JP7473854B2 - Information processing device, content display method, and content display program - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an information processing device, a content display method, and a content display program.

In recent years, online services such as websites (web pages, web services), online games, and application software (hereinafter referred to as "apps") that are distributed to information processing devices such as mobile terminals via computer networks have become widespread.

Patent Document 1 discloses an image display device that switches between specified ranges within a page (e.g., one frame drawn within a page) and enlarges and displays the ranges on a display screen in order to display a manga, where one page is made up of multiple frames. For this reason, the image display device disclosed in Patent Document 1 generates a display range switching list in which various parameters are set for sequentially switching the ranges displayed on the display screen, and sets the frames to be displayed, the coordinates of the display center, and the display magnification in association with the display order. As a result, a web page is displayed on the display screen while sequentially switching the display range according to the generated display range switching list.

Therefore, with the image display device disclosed in Patent Document 1, even if the web page is large, the user can comfortably view every corner of the web page without having to perform cumbersome controller operations such as scrolling up, down, left, and right, or zooming in and out of the image.

JP 2010-164862 A

In recent years, manga that can be viewed on information processing devices are not just paper manga that has been imported as image data; in some cases, manga is created as image data with the intention of distributing it to information processing devices. Manga created with the intention of distributing it to such information processing devices is expected to be able to express a variety of different things that could not be expressed on paper.

The image display device disclosed in Patent Document 1 scrolls up, down, left, and right. Its purpose is to allow users to comfortably view manga that is page-by-page and frame-by-frame format, captured from paper media as image data, and is not intended to diversify the ways in which manga is expressed. There is therefore a demand for technological development that allows for more diverse expressions for content such as manga displayed on information processing devices.

The present invention has been made in consideration of these circumstances, and aims to provide an information processing device, a content display method, and a content display program that enable more diverse expression of content displayed on a screen.

To solve the above problems, the information processing device, content display method, and content display program of the present invention employ the following means.

In order to solve the above problem, an "information processing device" according to one aspect of the present invention is an information processing device that displays content formed by a plurality of consecutive still images on a screen, and includes a display control means for displaying the content on the screen, including still images whose length in at least one of the vertical and horizontal directions is greater than the length of the screen, and a scroll control means for vertically or horizontally scrolling the content displayed on the screen according to the vertical or horizontal length of the still images.

In order to solve the above problem, the "content display method" according to one aspect of the present invention is a content display method for displaying content formed by a plurality of consecutive still images on a screen, and includes a first step of displaying the content on the screen, the content including still images having at least one of a vertical length and a horizontal length greater than the length of the screen, and a second step of scrolling the content displayed on the screen vertically or horizontally according to the vertical or horizontal length of the still images.

In order to solve the above problem, the "content display program" of one aspect of the present invention causes a computer provided in an information processing device that displays content formed by a series of still images on a screen to function as a display control means for displaying on the screen the content including still images in at least one of the vertical and horizontal lengths of which is greater than the length of the screen, and a scroll control means for vertically or horizontally scrolling the content displayed on the screen according to the vertical or horizontal length of the still images.

The above-mentioned "information processing device" may be subject to various technical limitations, as exemplified below. In addition, technical limitations of the same nature may be applied to the processing steps executed by the "content display method" or the functions of the "content display program."

The scroll control means scrolls vertically the still images that are long in the vertical direction, and scrolls horizontally the still images that are long in the horizontal direction.

The scroll control means scrolls the content in response to a user's operation using a pointer on the screen, controls the amount of movement of the still image in response to an inertial force based on the moving speed of the pointer, and continues scrolling the content in response to the inertial force even if the scrolling direction of the content changes.

The scroll control means scrolls the content in response to a user's operation using a pointer on the screen, controls the amount of movement of the still image in response to an inertial force based on the moving speed of the pointer, and stops the scrolling of the content at the timing when the scrolling direction of the content changes, regardless of the magnitude of the inertial force.

The scroll control means scrolls the still image at a predetermined speed.

The speed varies depending on the still image.

The scroll control means determines at a predetermined timing whether a predetermined condition for scrolling the content is met, and scrolls the content when the condition is met.

The content is a manga with a branching progression, and multiple scroll directions are set for the still image before the branching progression, and the scroll control means scrolls the content in one scroll direction selected from the multiple scroll directions.

The information processing device is provided with a progress branch control means for determining one of the multiple scroll directions based on the information acquired by the information processing device.

When scrolling the manga in one selected scroll direction, the scroll control means prohibits scrolling the manga in other scroll directions that were not selected.

When a certain condition is met, the number of branches in the manga's progression increases or decreases compared to before the condition was met.

The content information indicating the content displayed on the screen is composed of a plurality of still images arranged two-dimensionally in accordance with the scroll direction.

The content information indicating the content to be displayed on the screen includes sequence information indicating the order in which the content is to be displayed on the screen and a plurality of still images associated with a scroll direction.

The content information is associated with scroll information indicating the scroll direction of the content, and the scroll control means scrolls the content displayed on the screen vertically or horizontally in accordance with the scroll information.

The present invention has the effect of enabling more diverse expression of content displayed on the screen.

