WO2014200254A1

WO2014200254A1 - Method and apparatus for obtaining sub-character for performing quests with character in a computer game

Info

Publication number: WO2014200254A1
Application number: PCT/KR2014/005106
Authority: WO
Inventors: Ho Eun OH; Hoon SEOK; Kyu Il ROH; Han Kyul SHIN
Original assignee: Wemade Entertainment Co., Ltd.
Priority date: 2013-06-14
Filing date: 2014-06-11
Publication date: 2014-12-18
Also published as: KR20140146292A

Abstract

A method of obtaining objects in a computer game as sub-characters, the method includes selecting one of the objects; determining whether a designated condition given to the selected object is satisfied; and if the designated condition is satisfied, converting the selected object to a sub-character, wherein the sub-character includes a subject that performs a quest in the computer game together with a character controlled by a user.

Description

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR OBTAINING SUB-CHARACTER FOR PERFORMING QUESTS WITH CHARACTER IN A COMPUTER GAME

One or more embodiments of the present invention relate to a method and apparatus for obtaining a sub-character for performing quests with a character in a computer game.

A computer role-playing game (RPG) is a game where users of a plurality of terminals connected via the Internet play as virtual characters that carry out designated missions and roles. In such a conventional RPG, a game server and a user terminal are connected via the Internet and the conventional RPG is played according to control instructions provided by the game server.

A user of a common RPG generates a virtual character and carries out virtual roles in a virtual space provided by the common RPG. In other words, a virtual character generated by a user represents the user in a virtual space. Additionally, a game server provides virtual capital, such as items or game money, to a user, or upgrades a role level (that is, a character of a user), based on role performances of the user, so that the user may enjoy the RPG.

Furthermore, RPG games provide not only characters of users, but also so-called non-playing characters (NPC), which are characters controlled by a game server, thereby maximizing virtual reality impression and fun for users. For example, NPCs are characters that are completely by a pre-set algorithm in a game and may include monsters that are hostile to characters of users or merchant characters selling equipment items or consumable items to characters of users.

In addition, if a user may win a monster as described above in a computer game over to the user’s side as a sub-character for performing quests with a character controlled by the user, the computer game may be more fun in various aspects.

A method of obtaining a sub-character according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail.

One or more embodiments of the present invention include a method of obtaining an object satisfying designated conditions as a sub-character for performing quests with a user character.

According to the one or more of the above embodiments of the present invention, various monsters in a computer game may be obtained as sub-characters that can be controlled by a user, thereby making the computer game more fun for a user. Furthermore, the user may obtain various types of sub-characters and select a suitable sub-character to perform a quest, and thus the concentration of the user on the computer game may be improved.

These and/or other aspects will become apparent and more readily appreciated from the following description of the embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a system for playing a computer game according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a method of obtaining a sub-character, according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a method of performing a computer game, according to another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a method of performing a computer game, according to another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing that a character and an object are combined with each other, according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing that missions are performed while a character and an object are combined with each other, according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing types of missions according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a display screen of the terminal, displaying a database in which sub-characters are stored, according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing upgrading attributes of a sub-character, according to an embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing that a character and a sub-character are detached from each other, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Additional aspects will be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by practice of the presented embodiments.

According to one or more embodiments of the present invention, a method of obtaining objects in a computer game as sub-characters, the method includes selecting one from among the objects; determining whether a designated condition given to the selected object is satisfied; and, if the designated condition is satisfied, converting the selected object to a sub-character, wherein the sub-character includes a subject that performs a quest in the computer game together with a character controlled by a user.

According to one or more embodiments of the present invention, there is provided a computer-readable recording medium having recorded thereon a computer program for implementing the method.

According to one or more embodiments of the present invention, an apparatus for executing a computer game, the apparatus includes a selecting unit, which selects one from among the objects; a determining unit, which determines whether a designated condition given to the selected object is satisfied; and a converting unit, which converts the selected object to a sub-character, if the designated condition is satisfied, wherein the sub-character includes a subject that performs a quest in the computer game together with a character controlled by a user.

Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout. In this regard, the present embodiments may have different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the descriptions set forth herein. Accordingly, the embodiments are merely described below, by referring to the figures, to explain aspects of the present description. As used herein, the term "and/or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

As the invention allows for various changes and numerous embodiments, particular embodiments will be illustrated in the drawings and described in detail in the written description. However, this is not intended to limit the present invention to particular modes of practice, and it is to be appreciated that all changes, equivalents, and substitutes that do not depart from the spirit and technical scope of the present invention are encompassed in the present invention. In the description of the present invention, certain detailed explanations of related art are omitted when it is deemed that they may unnecessarily obscure the essence of the invention.

In embodiments of the present invention, the terms “communication”, “communication network”, and “network” may be synonyms. These terms refer to a narrow area communication network or a wide area comment network capable of transmitting and receiving files between a user terminal and a server via wires or wirelessly.

Hereinafter, the term “server” refers to a server computer that users access to use game content. In small games or games with a small number of users, a plurality of game programs may be operated at a single game server. On the other hand, in a very large game or a game with a large number of users simultaneously accessing the game, there may be more than one server for operating a single game. Furthermore, middleware regarding databases or servers for processing payments may be connected to a game server. However, descriptions thereof will be omitted below.

Hereinafter, the term “computer game” refers to game content that users may use by accessing the game server. Particularly, the term “computer game” refers to a computer game, in which a plurality of users may simultaneously play and upgrade levels of characters by training characters or obtaining experience points. Furthermore, the term “computer game” refers to a computer game, in which users may purchase various types of items for smooth gameplay.

Furthermore, various group communities may be used in a computer game. For example, guilds or clans in a computer game may be formed. The terms “guild” or “clan” refers to groups or organizations organized by users playing particular computer games. The reputation of each organization may be improved based on the number of users therein or levels of characters of the users therein, and various benefits in the computer game may be given based on the reputation. For example, if the reputation of a guild or a clan improves, characters thereof may be displayed differently (e.g., names of characters thereof may be changed) or benefits regarding items or facilities in the computer game may be given to characters thereof.

Furthermore, group communities available in a computer game also include a party play. The term “party” is an in-game group formed as users invite one another and accept invitations, where members of a formed party may use a dedicated chatting system or a particular marking for identifying party members in a game screen image.

Furthermore, members of a party may distribute items to one another or share a result content obtained as a result of playing the game. It may be set to equally distribute result content to each of members or to distribute at least portions of a result content to other members.

Hereinafter, the term ‘result content’ refers to all content that may be obtained by characters of users as a result of playing a game. For example, in a shooting game, experience and cyber money that can be obtained when a single game is over may be included in result content. In a sports game, experience and cyber money that can be obtained when a single game is over may be included in result content. In case of an RPG game, experience and compensation cyber money that can be obtained when a particular quest is completed or a monster is killed may be result content.

FIG. 1 is a diagram of a system 100 for playing a computer game, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 1 shows examples of terminals including a desktop or laptop PC 110 and a mobile or smartphone 120, where the terminals are connected to a server 140 via a network 130 and perform tasks.

Here, the network 130 may include the Internet, a local area network (LAN), a wireless LAN, a wide area network (WAN), and a personal area network (PAN). However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the network 130 may include other types of networks via which data may be transmitted and received. In embodiments described below, it will be assumed that data transmission and reception between the terminal and the server 140 are performed via the network 130. However, the present invention is not limited thereto.

Furthermore, a smartphone, including a touch screen. will be provided as an example of the mobile or smartphone 120. However, any other device capable of accessing the server 140 via the network 130 and performing tasks may be applied.

Here, a touch screen is a display screen to which designated information may be input via ‘gestures’ of a user. For example, gestures stated below may include a tap, a touch & hold, a double-tap, a drag, a pan, a flick, a drag-and-drop, etc.

Hereinafter, although it is assumed in the description below that a terminal for performing a method of targeting a target object, according to an embodiment of the present invention, is the desktop or laptop PC 110, one of ordinary skill in the art will understand that the method may also be performed by the mobile or smartphone 120. Hereinafter, although it is assumed in the description below that a terminal for performing a method of targeting a target object, according to an embodiment of the present invention, is the desktop or laptop PC 110, one of ordinary skill in the art will understand that the method may also be performed by the mobile or smartphone 120. Hereinafter, the desktop or laptop PC 110 is referred to as the terminal 110.

