JPH07185133A - Multiplay game apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable a game having no error to be executed in a manner such that data is transmitted/received among a server and other game apparatus at a predetermined time interval and a selected server monitors and controls operations of the other game apparatus. CONSTITUTION:A multiplay game apparatus 1 is constructed by mutually connecting a plurality of independent game apparatus 2 through transmission lines 21 and a common game space to the plurality of game apparatus 2 is formed by mutually receiving/transmitting data among the game apparatus 2. A plurality of players can simultaneously play the same game by using the common game space. In such a game apparatus 1, when a game is started, either one of the plurality of game apparatus 2 is selected as a server at a predetermined time interval and is allowed to control operations of the other game apparatus 2 for the progress of the game.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention allows a plurality of players occupying a plurality of game devices to share a common game space among the game devices and play the same game in cooperation with each other. The present invention relates to a multiplayer game device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art There is known a multi-play game device in which a common game space is shared among a plurality of game devices, and each player who occupies each game device in the game space executes a game in cooperation with each other. There is. An example of such a multi-play game device is, for example, a car race game. A game device for playing this car race game is configured by disposing a display in front of a simulated driving device provided with a cockpit, a steering wheel, an accelerator, a brake and the like. The display shows a view of the racing course from the cockpit through the front window, and when you sit in the cockpit and look ahead, you can feel as if you were actually riding in a racing car and participating in the race.

Then, the image displayed on the display is changed by operating the driving devices such as the steering wheel, the accelerator and the brake, as if the running racing car was actually driven. . A plurality of competitors' racing cars are shown in such a display image, and the player sitting in the cockpit operates the simulated driving device to compete with the competitors to progress the game. If the driver makes a mistake in driving, the player will be off the track or will collide with another racing car, and the game will end for the player. When you have finished running the course safely, you will be able to compete for superiority or inferiority depending on the finish order.

Japanese Patent Publication No. 3-39711 discloses a Japanese Patent Publication No. 3-709 regarding a case where a failure occurs in any of a plurality of game devices sharing a game space.
Japanese Patent Publication No. 93 discloses a game device in which a plurality of game devices are divided into groups to form at least two game spaces.
Japanese Examined Patent Publication No. 3-70994 describes a player's entry for a plurality of game devices.

[0005]

By the way, between the plurality of unit game devices as described above, data for playing a game is exchanged with each other via a transmission line, and each game device receives the received data based on the received data. Is configured to determine the situation of another game device and to perform its next action.

[0006] This action may be performed by the game device itself based on preset conditions or in consideration of statistical factors, or may be performed by the player's judgment. The latter player's judgment Input to various game devices performed by means of so-called game execution.

Therefore, in order to perform a unified operation as a group in the conventional multi-play game machine as described above, the transmission / reception of data between the unit game machines by the transmission line is a basic function incorporated in each game machine. It is performed by a microcomputer driven based on the reference clock from the clock generating means.

Therefore, for example, when the data transmission by the first game device and the data transmission by the second game device are not completely synchronized, a partial duplication of data occurs and the two interfere with each other. There is a risk that even if the game device is other than any of the game devices, it may not be possible to know the proper data due to the destruction of the data itself. appear.

On the other hand, regarding the mutual data transmission as described above, the above publication does not disclose a method for eliminating mutual interference of transmission data occurring between them.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and a multi-play game device for appropriately performing data transmission between a plurality of unit game devices, each of which is independently game-operated. Is intended to provide.

[0011]

In a multiplayer game device according to claim 1 of the present invention, a plurality of independent game devices are mutually connected via a transmission line, and data generated by operating the game device is the above-mentioned. In a multi-play game device configured to be capable of mutual exchange between all game devices via a transmission line, and configured to allow a plurality of game devices to proceed with a game using a common game space by mutual exchange of this data. , Each of the game devices performs a predetermined calculation on the return data received in response to the request signal sequentially transmitted to the other game devices, and the calculated data to the other game devices in sequence. Data transmission means for correspondingly transmitting, data return means for transmitting game data as return data in response to the request signal, and for starting the game Or a server selection means for selecting any one of a plurality of game devices as a server, and when the server selection means selects a server, the data calculation means and the data transmission means are operated. When the server is not selected by the server selecting means, the data returning means is activated.

