JP7583322B2 - Information processing device and program - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an information processing device and a program.

Currently, games that use location information are known. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses technology that can improve the strategic nature of games that use location information from player terminals.

JP 2019-181216 A

In games that use location information, each device participating in the game needs to continually obtain location information using GPS or similar. However, for devices with low battery levels, continuing to obtain location information may cause the battery to run out, making it difficult to participate in the game. Similar issues are not limited to games, but can occur in any process that uses location information.

The present invention aims to provide a technology that can reduce the power consumption of a terminal when processing location information.

An information processing device according to one aspect of the present invention is an information processing device that executes processing using location information, and includes a management unit that manages a group including a plurality of users, and a processing unit that executes processing to be performed by the group using location information acquired by a portion of user terminals selected from among the user terminals used by each of the plurality of users included in the group.

The present invention provides technology that can reduce the power consumption of a terminal when processing location information.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a system configuration of a game system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining an overview of the game. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of a server and a terminal. FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a functional block configuration of a server. 1 shows an example of a user management DB and a forecaster management DB. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a functional block configuration of a terminal. 11 is a sequence diagram showing an example of a processing procedure performed by the game system. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a map screen display.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the attached drawings. In each drawing, parts with the same reference numerals have the same or similar configurations. In the following description, the present embodiment will be described on the assumption that it is applied to a game that uses location information, but it is not intended that the application of the present embodiment be limited to games. The present embodiment can be applied to any process that uses location information, such as SNS, messengers, group chats, and displaying locations on a map.

<System Configuration>
Fig. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a system configuration of a game system 1 according to this embodiment. The game system 1 shown in Fig. 1 includes a server 10 and one or more terminals 20. The server 10 and the terminals 20 are communicatively connected to each other via a communication network N such as the Internet, an intranet, a wireless LAN, or mobile communication. The server 10 and the terminals 20 may be referred to as information processing devices.

The server 10 may be configured from one or more physical servers, or may be configured using a virtual server that runs on a hypervisor, or may be configured using a cloud server.

The terminal 20 (user terminal) is a terminal used by a user, and the user can play a game by operating the terminal 20. The terminal 20 is, for example, a mobile phone (including a smartphone), a tablet terminal, a personal computer, etc. In the following description, the location of the user means the location of the terminal 20 used by the user.

Figure 2 is a diagram showing an example of a game provided by the server 10. The server 10 uses location information to provide a game in which multiple users can form groups to play. The game provided by the server 10 may be any type of game. For example, a game in which users who are currently in close proximity form groups to fight monsters as a group, or a game in which a group clears an event that occurs at a specific location, etc. are possible. Figure 2 shows an image of a game in which a user U03 forms a group with users U01 and U02 who are near the user U03, and battles a boss character.

In this embodiment, when the server 10 executes a process to be performed by a group (such as a battle against a boss character as described above), the server 10 executes the process using location information acquired by some of the terminals 20 (hereinafter referred to as "location notification terminals") selected from the terminals 20 of the multiple users included in the group. This makes it possible to reduce the power consumption of the terminals 20, since the terminals 20 other than the some of the terminals 20 do not need to acquire location information and notify the server 10.

<Hardware Configuration>
3 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the server 10 and the terminal 20. The server 10 and the terminal 20 include a processor 11 such as a central processing unit (CPU) or a graphical processing unit (GPU), a memory, a hard disk drive (HDD) and/or a solid state drive (SSD).
The computer has a storage device 12 such as a memory device (RAM) (such as a memory card), a communication IF (Interface) 13 for wired or wireless communication, an input device 14 for accepting input operations, and an output device 15 for outputting information. The input device 14 is, for example, a keyboard, a touch panel, a mouse, and/or a microphone. The output device 15 is, for example, a display and/or a speaker.

<Function block configuration>
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a functional block configuration of the server 10. The server 10 includes a storage unit 100, a management unit 101, a selection unit 102, an output unit 103, and a game processing unit 104. The storage unit 100 can be realized by using a storage unit 12 provided in the server 10. The management unit 101, the selection unit 102, the output unit 103, and the game processing unit 104 can be realized by the processor 11 of the server 10 executing a program stored in the storage unit 12. The program can be stored in a storage medium. The storage medium storing the program may be a non-transitory computer readable medium. The non-transitory storage medium is not particularly limited, and may be, for example, a storage medium such as a USB memory or a CD-ROM.

The memory unit 100 stores a user management DB 100a that manages various information related to users, and a group management DB 100b that manages various information related to groups.

