JP7410258B2 - Programs, computer systems and control methods - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a program for causing a computer system to control advertisement display.

The revenue structure of online games can be roughly divided into play consideration type, where play fees are collected when a player registers or for each play, item fee type, where fees are charged for items used in the game, and introduction of sponsor advertisements and paid items, etc. It can be broadly divided into advertising types that display advertisements and hybrid types that use both advertisements and item charges.

From the point of view of stability of earnings, the pay-for-play type is superior, but it is said that the advertisement type, which allows play for free, the item charge type, and the hybrid type are superior in terms of attracting new players. However, depending on the player's temperament, these types of advertising displays and display of advertising information such as guides to recommended items may attract the attention of players who are immersed in the game and have the negative effect of reducing their interest in the game. It is also true that there is. Of course, there are players who do not care about displaying advertisements.

In the past, we classified player types based on the player's billing history based on two axes: aggressiveness in game play and aggressiveness in purchasing items, and changed the display frequency of advertisement information depending on the player type. , a technique has been proposed that reduces negative effects in the display of advertising information and encourages the purchase of items so as to make the game more enjoyable (for example, Patent Document 1).

JP2015-008988A

The present invention was devised in order to provide a useful technique for diversifying players' options regarding advertisement display in a game in which play fees can be collected through advertisement display.

A first invention for solving the above-mentioned problems is such that when a consideration that satisfies a given hidden consideration condition for causing a computer system to hide advertisement display while a game is in progress is not paid, A program for controlling advertisement display,
Display timing setting means (for example, the server processing unit 200s in FIG. 11, the game progress control unit 210, Display timing setting unit 212, step S32 in FIG. 22),
Advertisement display control means for displaying the advertisement at the display timing (for example, the server processing unit 200s in FIG. 11, the game progress control unit 210, the advertisement display control unit 222, S40 to S42 in FIG. 22, and steps S64 to S68 in FIG. 23) , steps S120 to S124 in FIG. 24, steps S142 to S144 in FIG. 25),
A display performance management unit that manages the performance of advertisements displayed by the advertisement display control unit (for example, the server processing unit 200s in FIG. 11, the game progress control unit 210, the display performance management unit 224, the display performance 744 in FIG. 20, 22 step S44, FIG. 23 step S70, FIG. 24 step S124, FIG. 25 step S144),
A game progress control means that controls the progress of the game according to the achievements (for example, the server processing section 200s in FIG. 11, the game progress control section 210, the display achievement corresponding privilege granting section 228, the penalty granting control section 230 in FIG. 24) This is a program for causing the computer system to function as steps S130 to S134 (steps S150 to S152 in FIG. 25).

According to the first invention, the game progress can be controlled according to the display performance of advertisements. Therefore, in a game in which play fees can be collected through advertisement display, it is possible to diversify the player's options regarding advertisement display.

The second invention provides means for presenting whether or not the advertisement has been displayed (for example, the undisplayed advertisement information display body 43 in FIG. 8, the server processing unit 200s in FIG. 11, the game progress control unit 210, the undisplayed advertisement information This is a program according to the first invention for causing the computer system to further function as the presentation control unit 220, step S44 in FIG. 22, step S70 in FIG. 23, step S124 in FIG. 24, and step S144 in FIG. 25.

According to the second invention, it becomes possible to present to the player whether or not an advertisement has been displayed.

A third aspect of the invention is a penalty imparting means (for example, the server processing unit 200s in FIG. 11, the game progress control unit 210, the penalty This is a program according to the first or second invention for causing the computer system to further function as the grant control unit 230 (steps S150 to S152 in FIG. 25).

According to the third invention, if the compensation for hiding advertisements has not been paid and the track record of displaying advertisements is insufficient, a penalty is imposed on the player. In other words, by displaying an advertisement, it is possible to present a player with an option to replace the payment of the play price, thereby making it possible to conclude a promise, which can be called a kind of contract, regarding the payment of the play price. If the player does not keep his promise, he will be punished, so it is possible to ensure that the promise is fulfilled.

The content of the penalty can be set as appropriate.
For example, as a fourth invention, the program according to the third invention may be configured, in which the penalty imparting means includes an outcome reduction unit (for example, the outcome reduction unit 232 in FIG. 11) that reduces the outcome of the game.

Further, as a fifth invention, the penalty applying means has a data save restriction means (for example, the data save restriction section 234 in FIG. 11) that restricts a part or all of data saving. It is also possible to compose a program according to the invention.

Further, as a sixth invention, the data save restriction means may 1) prohibit data saving itself, 2) limit the type of data to be saved, 3) save among given parameter values obtained through game play. The program according to the fifth aspect of the present invention may be configured such that the limitation is any one of the limitations based on possible limit values.

A seventh aspect of the present invention is a test control means (for example, the server processing section 200s in FIG. 11, the game progress control section 210, the test control section 226, The computer system further functions as step S146) in FIG. 25, and the data save restriction means is a program according to the fifth or sixth invention, which executes the restriction depending on whether the answer is correct or not.

According to the seventh invention, it becomes possible to test whether the player has properly viewed the displayed advertisement and to implement restrictions according to the test result.

An eighth invention provides a payment acceptance means (for example, the server processing unit 200s in FIG. 11, the play consideration payment control unit 204, steps S12 to S14 in FIG. 22) that accepts payment of consideration that does not satisfy the hidden consideration condition; further causing the computer system to function as follows: the advertisement display control means changes at least one of the number, time, and display area of advertisements to be displayed in accordance with the consideration accepted by the payment acceptance means; This is a program according to any one of the first to seventh inventions.

According to the eighth invention, it becomes possible to accept payment of consideration that does not satisfy the non-display consideration condition. From the player's point of view, the player can choose to pay a portion of the non-display fee but substitute the rest by viewing advertisements.

Furthermore, a ninth invention is the program according to the eighth invention, wherein the payment accepting means accepts consumption of a given item as payment for the consideration.

According to the ninth invention, it is also possible to pay for non-display by consuming items, and the payment methods for non-display that can be selected by the player can be further diversified.

A tenth aspect of the invention is an item purchasing means (for example, the server processing unit 200s in FIG. 11, the game progress control unit 210, the item purchase control unit 214 in FIG. 23, S80 to S82), the computer system further functions, and the advertisement display control means changes at least one of the number, time, and display area of advertisements to be displayed according to the purchase of the item. This is a program according to any one of the first to ninth inventions.

According to the tenth invention, it is possible to consider item purchase as one of the ways to pay for non-display, and change the number, time, and display area of advertisements to be displayed depending on the item purchase performance. Therefore, from the player's perspective, there are more options regarding advertisement display.

The eleventh invention provides a site browsing means (for example, the server processing unit 200s in FIG. 11, the game progress control unit 210, the site browsing control unit 216, step S90 in FIG. 23) that browses a given website according to the player's operation input. -S94) further causes the computer system to function, and the advertisement display control means changes at least one of the number, time, and display area of advertisements to be displayed, depending on whether or not the website is viewed. This is a program according to any one of the first to tenth inventions.

According to the eleventh invention, viewing a given website is regarded as one way to pay for non-display, and changing the number, time, and display area of advertisements to be displayed depending on the site viewing performance. I can do it. Therefore, from the player's perspective, there are more options regarding advertisement display.

The twelfth invention provides a questionnaire reception means (for example, the server processing unit 200s in FIG. 11, the game progress control unit 210, the questionnaire response reception control unit 218, the steps in FIG. S100 to S104), the computer system further functions, and the advertisement display control means changes at least one of the number of advertisements to be displayed, the time, and the display area depending on whether or not the questionnaire is answered. This is a program according to any one of the first to eleventh inventions.

According to the twelfth invention, responding to a questionnaire, that is, providing information, is regarded as one way to pay for non-display, and the number, time, and display area of advertisements to be displayed are changed depending on the response record to the questionnaire. can do. Therefore, from the player's perspective, there are more options regarding advertisement display.

A thirteenth invention is a presentation means (for example, the undisplayed advertisement information display body 43 in FIG. 8, the server processing unit 200s in FIG. 11, The game progress control unit 210, the undisplayed advertisement information presentation control unit 220, step S44 in FIG. 22, step S70 in FIG. 23, step S124 in FIG. 24, and step S144 in FIG. This is a program according to any one of the first to twelfth inventions.

According to the thirteenth invention, the number, time, and display area of advertisements scheduled to be displayed can be presented to the player.

A fourteenth invention is the program according to any one of the first to thirteenth inventions, wherein the advertisement display control means selects an advertisement to display based on a game play history.

According to the fourteenth invention, advertisements can be selected based on information regarding the player's past game play, and advertisement display optimal for the player can be realized.

A fifteenth invention is a computer system that controls the advertisement display when a consideration that satisfies a given compensation condition for hiding the advertisement display during game progress is not paid. ,
A display timing setting unit (for example, the control board 1150 in FIG. 1, the server processing unit 200s in FIG. 11, , game progress control section 210, display timing setting section 212, step S32 in FIG. 22),
Advertisement display control means for displaying the advertisement at the display timing (for example, the control board 1150 in FIG. 1, the server processing section 200s in FIG. 11, the game progress control section 210, the advertisement display control section 222, S40 to S42 in FIG. 22, Steps S64 to S68 in FIG. 23, Steps S120 to S124 in FIG. 24, Steps S142 to S144 in FIG. 25),
Display performance management means for managing the performance of advertisements displayed by the advertisement display control means (for example, the control board 1150 in FIG. 1, the server processing unit 200s in FIG. 11, the game progress control unit 210, the display performance management unit 224, 20 display results 744, step S44 in FIG. 22, step S70 in FIG. 23, step S124 in FIG. 24, step S144 in FIG. 25),
Game progress control means that controls the progress of the game according to the achievements (for example, the control board 1150 in FIG. 1, the server processing unit 200s in FIG. This computer system includes a control unit 230, steps S130 to S134 in FIG. 24, and steps S150 to S152 in FIG. 25.

According to the fifteenth invention, it is possible to realize a computer system that achieves the same effects as the first invention.