[0012]

According to the multi-play game machine of the first aspect, one server is selected as the server by the server selecting means from the plurality of game machines arranged in parallel.
Then, the selected server makes a data request to the other game device by the data transmitting means, and the other game device returns the return data for the request by the data returning means. Then, the server processes the returned data by the data calculation means and sequentially transmits it to another game device. In this way, data is sequentially exchanged between the server and another game device at predetermined time intervals, and the selected one server monitors and controls the operation of the other game device. The intersection of the transmission data generated between the plurality of game devices is released, and the multi-play by the plurality of game devices can be surely executed without error.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 is an explanatory view illustrating a connection mode of each game in a multiplayer game device according to the present invention. As shown in this figure, in the present invention, the multi-play game device 1 is formed by connecting a plurality of game devices 2 to each other by a transmission line 21. In this embodiment, the game device 2 includes the first game device 2a, the second game device 2b, the third game device 2c,
Although a total of six game devices 2d, 5e, and 6f are provided, the number of game devices 2 according to the present invention is not limited to six. The number may be less than the number, or may be seven or more.

Further, in FIG. 1, the transmission line 2 is
1 is spread among all the game devices 2. For example, the first game device 2a is a second game device 2b, a third game device 2c, a fourth game device 2d, a fifth game device 2e and a sixth game. Connected to device 2f,
This is for the sake of clarity to show that all the game devices 2 are combined with all the game devices 2 other than itself, and the data transmission method is such a brute force method. The transmission line is not limited to the above, but a transmission line that connects each game device 2 in an annular shape is provided,
It is also possible to adopt a system in which the data generated in each game device 2 is flowed to this transmission line.

FIG. 2 is a front view illustrating the game device 2 described above. As shown in this figure, the game device 2 includes a display 22 for displaying the state of the game with images and characters, an operation panel 23 for the player to make various inputs regarding the game, and a coin insertion hole 25 for participating in the game. It comprises a coin insertion section 24 and a calculation control section 26 for controlling the progress of the game and displaying a predetermined image or character on the display 22. Various input keys are arranged on the operation panel 23, and the player follows a predetermined game rule by operating a predetermined key while observing the progress state of the game developed on the display 22. Play games. The game rules are stored in the arithmetic control unit 26 of the game device 2 in the form of a program.

The game device 2 shown in FIG. 2 exemplifies a general-purpose device capable of setting various kinds of games, but in the case of a game device dedicated to a car race game, for example, an operation panel As an alternative to 23, a steering wheel, a change lever, an accelerator pedal, and a brake pedal, which imitate an actual race car, are installed.

Further, in this embodiment, a group is formed by a plurality of game devices 2, and a common game space is formed within the group. For example, in FIG.
The first game device 2a, the second game device 2b, and the third game device 2c shown in FIG. 4 form a first group, and the fourth game device 2d, the fifth game device 2e, and the sixth game device 2f form a second group. Alternatively, the first game device 2a and the third game device 2c can form only one group.

The players of each group are displayed in the game space shared in the same group.
You will compete with each other while watching. The shared game space is formed by mutually transmitting the game data of the individual game devices 2 via the transmission line 21 via the server described later. Which game device 2 is entered in the group is determined according to a preset rule described later.

The operation of each game device 2 is performed by another game device 2
The game progresses in cooperation with. Therefore, as described above, the game data generated in each game device 2 is transmitted by the transmission line 21 to the game devices 2 in the other groups via the server.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the game apparatus 2 for explaining an example of data transfer. The first to sixth game devices 2 all have the same configuration, and the configuration is shown here using the first game device 2a. As shown in this figure, the first game device 2a, the other second game device 2b, the third game device 2c, the fourth game device 2d, and the fifth game device 2b.
The exchange of various game data between the game device 2e and the sixth game device 2f is performed from the communication interface 3 via the transmission line 21. The signals from the operation of the operation panel 23 and the insertion of coins into the coin insertion unit 24 are input to the arithmetic control unit 26 via the input / output interface 4.

