KR20220002041A - Apparatus and method for providing game based on game rating - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a game management device and method, and more particularly, to a game management device and method for preventing a game that does not match the rating from being provided to a user according to a game use rating. As a technical means for achieving the technical problem, according to an embodiment, disclosed is a game management device comprising: a communication unit for communicating with one or more guest PCs; a storage unit configured to store rating information of a game to be checked that is classified as a target for rating confirmation among one or more paid games set to be provided to users in the guest PCs, and personal information of a user who uses the guest PCs; and a control unit for charging the user of the guest PCs for the paid game when a paid game is executed in the guest PCs, wherein if the paid game executed on the guest PC is the game to be checked, the user's personal information is checked, and if the age of the user does not match the rating of the game to be confirmed, the guest PC stops the execution of the game to be confirmed. It is possible to allow an unspecified number of users to play games of a level appropriate to the ages of the users.

Description

Game management device and method according to game usage level {APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR PROVIDING GAME BASED ON GAME RATING}

Embodiments disclosed herein relate to a game management apparatus and method for preventing a game that does not meet the rating from being provided to a user according to a game use rating.

As the popularity of games increases and competition between game companies intensifies, stimulating games to arouse users' interest are increasing. As a result, adolescents are increasingly exposed to harmful games. In order to solve these problems in the game industry, a game grading system is being operated in Korea. The game rating system requires that games distributed in Korea receive ratings from the Game Management Committee before they are distributed, and regulates users to play the game only when the age of the game user meets the classified rating.

However, the system to protect youth from harmful content differs from country to country, and even among countries that operate similar systems, there are differences in the criteria for classification or the age at which they are restricted.

However, as in all other fields, in the game industry, the barriers between countries are gradually lowering, and it is not difficult to access games distributed overseas through online. Furthermore, in recent years, game platforms that digitally distribute numerous games from different creators, manage digital rights, and provide various services such as user authentication and payment in an integrated way, are gaining popularity. And through these game platforms, various foreign games are being distributed in Korea. For example, Steam, Epic Games Store, GOG, etc. are representative game platforms that digitally distribute games and manage digital rights.

In these game platforms, users can purchase and play a plurality of game software with only one account they have on the game platform. In this case, the game platform provides technical support to make it difficult to distribute or play illegal software by managing each user's rights to software.

However, these game platforms are mostly based in foreign countries, so they do not follow the domestic game classification system. As a result, unlike domestic games that only allow users to play games of a level suitable for them by verifying their age, games purchased on a game platform allow users to access the game only with the user account they have within the game platform. There is controversy over illegality. In particular, overseas game platforms do not go through an authentication process that confirms the age of a user when a user joins the game platform and creates a user account, so there is a risk that young domestic users will be exposed to harmful content indiscriminately.

On the other hand, paid games distributed through game platforms have the inconvenience of being difficult to play before purchasing the actual game. Accordingly, there was a demand from business operators who wanted to provide guests with opportunities to play paid games that they did not purchase in PC rooms or internet cafes.

However, if operators such as PC cafes indiscriminately provide games from overseas platforms that have not been reviewed for domestic classification to a large number of unspecified users, there is a risk that many youths will be exposed to excessively violent or sensational content. Therefore, operators who want to use paid games for their guests for commercial purposes need to selectively allow game access by comparing the age of the users with the grades given to the paid games.

However, as described above, since game platforms create user accounts without the process of verifying the age of the users, even when users use paid games provided by PC room operators through game platforms in PC rooms, users can use their own platform accounts to When approached, there is a problem that there is no technical means to selectively allow game play according to the age of the user.

In this regard, Korean Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-2006-0026714 discloses a 'online game control service providing system and method'. These prior documents describe controlling access to an online game website of a child's terminal according to the access conditions set by the parent.

However, these prior documents do not provide a means to selectively provide games to an unspecified number of users according to the game grade of paid games, other than just controlling the game provided to minors through a terminal designated in advance. .

Therefore, there is a need for a technique for solving the above-mentioned problems.

On the other hand, the above-mentioned background art is technical information that the inventor possessed for the purpose of derivation of the present invention or acquired during the derivation process of the present invention, and it cannot be said that it is necessarily known technology disclosed to the general public before the filing of the present invention. .

Embodiments disclosed in the present specification have an object to provide a game management apparatus and a game management method that allow a large number of unspecified users to play a game of a grade suitable for the age of the user.

Another object of the embodiments is to provide a game management device and a game management method that allow guests who have not purchased a paid game to experience a paid game in a PC room or an internet cafe.

And embodiments, it is an object to present a game management apparatus and a game management method that allows operators who provide paid games for commercial purposes to legally operate a service business by selectively providing games according to game grades.

Further, embodiments provide a game management device and a game management method for collecting age information of guests who have visited a PC room or Internet cafe and repeatedly using the collected information to provide a game with a rating suitable for the age of the guest It is intended to present

As a technical means for achieving the above-described technical problem, according to an embodiment, the game management device, the communication unit for communicating with one or more guest PC; a storage unit configured to store rating information of a game to be checked among one or more paid games set to be provided to users in the guest PC, and personal information of a user who uses the guest PC; And when the paid game is executed in the guest PC, the user of the guest PC is charged for the paid game, but when the paid game executed in the guest PC is the check target game, the user's personal information is checked and the user and a controller for stopping execution of the game to be confirmed in the guest PC if the age of the game does not match the rating of the game to be confirmed.

