JP6910415B2 - Game system - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a game system.

Conventionally, there has been known a game system in which a game image is displayed on a display based on the read game data or the like while the game data or the program is read from a recording medium such as a DVD ROM in a timely manner to advance the game. In such a game system, various proposals have been made to effectively utilize the time required for reading game data or the like, that is, the so-called loading time. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a game system that outputs an image for advertisement (still image and / or moving image) to a monitor while game data or the like is read from a recording medium into a RAM or the like of a game device.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2001-155066

By the way, the amount of data read from the recording medium differs depending on the progress of the game and the like, and the time required for reading also differs depending on the progress of the game and the like. Therefore, for example, in the game system disclosed in Patent Document 1, when an advertisement video having a clear start and end is displayed during the loading time, the following problems may occur.

That is, when the loading time ends, the game is switched to the game image and the game is started even though the displayed advertisement video is in the middle. It is not desirable for an advertiser who created an ad video on the assumption that the ad video will be watched from the beginning to the end if the ad video ends in the middle. In addition, if the advertisement video ends in the middle, the game user or the audience who was watching the advertisement video may feel half-hearted, and the concentration on the game to be started may be reduced. Such a problem may occur not only in the advertisement video but also in the case where other types of videos are displayed during the loading time.

In addition to the loading time, some games have time for users, game spectators, and the like to wait for the start of the game. For example, some games, such as soccer games and computer card games, start a match after the user sets a game strategy. In such games, waiting time may occur for the user's opponents and game spectators while the user thinks about the game strategy. It is conceivable to display an advertisement video or the like on the monitor during such a waiting time, but even in this case, it is desirable to suppress the video from being terminated in the middle.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a game system capable of suppressing the video displayed in the game play start waiting time from being terminated in the middle.

In order to solve the above problems, the game system according to the first invention includes an operation unit that accepts user operations, a display unit that displays game images, a storage medium that stores game data, and a computer. A game progressing means for advancing a game based on a user's operation on the operation unit, a reading means for reading the game data from the storage medium according to the progress of the game, and the game. An output control means for outputting a predetermined moving image to the display unit while reading the data, and a time acquisition means for acquiring an estimated reading time expected to be required to read the game data at the start of reading the game data. A moving image determining means for determining a moving image having a length corresponding to the estimated reading time as the predetermined moving image based on the acquired expected reading time.

According to the above-mentioned game system, as a moving image displayed while reading the game data, a moving image having a length corresponding to the expected reading time is determined and displayed on the display unit. As a result, when the reading of the game data is completed, it is possible to prevent the moving image displayed during the reading of the data from being terminated in the middle.

The game system includes a storage unit that stores the estimated reading time in association with the progress of the game, and the time acquisition means corresponds to the progress of the game before the game data is read. The time may be obtained from the storage unit. Since the estimated reading time is stored in advance in the storage unit in association with the progress of the game, the time acquisition means can easily acquire the estimated reading time.

Further, in the above game system, the time acquisition means may calculate the estimated reading time based on the amount of data of the game data to be read. Since the time acquisition means calculates the estimated reading time based on the amount of the game data to be read, it is possible to save the trouble of setting the estimated reading time in advance.

Further, in the above game system, the display unit is a display unit for spectators for spectators other than the user who operates the operation unit to view the game image, and the game system is used by a user who operates the operation unit. A user display unit for viewing a game image is provided, and the output control means outputs a moving image determined by the moving image determining means to the audience display unit while reading the game data, and displays the user. It is not necessary to output to the unit. As a result, for example, in a competition where a computer game is held as a competition, the audience is shown the video determined by the video determining means, while the user who plays the game is not shown the video determined by the video determining means. You can concentrate on the game.

Further, the above-mentioned game system includes a moving image storage means for storing a moving image data of a game moving image in a predetermined storage device, and the moving image determining means has the expected reading time from the moving image data saved by the moving image saving means. An moving image having a length corresponding to the above may be generated, and the generated moving image may be determined as the predetermined moving image. As a result, a moving image suitable for the estimated reading time can be displayed on the display unit.

Further, the game system according to the second invention includes an operation unit that accepts user operations, a user display unit for the user who operates the operation unit to view a game image, and a user other than the user who operates the operation unit. A game system including a display unit for spectators for spectators to view game images, a storage unit for storing data of a plurality of short videos, and a computer, and a game strategy based on a user's operation on the operation unit. Output control means for outputting a strategy setting screen for setting to the user display unit and outputting a predetermined moving image to the audience display unit while the strategy setting screen is output to the user display unit. The time acquisition means for acquiring the strategy setting time, which is the maximum time for which the strategy setting screen is output, and the total video playback time from the data of the plurality of short videos are longer according to the strategy setting time. It is provided with a video determining means for selecting one or a plurality of short video data so as to be, and determining the predetermined video, and a determining means for determining whether or not the setting of the game strategy is completed. The output control means is displayed on the audience display unit after it is determined that the setting of the game strategy is completed and when the reproduction of the short moving image being output is completed at the time of the determination. The output of the short video is finished.