The arithmetic control unit 26 is composed of a so-called microcomputer provided with a central arithmetic processing unit, a program ROM, a RAM and the like. The arithmetic control unit 26 is provided with an entry arithmetic unit 26a that controls the participation of the player in the game, group allocation, and the like, and a game arithmetic unit 26b that controls the execution of the game itself. When a coin is inserted into the coin insertion hole 25 of the coin insertion part 24 in the entry calculation part 26a,
The closing detection signal is input to the entry calculation unit 26a of the calculation control unit 26 via the input / output interface 4, and a predetermined process is performed in the entry calculation unit 26a.

The game calculation section 26b outputs a game image relating to the game to the display 22. Therefore,
The player executes the game while competing with a predetermined other player while watching the image displayed on the display 22. Then, while the game is in progress, each player operates each key of the operation panel 23 of his / her own player, and the operation data is input / output interface 4
Is input to the game calculation unit 26b via. The input operation data is deciphered by the game calculation section 26b, and after a predetermined calculation is performed, a game image according to the operation data is output to the display 22 as a result of the above operation.

Each player sequentially performs a desired operation through the operation panel 23 while looking at his / her own display 22, and after competing with each other player in the group for the technique, the game ends with the lapse of time. When the game ends, the game calculation unit 26b calculates the ranking of each player and outputs this ranking to the display 22.

In the multi-play game machine 1 as described above, in the present invention, one of the plurality of game machines 2 in the same group, which is appropriately formed, is first selected as a server, and once this server is determined. , The other game devices 2 in the group are all configured to be operated by command signals from this server regarding game entry and progress. The command signal is carried on the game data formed of a predetermined number of bits and transmitted / received between the server and the other unit game devices (slave) 2 via the transmission line 21.

The game data D is formed with a fixed number of bits as shown in FIG. 4, for example. The entry data Da and the game execution data D are included in the game data D.
b are formed.

As the entry data Da, a game device number block D1 for specifying each game device 2, a acceptance number block D2 showing the entry order generated by inserting coins, and a common game space A group number block D3 indicating that it is a member of a group that shares a coin, an elapsed time block D4 after a coin is inserted, and other necessary information are set. The game device number block D1 may be given an appropriate number such as 2a, 2b, 2c ... As shown in FIG.

As the game execution data Db, at least a character position data block D10 displayed on the display 22 and an operation data block D11 which is a predetermined operation result based on a preset program for the game are used. It is configured.

In each block of such game data D, the action of the player and the game calculation unit 26
The respective information is set based on the calculation of b, and the game data D is exchanged between the game device 2 serving as the server in the group and the other game device (slave) 2, and the multiplayer game proceeds. Of.

Therefore, the selection of the server using the game data D and the progress of the game by the server will be described below.

Initial Game Acceptable State: When the game device 1 is activated, the initial game acceptable state is first entered. That is, when the game device 1 is in this state,
No one has participated in the game yet, and the six game devices 2 of the first game device 2a to the sixth game device 2f shown in FIG. 1 are all waiting for the participation of the player. . In this state, the game data D is in a blank state except that at least the game device number block D1 therein is provided. This state is resolved by the player inserting coins into the coin inserting section 24.

When the coin insertion is detected, the data is received on the transmission line. If there is no received data, the server has not been selected yet, so the own machine determines that it is the server. On the other hand, if there is already transmission data, it will judge itself as a slave.

The first coin insertion operation is input from the coin insertion unit 24 to the entry calculation unit 26a of the calculation control unit 26 via the input / output interface 4.
"1" is registered in the acceptance number block D2 of the game data D of the game device 2. The value "1" of this acceptance number block D2 indicates that it is a server. At the same time, "1" is also set in the group number block D3, and the group sharing the game space is registered as the first group. Then, the data added with this data is synchronously output to the transmission line 21. This data has a meaning as a server confirmation signal in this state. Further, at the same time when the server is determined, the timer 26c provided in the game apparatus 2 starts operating and counts down the countdown time.

The above situation will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 3, it is assumed that the first game device 2a is selected as the server. Once the first game device 2a is determined as the server, the second game device 2 will be used thereafter.
The b to sixth game devices 2f alone function only in response to a command signal from the first game device 2a with respect to game entry and game progress, except for local video data and the like. This command signal is transmitted to the second game device 2b to the sixth game device 2f via the transmission line 21 along with the unique game data D of each game device 2.

