WO2015093506A1

WO2015093506A1 - Capture control system, capture control method, program, information storage medium, and information processing device

Info

Publication number: WO2015093506A1
Application number: PCT/JP2014/083345
Authority: WO
Inventors: 静人福田; 久生和田; 慎司相澤
Original assignee: 株式会社ソニー・コンピュータエンタテインメント
Priority date: 2013-12-20
Filing date: 2014-12-17
Publication date: 2015-06-25
Also published as: JP6381550B2; JPWO2015093506A1

Abstract

Provided are a capture control system, a capture control method, a program, an information storage medium, and an information processing device which allow a user who is running a program to control capture of an image indicating what is being performed by another user. A capture allowability receiving unit (34) receives, from a user who is to be captured, allowability of capturing of an image, which indicates what is being performed, by a capture-requesting user requesting capture of the image. A notification unit (40) and a client (12) control capture of the image by the capture-requesting user in accordance with the received allowability.

Description

Capture control system, capture control method, program, information storage medium, and information processing apparatus

The present invention relates to a capture control system, a capture control method, a program, an information storage medium, and an information processing apparatus.

There is a technique for capturing an image indicating the execution content of a program, such as an image indicating the game play content (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In recent years, even in a program executed by a plurality of users, such as a game program in which a plurality of players participate, each user can capture an image indicating the execution contents of the program. The image captured in this way is stored in, for example, a device used by the user or uploaded to an image publishing site.

US Patent Application Publication No. 2009/0118008

A user who executes a program may not want other users to capture an image indicating the execution contents of the program. Specifically, for example, a user who is a game player captures an image indicating the play content of the game by a user who is another player participating in the game or a user who is watching the play content of the game. I don't want it. However, in the prior art, a user who executes a program cannot control capture by another user of an image indicating the execution contents of the program. Therefore, an image indicating the execution contents of the program may be captured by another user against the user's intention.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and one of its purposes is a capture control system and a capture control system that allows a user who executes a program to control capture by another user of an image indicating the execution contents of the program. To provide a control method, a program, an information storage medium, and an information processing apparatus.

In order to solve the above-described problem, a capture control system according to the present invention captures whether a capture requesting user who requests capture of an image indicating the execution contents of a program can capture the image from the captured user. And a capture control unit that controls capture of the image by the capture requesting user according to the acceptability.

Further, the capture control method according to the present invention includes a step of accepting whether or not the capture requesting user who requests the capture of an image indicating the execution contents of the program can capture the image from the captured user, and the acceptability or not. And controlling the capture of the image by the capture requesting user in response.

Further, the program according to the present invention is a procedure for accepting whether or not the image is captured by a capture requesting user who requests the capture of an image indicating the execution contents of the program, depending on the acceptance or not. A procedure for controlling a capture requesting user to capture the image is executed by a computer.

Further, the information storage medium according to the present invention is configured to accept whether or not the image is captured by the capture requesting user who requests the capture of the image indicating the execution contents of the program from the user to be captured, depending on whether or not the image is received. A computer-readable information storage medium storing a program that causes a computer to execute a procedure for controlling capture of the image by the capture requesting user.

In addition, the information processing apparatus according to the present invention includes a capture control unit that controls capture of an image that is received from a captured user and that indicates whether or not an image indicating the execution contents of the program can be captured. Features.

Further, another program according to the present invention causes a computer to execute a procedure for controlling capture of an image that is received from a captured user and that indicates whether or not an image indicating the execution contents of the program can be captured. It is characterized by.

In addition, another information storage medium according to the present invention executes, on a computer, a procedure for controlling capture of an image that is received from a captured user and that indicates whether or not an image indicating the execution contents of the program is captured. A computer-readable information storage medium storing a program characterized by being executed.

Further, another information processing apparatus according to the present invention provides an image by a capture requesting user who requests to capture an image indicating the execution contents of a program based on whether or not an image set by a captured user can be captured. A capture control unit for controlling the capture of the image.

Further, another program according to the present invention is based on whether or not an image set by the user to be captured can be captured. A procedure for controlling capture is executed by a computer.

Further, another information storage medium according to the present invention is based on whether or not an image set by a user to be captured can be captured. A computer-readable information storage medium storing a program characterized by causing a computer to execute a procedure for controlling image capture.

In the present invention, whether or not an image can be captured by the capture requesting user is received from the user to be captured, and capture of the image by the capture requesting user is controlled according to whether or not the capturing is requested. Therefore, according to the present invention, a user who executes a program can control capture by another user of an image indicating the execution contents of the program.

In one aspect of the present invention, the program is a game program played by a plurality of users including the capture requesting user and the captured user.

In one aspect of the present invention, when accepting that the image is not permitted to be captured, the capture control unit is in a state in which at least a part of the information that can identify the captured user is not arranged Control is performed so that the processed image is captured.

In this aspect, the capture control unit may perform control so that the image on which mosaic processing has been executed is captured in a portion where information that can identify the user to be captured is arranged.

Further, in one aspect of the present invention, a capture request unit that notifies the capture requesting user who does not permit the capture requesting user to capture the image, the capture requesting user requesting permission to capture the image, The capture control unit controls capture of the image by the capture requesting user according to the acceptability received from the captured user who has received the permission request notification.

It is a figure which shows an example of the whole structure of the game system which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of a play image. It is a figure which shows an example of a play image. It is a figure which shows an example of a play image. It is a figure which shows an example of policy data. It is a figure which shows an example of a play image. It is a figure which shows an example of a play image. It is a figure which shows an example of a play image. It is a figure which shows an example of a play image. It is a figure which shows an example of a play image. It is a figure which shows an example of a play image. It is a figure which shows an example of a play image. It is a figure which shows an example of a play image. It is a functional block diagram which shows an example of the function implement | achieved with the game server which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a functional block diagram which shows an example of the function implement | achieved by the client which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the flow of the process performed with the game system which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the flow of the process performed with the game system which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the flow of the process performed with the game system which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the flow of the process performed with the game system which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the flow of the process performed with the game system which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of a play image. It is a figure which shows an example of a system image. It is a figure which shows an example of the list display screen of a game server.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of a game system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, a game system 1 according to this embodiment includes a game server 10 and a client 12 (12-1, 12-2, 12-3,... -N). The game server 10 and the client 12 are connected to a computer network 14 such as the Internet. The game server 10 and the client 12 can communicate with each other.

The game server 10 is a server computer that executes a game program installed in the game server 10 and in which a plurality of players participate. In the present embodiment, users using different clients 12 participate in the game as players. As shown in FIG. 1, the game server 10 includes, for example, a control unit 10a, a storage unit 10b, and a communication unit 10c. The control unit 10a is a program control device such as a CPU, for example, and executes various types of information processing according to programs stored in the storage unit 10b. The storage unit 10b is, for example, a storage element such as a ROM or a RAM, a hard disk drive, or the like. The communication unit 10c is a communication interface for exchanging data with the client 12 via the computer network 14, for example. The game server 10 transmits / receives information to / from each client 12 via the communication unit 10c.

The client 12 is a computer used by the user of the game server 10, and is, for example, a personal computer, a game console, a television receiver, a portable game device, a portable information terminal, or the like. The client 12 includes, for example, a control unit 12a, a storage unit 12b, a communication unit 12c, an output unit 12d, and an input unit 12e. The control unit 12a is a program control device such as a CPU, for example, and executes various types of information processing according to programs stored in the storage unit 12b. The control unit 12a according to the present embodiment also includes a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) that draws an image in a frame buffer based on graphics commands and data supplied from the CPU. The storage unit 12b is, for example, a storage element such as a ROM or a RAM, a hard disk drive, or the like. The storage unit 12b stores a program executed by the control unit 12a. In the storage unit 12b according to the present embodiment, a frame buffer area in which an image is rendered by the GPU is secured. The communication unit 12c is a communication interface for exchanging data with the game server 10 via the computer network 14, for example. The client 12 transmits / receives information to / from the game server 10 and other clients 12 via the communication unit 12c. The output unit 12d is, for example, a display unit such as a display that displays and outputs information according to an instruction input from the control unit 12a, and an audio output unit such as a speaker that outputs audio. The input unit 12e is, for example, a game controller, a touch pad, a mouse, a keyboard, a microphone, or the like that outputs the content of an operation performed by the user to the control unit 12a.

