KR20090000651A - User interface providing apparatus and method for on-line game - Google Patents

Abstract

A user interface service apparatus and a method thereof for an online game are provided to realize complicated user interface environments and various effects at high speed by using a script only, thereby satisfying performance and development efficiency of a user interface. A game engine(101) is equipped. A custom interface(102) demands user interface-related processing to the game engine through a universal form. A game client(100) includes a game logic unit(103) that performs game progression-related processing. A user interface script unit has information that defines an operation type of control elements and layers. A user interface engine(110) interprets information of the user interface script unit, and provides information on components of the defined user interface to a custom interface of a game client in universal form.

Description

Apparatus and method for providing user interface for online game

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a general online game system.

2 is a block diagram of an embodiment of the present invention.

3 is an exemplary view showing a user interface providing method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

4 is an exemplary view showing a frame configuration method of a control element according to an embodiment of the present invention.

5 is an exemplary view showing a specific configuration of a control element according to an embodiment of the present invention.

6 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of a control method of a control element according to an embodiment of the present invention.

7 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a user interface authoring unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.

8 to 9 illustrate examples of the user interface authoring unit of FIG. 7.

10 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an operation method of a user interface engine according to an embodiment of the present invention.

11 is a flowchart illustrating an operation process of an embodiment of the present invention.

** Description of symbols for the main parts of the drawing **

100: game client 101: game engine unit

102: game engine interface 103: game logic unit

110: UI engine 111: UI engine unit

112: interface unit 113: library unit

120: UI Authoring 125: Script Files

130: layer unit 200: UI design unit

210: script file unit 220: test unit

300: UI module definition part 310: LUA script part

320: UI engine LUA API 330: game client unit

The present invention relates to a user interface of a game, and more particularly, to an apparatus and method for providing a user interface for an online game for easily designing and applying a user interface of an online game.

The online game industry, which has emerged as a high value-added industry with the development of the Internet, is a rapidly growing field as a cutting-edge knowledge-based complex industry. In particular, in the conventional game, which is based on single or multiple player operation for a single system, a plurality of players participating in the game can be played simultaneously in a virtual area created online regardless of the player's position. The online game method that induces competition and cooperation between the games is regarded as a significant expansion of the game.

FIG. 1 illustrates a configuration of a general online game system. As shown in FIG. 1, a game server provided by an online game operator system 30 through a communication network 20 including a plurality of clients 10a to 10n as shown in FIG. 30a, 30b is connected to the desired server is configured to proceed with the game with the other clients (10a ~ 10n) connected to the server. In general, the game servers 30a and 30b manage various subscriber information, game character information and state information of the corresponding subscriber, and manage the progress state of a specific game. In addition, various game-related operations provided by the game servers 30a and 30b are gradually shared by the clients 10a to 10n, so that the game servers 30a and 30b are gradually integrated with various client connections. Its functions are focused on gameplay.

Accordingly, the client is provided with a game client, which is a substantial game processing part, and the game client is operated to access the game server and proceed with the game. Most game-related operations are performed by the clients 10a to 10n. This is done by the game client installed on it.

The game client basically comprises a variety of user interfaces for implementing a game, a game engine that professionally processes high speed computation / graphic processing / character setting and movement / judgment / artificial intelligence for the progress of each game, and the game. It is composed of a game logic part that processes a specific scenario of a corresponding game using an engine through interworking with the user interfaces.

In particular, most of the scenario parts of each game use a game-specific script, and it is common to use a public scripting language (LUA) script.

Therefore, in order to develop a game, a game engine suitable for a scenario of a game is selected, images and backgrounds for each user interface are set, and a logic part suitable for the scenario of the game is configured. In addition, it is a general game development process to write a script that integrates the logic part organically and controls the operation of the game on a runtime basis. At this time, the general users who enjoy the game to determine the level of the game through the most exposed user interface, the development of high-level user interface in the design of the game is gradually increasing.