And according to an embodiment, in the game management method performed by the game management device for managing one or more guest PCs, when a paid game set to be provided to users is executed on the guest PC, a paid game executed on the guest PC verifying that this is a game to be checked; when the executed paid game is the check target game, checking a license type for the check target game selected by the user in the guest PC; when the license type is a preset type, checking the age of the user based on the user's personal information; And when the age of the user does not match the rating of the game to be confirmed, the guest PC may include stopping execution of the game to be confirmed.

According to another embodiment, a computer-readable recording medium in which a program for performing a game management method is recorded is disclosed. In this case, the game management method includes: when a paid game set to be provided to users in the guest PC is executed, checking whether the paid game executed in the guest PC is a game to be checked; when the executed paid game is the check target game, checking a license type for the check target game selected by the user in the guest PC; when the license type is a preset type, checking the age of the user based on the user's personal information; And when the age of the user does not match the rating of the game to be confirmed, the guest PC may include stopping execution of the game to be confirmed.

According to another embodiment, a computer program stored in a medium for performing a game management method, which is performed by a game management device, is disclosed. In this case, the game management method includes: when a paid game set to be provided to users in the guest PC is executed, checking whether the paid game executed in the guest PC is a game to be checked; if the executed paid game is the check target game, checking, in the guest PC, a license type for the check target game used in the guest PC; when the license type is a preset type, checking the age of the user based on the user's personal information; And when the age of the user does not match the rating of the game to be confirmed, the guest PC may include stopping execution of the game to be confirmed.

According to any one of the above-described problem solving means, the embodiments disclosed herein can provide a game management device and a game management method that allow an unspecified number of users to play a game of a grade suitable for the age of the user. have.

In addition, the embodiments may provide a game management device and a game management method so that guests who have not purchased a paid game in a PC room or an Internet cafe can experience the paid game.

In addition, the embodiments may provide a game management apparatus and a game management method that enable operators who provide paid games for commercial purposes to legally operate a service business by selectively providing games according to game grades.

Further, embodiments provide a game management device and a game management method for collecting age information of guests who have visited a PC room or Internet cafe and repeatedly using the collected information to provide a game with a rating suitable for the age of the guest can present

Effects obtainable in the disclosed embodiments are not limited to the above-mentioned effects, and other effects not mentioned are clear to those of ordinary skill in the art to which the embodiments disclosed from the description below belong. can be understood clearly.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a game management apparatus according to an embodiment.
2 is a configuration diagram illustrating a network configuration including a game management device according to an exemplary embodiment.
3 is a flowchart illustrating a game management method performed by a game management apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment.

Hereinafter, various embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The embodiments described below may be modified and implemented in various different forms. In order to more clearly describe the characteristics of the embodiments, detailed descriptions of matters widely known to those of ordinary skill in the art to which the following embodiments belong are omitted. In addition, in the drawings, parts irrelevant to the description of the embodiments are omitted, and similar reference numerals are attached to similar parts throughout the specification.

Throughout the specification, when a component is said to be "connected" with another component, it includes not only the case where it is 'directly connected', but also the case where it is 'connected with another component in between'. In addition, when a component "includes" a component, it means that other components may be further included, rather than excluding other components, unless otherwise stated.

Hereinafter, embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a game management device according to an embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram illustrating a network configuration including a game management device according to an embodiment.

Here, the game management device 100 detects a process of a game program executed in the guest PC 20 to be described later, checks which game is being executed in each guest PC 20, and, if necessary, the corresponding game to the guest PC (20) It is checked whether the level is suitable for the age of the user, and it is determined whether or not to continue running the game. Accordingly, when a game that is not suitable for the age of the user using the guest PC 20 is executed, the game execution is terminated on the guest PC 20 .

The game management device 100 is composed of a guest PC 20, or a counter PC 10 for managing one or more guest PCs 20, or a counter PC 10 and a guest PC 20. It may be composed of Furthermore, the game management apparatus 100 may be configured to include a management server 30 to be described later. At this time, the fact that the game management device 100 is configured to include at least a part of the counter PC 10 , the guest PC 20 , and the management server 30 indicates that some steps of the method performed by the game management device 100 are countered. It means that the PC 10, the guest PC 20, and the management server 30 perform the divided operation.

On the other hand, such a game management device 100 is implemented as an electronic terminal in which a management program for managing the guest PC 20 is installed, for example, the counter PC 10, or a server including the management server 30 as described above- It can be implemented as a client system.