The game server 10 according to the present embodiment executes a game program installed in the game server 10 and in which a plurality of players participate. Hereinafter, the operation of the game system 1 according to the present embodiment will be further described by taking as an example a situation in which the game is being played by three players. Note that the names of the three players are player A, player B, and player C, respectively. The client 12-1 is used by the player A, the client 12-2 is used by the player B, and the client 12-3 is used by the player C.

In the game server 10 according to the present embodiment, data for managing the relationship between players is registered, and a player who is a friend of a certain player can be specified based on the data. Hereinafter, a player who is a friend is referred to as a friend. In this embodiment, for example, it is assumed that player C is a friend of player A and player B is not a friend of player A. In addition, the game server 10 according to the present embodiment can register a player who is a close friend among friends. Hereinafter, a player who is a particularly close friend will be referred to as a specific friend.

A system program is installed in the client 12 according to the present embodiment. In addition, a game program on the client 12 side corresponding to a program executed on the game server 10 is installed in the client 12 according to the present embodiment. The game program operates on a system program installed in the client 12. In this embodiment, the game program executed on the client 12 and the game program executed on the game server 10 communicate with each other and cooperate to play the game.

In this embodiment, a play image 20 indicating the play content of the game is displayed on the display of the client 12 (see FIGS. 2 to 4, FIGS. 6 to 13, and FIG. 21). In the present embodiment, the play image 20 drawn in the frame buffer of the client 12 is displayed on the display of the client 12. The displayed play image 20 is updated at a predetermined frame rate.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the play image 20-1 displayed on the display of the client 12-1. The play image 20-1 shows the play contents of the player A in the game. The play image 20-1 shown in FIG. 2 shows three character objects CO, which are objects associated with the players. Specifically, the play image 20-1 shows the character object COa of the player A, the character object COb of the player B, and the character object COc of the player C. On the character object CO, identification information such as the name of the player associated with the character object CO is arranged. In the lower left of the play image 20-1 shown in FIG. 2, identification information such as the name of the player A who is the user of the client 12-1 on which the play image 20-1 is displayed is arranged together with the power gauge of the player A. ing. In the upper left of the play image 20-1 shown in FIG. 2, for player B and player C, who are other players participating in the game, identification information such as the names of the players is displayed together with the power gauge of the player. Has been placed.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the play image 20-2 displayed on the display of the client 12-2. The play image 20-2 shows the play contents of the player B in the game. Also in the play image 20-2 shown in FIG. 3, player identification information associated with the character object CO is arranged on the character object CO. Also, in the lower left of the play image 20-2 shown in FIG. 3, identification information such as the name of the player B who is the user of the client 12-2 on which the play image 20-2 is displayed is displayed together with the power gauge of the player B. Has been placed. In the upper left of the play image 20-2 shown in FIG. 3, the player A and the player C, who are other players participating in the game, have identification information such as the names of the players together with the power gauge of the player. Has been placed.

In the present embodiment, the appearance of the character object CO arranged in the virtual three-dimensional space seen from the viewpoint associated with the player A arranged in the virtual space is a play image 20-1 illustrated in FIG. Indicated. Then, a state where the character object CO is viewed from a viewpoint associated with the player B arranged in the virtual space is shown as a play image 20-2 illustrated in FIG.

In this embodiment, each user can request capture of the play image 20 displayed on the display of the client 12 used by the user during game play. Hereinafter, the play image 20 displayed on the display of the client 12 used by the user is referred to as the play image 20 of the user. A user who requests capture of the play image 20 is called a capture request user.

In the present embodiment, when the user performs a predetermined capture request operation such as pressing a predetermined button of the controller, for example, the play image 20 of the capture request user is captured, and the storage unit of the client 12 used by the capture request user 12b.

In this embodiment, as an example of the capture request operation, a play moving image capture start request operation composed of a series of play images 20 displayed at a predetermined frame rate on the display is performed. Then, in response to the capture start request operation, capture of the play moving image displayed on the display of the client 12 used by the capture request user is started. The play moving image captured in this way is encoded and stored in the storage unit 12b of the client 12. Note that the frame rate of the play moving image displayed on the display may be different from the frame rate of the captured play moving image. The capture of the play moving image is continued until the capture requesting user performs a predetermined capture end request operation. Hereinafter, the period from when the capture start request operation is performed to when the capture end request operation is performed is referred to as a capture target period.

In the present embodiment, the capture requesting user can set a capture condition for controlling whether or not to capture each play image 20 displayed within the capture target period. When the capture condition is not set, a series of play images 20 displayed in the capture target period as described above are stored as play moving images. On the other hand, when the capture condition is set, the play image 20 of the frame that satisfies the capture condition is stored.

As the capture condition, for example, a condition for starting capture of a play moving image, a condition for ending capture of a play moving image, a period for performing capture, and the like can be set. More specifically, for example, a play video is captured from 15 seconds before to 15 seconds after the occurrence of a predetermined event, or a play video is captured for 10 seconds from a timing exceeding a predetermined score. Conditions can be set as capture conditions.

For example, it is assumed that the capture of the play moving image by the player B is started. In this case, a play image 20-2 illustrated in FIG. 4 is displayed on the display of the client 12-2. An image I1a indicating that the user associated with the identification information is within the capture target period is arranged to the right of the identification information of the player B arranged at the lower left of the play image 20-2. The image I1a is deleted from the play image 20-2 when the capture target period of the play moving image ends. In the upper right of the play image 20-2, an image I2 indicating that the capture of the play moving image has been started is arranged. The image I2 is deleted from the play image 20-2 when a predetermined time elapses after the capture of the play moving image is started.

In this embodiment, a user who is a player participating in the game can control capture of the play image 20. Here, for example, it is assumed that the user who is the player B is not permitted to capture the play image 20 by the user who is the player A. In this case, as shown in FIG. 4, the captured play image 20-1 has a high anonymity such as “Anymous” instead of the identification information of the player A, here the name of the user who is the player A. An alternative character string AS is arranged. In this way, in the present embodiment, for example, control is performed so that identification information of a user who is not permitted to capture is not captured. Hereinafter, information controlled so as not to be captured, such as user identification information in the above example, is referred to as confidential information.

Note that the confidential information is not limited to the user identification information. In the above example, the confidential information is replaced with the substitute character string AS. However, for example, the confidential information may be controlled not to be captured by performing a mosaic process on the confidential information. Also, for example, the player's character object CO may be handled as confidential information. In this case, control may be performed so that the character object CO is not captured by performing the mosaic process on the character object CO of the player who is not permitted to capture the play image 20.

In the present embodiment, play image capture control is performed based on policy data associated with user identification information illustrated in FIG. Hereinafter, policy data associated with identification information of a certain user is referred to as the policy data of the user. In the present embodiment, for example, the user can set the policy data value of the user. In this embodiment, for example, when communication between the client 12 used by the user and the game server 10 is started, the policy data of the user is transmitted from the client 12 to the game server 10. For example, in FIG. 5, “Allow friends” is set as the value of the policy data of the user who is the player A. As described above, since the player A is not registered in the game server 10 as the friend of the player B, in this case, the confidential information of the player A is controlled not to be captured as shown in FIG. In FIG. 5, “permit” is set as the value of the policy data of the user who is the player C. In this case, as shown in FIG. 4, the secret information of the player C is captured. In FIG. 5, “not allowed” is set as the value of the policy data associated with the player B. Therefore, for example, when the player A or the player C captures the play image 20, the secret information of the player B is controlled not to be captured.