A diagram showing an example of the configuration of a game system in a first embodiment. The figure which shows the example of the selection screen of the payment method of the play consideration displayed before a game starts. The figure which shows the example of a display of the setting screen of the display timing of an advertisement. The figure which shows the example of an advertisement display when the display timing of an advertisement is set to "view all at once before a play start." A diagram showing an example of an advertisement display screen when the advertisement display timing is set to "automatically display at any time during play." FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining a banner advertisement type advertisement display and a flow when the advertisement display is touched. FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining a questionnaire solicitation type advertisement display and a flow when the advertisement display is touched. A diagram showing an example of an advertisement display screen when the advertisement display timing is set to "view only at progress breaks during play". The figure which shows the example of an advertisement display when the advertisement display timing is set to "view all at once after the end of play." The figure which shows the example of the test screen for confirming whether the player viewed the displayed advertisement as promised. FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the server system in the first embodiment. The figure which shows the example of the program and data which the server storage part in 1st Embodiment stores. The figure which shows the example of a data structure of an advertisement database. The figure which shows the data structure example of 1st advertisement omission definition data. The figure which shows the data structure example of 2nd advertisement omission definition data. The figure which shows the data structure example of 3rd advertisement omission definition data. The figure which shows the data structure example of 4th advertisement omission definition data. The figure which shows the data structure example of data save restriction definition data. The figure which shows the data structure example of user management data. The figure which shows the data structure example of play data. FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of a user terminal in the first embodiment. 5 is a flowchart for explaining the flow of processing in the server system of the first embodiment. Flowchart continued from FIG. 22. Flowchart continued from FIG. 23. Flowchart continued from FIG. 24. FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of a user terminal in a second embodiment. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of programs and data stored in a terminal storage unit of a user terminal in a second embodiment.

[First embodiment]
As a first embodiment to which the present invention is applied, an example will be described in which a game in which play fees can be collected by displaying advertisements is executed.

In this embodiment, the game genre is exemplified as an action RPG, but the genre of the game is not limited. In addition, as examples of objects that can be purchased in the game, items such as weapons, armor, bullets, skills, medicine, etc. that can be equipped and used by the player character are exemplified, but objects other than items may be used. For example, it may be a character that can be used as a player character, a vehicle, a summoned beast, additional abilities that can be added to the player character, opening of a new game stage or map, lottery rights, etc.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a game system in this embodiment. The game system of this embodiment is a computer system that includes a server system 1100 and a user terminal 1500 that can communicate data with each other by being connected to a communication line 9. In the illustrated example, there is one user terminal 1500, but in actual operation, a plurality of user terminals 1500 for each user may be able to communicate with the server system 1100 at the same time.

The communication line 9 means a communication path that allows data communication. In other words, the communication line 9 includes a dedicated line (dedicated cable) for direct connection, a LAN (Local Area Network) using Ethernet (registered trademark), etc., as well as communication networks such as a telephone communication network, a cable network, and the Internet. In addition, the communication method may be wired or wireless.

The server system 1100 is a computer system that includes a main unit 1101, a keyboard 1106, a touch panel 1108, and a storage 1140, and a control board 1150 is mounted on the main unit 1101.

The control board 1150 is equipped with various microprocessors such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 1151, a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), and a DSP (Digital Signal Processor), various IC memories 1152 such as VRAM, RAM, and ROM, and a communication device 1153. has been done. Note that part or all of the control board 1150 may be realized using an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), an FPGA (Field-programmable Gate Array), or an SoC (System on a Chip).

Then, the server system 1100 performs arithmetic processing based on a predetermined program and data by the control board 1150, thereby providing 1) user management functions related to user registration, etc., and 2) allowing players, who are users, to play games on the user terminal 1500. (3) an online shopping function that sells various items that can be used in the game to the user online; Realize. In other words, the game in this embodiment is realized as a type of client-server online game.

Note that although the server system 1100 is described as a single unit, it may be configured to include a plurality of blade servers that share each function and are connected to each other via an internal bus so that data can be communicated. Alternatively, a configuration may be adopted in which a plurality of independent servers installed in remote locations are made to perform data communication via the communication line 9, thereby functioning as the server system 1100 as a whole.

The user terminal 1500 is a computer system that is used individually by a user who is a player to play a game, and is an electronic device (electronic device) that can access the server system 1100 via the communication line 9 and execute an online game. be. The user terminal 1500 of this embodiment is a device called a smartphone, but may also be a portable game device, a game controller, a personal computer, a tablet computer, a wearable computer, a commercial game device, or the like.

The user terminal 1500 includes a direction input key 1502, a button switch 1504, a touch panel 1506 that functions as an image display device and a contact position input device, a speaker 1510, a built-in battery 1509, a microphone 1512, a control board 1550, and a computer. A memory card reader 1542 that can read and write data from a memory card 1540 that is a readable storage medium is provided. In addition, a power button, a volume control button, etc. (not shown) are provided. Furthermore, an IC card reader or the like may be provided that can read and write data in a non-contact manner with respect to an IC card-type credit card or prepaid card that can be used to pay for game play.

The control board 1550 is used for wireless communication with various microprocessors such as a CPU 1551, GPU, and DSP, various IC memories 1552 such as VRAM, RAM, and ROM, and mobile phone base stations and wireless LAN base stations connected to the communication line 9. A wireless communication module 1553, an interface circuit 1557, etc. are installed.

The interface circuit 1557 includes a driver circuit for the touch panel 1506, a circuit for receiving signals from the direction input key 1502 and the button switch 1504, an output amplifier circuit for outputting an audio signal to the speaker 1510, and an audio signal collected by the microphone 1512. It includes an input signal generation circuit for generating, a signal input/output circuit for the memory card reader 1542, and the like.

These elements mounted on the control board 1550 are electrically connected via a bus circuit or the like, and are connected so that data can be read and written and signals can be transmitted and received. Note that part or all of the control board 1550 may be configured with ASIC, FPGA, or SoC. Then, the control board 1550 stores in the IC memory 1552 a client program and various data for realizing the function as a user terminal of the game of this embodiment.

In this embodiment, the user terminal 1500 is configured to download the client program and various setting data from the server system 1100, but it may also be configured to read them from a separately obtained storage medium such as a memory card 1540.

[Explanation of how advertisement display works]
Next, a mechanism for displaying advertisements in this embodiment will be explained.
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a selection screen for selecting a payment method for playing consideration that is displayed before the start of the game. On the user terminal 1500, a payment method setting screen W2 is displayed before the game starts. In this embodiment, three payment method options are available: "Pay with virtual currency,""Pay with items," and "Alternate payment by viewing advertisements." The player selects the payment method by touching and checking one of the check boxes 22a, 22b, and 22c corresponding to the desired payment method, and then touches the confirmation operation icon 28 to approve the payment and proceed to the next step. You can proceed to

When the check box 22a corresponding to "Pay with virtual currency" is checked, the payment amount designation section 23 becomes active, allowing the player to designate the amount to be paid in virtual currency. If the full amount for one play is not specified, advertisements for the insufficient amount will be displayed. In addition, if a payment method such as a flat rate system or automatic withdrawal can be set at the time of user registration, the check box 22a corresponding to "Pay with virtual currency" is selected by default, and the display of the payment amount specification section 23 is omitted. can do.

When the check box 22b corresponding to "Pay with items" is checked, the consumable item designation section 24 and consumption quantity designation section 25 become active, and the player can select the type of item to be offered as play compensation from among the items he owns. , and its number can be set. Specifically, when the consumable item designation section 24 is touched, items owned in sufficient quantity to pay the play fee are displayed in a selectable manner. When one of them is selected, the required consumption quantity is displayed by default in the consumption quantity designation section 25. Note that in the consumption number designation section 25, it is possible to set a numerical value that is less than the required consumption number. In that case, an advertisement corresponding to the shortage will be displayed.

In this embodiment, the payment of play consideration is considered as "payment of consideration that satisfies a given non-display consideration condition for hiding advertisement display." Therefore, if the play price is paid in full in virtual currency or if enough consumable items are specified, no advertisement will be displayed before, during, or after the play.

On the other hand, if ``viewing an advertisement replaces payment'' is selected, the consideration condition for non-display is not satisfied, so the advertisement will be displayed. In this embodiment, the player can select and specify the advertisement display timing (display timing).

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a display example of a setting screen for advertisement display timing.
The display timing setting screen W3 is displayed when "Pay with virtual currency" is selected on the previous payment method setting screen W2 but the full amount is not paid, and when "Pay with items" is selected but the consumption amount is consumed. This will be displayed if the required number is insufficient or if "Alternative payment by viewing advertisements" is selected.

In this embodiment, the options for displaying advertisements are: ``View all at once before the start of play'', ``Display automatically at any time while playing'', ``View only at intervals during play'', ``View all at once after the end of play'' There are four types available. On the display timing setting screen W3, checkboxes 32a, 32b, 32c, and 32d corresponding to each option are displayed, so the player can touch any one to check it and select the desired display timing setting. The user can touch the confirm operation icon 38 to approve the settings and proceed.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of advertisement display when the advertisement display timing is set to "view all at once before play starts."
The advertisement display when the advertisement display timing is set to "view all at once before the start of play" is displayed as an advertisement display screen W4 that mainly displays advertisements on the touch panel 1506 before the start of game play. The advertisement display screen W4 of this embodiment includes an explanation 41, an advertisement display 42, an undisplayed advertisement information display 43, a viewing stop operation icon 44, and a viewing confirmation operation icon 45.

Explanation 41 indicates that the game can be played for free if all advertisements are viewed.

The advertisement display body 42 displays the content of each advertisement. In this embodiment, only one advertisement display body 42 is displayed on the advertisement display screen W4, but a configuration in which a plurality of advertisement display bodies 42 are displayed simultaneously on the advertisement display screen W4 may be adopted.

The undisplayed advertisement information display body 43 displays information on how many undisplayed advertisements remain among the advertisements scheduled to be displayed. In the illustrated example, the remaining number of undisplayed advertisements is displayed, but the time required to display all undisplayed advertisements may be displayed. Alternatively, the area required to display all undisplayed advertisements may be displayed.
Note that, as mentioned above, if the play fee is paid in virtual currency or items, advertisements will not be displayed. In other words, advertisements that are scheduled to be displayed in the future, that is, undisplayed advertisements, are set to "0". Therefore, paradoxically speaking, the undisplayed advertisement information display body 43 determines the fulfillment state of the compensation condition for non-display, which is a condition for hiding the advertisement (how much the compensation condition for non-display is satisfied) It can also be said that it shows that. From that point of view, the undisplayed advertisement information display body 43 does not display the remaining number of advertisements, but displays it like a bar graph showing the ratio of advertisements that have already been displayed to the total amount of advertisements scheduled to be displayed. It may be changed as the process progresses.

The viewing stop operation icon 44 is an icon for inputting an operation for stopping advertisement viewing.