1 is a configuration diagram of a manga distribution system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the electrical configuration of the server according to the first embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of a mobile terminal according to a first embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a concept of a manga according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a display state of a screen by multi-scrolling according to the first embodiment of the present invention. 4A to 4C are schematic diagrams showing images at timings when the scroll direction changes according to the first embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a manga progression branch according to a first embodiment of the present invention; FIG. FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram relating to a manga display function of a mobile terminal according to a first embodiment of the present invention. 4 is a flowchart showing a flow of a manga display process of the mobile terminal according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a structure of manga data according to the first embodiment of the present invention. 13 is a schematic diagram showing the structure of another manga data according to the first embodiment of the present invention; FIG.

Below, an embodiment of an information processing device, a content display method, and a content display program according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[1. First embodiment]
A first embodiment of the present invention will now be described.

[1-1. Configuration of manga distribution system]
1 is a schematic diagram of a manga distribution system 1 according to this embodiment. The manga distribution system 1 includes a communication line 2, a plurality of mobile terminals 3, and a server 4.

Communication line 2 forms a computer network and is, for example, a wide area communication line provided by an electric power company.

The mobile terminal 3 is, for example, an information processing terminal such as a smartphone, tablet terminal, or notebook computer, and is used by the user to utilize online services distributed via the communication line 2. The mobile terminal 3 includes a touch panel display 3a that displays images, a speaker 3b that outputs sound, a microphone 3c that inputs sound, and a camera 3d that captures an image of a subject. Here, the touch panel display 3a includes, for example, an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) and a touch sensor. The LCD displays various images, and the touch sensor accepts various input operations performed using a pointing object such as a finger, a stylus, or a pen. In the following description, the touch panel display 3a is also referred to as a screen 3a.

The server 4 is an information processing device that distributes online services to the mobile terminal 3 via the communication line 2.

The manga distribution system 1 according to this embodiment distributes manga in the form of digital data from a server 4 via a communication line 2 to a mobile terminal 3 as one of the online services. Manga here is an example of content formed from a series of still images, which are composed of pictures and have a story-like quality as a whole. A user views the manga distributed to the mobile terminal 3 using dedicated application software (hereinafter referred to as a "manga viewing app"). The manga viewing app is pre-installed on the mobile terminal 3. Note that the manga viewing app functions even when the mobile terminal 3 and the server 4 are not communicating (offline state) as long as manga data has been downloaded from the server 4 to the mobile terminal 3.

[1-2. Server configuration]
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the electrical configuration of the server 4 according to the present embodiment.

The server 4 according to this embodiment includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 20 which is a main control unit that controls the overall operation of the server 4, a ROM in which various programs and various data are stored in advance,
(Read Only Memory) 22, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 24 used as a work area when the CPU 20 executes various programs, and a HDD (Hard Disk Drive) 26 as a storage means for storing various programs and various data.

The HDD 26 stores manga data indicating the manga to be distributed to the mobile terminal 3. Note that the storage means is not limited to the HDD 26, and may be other storage media, such as a semiconductor memory such as a flash memory.

The server 4 further includes an operation input unit 28, which is composed of a keyboard, a mouse, etc. and accepts input of various operations, a monitor 30, such as a liquid crystal display device, which displays various images, and an external interface 32, which is connected to other information processing devices, such as a mobile terminal 3, via the communication line 2 and transmits and receives various data to and from the other information processing devices.

The CPU 20, ROM 22, RAM 24, HDD 26, operation input unit 28, monitor 30, and external interface 32 are electrically connected to each other via a system bus 34. Therefore, the CPU 20 can access the ROM 22, RAM 24, and HDD 26, grasp the operation status of the operation input unit 28, display images on the monitor 30, and send and receive various data to and from other information processing devices, etc. via the external interface 32.

[1-3. Electrical configuration of mobile terminal]
FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram showing the electrical configuration of the mobile terminal 3. As shown in FIG.

In addition to the components shown in FIG. 1, the mobile terminal 3 includes a main control unit 40, a main memory unit 42, an auxiliary memory unit 44, a communication unit 46, and an operation button 48.

The main control unit 40 is, for example, a CPU, a microprocessor, a DSP (Digital Signal Processor), etc., and controls the overall operation of the mobile terminal 3.

The main memory unit 42 is composed of, for example, RAM or DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory), and is used as a work area when the main control unit 40 executes processes based on various programs.

The auxiliary memory unit 44 is, for example, a non-volatile memory such as a flash memory, and stores various data such as images, as well as programs used in the processing of the main control unit 40. The programs stored in the auxiliary memory unit 44 are, for example, an OS (Operating System) for implementing the basic functions of the mobile terminal 3, drivers for controlling various hardware, and programs for implementing e-mail, web browsing, and various other functions. In addition, the auxiliary memory unit 44 pre-stores a manga viewing application for displaying manga distributed from the server 4 on the touch panel display 3a.

The communication unit 46 is, for example, a network interface controller (NIC), and has a function of connecting to the communication line 2. Note that the communication unit 46 may have a function of connecting to a wireless local area network (LAN), a function of connecting to a wireless wide area network (WAN), and a function of enabling short-range wireless communication such as Bluetooth (registered trademark), infrared communication, etc., instead of or together with the NIC.

The operation buttons 48 are provided on the side of the mobile terminal 3 and include a power button for starting and stopping the mobile terminal 3 and a volume adjustment button for the sound output by the speaker 3b.