Also, for example, “permit to a specific friend” may be set as the value of the policy data. In this case, the confidential information of the player registered as the specific friend is captured, and the confidential information of the other players is controlled not to be captured.

Other values of the policy data include, for example, the number of times that capture of the play image 20 or the play moving image is permitted, the length of time during which the capture of the play moving image is permitted, the play image 20 or the play moving image A scene where the capture of the image is permitted may be set.

As described above, in this embodiment, the user can control the capture of the play image 20 by another user by setting the value of the policy data. In the above example, for example, it is controlled whether or not the confidential information of the user is arranged in the play image 20 captured by another user. In this way, in the above example, against the user's intention, it is possible to prevent the play image 20 in which the confidential information of the user is arranged from being captured by another user.

In this embodiment, when the play image 20 is captured, at least users other than the capture requesting user are notified that the play image 20 is captured. Note that the capture requesting user may be notified that the play image 20 is captured. Hereinafter, a user who is notified that the play image 20 is captured is referred to as a captured user.

For example, when the capture of the play moving image by the player B is started, the player A and the player C become the captured users. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of the play image 20-1 displayed on the display of the client 12-1 associated with the player A who is the captured user when capture of the play moving image by the player B is started. It is. An image I1b indicating that the user associated with the identification information is within the capture target period is arranged on the right of the identification information of the player B arranged at the upper left of the play image 20-1. In the present embodiment, the image I1b is different from the image I1a in display mode such as color. For example, the image I1a is yellow and the image I1b is gray. In the present embodiment, by displaying the image I1b having a display mode different from that of the image I1a, it is the player A that the confidential information of the player A is not captured although it is within the capture target period. The user can recognize. The image I1b is deleted from the play image 20-2 when the capture target period ends. In the upper right of the play image 20-1, an image I3 indicating that the capture of the play moving image by the player B is started is arranged. The image I3 is erased from the play image 20-1 when a predetermined time has elapsed since the capture of the play moving image was started.

Here, for example, when the user who is the player A performs a predetermined capture permission operation, the play image 20-2 illustrated in FIG. 7 is displayed on the client 12-2. In the play image 20-2, the secret information of the player A, here, the identification information is arranged. The play image 20-2 is captured and stored in the storage unit 12b of the client 12-2.

When the user who is the player A performs a predetermined capture permission operation, the play image 20-1 in which the image I1a is arranged to the right of the identification information of the player B illustrated in FIG. 8 is displayed on the client 12-1. The In this way, the user who is the player A can recognize that the play image 20 in which the confidential information of the user is arranged is captured by the player B.

As described above, in the present embodiment, when the user of the client 12-2 captures the play image 20, this is notified to the user of the client 12-1. In the example of FIG. 6, the image I1a is displayed to the right of the identification information of the player B, and the image I1a is displayed to the right of the identification information of the player B in the example of FIG. The user who is the player A is notified that 20 is captured. Thus, in this embodiment, the user can notice that the play image 20 is captured by another user. Therefore, for example, it is possible to prevent the play image 20 from being captured by another user in a form not intended by the user.

Further, for example, as shown in FIG. 8, the character object COa is arranged in the play image 20-2 captured by the client 12-2, that is, the character object COa enters the view field of view associated with the player B. Suppose that In this case, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 8, an image I4 indicating that the character object COa associated with the player A is captured is arranged at the upper right of the play image 20-1. In this way, in the present embodiment, the content notified to the captured user differs depending on whether or not the object associated with the captured user is arranged in the captured image. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, the user can recognize that the play image 20 in which the object associated with the user is arranged is captured.

Note that the method of making the content notified to the captured user different is not limited to the above. For example, when the character object COa is not arranged in the play image 20-2 captured by the client 12-2, the play image 20-1 in which the image I1a is arranged may be displayed on the display of the client 12-1. . If the character object COa is arranged in the play image 20-2 captured by the client 12-2, the play image 20-1 in which the image I1a and the image I4 are arranged is displayed on the display of the client 12-1. May be. Alternatively, for example, when the character object COa is arranged in the captured play image 20-2, the image I1a is arranged in the play image 20-1, and otherwise, the image I1a is arranged in the play image 20-1. May not be arranged.

Further, in the present embodiment, for example, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, when the confidential information of the player A is controlled not to be captured, the user who is the player B can request capture permission. . For example, it is assumed that the user who is the player B performs a predetermined permission request operation when the secret information of the player A is controlled not to be captured. In this case, as shown in FIG. 9, the play image 20-1 in which the image I5 indicating that the permission request notification from the player B has been received is arranged is displayed on the client 12-1.

Here, when the user who is the player A performs a predetermined capture rejection operation, as shown in FIG. 10, an image I6 indicating that the capture is rejected by the player B is displayed in the play image 20- 2 is displayed on the display of the client 12-2. On the other hand, when the user who is the player A performs the above-described capture permission operation, a play image 20-2 in which an image indicating that the capture is permitted by the player B is displayed on the upper right is displayed on the display of the client 12-2. Will be. In this case, as described above, the play image 20-2 illustrated in FIG. 7 is captured and stored in the storage unit 12b of the client 12-2. In this way, in the present embodiment, it is possible to encourage a user who has refused to capture confidential information to permit the capturing of the confidential information. The user who made the request can recognize whether or not the confidential information can be captured.

Note that the mode of the play image 20-2 of the capture requesting user displayed when the play moving image is being captured is not limited to that shown in FIGS. For example, as shown in FIG. 11, instead of the image I1a, the play image 20-2 in which the image I7 indicating that recording is being performed is displayed on the upper right is displayed so that the client 12-2 can play It may be indicated that a moving image is being captured.

Further, the play image 20 may be captured by a plurality of users. FIG. 12 shows the play image 20-1 displayed on the display of the first client 12-1 when the user who is the player B and the user who is the player C are capturing the play image 20. Yes.

In the example of FIG. 12, capture of the play moving image is controlled based on the policy data shown in FIG. Therefore, as described above, the play image 20-2 in which the secret information of the player A is arranged is controlled not to be captured by the user who is the player B. Therefore, in the play image 20-1 shown in FIG. 12, the image I1b is arranged on the character object COb of the player B.

Further, as shown in FIG. 5, “Allow friends” is set as the value of the policy data associated with the player A. As described above, the player C is a friend of the player A. Therefore, the play image 20 in which the secret information of the player A is arranged is captured by the player C. Here, the frame in which the play image 20 shown in FIG. 12 is displayed does not satisfy the capture condition set by the user who is the player C. In this case, in this embodiment, the image I1c is arranged on the character object COb of the player C in the play image 20-1 shown in FIG. The image I1c is different from the image I1a and the image I1b in display mode such as color. For example, the image I1c is blue. If the capture condition set by the user who is the player C is satisfied, the image I1a is arranged at the position. In this way, the play image 20 in which an image representing that is arranged at a position associated with a capture request user who does not satisfy the capture condition or a capture request user who satisfies the capture condition is displayed on the display. You may make it do. In this way, the user to be captured can distinguish and recognize whether or not the frame satisfies the capture condition set by the capture requesting user. Even if the color of the image I1b or the image I1c is associated with the user capturing the play image 20, or the image I1b or the image I1c is assigned a number associated with the player. Good.

Also, the image I1a, the image I1b, and the image I1c may be arranged anywhere in the play image 20 as long as they are positions associated with the capture requesting user. For example, as shown in FIG. 12, the image I1b and the image I1c may be arranged on the character object CO corresponding to the capture requesting user instead of on the right of the identification information of the capture requesting user. In this way, the user to be captured may be notified that the play image 20 has been captured by the capture requesting user.

Further, the game server 10 may uniformly control the capture of the play image 20 regardless of the user's policy data. For example, the game server 10 may perform control so that capture of the play image 20 is uniformly prohibited. In this case, for example, when the user who is the player B performs a capture start request operation, an image I8 indicating that the capture of the play moving image as shown in FIG. 13 is prohibited is displayed on the display of the client 12-2. The arranged play image 20-2 is displayed. Note that when the game server 10 does not permit the start of capture of the play moving image, the play image 20-2 illustrated in FIG. 13 may be displayed on the display of the client 12-2.