The viewing confirmation operation icon 45 is an operation icon for detecting that the player has definitely viewed the currently displayed advertisement, and also serves as a feed operation input for displaying the next advertisement. For example, the viewing confirmation operation icon 45 may become active (operable) a predetermined second after a new advertisement is displayed, and may not be operated until then. In other words, the advertisement is surely displayed (for the player to see) for a predetermined period of seconds. The same applies to the subsequent viewing confirmation operation icon 45.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of an advertisement display screen when the advertisement display timing is set to "automatically display at any time during play."
If the advertisement display timing is set to "Automatically display at any time during play," the advertisement will be displayed as part of the game screen. That is, the game screen W5 includes a main screen section 51, a character status display section 52, an operation icon display section 53, and an advertisement display section 55.

The main screen section 51 displays the state of the game space. Since the game of this embodiment is an action RPG in which the player operates the player character 4 and fights against the enemy character 6, the main screen section 51 displays the battle between the player character 4 (4a, 4b,...) and the enemy character 6. will be done.

The character status display section 52 displays a so-called status display indicating the current status of each of the player characters 4 (4a, 4b, . . . ).

The operation icon display section 53 displays icons for inputting various game operations. In this embodiment, an action selection icon 53a for calling the action menu 54, an equipment icon 53b for changing equipment of the player character 4, and a purchase icon 53c for calling a purchase screen for purchasing items during game play. including. Of course, other icons, tabs, menu displays, etc. can be included as appropriate depending on the game content.

In the action menu 54, there is a character action selection 54a for selecting and setting the action content of each player character 4 from predetermined options, a site browsing 54b for starting browsing a specified website, and a questionnaire for answering a questionnaire. Answer 54c is included. Of course, items other than these can also be included as appropriate.

When the site viewing 54b is selected, game play is temporarily stopped, and viewing of a designated website (for example, a sponsor site, an item introduction site, a play video posting site) is started. Viewing can be terminated at will, and game play will resume once viewing is complete. In addition, in this embodiment, browsing the specified website is considered to have a value equivalent to payment of play fees, and the browsing performance of the specified website (for example, number of pages viewed, viewing time, member Advertisements that are scheduled to be displayed will be omitted or reduced depending on whether the user has registered or purchased a product.

Note that the omission or reduction of advertisements in this specification refers not only to the omission or reduction of individual advertisements, but also to the reduction of the display time per advertisement, the reduction of the display time of the entire advertisement, and the display occupied by advertisements on the game screen. This may be achieved by reducing the area. The same applies below.

When the questionnaire answer 54c is selected, the game play is temporarily stopped and the questionnaire is displayed. Alternatively, the user may browse a designated website for questionnaires. Game play resumes once responses to the questionnaire are completed. In addition, in this embodiment, responses to the questionnaire are considered to have a value equivalent to payment of play fees, and advertisements scheduled to be displayed may be omitted or reduced depending on response performance (for example, how many questions were answered). be done.

The advertisement display unit 55 displays an advertisement display body 42 and an undisplayed advertisement information display body 43.
The advertisement display body 42 of the advertisement display section 55 is automatically switched at any time.

Various types of advertisement display body 42 can be set.
In the illustrated example, item information is linked to the advertisement display 42, and a touch operation on the advertisement display 42 moves to an online shopping screen (purchase screen) for the advertised item. ”. When this type of advertisement display 42 is touched, the game play is temporarily stopped, and when the purchase is completed, the game play is resumed. Note that in this embodiment, the purchase of items in the game is considered to have a value equivalent to the payment of play fees, and the displayed items are scheduled to be displayed according to the purchase history of the advertised item (e.g., number of purchases, purchase amount). Ads that are displayed will be omitted or reduced.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 6, a "banner advertisement type" in which a URL is linked to the advertisement display body 42 and a touch operation on the advertisement display body 42 leads to viewing the website indicated by the URL. Advertising displays 42 are also possible. When this type of advertisement display body 42 is touched, the game play is temporarily stopped, and when the viewing ends, the game play is resumed. Note that in this embodiment, viewing a banner advertisement website is considered to have a value comparable to payment of play fees, and advertisements scheduled to be displayed are omitted or reduced according to the viewing performance.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 7, questionnaire information or the URL of the survey website is linked to the advertisement display 42, and when the advertisement display 42 is touched, the questionnaire response screen is displayed. An advertisement display 42 of "type" is also possible. When this type of advertisement display 42 is touched, the game play is temporarily stopped, and when the answer to the questionnaire is completed, the game play is restarted. Note that in this embodiment, responses to the questionnaire within the game are considered to have a value comparable to payment of play fees, and advertisements scheduled to be displayed are omitted or reduced in accordance with response results.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of an advertisement display screen when the advertisement display timing is set to "view only at progress breaks during play".
If the advertisement display timing is set to ``Only view during game progress,'' advertisements will only be displayed during game progress, even during play.

For example, in the case of a game in which the game progresses by clearing a plurality of stages one by one, the "game progress break" referred to here corresponds to the time before the start of the stage or the time at the end of the stage. It may also be a case where a specific location in the game world (for example, an inn, a base, a stronghold, etc.) is reached. In other words, a situation in which you are not distracted even if an advertisement is displayed on the screen, a situation in which you can look at an advertisement to read its contents, or continue to look at an advertisement for a certain amount of time without affecting your game performance, is called a "break in game progress". ”.

In the non-separated scene, the game screen W8 includes a main screen section 51, a character status display section 52, and an operation icon display section 53. There is no advertisement display section 55 (see FIG. 5). On the other hand, in a scene that is considered as a "break in game progress", the game screen W8 displays an advertisement display body 42 that covers part or all of the main screen section 51, a viewing stop operation icon 44, and a viewing confirmation button. An operation icon 45 is displayed.

The advertisement display body 42 and the viewing stop operation icon 44 are touched when the viewing stop operation icon 44 is touched, when all advertisements scheduled to be displayed are displayed, or when a predetermined number of advertisements are displayed. , the display of the viewing confirmation operation icon 45 is canceled, and the screen returns to the game screen W8 in the non-delimited scene.

Next, an example of an advertisement display screen when the advertisement display timing is set to "view all at once after play ends" will be described.
If the advertisement display timing is set to ``view all at once after play ends'', advertisements will not be displayed during game play. That is, the game screen during game play has a main screen section 51, a character status display section 52, and an operation icon display section 53, like the game screen W8 in "non-separated" state in FIG. There is no display section 55 (see FIG. 5).

However, the undisplayed advertisement information display body 43 is displayed. As mentioned above, if the hidden consideration is paid in virtual currency or items, the advertisement will not be displayed. Advertisements scheduled to be displayed in the future, that is, undisplayed advertisements, are set to "0". Therefore, paradoxically speaking, the undisplayed advertisement information display body 43 determines the fulfillment state of the compensation condition for non-display, which is a condition for hiding the advertisement (how much the compensation condition for non-display is satisfied) It can also be said that it shows that.

On the other hand, when the advertisement display timing is set to "view all at once after play is over", advertisements are displayed as an advertisement display screen W9 that mainly displays advertisements even though game play is over but before data is saved. will be displayed (see Figure 9).

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of advertisement display when the advertisement display timing is set to "view all at once after play ends." The advertisement display screen W9 of this embodiment includes a restriction explanation 91, an advertisement display body 42, an undisplayed advertisement information display body 43, a viewing stop operation icon 44, and a viewing confirmation operation icon 45.

The restriction explanation 91 indicates that if all advertisements are viewed, the play results can be saved as data without being penalized. In other words, the player is warned that if he does not view the advertisement, he will be penalized (in the example of FIG. 9, the play results cannot be saved as data). In other words, in the present embodiment, if the player reneges on the promise to view advertisements in lieu of payment for play by viewing advertisements, saving game data will be disallowed as a penalty. This encourages viewing of advertisements after the play is over.

The viewing confirmation operation icon 45 is an operation icon for detecting that the player has certainly viewed the currently displayed advertisement, and also serves as a feed operation input for displaying the next advertisement. After the last advertisement display is displayed, if the icon is touched, the screen shifts to a test screen.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a test screen for checking whether the player has viewed the displayed advertisement as promised.
In this embodiment, when viewing an advertisement is selected as an alternative to payment of play fees, a test screen W10 for testing the contents of the displayed advertisement is displayed before saving game data. Then, depending on the correct answer rate of the test, the game data can be saved.

Specifically, the test screen W10 displays a test explanation 92 that is an explanation about the test, a question display section 93, an answer input section 94, and a forwarding operation icon 95.
The question display section 93 displays questions that can be answered correctly if the user watches the advertisement. For example, the illustrated example is content corresponding to the advertisement shown in FIG. Then, the player answers the question using the answer input section 94 and operates the forward operation icon 95 to proceed to the next question. Once all questions have been answered, the game will be graded and the game will proceed to save data.

In this embodiment, a correct answer of 80% or more is considered to be a pass. Then, data saving is permitted with restrictions depending on the advertisement viewing history up to that point. On the other hand, if the correct answer is less than 80%, the test is considered to have failed and data saving is not permitted.
Note that "restrictions based on advertisement viewing performance" means that play results (e.g., points earned, experience points gained, skills acquired, success/failure in clearing stages, etc.) may be reduced and saved, or may not be saved. This means that some or all of the data items that should be saved cannot be saved.

Note that the configuration may be such that the process shifts to data saving without displaying the test screen.

[Explanation of functional configuration]
FIG. 11 is a functional block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the server system 1100 in this embodiment. The server system 1100 in this embodiment includes an operation input section 100s, a server processing section 200s, a sound output section 390s, an image display section 392s, a communication section 394s, and a server storage section 500s.

The operation input unit 100s is a means for inputting various operations for managing the server. The keyboard 1106 in FIG. 1 corresponds to this.

The server processing unit 200s is realized by a microprocessor such as a CPU or GPU, or an electronic component such as an ASIC or an IC memory, and inputs and outputs data between each functional unit including the operation input unit 100s and the server storage unit 500s. Take control. Then, various calculation processes are executed based on predetermined programs and data, operation input signals from the operation input unit 100s, and data received from the user terminal 1500, thereby controlling the operation of the server system 1100 in an integrated manner.

The server processing unit 200s of this embodiment includes a user management unit 202, a play fee payment control unit 204, a game progress control unit 210, a clock unit 280, a sound generation unit 290s, an image generation unit 292s, and a communication control unit 294s. Of course, functional units other than these can also be included as appropriate.

The user management unit 202 performs processing related to user registration procedures and storage management of data linked to accounts (user IDs). In this embodiment, 1) account grant control, 2) virtual account setting and deposit/withdrawal control linked to the account used for in-game billing, i.e., electronic payment control, and 3) login/logout management. and 4) registration management of personal information regarding the user. Of course, management of data other than these can also be appropriately included.