For example, even when a simple button or item is displayed, the complexity of the user interface of the game is gradually increased by adding various animations to provide dynamic effects instead of simply providing them. However, despite the complexity of the user interface for these games, the settings, definitions, and application of the game's functional parts, which are partially developed by rapid game development and frequent changes, depend on scripting methods that rely on real-time interpretation. There are many difficulties in the application of complex user interfaces.

In other words, the user interface should be created and applied colorfully using as little resources as possible, and the setting contents of the user interface should be easily reused, and the script control should be handled in the simplest possible way. Due to the limitations of game development, various animation authoring tools (e.g., dynamic GIF authoring tools, screen scenario authoring tools, etc.) commonly known today, or interface development tools (e.g., Flash authoring tools, visual high-level languages) WYSIWYG editing tools), or tools for utilizing game engines (e.g. map editors) are not suitable for rapidly changing game environments. In other words, game engine-dependent development tools are not suitable for the game development situation in which the game engine needs to be selected according to the characteristics of the game. Existing interface development tools require the programmer to manage the control elements for control from the design level. However, it is not suitable for games because it requires the use of a preset control element with a large amount of configuration information for general use. In addition, the animation authoring tool is also not suitable for a game situation where a plurality of animations are required for the same object and resources for the same are minimized. In addition, in environments that require high-speed communication between the user interface part and the game logic part, it is difficult to perform all processing with simple scripts, and the programmer has to design a user interface suitable for a single game throughout the development of the user interface.

Therefore, when developing a game, it takes time and effort to design a user interface exclusively, and it is difficult to utilize a user interface of a previously developed game during game development, resulting in a situation in which redundant development time and cost are wasted. In particular, online games require frequent game settings, scenario changes, and short development times. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop a high quality user interface with minimal effort.

As described above, an object of the embodiments of the present invention, which is newly proposed to provide a high quality user interface while reducing the effort for developing the user interface of an online game, is to maintain the independence of the game engine and facilitate the components of the user interface. The present invention provides an apparatus and method for providing a user interface for an online game that can be configured and reused, and that a complex user interface environment and various effects can be implemented at high speed using only a script.

Another object of the embodiments of the present invention is to define a user interface of an online game as a plurality of layers in which control elements are arranged, to set a module by placing control elements in each layer, and to set each control element as a plurality of frames. The present invention provides an apparatus and method for providing a user interface for an online game that can be configured and managed by hierarchically and systematically by individually processing the components of the frames.

Another object of the embodiments of the present invention is to enable a developer to easily create a prototype control, reuse it, or generate and use it at runtime, and to freely utilize settings between various script files to create and use a control. To provide an apparatus and method for providing a user interface for an online game, which is simplified.

Another object of the embodiments of the present invention is to configure the setting of the layer-based control element constituting the user interface in the form of a text module and the operation method is composed of a general-purpose script, the user interface engine operating through such a setting script binding It is to provide a user interface providing apparatus and method for an online game to maximize the interworking performance of the game logic and the user interface of the game client by enabling high-speed communication with the game client.

Another object of the embodiments of the present invention is to provide a user interface providing apparatus and method for providing an online game that makes it easy to create and change a user interface by creating a shape change and animation of a control element that is highly utilized in an online game as a library. It is.

Another object of the embodiments of the present invention is to generate a module and script file defining an interface of an online game, and to operate the user interface via a console which allows the dummy client to manually provide script commands while operating the file. The present invention provides an apparatus and method for providing a user interface for an online game that can immediately check various events and execution contents of scripts and correct errors.

In order to achieve the above object, an apparatus for providing a user interface for an online game according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a game engine, a custom interface for requesting the game engine for user interface related processing through a general-purpose format, A game client including a game logic unit that performs game progress related processing including use of the game engine; A user interface script unit having visual user interface information and information defining an operation manner of layers and control elements constituting the visual user interface; The user interface interprets the information of the user interface script unit to provide the operations of the components of the user interface defined in the general format to the custom interface of the game client, and the user interface for sending and receiving the necessary information with the game logic unit of the game client Including the engine.

