JP3764001B2 - Game device ranking display method - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a ranking display method for game devices that displays and displays scores obtained by gamers with game devices.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a ranking display system for accepting and posting a score application from a player using a homepage such as the Internet has been implemented. A player who wants to publish on the home page connects to the Internet using a personal computer or the like, and accesses the home page on which ranking is posted by communication software for WWW (world wide web) called a browser. Here, when the player inputs his / her name and score from a personal computer, the server storing the home page accepts the input name and score and writes it on the home page. The home page is a document described in the HTML language (hyper text makeup language), and when the document of the personal computer home page is transferred, it is displayed in the form of a normal document by the browser.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
Since the conventional ranking display system only accepts and displays the score and name from the player, the player has to frequently access the homepage in order to know whether his ranking has changed.
[0004]
As the number of people accessing the homepage increases, a load is placed on the server that accepts the access, and a situation occurs in which the player cannot easily access the homepage server.
[0005]
In view of the above, an object of the present invention is to provide a ranking display method for game devices in which a player only needs to access a homepage when his ranking changes.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
To achieve the above object, a first aspect of the invention, the server is connected to a communication line, for clients that accesses the server via the communication line, to provide a score ranking information of the game apparatus In the ranking display method of the game device for displaying the provided ranking information on the client side, the server includes:
The score of the game device and the e-mail address are received from the client, the received score is added to the ranking information, and a score within a certain range is detected by the score ranking indicated by the score ranking information, and the detection is performed. A message for guiding the score ranking is transmitted to the destination indicated by the e-mail address corresponding to the score.
[0007]
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the ranking display method for a game device according to the first aspect, the score is encrypted together with the identification information, and the server decrypts the encrypted identification information and the score. Based on the decrypted identification information, it is determined whether or not the score can be added to the score ranking information.
[0008]
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the ranking display method according to the second aspect, the game device encrypts and prints out the score at the end of the game and the identification information.
[0009]
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the ranking display method for a game device according to the first aspect, when the server receives the encrypted identification information and score and the electronic mail address from the client, If the same e-mail address is stored internally, it is determined whether there is a duplicate, and if a determination is made that there is a duplicate, the score corresponding to the e-mail address stored internally and the received score are large. One score is stored in the inside, and a plurality of scores are not allowed for the same electronic mail address.
[0010]
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the ranking display method for a game device according to the first aspect, a comment is received from the client, the comment is stored in association with the score, and the comment is part of the ranking information. It is characterized by.
[0011]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
[0012]
FIG. 1 shows a system configuration example of a ranking display system to which the present invention is applied. In FIG. 1, the server 1 is installed at a game device manufacturer, and the table form data (scoring ranking information) of FIG. 5 used for ranking registration homepage and ranking display, in this embodiment, name, email ( Email) address, registration date, and score. Further, a ranking registration program and a ranking update program that are executed in conjunction with the home page are also stored in the server. A personal computer (abbreviated as personal computer) 2 is used by a player. As the game apparatus 4, a game apparatus installed in a game center or a home game apparatus can be used. Note that the difference from the prior art is that when the game is over, the score and identification information unique to the game device are encrypted as shown in FIG. 2, and the character string (referred to as a password) obtained as a result of the encryption is printed. It is a point output from the game apparatus 4 in a form.
[0013]
The server 1 and the personal computer 2 are connected to a dedicated line 3 such as the Internet. Note that the server 1 or the personal computer 2 may be connected to the dedicated line 3 via an Internet connection provider called a provider.
[0014]
Prior to the description of the operation of the system, a display example of a home page will be described. An example of the home page is shown in FIG. In FIG. 4, 11 is a character string display for instructing display of ranking. When the user designates this character string 11 with the mouse of the personal computer 2, the ranking display program is transferred from the server 1 to the personal computer 2, and the personal computer 2 By executing this program, the ranking of FIG. 5 is displayed in the screen area 10 of the personal computer 2. Reference numeral 12 denotes a character string for instructing ranking registration. When the character string 12 is instructed by a mouse, a ranking registration program is transferred to the personal computer 2, and the player registers a score by this program. In the display of FIG. 5, the state where the ranking is displayed is schematically shown. By moving the scroll button 13, the display is scrolled so that all ranks can be viewed.