The play consideration payment control unit 204 receives the selection setting of the payment method for the play consideration, and executes the payment of the play consideration using the selected payment method. In this embodiment, there are three options for paying the play fee: ``Pay with virtual currency,'' ``Pay with items,'' and ``Alternate payment by viewing advertisements.'' ``Pay with virtual currency'' is selected. Then, the setting of the specified payment amount is accepted, and the specified amount of virtual currency is collected. When "Pay with items" is selected, combinations of consumable item types and consumption quantities sufficient to pay the play fee are extracted from the player's owned items and presented to the player. Then, the consumable item and the number of consumable items specified by the player are consumed and the play fee is collected. In this embodiment, this corresponds to display and storage control of selection input results related to the payment method setting screen W2 (see FIG. 2).

In addition, in this embodiment, the payment of the play consideration is treated as the same as "the payment of the consideration that satisfies the given non-display consideration conditions for hiding the advertisement display", so in effect, the play consideration payment control unit 204 functions as a non-display consideration payment acceptance control unit that accepts payment of consideration that satisfies the non-display consideration conditions or payment of consideration that does not satisfy the non-display consideration conditions.

The game progress control unit 210 performs various processes related to game progress control and execution management. Since the game of this embodiment is a client-server type online game, the game progress control unit 210 of this embodiment performs control to provide data necessary for game play while communicating with the user terminal 1500.

For example, when running an action RPG (role-playing game), 1) processing to form a game field by placing objects such as the background in a virtual three-dimensional space, 2) a player character, an enemy character, and a virtual camera on the game field. 3) processing for automatically controlling the virtual camera; 4) processing for controlling the behavior of the player character in response to operation input on the user terminal 1500; 5) processing for automatically controlling the enemy character; 6) determining whether the attack is a hit. and damage reflection processing, 7) game score calculation processing, etc. In addition, various data necessary for controlling game play can be stored in the server storage unit 500s.

Note that the game of this embodiment is based on single play, but if the game is executed in a PvP (Player versus Player) format, the game progress control unit 210 may be caused to execute control regarding matching of opponents. You can also use it as

The game progress control section 210 of this embodiment includes a display timing setting section 212, an item purchase control section 214, a site viewing control section 216, a questionnaire response reception control section 218, and an undisplayed advertisement information presentation control section 220. , an advertisement display control section 222 , a display performance management section 224 , a test control section 226 , a display performance corresponding benefit provision section 228 , a penalty provision control section 230 , and a time measurement section 280 .

The display timing setting unit 212 sets the display timing of the advertisement to any one of before the start of the game, after the end of the game, and at the end of the game progress when the non-display consideration condition is not satisfied before the start of the game. . It is possible to set only one of the three display timings before the start of the game, after the end of the game, and at the end of the game progress, and the setting can be set by the player's confirmation operation, or two or more can be presented as options. The timing of the option selected by the player's selection operation may be set as the display timing. In this embodiment, this corresponds to the display and storage control of selection input results related to the display timing setting screen W3 (see FIG. 3).

The item purchase control unit 214 performs control related to the purchase of a given item that can be used in the game according to the player's operation input. That is, it is possible to display a purchase screen, display purchasable items, accept input of the item and quantity to purchase, collect the purchase price from virtual currency, and give the purchased item to the player.

The site viewing control unit 216 has a function (a function as a so-called web browser) of viewing a website associated with an advertisement or a pre-specified website among websites published on the Internet during game play. ). In this embodiment, this occurs when the site browsing 54b is selected in the action menu 54 (see FIG. 5) and when the advertisement display 42 of "banner advertisement type" is touched (see FIG. 6). Applicable.

The questionnaire answer reception control unit 218 receives answers to a given questionnaire according to the player's operation input, and performs control to store the answer record. In addition, in the case of a configuration in which questionnaire responses are accepted at a specific website, the site viewing control unit 216 may be responsible for this function. In this embodiment, this occurs when the questionnaire response 54c is selected in the action menu 54 (see FIG. 5) and when the advertisement display 42 of "questionnaire solicitation type" is touched (see FIG. 7). Applicable.

The undisplayed advertisement information presentation control unit 220 performs control to present to the player information regarding advertisements scheduled to be displayed in the future, such as the number of advertisements scheduled to be displayed and the time required for display. In this embodiment, display control of the undisplayed advertisement information display body 43 (see FIGS. 4, 5, 8, and 9) corresponds to this.

As mentioned above, if the play price (= non-display price) is sufficiently paid in virtual currency or items before the game starts, advertisements will not be displayed. In this case, advertisements scheduled to be displayed in the future, that is, undisplayed advertisements, are set to "0", and "0" continues to be displayed on the undisplayed advertisement information display body 43. Therefore, paradoxically speaking, it can be said that the undisplayed advertisement information display body 43 indicates the fulfillment state of the non-display consideration condition (how much the non-display consideration condition is satisfied). If the undisplayed advertisement information display body 43 shows "0", it means that it is 100% satisfied, and if some numerical value is displayed, it can be seen that it is less than 100%. Therefore, the undisplayed advertisement information presentation control unit 220 realizes control to present the satisfaction state of the non-display consideration condition to the player.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, if the display performance of advertisements does not satisfy a given sufficient condition, a penalty of limiting saved data is given. Therefore, focusing on the penalty, the undisplayed advertisement information presentation control unit 220 realizes the function of controlling presentation to determine whether or not an advertisement satisfying sufficient conditions has been displayed using the undisplayed advertisement information display body 43. If the undisplayed advertisement information display body 43 shows "0", the sufficient condition is satisfied, and if some numerical value is displayed, it is understood that the sufficient condition is not satisfied.

The advertisement display control section 222 detects the arrival of the display timing set by the display timing setting section 212, and displays the advertisement at the display timing.
Specifically, the advertisement display control unit 222 changes at least one of the number of advertisements to be displayed, the time, and the display area according to the consideration accepted in the payment control of the play consideration payment control unit 204. I can do it. Furthermore, at least one of the number, time, and display area of advertisements to be displayed can be changed depending on the item purchase record, specifically, the purchase record during the current game play. Furthermore, at least one of the number, time, and display area of advertisements to be displayed can be changed depending on whether a website is viewed or not, and whether or not a questionnaire is answered. The advertisement display control unit 222 can then select an advertisement to display based on the game play history.

The display performance management unit 224 manages the performance of advertisements displayed. In this embodiment, the advertisement is displayed by detecting and counting the forwarding operation of the advertisement display, specifically, the touch operation on the viewing confirmation operation icon 45 (see FIGS. 4, 8, and 9). Manage the viewing confirmation record that the person has viewed it.

The test control unit 226 poses a test for the displayed advertisement, receives the answers, and stores the answer results.

The display performance-based benefit granting unit 228 performs control for granting benefits to the player as part of game progress control in accordance with the performance of advertisements displayed.

The penalty giving control unit 230 performs control to give a given penalty to the player when the displayed performance does not satisfy a given sufficient condition. In other words, if a player makes a choice to replace the payment of the play fee with viewing an advertisement, but the promise related to that choice is not fulfilled, by giving the player a certain penalty, Encourage fulfillment of the promise, that is, viewing the advertisement.

The penalty assignment control unit 230 of this embodiment includes a result reduction unit 232 and a data save restriction unit 234.

The result reduction unit 232 reduces the results of the game. The results of the game can be set as appropriate depending on the content of the game. Since the game of this embodiment is an action RPG, the information includes points, clearing results of game stages, experience points acquired by the player character, acquired skills, items acquired during the game by enemy characters' drops, etc., achievement results of events, etc. Included in this.

The data save restriction unit 234 restricts data saving in part or in whole depending on the display performance and the success or failure of answering the test. Specifically, 1) prohibition of data saving itself, 2) limitation on the type of data that can be saved, and 3) limitation based on the limit value that can be saved among given parameter values obtained through game play. Limit data saving in either case.

The clock section 280 clocks the current date and time, time limit, etc. using the system clock.

The sound generation unit 290s is realized by executing an IC or software that generates and decodes audio data, and generates or decodes audio data such as operation sounds and BGM related to system management and game play of the server system 1100. Then, audio signals related to system management are output to the sound output section 390s.

The sound output unit 390s emits an audio signal. In the example of FIG. 1, this corresponds to the main unit 1101 and a speaker (not shown).

The image generation unit 292s can generate images and the like related to system management of the server system 1100, and output them to the image display unit 392s.

The image display section 392s displays various images for system management based on image signals input from the image generation section 292s. For example, it can be realized by an image display device such as a flat panel display, a cathode ray tube (CRT), a projector, or a head-mounted display. In the example of FIG. 1, this corresponds to the touch panel 1108.

The communication control unit 294s executes data processing related to data communication, and realizes data exchange with an external device via the communication unit 394s.

The communication unit 394s connects to the communication line 9 to realize communication. For example, it is realized by a wireless communication device, a modem, a TA (terminal adapter), a jack for a wired communication cable, a control circuit, and the like. In the example of FIG. 1, this corresponds to the communication device 1153.

The server storage unit 500s stores programs and various data for realizing various functions for causing the server processing unit 200s to integrally control the server system 1100. It is also used as a work area for the server processing section 200s, and temporarily stores calculation results executed by the server processing section 200s according to various programs. This function is realized by, for example, an IC memory such as a RAM or ROM, a magnetic disk such as a hard disk, an optical disk such as a CD-ROM or DVD, an online storage, and the like. In the example of FIG. 1, this includes storage media such as an IC memory 1152 and a hard disk mounted on the main device 1101, and a storage 1140.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of programs and data stored in the server storage unit 500s in this embodiment. The server storage unit 500s of this embodiment includes a server system program 501, a server program 503, a distribution game client program 505, game initial setting data 510, an advertisement database 520, first advertisement omission definition data 530, The second advertisement omission definition data 540, the third advertisement omission definition data 550, the fourth advertisement omission definition data 560, the data save restriction definition data 570, the questionnaire definition data 580, and the advertisement display performance corresponding benefit setting data 590. , memorize. Further, user management data 600, play data 700, and current date and time 800 are stored as data that is sequentially generated and managed. In addition, information such as timers, counters, and various flags can be stored as appropriate.

The server system program 501 is a system program for realizing the basic input/output functions necessary for the server system 1100 as a computer by being read and executed by the server processing unit 200s.

The server program 503 is a program for realizing the functions of the user management section 202, the game progress control section 210, and the time measurement section 280 by being read and executed by the server processing section 200s.

The distribution game client program 505 is an original game client program provided to the user terminal 1500.

The game initial setting data 510 stores various initial setting data for executing the game of this embodiment. For example, various initial setting data regarding game stages, player characters 4, enemy characters 6, items, etc. are stored (see FIG. 5).