In addition, the apparatus for providing a user interface for an online game according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention arranges a picture constituting a control element, sets a property thereof, and registers a prototype for registering the control element as a prototype. and; A module definition unit which provides an interface for arranging the control elements registered as the prototypes in a layer and setting properties thereof and accordingly generates visual user interface layout information as a module according to a script form; It includes a script input unit for receiving a script for controlling the layers and control elements defined in the module.

In addition, the method for providing a user interface for an online game according to another embodiment of the present invention comprises the steps of generating an image resource in accordance with the frame constituting the fragment and the control element constituting the control element; Generating a prototype by converting information of a control element defining a layout and an attribute into a script code through an interface provided by a user interface authoring unit; Generating the user interface module information in the form of a script code based on the information when the generated prototype is incrementally disposed on a layer through an interface provided by the user interface authoring unit; Providing a script input means linked to the generated script code format to input a manner of operating the control element using a function provided by a user interface engine; And generating and storing the information input through the script input means and the user interface module information in a file in a script format.

In addition, according to another embodiment of the present invention, a method for providing a user interface for an online game includes: a user interface engine defining a script code in which a hierarchical arrangement relationship between a control element in a prototype form and a layer is defined and an operation method of the control element; An interpreting step of interpreting the script code; A processing step of providing, by the user interface engine, the game client with the display and the operation information of the control element according to a preconfigured library based on the user interface display information and the operation method of the interpreted script code and the information received from the game client; The game client includes the step of providing the game engine with the display and operation information of the received control element reflected on the game, and if the information is linked to the game logic, providing the processing content to the interface engine. do.

In addition, according to another embodiment of the present invention, a method for providing a user interface for an online game includes: a user interface engine defining a script code in which a hierarchical arrangement relationship between a control element in a prototype form and a layer is defined and an operation method of the control element; An interpreting step of interpreting the script code; The user interface engine displays the display and operation information of the control element in accordance with a preconfigured library based on the user interface display information and operation method of the interpreted script code and information received from the dummy game client and the script console. A test processing step of providing the dummy game client for verification; The dummy game client performs a test performing step of providing the game engine with the display and operation information of the received control element and reflecting it on the game, and providing the interface engine with the processing contents thereof when the information is linked to game logic. Include.

The present invention as described above will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments.

2 illustrates a configuration of an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2, a game client 100 and a user interface (hereinafter referred to as UI) engine 110 which is substantially responsible for the client-side operation of an online game, and It consists of a script file 125 that defines the configuration and operation of the UI using the UI engine 110 and a dedicated UI authoring unit 120 for authoring the script file 125. The configuration shows all of the preferred configuration according to an embodiment of the present invention, the respective configuration, the combination of the UI engine 110 and the game client 100, or the script file 125 and the UI authoring unit 120 Various partial combinations, such as), can be used to create effective online games and leverage existing code.

In general, in order to develop an online game, a specific game engine developed for various purposes is selected, and game logic is developed according to the game engine, and a game interface and a user interface adapted to the characteristics of the game engine are developed. For example, well-known game engines (GameBryo, Renderware, etc.) are mainly engines specialized for 3D rendering functions, and provide libraries and interfaces for effectively implementing the functions. Therefore, after selecting a specific game engine suitable for the purpose of the game, game logic and user interface are written in a form dependent on the game engine. At this time, the basic skeleton of the game logic and the user interface is written in a language that requires compilation, and a script language is used as a higher application layer utilizing the same. In the case of online game production, the general public scripts are Lua scripts. Other general scripts are also used.

However, in this case, since a developer must write a game client and a user interface that is dependent on the game engine, each time, a waste of time and cost required for the development of the user interface is repeated. Therefore, as shown in the figure, a UI engine 110 for exclusively managing a user interface is configured, a game client 100 is configured to be linked with the UI engine 110, and the UI engine 100 is utilized. A script file 125 of a general-purpose script format having a format suitable for the following will be used. In addition, the script file 125 configures the UI authoring unit 120 which helps to easily prepare the UI engine 110 so as to optimally utilize the UI file 110.