Also, for example, the displayed play image 20 and the stored play image 20 may be different. For example, although the play image 20-2 shown in FIG. 4 is displayed on the display of the client 12-2, an image obtained by deleting the images I1a and I2 from the play image 20-2 may be stored.

Hereinafter, functions of the game system 1 relating to notification that the play image 20 is captured and capture control of the play image 20 and processing executed in the game system 1 will be further described.

FIG. 14 is a functional block diagram showing an example of functions realized by the game server 10 according to the present embodiment. Note that it is not necessary for the game server 10 according to the present embodiment to realize all the functions illustrated in FIG. 14, and functions other than the functions illustrated in FIG. 14 may be realized.

The game server 10 according to the present embodiment functionally includes, for example, a server-side policy data storage unit 30, a server-side capture status data storage unit 32, a capture availability reception unit 34, a game process execution unit 36, and a capture request reception unit 38. The notification unit 40 is included. The server side policy data storage unit 30 and the server side capture status data storage unit 32 are mainly implemented by the storage unit 10b. The game process execution unit 36 is mainly implemented by the control unit 10a and the communication unit 10c. The capture request receiving unit 38 and the notification unit 40 are mainly implemented by the communication unit 10c.

The above functions are implemented by executing a program that is installed in the game server 10 that is a computer and that includes a command corresponding to the above functions in the control unit of the game server 10. This program is supplied to the game server 10 via a computer-readable information storage medium such as an optical disk, a magnetic disk, a magnetic tape, a magneto-optical disk, or a flash memory, or via a computer network such as the Internet. .

The server-side policy data storage unit 30 stores policy data associated with the user identification information illustrated in FIG. The policy data according to the present embodiment is data indicating whether or not the image can be captured by a capture requesting user who requests capture of an image indicating the execution contents of the program, for example, capture of the play image 20 in the present embodiment. .

The server-side capture status data storage unit 32 stores capture status data indicating the capture status of the play image 20. The capture status data includes, for example, the identification information of the capture requesting user, the position and orientation of the character object CO, the above-described capture conditions, and the like. Hereinafter, capture status data including identification information of a certain user is referred to as capture status data of the user. In this embodiment, when there are a plurality of capture request users, the server side capture status data storage unit 32 stores as many capture status data as the number of capture request users.

In this embodiment, status information indicating whether or not the frame satisfies the capture condition is associated with the capture status data. Here, for example, when the frame is a frame that does not satisfy the capture condition, “stop” is set as the value of the status information, and when the frame is a frame that satisfies the capture condition, the value of the status information is “ “Recording” is set.

The capture availability accepting unit 34 accepts from the user who executes the program whether or not the image is captured by the user who requests the capture of the image indicating the execution contents of the program. In the present embodiment, for example, the capture availability accepting unit 34 accepts from the captured user whether the capture request user can capture the play image 20. More specifically, the capture availability accepting unit 34 receives policy data of the captured user transmitted from the client 12 used by the captured user, for example. Then, the capture propriety accepting unit 34 stores the received policy data in the server side policy data storage unit 30.

The game process execution unit 36 executes a game program installed in the game server 10. In the present embodiment, for example, the game process execution unit 36 receives operation input information indicating operation input related to the game transmitted from each client 12 used by a user who is a player participating in the game at a predetermined frame rate. . And the game process execution part 36 produces | generates the game status data in the said frame based on the game status data which show the execution status of the game in the last flame | frame, and the received operation input information. Thus, in this embodiment, game situation data is generated at a predetermined frame rate. The game situation data is data indicating, for example, the position and posture of the character object CO, the position of the viewpoint associated with each player, the line-of-sight direction, and the like. In the present embodiment, the game process execution unit 36 transmits the game situation data generated in the frame to each client 12 at a predetermined frame rate.

The capture request reception unit 38 receives a capture request transmitted by the client 12 used by the capture request user. In the present embodiment, for example, a play moving image capture start request and a capture end request associated with the capture status data of the capture request user are received.

In the present embodiment, when receiving a capture start request for a play video image, the capture request receiving unit 38 stores the capture status data associated with the capture start request in the server-side capture status data storage unit 32. Let Further, when the capture request reception unit 38 receives a capture end request for a play video image, the capture request reception unit 38 deletes the capture state data associated with the capture end request from the server-side capture state data storage unit 32.

Also, the capture request receiving unit 38 receives status information associated with the identification information of the capture requesting user at a predetermined frame rate within the capture target period. As described above, if the frame satisfies the capture condition set by the capture requesting user, the status information whose value is “recording” is received, and if not, the status information whose value is “stop” is received. Then, the capture request reception unit 38 updates the status information value stored in the server-side capture status data storage unit 32 and associated with the capture request data of the capture request user to the received status information value. To do.

The notification unit 40 notifies the capture target user that an image indicating the execution content of the program being executed on the game server 10 is captured in response to reception of the capture request. In this embodiment, for example, when receiving a play moving image capture start request, the notification unit 40 uses the capture moving image capture start notification associated with the capture status data of the capture requesting user for the captured user. Send to client 12. When the notification unit 40 receives a play moving image capture end request, the notification unit 40 notifies the client 12 used by the captured user of a play moving image capture end notification associated with the capture request user's capture status data. . In this embodiment, the capture start notification and the capture end notification are also transmitted to the capture requesting user.

In the present embodiment, the notification unit 40 notifies the capture target user that the play image 20 is captured by the capture request user by notifying the identification information of the capture request user. Specifically, for example, the notification unit 40 transmits a capture start notification associated with capture status data including identification information of the capture requesting user to the captured user.

In this embodiment, the notification unit 40 transmits the policy data of the user who participates in the game, including the user, to the client 12 of the user who is the player who participates in the game.

FIG. 15 is a functional block diagram showing an example of functions realized by the client 12 according to the present embodiment. Note that it is not necessary for the client 12 according to the present embodiment to realize all the functions illustrated in FIG. 15, and functions other than the functions illustrated in FIG. 15 may be realized.

Functionally, the client 12 according to the present embodiment functionally includes, for example, a client side policy data storage unit 50, a client side capture status data storage unit 52, an operation signal reception unit 54, a capture availability transmission / reception unit 56, and a game operation input information transmission unit. 58, game status data receiving unit 60, capture request unit 62, notification receiving unit 64, capture request unit 66, capture request response unit 68, image generation unit 70, display control unit 72, capture unit 74, capture image storage unit 76, Is included. The client-side policy data storage unit 50, the client-side capture status data storage unit 52, and the captured image storage unit 76 are mainly implemented by the storage unit 12b. The operation signal receiving unit 54 is mainly implemented by the control unit 12a and the input unit 12e. The capture availability transmission / reception unit 56, the game operation input information transmission unit 58, the game situation data reception unit 60, the capture request unit 62, the notification reception unit 64, the capture request unit 66, and the capture request response unit 68 are mainly implemented by the communication unit 12c. The The image generation unit 70 and the capture unit 74 are mainly implemented by the control unit 12a and the storage unit 12b. The display control unit 72 is mainly mounted with a control unit 12a, a storage unit 12b, and an output unit 12d. In the present embodiment, each function described above is implemented as a game program on the client 12 side. However, some of the above functions may be implemented as a system program installed in the client 12. For example, the capture unit 74 and the captured image storage unit 76 may be implemented as a system program.

The above functions are implemented by executing a program, which is installed in the client 12 which is a computer, including a command corresponding to the above functions, by the control unit of the client 12. This program is supplied to the client 12 via a computer-readable information storage medium such as an optical disk, a magnetic disk, a magnetic tape, a magneto-optical disk, or a flash memory, or via a computer network such as the Internet.

The client side policy data storage unit 50 stores the policy data illustrated in FIG. 5 in the same manner as the server side policy data storage unit 30.