According to the above game system, the video determining means determines the length of the video according to the strategy setting time. Therefore, when the strategy setting time ends, the video displayed on the spectator display unit is in the middle. It can be suppressed from being terminated. Further, even when the strategy setting is completed in a time relatively shorter than the preset strategy setting time, it is possible to prevent the moving image displayed on the audience display unit from being terminated in the middle.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a game system capable of suppressing the video displayed in the game play start waiting time from being terminated in the middle.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the game system which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the correspondence relation between the progress | progress of the game, and the estimated read time in the estimated read time data. It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating an example of advertisement video data. It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating the moving image generation processing by the moving image generating means. It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating the monitor display during game execution and data reading. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the flow of moving image display processing.

<First Embodiment>
Hereinafter, the game system according to the first embodiment of the first invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

In the following description, as an example of the game realized by the game system of the present embodiment, two users (hereinafter, first user and second user) who play the game operate the controller while looking at the monitors, respectively. Describe a competitive game in which you play against each other. The fighting game is, for example, a fighting game in which a first user and a second user each select one character from a plurality of characters and operate a controller to fight their own character against the opponent's character.

Further, in the present embodiment, this competitive game will be described as being played in a competition in which a computer game is held as a competition, that is, a so-called E-sports (Electronic Sports) competition. That is, the game system of the present embodiment includes not only monitors 33 and 34 (user displays) (see FIGS. 1 and 5) for users who participated in the tournament, but also large monitors for spectators who visited the tournament venue. It also has 35 (audience display) (see FIGS. 1 and 5).

[Hardware configuration]
The configuration of the game system of this embodiment will be described. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a game system 1 according to the present embodiment. The game system 1 includes a game device 2 in which a control unit 21 described later is stored, and two controllers (operation units) 31, 32, three monitors 33, 34, 35, and two headphones 36, 37 as external devices thereof. It has at least one speaker 38.

The game device 2 realizes the above-mentioned competitive game by executing the game program 26a. The game device 2 includes a control unit 21 which is a computer that controls its operation. The control unit 21 is, for example, a CPU and controls the operation of the game device 2. The storage unit 22, the media I / F unit 23, the communication I / F unit 24, and the input / output I / F unit 25 are connected to the control unit 21 via the bus 21a, respectively.

The storage unit 22 is composed of, for example, an HDD which is a large-capacity recording medium, a ROM which is a semiconductor memory such as a mask ROM or a PROM, and a RAM including a DRAM or an SRAM. The storage unit 22 stores a moving image display program 22a, a replay moving image data 22b, an estimated reading time data 22c, and an advertising moving image data 22d, which will be described later.

The media I / F unit 23 is an interface on which the game media 26 for executing the above-mentioned battle game can be loaded. The game media 26 is, for example, a disc-type recording medium such as a DVD-ROM, in which a game program 26a and game data 26b necessary for executing a game are recorded. This game data 26b contains various data necessary for executing a competitive game.

The game program 26a and the game data 26b are read from the game media 26 and stored in the storage unit 22. In this embodiment, all the game data 26b in the game media 26 is not read at the time of starting the game, but the game data required as appropriate according to the progress of the game (for example, the transition of the game scene) is read. In this specification, all the game data recorded in the game media 26 and the game data appropriately read in the storage unit 22 are not particularly distinguished and are referred to as "game data 26b".

The communication I / F unit 24 is an interface for connecting the game device 2 to a communication network such as the Internet or a LAN. For example, when the game device 2 advances the game while communicating with the outside, the game device 2 communicates with another game device 2 and / or with a server device via the communication I / F unit 24. Send and receive data.

The input / output I / F unit 25 is an interface for communicating signals with two controllers 31, 32, three monitors 33, 34, 35, two headphones 36, 37, and at least one speaker 38, which are external devices.

The two controllers 31 and 32 are devices that receive operations for playing a battle game by the first user and the second user, respectively, and input operation information corresponding to the operations to the control unit 21 of the game device 2. .. The controllers 31 and 32 are game controllers provided with controls such as buttons.

The monitors 33, 34, and 35 are display devices for displaying game images in a competitive game, such as a liquid crystal display. Of the monitors 33, 34, and 35, the monitor 33 is a user display unit for the first user who operates the controller 31 to view the game image, and the monitor 34 is the game image for the second user who operates the controller 32. It is a display unit for users to view. The monitor 35 is a display unit for spectators for spectators who visit the esports competition venue to see the game image.

More specifically, the graphic processing unit (not shown) included in the game device 2 draws the game image in a moving image format according to the instruction of the control unit 21. The game image drawn in the moving image format is displayed on the monitors 33, 34, and 35 as a game screen. In the present embodiment, the images displayed on the monitors 33 and 34 for the user and the monitors 35 for the audience are different while reading the data from the game media 26. Details of this will be described later.