The main control unit 40, main memory unit 42, auxiliary memory unit 44, communication unit 46, touch panel display 3a, speaker 3b, microphone 3c, camera 3d, and operation buttons 48 are electrically connected to each other via a system bus 49. Therefore, the main control unit 40 can access the main memory unit 42 and auxiliary memory unit 44, display images on the touch panel display 3a, grasp the operation state of the touch panel display 3a and the operation buttons 48 by the user, input sound to the microphone 3c, output sound from the speaker 3b, control the camera 3d, and access various communication networks and other information processing devices via the communication unit 46.

[1-4. Manga display function on mobile devices]
The mobile device 3 uses a function of the manga viewing app (hereinafter referred to as the "manga display function") to display the manga distributed from the server 4 on the screen 3a, allowing the user to view the manga. The manga according to this embodiment is formed including still images in which at least one of the vertical and horizontal lengths (hereinafter also referred to as "vertical and horizontal lengths") is greater than the length of the screen 3a of the mobile device 3. In other words, the manga according to this embodiment includes a mixture of still images that are longer in the vertical direction and still images that are longer in the horizontal direction.

The structure of manga 50 according to this embodiment will be specifically described with reference to FIG. 4. FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram of manga 50 distributed to mobile terminal 3 by a manga distribution system. In the example of FIG. 4, manga 50 includes still images 52A and 52B. Still image 52A is a vertically long still image 52, showing a scene of two people having a conversation. Still image 52B is a horizontally long still image 52, showing a scene of a character throwing a punch. Note that manga 50 according to this embodiment, as an example, does not have the concept of pages or frames, and even in the example of FIG. 4, there are no clear page or frame divisions.

The horizontal length x shown in FIG. 4 is equal to the horizontal length of screen 3a, and the vertical length y is equal to the vertical length of screen 3a. That is, the horizontal length of still image 52A is equal to the horizontal length of screen 3a, while the vertical length of still image 52A is longer than the vertical length of screen 3a. Also, the horizontal length of still image 52B is longer than the horizontal length of screen 3a, while the vertical length of still image 52B is equal to the vertical length of screen 3a.

The manga 50 may include a still image 52 whose length and width are both longer than the length and width of the screen 3a. The length of the still image 52 in the vertical and horizontal directions is determined arbitrarily by the artist who creates the manga according to the scene of the manga 50.

[1-4-1. Multi-scroll]
The manga display function performs multi-scrolling to scroll the manga 50 vertically or horizontally (either up, down, left or right) of the mobile terminal 3 and display it on the screen 3a according to the vertical or horizontal length of the still image 52. More specifically, the multi-scrolling scrolls, for example, a vertically long still image 52 vertically (the long axis direction of the screen 3a, up and down) and a horizontally long still image 52 horizontally (the short axis direction of the screen 3a, left and right).

In this way, multi-scrolling does not scroll manga 50 in one direction, vertically (up and down) or horizontally (left and right), but changes the scrolling direction to vertical or horizontal depending on the scene of manga 50. The timing at which the scrolling direction changes in manga 50 is also the timing at which the scene of manga 50 changes, for example.

In the following description, scrolling in the vertical direction is referred to as vertical scrolling, and scrolling in the horizontal direction is referred to as horizontal scrolling. Note that if the length and width of the still image 52 are both longer than the length and width of the screen 3a, the manga 50 can be scrolled in a preset direction.

The arrow S in FIG. 4 indicates the scrolling direction of the manga 50. The still image 52A scrolls vertically because its vertical length is longer than the vertical length of the screen 3a. The still image 52B scrolls horizontally because its horizontal length is longer than the horizontal length of the screen 3a.

Figure 5 shows the display state of screen 3a using multi-scrolling, and shows the case where still images 52A and 52B in Figure 4 are displayed on screen 3a.

Figures 5 (A) to (F) show the change in image displayed on screen 3a of mobile device 3 in this order, i.e., the state of scrolling. Figures 5 (A) to (C) show the state in which manga 50 scrolls vertically from top to bottom. On the other hand, when still image 52 displayed on screen 3a changes from still image 52A to still image 52B as in Figures 5 (C) and (D), manga 50 changes to horizontal scrolling from left to right as in Figures 5 (D) to (F).

Here, if the scroll direction of manga 50 displayed on screen 3a of mobile device 3 is always in one direction, the image changes displayed on screen 3a may not be appropriate for each scene. For example, if the scroll direction is only vertical, in a scene where a punch is thrown horizontally as in still image 52B, still image 52B must be created and displayed to match the horizontal length of screen 3a, resulting in a lack of realism and expressiveness.

On the other hand, in the manga display function according to this embodiment, the manga 50 is scrolled and displayed on the screen 3a according to the vertical and horizontal lengths of the still image 52, so that, for example, a scene of a punch being thrown as in still image 52B scrolls horizontally, and the arm and fist are gradually displayed on the screen 3a. This makes it possible for the manga display function to enhance the realism and expressiveness of the manga 50 displayed on the screen 3a.

In this way, the multi-scroll function of the manga display according to this embodiment allows for more diverse expressions of the manga 50 displayed on the screen 3a.