The client side capture status data storage unit 52 stores the capture status data associated with the status information in the same manner as the server side capture status data storage unit 32.

The capture availability transmission / reception unit 56 transmits to the game server 10 whether the image is captured by a user who requests capture of an image indicating the execution contents of the program, for example, a capture requesting user. In the present embodiment, for example, the capture possibility transmission / reception unit 56 of the client 12 transmits the policy data of the user of the client 12 stored in the client-side policy data storage unit 50 to the game server 10.

In the present embodiment, the capture availability transmission / reception unit 56 receives policy data associated with the user identification information transmitted from the notification unit 40 and stores the policy data in the client-side policy data storage unit 50.

The operation signal reception unit 54 receives an operation signal corresponding to a user operation on the controller. In the present embodiment, the operation signal receiving unit 54 receives an operation signal at a predetermined frame rate. The operation signal receiving unit 54 receives an operation signal corresponding to an operation that changes the execution state of the game, for example. The operation signal accepting unit 54 accepts an operation signal corresponding to the capture request operation of the play image 20 such as the play moving image capture start request operation or the capture end request operation described above. The operation signal accepting unit 54 accepts operation signals corresponding to a capture permission operation, a capture rejection operation, a permission request operation, and the like.

The game operation input information transmission unit 58 transmits operation input information corresponding to the operation to the game server 10 when the operation signal reception unit 54 receives an operation for changing the execution state of the game. The operation input information is received by the game process execution unit 36 as described above.

The game situation data receiving unit 60 receives game situation data transmitted by the game process execution unit 36 at a predetermined frame rate.

The capture request unit 62 transmits a capture request for the play image 20. For example, it is assumed that the operation signal receiving unit 54 of the client 12 used by the capture requesting user receives an operation signal corresponding to the play image capturing requesting operation input to the input unit 12e by the capture requesting user. Here, for example, it is assumed that the operation signal receiving unit 54 of the client 12 used by the capture requesting user has received an operation signal corresponding to the play moving image capture start requesting operation. In this case, the capture request unit 62 transmits a play moving image capture start request associated with the capture status data of the capture request user to the game server 10. Further, for example, it is assumed that the operation signal receiving unit 54 of the client 12 used by the capture requesting user receives an operation signal corresponding to the play moving image capture start / end operation. In this case, the capture requesting unit 62 transmits a play moving image capture end request associated with the capture status data of the capture requesting user to the game server 10. As described above, these requests are received by the capture request receiving unit 38.

Further, the capture request unit 62 of the client 12 used by the capture requesting user associates the status information about the frame with the identification information of the capture requesting user at a predetermined frame rate within the capture target period. Send to.

The notification receiving unit 64 receives various notifications transmitted from the notification unit 40. In this embodiment, for example, the notification receiving unit 64 receives a play moving image capture start notification and a play moving image capture end notification associated with the capture status data.

When the notification receiving unit 64 receives a capture start notification of a play moving image, the notification receiving unit 64 stores the capture status data associated with the capture start notification in the client side capture status data storage unit 52. Further, when the notification receiving unit 64 receives the capture end notification of the play moving image, the notification receiving unit 64 deletes the capture state data associated with the capture end notification from the client side capture state data storage unit 52.

The capture requesting unit 66 notifies the capture requesting user who has not permitted the capture requesting user to capture the play image 20, the capture requesting user requesting permission to capture the play image 20. In the present embodiment, the capture request unit 66 transmits a permission request notification for requesting permission for capture when the operation signal receiving unit 54 receives a signal corresponding to the permission request operation. Here, for example, it is assumed that the user who is the player B performs the permission requesting operation for the user who is the player A as described above. In this case, the capture request unit 66 of the client 12-2 transmits a permission request notification associated with the identification information of the user who is the player B to the client 12-1.

The capture request response unit 68 receives a permission request notification. For example, when the capture request unit 66 of the client 12-2 transmits a permission request notification associated with the identification information of the user who is the player B to the client 12-1, the capture request response unit 68 of the client 12-1 Accepts the permission request notification. Then, the capture request responding unit 68 transmits a notification that permits or rejects the capture to the client 12-2.

In this embodiment, transmission / reception of the permission request notification is performed by peer-to-peer communication between the clients 12. Note that the game server 10 may relay transmission / reception of the permission request notification.

The image generation unit 70 generates an image to be displayed on the display of the client 12. In the present embodiment, the image generation unit 70 generates the play image 20 illustrated in FIGS. 2 to 4 and FIGS. 6 to 13 and draws it in the frame buffer. In the present embodiment, the play image 20 is generated at a predetermined frame rate.

In the present embodiment, for example, the image generation unit 70 generates the basic play image 20 based on the game situation data received by the game situation data reception unit 60. Then, the image generation unit 70 receives information corresponding to various notifications received by the notification reception unit 64 and the permission request notification received by the capture request response unit 68 for the play image 20, for example, the image I1a, the image I1b, the image Overwrites I2 to I8 etc.

The display control unit 72 displays the image generated by the image generation unit 70 on the display. In the present embodiment, the play image 20 is displayed on the display at a predetermined frame rate. In the present embodiment, as described above, the display control unit 72 displays that the play image 20 is captured on the display of the client 12 used by the captured user who is notified that the play image 20 is captured. In addition, the display control unit 72 displays that the play image 20 is captured at a position associated with the capture requesting user in the display. In this way, in the present embodiment, the display control unit 72 plays a role as a notification unit that notifies the capture target user that the play image 20 is captured in response to the notification received by the notification reception unit 64. It becomes.

The capture unit 74 captures an image drawn in the frame buffer and stores the copy in the captured image storage unit 76.

The captured image storage unit 76 stores the image captured by the capture unit 74.

In this embodiment, the notification unit 40, the notification reception unit 64, the image generation unit 70, and the capture unit 74 as a whole play a role as a capture control unit. The capture control unit controls the capture of the image by the capture requesting user according to whether the image is captured, which is accepted by the capture availability accepting unit 34.

In the present embodiment, when accepting that the play image 20 is not permitted to be captured, the play image 20 processed so that at least a part of the information that can identify the user to be captured is not arranged. Is controlled to be captured. In the present embodiment, for example, in the above-described case, the image generation unit 70 generates the play image 20 in which the confidential information of the user to be captured is replaced with the substitute character string AS or a mosaic process is partially executed.

Here, an example of a flow of policy data sharing processing performed in the game system 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to a flowchart illustrated in FIG.

In this processing example, the client side policy data storage unit 50 of each client 12 (12-1 to 12-3) stores a value by the user associated with the identification information of the user who uses the client 12 in advance. It is assumed that the set policy data is stored.

First, the capture availability transmission / reception unit 56 of the client 12 transmits the policy data of the user who uses the client 12 to the game server 10. Then, the capture acceptance / reception unit 34 of the game server 10 receives the policy data (S101). Here, the processing shown in S101 is executed for each of the clients 12-1 to 12-3. Then, the capture availability accepting unit 34 of the game server 10 stores the received policy data in the server-side policy data storage unit 30 (S102). In this way, the policy data illustrated in FIG. 5 is stored in the server-side policy data storage unit 30.

The notification unit 40 stores the policy of all the users who are players who participate in the game, the user who is the player A, the user who is the player B, and the user who is the player C, which are stored in the process shown in S102. Data is transmitted to the client 12. Then, the capture permission / reception unit 56 of the client 12 receives the policy data (S103). Then, the capture possibility transmission / reception unit 56 of the client 12 stores the received policy data in the client-side policy data storage unit 50 (S104). The processing shown in this processing example ends. In this way, the policy data illustrated in FIG. 5 is also stored in the client-side policy data storage unit 50.

In this embodiment, the policy data of the user who is the player A, the user who is the player B, and the user who is the player C is transmitted to each of the clients 12-1 to 12-3 in the process shown in S103. . Then, in the process shown in S104, the policy data of the user who is the player A, the user who is the player B, and the user who is the player C are stored in the client-side policy data storage units 50 of the clients 12-1 to 12-3, respectively. Is done. The above processing is performed, for example, when each client 12 starts communication with the game server 10 or when a game to be played is started.