In the configuration of the embodiment of the present invention shown, the management unit of the UI is a layer that can be displayed overlapping, and a control element that can be arranged alone or overlapping the layer, so that the control element can be composed of a plurality of frames To have a hierarchical structure of layers / control elements / frames.

Therefore, the UI engine 110 may include various libraries that provide specific effects by managing the configuration of the layer and the control element, and independently of the game engine unit 101 used by the game client 100. It has a function to make management system universal. Referring to the configuration of the UI engine 110 briefly, the UI engine unit 111 which greatly analyzes the script file 125 and performs the control according to the above, and an operation or a series necessary for the control operation of the UI engine unit 111. The library unit 113 for providing an operation method of the interface unit 112 and the UI engine unit 111 for providing information on the UI expression irrespective of the game engine unit 101 of the game client 100. Is made of.

In the above configuration, the UI engine 111 interprets a script file 125 including a script including definitions of layers and control elements and scripts for determining display and operation methods of the control elements. The operation method is implemented through the library unit 113 and provided to the game client 100 through the interface unit 112 for converting the implementation information into a general-purpose format, and directly linked with the script of the script file 125. The information performs a function of directly exchanging with the game client 100.

The game client 100 includes a game engine unit 101 internally specialized in graphic representation or specialized in complex computation, and includes a game logic 103 and a UI engine unit for implementing a game using the game engine unit. 111 to convert the universal implementation information provided by the binding interface unit (not shown) and the interface unit 112 of the UI engine 110 to exchange information with the game engine unit 101 to the UI engine The game engine interface 102 may be provided to maintain the independence of the 110. In addition, a means for generating a script and providing it to the UI engine unit may be configured if necessary, and any of the above components may be omitted.

That is, the UI engine 110 converts the implementation information requested from the game engine unit 101 of the game client 100 into a universal format through the internal interface unit 112, and provides the game client. The request is provided to the game engine unit 101 through the game engine interface unit 102 that converts the general-purpose form of implementation information into a form of information suitable for the specific game engine unit 101. Since the visual representation is processed, the independence of the UI engine 110 can be maintained. Therefore, the UI written to use the game engine 110 can be utilized as it is without significant change even if other types of game engine units are used. In addition, the game engine interface unit 102 configured in the game client 100 is a custom interface that is created according to the type of game engine, respectively. The custom interface may be internally composed of a UI renderer part and a UI factory part.

The configuration of the script file 125 and the UI authoring unit 120 will be described in more detail later.

3 to 5 illustrate a hierarchical structure of a user interface, a configuration of a control element constituting the user interface, and FIG. 3 illustrates a plurality of overlapping layers 130 and the layers ( An example of a plurality of control elements 131, 132, 133, 140, 141, 142 that can be disposed in 130 is shown. As illustrated, a plurality of control elements 131, 132, and 133 may be disposed in one layer 130, or control elements 140, 141, and 142 may be hierarchically overlapped as illustrated. .

As illustrated in FIG. 4, one control element 142 may include frames 142-1, 142-2, and 142-3 that include a plurality of pictures and characters. As described above, one frame 150 may include a plurality of picture pieces 153 and a text area 155.

In particular, in the case of online games, it is necessary to provide the most beautiful graphics with the least resources. When providing a frame of a control element consisting of a bitmap, the part and size that can be changed in consideration of the enlargement / reduction etc. It is preferable to configure the frame with the pieces shown as divided into parts that should not be. In this case, the UI engine should be provided with a function to automatically perform the processing in consideration of the above matters when performing the enlargement / reduction of each of these pieces. In addition, the UI engine may automatically perform this division process using a single picture in the case of a control element of a particular type (for example, polygon).

6 illustrates an example of a library required for implementing an online game user interface, as shown, by superimposing certain cards at various angles (160) and rotating any card (165) at a desired angle. The included text box 166 also accepts input at a rotated angle, providing a sequential movement of the frame of a given control element in any manner, adjusting its size and orientation (shown only the development of the frame, if shown). Effect is required. In addition, in the case of a specific animation effect, the frame order, display position, display size, rotation angle, etc. of the control elements are sequentially set according to a desired effect, and the library is made to provide various animation effects with minimum resources. .