The two headphones 36, 37 and at least one speaker 38 are devices that output game sounds in a competitive game. The two headphones 36 and 37 are user acoustic output devices that are worn and used on the heads of the first user and the second user, respectively. The speaker 38 is an audio output device for spectators in the spectator seats of the E-sports competition venue.

More specifically, regarding the game sound, the audio processing unit (not shown) included in the game device 2 reproduces and synthesizes the digital game sound according to the instruction of the control unit 21, and then decodes the game sound into an analog format. Output from headphones 36, 37 and at least one speaker 38 to the outside. In the present embodiment, similarly to the displays of the monitors 33, 34, and 35, the headphones 36 and 37, which are audio output devices for users, and the speakers 38, which are audio output devices for spectators, are used from the game media 26. The audio output while reading data is different.

[Functional configuration of control unit]
FIG. 1 shows the functional configuration of the control unit 21 of the game device 2. By executing the game program 26a and the video display program 22a, the game device 2 functions as a game progress means 41, a video storage means 42, a reading means 43, a time acquisition means 44, a video determination means 45, and an output control means 46. do.

The game progress means 41 advances the game based on the operation of the first user on the controller 31 and the operation of the second user on the controller 32.

The video storage means 42 saves the video data of the game video displayed on the monitors 33, 34, and 35 in the storage unit 22. Specifically, the video storage means 42 stores a video (competition video) of the battle screen in which the first user and the second user in the battle game battle against each other in the storage unit 22 as replay video data 22b.

In the present embodiment, the moving image saving means 42 saves the operation information (key input information) of the controllers 31 and 32 associated with the time as moving image data. That is, the "video data" in the present specification and claims may be any data that enables a specific moving image to be reproduced on the screen, and not only the moving image format data but also the moving image is reproduced ( It also includes information for (or generation) (eg, operational information for controllers 31, 32 associated with time).

The reading means 43 reads the game data 26b from the game media 26, which is a storage medium, into the storage unit 22 of the game device 2 according to the progress of the game. Specifically, the reading means 43 reads the game data 26b, which needs to be read for the progress of the game in the future, from the game media 26 according to the progress of the game. The game data 26b required for the progress of the game in the future varies depending on the type of game and the like, and is, for example, map data, object data, character data, etc. in a three-dimensional space.

It takes several seconds to several tens of seconds for the reading means 43 to read the game data 26b. In the present embodiment, the game device 2 executes the moving image display program 22a to execute a moving image display process for displaying a predetermined moving image during this reading time (so-called loading time). The moving image display process is executed by the time acquisition means 44, the moving image determining means 45, and the output controlling means 46.

When reading the game data 26b, the time acquisition means 44 acquires the expected reading time expected to be required to read the game data 26b.

More specifically, the game data 26b that needs to be read for the progress of the game in the future is determined according to the progress of the game immediately before the data is read, and is read according to the amount of data of the game data 26b to be read. The time required for the game is roughly determined. Therefore, if the progress of the game is known, the time required for reading can be predicted to some extent. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the storage unit 22 stores the predicted read time data 22c, which is the data of the predicted read time stored in association with the progress of the game. The time acquisition means 44 acquires the progress of the game before the game data 26b is read from the game progress means 41. Then, the time acquisition means 44 acquires the estimated reading time corresponding to the progress of the game before the game data 26b is read from the estimated reading time data 22c.

The estimated read time data 22c is created in advance before the start of the game and is stored in the storage unit 22. FIG. 2 shows an example of the correspondence between the progress of the game and the expected read time in the estimated read time data 22c. As shown in FIG. 2, the progress of the game (for example, in the case of the battle game exemplified in the present embodiment, the situation where the first user and the second user each select a character and start the battle, the battle is completed. Game data to be loaded (more specifically, game data that needs to be loaded for future game progress) according to the situation, the situation where the game stage is selected, etc. (Game data X to Z in the example) Is generally fixed. Therefore, for example, the estimated read time data 22c is created by determining the estimated read time based on the amount of data of the game data 26b to be read (in the figure, the amount of each data of the game data X to Z).

The expected read time stored in the storage unit 22 does not necessarily have to be determined based on the amount of data of the game data 26b to be read. For example, the estimated read time data 22c is created by measuring how much read time has occurred multiple times for each of a plurality of progresses in the game, and determining the estimated read time based on the measurement result. You may.

The moving image determining means 45 determines a moving image having a length corresponding to the estimated reading time as a moving image output by the output control means 46, which will be described later, based on the estimated reading time acquired by the time acquiring means 44. In the present embodiment, the moving image determining means 45 outputs a moving image having the same time as the expected reading time or a time shorter than the expected reading time as a moving image having a length corresponding to the expected reading time as a moving image output by the output control means 46. decide. The moving image determining means 45 includes a moving image selecting means 45a and a moving image generating means 45b.