[1-4-2. Scrolling operation]
The manga display function scrolls the manga 50 in response to a user's operation using a pointer on the screen 3a. Note that the pointer according to the present embodiment is, for example, the user's finger.

When scrolling the manga 50 displayed on the screen 3a, the user, for example, moves (swipes or flicks) their finger touching the screen 3a in the scroll direction. The manga display function scrolls the manga 50 when the screen 3a detects that a swipe or flick has been made (hereinafter referred to as a "scroll operation") while the manga 50 is displayed on the screen 3a.

As an example, the manga display function according to this embodiment scrolls the manga 50 displayed on the mobile terminal 3 when the direction of movement of the user's finger performing the scroll operation coincides with a predetermined scroll direction. However, this is not limited to this, and the manga display function may scroll the manga 50 in a predetermined direction when a scroll operation is performed, regardless of the direction of movement of the user's finger. Also, instead of performing the scroll operation by swiping or flicking the user's finger, the scroll operation may be, for example, a tap on the screen 3a, and when a tap is performed, the manga 50 may scroll in a predetermined direction.

Figure 6 is a schematic diagram showing still image 52C at the timing when the scroll direction changes. As an example, the manga display function according to this embodiment changes the scroll direction to horizontal when the bottom end of still image 52C is displayed on screen 3a and further downward scrolling is not possible.

However, this is not limiting, and the scroll direction may change when the central area of the still image 52C is displayed on the screen 3a. In this case, the coordinates indicating the central area of the still image 52C, which is the timing at which the scroll direction changes, are set in advance in the manga.

The manga display function according to this embodiment may also display an arrow image 54 on screen 3a indicating the scroll direction. This arrow image 54 is displayed, for example, on the edge of screen 3a so as not to interfere with the manga displayed on screen 3a. This allows the user to know the scroll direction of the manga displayed on screen 3a, and therefore allows the user to perform the scroll operation correctly.

The manga display function also changes the scrolling speed of the manga 50 according to the moving speed of the user's finger performing the scrolling operation. In other words, the faster the finger moving speed, the greater the amount of scrolling of the still image 52 of the manga 50.

[1-4-3. Inertial Scrolling]
The manga display function according to this embodiment changes the amount of scrolling of still images 52 constituting the manga 50 according to the inertial force based on the moving speed of the user's finger performing the scrolling operation. Specifically, the faster the moving speed of the user's finger, the more the scrolling of the manga 50 continues even after the finger is removed from the screen 3a. Note that the inertial force referred to here is a pseudo inertial force that is predetermined according to the moving speed of the user's finger, and this inertial force becomes smaller with the passage of time, i.e., with the amount of scrolling after the finger is removed from the screen 3a. In the following description, scrolling due to inertial force is referred to as inertial scrolling.

Here, when the manga 50 displayed on the mobile device 3 is inertial scrolled and the timing (scene) for the scroll direction to change arrives, the manga display function performs first inertial scroll control or second inertial scroll control as the scroll control.

The first inertial scroll control is a control that continues scrolling of manga 50 according to inertial force even if the timing for changing the scroll direction of manga 50 occurs and the scroll direction of manga 50 changes.

On the other hand, the second inertial scroll control is a control that stops the scrolling of the manga 50 regardless of the magnitude of the inertial force when the scrolling direction of the manga 50 changes. In other words, the second inertial scroll control stops the scrolling of the manga 50 once before the scrolling direction of the manga 50 changes.

The first inertial scroll control and the second inertial scroll control will be explained in detail with reference to FIG. 6.

In the first inertial scroll control, when the still image 52C is displayed on the screen 3a of the mobile device 3 by inertial scrolling, the scrolling does not stop at the timing when the still image 52C is displayed on the screen 3a, but the scrolling direction is changed from vertical scrolling to horizontal scrolling, and inertial scrolling continues. Therefore, the first inertial scroll control enables smooth scrolling in response to the user's scroll operation.

On the other hand, in the second inertial scroll control, when still image 52C is displayed on screen 3a of mobile device 3 by inertial scrolling, scrolling is stopped at the timing when still image 52C is displayed on screen 3a. Then, when a scroll operation is performed by the user, scrolling of manga 50 is resumed and manga 50 is scrolled horizontally. Therefore, the second inertial scroll control can prevent the user from missing a change in the scene of manga 50.

Which of the first inertial scroll control or the second inertial scroll control to use may be determined by a user's setting, for example, or may be set in advance according to the wishes of the artist of the manga 50. Also, the first inertial scroll control and the second inertial scroll control may be mixed in one manga 50. For example, if still image 52C contains a conversation that is important to the story of the manga 50, the second inertial scroll control is performed to stop the scrolling. On the other hand, in a scene where it is desired to express the sense of speed in the manga 50, the first inertial scroll control is performed to progress the manga 50 without stopping the scrolling.

[1-4-4. Conditional Scrolling]
The manga display function according to this embodiment may determine whether or not a certain condition for scrolling the manga 50 (hereinafter referred to as the "scroll condition") is met at a predetermined timing (hereinafter referred to as the "condition detection timing"), and may scroll (advance) the manga 50 if the scroll condition is met. Note that the manga display function does not scroll the manga 50 if the scroll condition is not met at the condition detection timing.