Advertisement database 520 stores various data regarding advertisements that may be displayed in the game. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 13, one or more pieces of advertisement definition data 521 prepared for each advertisement are stored. One advertisement definition data 521 includes an advertisement ID 522 which is unique identification information, advertisement content data 523, required time 524, advertisement content index 525, linking information 526, question content 527, correct answer 528, including. Of course, data other than these can also be included as appropriate.

The advertisement content data 523 defines the contents of the advertisement display body 42 (see FIGS. 4, 5, 8, and 9) for each type of display timing setting. There are no particular restrictions on the data format that defines the content, such as text, still images, videos, 3D models, and motion data.

The required time 524 is the time to display the advertisement. In the case of a still image advertisement, this is the time until the display automatically switches to the next advertisement, and in the case of a video advertisement, it is the playback time.

The advertisement content index 525 is information for classifying the advertisements, and in this embodiment is used to select advertisements to be displayed from among a large number of advertisements according to the player's play history and game progress status. . For example, in the case of an advertisement about an item, information about the item name, category, types of characters that can be used, game progress conditions under which it can be used (for example, after the 4th stage, etc.), and player conditions suitable for display. (For example, conditions such as cumulative play time, cumulative billing amount, billing frequency, etc.) may be stored.

The linking information 526 stores information that is linked to the advertisement. In this embodiment, if the advertisement is of the "item advertisement type", item information such as the item name and predetermined information indicating an instruction to start a purchase screen are stored (see FIG. 5). Furthermore, in the case of a "banner advertisement type" advertisement, item information such as a URL and predetermined information meaning an instruction to start a web browser function are stored (see FIG. 6). In addition, if it is a "survey solicitation type" advertisement, a set of the questionnaire ID indicating the type of questionnaire and information indicating an instruction to start the questionnaire display function, or the URL of the website for the questionnaire and the start of the web browser function. A set of predetermined information indicating an instruction is stored (see FIG. 7).

The question content 527 stores various data for displaying the question display section 93 corresponding to the advertisement on the test screen W10 (see FIG. 10). The data format does not matter, such as still images or videos.

Correct answer 528 defines the correct answer to question content 527.

Returning to FIG. 12, the first advertisement omission definition data 530 to the fourth advertisement omission definition data 560 define rules for omitting/reducing advertisements that are scheduled to be displayed.
FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a data configuration example of the first advertisement omission definition data 530. The first advertisement omission definition data 530 stores consideration payment conditions 531 and omission target advertisements 532 in association with each other.

The consideration payment conditions 531 include the range of the virtual currency payment amount (the amount set in the payment amount specification section 23 in FIG. 2), the type and number of items specified as play consideration (the consumable item specification section in FIG. 24 and consumption quantity designation section 25).

The advertisements to be omitted 532 define which types and how many advertisements to select and how to omit/delete them from the display schedule when the corresponding consideration payment condition 531 is satisfied. For example, you can omit all advertisements that are currently scheduled to be displayed, "omit half" to randomly select and omit half of the advertisements, or randomly select a number calculated based on the specified amount or number of advertisements consumed. It is possible to select and omit advertisements, or to omit advertisements in which specific information (for example, categories such as recovery items) is stored in the advertisement content index 525 (see FIG. 13).

Note that the reduction in advertisements is not limited to "reduction by ad unit", but also by "reducing the display time per ad", "reducing the overall display time of advertisements", and "reducing the display area occupied by advertisements on the game screen". can also be achieved.
If "reduction by display time per advertisement", "reduction in overall advertisement display time", and "reduction in display area occupied by advertisements on the game screen" are adopted, the omitted item 532 should be set as "omitted content". Just read it differently.
If "reduction by display time per ad" is adopted, the specified value for the display time per ad, the reduction time from the initial setting value of the display time per ad, and the display time per ad. It is sufficient to set any of the initial setting value reduction rates.
If "reducing the display time of the entire advertisement" is adopted, it is sufficient to set a specified value of the total display time required to display the entire advertisement, or a reduction time or reduction rate from the initial setting value of the total display time.
If "reducing the display area occupied by advertisements on the game screen" is adopted, the designated value of the display area occupied by advertisements on the game screen, or the number of reductions or reduction rate for the initial setting of the display area may be set.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing a data configuration example of the second advertisement omission definition data 540. The second advertisement omission definition data 540 stores purchase performance conditions 541 and omission target advertisements 542 in association with each other.

The purchase performance conditions 541 are conditions such as the type, number, and purchase amount of items purchased for a fee during the current play.

The advertisements to be omitted 542 define which types and how many advertisements are to be selected and omitted/deleted from the display schedule when the corresponding purchase performance condition 541 is satisfied. For example, you can choose "all omitted" to omit all advertisements that are currently scheduled to be displayed, "half omitted" to randomly select and omit half of the advertisements, or a number calculated based on the number of items purchased or the purchase amount. You can set "random omission" to randomly select and omit advertisements, omit advertisements in which specific information (for example, categories such as recovery items) is stored in the advertisement content index 525 (see FIG. 13), etc. can.

Note that the reduction in advertisements is not limited to "reduction by ad unit", but also by "reducing the display time per ad", "reducing the overall display time of advertisements", and "reducing the display area occupied by advertisements on the game screen". can also be achieved.
If "reduction by display time per advertisement", "reduction in overall advertisement display time", and "reduction in display area occupied by advertisements on game screen" are adopted, the omitted item 542 should be set as "omitted content". Just read it differently.
If "reduction by display time per ad" is adopted, the specified value for the display time per ad, the reduction time from the initial setting value of the display time per ad, and the display time per ad. It is sufficient to set any of the initial setting value reduction rates.
If "reducing the display time of the entire advertisement" is adopted, it is sufficient to set a specified value of the total display time required to display the entire advertisement, or a reduction time or reduction rate from the initial setting value of the total display time.
If "reducing the display area occupied by advertisements on the game screen" is adopted, the designated value of the display area occupied by advertisements on the game screen, or the number of reductions or reduction rate for the initial setting of the display area may be set.

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a data configuration example of the third advertisement omission definition data 550. The third advertisement omission definition data 550 stores a website viewing condition 551 and an advertisement to be omitted 552 in association with each other.

The website viewing conditions 551 are conditions related to the viewing results of websites viewed during the current play. For example, browsing results include viewing a specified page, registering as a member on a specified website, applying for a free sample, applying for a gift, responding to a questionnaire, etc. Specifically, for viewing, a specific URL is set. When registering as a member, applying for a free sample, applying for a gift, or responding to a questionnaire, it is recommended to set the URL of the confirmation screen page that is always displayed during the process of these actions.

The advertisements to be omitted 552 define what types and how many advertisements to select and omit/delete from the display schedule when the corresponding website viewing condition 551 is satisfied. For example, you can omit all advertisements that are currently scheduled to be displayed, "omit half" to randomly select and omit half of the advertisements, or randomly select a number calculated based on the number of viewed pages and viewing time. It is possible to select and omit advertisements for which specific information is stored in the advertisement content index 525 (see FIG. 13), etc.

Note that the reduction in advertisements is not limited to "reduction by ad unit", but also by "reducing the display time per ad", "reducing the overall display time of advertisements", and "reducing the display area occupied by advertisements on the game screen". can also be achieved.
If "reduction by display time per advertisement", "reduction in overall advertisement display time", and "reduction in display area occupied by advertisements on the game screen" are adopted, the omitted item 552 should be set as "omitted content". Just read it differently.
If "reduction by display time per ad" is adopted, the specified value for the display time per ad, the reduction time from the initial setting value of the display time per ad, and the display time per ad. It is sufficient to set any of the initial setting value reduction rates.
If "reducing the display time of the entire advertisement" is adopted, it is sufficient to set a specified value of the total display time required to display the entire advertisement, or a reduction time or reduction rate from the initial setting value of the total display time.
If "reducing the display area occupied by advertisements on the game screen" is adopted, the designated value of the display area occupied by advertisements on the game screen, or the number of reductions or reduction rate for the initial setting of the display area may be set.

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing a data configuration example of the fourth advertisement omission definition data 560. The fourth advertisement omission definition data 560 stores questionnaire response conditions 561 and omission target advertisements 562 in association with each other.

The questionnaire response condition 561 is a condition regarding the response record to a questionnaire prepared in advance. For example, it can be defined by the response rate of how many questions are answered out of a plurality of questions prepared in one questionnaire.

The advertisements to be omitted 562 define which types and how many advertisements are to be selected and omitted/deleted from the display schedule when the corresponding questionnaire response condition 561 is satisfied. For example, "all omissions" which omit all of the advertisements currently scheduled to be displayed, "half omission" which randomly selects half of the advertisements and omit them, or randomly selects a number calculated based on the number of responses or response rate. It is possible to select and omit advertisements, omit advertisements for which specific information is stored in the advertisement content index 525 (see FIG. 13), and so on.

Note that the reduction in advertisements is not limited to "reduction by ad unit", but also by "reducing the display time per ad", "reducing the overall display time of advertisements", and "reducing the display area occupied by advertisements on the game screen". can also be achieved.
If "reduction by display time per advertisement", "reduction in overall advertisement display time", and "reduction in display area occupied by advertisements on the game screen" are adopted, the omitted item 562 should be set as "omitted content". Just read it differently.
If "reduction by display time per ad" is adopted, the specified value for the display time per ad, the reduction time from the initial setting value of the display time per ad, and the display time per ad. It is sufficient to set any of the initial setting value reduction rates.
If "reducing the display time of the entire advertisement" is adopted, it is sufficient to set a specified value of the total display time required to display the entire advertisement, or a reduction time or reduction rate from the initial setting value of the total display time.
If "reducing the display area occupied by advertisements on the game screen" is adopted, the designated value of the display area occupied by advertisements on the game screen, or the number of reductions or reduction rate for the initial setting of the display area may be set.

Returning to FIG. 12, the data save restriction definition data 570 determines how to reduce play results and limit data save as a penalty based on the performance of displaying advertisements, in other words, the performance of viewing advertisements by the player. Define what to do. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 18, for example, data save restriction definition data 570 stores display performance conditions 572 and restriction contents 573 in association with each other.

The display performance condition 572 indicates how many advertisements scheduled to be displayed have been displayed. In this embodiment, when the advertisement display timing setting is set to "Limit to progress breaks during play" (see Figure 8) or "View all at once after play ends" (see Figure 9), the viewing confirmation operation icon 45 Since the display is advanced by , the number of touch operations on the icon is taken as the display result. Note that "number of advertisements scheduled to be displayed Nad" in FIG. 18 is the total number of advertisements scheduled to be displayed at that time.