In this case, the electronic terminal may be implemented as a computer, a portable terminal, a television, a wearable device, etc. which may include an interface capable of interacting with a user. Here, the computer includes, for example, a laptop, a desktop, and a laptop equipped with a web browser, and the portable terminal is, for example, a wireless communication device that ensures portability and mobility. , PCS (Personal Communication System), PDC (Personal Digital Cellular), PHS (Personal Handyphone System), PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), GSM (Global System for Mobile communications), IMT (International Mobile Telecommunication)-2000, CDMA (Code) All kinds of handhelds such as Division Multiple Access)-2000, W-Code Division Multiple Access (W-CDMA), Wireless Broadband Internet (Wibro), Smart Phone, Mobile Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX), etc. It may include a (Handheld)-based wireless communication device. In addition, the television may include IPTV (Internet Protocol Television), Internet TV (Internet Television), terrestrial TV, cable TV, and the like. Furthermore, a wearable device is, for example, a type of information processing device that can be worn directly on the human body, such as a watch, glasses, accessories, clothes, shoes, etc. can be connected with

In addition, the server may be implemented as a computer capable of communicating through a network with an electronic terminal in which an application or web browser is installed for interaction with the user, or may be implemented as a cloud computing server. In addition, the server may include a storage device capable of storing data or may store data through a third server.

However, hereinafter, the game management apparatus 100 will be described as an example including only the counter PC 10 . Therefore, hereinafter, the game management device 100 and the counter PC 10 may be used together as terms referring to the same configuration.

At this time, the counter PC 10 shown in FIG. 2 is, for example, an electronic terminal used by an entity running a business of temporarily renting a personal electronic terminal to a large number of unspecified users, such as a PC room or an Internet cafe, It may be constituted by an information processing apparatus in which the above-described management program is installed.

In addition, the guest PC 20 is an electronic terminal loaned to a user by a business operator running the above-mentioned business, and a guest program communicating with the management program installed in the above-described counter PC 10 may be installed in the guest PC 20. . Here, the guest program communicates with the management program, checks the state of the guest PC 20 on which the guest program is installed, and notifies the management program, transmits various service requests of the guest user to the management program, and receives a response from the management program to perform an interaction with the user, such as displaying it to the user.

In addition, the management server 30 communicates with the counter PC 10, and in the counter PC 10, various services necessary for the operator to rent the guest PC 20 to users, for example, rental fee charging, rental time management, incidental Support services such as product sales. To this end, the management server 30 may store data related to various services in response to the operator's account or may provide the stored data to the counter PC 10 . For example, the management server 30 may record daily rental fee billing details for a specific operator, and provide sales data to the operator based thereon.

And the platform server 40 is composed of a server or a group of servers used by the subject operating the game platform, and performs roles such as digital distribution of games, digital rights management, payment at the time of game distribution, user authentication, and the like. The platform server 40 allows the user to perform user authentication with respect to a device in which a game provided by the game server 50 to be described later is executed, and accordingly the game in which the user has rights only for the user of the verified account. can make this run.

Furthermore, the game server 50 is a server or a group of servers that provides an online game managed by the platform server 40, and when a game is executed on the guest PC 20, the game is played while communicating with the game program. can do.

Hereinafter, the configuration of the game management apparatus 100 will be described in more detail. Referring to FIG. 1 , the game management apparatus 100 according to an embodiment may include a storage unit 110 , an input/output unit 120 , a communication unit 130 , and a control unit 140 .

The storage unit 110 may store an operating system of the game management device 100 , a management program or related data for managing the guest PC 20 .

Also, the storage unit 110 may store a list of one or more paid games that are designated in advance to be provided to the guest PCs 20 . The storage unit 110 may store a list of paid games designated in advance by a business operator of a business place where the management target guest PC 20 is located.

At this time, the list of all paid games that can be provided to the guest PC 20 may be received from the management server 30 through the communication unit 130 to be described later, and among them, the paid games selected by the operator through the input/output unit 120 to be described later. The storage unit 110 may store only games by including them in the paid game list.

In this case, the management server 30 may determine a list of all paid games to be provided to the counter PC 10 with reference to the business account used by the counter PC 10 when accessing the management server 30 . For example, a specific business account may be a target of providing a paid game of a specific game platform, and another business account may not be a target of providing a paid game of a specific game platform. In this case, the list of paid games that the management server 30 provides to each counter PC 10 may be different.

As such, the game management apparatus 100 may retain, in the storage unit 110 , a list of at least some paid games selected by a business operator from among the paid games that can be provided to the guest PC 20 .

To this end, the game management device 100 may access the management server 30 using a business account and register the business operator's unique number given to the business operator by the game platform. Accordingly, the management server 30 may match and store the operator's unique number given by the game platform to the account of the corresponding operator.

In addition, the management server 30 may deliver a list including paid games provided by the game platform to the game management device 100 according to whether or not the operator's unique number given by the game platform is registered in the operator account.

On the other hand, when the game management device 100 receives a list of all paid games that can be provided to users in response to a corresponding business operator from the management server 30 described above, a list of all paid games through the input/output unit 120 to be described later is displayed. It outputs and receives only the paid games to be provided to the guest PC 20 of the business place selected by the business operator. Accordingly, the storage unit 110 stores a list of the selected paid games.

In this case, the business operator may have a commercial license for the paid games included in the list of paid games. The management server 30 may be issued a commercial license on behalf of the operator for paid games selected by the operator from the entire list of paid games, and may receive payment for the commercial license of the paid game from the operator. At this time, the management server 30 stores the operator information of each operator and network information such as the counter PC 10 or guest PC 20 of the business place of the operator, for example, an IP address, etc. to the platform server 40 or game server ( 50) and obtain a commercial license.