The video selection means 45a selects an advertisement video having the same time as the acquired expected read time or a time shorter than the expected read time from a plurality of advertisement videos included in the advertisement video data 22d stored in the storage unit 22 in advance. do. Then, the moving image determining means 45 determines the advertising moving image selected by the moving image selecting means 45a as a moving image output by the output controlling means 46 described later.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram for explaining an example of the advertising video data 22d. The advertising video data 22d includes a plurality of advertising videos and the video time of each of the advertising videos (in other words, the playback time of the video). The advertising video data 22d is created in advance before the start of the game and is stored in the storage unit 22. For example, when the expected reading time acquired by the time acquisition unit 44 is 6 seconds, the video selection means 45a is an advertisement video having a time of 6 seconds or less stored in the storage unit 22 (in the example of FIG. 3, the video data A). Or video data B) Select.

The moving image generation means 45b generates a moving image having the same time as the expected reading time or a time shorter than the expected reading time from the replay moving image data 22b saved by the moving image saving means 42. Then, the moving image determining means 45 determines the moving image generated by the moving image generating means 45b as a moving image output by the output controlling means 46 described later.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram for explaining the generation of moving images by the moving image generating means 45b. FIG. 4 shows an example in which the video generation means 45b generates a video displayed in the reading time between the first round and the second round in a battle game in which one battle play is composed of a plurality of rounds. Is done.

During the battle of the first round, the above-mentioned moving image storage means 42 stores the operation information of the first user and the second user as the replay moving image data 22b of the first round. When the first round is completed, the reading means 43 starts reading the game data 26b according to the situation, and the time acquisition means 44 acquires the estimated reading time expected to be required to read the game data 26b. do.

After that, the video generation means 45b uses the battle video immediately before the start of reading, that is, the replay video data 22b of the first round, to generate a video having a time shorter than the expected reading time (for example, 3 seconds) (for example, 2 seconds). do. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, the moving image generation means 45b extracts the last scene in the replay moving image for a predetermined time shorter than the expected time to generate the replay moving image. This is because the final scene in the replay video is the scene in which the game in the match (round) is decided, and it is highly possible that it is a scene that is highly valuable to the audience.

In the present embodiment, the moving image storage means 42 deletes the replay moving image data 22b stored in the storage unit 22 from the storage unit 22 at a predetermined timing, for example, after the start of the second round using the example of FIG. .. This is to prevent the free area where data can be stored in the storage unit 22 from being reduced by accumulating the replay moving image data 22b in the storage unit 22.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the moving image determining means 45 uses the advertising moving image selected by the moving image selecting means 45a or the moving image generated by the moving image generating means 45b as a moving image output by the output control means 46 described later. decide.

The output control means 46 controls the output to the monitors 33, 34, and 35. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram for explaining the display of the monitors 33, 34, and 35 during game execution and data reading. As shown in FIG. 5A, the output control means 46 outputs the same game screen to all monitors 33, 34, and 35 during game play. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 5B, while the game data 26b is being read, the output control means 46 displays different images on the monitors 33 and 34, which are display units for users, and the monitors 35, which are display units for spectators. indicate.

Specifically, the output control means 46 outputs the moving image determined by the moving image determining means 45 to the monitor 35, which is a display unit for spectators, while reading the game data 26b. Note that FIG. 5B shows an example in which the moving image generated by the moving image generating means 45b is displayed on the monitor 35. On the other hand, while the game data 26b is being read, the output control means 46 does not output the moving image determined by the moving image determining means 45 to the monitors 33 and 34, which are display units for users, and indicates that the data is being read. Output the image.

[Flow of video display processing]
Next, the flow of the moving image display process will be described with reference to FIG.

The video display process is started when the game data 26b is read.

In the moving image display process, as shown in FIG. 6, the time acquisition means 44 first acquires the estimated reading time expected to be required to read the game data 26b when reading the game data 26b (step S1). It is not necessary that the timing of the start of reading the game data 26b and the timing of the acquisition of the expected read time completely match, and the time acquisition means 44 acquires the estimated read time immediately before or after the start of reading the game data 26b. May be good.

Next, the moving image determining means 45 determines a moving image having the same time as the expected reading time or shorter than the expected reading time based on the acquired expected reading time (step S2).

Specifically, the video selection means 45a selects an advertisement video having the same time as the expected reading time or a time shorter than the expected reading time, or the video generating means 45b has the same time as the expected reading time or shorter than the expected reading time. Generate a video of time. Then, the moving image determining means 45 determines the advertising moving image selected by the moving image selecting means 45a or the moving image generated by the moving image generating means 45b as a moving image displayed on the monitor 35 during data reading.

In step S2, whether the video selection means 45a selects the advertisement video or the video generation means 45b generates the video depends on, for example, the progress of the game, the expected reading time, or the amount of game data to be read. Correspondingly, the moving image determination means 45 is determined.

After step S2, while the output control means 46 reads the game data 26b, the video determined by the video determining means 45 is output to the monitor 35, which is a display unit for spectators (step S3), and the video display process ends. .. That is, the monitor 35 displays a moving image shorter than the expected reading time, and after the moving image ends, the reading of the game data 26b ends and the game play screen is displayed.