In this way, first, the coin slot 24
The player who has inserted a coin into the game is automatically appointed as the server (in the example shown in FIG. 3, the first game device 2a becomes the server), and the game device 1 is in a waiting state for the next game participant.

Game participant waiting state: The game participant waiting state is a state viewed from the server side, in which the server invites another game device 2 to participate in the game and participates in the first group. Waiting for you. When this state is viewed from the side of the game device 2 other than the server, it is the “game accepting state”. In this state, the server sends a message requesting participation to each of the other game devices 2, so that a character image consisting of a predetermined word is displayed on the display 22 of the other game device 2. Is in a closed state.

The waiting state for participation by the player is the timer 26.
It is continued until the time set by c, that is, the elapsed time block D4 in the game data D becomes "0",
When the elapsed time block D4 becomes “0”, the multi-game is canceled because the multi-play game has not been established, and the coin once inserted into the coin slot 24 is returned, or the coin is not returned and the single game mode is set. The game may be switched so that a single game can be played by the player's selection.

Then, when a coin is inserted into the coin insertion portion 24 of any one of the game devices 2 before the elapsed time block D4 becomes "0", this coin insertion signal is transmitted via the input / output interface 4. The game device 2 is once input to the operation control unit 26 of the game device 2 and is then input to the server operation control unit 26 via the communication interface 3. Based on this signal, the server performs a predetermined operation in the entry operation control unit 26a to determine the slave number, and the acceptance number block D2 of the game data D unique to this game apparatus 2 indicates "1" as a slave. , A number other than "," for example, "2" is added to the first slave, and it is transmitted to another game device 2.

The other game device 2 that has received this game data D determines whether or not the game device number D1 is its own, and if it is its own, the game data of that game device 2 is determined. “2” is given to the acceptance number block D2 of D.

If there is a participant, "3" is given to the acceptance number block D2 of the game device 2, and the value accumulated by "1" is added to each of the game devices 2 in which the participant sequentially increases. Is assigned to the acceptance number block D2 of the game data D.

Further, "1" indicating the first group is given to the group number block D3 of the game device 2 entered in the waiting state for participants.
The "1" of the group number block D3 determines that the game device 2 belongs to the first group.

The timer 26c of the server
When the set time to “0” is reached, the game participant waiting state is canceled, and the game is started by the game device 2 of the first group in which the group number block D3 is set to “1” "become. Then, in the game device 2 that has not participated in the first group, the acceptance number block D2 remains "0", and the plurality of non-participating game devices 2 are all in the first game acceptable state. Therefore, it becomes possible to form a second group independently of the first group by inserting coins into any of the acceptable game devices 2. In this case, "2" is given to the group number block D3 in the game data D of the game device 2 of the second group.

The above waiting state for the game participants will be described with reference to the specific example shown in FIG. 3. For example, the second game device 2b is set within a fixed time set by the timer 26c after the server is determined to be the first game device 2a. When the coin insertion portion 24 of the third game device 2c is inserted, the first game device 2 using the first game device 2a as a server.
a, the second game device 2b and the third game device 2c are formed into a first group within a chain line, and the multi-player game is executed by the first group.

When the first group is formed, the remaining fourth game device 2d, the fifth game device 2e, and the sixth game device 2f have their acceptance number block D2 left at "0", and initially Is ready for initial acceptance. Therefore, the first game device 2a and the second game device 2
b and a third group of third game devices 2c are executing a game, for example, a coin is inserted into the fourth game device 2d, and then the fifth game device 2e and the sixth game device 2e continue within the timer setting time. If a coin is inserted into 2f, "2" is given to those group number blocks D3, and the fourth game device 2d, the fifth game device 2e, and the sixth game device 2d using the fourth game device 2d as a server.
A second group of game devices 2f sharing the game space is formed.

Game execution state: The game execution state is a state in which the game participant waiting state is completed, a game group is formed by a plurality of game devices 2 in which servers and slaves are registered, and the game is actually executed. is there. When this state is entered, the control of the game starts from the one based on the entry data Da and then the game execution data Db.
Based on.