Here, the commercial license for the paid game is a license that grants the operator the right to allow third parties to play the paid game. That is, the operator may allow users of the guest PC 20 to play paid games for which he owns a commercial license. In this case, users can play the game even if they do not personally own the license for the game.

In addition, the storage unit 110 may store game information for each paid game included in the list of paid games stored in the storage unit 110 . The game information may include a game identifier, a game name, a game grade, an executable file name, a process name, a caption name, a class name, and the like. Here, the rating information does not mean only the ratings classified under the domestic game rating system, but one of the ratings set by the game producer or the game platform that provides the game, or one of the ratings given in other countries for the game. may be The above-described game information may be provided from the management server 30 .

Also, the storage unit 110 may store license data for a commercial license issued through the management server 30 for each paid game included in the list of paid games. The license data may include information about a game identifier to be licensed, an issuance number of the license, an expiration date, and the like.

Meanwhile, the storage unit 110 may separately store a game to be checked among paid games included in the list of paid games. Here, 'games subject to confirmation' means games that require user rating confirmation. Specifically, when using the game, games subject to domestic laws that require the use of an age-confirmed user account may not be included in the game subject to verification. Conversely, paid games provided by a game platform that can use a user account whose age has not been verified in using the corresponding game, that is, a user account that has not undergone a self-authentication process, may be included in the game to be checked. For example, games on the 'Steam' platform may be included in the game to be checked.

In addition, information on whether each paid game is a game to be checked may be provided to the game management apparatus 100 by the above-described management server 30 together with the above-described game information. That is, the game to be confirmed may be specified in advance by the management server 30 , and the game management device 100 may also identifiably store the game to be confirmed among a plurality of paid games accordingly.

For example, when the game information of each paid game is filled in and stored in each field according to the nature of the information, a field for writing whether the game information corresponds to the game to be checked may be set separately.

As described above, the game information of the game to be checked may also include a game identifier, a game name, a game grade, an executable file name, a process name, a caption name, a class name, and the like.

Meanwhile, the storage unit 110 may store personal information of a user who uses the guest PC 20 . In this case, the user's personal information may be collected through a procedure in which the guest PC 20 registers as a member at the business place of the operator in order to use the service provided to the user through the guest program. For example, when the user uses the guest PC 20 , the guest program of the guest PC 20 may induce the user to log in to a member account or register as a member. If the user is not a member, he/she can enter personal information while proceeding with the membership registration process. In addition, the guest PC 20 may transmit the personal information written by the user to the counter PC 10 so that the user's personal information is recorded in at least one of the count PC 10 or the management server 30 . In this case, the guest PC 20 may allow the user to perform an identity authentication procedure according to an embodiment. Accordingly, the guest PC 20 may obtain the user's age information according to the user's actual identity, and transmit the age information as the user's personal information to the counter PC 10 . Accordingly, personal information including the user's age information may be recorded in at least one of the counter PC 10 and the management server 30 .

Here, the age information may include information about the user's date of birth.

Accordingly, the game management apparatus 10 may store the user's personal information in the storage unit 110 .

Meanwhile, according to an embodiment, the game management apparatus 10 may provide a service within a preset range to a non-member even if the user does not sign up as a member.

Meanwhile, the storage 110 may store various data generated while renting the guest PC 20 to a user in addition to the above-described data. For example, the storage unit 110 may record a user's usage record, information on the user's guest PC 20 usage time, information on a billing system, information on billing standards for each paid game, etc. have.

On the other hand, the input/output unit 120 provides a guest PC management screen to the operator who manages the guest PC 20 using the counter PC 10, receives a command corresponding to the guest PC management screen from the operator, and manages the game with the operator As a configuration allowing the device 100 to interact with each other, it may include an input unit for receiving an input from a business operator and an output unit for displaying information or symbols required for management of the guest PC 20 . For example, the input/output unit 120 may include an operation panel for receiving an input from a business operator and a display panel for displaying a screen.

Specifically, the input unit may include devices capable of receiving various types of user input, such as a keyboard, a physical button, a touch screen, a camera, or a microphone. Also, the output unit may include a display panel, a speaker, or a headset. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the input/output unit 120 may include a configuration supporting various input/output.

The input/output unit 120 outputs a guest PC management screen configured using data stored in the storage 110, receives a real-time command input from a business operator, and reflects the processed result according to the input command back to the guest PC management screen to output Accordingly, the operator can grasp the rental status or rental time of each guest PC 20 through the guest PC management screen. In addition, the operator can control the guest program installed in each guest PC 20 through the guest PC management screen.

Meanwhile, the input/output unit 120 may output a list of all paid games received from the management server 30 as described above, and at least some of the paid games included in the list may be selected from the operator. In other words, the business operator can select the type of paid game to be provided to each user in his/her place of business.

Meanwhile, the communication unit 130 may perform wired/wireless communication with other devices or networks. For example, when the game management apparatus 100 is configured as an electronic terminal in which a client is installed, communication for exchanging data with the server may be performed. To this end, the communication unit 130 may include a communication module supporting at least one of various wired and wireless communication methods. For example, the communication module may be implemented in the form of a chipset.