A of FIG. 5 shows an example of user management DB 100a, and B of FIG. 5 shows an example of group management DB 100b. In the "user ID" of user management DB 100a, an identifier for uniquely identifying a user within server 10 is stored. In the "nickname" the nickname entered by the user when registering the user is stored. In the "location information" the location information notified from the terminal 20 used by the user is stored.

The "group ID" in the group management DB 100b stores an identifier for uniquely identifying a group within the server 10. The "participating users" store the user IDs of the users included in the group. The "host user" stores the user ID of the user who invited participants to join the group. The "location information notification user" stores the user ID of the user who uses the location notification terminal. The "location information notification user" may store multiple user IDs.

The management unit 101 creates and manages groups that include multiple users. For example, the management unit 101 manages groups by storing users who join the group in the group management DB 100b and deleting users who leave the group from the group management DB 100b. In addition, when a location notification terminal is selected by the selection unit 102, the management unit 101 stores the user ID of the user who uses the location notification terminal in the "location information notification user" of the group management DB 100b.

The selection unit 102 selects a location notification terminal from among the terminals 20 of multiple users included in the same group according to a predetermined algorithm. The selection unit 102 may select a location notification terminal by itself, or may select a location notification terminal in cooperation with the terminal 20 by receiving a notification of the result of the selection of the location notification terminal from the terminal 20.

The output unit 103 outputs information for displaying various screens related to the game on the screen of the terminal 20. The output unit 103 also outputs information for displaying on the screen of the terminal 20 an image in which the positions of each user included in the group are superimposed on a map.

The game processing unit 104 performs various processes related to the execution of the game that should be performed on the server 10 side. The game processing unit 104 also performs processing (predetermined processing) to be performed by the group using position information acquired by some user terminals selected from the user terminals used by each user included in the group.

In addition, when multiple users do not form a group, the game processing unit 104 may execute group processing using location information acquired by each of the terminals 20 used by the multiple users. In addition, when multiple users form a group, the game processing unit 104 may execute group processing using location information acquired by the terminals 20 of some of the users in the group. In addition, even after multiple users form a group, if a predetermined condition is met (such as when a specific event is started), the game processing unit 104 may execute group processing using location information acquired by the terminals 20 of each of the users who formed the group.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of the functional block configuration of the terminal 20. The terminal 20 includes a game processing unit 201, a selection unit 202, and a position acquisition unit 203. The game processing unit 201, the selection unit 202, and the position acquisition unit 203 can be realized by the processor 11 of the terminal 20 executing a program stored in the storage device 12. The program can be stored in a storage medium. The storage medium storing the program may be a computer-readable non-transitory storage medium. The non-transitory storage medium is not particularly limited, and may be, for example, a storage medium such as a USB memory or a CD-ROM.

The game processing unit 201 performs various processes related to the execution of the game that should be executed on the terminal 20 side. The game processing unit 201 also transmits location information indicating the current location of the terminal 20 acquired by the location acquisition unit 203 to the server 10.

The selection unit 202 selects a location notification terminal from among the terminals 20 of multiple users included in the group. The selection unit 202 may also select a location notification terminal by receiving, from a user, a designation of a user to notify of location information. In addition, when the selection of the location notification terminal is performed on the server 10 side, the selection unit 20 does not need to be implemented in the terminal 20.

The location acquisition unit 203 acquires the current location of the terminal 20 using GPS or the like.

<Processing Procedure>
Fig. 7 is a sequence diagram showing an example of a processing procedure performed by the game system 1. In Fig. 7, the terminals 20 used by the user U01, the user U02, and the user U03 are described as terminal 20-1, terminal 20-2, and terminal 20-3, respectively.

Below, we will explain the series of processes that take place after users U01, U02, and U03, among the multiple users participating in the game, form a group, select a location notification terminal from among the terminals 20 of these users, and then notify the server 10 of the location information from the selected location notification terminal.

In steps S100 to S102, terminal 20-1, terminal 20-2, and terminal 20-3 measure their current locations using GPS or the like, and transmit information indicating their current locations to server 10 at predetermined intervals or other times.

In step S103, a group is created among multiple users participating in the game. A group may be created when users who are within a specified range centered on the user who invited users to join the group (hereinafter referred to as the "host user") agree to join the group. In other words, the management unit 101 of the server 10 may create a group that includes users other than the host user and the host user when the positions of users other than the host user are within a specified range from the position of the host user.