Furthermore, although it is will be assumed that data for performing a method of obtaining a sub-character described below with reference to FIGS. 2 through 10 is mainly processed by the terminal 110, one of ordinary skill in the art will easily understand that the terminal 110 may perform a user interface (UI) function and a display function and data may be processed by the server 140.

For example, the terminal 110 may receive information required for proceeding a game from a user and may transmit the information to the server 140 via the network 130. Next, the server 140 may process data as described below by using the transmitted information and may transmit a result of processing the data to the terminal 110 via the network 130. Next, the terminal 110 may display the transmitted result of processing the data on a display screen of the terminal 110.

In addition, one of ordinary skill in the art will easily understand that the terminal 110 and the server 140 may appropriately share data processing for proceeding a computer game. In other words, the terminal 110 and the server 140 connected to each other via the network 130 may organically process data like one processor or a plurality of processors that are connected to one another.

The terminal 110 may include a selecting unit for selecting one of a plurality of objects in a computer game, a determining unit for determining whether a designated condition given to the selected object is satisfied, and a converting unit for converting the object to a sub-character if the condition is satisfied.

Here, each of the selecting unit, the determining unit, and the converting unit included in the terminal 110 may be embodied by one processor or a plurality of processors. A processor may be embodied as an array of a plurality of logic gates or a combination of a general purpose microprocessor and a memory storing a program to be executed on the microprocessor. Furthermore, one of ordinary skill in the art will understand that the selecting unit, the determining unit, and/or the converting unit may be embodied in any other type of hardware.

Hereinafter, referring to FIGS. 2 through 10, a method of obtaining a sub-character according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail. The selecting unit, the determining unit, and the converting unit as described above may perform operations included in a method of targeting an object.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a method of obtaining a sub-character, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 2, the method of obtaining a sub-character includes operations that are chronologically performed by the terminal or the game server 140 as shown in FIG. 1. Therefore, even though omitted below, descriptions above of the terminal or the server 140 shown in FIG. 1 may also be applied to the method of obtaining a sub-character as shown in FIG. 2.

In operation 210, a terminal (110 of FIG. 1) selects one of a plurality of objects in a computer game. Here, the objects may include monsters, which are targets to be attacked by characters of a user. Furthermore, the objects may include animals in the background of the computer game, where the animals may include animals moving on the ground and birds flying in the sky.

Objects include objects that can be converted to sub-characters and objects that cannot be converted to sub-characters. Here, the sub-character is a subject that performs a quest in a computer game together with a character controlled by a user. For example, if it is assumed that a character controlled by a user is a human, a sub-character may be a monster that the character may ride and move, a monster that may attack, or a background animal.

The terminal (110 of FIG. 1) selects one of the objects in a computer game based on information input by a user. In detail, the terminal (110 of FIG. 1) selects an object that can be converted to a sub-character from among objects in a computer game based on information input by a user. Here, the information input by the user may be input to the terminal (110 of FIG. 1) via a UI unit included in the terminal (110 of FIG. 1). In other words, the user may designate one of the objects displayed on a display screen of the terminal (110 of FIG. 1) by using the UI unit, and the terminal (110 of FIG. 1) selects the object designated by the user.

In detail, a UI unit is a module which obtains information input by a user and displays output information to the user. For example, a UI unit may include both input/output devices, such as a display panel, a mouse, a keyboard, a touch screen, a monitor, and a speaker, and software modules for driving the same.

In operation 220, the terminal (110 of FIG. 1) determines whether a designated condition given to the selected object is satisfied. Here, the designated condition is a condition that experience points obtained by performing pre-set missions with respect to the object are performed while the character is combined with the object exceed a critical value. Here, the mission is a mission performed to determine whether the character and the object may perform a quest while being combined with each other, and the experience points are experience points obtained when the mission succeeds.

Hereinafter, referring to FIGS. 5 through 7, an example of performing missions while a character and an object are combined with each other will be described in detail.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing that a character and an object are combined with each other, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 5(a), as shown on the right of FIG. 5(a), a character 510 may be combined with a first object 521. Here, the character 510 may be combined with the first object 521 as the character 510 jumps on the back of the first object 521, for example. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the character 510 may be combined with the first object 521 in any of various manners as long as the character 510 and the first object 521 can be simultaneously controlled by a single command.