Note that the user may be able to change the value of the policy data as appropriate. Then, when the user changes the value of the policy data, the user's policy data may be transmitted to the game server 10. Then, the value of the policy data of the user stored in the server-side policy data storage unit 30 may be updated to the value of the transmitted policy data. Then, the policy data may be transmitted to each client 12 and stored in the client-side policy data storage unit 50 of each client 12. When the value of the policy data stored in the client-side policy data storage unit 50 is updated, the image generation unit 70 displays the play image 20 in which an image indicating that the value of the policy data is updated is arranged. May be generated. And the display control part 72 may display the said play image 20 on a display.

In the present embodiment, the server-side policy data storage unit 30 has server-side policy data related to the policy of whether or not capture is possible for the entire game, and the value is set by a business operator operating the game server 10 or the like. It may be stored. For example, server-side policy data indicating that the capture of the play image 20 is uniformly prohibited may be stored in the server-side policy data storage unit 30.

Then, between the process shown in S102 and the process shown in S103, the capture availability transmission / reception unit 56 of the game server 10 stores the policy stored in the server-side policy data storage unit 30 based on the value of the server-side policy data. Data values may be updated. Specifically, for example, all policy data values may be updated to “not permitted”. In this way, for example, in controlling the capture of the play image 20, the management policy of the game server 10 can be prioritized over the policy set by the user.

The policy data of the user who uses the client 12 may not be stored in the client-side policy data storage unit 50 of the client 12 in advance. Then, in the process shown in S101, the capture permission / rejection transmission / reception unit 56 may generate policy data based on the user attributes and the like managed in the client 12, and transmit the policy data. Here, examples of the user attribute include age, address, game play count, play time, and the like.

Further, the policy data may be associated with the program to be executed. Specifically, for example, it may be associated with a game title or game type. And the above-mentioned process may be performed about the policy data specified based on the program performed with the game server 10. FIG. Further, default policy data may exist separately from the policy data associated with the program to be executed. In this case, when there is no policy data associated with the program to be executed, the above-described processing may be executed for the default policy data. Policy data may be associated with the client 12. For a game without the user's concept, capture control based on the policy data may be performed. Alternatively, which user is playing the game, capture control based on the policy data may be performed.

Further, the policy data is stored in the client-side policy data storage unit 50 and may be transmitted to the game server 10. The policy data may be managed by the game server 10 in association with the identification information of the client 12. Then, the capture control in the client 12 may be performed based on the policy data associated with the identification information of the client 12 to be captured.

Next, an example of a flow of processing performed in the game system 1 according to the present embodiment when the capture requesting user performs a play moving image capture start requesting operation will be described with reference to a flowchart illustrated in FIG. .

First, the capture request unit 62 of the client 12 used by the capture request user transmits a play moving image capture start request associated with the capture status data of the capture request user to the game server 10. Then, the capture request reception unit 38 of the game server 10 receives the capture start request (S201).

Then, the capture request receiving unit 38 stores the capture status data associated with the capture start request received in the process shown in S201 in the server-side capture status data storage unit 32 (S202).

Then, the notification unit 40 transmits the captured user's policy data to the capture requesting user's client 12. Then, the capture availability transmission / reception unit 56 of the client 12 of the capture requesting user receives the policy data (S203). Then, the capture possibility transmission / reception unit 56 stores the policy data in the client-side policy data storage unit 50 (S204).

Then, the notification unit 40 transmits to the client 12 used by the capture target user and the capture request user a play moving image capture start notification associated with the capture status data of the capture request user. The notification reception unit 64 of the client 12 receives the capture start notification (S205). Then, the notification reception unit 64 of the client 12 stores the capture status data associated with the capture start notification received in the process shown in S205 in the server-side capture status data storage unit 32 (S206). Then, the image generation unit 70 of the client 12 generates the play image 20 (S207). Then, the display control unit 72 of the client 12 displays the play image 20 on the display (S208), and ends the processing shown in this processing example. Here, as a result of the processing shown in S207 and S208, the play image 20 as shown in FIG. 4 is displayed on the display of the client 12 used by the capture requesting user. On the other hand, a play image 20 as shown in FIG. 6 is displayed on the display of the client 12 used by the user to be captured.

Note that the capture request unit 62 confirms whether or not the capture of the play moving image is uniformly permitted based on the policy data stored in the client-side policy data storage unit 50 before executing the process shown in S201. May be. If it is confirmed that the processing is not permitted uniformly, the image generation unit 70 generates the play image 20 illustrated in FIG. 13 without performing the processes shown in S201 to S208, and the display control unit 72 causes the play image 20 to be displayed. May be displayed.

Further, after the process shown in S201 described above, the capture request receiving unit 38 may transmit a voting request as to whether or not to allow capture to the client 12 used by the user to be captured. Here, the voting request may be transmitted to the client 12 used by the captured user who is not permitted to capture. In this case, a screen that prompts voting about whether or not to capture may be displayed on the display of the client 12 that has received the voting request. And the capture request reception part 38 of the game server 10 may receive the vote result which the to-be-captured user input from the client 12 which the said to-be-captured user uses. Then, the capture request reception unit 38 may determine whether or not capture is possible according to the vote result. Here, when it is determined that the capture is permitted, the processing after S202 described above may be executed. On the other hand, if it is determined not to allow capture, the game server 10 displays the play image 20 illustrated in FIG. 13 on the display of the client 12 used by the capture requesting user without executing the processing from S202 onward. You may control so that it may be carried out.

Next, one frame when the game is being played will be described with reference to the flowchart illustrated in FIG. 18 as an example of the flow of processing performed by the client 12-2 and the game server 10 according to the present embodiment. To do. Here, for example, it is assumed that the user who is the player B who uses the client 12-2 is a capture requesting user. The frame is within the capture target period for the user who is the player B.

First, the operation signal reception unit 54 of the client 12-2 receives an operation signal in the frame (S301). Then, the game operation input information transmission unit 58 of the client 12-2 transmits operation input information corresponding to the operation signal to the game server 10. Then, the game process execution unit 36 of the game server 10 receives the operation input information (S302).

And the game process execution part 36 of the game server 10 produces | generates the game condition data in the said flame | frame (S303). In the process shown in S303, for example, game situation data is generated based on operation input information received from the client 12 of a user who is a player participating in all the games and the game situation data in the immediately preceding frame. The game process execution unit 36 holds the game situation data at least until the immediately following frame.

Then, the game process execution unit 36 of the game server 10 transmits the game situation data in the frame to the client 12-2. Then, the game situation data receiving unit 60 of the client 12-2 receives the game situation data (S304). In the process shown in S304, the game situation data is actually transmitted to the client 12 of the user who is a player who participates in all the games including the capture requesting user.

Then, the capture request unit 62 of the client 12-2 determines whether or not to capture the play image 20 in the frame based on the game situation data received in the process shown in S304 and the capture condition for the user who is the player B. Is determined (S305). The capture condition is included in, for example, the capture status data of the user who is the player B stored in the client-side capture status data storage unit 52 of the client 12-2.

Then, the capture request unit 62 of the client 12-2 sets the value of the status information associated with the capture status data for the user who is the player B based on the determination result in the process shown in S305 (S306). . Here, the status information about the user who is the player B is information associated with the capture status data of the user who is the player B stored in the client-side capture status data storage unit 52 of the client 12-2, for example. is there. Here, for example, the value of the status information is set to either “stop” or “recording”. Then, the capture request unit 62 of the client 12-2 transmits the status information whose value is set in the process shown in S306 to the game server 10 in association with the identification information of the capture request user. Then, the capture request receiving unit 38 of the game server 10 receives the status information (S307). Then, the capture request reception unit 38 of the game server 10 updates the status information value for the user who is the player B to the status information value received in the process shown in S307 (S308). Here, the status information about the user who is the player B is associated with the capture status data of the user who is the player B stored in the server-side capture status data storage unit 32, for example.