The manga display function scrolls the manga 50 when, for example, an instruction is issued to the user from the mobile terminal 3 as a scrolling condition and an input in accordance with the instruction is made to the mobile terminal 3. The instruction to the user from the mobile terminal 3 is displayed, for example, on the screen 3a. That is, the condition detection timing is after the instruction is displayed on the screen 3a. In addition, the timing at which the condition detection timing occurs may be displayed on the screen 3a together with the instruction.

As an example, the instructions to the user from the mobile terminal 3 are associated with the story of the manga 50. For example, a scene in which the main character of the manga 50 turns around is set as a predetermined timing, and when the user actually holds the mobile terminal 3 and turns around together with the mobile terminal 3 during this scene, the manga 50 is scrolled. The scrolling condition in this case is that the acceleration sensor of the mobile terminal 3 detects an acceleration of a predetermined value or more. That is, the manga 50 is scrolled when the user turns around together with the mobile terminal 3 that they are holding at the condition detection timing, and the acceleration sensor of the mobile terminal 3 detects an acceleration of a predetermined value or more that satisfies the scrolling condition.

In addition, in a configuration in which the mobile terminal 3 is a head mounted display device (HMD) and the manga 50 is displayed on the display, if the user turns around at the condition detection timing, it may be determined that the scrolling condition is satisfied and the manga display function may scroll the manga 50.

In this way, the manga display function that performs conditional scrolling requires new user operations to scroll the manga 50, making it possible to present the manga 50 in a highly interactive manner for the user.

[1-4-5. Progression Branch]
The manga 50 according to this embodiment may have a branch in its progression (hereinafter referred to as a "progression branch"). In the manga 50 having a progression branch, multiple scroll directions are set for the still image before the progression branch (hereinafter referred to as a "pre-branch still image"). The manga display function scrolls the manga 50 in one scroll direction selected from the multiple scroll directions. Note that a progression branch is, in other words, a branch in the story, but the final ending may be the same or may change if only a part of the manga story branches.

Figure 7 shows an example of a pre-branch still image 52D displayed on a mobile device 3, with the pre-branch still image 52D set to scroll left and right. That is, when the pre-branch still image 52D is displayed on the mobile device 3, the user selects the scroll direction by scrolling left or right.

Note that the pre-branch still image 52D shown in FIG. 7 is a simplified illustration, and in reality, for example, information is displayed on the pre-branch still image 52D that prompts the user to scroll left or right to branch forward. Furthermore, the multiple scrolling directions are not limited to left and right, and may be up and down, left and down, right and down, etc., and the number of selectable scrolling directions may be three.

In this way, the manga display function according to this embodiment determines one of multiple scroll directions based on information acquired by the mobile device 3, such as a scroll operation on the screen 3a.

The manga display function may determine the scroll direction based not only on information regarding the user's scrolling operation acquired on the screen 3a, but also on information acquired by other sensors included in the mobile terminal 3 and the time. More specifically, for example, when an acceleration sensor included in the mobile terminal 3 acquires a predetermined value, the scroll direction may be determined according to the acquired value. When a location information acquisition sensor included in the mobile terminal 3, a so-called GPS (Global Positioning System), acquires predetermined location information, a new manga 50 may be acquired and the scroll direction may be determined so that the user can view the acquired manga 50. When the time measured by the mobile terminal 3 reaches a predetermined time, a new manga 50 may be acquired and the scroll direction may be determined so that the user can view the acquired manga 50.

Furthermore, when the manga display function scrolls the manga in one selected scroll direction, it may prohibit scrolling of the manga in other scroll directions that were not selected. For example, even if the user selects progression A shown in FIG. 7 and the manga scrolls in this direction, and then the user returns the manga to pre-branch still image 52D, the user is prohibited (hereinafter referred to as "locked") from selecting progression B.

This lock may be released when a specific unlocking condition is met. Examples of the unlocking condition include when the user has read the manga to the end, when the user has made a payment, when the user has posted a review of the manga, etc.

By having such a progression branch lock, the manga display function can encourage users to view the manga multiple times.

In this way, the manga display function with branching progression can give one manga 50 multiple stories, allowing for a variety of expressions for the manga 50.

In addition, when a certain condition for increasing the number of progression branches is met, the number of progression branches in the manga may increase compared to before the condition was met. An increase in the number of progression branches means, for example, that pre-branch still image 52D, which had two progression branches as shown in FIG. 7, now has three progression branches, or a new progression branch appears in a scene where there was no progression branch.

The conditions for increasing the number of progression branches may be, for example, the number of times the user has viewed the manga, a specified period of time that has elapsed since the manga was released, a specified time period, execution of other associated services (such as a specified quest in an online game), or payment. Another condition for increasing the number of progression branches may be that, after continuing reading the manga, a user returns to a specified part that was previously read, causing a progression branch that had not been displayed in that specified part to be displayed.

The above-mentioned lock may be released when a condition for increasing the number of progression branches is met. Furthermore, a specific condition for decreasing the number of progression branches may be set, and when that condition is met, the number of progression branches of the manga may decrease compared to before that condition was met. The condition for decreasing the number of progression branches may be, for example, a specific period of time that has passed since the publication of the manga or a specific time period.