In other words, various effects required to implement the user interface of the online game can be organized into a library, which can be easily utilized for various game development. In particular, if these libraries are configured to reflect the characteristics of online games that use a lot of bitmap pictures, they can provide excellent visual effects with minimal resources.

7 shows the configuration of the UI authoring unit, and is for generating a script file that can optimally utilize the UI engine. The UI authoring unit largely edits UI components and generates a script file 210 by receiving a script for setting an operation method thereof, and the generated script file 210 as a virtual game client. The test dummy 220 includes an in-dummy client 221, a UI engine 223, and a script console 222 for manual operation. Although the test unit 220 is not essential, it is preferable that the test unit 220 is configured because the error can be easily identified and corrected.

Looking at the configuration of the UI design unit 200, a control element that can be used anytime and anywhere by configuring the control elements of the plurality of frames using the plurality of pieces of the picture designed by the UI designer and determine the setting contents The part that creates the type in script code, the part that generates the control element of such prototype in the module script code, and the script input part that inputs the operation method of the control element in the layer in the form of script. And a file management part that stores or reads the input or generated script as a file.

Looking at this through the configuration shown, the UI design unit 200 is first edited through the control element editing unit 201 and the control element editing unit 201 that provides an interface for the arrangement of the pieces of the picture forming the control element The control element property editing unit 203 for editing the properties for the control element, the control element hierarchy display unit 204 for managing the hierarchy for the control element, and the control element layer in the control element hierarchy display unit 204 A layer arrangement unit 202 providing an interface arranged according to information, a file management unit and an interface unit 205 for generating or reading a script file and managing the interface, and a designer for the display and operation of the control element. And a script editing unit 206 that accepts script input. In this case, it is preferable that the UI design unit includes prototypes for basic control elements, and utilizes control elements generated using prototypes or prototypes set by designers without any setting (design stage and runtime stage). It is desirable to be able to. The file management and interface unit 205 provides a user interface of the control element editing unit 201 and the layer arrangement unit 202 to facilitate the layout of visual elements by a designer, and the control element editing unit 201 controls the control. With reference to the setting contents of the element attribute editing unit 203, the setting contents of the control element is generated as a script file and, if necessary, the pre-generated script file is loaded. In this case, the control element property editing unit 203 supports the creation and deletion of the property itself as well as the function of setting the provided property so that the control element editing unit 201 generates a prototype of a specific control element or changes an existing prototype. You can transform it to create a new control element. These prototypes can be stored and managed in a separate script file format and can be added to or called from any script file 210. That is, the control element defined in any file of the script file 210 can be easily used in conjunction with any other file.

The layer arranging unit 202 generates a module script for the control elements arranged therein through the information of the control element hierarchy display unit 204.

The script editing unit 206 refers to a module script generated by the layer arrangement unit 202 to designate an interworking relationship with the event listener / game client's game logic for initialization / related control elements for the module. Provides an interface for creating script logic, including how control elements behave.

Therefore, the script file 210 stores the user interface module definition contents, which are largely visual elements, the script contents defining the operation method of the visual elements and the interworking relationship with the game logic, and the prototype settings for the control elements. do. In addition, these files may be configured in plural and may cross-reference the described codes.

The completed script file 210 may be interpreted through the UI engine 223 of the test unit 220, and various operations required through the analysis may be verified by interworking with the test dummy client unit 221. A separate script console 222 may be provided to require a particular response or to provide any control state. And, in order to experiment with the server, the dummy client 221 may include script code for emulating a server connection, or script code for emulating the interworking with the server through the script console 222 may be provided. Can be.

FIG. 8 is an exemplary view showing an actual configuration example of the UI design unit of FIG. 7, wherein a control element editing unit and a layer arrangement unit are respectively configured from the left side, a control element hierarchy display unit at the upper side, and a control element attribute editing unit at the lower side. Is composed.