In this case, the wireless communication supported by the communication unit 130 may be, for example, Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi), Wi-Fi Direct, Bluetooth, Ultra Wide Band (UWB), or Near Field Communication (NFC). Also, wired communication supported by the communication unit 130 may be, for example, USB or High Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI). Also, the communication unit 130 may transmit data or a message to a destination through the Internet or a mobile communication network.

The communication unit 130 may communicate with one or more guest PCs 20 and may also communicate with the management server 30 . Accordingly, the personal information of the user who has signed up as a member is transmitted to the management server 30 so that the user account is registered, or, if necessary, the personal information of the member can be requested from the management server 30 . In addition, the communication unit 130 may receive a periodic update of the entire list of paid games from the management server 30 to provide new paid games to the guest PC 20 users.

Meanwhile, the game management apparatus 100 may include a controller 140 . The controller 140 controls the overall operation of the game management apparatus 100 and may include a processor such as a CPU.

The control unit 140 may monitor the state of each guest PC 20 , for example, an on, off state, a rental state, etc., or manage the rental time of the guest PC 20 and perform billing accordingly. In addition, the type of game that the user using the guest PC 20 is currently playing may be monitored.

When the paid game is executed on the guest PC 20, the control unit 140 charges the user of the guest PC 20 for the paid game, but when the paid game executed on the guest PC 20 is a game to be checked If the user's personal information is checked and the age of the user does not match the level of the game to be checked, the guest PC stops the execution of the game to be checked.

Specifically, the control unit 140 may detect whether a paid game is executed on the guest PC 20 and determine whether the executed paid game corresponds to a game to be checked. To this end, the guest program installed in the guest PC 20 may detect a process executed in the guest PC 20 and notify the controller 140 of the game management device 100 . The guest program may extract information such as, for example, a name of a game program executed in the guest PC 20 , an identifier of a process, or a caption name, and transmit the extracted information to the game management apparatus 100 .

Accordingly, the controller 140 receives at least some of this information from the guest PC 20 and compares it with the game information of the paid games included in the paid game list stored in the storage 110, and in the guest PC 20 You can check whether a preset paid game is running. And the controller 140 may additionally charge the user of the guest PC 20 for the paid game. The control unit 140 may charge the user an additional fee for a paid game in addition to the basic guest PC 20 usage fee. For example, a fee of 120 won per minute may be charged by adding an additional fee of 20 won per minute to the usage fee of 100 won per minute while using a paid game. Alternatively, 100 won per minute may be deducted from the prepaid amount, and 120 won per minute may be deducted when a paid game is played.

As such, when a paid game included in the list of paid games registered in the storage 110 is executed in the guest PC 20 , the controller 140 may detect it and perform billing.

In this case, the user can access the paid game by executing the program of the paid game on the guest PC 20. This may be the case when the user has already purchased the paid game and has a personal license, or when the user does not purchase the paid game may be In this case, the game management device 100 may provide a commercial license so that the user can use the corresponding paid game through the guest PC 20 when the user does not purchase the corresponding paid game.

Specifically, when the user performs user authentication for the corresponding paid game and accesses the game or the user's account registered in the game platform, the platform server 40 or the game server 50 determines that the user's account is a personal license for the game. You can check if you have an account with . And when the user does not have a personal license, the platform server 40 or the game server 50 may check the commercial license. At this time, the control unit 140 provides the license data stored in the storage unit 110 to the guest PC 20 so that the guest PC 20 can prove the license with the platform server 40 or the game server 50 . have. Alternatively, if the user's account is not an account with a personal license, the platform server 40 or the game server 50 checks the network information of the guest PC 20, for example, an IP address, to check the existence of a commercial license. can

In addition, the control unit 140 may check whether the license used when the user accesses the paid game is a commercial license. To this end, the controller 140 may check whether a request for a commercial license is received from the platform server 40 or the game server 50 to the guest PC 20 .

As described above, the control unit 140 may detect whether a paid game is executed in the guest PC 20 and may also check the type of license used for the paid game.

In addition, the control unit 140 may determine whether the paid game executed on the guest PC 20 corresponds to the above-mentioned verification target game. That is, the control unit 140 may check whether the executed paid game is classified as a game to be checked in the storage unit 110 . As described above, the game to be checked may be, for example, games of a specific game platform.

When the paid game corresponds to the game to be checked, the control unit 140 may check the age of the guest PC 20 user. To this end, the controller 140 may request the user's personal information from the storage 110 . In this case, the user of the guest PC 20 may use the guest PC 20 as a non-member, or may use the guest PC 20 while logged in with a member account, and the controller 140 determines that the user logs in with a member account. In the case of the state, the age of the user can be confirmed in the personal information corresponding to the account of the user.

When the user is a non-member or age information is not included in the user's account, the controller 140 may request the user to authenticate himself/herself through the guest PC 20 . At this time, the control unit 140 outputs a message requesting identity authentication to the user on the guest PC 20, and when the user wants to perform identity authentication in response to the message, communicates with an authentication server (not shown) to authenticate himself Program modules that carry out the procedure can be executed.

