated by the other computer from another computer, the NPC control means causes the other NPC to proceed with the game on the other computer. A computer program that selects an action of the other NPC based on empirical knowledge in response to the action and outputs a message associated with the selected action to the output unit . A game device comprising: a program storage unit that stores the computer program according to claim 1 ; and a computer that executes the program stored in the program storage unit.

Images