A specific example will be described with reference to FIG. 2. In the example of FIG. 2, users U01 and U02 are present within a predetermined range (within a circle surrounded by a dotted line) centered on user U03. In this situation, the game processing unit 201 of the terminal 20-3 notifies the server 10 that an instruction to invite users to join the group has been received through a screen operation by user U03. The management unit 101 of the server 10 identifies users present within a predetermined range centered on user U03 by searching the "location information" of the user management DB 100a. In addition, the management unit 101 displays a screen on the screen of the identified terminal 20-1 of user U01 and terminal 20-2 of user U02 that accepts the selection of whether or not to accept the participation in the group. When the game processing unit 201 of the terminal 20-1 and terminal 20-2 accepts the selection of accepting the participation in the group from user U01 and user U02, it transmits a message indicating that the participation in the group is accepted to the server 10. The management unit 101 of the server 10 stores the user ID of the user who has agreed to participate in the group in the "participating user" field of the group management DB. Note that when a user who exists within a predetermined range around the host user and is designated by the host user has agreed to participate in the group, the management unit 101 may create a group that includes the host user and the user who has agreed to participate in the group. Let's return to Figure 7 to continue the explanation.

In step S104, the selection unit 102 of the server 10 selects a location notification terminal from among the multiple users included in the group. The selection unit 102 also notifies the selected location notification terminal that it has been selected as a location notification terminal.

Here, the selected location notification terminals may include a predetermined number of terminals 20, in order from the terminal 20 with the highest remaining battery power, among the terminals 20 used by each of the multiple users. The predetermined number is not particularly limited, but may be, for example, "1" or "2."

The location notification terminal may also include a terminal 20 used by each of a plurality of users that has a battery level equal to or greater than a predetermined level. For example, if only terminal 20-1 out of terminals 20-1, 20-2, and 20-3 has a battery level equal to or greater than a predetermined level, the selection unit 102 selects terminal 20-1 as the location notification terminal.

The location notification terminal may also include the host user's terminal 20.

The selection of the location notification terminal may be repeated at predetermined time intervals. For example, when selecting a terminal 20 whose remaining battery charge is equal to or greater than a predetermined amount as the location notification terminal, the selection unit 102 of the server 10 may cause each terminal 20 to report its remaining battery charge at predetermined time intervals, and update the location notification terminal based on the reported remaining battery charge. This allows the location notification terminal to be switched, so that the remaining battery charge of each terminal 20 in the group can be averaged.

In addition, when the selection of a location notification terminal is repeatedly performed at predetermined time intervals, the selection unit 102 may change the length of the predetermined time depending on the remaining battery level of the location notification terminal. For example, if a location notification terminal is a terminal 20 that has a slightly higher remaining battery level than other terminals 20 in the group, the predetermined time may be longer than if the location notification terminal is a terminal 20 that has a significantly higher remaining battery level than other terminals 20 in the group. Since the frequency of the selection process for the location notification terminal is reduced, the power consumption of the terminals 20 and the server 10 can be reduced.

In step S105, the game processing unit 104 of the server 10 and the game processing units 201 of terminals 20-1, 20-2, and 20-3 cooperate to start processing related to the game to be played in the group. Note that in the processing procedure of step S104, it is assumed that terminal 20-2 has been selected as the location notification terminal.

In step S106, while the group is playing the game, the location acquisition unit 203 of the terminal 20-2 measures the current location using a GPS or the like, and transmits information indicating the current location to the server 10 at a predetermined interval or other timing.

In steps S107 and S108, if it is necessary to share the current location within the group, the game processing unit 104 of the server 10 may notify terminals 20-1 and 20-3 of the current location notified from terminal 20-2. Note that the processing procedures of steps S107 and S108 may be performed directly between the terminals 20 without going through the server 10. For example, when creating a group, a connection using short-range communication may be established between terminals 20-1, 20-2, and 20-3. Furthermore, terminal 20-2 may notify terminals 20-1 and 20-3 of the acquired current location using that connection.

The game processing unit 104 of the server 10 executes processing related to the group game using the location information notified from the terminal 20-2 in the processing procedure of step S107.

Here, in a game played in a group, the game processing unit 104 may regard the current position notified from the position notification terminal as the current position of each terminal 20 included in the group (hereinafter referred to as the "group position"). In other words, the current positions of each terminal 20 included in the group may be the same. In this case, when multiple terminals 20 are selected as position notification terminals, the game processing unit 104 may regard the center point of the multiple current positions notified from each position notification terminal as the group position. The center position can be calculated, for example, by dividing the sum of the latitude and longitude notified from each position notification terminal by the number of position notification terminals.