Summarizing the above, the game system 1 of the present embodiment includes controllers 31 and 32 (operation units) that receive operations of the first user and the second user, respectively, a monitor 35 (display unit) that displays a game image, and a monitor 35 (display unit). A game system 1 including a game media 26 (storage medium) in which game data 26b is stored and a control unit 21 (computer), and a game progress in which the game progresses based on user operations on controllers 31 and 32. Means 41, reading means 43 that reads the game data 26b from the game media 26 according to the progress of the game, output control means 46 that outputs a predetermined moving image to the monitor 35 while reading the game data 26b, and When reading the game data 26b, the time acquisition means 44 for acquiring the expected reading time expected to be required to read the game data 26b and the estimated reading time are obtained based on the acquired estimated reading time. It is provided with a moving image determining means 45 for determining a moving image having a length of the same as the predetermined moving image.

[Effect of the invention]
According to the game system 1 of the present embodiment, as a moving image displayed while reading the game data 26b, a moving image having a length corresponding to the expected reading time is determined and displayed on the monitor 35. As a result, when the reading of the game data 26b is completed, it is possible to prevent the moving image displayed during the data reading from being terminated in the middle.

Further, according to the game system 1 of the present embodiment, the estimated reading time data 22c, that is, the estimated reading time is stored in the storage unit 22 in advance in association with the progress of the game, so that the time acquisition means 44 , You can easily get the expected read time.

Further, according to the game system 1 of the present embodiment, the output control means 46 outputs the moving image determined by the moving image determining means 45 to the monitor 35, which is a display unit for spectators, while reading the game data 26b, and the user. It is not output to monitors 33 and 34, which are display units. As a result, in the above-mentioned E-sports competition, the audience is shown the video determined by the video determining means 45, while the user who plays the game is not shown the video determined by the video determining means 45. You can concentrate on the game.

Further, according to the game system 1 of the present embodiment, the moving image determining means 45 generates a moving image having a length corresponding to the expected reading time from the replay moving image data 22b saved by the moving image saving means 42, and the output control means. Determined as the video output by 46. Therefore, a moving image suitable for the estimated reading time can be displayed on the monitor 35.

(Modification example)
The first invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the first invention.

For example, in the above embodiment, as a game realized by the game system 1, a battle game in which two users play against each other is exemplified, but the game realized by the game system of the first invention is not limited to this. .. For example, the game realized by the game system may be a game played by three or more people at the same time, or a game played by one person such as a time attack in a racing game.

Further, the game system 1 includes monitors 33 and 34 for users and large monitors 35 for spectators, but the number and types of display units included in the first invention are not limited to this. For example, the game system of the first invention does not have to include a display unit for spectators. Further, the output control means 46 may output the moving image determined by the moving image determining means to the user display unit.

Further, in the above embodiment, the moving image display program 22a, the replay moving image data 22b, the expected reading time data 22c, and the advertising moving image data 22d are stored in the storage unit 22 of the game device 2. Not limited. That is, in the game system of the first invention, the read time may be stored in the game media that can be loaded in the game device, or stored in the storage medium of the external device connected to the game device via the communication network. It may have been done. For example, the game system of the first invention may include an external storage device connected to the game device 2, and the external storage device includes a video display program 22a, replay video data 22b, expected read time data 22c, and the like. And a part or all of the advertisement video data 22d may be stored. For example, even if the video storage means 42 stores the replay video data 22b in an external storage device such as an external hard disk connected to the game device 2 or a server device connected to the game device 2 via a communication network. good. That is, the "predetermined storage device" in the first invention may or may not be the "storage unit" in the first invention. Further, in the above embodiment, the game media 26 that can be loaded into the media I / F unit 23 has been described as an example of the storage medium, but the storage medium is a storage medium (hard disk or the like) built in or external to the game device. ), Or it may be a storage medium of an external device (for example, a hard disk in a server device) connected to the game device via a communication network.

Further, in the above embodiment, the moving image display program 22a is described as a program different from the game program 26a, but the moving image display program 22a may be incorporated in the game program 26a.

Further, the game system of the first invention may separately include a device for controlling the display of the monitor 35 during reading of the game data 26b between the game device 2 for drawing the game image and the monitor 35. For example, it is provided with a video switching device that communicates with each of the game device and the spectator monitor and switches the video displayed on the spectator monitor between the video of the game received from the game device and the video determined by the video determining means. You may. In this case, the control unit of the game device may function as a game progress means, a moving image saving means, and a reading means, and the control unit of the moving image switching device may function as a time acquisition means, a moving image determining means, and an output controlling means. That is, the "computer" of the first invention may be composed of control units of a plurality of devices.

Further, in the above embodiment, the time acquisition means 44 acquires the progress status of the game before the game data 26b is read from the game progress means 41, but this is the method by which the time acquisition means 44 acquires the progress status of the game. Not limited to. For example, the game progress may be determined by recognizing the game image during game play using a known image recognition technique. In this case, since the time acquisition means 44 can acquire the expected reading time regardless of the game progress means 41, it can be easily applied to commercially available game software including a game program.