Accordingly, the user can perform an authentication procedure using the user's own I-PIN number, mobile phone number, public certificate, QR code issued to the user's mobile phone, etc. through the program module executed in the guest PC 20 .

In addition, the guest PC 20 may receive information on the age of the user from the authentication server through the authentication procedure. Accordingly, the guest PC 20 may provide the checked age information of the user to the counter PC 10 .

Accordingly, the controller 140 may at least temporarily store information about the age of the user in the storage 110 . In this case, when the user is a non-member, the control unit 140 temporarily stores the checked age of the user in association with the identifier of the guest PC 20 used by the user, and then the user can rent the guest PC 20 . It can be deleted when it is finished.

In addition, when the user is a member, but age information is not included in the personal information of the user account, the control unit 140 includes the age of the user confirmed through the authentication procedure in the personal information of the user account to be stored. .

On the other hand, when the user does not respond to the user authentication request message output to the guest PC 20 and does not perform the authentication procedure, the control unit 140 may cause the execution of the game to be verified on the guest PC 20 to be stopped. .

And when the age of the user is confirmed, that is, when the user is a member and the age is confirmed because the user's personal information includes information about age, or the user is a member, the age is added to the user's personal information If the age is not included or the user is a non-member and the age is checked through the identity verification process, it can be checked whether the age of the confirmed user matches the level of the game to be checked being executed on the guest PC 20 .

For example, if the age of the confirmed user is 16, the controller 140 corresponds to the M (Mature) rating in the US game review rating, It is possible to stop the execution of the check target game being executed in the guest PC (20).

On the other hand, the control unit 140 selects the execution of the game by checking the age of the user, even if the paid game being executed on the guest PC 20 corresponds to the game to be checked, when the user accesses the game using the personal license You may not perform the process of stopping with .

That is, according to an embodiment, the controller 140 may not check the age of the user when the user already plays the game through his/her own personal license.

In addition, when the user does not respond to the user authentication request or when the user's age does not match the grade of the game being played and the execution of the game to be checked is stopped, the control unit 140 outputs a game end message to the guest PC 20 can do. The game end message may include a reason for terminating the game execution and text data indicating that the game execution is terminated.

Through this, the game management device 100 provides only a game of a grade suitable for the age of the users when a business operator such as a PC room or an Internet cafe provides a paid game to users of the guest PC 20 for commercial purposes. , it can protect young people and enable legal business at the same time.

On the other hand, at this time, when the control unit 140 cannot confirm the age of the user and requests the user to authenticate himself and proceeds with the authentication procedure, the game identifier of the game to be confirmed that caused the request for authentication, and the user who performed the authentication procedure An authentication record including at least one of a member identifier, a date and time when authentication is performed, age information of a user, and a business identifier may be generated and transmitted to the management server 30 .

Accordingly, the management server 30 may accumulate proof data that can prove that the rating system is being faithfully implemented for the games to be checked for the corresponding business account.

Meanwhile, in the embodiment described above, as described above, the game management device 100 has been described as being composed of the counter PC 10 , but a part of the operations performed by the above-described game management device 100 is performed by the management server 30 . or the guest PC 20 , in which case the game management device 100 may have a configuration that further includes at least one of the management server 30 and the guest PC 20 . For example, the game management apparatus 100 may be configured as a server-client system including the counter PC 10 and the management server 30 .

Hereinafter, a game management method performed by the above-described game management apparatus 100 will be described.

3 is a flowchart illustrating a game management method step by step according to an embodiment.

The game management method according to the embodiments shown in FIG. 3 includes steps that are time-series processed by the game management device 100 shown in FIG. 1 . Accordingly, even if omitted below, the content described above with respect to the game management apparatus 100 illustrated in FIG. 1 may also be applied to the game management method according to the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 3 .

Referring to FIG. 3 , the game management apparatus 100 may monitor whether a paid game is executed on the guest PC 20 ( S300 ). The game management apparatus 100 may monitor the guest PC 20 and detect whether a paid game included in a preset paid game list is being executed.

In addition, the game management device 100 may check whether the paid game executed on the guest PC 20 is a game to be checked (S310). To this end, the game management apparatus 100 may check whether the paid game is a game classified as a game to be checked. In this case, the game management apparatus 100 may manage each paid game included in the list of paid games to be able to distinguish whether the corresponding game is a game to be checked.

That is, the game management device 100 detects a process executed in the guest PC 20 in steps S300 to S310, and includes a paid game included in a list of paid games preset to be provided to users in the guest PC 20. After checking whether the game is running, you can check whether the paid game is a game classified as a game to be checked. To this end, the game management apparatus 100 may refer to a list of paid games and game information stored for each paid game.

In addition, when the paid game is not a game to be checked, the game management apparatus 100 may continuously execute the corresponding game in the guest PC 20 .

On the other hand, when the paid game is the game to be checked, the game management device 100 may selectively check the license type for the game to be checked used in the guest PC 20 (S320).

Accordingly, when the type of license used to access the game to be checked in the guest PC 20 is the individual license of the user, the game management device 100 may continue to execute the game in the guest PC 20. .

However, the game management apparatus 100 may perform the following procedure only when the type of license used to access the game to be checked by the guest PC 20 is a commercial license issued to a business operator.