In addition, when there is one location notification terminal, the game processing unit 104 may store the location information of each terminal 20 at the time the group is created, and may consider each terminal to have moved in the same direction and distance as the location notification terminal. In other words, as the location notification terminal moves, each terminal 20 in the group may move in parallel while maintaining the positional relationship at the time the group was created.

During game execution, the output unit 103 of the server 10 may display a map showing the current location of each terminal 20 on the screen of each terminal 20. For example, when the multiple users have not formed a group, the output unit 103 may determine the location of each of the multiple users to be displayed on the map based on location information acquired by each of the multiple terminals 20. An example of a map display is shown in FIG. 8. The left side of FIG. 8 is an example of a map display before the group is formed. As shown in the left side of FIG. 8, before the group is formed, icons showing the locations of users U01 to U03 are displayed at the current locations of terminals 20-1 to 20-3. In addition, when the multiple users form a group, the output unit 103 may determine the location of each of the multiple users based on location information acquired by the location acquisition terminal. The right side of FIG. 8 is an example of a map display in the case where the current location notified by the location notification terminal after the group is formed is regarded as the location of the group. After forming a group, icons showing the locations of users U01 to U03 are displayed superimposed on the current location of terminal 20-2. Let's return to Figure 7 to continue the explanation.

Games using location information may include games that can be executed when the location information of each user included in the group is within a predetermined range (hereinafter referred to as "location-limited games"). In this case, the game processing unit 104 may permit the group or each terminal 20 included in the group to execute the location-limited game when the location information acquired by the location notification terminal is within the predetermined range. This allows each user included in the group to play the location-limited game as long as the location notification terminal is within the predetermined range.

In addition, even after a location notification terminal has been selected, the game processing unit 104 may exceptionally cause the terminals 20 of each user included in the group to acquire a current location, and when the location information acquired by each terminal 20 is within the predetermined range, permit the group or each terminal 20 included in the group to execute a location-limited game. For example, when the game processing unit 104 confirms that a location notification terminal exists within the predetermined range, it instructs terminals 20 other than the location notification terminal included in the group to notify the location information. Furthermore, the terminal 20 that receives the instruction acquires its current location and notifies the server 10. As a result, since each user's terminal 20 needs to be within the predetermined range in order for each user included in the group to play a location-limited game, the start determination of the location-limited game can be made more strictly.

The management unit 101 may instruct terminals 20 other than the location notification terminals included in the group to notify their current location after a predetermined time has elapsed since the group was created. If the location information acquired from each terminal 20 included in the group by this instruction is not within a predetermined range from the location of the group, the management unit 101 may exclude from the group the user of the terminal 20 whose location information is not within the predetermined range.

<Summary>
According to the embodiment described above, among the terminals 20 of multiple users included in a group, some of the terminals 20 are caused to acquire location information, and the acquired location information is shared within the group. This makes it possible to reduce the power consumption of the terminals in processes that use the location information.

The above-described embodiments are intended to facilitate understanding of the present invention, and are not intended to limit the present invention. The flow charts, sequences, elements included in the embodiments, and their arrangements, materials, conditions, shapes, sizes, etc., described in the embodiments are not limited to those exemplified, and may be modified as appropriate. In addition, configurations shown in different embodiments may be partially substituted or combined.

<Additional Notes>
<Appendix 1>
An information processing device that executes a process using location information,
an administration unit for managing a group including a plurality of users;
a processing unit that executes a process to be performed by the group using location information acquired by a part of user terminals selected from among user terminals used by each of the plurality of users included in the group;
An information processing device having the above configuration.

According to Supplementary Note 1, when performing group processing using location information, it is possible to reduce the power consumption of the terminal.

<Appendix 2>
The processing unit includes:
If the plurality of users are not grouped, a predetermined process is executed using location information acquired by each of the user terminals used by the plurality of users;
When the plurality of users form the group, the location information acquired by the part of the user terminals is used to execute a process to be performed by the group.
2. The information processing device according to claim 1.

According to Supplementary Note 2, when group processing is performed using location information after forming a group, it is possible to reduce the power consumption of the terminals.

<Appendix 3>
the portion of user terminals includes a predetermined number of user terminals in descending order of remaining battery power among the user terminals used by each of the plurality of users;
3. The information processing device according to claim 1 or 2.

According to Appendix 3, it becomes possible to reduce power consumption on devices with low battery levels.

<Appendix 4>
the portion of user terminals includes a user terminal having a remaining battery charge equal to or greater than a predetermined amount among user terminals used by each of the plurality of users;
3. The information processing device according to claim 1 or 2.