In addition, the user may be allowed to view only a predetermined amount of the manga after the progression branches, allowing a preview of the story after the progression branches. More specifically, when the progression of the manga splits into two due to a progression branch, the user may view one progression without restriction, but may only view the other progression if a certain condition is met. In this case, the user may view only a predetermined amount of the other progression even if the certain condition is not met, and may view more than the predetermined amount of scrolling if the certain condition is met. The predetermined condition is, for example, the same condition as the progression branch increase condition.

Furthermore, when a user is viewing a progression branch with viewing restrictions, the display on screen 3a may be returned to the progression branch when the finger performing the scrolling touches off screen 3a. In other words, for a user who does not meet a specified condition and can view only a specified amount of scrolling, a pseudo inertial force is imparted that returns the display to the progression branch when the finger touches off screen 3a.

[1-4-6. Effects]
Various effects (image effects) may be applied to the manga 50 according to the present embodiment. The effects are applied to a part of the manga 50, and for example, a part of a scene of the manga 50 (a part of the still images 52 constituting the manga 50) changes dynamically due to the effect.

The scene (still image 52) to which the effect is applied is set in advance along with the contents of the effect. The manga display function executes the effect set for the scene when the scene to which the effect is set is displayed on the screen 3a.

More specifically, some of the images constituting the manga 50 may be moving images, and the manga display function may, as an effect, start playing the moving image when the moving image is displayed by scrolling, and scroll to the next still image 52 when the playing of the moving image ends. In other words, the manga 50 may include moving images between still images 52.

In addition, the manga display function may, as an effect, enlarge or reduce a specified still image 52, vibrate it slightly up and down and left and right, or rotate it.In addition, the manga display function may, as an effect, fade out a specified still image 52 displayed on screen 3a and fade in the next still image 52 to display the still image on screen 3a.

In addition, as an effect, the manga display function may display another still image superimposed on a specified still image 52. For example, after a still image 52 including a person is displayed, a still image showing a speech bubble may be displayed superimposed on the still image 52, or a still image showing another person may be displayed.

In addition, among the still images 52 constituting the manga 50, different still images 52 may be arranged in a pseudo-depth direction (or forward direction) relative to the screen 3a, and the manga display function may display, as an effect, multiple still images 52 arranged in a pseudo-depth direction of the screen 3a in sequence on the screen 3a. In other words, this effect displays multiple still images 52 in sequence on the screen 3a as if they were a picture-story show.

In this way, the manga display function that applies effects allows for more diverse expressions for the manga 50.

[1-5. Functional block of manga display function]
8 is a functional block diagram relating to the manga display function of the manga viewing application installed in the mobile terminal 3 according to this embodiment. The main control unit 40 provided in the mobile terminal 3 includes a manga display control unit 60, a scroll control unit 62, a progress branch control unit 64, and an effect control unit 66. The processes executed by each function provided in the main control unit 40 are realized by programs stored in the auxiliary storage unit 44.

The manga display control unit 60 displays on the screen 3a a manga 50 including a still image 52 whose length in at least one of the vertical and horizontal directions is greater than the length of the screen 3a.

The scroll control unit 62 scrolls the manga 50 displayed on the screen 3a vertically or horizontally depending on the vertical or horizontal length of the still image 52. More specifically, the scroll control unit 62 scrolls vertically a still image 52 that is long in the vertical direction, and scrolls horizontally a still image 52 that is long in the horizontal direction. The scroll control unit 62 also performs first inertial scroll control and second inertial scroll control.

The progress branch control unit 64 determines one of the multiple scroll directions for the manga 50, which has a progress branch due to multiple scroll directions being set in the pre-branch still image 52D, based on information acquired by the mobile device 3.

When a scene (still image 52) for which an effect has been set is displayed on screen 3a, the effect control unit 66 applies the effect to that scene.

[1-6. Flowchart of Manga Display Processing]
9 is a flowchart showing the flow of a manga display process executed by the main control unit 40 included in the mobile terminal 3. A program (manga viewing application) for executing the manga display process is stored in a predetermined area of the auxiliary storage unit 44 in advance.

First, in step 100, the manga display control unit 60 displays the manga 50 distributed from the server 4 on the screen 3a.

In the next step 102, the scroll control unit 62 detects whether or not the user has performed a scroll operation on the screen 3a, and if the determination is positive, the process proceeds to step 104.

In step 104, the scroll control unit 62 determines whether the direction of the scroll operation is the same as the scroll direction of the manga 50, and if the determination is positive, the process proceeds to step 106, and if the determination is negative, the process returns to step 102.

In step 106, the scroll control unit 62 scrolls the manga 50 displayed on the screen 3a.

In the next step 108, the progress branch control unit 64 determines whether the still image 52 displayed on the screen 3a is the pre-branch still image 52D or not, and if the determination is positive, the process proceeds to step 110, and if the determination is negative, the process proceeds to step 112.

In step 110, the progress branch control unit 64 determines one of the multiple scroll directions set in the pre-branch still image 52D based on the information acquired by the mobile device 3, and the scroll control unit 62 scrolls the manga 50 in the determined scroll direction.

In the next step 112, the effect control unit 66 determines whether or not an effect has been set for the scene of the manga 50 displayed on the screen 3a, and if the determination is positive, the process proceeds to step 114, and if the determination is negative, the process proceeds to step 116.