Meanwhile, the step (S320) of confirming the above-described license type may be selectively performed.

And the game management apparatus 100 may check the age of the user (S330). The game management apparatus 100 may check the age of the user based on the user's personal information of the guest PC 20 . In this case, the age of the user may not be confirmed. For example, if the user is a non-member or a member but age information is not collected during the membership registration process, the age of the user cannot be confirmed.

In this case, the game management apparatus 100 may request the user to authenticate himself and proceed with the authentication procedure (S340).

Then, when the user performs the authentication procedure in response to the user authentication, the game management apparatus 100 may store the authenticated user's age information (S350).

A series of processes included in steps S330 to S350 may be performed somewhat differently when the user is a member and a non-member.

That is, when the user is a member registered in advance in the game management apparatus 100 , the age of the user may be confirmed from the personal information stored in advance about the user. However, if the age of the user is not retrieved from the previously stored personal information, the game management apparatus 100 may request the user to authenticate himself and proceed with the authentication procedure. And when the age of the user is confirmed through the authentication procedure, the game management apparatus 100 may additionally store the age information of the user in the personal information stored in advance for the user.

On the other hand, if the user is not a pre-registered member in the game management device 100, the game management device 100 requests the user to authenticate himself, proceeds with the authentication process, and when the age of the user is confirmed through the authentication process, the user's Age information can be stored. In this case, the game management apparatus 100 may associate the user's age information with the identifier of the guest PC 20 for the non-member user and temporarily store the user's guest PC 20 only during the rental period.

Meanwhile, when the user does not respond to the user authentication request, the game management apparatus 100 may stop the execution of the game to be checked in the guest PC 20 .

Then, the game management apparatus 100 may check whether the checked age of the user matches the level of the game to be checked ( S360 ). To this end, the game management device 100 may extract rating information from the game information of the game to be checked being executed on the guest PC 20 and compare it with the checked age of the user.

Next, if the age of the user does not match the grade of the game to be checked, the game management apparatus 100 may stop the execution of the game to be checked in the guest PC 20 ( S370 ). Through this, the game management apparatus 100 may allow only users who meet the rating to play the game at least for the paid game provided to the user by the operator.

And, when the execution of the game to be checked is stopped, the game management apparatus 100 may output a game end message to the guest PC 20 (S380).

The term '~ unit' used in the above embodiments means software or hardware components such as field programmable gate array (FPGA) or ASIC, and '~ unit' performs certain roles. However, '-part' is not limited to software or hardware. '~' may be configured to reside on an addressable storage medium or may be configured to refresh one or more processors. Accordingly, as an example, '~' indicates components such as software components, object-oriented software components, class components, and task components, and processes, functions, properties, and procedures. , subroutines, segments of program patent code, drivers, firmware, microcode, circuitry, data, databases, data structures, tables, arrays, and variables.

The functions provided in the components and '~ units' may be combined into a smaller number of elements and '~ units' or separated from additional components and '~ units'.

In addition, components and '~ units' may be implemented to play one or more CPUs in a device or secure multimedia card.

The game management method according to the embodiments described with reference to FIG. 3 may also be implemented in the form of a computer-readable medium for storing instructions and data executable by a computer. In this case, the instructions and data may be stored in the form of program codes, and when executed by the processor, a predetermined program module may be generated to perform a predetermined operation. In addition, computer-readable media can be any available media that can be accessed by a computer, and includes both volatile and nonvolatile media, removable and non-removable media. In addition, the computer-readable medium may be a computer recording medium, which is a volatile and non-volatile and non-volatile storage medium implemented in any method or technology for storage of information such as computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data. It may include both volatile, removable and non-removable media. For example, the computer recording medium may be a magnetic storage medium such as HDD and SSD, an optical recording medium such as CD, DVD, and Blu-ray disc, or a memory included in a server accessible through a network.

Also, the game management method according to the embodiments described with reference to FIG. 3 may be implemented as a computer program (or computer program product) including instructions executable by a computer. The computer program includes programmable machine instructions processed by a processor, and may be implemented in a high-level programming language, an object-oriented programming language, an assembly language, or a machine language. . In addition, the computer program may be recorded in a tangible computer-readable recording medium (eg, a memory, a hard disk, a magnetic/optical medium, or a solid-state drive (SSD), etc.).

Accordingly, the game management method according to the embodiments described with reference to FIG. 3 may be implemented by executing the computer program as described above by the computing device. The computing device may include at least a portion of a processor, a memory, a storage device, a high-speed interface connected to the memory and the high-speed expansion port, and a low-speed interface connected to the low-speed bus and the storage device. Each of these components is connected to each other using various buses, and may be mounted on a common motherboard or in any other suitable manner.

Here, the processor may process a command within the computing device, such as, for example, to display graphic information for providing a graphic user interface (GUI) on an external input or output device, such as a display connected to a high-speed interface. Examples are instructions stored in memory or a storage device. In other embodiments, multiple processors and/or multiple buses may be used with multiple memories and types of memory as appropriate. In addition, the processor may be implemented as a chipset formed by chips including a plurality of independent analog and/or digital processors.