While the character 510 is combined with the first object 521, the character 510 may be combined with a second object 522 by jumping toward the second object 522 and landing on the second object 522. Since objects include objects that can be converted to sub-characters and objects that cannot be converted to sub-character, the first object 521 and the second object 522 to be combined with the character 510 correspond only to objects that can be converted to a sub-character. If the first or

second object

521 or 522 is an object that cannot be converted to a sub-character, the terminal (110 of FIG. 1) displays a message indicating that the character 510 cannot be combined with the first or

second object

521 or 522 on a display screen of the terminal (110 of FIG. 1) when the character 510 jumps toward the first or

second object

521 or 522. Accordingly, the terminal (110 of FIG. 1) may notify a user that the first or

second object

521 or 522 is an object that cannot be converted to a sub-character.

Referring to FIG. 5(b), the character 510 may use a terrain feature, for example, a cliff 530, in the background of a computer game, to combine with an object 523. For example, the character 510 may be combined with the object 523 by jumping toward the object 523 from the cliff 530 in the background of a computer game. Here, it may be set in advance that the character 510 can be combined with the object 523 only when a height h of the cliff 530 used by the character 510 is equal to or above a designated height.

Referring to FIG. 5(c), while the character 510 is combined with a first object 524, the character 510 may be combined with a second object 525 by jumping toward the second object 525 and landing on the second object 525. Here, the first object 524 and the second object 525 may be different objects. For example, the first object 524 may be an animal moving on the ground, whereas the second object 525 may be an animal moving in the sky (that is, a bird). When the character 510 moves from the first object 524, with which the character 510 is currently combined, to another type of object, that is, the second object 525, the terminal (110 of FIG. 1) may display on a display screen of the terminal (110 of FIG. 1) that the character 510 performs a double jump.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing that missions are performed while a character and an object are combined with each other, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 6, when designated missions 630 are performed while a character 610 is combined with an object 620. Based on a result of performing the missions 630, the terminal (110 of FIG. 1) may notify a user whether the missions 630 are successfully performed or failed by displaying a success gauge 641 or a failure gauge 642 on a display screen of the terminal (110 of FIG. 1).

The mission 630 may be performed for a designated number of turns. For example, the number of available turns is set based on a current level of the character 610 and, if the success gauge 641 does not become full within the set number of turns, it is determined that a condition is not satisfied. Therefore, the terminal (110 of FIG. 1) may not convert the object 620 to a sub-character.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing types of missions according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 7, a total of four types of missions (630 of FIG. 6) are shown. However, the present invention is not limited thereto. A name 710, a UI 720, and an input key 730 are allocated to each of the missions (630 of FIG. 6).

Referring back to FIG. 6, when the mission 630 is performed while the character 610 is combined with the object 620, a UI (720 of FIG. 7) corresponding to the mission 630 to be performed is displayed at a designated location on a display screen of the terminal (110 of FIG. 1). Here, a user may perform the mission 630 by pressing an input key (730 of FIG. 7) corresponding to the displayed UI (720 of FIG. 7) via a UI unit of the terminal (110 of FIG. 1).If the display screen of the terminal (110 of FIG. 1) is a touch screen, a user may perform the mission 630 by touching the UI (720 of FIG. 7) displayed on the display screen of terminal (110 of FIG. 1).

Referring back to FIG. 2, in operation 230, the terminal (110 of FIG. 1) converts an object (620 of FIG. 6) to a sub-character if a designated condition is satisfied. In detail, the terminal (110 of FIG. 1) may convert the object (620 of FIG. 6) to a sub-character by storing the object (620 of FIG. 6) converted to the sub-character when the designated condition is satisfied in a database.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a display screen of the terminal (110 of FIG. 1), displaying a database in which sub-characters are stored, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

When a designated condition is satisfied (that is, a mission (630 of FIG. 6) is performed while a character (610 of FIG. 6) and an object (620 of FIG. 6) are combined with each other and a success gauge (641 of FIG. 6) becomes full within a set number of turns), the terminal (110 of FIG. 1) stores the object (620 of FIG. 6) in a database.

Referring to FIG. 8, a list 810 of sub-characters stored in a database may be displayed on the display screen of the terminal (110 of FIG. 1). When a user selects one of the sub-characters stored in the database, brief information 820 and a detailed specification 830 regarding the selected sub-character are displayed on the display screen of the terminal (110 of FIG. 1). Furthermore, information 840 regarding the skills of the selected sub-character may also be displayed on the display screen of the terminal (110 of FIG. 1).

