KR101348555B1 - Advertising Method using Character Display Slot of Game Room Interface Screen in On-Line Game Service - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention performs an advertisement through a character display section provided for outputting a user character in the waiting room interface screen of the online game. At this time, the character of the user currently participating in the waiting room to display the character of the user as it is, and to display the advertisement in the empty character display period. In particular, since the waiting room interface screen is a part that users are always paying attention to because of the nature of the waiting room, it is possible to effectively perform advertisements without interfering with the game progress of game users.

Online game, Internet, waiting room, character display section, advertisement

Description

Advertising method using Character Display Slot of Game Room Interface Screen in On-Line Game Service}

The present invention relates to an advertisement method using a character display section of a waiting room interface screen in an online game, and in particular, to display characters of each participant in an interface screen of a waiting room, which is a virtual space where online game users gather to enjoy a game together. The advertisement can be performed through the character display section.

Due to the development of communication technology and the development of related technologies such as graphics and sound, various types of computer games are being created. BACKGROUND ART [0002] A computer game is a type of on-line game that allows a user to access a game server through various communication networks such as the Internet network or a mobile communication network and enjoy it with other users, apart from being conventionally executed by a personal computer It is developing.

Since these online games are played in a virtual space, users can always use them regardless of time and space, and the creative power of the game developer can be projected as it is, so that they can be made in various ways.

In addition, as the competition in the online game market is fierce, game companies are constantly trying to find a way to earn money using online game services in addition to the development of the game itself.

On the other hand, the online game may allow the user to play the game alone, but a board game such as a poker game or a go-stop game, a racing game played by a plurality of users, and a plurality of game users simultaneously participate in the game. Most users are configured to play a game together, such as Massively Multi-player Online Role Playing Game (MMORPG).

In order to start an online game involving multiple users, first of all, the users who want to play the game must be gathered together.

To this end, the game service system provides an interface that allows users to play a game together. Such a virtual space is referred to as' waiting room ',' game room, 'game room', and so on. Let's use. That is, hereinafter, the waiting room does not mean a real space but a virtual space where users who access the game service system gather to use an online game service.

Users can create their own waiting room, wait for other users to gather, or join a waiting room created by others. And, even if the garden is occupied in the waiting room or the garden is not occupied, when the owner clicks the game start button, the game is started among users participating in the waiting room.

That is, the waiting room may be understood as a place where users who want to enjoy the game together wait for the game to start, and from the user's point of view, the waiting time for the game to start in the waiting room is idle time. In addition, since the game room can be started immediately, each user participating in the waiting room always pays attention to the waiting room interface screen.

If a certain profit model can be built using the characteristics of the waiting room, it will be able to satisfy the needs of game operators who need a profit model without interfering with the game progress of users because they are in the state before the game starts.

Accordingly, the present invention has been made in order to meet the above necessity, so that online game users can be advertised through a waiting room, which is a virtual space waiting for the start of the game, the game operators without interfering with the game progress of the game user The purpose of the present invention is to provide an advertisement method using a character display section of a waiting room interface screen that enables a user to build another profit model.

In order to achieve the above object, an embodiment according to the present invention comprises the steps of transmitting the advertisement to the game client of the users of the game service system connected to the online game via a communication network; Managing a waiting room by allowing a user of the waiting room server of the game service system to access the online game by creating a new waiting room or joining a waiting room created by another user; Transmitting, by the waiting room server, waiting room situation information informing of the change of the situation of the waiting room to a game client of each participant participating in the waiting room; And displaying, by the game client of each participant, a character of the participant in the character display section of the participant of each character display section of the waiting room interface screen according to the waiting room status information, and outputting the advertisement in the empty character display section. It is made, including.

The type of advertisement to be output by the game client of each participant may be configured to be designated by the waiting room server.

In this case, the waiting room server may be configured to transmit information specifying the type of advertisement to be output when the waiting room situation information is transmitted to the game client of each participant.

The type of advertisement to be output by the game client of each participant may be configured to be randomly selected by the game client.