[0015]
Based on the above points, the system operation of FIG. 1 will be described. When a player plays a game on the game device 4 and obtains a print result on which a password is printed, the personal computer 2 is used to access the home page on the server 1 in the same manner as before.
[0016]
Then, the display screen of FIG. 4 appears, and the player instructs the character string 12.
[0017]
The server 1 waits for a registration instruction from the personal computer 2 according to the flowchart of FIG. 3 (loop processing in step S1 of FIG. 3). When it is detected in step S <b> 1 that a registration instruction has been issued, the server 1 transfers a ranking registration program to the personal computer 2. The personal computer 2 executes this ranking registration program and accepts input of the name, password, comment, and e-mail address from the player using the keyboard. The input name, comment, and e-mail address are transferred to the server 1. The server 1 stores the transferred name, password, comment, and e-mail address in association with each other, and then executes ranking update processing (step S2).
[0018]
First, the server 1 decrypts (decrypts) the received password. Since the encryption method can be the same as the conventional method, detailed description will not be required. Based on the identification information obtained by the decryption and the identification information in the score, it is determined whether or not the game device 4 has correctly played the game. When the forged password is used, the identification information obtained by decryption has a data format different from that specified, for example, so that the forged password is excluded. When the authentication of the correct password is completed, the server 1 determines whether or not the following registration condition is satisfied, and if the registration condition is satisfied, the data received in the ranking data table of the internal storage device Register.
Registration conditions Your name (name) and / or email address is new.
[0019]
This can be determined by searching the ranking data table to check for duplication.
2. If the name and / or e-mail address is already registered in the ranking data table, the received score data is larger than the registered score.
When duplication is found by searching the ranking data table, the determination is made by comparing the magnitudes of the score data.
[0020]
When the determination using the above registration conditions is performed and the server 1 determines that the registration conditions are satisfied, sorting (rearrangement) is performed according to the score data (see FIG. 5). In the case of registration of a new score, newly received data is additionally registered according to the score ranking. If the name and / or email address overlaps, the data already written in the ranking data table is deleted and the received data is registered.
[0021]
In the present embodiment, for the player who has registered for ranking, the following message is prepared in the storage device in the server 1 in relation to the ranking registration, and an e-mail describing the message is sent to the player. Immediately sent to the e-mail address (step S3 in FIG. 3).
a) A message is sent to notify that a new ranking registrant has been registered, and that notification will be made by e-mail when the ranking has changed.
b) Some of the rankings are registered, and the score is higher in the current ranking. A message indicating that there has been a change in the ranking is sent, and a message that guides the new ranking is transmitted.
[0022]
Note that the ranking fluctuation (lower fluctuation) can be found by the following information processing.
[0023]
Since the ranking data table in FIG. 5 is arranged in the order of scores, the data indicated by the received data is compared in order from the highest score in the ranking data table. If the comparison data on the ranking data table side is larger than the score of the received data, the ranking does not change. On the other hand, if the score of the received data is higher than the third score in the ranking data table, for example, the ranking of all the ranking registration data after the third is lowered. Therefore, the received data is inserted between the current second ranking registration data and the third ranking registration data, and e-mail addresses of all the third and subsequent ranking data are extracted. As for the rank, the current storage address is converted into a rank to obtain a new rank.
[0024]
With the above description, those skilled in the art will be able to create a program for executing this processing.
c) A message indicating that the ranking has been registered and the score to be registered this time is lower than the registered score cannot be updated is transmitted. A message may be displayed on the personal computer screen when applying for score registration.