Memory also stores information within the computing device. As an example, the memory may be configured as a volatile memory unit or a set thereof. As another example, the memory may be configured as a non-volatile memory unit or a set thereof. The memory may also be another form of computer readable medium, such as, for example, a magnetic or optical disk.

In addition, the storage device may provide a large-capacity storage space to the computing device. A storage device may be a computer-readable medium or a component comprising such a medium, and may include, for example, devices or other components within a storage area network (SAN), a floppy disk device, a hard disk device, an optical disk device, or a tape device, a flash memory, or other semiconductor memory device or device array similar thereto.

The above-described embodiments are for illustration, and those of ordinary skill in the art to which the above-described embodiments pertain can easily transform into other specific forms without changing the technical idea or essential features of the above-described embodiments. You will understand. Therefore, it should be understood that the above-described embodiments are illustrative in all respects and not restrictive. For example, each component described as a single type may be implemented in a dispersed form, and likewise components described as distributed may also be implemented in a combined form.

The scope to be protected through this specification is indicated by the claims described below rather than the detailed description, and it should be construed to include all changes or modifications derived from the meaning and scope of the claims and their equivalents. .

100: game management device 110: storage unit
120: input/output unit 130: communication unit
140: control unit

Claims (16)

A game management device comprising:
a communication unit for communicating with one or more guest PCs;
a storage unit configured to store rating information of a game to be checked among one or more paid games set to be provided to users in the guest PC, and personal information of a user who uses the guest PC; and
When the paid game is executed in the guest PC, the user of the guest PC is charged for the paid game, but when the paid game executed in the guest PC is the game to be checked, the user's personal information is checked and the user's Game management device including a control unit for stopping the execution of the check target game in the guest PC if the age does not match the rating of the check target game. According to claim 1,
The storage unit,
retains a list of paid games provided to the guest PC, manages the games to be checked among the paid games so that they can be distinguished, and stores the rating information of the games to be checked,
The control unit is
A game management device for detecting whether a paid game is executed in the guest PC and determining whether the executed paid game corresponds to the check target game. According to claim 1,
The control unit is
If the age of the user is not confirmed, a user authentication is requested to the user to proceed with the authentication process, and when the age of the user is confirmed through the authentication process, the age information of the user is stored in the storage unit, game management Device. 4. The method of claim 3,
The control unit is
When the user is a non-member whose personal information is not registered in the storage unit, the user's age confirmed through the authentication procedure is temporarily stored in the storage unit, and the user is a member whose personal information is previously registered in the storage unit. In this case, the game management device for additionally storing the user's age confirmed through the authentication procedure in the user's personal information. 4. The method of claim 3,
The control unit is
When the user does not respond to the user authentication request, the game management device for stopping the execution of the game to be verified in the guest PC. According to claim 1,
The control unit is
If the paid game executed on the guest PC is the verification target game, check the license type for the verification target game used in the guest PC, and check the user's personal information only when the license type is a commercial license Thus, if the age of the user does not match the level of the game to be confirmed, the guest PC stops the execution of the game to be confirmed, the game management device. According to claim 1,
The control unit is
When the execution of the check target game is stopped, the game management device for outputting a game end message to the guest PC. performed by a game management device that manages one or more guest PCs,
when a paid game set to be provided to users is executed in the guest PC, checking whether the paid game executed in the guest PC is a game to be checked;
if the executed paid game is the check target game, checking a license type for the check target game used in the guest PC;
when the license type is a preset type, checking the age of the user based on the user's personal information; and
If the age of the user does not match the rating of the game to be confirmed, the guest PC comprising the step of stopping execution of the game to be confirmed, the game management method. 9. The method of claim 8,
The step of confirming whether the paid game is a game subject to verification includes:
detecting a process executed in the guest PC, and checking whether a paid game included in a list of paid games preset to be provided to users in the guest PC is executed; and
and checking whether the paid game is a game classified as a game to be checked when the execution of the paid game is detected. 9. The method of claim 8,
The game management method,
The game management method further comprising the step of managing to be able to distinguish the game to be confirmed among the paid games. 9. The method of claim 8,
The step of confirming the age of the user,
when the user is a member registered in advance in the game management device, confirming the age of the user from the personal information stored in advance for the user;
If the age of the user is not found in the pre-stored personal information, requesting the user to authenticate himself and performing an authentication procedure; and
When the age of the user is confirmed through the authentication procedure, the method comprising the step of additionally storing the age information of the user in the personal information stored in advance for the user, the game management method. 9. The method of claim 8,
The step of confirming the age of the user,
if the user is not a member registered in advance in the game management device, requesting the user to authenticate himself/herself and performing an authentication procedure; and
When the age of the user is confirmed through the authentication procedure, including the step of storing the age information of the user, the game management method.
13. The method of claim 11 or 12,
The game management method,
If the user does not respond to the user authentication request, further comprising the step of stopping execution of the game to be verified in the guest PC, the game management method. 9. The method of claim 8,
The game management method,
The step of stopping the execution of the game to be checked includes:
Comprising the step of outputting a game end message to the guest PC, the game management method. A computer-readable recording medium in which a program for performing the method according to claim 8 is recorded. A computer program stored in the medium for performing the method according to claim 8, performed by the game management device.

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