On the other hand, another embodiment according to the present invention, the waiting room server of the game service system processing the user to access the online game through the communication network to create a new waiting room or join the waiting room created by other users; Transmitting, by the waiting room server, advertisement information together with the waiting room status information indicating the change in the waiting room status to the game client of each participant participating in the waiting room; And displaying, by the game client of each participant, a character of the participant in the character display section of the participant of each character display section of the waiting room interface screen according to the waiting room status information, and outputting the advertisement in the empty character display section. It is made, including.

In each of the above embodiments, the process of outputting the advertisement by the game client of each participant may be configured to output different advertisements on each of the empty character display sections.

According to the present invention, since the advertisement can be performed using a character display section that is currently empty in the waiting room interface screen of the online game, it is possible to build a profit model of the game provider without disturbing the progress of the game of the users.

In particular, since the game can be started at any time in the waiting room, each user participating in the waiting room always pays attention to the waiting room interface screen. Accordingly, since the advertisement made through the waiting room interface screen has a high probability of being imprinted to users, an efficient advertisement can be performed.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

An example of a system that can provide an online game service through a communication network according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 1.

The user can use the online game provided by the game service system 14 by connecting to the game service system 14 through a communication network 13 such as a wired internet network or a wireless internet network using his computer 11. have.

The user computer 11 may be any computer device that can access an online game provided by the game service system 14 by connecting to a communication network 13 such as a personal computer (PC) or a mobile communication terminal.

The user computer 11 is provided with a game client 12 for executing and progressing an online game. The game client 12 may be configured as a computer program installed and operated in the user computer 11, and the game service system. It is common to download and install from 14 via the communication network 13.

The game client 12 includes various user interfaces for enabling a user to use an online game service. The game client 12 exchanges game data in a data packet form with the game service system 14 to play an online game. Proceed.

Meanwhile, the game service system 14 may be variously configured as necessary, and includes a web server 14-1, an authentication server 14-2, a waiting room server 14-3, and a game server 14-4. ), An example including the database 14-5 and the like is shown.

The web server 14-1 provides various information related to the online game service through the communication network 13, and allows the user to enter necessary information to register for a game account so as to open a game account or to play a game client program. It can be used for downloading.

The authentication server 14-2 authenticates users who have joined the membership through the web server 14-1.

The waiting room server 14-3 provides a service related to the waiting room to users who are connected to the online game.

The waiting room server 14-3 interworks with the game server 14-4, and when the host asks for a game start by clicking a game start button in a waiting room, the game server 14-4 joins the waiting room. Advance the game among users.

The game server 14-4 plays a role of advancing and controlling the game while communicating with the game client 12 through the communication network 13, also referred to as a 'channel server'.

The database 14-5 is a game account such as personal information, contact information, address information, authentication information such as an ID and password, character information, game item ownership information, etc. of each user registered through the web server 14-1. It is a component that stores and manages not only the information but also various information required for operating the game service system 14 and providing the online game service. In particular, it includes a waiting room information database for storing information for managing and maintaining the waiting room as described below and an advertisement database for storing various advertisement-related information.

Looking at the process of the user to use the online game through the game service system 14, first, the user drives the game client 12 installed in the user computer 11, his ID (ID) and password Enter the information required for user authentication, and log in to your game account.

Then, the game client 12 is connected to the waiting room server 14-3 and enters the waiting room lobby, and can create a waiting room or participate in another waiting room through the waiting room lobby interface screen.

Referring to FIG. 2, the game client 12 and the waiting room server 14-3 will be described in detail. The waiting room server 14-3 may include a waiting room holding unit 21 and a waiting room synchronization unit 22. have.

The waiting room holding unit 21 allows users who are currently connected to an online game to create a waiting room through a waiting room lobby or join a waiting room created by others. That is, the state of the waiting room is kept up to date while managing the state of the waiting room through the waiting room information database 23, which continuously changes according to the change of the participants in each waiting room, such as creating or releasing the waiting room, joining new users, or leaving existing participants. Serves to maintain.