[0025]
As described above, when the server 1 e-mails a message corresponding to the contents of the ranking registration as described above, a message indicating the end of registration is transmitted to the personal computer 2. The execution procedure of the server 1 returns to step S1 in FIG. 3 via step S3, and prepares for ranking registration from another personal computer 1. If the server 1 is instructed to end the process (YES determination in step S4), the process procedure of FIG.
[0026]
On the other hand, when the player's personal computer 2 receives a notice of completion of ranking registration from the server 1, the browser is terminated and the ranking registration process is terminated.
[0027]
As described above, in this embodiment, if there is a change in ranking due to the ranking registration of another player, a message corresponding to the content of the change is sent to the ranking registrant by e-mail (e-mail). , The player does not need to access the homepage each time. In addition, since the score passed from the game apparatus 4 and the identification information are encrypted, only those having a legitimate password are allowed to be registered for ranking. Since the password is printed, the player will never forget the password.
[0028]
This completes the description of the process for registering scores. When the server 1 accepts access from the personal computer 2 and receives the ranking display instruction of FIG. 4, the score, name, and comment are read out from the ranking data table stored internally (for example, a hard disk storage device) in the order of the score. 4 is displayed (however, comments are not shown).
[0029]
In addition to the above-described embodiment, the following embodiment can be implemented.
1) In the above-described embodiment, a wide area communication network called the Internet has been described. However, the present invention can be applied to a computer network system capable of performing message communication such as e-mail. For example, a dedicated telephone line owned by the information service company may be used, or dial connection may be made from the personal computer 2 to the server 1 using a public telephone line.
2) A message to be transmitted by e-mail may be appropriately determined according to the type of game. Furthermore, it is also conceivable that the game apparatus company provides prizes by automatically detecting what is ranked higher in the ranking for a certain period in the server 1. In this case, if the registration date is described in the ranking data registration table and the period between the current date and the registration date of the ranking leader is calculated, the corresponding one can be detected.
3) In the above-described embodiment, when the ranking is changed, the e-mail is immediately transmitted. However, for example, aggregation may be performed at regular intervals such as daily or weekly. . In this case, both the ranking at the previous aggregation date and the ranking at the current aggregation are stored in the ranking data table.
4) In the above example, the password is transferred off-line between the game apparatus 4 and the personal computer 2, but the password may be transferred by communication by connecting with a cable, or the game apparatus may be connected to the Internet, Communication may be performed between the game apparatus 4 and the server 1. In this case, the game apparatus 4 is provided with means (keyboard or the like) for inputting information such as a communication apparatus and a name.
[0030]
Further, as a method for transferring the password to the personal computer 2, it is conceivable to use a portable storage medium such as a floppy disk, an IC card, or a memory card.
5) In the above-described embodiment, the score ranking of one type of game device is displayed. However, it is also possible to display the ranking for each type of game. In this case, the game type information is included in the information to be encrypted, and the type of the game is determined when the encrypted password is received on the server 1 side.
6) In the above-described embodiment, the score is registered using a general-purpose browser. However, the game device manufacturer may supply dedicated communication software for score registration in the form of a CDROM, for example. In this case, identification information is defined in the communication software. When the personal computer 2 executes the communication software, the score is received and the identification information and the score are transmitted to the server 1. In order to prevent the act of registering a lie score, the game device may store the score on a floppy disk or the like, and the score stored on the floppy disk may be read out by the personal computer 2 using the communication software. .
7) As a device for accessing the server 1 (generally called a client or a terminal), in addition to the personal computer 2, various devices such as an electronic notebook, a word processor, and a workstation can be used.
8) In the above-described embodiment, mail notification is performed for all score registrants. However, the rank range may be limited to, for example, those for only the first place and those for the first to 10th places. In this case, the server 11 performs the determination of the presence / absence of the rank change only for the predetermined rank.