Further, in the above embodiment, the estimated read time data 22c used by the time acquisition means 44 to acquire the expected read time is data indicating the estimated read time associated with the progress of the game. The read time does not have to be associated with the progress of the game.

For example, the estimated read time data 22c may be data indicating the estimated read time in association with the amount of data of the game data 26b to be read, instead of the progress of the game. In this case, even if the time acquisition means 44 acquires the estimated read time corresponding to the amount of data of the game data 26b read by the reading means 43 from the estimated reading time data 22c stored in the storage unit 22 from the storage unit 22. good.

The estimated read time data 22c in this case is created by, for example, changing the amount of data of the game data 26b to be read, measuring the read time multiple times, and determining the estimated read time based on the measurement result. It may be.

For example, when creating the expected read time data 22c, the average value of the measurement results of the read time may be set as the expected read time. In this case, it is desirable that the moving image determining means 45 determines a moving image having a time shorter than the expected reading time, not the same time as the expected reading time. Further, for example, when creating the expected read time data 22c, the longest read time among the measured read times a plurality of times may be set as the estimated read time.

Further, the time acquisition means 44 may acquire the estimated read time without using the estimated read time (that is, the estimated read time data 22c) stored in the storage unit 22. For example, the time acquisition means 44 may calculate the expected reading time based on the amount of data of the game data 26b to be read. In this case, it is possible to save the trouble of setting the expected read time in advance (that is, creating the estimated read time data 22c). In addition to the amount of game data 26b to be read, the time acquisition means 44 uses other information that affects the length of the read time (computer performance (specs), computer processing load, etc.) to perform expected reading. You may calculate the time.

Further, the time acquisition means 44 may use the estimated reading time data 22c stored in the storage unit 22 and the calculation of the estimated reading time properly according to the progress of the game. For example, if the progress of the game before the game data 26b is read is included in the estimated read time data 22c prepared in advance, the estimated read time corresponding to the progress is acquired and the estimated read time data. If it is not included in 22c, the estimated reading time may be calculated based on the amount of data of the game data 26b to be read.

Further, in the above embodiment, the moving image determining means 45 outputs a moving image having the same time as the expected reading time or a time shorter than the expected reading time by the output control means 46 as a moving image having a length corresponding to the expected reading time. Although it was decided as a video, "a video with a length according to the expected loading time" is not limited to this. For example, "video with a length according to the expected read time" includes a video with the same time as the expected read time or a time shorter than the expected read time, and the expected read time to the extent that an excessive waiting state does not occur in the progress of the game. Includes longer time videos. "A video with a time longer than the expected loading time that does not cause an excessive waiting state in the progress of the game" is, for example, a video with a length of 110% of the expected reading time or a video with a time 1 second longer than the expected reading time. Is.

As a result of the video determining means 45 determining the video for a time longer than the expected reading time, as expected, when the reading of the game data is completed while the video determined by the video determining means 45 is being played on the monitor, the output control is performed. Means 46 may delay the display of the gameplay screen until the video being played is finished. Also, even though the video determining means 45 determines the video for a time equal to or shorter than the expected reading time, contrary to expectations, the game is being played while the video determined by the video determining means 45 is being played on the monitor. Even when the reading of the data is completed, the output control means 46 may delay the display of the game play screen until the video being played is completed.

The moving image determining means 45 may not include both the moving image selecting means 45a and the moving image generating means 45b, or may include only one of the moving image selecting means 45a and the moving image generating means 45b.

Further, the moving image selected by the moving image selection means 45a does not have to be one, and a plurality of moving images may be selected as long as the total moving image reproduction time becomes a length corresponding to the expected reading time. Explaining using the example of FIG. 3, for example, in the moving image selection means 45a, when the expected reading time acquired by the time acquiring means 44 is 10 seconds, the moving image data A and the moving image time are 3 seconds. You may select moving image data C which is 7 seconds. That is, the moving image determining means 45 may determine a plurality of moving images having a time shorter than the expected reading time.

Further, the moving image determining means 45 may determine a moving image having a length corresponding to the expected reading time as a moving image to be displayed in the reading time by combining the moving image selecting means 45a and the moving image generating means 45b. For example, when the estimated reading time acquired by the time acquisition means 44 is 3 seconds, the video selection means 45a selects the video data having a video time of 1 second, and the video generation means 45b is based on the replay video data. Replay moving image data for 2 seconds may be generated. Then, the moving image determining means 45 may determine a combination of the 1-second moving image selected by the moving image selecting means 45a and the 2-second replay moving image generated by the moving image generating means 45b as a moving image to be displayed in the reading time.

Further, for example, when the expected reading time acquired by the time acquisition means 44 is 3 seconds, the moving image generation means 45b may generate the replay moving image data for 3 seconds based on the replay moving image data. Then, the moving image selection means 45a may select moving image data having a moving image time of 3 seconds for wipe display in one corner of the 3 second replay moving image.