In addition, the waiting room holding unit 21 transmits the constantly changing situation of the waiting room lobby to the game client 12 so that the game client 12 can process the waiting room lobby interface.

Here, the 'lobby lobby' refers to an interface that shows a list of each waiting room currently created and the status of each waiting room, and allows a user to create a new waiting room or participate in a waiting room created by another user.

The waiting room synchronization unit 22 plays a role of synchronizing each game room participant's game client to maintain the same information about the corresponding waiting room. That is, the game clients of all the users participating in the same waiting room are in the same space, so they must all be in the same environment.

For example, if a new user joins or participates in a waiting room, the game client of all users currently participating in the waiting room should know that.

To this end, the waiting room synchronization unit 22 transmits the waiting room status information, which informs the change of the status of a waiting room, to the game clients of all the waiting room participants, so that each game client can know the changing situation.

Meanwhile, the game client 12 performs a game between the waiting room lobby interface 12-1, the waiting room interface 12-2, and the game server 14-4 allowing a user to use a waiting room related service. It may be configured to include a game progress interface 12-3.

The waiting room lobby interface 12-1 outputs the waiting room lobby situation information transmitted from the waiting room holding unit 21 through the waiting room lobby interface screen so that the user can know the waiting room lobby situation, and creates a new waiting room or other user. It plays a role to join the created waiting room.

Referring to the example of the waiting room lobby interface screen 30 shown in FIG. 3, the waiting room lobby interface screen 30 displays a list of currently created waiting rooms, and each waiting room list also displays information indicating the state of the corresponding waiting room. do. In addition, the user may create a waiting room by clicking the waiting room creation menu 31, and at this time, may specify a name, a property, a number of participants, and the like, of the waiting room that the user creates.

When the user enters the waiting room through the waiting room lobby interface screen 30 as shown in FIG. 3, the waiting room interface 12-2 outputs a waiting room interface screen showing the situation of the corresponding waiting room.

Referring to the example illustrated in FIG. 4, the waiting room interface screen 40 includes character display sections 41 to 45 corresponding to the total number of users (eg, five) who can simultaneously participate in the waiting room. The character display section is for displaying a character of a user participating in the waiting room.

Therefore, if the user A has made a new waiting room before another user participates, the user A's character is displayed only in any one of the character display sections 41 to 45 as shown in FIG. 4A. However, if user A participates in a waiting room (for example, waiting room # 1) in which only user B currently participates, two (41, 42) of each character display section 41-45 as shown in FIG. 4B. The user A's character and the user B's character are displayed respectively.

In addition, the waiting room interface 12-2 updates the state of each character display section of the waiting room interface screen according to the waiting room situation information transmitted from the waiting room synchronization unit 22. That is, in the example shown in FIG. 4B, if the user B leaves, the character displayed in the character display section 42 is deleted.

After the above process, when the users participate in the waiting room, and the game manager starts by clicking the game start button, the game progress interface 12-3 communicates with the game server 14-4 and participates together. You will play the game among them.

Referring to FIG. 5, an embodiment of an advertisement method using a character display section of a waiting room interface screen in an online game according to the present invention will be described.

First, the game service system 14 transmits the advertisement stored in the advertisement database 24 to the game client of each user connected to the online game through the communication network 13 (S51).

Step S51 is a process of downloading the advertisement from the viewpoint of the game client 12. In this case, the game client 12 is a concept including not only a computer program but also various graphic data, sound effect data, game progress data, advertisements, etc. required for the online game. The advertisement may be configured in various forms as necessary, such as an image, a video, and a text.

In addition, the time point at which the game client 12 downloads the advertisement may be variously configured as necessary. For example, when the game client 12 starts to connect to the game service system 14, when the game client 12 is updated, when the game client 12 enters the lobby lobby, and the like. have. That is, step S51 may be configured at any time before the user enters the waiting room.

On the other hand, the waiting room server 14-3 processes so that the user connected to the online game can create a waiting room or participate in the waiting room already created by other users (S52).

Step S52 is a process of using the waiting room lobby through the waiting room lobby interface 12-1 of the game client 12 from the perspective of the user.