Then, the image generation unit 70 of the client 12-2 generates the play image 20 (S309). The play image 20 is drawn in the frame buffer.

In the process shown in S309, the image generation unit 70 of the client 12-2 first generates the basic play image 20 based on the game situation data received in the process shown in S304.

Then, the image generation unit 70 of the client 12-2 performs the above-described image I1a, image I1b, and image for the play image 20 based on the capture status data stored in the client-side capture status data storage unit 52. I2 to I4, image I7, etc. are arranged.

Here, for example, the image generation unit 70 specifies the identification information of the player whose capture status data is stored in the client-side capture status data storage unit 52, for example. Then, the image generation unit 70 identifies a player that is not permitted to capture and a player that is permitted based on the policy data stored in the client-side policy data storage unit 50 among these players. . Then, the image generation unit 70 arranges the image I1b at a position associated with the identification information of the player who has been identified as not permitting capture (see FIGS. 6 and 12, etc.).

On the other hand, the image generation unit 70 specifies whether or not the capture condition is satisfied for the player specified to permit the capture. Whether or not the capture condition is satisfied can be specified based on the value of status information associated with the capture status data stored in the client-side capture status data storage unit 52. Then, the image generation unit 70 arranges the image I1a at a position associated with the identification information of the player who satisfies the capture condition. Then, the image generation unit 70 arranges the image I1c at a position associated with the identification information of the player who does not satisfy the capture condition (see FIG. 12).

Then, the image generation unit 70 of the client 12-2 obtains the confidential information of the user who is not permitted to capture the play image 20 from the play image 20 based on the policy data stored in the client-side policy data storage unit 50. to erase. Here, for example, the image generation unit 70 of the client 12-2 replaces the confidential information with the substitute character string AS, or executes a mosaic process on a part of the play image 20 such as the confidential information.

Then, the display control unit 72 of the client 12-2 displays the play image 20 generated by the process shown in S309 on the display (S310).

Then, the capture unit 74 stores the value of the status information associated with the capture status data of the user who is the player B stored in the client-side capture status data storage unit 52 as “recording” or “stop”. It is confirmed whether it exists (S311). If it is “stop”, the processing shown in this processing example is terminated. In the case of “recording”, the capture unit 74 captures the play image 20 drawn in the frame buffer and stores it in the capture image storage unit 76 of the client 12-2 (S312). The process ends.

In the process shown in S309, the image generation unit 70 may determine whether or not the character object CO is arranged in the captured play image 20. Then, the image generation unit 70 may erase the confidential information of the user determined to be arranged from the play image 20. The determination is performed based on, for example, whether or not there is an obstacle between the two positions by performing ray casting from the position of the viewpoint corresponding to the capture requesting user to the position of the character object CO of the user to be captured. You may be made to be. Further, when the distance between the two positions is shorter than a predetermined length, it may be determined that the character object CO is arranged in the captured play image 20. Note that this determination may be made only for frames that satisfy the capture condition for the capture requesting user.

Next, an example of the flow of processing performed by the client 12-1 and the game server 10 according to the present embodiment for one frame whose processing is indicated in the above-described S301 to S312 when the game is being played. This will be described with reference to the flowchart illustrated in FIG. In the frame, it is assumed that the user who is the player B is the capture requesting user as described above. Here, for example, it is assumed that the user who is the player A who uses the client 12-1 is the user to be captured.

First, the client 12-1 executes processing similar to the processing shown in S301 to S304 described above (S401 to S404).

Then, the notification receiving unit 64 of the client 12-1 receives the status information transmitted from the game server 10 (S405). The process in which the game server 10 transmits the status information is performed after the process shown in S308, for example. The status information is, for example, transmitted from the client 12-2 in the process shown in S307. Then, the notification receiving unit 64 of the client 12-1 updates the status information value for the user who is the player B to the status information value received in the process shown in S405 (S406). Here, the status information about the user who is the player B is, for example, associated with the capture status data of the user who is the player B stored in the client-side capture status data storage unit 52 of the client 12-1. .

Then, the client 12-1 executes the same processing as S309 and S310 (S407 and S408), and ends the processing shown in this processing example. Here, for example, the image I1a, the image I1b, or the image I1c is arranged at a position associated with the identification information of the user who is the player B in the play image 20.

In the process shown in S407, the image generation unit 70 determines whether or not the character object COa is arranged in the play image 20-2 captured by the capture requesting user, as in the process shown in S309. You may go. And the image generation part 70 may control whether the image I4 illustrated in FIG. 8 is arranged in the play image 20 according to the determination result.

Next, an example of the flow of processing performed in the game system 1 when the user who is the player B performs the permission request operation to the user who is the player A will be described with reference to the flowchart illustrated in FIG. .

First, the capture request unit 66 of the client 12-2 transmits a permission request notification to the client 12-1. Then, the capture request response unit 68 of the client 12-1 receives the permission request notification (S501). Then, the image generation unit 70 of the client 12-1 generates a play image 20-1 in which the image I5 illustrated in FIG. 9 is arranged, and the display control unit 72 of the client 12-1 performs the client 12-1. (S502).

Here, the operation signal reception unit 54 of the client 12-1 receives a capture permission operation or a capture rejection operation (S503). Then, the operation signal reception unit 54 of the client 12-1 transmits a notification corresponding to the operation received in the process shown in S503 to the client 12-2. Then, the capture request unit 66 of the client 12-2 receives the notification (S504). For example, when a capture rejection operation is received in the process shown in S503, a notification for rejecting capture is transmitted in the process shown in S504. On the other hand, when a capture permission operation is accepted in the process shown in S503, a notification permitting capture is transmitted in the process shown in S504.

Then, the image generation unit 70 of the client 12-2 generates a play image 20-2 according to the notification received in the process shown in S504, and the display control unit 72 of the client 12-2 displays the play image 20- 2 is displayed on the display (S505). Here, for example, when a notification for refusing capture is received, a play image 20-2 in which an image I6 illustrated in FIG. 10 is arranged is displayed. On the other hand, when a notification for permitting capture is received, the play image 20-2 in which an image indicating that capture is permitted is displayed for the player B.

Then, the capture possibility transmission / reception unit 56 of the client 12-1 confirms whether or not a capture permission operation is accepted in the process shown in S503 (S506). Then, if it is confirmed that it has not been accepted, that is, that a capture rejection operation has been accepted (S506: N), the game system 1 ends the processing shown in this processing example. On the other hand, when it is confirmed that the capture permission operation has been accepted (S506: Y), the capture permission / reception unit 56 of the client 12-1 has the value “permit to user and friend who are player B”. The policy data of the user who is a player A is transmitted to the game server 10. Then, the capture availability accepting unit 34 of the game server 10 receives the policy data (S507).

Then, the capture propriety accepting unit 34 of the game server 10 sets the value of the policy data of the user who is the player A stored in the server-side policy data storage unit 30 to the value of the policy data received in the process shown in S507. Update (S508). And the notification part 40 of the game server 10 transmits the said policy data to the client 12 which the user who is a player participating in the said game uses. Here, for example, the policy data is transmitted to the clients 12-1 to 12-3. Therefore, the policy data is also transmitted to the client 12-2. Then, the capture permission / reception unit 56 of the client 12-2 receives the policy data (S509).

Then, the capture permission / reception unit 56 of the client 12-2 converts the value of the policy data of the user who is the player A stored in the client side policy data storage unit 50 into the policy data value received in the process shown in S509. Update (S510). In this manner, the user who is the player A is permitted to capture the confidential information of the user who is the player A. Therefore, the play image 20-2 illustrated in FIG. 7 is displayed on the display of the client 12-2, and the play image 20-2 illustrated in FIG. 8 is displayed on the display of the client 12-1. Then, the processing shown in this processing example is finished. In this way, in the present embodiment, the capture of the play image 20 by the capture requesting user is controlled according to whether or not the play image 20 can be captured received from the capture target user who has received the permission request notification.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment.