In step 114, the effect control unit 66 executes the effects set for the scene of the manga 50 displayed on the screen 3a.

In step 116, the manga display control unit 60 determines whether the manga 50 displayed on the screen 3a has ended, and if the determination is affirmative, the manga display process ends, whereas if the determination is negative, the process proceeds to step 102 and the display of the manga 50 continues. As an example, the manga display control unit 60 determines that the manga 50 has ended when the manga 50 displayed on the screen 3a cannot be scrolled any further.

As described above, the manga display process according to this embodiment displays a manga 50 formed of a series of multiple still images 52 on the screen 3a of the mobile terminal 3. The manga display process then displays on the screen 3a a manga 50 including still images 52 in which at least one of the vertical and horizontal lengths is greater than the length of the screen 3a, and scrolls (multi-scrolls) the manga 50 displayed on the screen 3a vertically or horizontally depending on the vertical or horizontal length of the still images 52. This allows the manga display process according to this embodiment to provide a greater variety of expressions for the manga 50 displayed on the screen 3a.

[1-7. Manga data structure]
Next, the structure (also called format or authoring) of manga data representing the manga 50 displayed on the mobile terminal 3 will be described.

In this embodiment, the manga data representing the manga 50 displayed on the screen 3a of the mobile device 3 is composed of multiple still images (still image data) arranged two-dimensionally to correspond to the scroll direction.

Figure 10 is a schematic diagram showing the structure of manga data 70 according to this embodiment. As an example, manga data 70 according to this embodiment is formed using a data format 74 in which a number of squares 72 (areas indicated by dashed lines in Figure 10) are arranged in a grid pattern. For example, one side of each of the squares 72 constituting the data format 74 roughly corresponds to the horizontal length of the screen 3a of the mobile device 3, and two consecutive sides roughly correspond to the horizontal length of the screen 3a.

Then, still images 52 are placed (written) into adjacent squares 72 that share a common side, forming manga data 70. As an example, the area indicated by solid lines and hatching in FIG. 10 is manga data 70 formed by placing still images 52.

Therefore, an artist who creates manga 50 using the data format 74 shown in FIG. 10 can create manga 50 while directly sensing (imagining) the display state of manga 50 on screen 3a.

The manga data 70 is associated with scroll information indicating the scroll direction of the manga 50, and the scroll control unit 62 scrolls the manga 50 displayed on the screen 3a vertically or horizontally according to the scroll information. As an example, the scroll information is associated with each square 72, but this is not limiting, and the scroll information may be associated with each group of consecutive squares 72, each still image 52, or each group of consecutive still images 52.

In this way, because the scroll information is associated with the manga data 70, the manga display function can easily determine the scroll direction of the manga 50 and scroll the manga 50 displayed on the screen 3a in the direction intended by the artist of the manga 50.

Furthermore, effects may be set for each still image 52 or each square 72, and multiple still images 52 are placed in the square 72 corresponding to a scene in which a still image 52 is superimposed, etc.

Figure 11 is a schematic diagram showing another embodiment of manga data 70.

The manga data 70 shown in FIG. 11 is a data table 76 that includes a plurality of still images 52 associated with a scroll direction and sequence information indicating the order (scroll order) in which the still images are to be displayed on the screen 3a of the mobile device 3. The scroll direction described in the data table 76 includes the scroll start position and scroll end position for each still image 52.

The still images 52 included in the data table 76 may include the still image data itself, or may describe the link destination of the still image data. Note that the data table 76 according to this embodiment is, as an example, a CSV (Comma-Separated Values) file, and describes the link destination of the still image data.

Therefore, by using the data table 76 shown in FIG. 11, it is possible to easily create manga data 70 that enables multi-scrolling without having to create a new data format 74 as described above.

By reading the data table 76, the scroll control unit 62 displays the still images 52 on the screen 3a in the scroll order and scrolls the manga 50 in the scroll direction associated with the still images 52. In the data table shown in FIG. 11, a scroll direction is associated with each still image data, but a scroll direction may be associated with each group consisting of multiple consecutive still image data. In addition to this, the scroll control unit 62 also performs various processes related to scrolling the manga displayed on the screen 3a.

When distributing manga, the server 4, for example, distributes the manga data 70 (data table 76) to the mobile terminal 3 by streaming distribution.

[2. Second embodiment]
A second embodiment of the present invention will now be described.

The configurations of the manga distribution system 1, server 4, and mobile terminal 3 according to this embodiment are similar to those of the manga distribution system 1, server 4, and mobile terminal 3 according to the first embodiment, so a description thereof will be omitted.

The manga display function according to this embodiment scrolls still images 52 at a predetermined speed (hereinafter referred to as the "scroll speed"). That is, the manga display function according to this embodiment automatically scrolls manga 50 displayed on screen 3a based on the scroll speed (hereinafter referred to as the "automatic scroll"). Note that the scroll speed is set in manga data 70, for example, for each still image 52. Scroll control unit 62 then reads the scroll speed set in manga data 70, and scrolls still images 52 displayed on screen 3a at the read scroll speed.

The scrolling speed may vary depending on the scene (still image 52) of the manga 50. For example, the scrolling speed may be relatively fast in a scene where a sense of speed is desired to be expressed, and relatively slow in a scene showing the grandeur of nature.