9) The registration number of points may be stored, and the counting result may be displayed together with the points. In this case, the number of registrations may be stored in the ranking data table on the server 1 side, and the value of the number of registrations may be incremented (+1) for each registration from the personal computer 2. It is also possible to e-mail various guidance information, advertisement information, and comments according to the number of registrations.
10) If the e-mail function of the server 1 of this embodiment is used, a comment in the information input from the score registrant can be e-mailed to a person in a certain upper rank range by broadcast.
11) In the above-described embodiment, the server 1 unconditionally performs e-mail. However, the personal computer 2 may instruct the server 1 whether or not e-mail is necessary. This instruction is described together with the score in the ranking data table in the form of bit 1/0, for example, and the server 1 performs e-mail based on this data.
[0031]
Further, the higher scorer who receives the e-mail of item 10 can also select whether or not to receive.
12) In a browser for WWW, a function called “cookie”, that is, information sent from the server is stored in its own device, and an HTML document or program (or script) sent from the server is stored. Some have a function of processing information according to By using this function, the same information as the score and e-mail address registered by the player on the server 1 is also stored in the personal computer 2 and the page and these information (E-mail) are accessed each time the homepage for ranking display is accessed. Address and score) can be combined and displayed.
[0032]
In addition, the number of accesses to the home page can be counted by the cookie function on the personal computer 2 side, and the counting result can be displayed on the personal computer 2.
[0033]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the invention of claim 1, the server receives the score and the e-mail address of the game device from the client, adds the received score to the score ranking information, and sets the score ranking information. A score that falls within a certain range in the indicated score ranking is detected, and a message indicating the score ranking is sent to the destination indicated by the e-mail address corresponding to the detected score, so the player needs to access the server each time There is no. Further, on the server side, a situation in which the load on the server is reduced due to a decrease in the number of accesses and the information service providing process is delayed can be avoided.
[0034]
In the invention of claim 2, the score to be registered can be authenticated by the identification information added together with the score.
[0035]
In the invention of claim 3, since the encryption is performed on the game device and printed out, even if the score is input by the client in another place, the player never forgets the encrypted information. Absent.
[0036]
In the invention of claim 4, since only one score is accepted for the same electronic mail address, the server can minimize the transmission of messages to the same person. In addition, the score ranking information can be displayed in a number of different scores.
[0037]
In the invention of claim 5, since the comment is also displayed together with the score, the player can be interested in the ranking.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a system configuration of an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the contents of encryption.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure executed by the server 1;
FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a score ranking display;
FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing the contents of score ranking data stored in the server 1;
[Explanation of symbols]
1 Server 2 Personal computer 3 Dedicated line 4 Game device

Claims (5)

A game device for connecting a server to a communication line, providing score ranking information of the game device to a client accessing the server via the communication line, and displaying the provided ranking information on the client side In the ranking display method, the server includes:
From the client, the game device score and e-mail address are received, and the received score is added to the ranking information,
Detecting a score within a certain range in the score ranking indicated by the score ranking information;
A ranking display method for a game device, characterized in that a message for guiding a score ranking is transmitted to a destination indicated by an e-mail address corresponding to the detected score. 2. The ranking display method for a game apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the score is encrypted together with identification information, and the server decrypts the encrypted identification information and the score, and decrypts the decrypted identification information. And determining whether or not the score can be added to the score ranking information. 3. The ranking display method according to claim 2, wherein the game device encrypts and prints out the score at the end of the game and the identification information. 2. The ranking display method for a game device according to claim 1, wherein when the server receives encrypted identification information, a score, and an e-mail address from the client, an e-mail address identical to the e-mail address is internally stored. If there is a duplicate determination, the score corresponding to the e-mail address stored inside and the score with the larger received score are stored inside A ranking display method for a game device, characterized in that a plurality of scores are not permitted for the same electronic mail address stored. 2. The ranking display method for a game device according to claim 1, further comprising: receiving a comment from the client, storing the comment in association with the score, and making the comment a part of the ranking information. Ranking display method for game devices.

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