That is, by clicking the create a waiting room menu 31 of the waiting room lobby interface screen 30 as in the example shown in FIG. 3, create a new waiting room by yourself, or select the waiting room waiting for the participation of other users from the waiting room list. You will enter.

Since the situation of the corresponding waiting room changes through step S52, the waiting room server 14-3 transmits the waiting room status information to the game client of each user participating in the corresponding waiting room through the waiting room synchronization unit 22 (S53).

Then, the waiting room interface 12-2 of the game client 12 outputs the waiting room interface screen according to the waiting room status information received through step S53, or updates the waiting room interface screen that is already output (S54). In particular, in step S54, the waiting room interface 12-2 outputs the character of the participant in the character display section of the participant of each character display section of the waiting room interface screen, and the advertisement downloaded through the step S51 in the empty character display section. Discharge water.

On the other hand, a new user may participate in the waiting room, and a user who has participated may leave the room and change continuously. If a change occurs in the waiting room participant status (S55), the waiting room server 14-3 synchronizes the waiting room. The unit 22 proceeds to step S53 to transmit the waiting room situation information to each participant's game client.

Then, the waiting room interface 12-2 of the game client 12 updates the waiting room interface screen according to the received waiting room status information (S54).

Of course, at this time, the waiting room interface 12-2 outputs the characters of the participants in the character display section of the participant of each character display section of the waiting room interface screen, and displays the advertisement downloaded through step S51 in the empty character display section. Output

Another example of the waiting room interface screen 70 is illustrated in FIG. 7. The character of the user is displayed in the character display section corresponding to players 1 to 3 currently participating among the total of 8 character display sections, and the advertisement is displayed in the remaining five character display sections (marked as 'waiting slots'). Water is discharged.

The processes of steps S55, S53, and S54 are repeated while the standby state in the corresponding waiting room is maintained.

Here, an example of a situation in which the waiting state is not maintained may include a case where a game is started among users participating in the waiting room or when no user participates in the waiting room. In the latter case, the waiting room holding unit 21 deletes the waiting room related information from the waiting room information database 23.

Now in step S54 it will be described how the game client 12 selects the advertisement to be displayed in the character display section.

As one example, if there are a plurality of advertisements downloaded through step S51, the game client 12 may be configured to randomly select.

As another example, the waiting room server 14-3 may designate a kind of advertisement to be output by the game client 12. At this time, the waiting room server 14-3 may transmit information specifying the type of the corresponding advertisement in the process of transmitting the waiting room status information to the game client of each participant.

Then, the game client 12 selects the advertisement to be output in the character display section according to the type designation information of the advertisement transmitted from the waiting room server 14-3.

Referring to FIG. 6, another embodiment of the advertisement method using the character display section of the waiting room interface screen in the online game according to the present invention will be described.

The waiting room server 14-3 processes the user accessing the online game to create a waiting room or to participate in a waiting room that another user has already made (S61).

Step S61 is a process of entering the waiting room lobby through the waiting room lobby interface 12-1 of the game client 12 from the user's point of view and creating a waiting room by itself or participating in a waiting room that another user has already made.

That is, by clicking the create a waiting room menu 31 of the waiting room lobby interface screen 30 as in the example shown in FIG. 3, create a new waiting room by yourself, or select the waiting room waiting for the participation of other users from the waiting room list. You will enter.

Since the situation of the corresponding waiting room changes through step S61, the waiting room server 14-3 transmits the waiting room situation information to the game client of each user participating in the corresponding waiting room through the waiting room synchronization unit 22 (S62).

In particular, the waiting room synchronization unit 22 transmits advertisement information stored in the advertisement database 24 at step S62. This is distinguished from the embodiment described with reference to FIG. 5.

Then, the waiting room interface 12-2 of the game client 12 outputs the waiting room interface screen according to the waiting room status information received through step S62, or updates the waiting room interface screen that is already output (S63).