The restriction content 573 defines which data items to be saved are to be restricted, or paradoxically, to be permitted. For example, "no restrictions" allows all data items to be saved as play results, "partial restrictions" disallows or prohibits saving of specific data items (for example, acquired skills), Settings such as "penalty addition" that allows saving after imposing a penalty on specific data items, especially data items related to game results, that reduces the results, and "total restrictions" that disallow/prohibit data saving itself. can do.

Returning to FIG. 12, the questionnaire definition data 580 stores various data that define the contents of a series of questionnaire surveys consisting of a plurality of questions prepared in advance by the game administrator. One questionnaire definition data 580 includes, for example, a unique questionnaire ID 581 and a question list 582.

The advertisement display performance-based benefit setting data 590 is definition data for game progress control according to the advertisement display performance, and defines the benefits to be provided. One piece of advertisement display performance-based benefit setting data 590 includes application conditions and granted benefit definition data. Of course, data other than these can also be stored as appropriate.

The application condition is a condition of advertisement display performance. For example, it can be defined within the range of the number of advertisements displayed, the cumulative display time, the number of remaining advertisements in the list of advertisements that the player should view, and the like. In this embodiment, the data format is made to correspond to the data format of the display results 744 (see FIG. 20), which will be described later.

The content of the benefits granted will be set as appropriate depending on the game content, such as items used in the game, the right to play a hidden stage, a ticket to appear in a hidden character, the right to draw a lottery to be executed related to the game, etc. It is possible.

The user management data 600 is prepared for each registered user and stores various data linked to an account that is unique identification information. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 19, one piece of user management data 600 includes an account 601, registration date and time 602, virtual currency account balance 603 used for payment of charges such as item purchases, and login history data. 604, item purchase history data 605, and save data 610. Of course, data other than these can also be included as appropriate.

Login history data 604 is data that describes when the game was played in the past in chronological order, and is automatically updated at the timing of login/logout.

Item purchase history data 605 is data that stores in chronological order data describing how many items were purchased at what time and for what purpose in the past. It is automatically updated every time you purchase an item.

Save data 610 is created every time data is saved. The data items stored in one save data 610 can be set as appropriate depending on the game content. In this embodiment, the creation date and time 611, acquired experience points 612 for each player character 4, acquired skills 613 for each player character 4, and a plurality of abilities regarding various abilities such as attack power and defense power for each player character 4 It includes a parameter value 614, an owned item list 615, a used item history 616 that is a history of items used during play, and a played stage list 617 that stores cleared stage numbers. In addition, parameter values related to game results such as scores, types of enemy characters defeated, etc. may be stored as appropriate.

Returning to FIG. 12, the play data 700 is prepared for each game play, and stores various data describing the progress of the game, data related to advertisement display, control data for each character, and other data related to game screen display. .

One piece of play data 700 includes, for example, as shown in FIG. 20, a player account 701, a play start date and time 702, a play consideration payment method 710, consideration details 712, and display timing settings 714. It also includes play stage control data 720, player character control data 722, enemy character control data 724, owned item list 726, item purchase history data 728, and used item history data 730. It also includes a display schedule advertisement ID list 740, a display timing timer 742, a display record 744, a displayed advertisement ID list 746, a website browsing history 750, a questionnaire response history 752, and a test response history 754. . Of course, data other than these can also be included as appropriate.

The play consideration payment method 710 stores the type of play consideration payment method selected and set by the player on the payment method setting screen W2 (see FIG. 2).

The consideration details 712 stores the amount of virtual currency paid as consideration for play, or the type and number of consumption items offered by the player as consideration for play.

The display timing setting 714 stores the setting of the advertisement display timing selected and set by the player on the display timing setting screen W3 (see FIG. 3). In this embodiment, "none" is set when the play price is paid in full with virtual currency or items. In addition, the player's selection results on the display timing setting screen W3 (see Figure 3) are: ``View all at once before the start of play'', ``Automatically at any time during play'', ``Only at progress intervals during play'', and ``View all at once after play ends''. ” is set.

The play stage control data 720 stores various data related to control of the played game stage (for example, control of background objects in the game space, etc.).

The player character control data 722 is prepared for each player character 4 (see FIG. 5), and stores various data describing the state of the character and various data to be data saved. For example, experience values acquired by the character, acquired skills, various ability parameter values, position coordinates in the game space, motion control data, effect data, etc. are stored as appropriate.

The enemy character control data 724 is prepared for each enemy character 6 (see FIG. 5), which is an NPC (non-player character) in this embodiment, and includes various data describing the state of the NPC and data related to movement and display control. Store.

The owned item list 726 stores information regarding the type and number of items currently owned by the player. Automatically updated each time you purchase or use an item.

The item purchase history data 728 stores information such as the type and number of items purchased by the player during the current game play in chronological order. Automatically updated each time you purchase an item.

The used item history data 730 stores information such as the type and number of items used by the player during the current game play, and where they are used, in chronological order. Automatically updated each time the item is used.

The display scheduled advertisement ID list 740 is a list of advertisement IDs 522 (see FIG. 13) of advertisements scheduled to be displayed during the current game play.

The display timing timer 742 is used to time the display timing.

The display performance 744 is data indicating the performance of advertisement display related to the current game play. For example, the number of advertisements displayed and the cumulative display time. In this embodiment, when the advertisement display timing setting is set to "Limit to progress breaks during play" (see Figure 8) or "View all at once after play ends" (see Figure 9), the viewing confirmation operation icon 45 Since the display is advanced by , the number of touch operations on the icon is stored in the display record 744 .

The displayed advertisement ID list 746 stores advertisement IDs of advertisements that have been displayed among advertisements scheduled to be displayed.

The website browsing history 750 stores history information of websites that have been viewed in connection with the current game play.

The questionnaire response history 752 stores the questionnaire ID 581 (see FIG. 12) of the questionnaire answered regarding the current game play in association with a value indicating the response record in chronological order.

The test answer history 754 stores answers to tests given in the answer input section 94 on the test screen W10 (see FIG. 10) in chronological order.

FIG. 21 is a functional block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the user terminal 1500 in this embodiment. The user terminal 1500 of this embodiment includes an operation input section 100, a terminal processing section 200, a sound output section 390, an image display section 392, a communication section 394, and a terminal storage section 500.

The operation input section 100 outputs operation input signals to the terminal processing section 200 in response to various operation inputs made by the player. For example, it can be realized by a push switch, joystick, touch pad, trackball, acceleration sensor, gyro, CCD module, etc. The direction input key 1502, button switch 1504, and touch panel 1506 in FIG. 1 correspond to this.

The terminal processing section 200 is realized by, for example, a microprocessor such as a CPU or GPU, or an electronic component such as an ASIC or an IC memory, and is capable of inputting and outputting data between each functional section including the operation input section 100 and the terminal storage section 500. Take control. The operation of the user terminal 1500 is controlled by executing various calculation processes based on predetermined programs and data, operation input signals from the operation input unit 100, and various data received from the server system 1100. The control board 1550 in FIG. 1 corresponds to this. The terminal processing section 200 in this embodiment includes a user terminal calculation section 260, a clock section 264, a sound generation section 290, an image generation section 292, and a communication control section 294.

User terminal calculation section 260 includes an operation signal transmission control section 261 and a game screen display control section 262.

The operation signal transmission control unit 261 executes processing for transmitting various data and requests to the server system 1100 in response to operations performed on the operation input unit 100.

The game screen display control unit 262 performs control to display a game screen based on various data received from the server system 1100. In this configuration, a game space image (for example, a 3DCG image) is generated by the server system 1100, but a configuration in which the game space image is generated by the user terminal 1500 is also possible. In that case, the game screen display control unit 262 includes, for example, control of objects arranged in a virtual three-dimensional space for generating a 3DCG image.

The sound generation section 290 is realized by, for example, a digital signal processor (DSP), a processor such as a voice synthesis IC, an audio codec capable of reproducing sound files, etc., and generates effects related to the game based on the processing results by the game screen display control section 262. Sound signals such as sounds, BGM, and various operation sounds are generated and output to the sound output section 390.

The sound output section 390 is realized by a device that outputs sound effects, BGM, etc. based on the sound signal input from the sound generation section 290. The speaker 1510 in FIG. 1 corresponds to this.

The image generation unit 292 is realized by, for example, a processor such as a GPU or a digital signal processor (DSP), a video signal IC, a program such as a video codec, an IC memory for drawing frames such as a frame buffer, or the like.

Then, the image generation unit 292 generates an image of one game screen in one frame time (for example, 1/60 second) based on various data received from the server system 1100, and converts the image signal of the generated game screen into an image. It is output to the display section 392.

The image display section 392 displays various game images based on image signals input from the image generation section 292. For example, it can be realized by an image display device such as a flat panel display, a cathode ray tube (CRT), a projector, or a head-mounted display. In this embodiment, the touch panel 1506 in FIG. 1 corresponds to this.

The communication control unit 294 executes data processing related to data communication and realizes data exchange with an external device via the communication unit 394. The communication unit 394 connects to the communication line 9 to realize communication. For example, it is realized by a wireless communication device, a modem, a TA (terminal adapter), a jack for a wired communication cable, a control circuit, etc., and the wireless communication module 1553 in FIG. 1 corresponds to this.

The terminal storage unit 500 stores system programs for realizing various functions for causing the terminal processing unit 200 to integrally control the user terminal 1500, programs necessary for game play, various data, and the like. It is also used as a work area for the terminal processing section 200, and temporarily stores calculation results executed by the terminal processing section 200 according to various programs, input data input from the operation input section 100, and the like. These functions are realized by, for example, IC memories such as RAM and ROM, magnetic disks such as hard disks, optical disks such as CD-ROMs and DVDs, and the like. This corresponds to the IC memory 1552 and memory card 1540 mounted on the control board 1550 in FIG.

The terminal storage unit 500 of this embodiment stores a terminal system program 502 and a game client program 504. Of course, data other than these can also be stored as appropriate.

The terminal system program 502 is a program for realizing the basic input/output functions of the user terminal 1500 as a computer.

The game client program 504 is application software that is read and executed by the terminal processing unit 200 to realize the function of the user terminal calculation unit 260, but it is configured as a part of the terminal system program 502. It's okay. In this embodiment, it is a copy of the distribution game client program 505 (see FIG. 12) provided from the server system 1100.

Note that the game client program 504 may be a dedicated client program depending on the technical method for realizing the online game, or may be configured by a web browser program, a plug-in for realizing interactive image display, and the like.

[Explanation of operation]
Next, the flow of processing in server system 1100 will be explained. The process flow described here is executed by the server processing unit 200s executing the server system program 501 and the server program 503.