For example, all of the functions shown in FIG. 15 may be implemented as a game program, or all of the functions shown in FIG. 15 may be implemented as a system program. Also, some of the functions shown in FIG. 15 may be implemented as a game program, and the rest may be implemented as a system program. Specifically, for example, as described in the description of the notification receiving unit 64 described above, the system program may receive a play moving image capture start notification and a capture end notification. Then, the game program may overwrite the play image 20 with the image I1a, the image I1b, the images I2 to I8, etc., as described in the above description of the image generation unit 70. Then, the game program may cause the display to display the image generated by the image generation unit 70 as described in the description of the display control unit 72 described above.

For example, the present embodiment may be applied to a game played by a single game device with a plurality of players. FIG. 21 is a diagram showing an example of a play image 20 displayed on the display when playing such a game. FIG. 21 shows a play image 20 in a game played by four players. The play image 20 is divided, and the play contents of different players are shown in the upper left, lower left, upper right, and lower right areas, respectively. Here, it is assumed that a play moving image is captured by a user who is a player associated with the upper left area. In this case, the play image 20 in which the upper left area is cut out is captured. Then, as shown in FIG. 21, an image I7 is arranged in the upper left area of the play image 20. In this way, other players can recognize that the play image 20 is captured.

At this time, for example, the image I7 is arranged in the upper left area of the play image 20, or instead of being arranged, the light emission mode of the light emitting unit of the controller operated by the player associated with the upper left area is changed. May be. For example, the behavior of the light emitting unit of the controller operated by the player associated with the upper left area may be different from the controllers operated by other players. In this way, the user to be captured may be notified that the play image 20 is captured. Specifically, for example, the light emitting unit of the controller operated by the player associated with the upper left area may repeat blinking quickly or gradually blink. Or you may make it the color of the light which the light emission part of the said controller changes periodically.

Also, for example, the capture start notification may be transmitted to the client 12 used by a user who is not a game player but a friend of the capture requesting user, for example. Then, the capture status data may be stored in a storage area managed by the system program. In this case, as illustrated in FIG. 22, the image I1a may be arranged on the right side of the icon representing the capture requesting user in the system image generated and displayed by the system program.

Further, for example, as shown in FIG. 23, in the list display screen of the game server 10 that can be logged in by the user displayed via the server browser, the capture control of the play image 20 in the game played on the game server 10 is performed. An image associated with the policy may be displayed. In the list display screen of the game server 10 shown in FIG. 23, the maximum number of participants of the game played on the game server 10 is expressed as a denominator and the current number of participants is expressed as a numerator in association with the identification information of the game server 10. Fractions are arranged. In the example of FIG. 23, the icon Ic1 is arranged on the right side of the identification information of the game server 10 that is controlled so that the capture of the play image 20 is uniformly prohibited. In the example of FIG. 23, the icon Ic2 is arranged on the right side of the identification information of the game server 10 that is controlled so that the capture of the play image 20 is uniformly permitted. In the example of FIG. 23, the icon Ic3 is arranged on the right side of the identification information of the game server 10 that is controlled so that the capture of the play image 20 is uniformly permitted to friends. Further, no icon is arranged on the right side of the identification information of the game server 10 to which the policy data set in the client 12 is applied, that is, the game server 10 that does not uniformly control the capture of the play image.

If the user performs an operation of selecting any game server 10 here, the client 12 logs into the game server 10. Here, an icon associated with a capture control policy applied in the game server 10 is displayed on a screen displayed on the display while connected to the game server 10 or while a game being executed on the game server 10 is loaded. Such an image may be arranged. For example, the icon Ic1 is displayed on the screen displayed on the display while connected to the game server 10 controlled to be uniformly prohibited from capturing the play image 20 or while the game being executed on the game server 10 is loaded. It may be arranged. In addition, for example, the icon Ic2 is displayed on the screen displayed on the display while connected to the game server 10 controlled so that the capture of the play image 20 is uniformly permitted, or while the game being executed on the game server 10 is loaded. May be arranged. In addition, for example, the capture of the play image 20 is uniformly displayed on the display while connected to the game server 10 controlled to be permitted to a friend or while a game being executed on the game server 10 is loaded. The icon Ic3 may be arranged on the screen.

Also, for example, in a situation where the play image 20 is streamed in real time, the game player is notified that the distributed play image 20 is captured by the viewer of the play image 20. May be. That is, the capture requesting user may not be a user who is a game player, but the user to be captured may be a user who is a game player.

Also, the captured play video may be distributed live. For example, the captured play moving image may not be stored in the storage unit 12b of the client 12, but may be buffered and uploaded to a site that provides a live streaming service.

In addition, you may apply this embodiment to programs other than a game program, for example, the program etc. which support the collaborative work by a some user. Specifically, for example, the present embodiment may be applied to a chat application or an electronic bulletin board. Moreover, the game server 10 may be comprised from the some housing | casing. Further, the division of roles between the game server 10 and the client 12 is not limited to the above. For example, a device that is one of the clients 12 may play the role of the game server 10. In this case, the apparatus plays the role of both the game server 10 and the client 12 described above. The specific character strings described above and the specific character strings in the drawings are examples, and are not limited to these character strings.

Claims

A capture availability accepting unit that accepts whether or not the image is captured by a capture requesting user who requests capture of an image indicating the execution content of the program;
A capture control unit that controls capture of the image by the capture requesting user according to the acceptability;
A capture control system comprising:
The program is a game program played by a plurality of users including the capture requesting user and the captured user.
The capture control system according to claim 1.
When accepting that the image is not permitted to be captured, the capture control unit receives the image processed so that at least a part of the information that can identify the captured user is not arranged. Control it to be captured,
The capture control system according to claim 1 or 2, characterized by the above.
The capture control unit controls to capture the image on which mosaic processing has been executed at least in part;
The capture control system according to claim 3.
A capture request unit for notifying the capture requesting user who has not permitted the capture requesting user to capture the image;
The capture control unit controls capturing of the image by the capture requesting user according to the acceptability received from the captured user who has received the permission request notification;
The capture control system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein
Receiving from the captured user whether or not the image is captured by a capture requesting user who requests capturing of an image indicating the execution contents of the program;
Controlling the capture of the image by the capture requesting user according to the acceptability;
A capture control method comprising:
A procedure for accepting from the captured user whether or not the image is captured by the capture requesting user who requests to capture an image indicating the execution content of the program;
A procedure for controlling capture of the image by the capture requesting user according to the acceptability;
A program that causes a computer to execute.
A procedure for accepting from the captured user whether or not the image is captured by the capture requesting user who requests to capture an image indicating the execution content of the program;
A procedure for controlling capture of the image by the capture requesting user according to the acceptability;
A computer-readable information storage medium storing a program characterized by causing a computer to execute.
A capture control unit that controls capture of the image according to whether or not an image indicating the execution contents of the program received from the captured user is captured;
An information processing apparatus comprising:
A procedure for controlling capture of an image according to whether or not an image indicating the execution content of a program received from a captured user can be captured;
Is executed by a computer.
A procedure for controlling capture of an image according to whether or not an image indicating the execution content of a program received from a captured user can be captured;
A computer-readable information storage medium storing a program characterized by causing a computer to execute.
A capture control unit for controlling capture of the image by a capture requesting user who requests capture of an image indicating the execution contents of the program, based on whether or not an image set by the user to be captured can be captured;
An information processing apparatus comprising:
A procedure for controlling the capture of the image by the capture requesting user who requests the capture of the image indicating the execution contents of the program based on whether or not the image set by the captured user can be captured;
Is executed by a computer.
A procedure for controlling the capture of the image by the capture requesting user who requests the capture of the image indicating the execution contents of the program based on whether or not the image set by the captured user can be captured;
A computer-readable information storage medium storing a program characterized by causing a computer to execute.