The manga display function according to this embodiment may perform automatic scrolling in some scenes (still images 52), and perform scrolling by a user's scrolling operation (hereinafter referred to as "manual scrolling") in other scenes. In this case, the manga display function may, for example, display a countdown on screen 3a to indicate the timing for automatic scrolling or manual scrolling, or may display on screen 3a that the scroll state of manga 50 displayed on screen 3a is automatic scrolling or manual scrolling.

3. Other embodiments
The present invention has been described above using the above-mentioned embodiments, but the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the scope described in the above-mentioned embodiments. Various modifications or improvements can be made to the above-mentioned embodiments without departing from the gist of the invention, and the forms in which such modifications or improvements are made are also included in the technical scope of the present invention. In addition, the above-mentioned embodiments may be appropriately combined.

For example, in the above embodiment, the content is described as a manga 50, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the still images 52 constituting the content may be a novel composed of text.

In addition, in the above embodiment, the functions of multi-scrolling, scroll operation, inertial scrolling, conditional scrolling, progress branching, and effects were described as the manga display function, but as long as the manga display function has the functions of multi-scrolling and scroll operation, it does not have to have other functions or may have only some of the other functions.

The flow of the manga display process described in the above embodiment is also one example, and unnecessary steps may be deleted, new steps may be added, or the processing order may be rearranged without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

3. Mobile terminal (information processing device)
3a Screen 50 Manga (content)
52 Still image 60 Manga display control unit (display control means)
62 Scroll control unit (scroll control means)
64 Progress branch control unit (progress branch control means)
70 Manga data (content information)

Claims (9)

A processor is included.
The processor causes manga content to be displayed on a screen;
The processor sets a first scroll direction and a second scroll direction for progressing through the manga content;
the processor accepts an operation from a user in either the first scroll direction or the second scroll direction while displaying a predetermined image, and progresses a story of the manga content in the scroll direction selected in response to the operation;
the processor allows the manga content to progress in the first scroll direction by a first progress amount when a predetermined condition is not satisfied, and allows progress greater than the first progress amount when the predetermined condition is satisfied.
Information processing device. A processor is included.
The processor causes a content including a plurality of successive images to be displayed on a screen;
The processor sets two or more scroll directions for progressing through the content;
The processor advances the content in the scroll direction selected in response to a user operation;
The processor changes the number of selectable scroll directions in response to an operation by the user when a predetermined condition is satisfied;
the predetermined condition includes the user performing a predetermined service associated with the content ;
Information processing device. A processor is included.
The processor causes a content including a plurality of successive images to be displayed on a screen;
The processor sets two or more scroll directions for progressing through the content;
The processor advances the content in the scroll direction selected in response to a user operation;
The processor changes the number of selectable scroll directions in response to an operation by the user when a predetermined condition is satisfied;
the predetermined condition includes that the user charges a fee for the content ;
Information processing device. The processor displays the manga content on the screen.
The processor sets a first scroll direction and a second scroll direction for progressing through the manga content;
the processor receives an operation from a user in either the first scroll direction or the second scroll direction while displaying a predetermined image, and progresses a story of the manga content in the scroll direction selected in response to the operation;
the processor allows the manga content to progress in the first scroll direction by a first progress amount when a predetermined condition is not satisfied, and allows progress greater than the first progress amount when the predetermined condition is satisfied.
Information processing methods. The processor displays content including a plurality of successive images on a screen;
The processor sets two or more scroll directions for progressing through the content;
The processor advances the content in the scroll direction selected in response to a user operation;
The processor changes the number of selectable scroll directions in response to an operation by the user when a predetermined condition is satisfied;
the predetermined condition includes the user performing a predetermined service associated with the content;
Information processing methods. The processor displays content including a plurality of successive images on a screen;
The processor sets two or more scroll directions for progressing through the content;
The processor advances the content in the scroll direction selected in response to a user operation;
The processor changes the number of selectable scroll directions in response to an operation by the user when a predetermined condition is satisfied;
the predetermined condition includes that the user charges a fee for the content;
Information processing methods. The processor displays the manga content on the screen.
causing a processor to set a first scroll direction and a second scroll direction for progressing through the manga content;
a processor that receives an operation from a user in either the first scroll direction or the second scroll direction while displaying a predetermined image, and progresses a story of the manga content in the scroll direction selected in response to the operation;
a processor configured to allow the manga content to progress in the first scroll direction by a first progress amount when a predetermined condition is not satisfied, and to allow progress greater than the first progress amount when the predetermined condition is satisfied;
A program that executes a process. causing a processor to display on a screen content including a plurality of successive images;
causing a processor to set two or more scroll directions for progressing through said content;
causing a processor to advance the content in the scroll direction selected in response to a user operation;
a processor that changes the number of selectable scroll directions in response to an operation by the user when a predetermined condition is satisfied;
the predetermined condition includes the user performing a predetermined service associated with the content;
A program that executes a process. causing a processor to display on a screen content including a plurality of successive images;
causing a processor to set two or more scroll directions for progressing through said content;
causing a processor to advance the content in the scroll direction selected in response to a user operation;
a processor that changes the number of selectable scroll directions in response to an operation by the user when a predetermined condition is satisfied;
the predetermined condition includes that the user charges a fee for the content;
A program that executes a process.

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