22 to 25 are flowcharts for explaining the flow of processing in the server system 1100 of this embodiment.
First, as shown in FIG. 22, the server system 1100 first executes login processing (step S2), updates the login history data 604 (see FIG. 19) of the user management data 600 of the logged-in user, and updates the login history data 604 (see FIG. 19) for the logged-in user. New play data 700 (see FIG. 20) is prepared. The current date and time is stored in the play start date and time 702. The player character control data 722 and the owned item list 726 are created from the logged-in user's latest save data 610 (see FIG. 15). In other words, past play results will be inherited.

Next, the server system 1100 starts accepting the selection and setting of the payment method for the play fee (step S10). Specifically, a payment method setting screen W2 (see FIG. 2) is displayed on the user terminal 1500, and setting operations on the screen are accepted. The acceptance result is stored in the play fee payment method 710 of the play data 700 (see FIG. 20).

When the check box 22a or the check box 22b is touched on the payment method setting screen W2, the server system 1100 determines that the player will pay the play fee (YES in step S12), and accepts the selection of the fee payment details. (Step S14). That is, the payment amount designation section 23, the consumable item designation section 24, and the consumption quantity designation section 25 are activated (see FIG. 2), and their settings are accepted. The acceptance result is stored in the compensation content 712 of the play data 700 (see FIG. 20).

If the play price is paid in full in virtual currency or items (YES in step S16), the server system 1100 sets the advertisement display timing setting 714 (see FIG. 20) to "none" (step S18).

Note that if the check box 22c corresponding to "View advertisement and substitute" is touched on the payment method setting screen W2 (NO in step S12), the advertisement display timing setting 714 remains undetermined. Further, even if the full amount is not paid (NO in step S16), the advertisement display timing setting 714 remains undetermined.

Next, the server system 1100 sets the advertisement IDs 522 of all advertisement definition data 521 in the advertisement database 520 (see FIG. 13) in the display schedule advertisement ID list 740 (see FIG. 20) (step S20), and Based on the data 610 (see FIG. 19), advertisements to be displayed are selected (step S22). For example, with reference to the used item history 616, advertisements in categories of items that are used frequently are selected with priority. Then, with reference to the first advertisement omission definition data 530 (see FIG. 14), advertisements scheduled to be displayed are omitted or reduced (step S24).

Instead of adopting "reduction by ad unit" as a method of reducing advertisements, it can also be achieved by "reducing the display time per ad", "reducing the overall display time of advertisements", and "reducing the display area occupied by advertisements on the game screen". If so, this step can be omitted.

Next, the server system 1100 refers to the display scheduled advertisement ID list 740, and if the number of advertisements scheduled to be displayed is not "0" (NO in step S30), the server system 1100 displays the display timing setting screen W3 on the user terminal 1500 (see FIG. 3) is displayed, and settings for the advertisement display timing are accepted (step S32). Along with this, the display performance 744 (see FIG. 20) is initialized to "0" (step S34).

Then, when "view all at once before the start of play" is selected and set on the display timing setting screen W3 (YES at step S40), the server system 1100 sets the display timing setting 714 to "before the start of play..." After setting, the advertisement display screen W4 (see FIG. 4) is displayed on the user terminal 1500, and the advertisement display body 42 starts displaying all advertisements scheduled to be displayed (step S42).

In addition, when reducing advertisements by "reducing the display time per advertisement", the amount of time measured by the display timing timer 742 is changed to the corresponding omission target item 532 (see FIG. 14) and the omission target item 542 (see FIG. 15). ), the omitted item 552 (see FIG. 16), and the omitted item 562 (see FIG. 17). Then, when the display timing timer 742 completes the time measurement, the viewing confirmation operation icon 45 (see FIG. 4) is activated.

In addition, when reducing advertisements by "reducing the display time of the entire advertisement", the corresponding omission target item 532 (see Figure 14), omission target item 542 (see Figure 15), and omission target item 552 (see Figure 16) ), the total display time of the entire advertisement is set according to the definition of the omitted item 562 (see FIG. 17). Then, the display time per advertisement, which is calculated by dividing the total display time by the number of advertisements scheduled to be displayed, is set in the display timing timer 742, and when the display timing timer 742 completes timing, the viewing confirmation operation icon 45 (see FIG. 4) is activated. Control to activate.

In addition, if the reduction of advertisements is also achieved by "reducing the display area occupied by advertisements on the game screen", the display size of the advertisement display body 42 (see FIG. 4) may be changed to the corresponding omitted item 532 (see FIG. 14). ), the definitions of the omitted item 542 (see FIG. 15), the omitted item 552 (see FIG. 16), and the omitted item 562 (see FIG. 17) are applied.

Next, during advertisement display control, each time the viewing confirmation operation icon 45 is touched, that is, each time a viewing confirmation operation input is detected, the server system 1100 increments the display performance 744 by "1", indicating that the displayed Control is started to update the advertisement ID list 746 and update the display of the undisplayed advertisement information display body 43 (step S44).
Note that if an operation input to the viewing stop operation icon 44 (see FIG. 4) is detected while an advertisement is being displayed, the step exits with the undisplayed advertisement remaining.

Turning to FIG. 23, once the advertisement display before the start of play is completed (step S50), the server system 1100 starts controlling the progress of the game. That is, game play is started (step S52). Accordingly, if the advertisement display timing setting 714 is "during play, automatic at any time", the display timing timer 742 starts measuring the advertisement display timing.

Further, if the advertisement display timing setting 714 is set to something other than "view all at once before the start of play" (YES in step S60), the server system 1100 controls the undisplayed advertisement information display body 43 (FIGS. 5, 8 (see step S62). Advertisement display control in this step is implemented similarly to step S42.

After the start of play, if the advertisement display timing setting 714 is set to "automatically at any time during play" (YES in step S64), server system 1100 determines whether the display timing has arrived (step S66). In this embodiment, an affirmative determination is made when the display timing timer 742 counts a predetermined value.

Then, when the display timing has arrived (YES in step S66), the server system 1100 displays a predetermined number of new advertisements (one in this embodiment, but more than one is possible) that remain undisplayed on the advertisement display section 55. The display is switched to advertisement (step S68), the display record 744 is incremented by "1", the displayed advertisement ID list 746 is updated, and the display on the undisplayed advertisement information display body 43 is updated (step S70). Note that advertisement display control in step S68 is implemented in the same manner as step S42.

When an item purchase operation is detected after the start of play, that is, during play (YES in step S80), server system 1100 displays an item purchase screen, executes item purchase processing, and stores owned item list 726 and item purchase history data. 728 (step S82). Then, referring to the second advertisement omission definition data 540 (see FIG. 15), the advertisement ID is deleted from the display schedule advertisement ID list 740 according to the latest item purchase results, and the advertisement scheduled to be displayed is omitted. It is deleted (step S84).

Additionally, when a website browsing operation is detected during play, specifically, when the banner advertisement type advertisement display 42 (see FIG. 6) is touched, or when the site browsing 54b (see FIG. 6) is selected from the action menu 54. 5) is selected (YES in step S90), the server system 1100 starts browsing the designated or linked website and updates the website browsing history 750 (see FIG. 20). Step S92).

When the web browsing is finished (step S94), the server system 1100 refers to the third advertisement omission definition data 550 (see FIG. 16) and selects an advertisement ID from the display schedule advertisement ID list 740 according to the current browsing history. The advertisement to be displayed is omitted or reduced by erasing it (step S96).

Moving on to FIG. 24, when a questionnaire response permission operation is detected during play, specifically, when the questionnaire solicitation type advertisement display 42 (see FIG. 7) is touched, or when the questionnaire response is accepted in the action menu 54. 54c (see FIG. 5) is selected (YES in step S100), the server system 1100 refers to the questionnaire definition data 580 and starts accepting input of questionnaire responses, or prepares for questionnaire responses. The user starts browsing the specified website and updates the questionnaire response history 752 (see FIG. 20) (step S102).

Then, when the questionnaire is completed (step S104), the server system 1100 refers to the fourth advertisement omission definition data 560 (see FIG. 17) and determines the display schedule according to the results of the current questionnaire response and response record. The advertisement ID is deleted from the advertisement ID list 740 to omit or reduce advertisements scheduled to be displayed (step S106).

During play, if a break in the game progress is reached (YES in step S120) and the display timing setting 714 is set to "during play, limited to progress break" (YES in step S122), the server system 1100: The advertisement display body 42 and the viewing confirmation operation icon 45 are newly displayed, and the new advertisement is displayed on the advertisement display body 42 (step S124).

Specifically, the server system 1100 displays advertisements that are not included in the displayed advertisement ID list 746 from the display schedule advertisement ID list 740, that is, undisplayed advertisements, on the advertisement display body 42, and displays the advertisements in the display confirmation operation icon 45. When a touch operation is detected, display switching is controlled to display the next undisplayed advertisement on the advertisement display body 42. Additionally, each time the viewing confirmation operation icon 45 is operated, the display performance 744 is increased by "1", the displayed advertisement ID list 746 is updated, and the display of the undisplayed advertisement information display body 43 is updated.
Note that if an operation input to the viewing stop operation icon 44 (see FIG. 8) is detected while an advertisement is being displayed, the step exits with the undisplayed advertisement remaining.

Next, if the display timing setting 714 is set to something other than "view all at the end of play" (NO in step S130), the server system 1100 notifies the player of the display results 744 (step S132). For example, the number of advertisements displayed within the game screen may be displayed, or a gauge-shaped display body representing the displayed advertisement ID list 746 may be displayed with the display scheduled advertisement ID list 740 set as 100%. Note that the display related to the notification may be displayed all the time, or may be displayed at regular intervals for a predetermined period of time.

Next, the server system 1100 grants the player a benefit according to the advertisement display performance (step S134). Specifically, data matching the current display performance 744 is searched from the advertisement display performance corresponding benefit setting data 590 (see FIG. 12), and the benefit indicated by the corresponding data is granted to the player. Note that one advertisement display performance corresponding benefit setting data 590 is applied only once.

Since benefits are given to the player according to the display performance of advertisements, the player becomes motivated to view advertisements from now on. In other words, the player's negative mental impression of the collection of game play fees due to advertisement display is weakened, and the player can play the game comfortably.

25, the server system 1100 repeats steps S64 (see FIG. 23) to S134 (see FIG. 24) until the game end condition is satisfied (NO in step S140).