FIG. 9 is an example of an operation screen of the test unit of FIG. 7, and displays an execution screen of an actual game as shown in FIG. 7, and a necessary operation is directly operated by a user interface and manually controlled through a script console unit to experiment a desired reaction. Done.

10 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a method of interpreting a script file and interworking with a game client when using an LUA script. As an example of the script file, a GUI (graphical user interface) module defining unit 300 defining layers and control elements, and The relationship between the LUA script unit 310 containing the programmer's setting contents for the elements defined in the module definition unit 300 and the game client 330 directly linked with the script unit 310 is shown.

For example, when the module defining unit 300 defines control elements such as a button unit 301 and a text box unit 302 arranged hierarchically on a predetermined layer, the contents of the module defining unit may be, for example. As follows.

layer  {

button

  {...}

textbox

  {...}

}

Control elements defined in the module definition unit 300 are described by their scripts written in the LUA script unit 310. The LUA script unit 310 is a module initialization script unit 311 for initializing a module in which definitions of predetermined visual elements are bundled into one unit, and generation of a desired event among events generated for the control elements. It includes an event listener unit 312 for detecting the detection, and the UI logic unit 313 defining a predetermined operation method for the control elements and exchanges information with the game logic unit of the game client.

An example of the LUA script unit 310 which is simply created for the button unit 301 and the text box unit 302 of the module definition unit 300 is as follows.

function onClick ( event ) // event Listener section  Correspondence code

tb  = gui : Select ('// textbox ’)

message  = getMessage ()

tb : SetText ( message )

end

function getMessage () // UI Logic section  Correspondence code

return game _ get _ message ()

end

button = gui : Select ('// button ') // module initialization script part corresponding code

button : SetListener (’ mouse _ click ’, onClick )

The example LUA script has a configuration to display a string stored in the 'message' variable in the text box unit 302 when an event occurs in the button unit 301, and the string stored in the 'message' variable is 'game_get_message'. To be obtained from the game logic via the () "function.

The game client unit 330 showing a part of the game client may include a game logic unit 331 for processing information related to a game, a UI engine and a game logic unit 331 for interpreting and processing the LUA script unit 310. LUA C binding unit 332 for interfacing high-speed information exchange between the ()). The LUA C binding unit 332 may be configured inside the game logic unit 331 or may be separately configured outside as shown.

Through the use of a binding interface that binds the game logic unit 331 and the script, the UI engine can process complex game scenarios while exchanging a lot of information with the game logic unit 331 at high speed. Since the processing is performed by requesting the game engine using a general-purpose format, the UI utilizing the actual UI engine can satisfy both convenience and performance of development.

For example, when the game logic unit 331 is written in the C language, the LUA C binding unit 332 may include the following code.

int game _ get _message ( lua _ State * ls )

{

lua _ pushstring ( ls , _T (“ hello ! ”));

return  One;

}

Therefore, when looking at the actual operation, the UI engine interprets the GUI module definition unit 300 and LUA script unit 310, the button unit 301 through the internal UI engine LUA API (application interface) 320 When the event occurs, the information is provided to the event listener unit 312 through the control paths S1 and S2 such as a dotted line, and the UI logic unit 313 provides the text box from the game logic unit 331. When the information to be displayed on the unit 302 is received, the corresponding string information is applied to the text box unit 302 visually displayed through the control paths S3 and S4 shown in dotted lines to be displayed.

As described above, the UI engine, which is independent of the game engine and is linked to the game logic at high speed, utilizes the game engine in a general-purpose manner, has a library that provides various effects, and utilizes prototypes for control elements. When using an authoring tool that supports prototyping, module setting, and script writing suitable for the UI engine, a UI suitable for a game can be easily developed, and an already developed UI can be easily applied. In addition, it can easily cope with frequent UI changes and updates.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating the overall process of designing a user interface using the apparatus for providing an online game for the online game described above. After installing the UI engine and the authoring tool and setting the environment as illustrated, the UI designer plays the game. Create an image resource to be applied to the frame or background of the control element according to the scenario of.