A user may select and output one of the sub-characters stored in the database of the terminal (110 of FIG. 1), and thus a character and a sub-character may be combined with each other and perform a quest.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a method of performing a computer game, according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3, the method of performing a computer game includes operations that are chronologically performed at the terminal or the server 140. Therefore, even though omitted below, descriptions above of the terminal or the server 140 as shown in FIG. 1 and the methods described with reference to FIG. 2 may also be applied to the method of obtaining a sub-character as shown in FIG. 3.

Operations 310 through 330 as shown in FIG. 3 correspond to the operations 210 through 230 described above with reference to FIG. 2, respectively. Therefore, detailed descriptions thereof will be omitted.

In operation 340, based on a signal input by a user, the terminal (110 of FIG. 1) combines a character with a sub-character output from among sub-characters stored in a database and performs a quest. In detail, a user selects one of the sub-characters stored in a database, as shown in FIG. 8, via a UI unit and may click a button (850 of FIG. 8) for summoning the selected sub-character. Here, the sub-character selected by the user may be summoned to a computer game, and a character and the sub-character may be combined with each other and perform a quest.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a method of performing a computer game, according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 4, the method of performing a computer game includes operations that are chronologically performed at the terminal or the server 140. Therefore, even though omitted below, descriptions above of the terminal or the server 140 as shown in FIG. 1 and the methods described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3 may also be applied to the method of obtaining a sub-character as shown in FIG. 4.

Operations 410 through 440 as shown in FIG. 4 correspond to the operations 310 through 340 described above with reference to FIG. 2, respectively. Therefore, detailed descriptions thereof will be omitted.

In operation 450, the terminal (110 of FIG. 1) determines an experience points corresponding to a sub-character based on a result that a character and a sub-character are combined with each other and performed a quest and accumulates the determined experience points. For example, if it is assumed that a character and a sub-character were combined with each other and performed a quest for killing monsters in a computer game, the terminal (110 of FIG. 1) may accumulate experience points corresponding to the sub-character in proportion to the number of times that the character and the sub-character killed monsters while being combined with each other.

In operation 460, when accumulated experience points exceed a critical value, the terminal (110 of FIG. 1) raises hit points and/or attributes of the sub-character. Here, the attributes of the sub-character are attack attributes or defense attributes. Examples of increased attributes of a sub-character may include a case in which the sub-character obtains a new skill or a case in which a level of the sub-character is upgraded. However, the present invention is not limited thereto.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing upgrading attributes of a sub-character, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 9(a), if accumulated experience points corresponding to a sub-character 910 exceed a critical value, the terminal (110 of FIG. 1) may add a new skill 920 that can be used by the sub-character 910 to the sub-character 910. Here, the terminal (110 of FIG. 1) may display a notification 930 of the addition of the new skill on a display screen of the terminal (110 of FIG. 1), thereby notifying a user that the sub-character 910 can now use a new skill.

Referring to FIG. 9(b), if accumulated experience points corresponding to a sub-character 910 exceed a critical value, the terminal (110 of FIG. 1) may upgrade a level of the sub-character 910. Here, the terminal (110 of FIG. 1) may display a notification 940 of the upgrade of the level of the sub-character 910 on the display screen of the terminal (110 of FIG. 1).

Referring back to FIG. 4, in operation 470, the terminal (110 of FIG. 1) calculates the reduced hit points of a sub-character corresponding to a period of time that the sub-character was combined with a character and performed quests. Next, in operation 480, the terminal (110 of FIG. 1) releases or detaches the sub-character and the character from each other when the hit points calculated in the operation 470 are identical to the initial hit points of the sub-character.

In detail, in proportion to a period of time that a character and a sub-character are combined with each other and perform quests, the terminal (110 of FIG. 1) reduces hit points of the sub-character. If it is assumed that the initial hit points of the sub-character are 100, the terminal (110 of FIG. 1) detaches the character and the sub-character from each other when current hit points of the sub-character become 0.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example that a character and a sub-character are detached from each other, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to the right of FIG. 10, a character 1010 and a sub-character 1020 perform a quest while the character 1010 and the sub-character 1020 are combined with each other. Here, a gauge 1040 indicating hit points of the sub-character 1020 gradually decreases from 100%. When hit points of the sub-character 1020 become 0, the character 1010 and the sub-character 1020 are detached from each other.