If the game end condition is satisfied (YES in step S140) and the display timing setting 714 is set to "view all at the end of play" (YES in step S142), the server system 1100 displays advertisements on the user terminal 1500. The display screen W9 (see FIG. 9) is displayed, and advertisements registered in the display schedule advertisement ID list 740 are displayed one after another each time the viewing confirmation operation icon 45 is operated (step S144). Additionally, each time the viewing confirmation operation icon 45 is operated, the display performance 744 is increased by "1", the displayed advertisement ID list 746 is updated, and the display on the undisplayed advertisement information display body 43 is updated.
Note that if an operation input to the viewing stop operation icon 44 (see FIG. 9) is detected while an advertisement is being displayed, the step exits with the undisplayed advertisement remaining.

Next, the server system 1100 displays a test screen W10 (see FIG. 10) on the user terminal 1500, and accepts input of a test answer (step S146). At this time, in the question display section 93, question contents 527 of advertisement definition data 521 (see FIG. 13) of advertisement IDs randomly selected from a predetermined number of advertisement IDs from the displayed advertisement ID list 746 are displayed one after another.

If the test is passed (YES in step S150), the server system 1100 refers to the data save restriction definition data 570 (see FIG. 18) and sets the display performance conditions 572 to which the current display performance 744 conforms. Data is saved by applying the corresponding restriction content 573 (step S152). As a result, new save data 610 is created in the player's user management data 600. At this time, the results of the current game play are reflected in the data items that are not subject to restrictions, and the contents of the most recent past save data 610 are copied to the data items that are subject to restrictions. Accordingly, it is preferable to notify the player of the restricted data items. Then, the server system 1100 ends the series of processing.

Furthermore, if the test cannot be passed (NO in step S150), the server system 1100 notifies that the data cannot be saved (step S154), and ends the series of processing without saving the data.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, in a game in which play fees can be collected through advertisement display, the player's options regarding advertisement display can be diversified.

That is, the player can play the game without displaying advertisements during game play by consuming virtual currency or owned items to pay the play fee before starting the game. Furthermore, viewing advertisements can be substituted for payment of play fees. At that time, you can choose the timing for displaying advertisements from four options: ``Before the start of play,'' ``Automatically at any time during play,'' ``Only at intervals during play,'' and ``After play ends.''

Furthermore, by viewing designated websites or websites linked to advertisements while playing, the number of advertisements scheduled to be displayed can be reduced. Additionally, by purchasing items or answering surveys while playing, you can reduce the number of advertisements scheduled to be displayed.

From the player's point of view, it will be possible to set and adjust the way advertisements are displayed to suit the user's preferences to a much greater degree than before, while from the game operator's point of view, it will be possible to avoid making players feel uncomfortable when displaying advertisements. It is possible to stabilize profits.

[Second embodiment]
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described.
This embodiment is basically realized in the same way as the first embodiment, except that the user terminal 1500 is the main processing entity for game progress control. Hereinafter, the differences from the first embodiment will be mainly described, and the same reference numerals will be given to the same components as in the first embodiment, and the explanation will be omitted.

The game system in this embodiment is the same as that in the first embodiment.

FIG. 26 is a functional block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the user terminal 1500B in this embodiment. In this embodiment, the game progress control section 210 is omitted from the server system 1100 in this embodiment, and instead, the user terminal 1500B of this embodiment has the game progress control section 210 and the game screen display control section 262. Omitted. That is, in this embodiment, the user terminal 1500B is a computer system that executes calculation processing related to game progress by itself and generates a game space image by itself.

As shown in FIG. 27, the terminal storage unit 500 of the user terminal 1500B in this embodiment stores a terminal system program 502 and a game program 506. Then, as the game progress control unit 210 is processed by the user terminal 1500B, the game initial setting data 510, the advertisement database 520, the first advertisement omission definition data 530, except the user management data 600, Second advertisement omission definition data 540, third advertisement omission definition data 550, fourth advertisement omission definition data 560, data save restriction definition data 570, questionnaire definition data 580, and advertisement display performance corresponding benefit setting data 590. , play data 700, and current date and time 800 are stored in the terminal storage unit 500.

The game program 506 is a program for realizing the user terminal calculation section 260, game progress control section 210, and time measurement section 264 of this embodiment in the terminal processing section 200.

The process flow in this embodiment is basically the same as the process flow in the server system 1100 in the first embodiment (see FIGS. 22 to 24), and the game progress control unit 210 is executed on the user terminal 1500B. Accordingly, the execution entity of each step may be read as the server system 1100 or the user terminal 1500B as appropriate. Note that when executing a process that requires reference to the user management data 600, such as logging in, on the user terminal 1500B, it is necessary to request the server system 1100 to provide or check the necessary data, or to request the process itself. shall be dealt with accordingly.

According to this embodiment, the same effects as in the first embodiment can be obtained.
Note that the user terminal 1500B may not be responsible for all of the game progress control unit 210, but may be configured to be responsible for only a part of it.

[Modified example]
Although an example of an embodiment to which the present invention is applied has been described above, the form to which the present invention can be applied is not limited to the above-mentioned form, and constituent elements may be added, omitted, or changed as appropriate.

[Part 1]
For example, in the embodiment described above, an example was given in which an online game is realized in a client-server type game system, but it may be realized in a game system in which a plurality of user terminals 1500 are connected peer-to-peer. In that case, one of the user terminals 1500 is made to function as the server system 1100 of the first embodiment. Alternatively, a configuration may be adopted in which the functions of the game progress control section 210 are shared among a plurality of user terminals 1500.

[Part 2]
Furthermore, although an online game was exemplified in the above embodiment, the present invention can be similarly applied to a game executed by the user terminal 1500 stand-alone, in other words, a game executed in a computer system consisting of a single computer. In this case, basically, the functional configurations shown in FIGS. 11 and 21 can be read as being realized by the user terminal 1500 alone.

22a, 22b, 22c...Check box 23...Payment amount designation section 24...Consumable item specification section 25...Consumption quantity specification section 32a, 32b, 32c, 32d...Check box 42...Advertisement display body 43...Undisplayed advertisement information display body 44 ...Browsing cancel operation icon 45...Browsing confirmation operation icon 54...Action menu 54b...Site browsing 54c...Questionnaire answer 55...Advertisement display section 56...Advertisement display body 91...Restriction explanation 92...Test explanation 93...Question display section 94...Answer input Parts 200s...Server processing unit 202...User management unit 204...Play price payment control unit 210...Game progress control unit 212...Display timing setting unit 214...Item purchase control unit 216...Site viewing control unit 218...Questionnaire response reception control unit 220 ...Undisplayed advertisement information presentation control unit 222...Advertisement display control unit 224...Display performance management unit 226...Test control unit 228...Display performance corresponding privilege granting unit 230...Penalty granting control unit 232…Result reduction unit 234…Data save restriction unit 260... User terminal calculation unit 261... Operation signal transmission control unit 262... Game screen display control unit 500s... Server storage unit 503... Server program 510... Game initial setting data 520... Advertisement database 521... Advertisement definition data 523... Advertisement content data 525 ...Advertisement content index 526...Associating information 530...First advertisement omission definition data 540...Second advertisement omission definition data 550...Third advertisement omission definition data 560...Fourth advertisement omission definition data 570...Data save restriction definition data 572... Display performance conditions 573...Restriction content 600...User management data 610...Save data 700...Play data 710...Play consideration payment method 712...Consideration content 714...Display timing setting 740...Display schedule advertisement ID list 742...Display timing timer 744...Display Results 746...Displayed advertisement ID list 750...Website viewing history 752...Questionnaire response history 754...Test answer history 1100...Server system 1150...Control board 1500...User terminal 1550...Control board W2...Payment method setting screen W3...Display timing Setting screen W4... Advertisement display screen W5... Game screen W8... Game screen W9... Advertisement display screen W10... Test screen

Claims (11)

A program for causing a computer system to control advertisement display when a consideration that satisfies a given compensation condition for hiding the advertisement display while a game is in progress is not paid. ,
advertisement display control means for controlling the advertisement display at a given display timing;
display performance management means for managing the performance of advertisements displayed by the advertisement display control means;
game progress control means for controlling the progress of the game according to the track record;
penalty giving means for giving a given penalty to the player when the achievement does not satisfy a given sufficient condition;
causing the computer system to function as
The penalty imparting means has a data save restriction means for restricting part or all of the data saving.
program. means for presenting whether or not the advertisement has been displayed;
The program according to claim 1, for causing the computer system to further function as a program. The data saving restriction means includes 1) prohibition of data saving itself, 2) limitation of the type of data to be saved, and 3) limitation based on a saveable limit value among given parameter values obtained through game play. Any of the above restrictions shall apply;
The program according to claim 1 or 2. test control means for posing a test for the advertisement displayed by the advertisement display control means and receiving answers;
further causing the computer system to function as
The data save restriction means executes the restriction depending on whether the answer is correct or not.
The program according to any one of claims 1 to 3. payment acceptance means for accepting payment of consideration that does not satisfy the hidden consideration conditions;
further causing the computer system to function as
The advertisement display control means changes at least one of the number of advertisements to be displayed, the time, and the display area according to the consideration accepted by the payment acceptance means.
The program according to any one of claims 1 to 4. The payment acceptance means accepts consumption of a given item as payment for the consideration.
The program according to claim 5. item purchasing means for purchasing a given item of the game according to a player's operation input;
further causing the computer system to function as
The advertisement display control means changes at least one of the number, time, and display area of advertisements to be displayed according to the purchase of the item.
The program according to any one of claims 1 to 6. a site browsing means for browsing a given website according to the player's operation input;
further causing the computer system to function as
The advertisement display control means changes at least one of the number, time, and display area of advertisements to be displayed depending on whether or not the website is viewed.
The program according to any one of claims 1 to 7. The advertisement display control means selects advertisements to display based on game play history.
The program according to any one of claims 1 to 8 . A computer system that controls the advertisement display when a consideration that satisfies a given compensation condition for hiding the advertisement display while the game is in progress is not paid, the computer system comprising:
Advertisement display control means for controlling the advertisement display at a given display timing;
Display performance management means for managing the performance of advertisements displayed by the advertisement display control means;
a game progress control means for controlling the progress of the game according to the track record;
penalty imparting means for imparting a given penalty to the player when the achievement does not satisfy a given sufficient condition;
Equipped with
The penalty imparting means has a data save restriction means for restricting part or all of the data saving.
computer system. A control method in which a computer system controls the advertisement display when a consideration that satisfies a given compensation condition for hiding the advertisement display while the game is in progress is not paid, the computer system comprising:
Displaying an advertisement at a given display timing;
Managing the display performance of the advertisement;
controlling the progress of the game according to the track record;
giving a given penalty to the player if the achievement does not satisfy a given sufficient condition;
including;
Giving the penalty includes restricting some or all data saving;
Control method.

Images