In particular, in step S63, the waiting room interface 12-2 outputs the character of the participant in the character display section of the participant of each character display section of the waiting room interface screen, and the advertisement downloaded in step S62 in the empty character display section. Outputs

On the other hand, a new user may participate in the waiting room, and the user may participate in the waiting room, and the fluctuation is continuously made. When the change occurs in the waiting room participant status (S64), the waiting room server 14-3 synchronizes the waiting room. The unit 22 proceeds to step S62 to transmit the waiting room situation information to the game client of each participant. At this time, the waiting room synchronization unit 22 transmits the advertisement information stored in the advertisement database 24 together.

Then, the waiting room interface 12-2 of the game client 12 updates the waiting room interface screen according to the waiting room status information received through step S62 (S63), and the advertisement downloaded through step S62 in the empty character display section. Discharge water.

The processes of steps S64, S62, and S63 are repeated while the standby state in the corresponding waiting room is maintained.

Meanwhile, in the above-described embodiments, when the game client 12 outputs an advertisement, when there are a plurality of empty character display sections, it may be configured to output different advertisements for each character display section.

At this time, the game client may be configured to arbitrarily determine which advertisement to output in which character display section, or may be configured to designate when the waiting room situation information is transmitted from the waiting room server 14-3 to the game client 12. It can be configured variously as needed.

It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and that various changes and modifications may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the technical spirit of the present invention. to be.

1 is an example of a system for providing an online game service;

2 is an example of an interface between a game client and a waiting room server,

3 is an example of a waiting room lobby interface screen;

4 is an example of a waiting room interface screen;

5 is an embodiment of an advertisement method using a character display section of a waiting room interface screen in an online game according to the present invention;

6 is another embodiment of an advertisement method using a character display section of a waiting room interface screen in an online game according to the present invention;

7 illustrates an example in which an advertisement is output on an empty character display section.

DESCRIPTION OF THE REFERENCE NUMERALS

11: Your Computer 12: Game Client

13: communication network 14: game service system

14-1: Web server 14-2: Authentication server

14-3: Waiting Room Server 14-4: Game Server

14-5: Database 12-1: Lobby Lobby Interface

12-2: Waiting Room Interface 12-3: Game Progress Interface

21: waiting room holding unit 22: waiting room synchronization unit

23: waiting room information database 24: advertisement database

30: waiting room lobby interface screen 40: waiting room interface screen

Claims (6)

Transmitting, by the game service system, the advertisement to a game client of users accessing an online game through a communication network; Managing a waiting room by allowing a user of the waiting room server of the game service system to access the online game by creating a new waiting room or joining a waiting room created by another user; Transmitting, by the waiting room server, waiting room situation information informing of the change of the situation of the waiting room to a game client of each participant participating in the waiting room; And The game client of each participant outputs the character of the participant in the character display section of the participant of each character display section of the waiting room interface screen according to the waiting room status information, and outputs the advertisement in the empty character display section. Advertising method using the character display section of the waiting room interface screen in the online game comprising. The method of claim 1, The advertising method using the character display section of the waiting room interface screen in the online game, characterized in that the type of the advertisement to be output by the game client of each participant can be specified by the waiting room server. The method of claim 2, When the waiting room server transmits the waiting room status information to the game client of each participant, the character display section of the waiting room interface screen in the online game is configured to transmit information specifying the type of the advertisement to be output. Advertising method used. The method of claim 1, And a type of advertisement to be output by the game client of each participant to be selected randomly by the game client. Processing, by a waiting room server of a game service system, users who access an online game through a communication network to create a new waiting room or join a waiting room created by another user; Transmitting, by the waiting room server, advertisement information together with the waiting room status information indicating the change in the waiting room status to the game client of each participant participating in the waiting room; And The game client of each participant outputs the character of the participant in the character display section of the participant of each character display section of the waiting room interface screen according to the waiting room status information, and outputs the advertisement in the empty character display section. Advertising method using the character display section of the waiting room interface screen in the online game comprising. 6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, In the process of outputting the advertisement by the game client of each participant, the character display section of the waiting room interface screen in the on-line game may be configured to output different advertisements to each empty character display section. Advertising method used.

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