Referring to the left of FIG. 10, when the character 1010 and the sub-character 1020 are detached from each other, the terminal (110 of FIG. 1) displays a UI indicating the character 1010 and a UI indicating the sub-character 1020 separately on a display screen of the terminal (110 of FIG. 1). Furthermore, the terminal (110 of FIG. 1) displays a gauge 1030 indicating hit points of the character 1010 and a gauge 1040 indicating hit points of the sub-character 1020 separately on the display screen of the terminal (110 of FIG. 1).

Next, the character 1010 may single-handedly perform a quest without being combined with the sub-character 1020 or may summon and be combined with another sub-character stored in the database, as shown in FIG. 8, and perform a quest.

As described above, according to the one or more of the above embodiments of the present invention, various monsters in a computer game may be obtained as sub-characters that can be controlled by a user, thereby making the computer game more fun for a user. Furthermore, the user may obtain various types of sub-characters and select a suitable sub-character to perform a quest, and thus the concentration of the user on the computer game may be improved.

In addition, other embodiments of the present invention can also be implemented through computer-readable code/instructions in/on a medium, e.g., a computer-readable medium, to control at least one processing element to implement any above-described embodiment. The medium can correspond to any medium/media permitting the storage and/or transmission of the computer-readable code.

The computer-readable code can be recorded/transferred on a medium in a variety of ways, with examples of the medium including recording media, such as magnetic storage media (e.g., ROM, floppy disks, hard disks, etc.) and optical recording media (e.g., CD-ROMs, or DVDs), and transmission media such as Internet transmission media.

It should be understood that the exemplary embodiments described therein should be considered in a descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation. Descriptions of features or aspects within each embodiment should typically be considered as available for other similar features or aspects in other embodiments.

While one or more embodiments of the present invention have been described with reference to the figures, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the following claims.

Claims

A method of obtaining objects in a computer game as sub-characters, the method comprising:

selecting one of the objects;

determining whether a designated condition given to the selected object is satisfied; and

if the designated condition is satisfied, converting the selected object to a sub-character,

wherein the sub-character includes a subject that performs a quest in the computer game together with a character controlled by a user.
The method of claim 1, wherein the designated condition includes a condition that experience points obtained as the character and the sub-character perform at least one pre-set mission with respect to the object while the character and the sub-character are combined with each other exceed a critical value.
The method of claim 1, wherein the missions comprise missions performed for determining whether the character and the sub-character are capable of performing the quest while the character and the sub-character are combined with each other, and

the experience points comprise experience points obtained when the mission is successfully performed.
The method of claim1 , wherein the objects comprise objects that are convertible to the sub-characters and objects that are not convertible to the sub-characters, and

in the selecting of one of the objects, one of the objects that are convertible to sub-characters is selected.
The method of claim 1, further comprising

storing the object converted to the sub-character in a database of the user; and

based on a signal input by the user, perform the quest while one of the output sub-characters stored in the database and the character are combined with each other.
The method of claim 5, further comprising, based on a result that the sub-character and the character performed the quest while the sub-character and the character are combined with each other, determining experience points of the sub-character and accumulating the determined experience points.
The method of claim 6, further comprising, if the accumulated experience points exceed a critical value, increasing hit points or attributes of the sub-character by a designated ratio,

wherein the attributes of the sub-character comprise attach points or defense points of the sub-character.
The method of claim 8, further comprising:

calculating reduced hit points of the sub-character in correspondence to a period of time that the sub-character and the character performed the quest while the sub-character and the character are combined with each other; and

if the calculated hit points are identical to the initial hit points of the sub-character, detaching the sub-character and the character from each other.
A computer-readable recording medium having recorded thereon a computer program for implementing the method of claim 1.
An apparatus for executing a computer game, the apparatus comprising:

a selecting unit, which selects one of a plurality of objects;

a determining unit, which determines whether a designated condition given to the selected object is satisfied; and

a converting unit, which converts the selected object to a sub-character, if the designated condition is satisfied,

wherein the sub-character includes a subject that performs a quest in the computer game together with a character controlled by a user.