Thereafter, the UI designer creates an prototype of a control element that will be commonly used by arranging image resources and adding / deleting / editing setting contents using a UI authoring unit.

The UI designer generates module setting contents by hierarchically placing the prototype or a control element constructed using the same in a layer.

Thereafter, the UI programmer creates a script in consideration of various information, scenarios, and game logic including the module setting contents. Through this, a script file may be generated, and separate script files may be generated for each step.

When the UI authoring unit includes a test unit, the script script is repeated using a UI engine, a dummy client, and a script console to modify the script writing content when there is a part to be modified.

If a script file that performs the desired function is generated through the above process, it is applied to the actual game. Applying to the game means configuring the binding unit so that the script and the game logic of the game client can communicate through a UI engine.

Therefore, the proportion of the UI designer to participate in the actual UI production is increased, the UI programmer can write the UI script of the desired performance in a simple manner, greatly increasing the UI development efficiency.

As described above, the apparatus and method for providing a user interface for an online game according to the embodiments of the present invention make it easy to configure and reuse UI components independently of a game engine, and a complex user interface environment using only a script. And by allowing various effects to be implemented at high speed, there is an effect that can satisfy both the development efficiency and performance of the user interface.

An apparatus and method for providing a user interface for an online game according to embodiments of the present invention define a user interface of an online game as a plurality of layers in which control elements are arranged, and arrange a control element in each layer to set a module. By setting each control element to a plurality of frames and processing the components of each frame separately, there is an effect that the user interface can be organized and managed hierarchically and systematically.

An apparatus and method for providing a user interface for an online game according to embodiments of the present invention allow a developer to easily create a prototype control, reuse it, or generate and use it at runtime, and to set up various script files. It can increase the ease of creating and using the control by freely utilizing the.

An apparatus and method for providing a user interface for an online game according to the embodiments of the present invention configure a setting of a layer-based control element constituting a user interface as a module in a text form, and configure a method of operation as a general-purpose script. By enabling the user interface engine to operate at a high speed to communicate with the game client by script binding, there is an effect of maximizing the interworking performance of the game logic and the user interface of the game client.

An apparatus and method for providing a user interface for an online game according to embodiments of the present invention may generate a module and a script file defining an interface of an online game, and manually provide a script command while operating the file in a dummy client. By verifying the operation of the user interface through the console, there is an effect that it is possible to immediately check the various events and script execution contents to correct the error content.

Claims (26)