The video generation means 45b may generate replay video data whose screen display is partially changed from the battle video displayed on the monitor. For example, the video generation means 45b may generate replay video data with an advertisement image (for example, video data in which the texture of the advertisement image is attached to the background, floor, etc.) that was not displayed on the actual battle screen.

The plurality of advertising videos included in the advertising video data 22d may include advertising videos having the same video time. The video selection means 45a may select the advertisement videos in a predetermined order, or may prioritize and select the advertisement videos according to the advertisement fee paid by the advertiser.

Further, in FIG. 4, the moving image generation means 45b extracts the last scene in the replay movie for a predetermined time shorter than the expected time, and generates a moving image for displaying during the data reading time. The method of generating a moving image by the generation means 45b is not limited to this. For example, the video generation means 45b extracts one or more video parts from the replay video for a time equal to or shorter than the expected time, and generates a video to be displayed during the data reading time. You may. For example, the moving image generation means 45b may generate a moving image so as to include a scene having the highest rate of change of a predetermined parameter (such as a physical strength gauge of a character) per unit time in the replay moving image.

For example, the moving image generation means 45b may divide the replay moving image into a predetermined time and weight the divided moving image portion (replay scene). Then, the moving image generation means 45b may generate a moving image having a length corresponding to the expected reading time by sequentially selecting the one with the higher weighting from the plurality of divided moving image portions. When the expected reading time is longer than the actual reading time, the output control means 46 may additionally output to the monitor 45 in descending order of weighting among the moving image portions not selected by the moving image generating means 45b. Further, the moving image generation means 45b may generate a moving image in which the moving image portion having the highest weighting is repeatedly displayed a plurality of times by the time corresponding to the expected reading time among the plurality of divided moving image parts. When there are many video parts with high weight, the video generation means 45b may generate a video longer than the expected reading time. In this case, the output control means 46 displays the game play screen until the generated video ends. May be delayed.

In the above embodiment, the video generation means 45b uses the video data immediately before the start of data reading, but the video generation means 45b is not the video immediately before the start of data reading, but the past replay video before that. It may be generated from. The moving image storage means 42 does not have to delete the replay moving image data 22b stored in the storage unit 22.

The video selection means 45a may be selected from a plurality of other types of videos, such as a profile video of a competing user, prepared in advance in the storage unit 22, instead of the advertisement video. Further, the moving image generation means 45b generated a moving image to be displayed during the data reading time from the replay moving image data saved by the moving image saving means 42, but from another type of moving image data prepared in advance in the storage unit 22, You may generate a moving image to be displayed during the data reading time.

<Second Embodiment>
Hereinafter, the game system according to the second embodiment of the second invention will be described. In the present embodiment, the video playback of the waiting time while the user thinks about the game strategy is related, not the waiting time for reading the game data.

As an example of the game realized by the game system of the present embodiment, a competitive computer card game will be described. In this competitive game, two users playing the game (hereinafter, the first user and the second user) operate the controller while looking at the strategy setting screen for setting the game strategy, respectively, and set the game strategy. .. For example, the first user and the second user each select a card to be used during play from a plurality of available cards to create a deck. In this battle game, the time during which the strategy can be set (hereinafter referred to as the strategy setting time) is set in advance. If the game strategy settings are completed within the strategy setting time, the game will start playing from that point. If the user does not complete the strategy setting within the strategy setting time, the strategy setting is automatically closed and the game starts playing.

Further, also in this embodiment, it is assumed that this competitive game is played in an esports tournament. That is, the game system of the present embodiment is not only the monitors 33 and 34 (user display units) for the users who participated in the tournament, but also a large-sized game system for the spectators who visited the tournament venue, as in the first embodiment. It also has a monitor 35 (audience display).

Since the hardware configuration of the game system of this embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment, the description thereof will be omitted. Further, the description of the functional configuration of the control unit 21 that overlaps with that of the first embodiment will be omitted.

[Functional configuration of control unit]
In the present embodiment, the output control means 46 outputs the strategy setting screen to each of the monitors 33 and 34. On the strategy setting screen displayed on the monitor 33, the game strategy is set based on the operation of the first user on the controller 31, and on the strategy setting screen displayed on the monitor 34, the game strategy is set based on the operation of the second user on the controller 32. The game strategy is set. Further, the output control means 46 outputs a predetermined moving image to the monitor 35 for the audience while the strategy setting screen is output to the monitors 33 and 34.

Further, in the present embodiment, the time acquisition means 44 acquires the strategy setting time, which is the maximum time for which the strategy setting screen is output, instead of acquiring the expected reading time. The time acquisition means 44 acquires the strategy setting time from, for example, the game program or game data stored in the storage unit 22.

Further, the video determining means 45 has a total video playback time of a length corresponding to the strategy setting time (for example, 60 seconds) from the plurality of advertising video data 22d (short video data) stored in the storage unit 22. One or more advertising video data 22d is selected so as to be, and is determined as the above-mentioned predetermined video displayed on the monitor 35. For example, when the strategy setting time is 60 seconds, the moving image determining means 45 may select six advertising videos of, for example, 10 seconds so that the total moving image playback time is, for example, 60 seconds.