The outline of the game execution state will be described below. In this game execution state, each player in the game group advances the game by operating the operation keys of the operation panel 23 while observing the image displayed on the display 22 attached to his own game device 2. Each player in the group shares the game space. Specifically, for example, in the case of a car race, the images displayed on the display 22 are self-centered circuit images.

When the player operates the operation keys on the operation panel 23, the operation is transmitted to the game operation section 26b in the operation control section 26 via the input / output interface 4, and is preset here. After the predetermined calculation based on the program is executed, the calculation result is displayed on the display 22.
Is projected on. That is, the operation panel 23 performed by the player
The operation result of is reflected on the display 22.

The calculation result in each of the slave game devices 2 is transmitted to the server in the game group via the communication interface 3 and the transmission line 21. This transmission is performed so that each slave responds to the periodical reply request signal from the server. Specifically, the server receives the game execution data Db from each slave, performs an arithmetic operation on the game execution data Db, fetches the arithmetic result in the arithmetic data block D11, and sequentially performs time division for the other slave game devices 2. To transmit. Therefore, each slave game device 2 can recognize what operation has been performed on the game device 2 that is the transmission source. In this way, data is time-divisionally assigned to each slave to issue a request signal, wait a predetermined time until a reply is sent, and then move on to the next, so that there is no crossing of data transmission. There is.

Note that the return signal is transmitted in response to the request signal as described above for the data necessary for the progress of the multi-play game, and can be processed by another game device which is a slave only by its own device. The local one is pre-programmed so that it can be processed in the arithmetic control unit 26.

Each player has a control panel 2 for his or her own game device 2.
The above processing is performed by operating 3 all the time, and the game in the game group (multiplayer)
Progresses.

End of the game: When the multi-play game ends, post-processing such as totaling and ranking of the game results is performed in the game calculation unit 26b of the game device 2 of the server. Then, the post-processing result is given in a predetermined section of the game data D held by each game device 2, and the other game device 2 is given via the communication interface 3.
And are displayed on the respective displays 22. After that, the game data D of the game devices 2 in the group are all cleared except for the game device number block D1 and returned to the initial initial acceptable state.

[0051]

According to the multi-play game machine of the present invention, one of the plurality of game machines arranged in parallel is selected as the server by the server selecting means. Then, the selected server makes a data request to the other game device by the data transmitting means, and the other game device returns the return data for the request by the data returning means. Then, the server processes the returned data by the data calculation means and sequentially transmits it to another game device. In this way, data is sequentially exchanged between the server and another game device at predetermined time intervals, and the selected one server monitors and controls the operation of the other game device. It is advantageous that the intersection of the transmission data generated between the plurality of game devices is released, and the multi-play by the plurality of game devices can be surely executed without error.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a connection mode of each game included in a multi-play game device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic front view illustrating a unit game device applied to a multi-player game device according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a first game device.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the configuration of a data map.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Multiplayer game device 2 Unit game device 2a First game device 2b Second game device 2c Third game device 2d Fourth game device 2e Fifth game device 2f Sixth game device 21 Transmission line 22 Display 23 Operation panel 24 Coin slot 25 coin insertion hole 26 arithmetic control unit 3 communication interface 4 input / output interface D competition data D1 game device number block D2 acceptance number block D3 group number block D4 elapsed time block D10 position data block D11 arithmetic data block

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of game devices independent of each other are connected to each other via a transmission line, and data generated by the operation of the game device can be exchanged between all the game devices via the transmission line. In a multi-play game device configured to allow a plurality of game devices to proceed with a game using a common game space by mutual exchange of this data, each game device sequentially sends a request to another game device. Data calculation means for performing a predetermined calculation on the return data received in response to the signal, data transmission means for sequentially transmitting the calculated data to other game devices, and a game in response to the request signal. A data return means for transmitting data as return data and one of a plurality of game devices at the start of the game is selected as a server. It is equipped with server selection means,
When the server is selected by the server selecting means, the data calculating means and the data transmitting means are activated, and when the server is not selected by the server selecting means, the data returning means is activated. A multiplayer game device characterized by.