A game client including a game engine, a custom interface for requesting the game engine for user interface related processing through a general-purpose format, and a game logic section for performing game progress related processing including use of the game engine; A user interface script unit having visual user interface information and information defining an operation manner of layers and control elements constituting the visual user interface; The user interface interprets the information of the user interface script unit to provide the operations of the components of the user interface defined in the general format to the custom interface of the game client, and the user interface for sending and receiving the necessary information with the game logic unit of the game client Apparatus for providing a user interface for an online game comprising an engine. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the user interface engine further comprises a plurality of control elements, an animation, and a mathematical operation library. The method of claim 1, wherein the user interface script unit comprises one or more independent files, and the module definition content describing at least one or more visual user interface information as a setting of a layer and a control element. Apparatus for providing a user interface for an online game, characterized in that it comprises a script content for describing the user interface logic that is a scheme. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the user interface script unit including the plurality of files is cross-referenced to each other. 4. The module of claim 3, wherein the user interface script unit comprises a module defining unit defining layers and control elements which are visual user interface information, and logic for initializing the module, processing an event for the corresponding control, and sending and receiving a message with a game client. Apparatus for providing a user interface for an online game, characterized in that it comprises a script unit. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the game client further comprises an interface for interworking with the user interface engine. 7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the interface is a binding setting that connects the user interface script and a language constituting the game logic. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the game client further comprises a script unit configured to generate information to be provided by the game logic as a script and provide the script to the user interface engine. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the script is a Lua script. A prototype registration means for arranging the pieces of the picture constituting the control element and setting the properties thereof to register the control element as a prototype; A module definition unit which provides an interface for arranging the control elements registered as the prototypes in a layer and setting properties thereof, and accordingly generates visual user interface layout information as a module according to a script form; And a script input unit for receiving a script for controlling a layer and a control element defined in the module. The method of claim 10, wherein the prototype registration means further comprises means for storing the registered prototype control element information in a separate file, and read out and use the prototype control element information stored in the file. Device for providing user interface for online game. 11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the prototype registration means registers a control element consisting of bitmap picture pieces and a text area in a plurality of frames. The apparatus of claim 10, further comprising a file manager configured to separately or individually integrate the information generated by the module definition unit and the information input to the script input unit into one or more files. . The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the module definition unit provides a layer in which the control element is to be arranged, and provides a function of arranging, rotating, enlarging, and reducing the control element with respect to the layer. A device for providing a user interface for an online game, comprising identifying pieces of a bitmap picture to be kept and pieces of pictures that may be changed in size and manipulating corresponding control elements. 11. The apparatus of claim 10, further comprising: a user interface engine for interpreting script information to request a user interface operation required by the game client and exchanging information related to game progress with the game client; And a test unit configured to provide a script inputted to the script input unit to the interface engine and provide a dummy client corresponding to the interface engine. 16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the tester unit comprises a script console unit for manually manipulating the dummy client and the interface engine. 17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the dummy client further comprises means for emulating server interworking code implemented in an actual game client. Generating an image resource according to a frame constituting a fragment and a control element constituting the control element; Generating a prototype by converting information of a control element defining a layout and an attribute into a script code through an interface provided by a user interface authoring unit; Generating user interface module information in the form of a script code based on the information when the generated prototype is layered on a layer through an interface provided by the user interface authoring unit; Providing a script input means linked to the generated script code format to input a manner of operating the control element using a function provided by a user interface engine; And generating and storing the information input through the script input means and the user interface module information in a file in a script format. An analysis step of the user interface engine interpreting the script code in which the hierarchical arrangement relationship between the control element and the layer in the prototype form is defined and the script code defining the operation method of the control element; A processing step of providing, by the user interface engine, the game client with the display and the operation information of the control element according to a preconfigured library based on the user interface display information and the operation method of the interpreted script code and the information received from the game client; The game client includes the step of providing the game engine with the display and operation information of the received control element reflected on the game, and if the information is linked to the game logic, providing the processing content to the interface engine Method for providing a user interface for an online game, characterized in that. 20. The method of claim 19, wherein the processing step further comprises converting the display and operation information of the control element into information in a universal format and providing it to the game client. 21. The online game of claim 20, wherein the performing further comprises converting the received display and operation information of the control element of the universal format to suit any game engine embedded in the game client. How to provide a user interface for the project. 20. The method of claim 19, wherein when the game client receives the display and operation information of the control element, the game client identifies and performs information linked to the game logic by using a binding unit bound to the script code. Providing a result to the game engine. An analysis step of the user interface engine interpreting the script code in which the hierarchical arrangement relationship between the control element and the layer in the prototype form is defined and the script code defining the operation method of the control element; The user interface engine displays the display and operation information of the control element in accordance with a preconfigured library based on the user interface display information and operation method of the interpreted script code and information received from the dummy game client and the script console. A test processing step of providing the dummy game client for verification; The dummy game client performs a test performing step of providing the game engine with the display and operation information of the received control element and reflecting it on the game, and providing the interface engine with the processing contents thereof when the information is linked to game logic. Method for providing a user interface for an online game comprising a. 24. The user interface of claim 23, wherein the testing process further comprises converting the display and operation information of the control element into information of a general format and providing the dummy game client to the dummy game client. Way. 25. The method of claim 24, wherein performing the test further comprises converting the received display and operation information of the control element of the universal format as appropriate for any game engine embedded in the dummy game client. How to provide a user interface for online games. The method of claim 23, wherein the performing of the test comprises identifying and performing information linked to the game logic by using a binding unit bound to the script code when the dummy game client receives display and operation information of the control element. And providing the result to the game engine.

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