In the present embodiment, the game device 2 functions as a determination means in addition to the functional unit described in the first embodiment by executing the game program 26a and the moving image display program 22a.

The determination means determines whether or not the setting of the game strategy of each user is completed. When the output control means 46 is after it is determined by the determination means that the setting of the game strategy of all the users has been completed, and when the determination means has determined that the playback of the advertising video being output is completed. At the end, the output of the advertisement video to the monitor 35 is finished.

The output control means 46 displays the game play screen on the monitors 33, 34, and 35 after finishing the output of the advertisement video to the monitor 35.

As described above, in the present embodiment, since the video determining means 45 determines the video having a length corresponding to the strategy setting time, the strategy setting time ends while the user sets the strategy. It is possible to prevent the moving image displayed on the monitor 35 from being terminated in the middle.

Further, when the setting of the game strategy of the first user and the second user is completed within the strategy setting time, the game play is started from the time when the setting is completed without waiting for the end of the strategy setting time. Even in this case, when the output control means 46 finishes playing the advertising video being output after it is determined by the determination means that the setting of the game strategy has been completed and when the determination means determines. At the end, the output of the advertisement video to the monitor 35 is finished. Then, after the output of the advertisement video is completed, the game play is started. Therefore, even if the strategy setting is completed in a time relatively shorter than the preset strategy setting time, the video displayed on the monitor 35 while the user is setting the strategy is terminated in the middle. Can be suppressed.

(Modification example)
The second invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the second invention.

For example, in the second embodiment, the same modification as the modification of the first embodiment described above is possible.

For example, the game realized by the game system of the second embodiment may be a game played by three or more people at the same time, or a game played by one person such as a time attack in a racing game. For example, the video determining means 45 may be selected from a plurality of videos of another type, such as a profile video of a competing user, prepared in advance in the storage unit 22, instead of the advertising video.

The second invention is also applicable to online battle games. That is, in the game system of the second invention, for example, the first game device input by the first user, the second game device input by the second user, and the first user and the second user play against each other. A device for controlling the output of the play screen to a large monitor for spectators may be provided. In this case, at least one of the control unit of the first game device, the control unit of the second game device, and the control unit of the device that controls the output of the large monitor functions as each functional unit of the second invention.

"Videos with a length according to the strategy setting time" include videos that are the same time as the strategy setting time or shorter than the strategy setting time, and longer than the strategy setting time that does not cause an excessive waiting state in the game progress. Includes time videos. "A video with a time longer than the strategy setting time that does not cause an excessive waiting state in the game progress" is, for example, a video with a length of 110% of the strategy setting time or a video with a time 1 second longer than the strategy setting time. Is.

For example, if one of the two users playing the game has completed the game strategy setting and the other user is in the process of setting the game strategy, the user who has completed the game strategy setting will have to wait. Occurs. In this case, the output control means 46 may output the advertisement video to the monitor for the user who has completed the setting of the game strategy. Further, in this case, the video determining means 45 determines the total video playback time from the plurality of advertising video data 22d (short video data) stored in the storage unit 22 from the time when the game strategy setting is completed. Select multiple advertising video data 22d so that the length corresponds to the length until the end of the strategy setting time, and determine as the above-mentioned predetermined video to be displayed on the monitor for the user who has completed the game strategy setting. You may.

1: Game system
21: Control unit
22: Memory
22a: Video display program
22b: Replay video data
22c: Expected read time data
22d: Advertising video data
26: Game media (recording medium)
26a: Game program
26b: Game data
31, 32: Controller (operation unit)
33, 34: Monitor (user display)
35: Monitor (audience display)
41: Game progress means
42: Video storage method
43: Reading means
44: Time acquisition means
45: Video determination method
46: Output control means

Claims (3)

An operation unit that accepts user operations, a user display unit for the user who operates the operation unit to view the game image, and a spectator display unit for spectators other than the user who operates the operation unit to view the game image. A game system equipped with a storage medium in which game data is stored and a computer.
A game progressing means for advancing a game based on a user's operation on the operation unit,
A reading means for reading the game data from the storage medium according to the progress of the game, and
Video determination means to determine a predetermined video,
While reading the game data, the output control means that outputs the predetermined moving image determined by the moving image determining means to the audience display unit and does not output to the user display unit is provided .
The game progressed by the game progress means is a competitive game, and is
In the storage medium or a storage medium different from the storage medium, the read time for reading the game data is stored in association with the progress of the battle game.
The video determination means, based on the read time, that determine the predetermined video game system. The game system according to claim 1, wherein the moving image determining means determines the predetermined moving image based on the reading time corresponding to the progress of the competitive game before the game data is read. The battle game is the game according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the user selects one character from a plurality of characters and operates the operation unit to play his / her own character against the opponent's character. Game system.

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