According to Appendix 4, it becomes possible to reduce power consumption on devices with low battery power.

<Appendix 5>
The selection of the part of user terminals is repeated at predetermined time intervals.
5. The information processing device according to claim 1 .

According to Appendix 5, it becomes possible to average the battery consumption of each terminal 20.

<Appendix 6>
The part of user terminals includes a user terminal of a host user who invited participants to join the group, among user terminals used by each of the plurality of users.
3. The information processing device according to claim 1 .

According to Appendix 6, it becomes possible to reduce the battery consumption of each terminal 20 other than the terminal 20 of the user who proposed forming a group.

<Appendix 7>
the management unit creates the group when a location of a user other than the host user is within a predetermined range from a location of the host user.
7. The information processing device according to claim 6.

According to Appendix 7, it will be possible for users who are in close proximity to each other to form groups.

<Appendix 8>
When location information acquired from each of the user terminals used by the plurality of users is not within a predetermined range from the location of the group after a predetermined time has elapsed, the management unit excludes from the group users of user terminals whose location information is not within the predetermined range.
8. The information processing device according to claim 1 .

According to Appendix 8, users who move away from the range where it is possible to form a group are excluded from the group, making it possible to ensure the accuracy of the location information of each device within the group.

<Appendix 9>
the processing unit executes a process related to a game to be played by the group using the position information acquired by the some of the user terminals.
9. The information processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

According to Appendix 9, it becomes possible to play group games using location information.

<Appendix 10>
the game includes a location-limited game that can be executed when location information of each of a group of a plurality of users is within a predetermined range;
the processing unit permits the group to play the location-limited game when each of a plurality of pieces of location information acquired by each of the plurality of users included in the group is within the predetermined range.
10. The information processing device according to claim 9.

According to supplementary note 10, when the terminal 20 of each user in the group is located within a range in which a location-limited game can be played, the location-limited game is permitted to be played, which makes it possible to improve the accuracy of determining whether or not a location-limited game can be played.

<Appendix 11>
the game includes a location-limited game that can be executed when location information of each of a group of a plurality of users is within a predetermined range;
the processing unit permits the group to play the location-limited game when the location information acquired by the part of the user terminals is included in the predetermined range.
10. The information processing device according to claim 9.

According to supplementary note 11, whether or not the location-limited game can be played is determined based on whether or not some of the terminals 20 of the users in the group are within a range in which the location-limited game can be played, so it is possible to determine whether or not the location-limited game can be played while reducing the power consumption of the terminals 20.

<Appendix 12>
an output unit that outputs information for displaying an image in which the positions of the users included in the group are superimposed on a map,
The output unit is
When the plurality of users are not grouped, determining a location of each of the plurality of users based on location information acquired by each of user terminals used by the plurality of users;
When the plurality of users form the group, a position of each of the plurality of users is determined based on position information acquired by the part of the user terminals.
12. The information processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 11.

According to supplementary note 12, when displaying the location of each user on a map, location information obtained from the terminals 20 of some of the users in the group is used, making it possible to display the location of each user on a map while reducing the power consumption of the terminals 20.

<Appendix 13>
An information processing method performed by an information processing device that executes a process using location information,
managing a group including a plurality of users;
executing a process to be performed by the group using location information acquired by some user terminals selected from among user terminals used by each of the plurality of users included in the group;
An information processing method comprising the steps of:

According to Supplementary Note 13, when performing group processing using location information, it becomes possible to reduce the power consumption of terminals.

<Appendix 14>
A computer that executes a process that uses location information
managing a group including a plurality of users;
executing a process to be performed by the group using location information acquired by some user terminals selected from among user terminals used by each of the plurality of users included in the group;
A program for executing.

According to Supplementary Note 14, when performing group processing using location information, it is possible to reduce the power consumption of the terminal.

1...game system, 10...server, 11...processor, 12...storage device, 13...communication IF, 14...input device, 15...output device, 20...terminal, 100...storage unit, 100a...user management DB, 100b...group management DB, 101...management unit, 102...selection unit, 103...output unit, 104...game processing unit, 201...game processing unit, 202...selection unit, 203...position acquisition unit

Claims (4)

a processor, the processor comprising:
When the plurality of users are not in a group, executing a process related to a game using position information acquired by a user terminal used by each of the plurality of users;
when the plurality of users form a group, executing a process related to a game to be played by the group using position information acquired by a part of user terminals selected from among the user terminals used by each of the plurality of users;
When a specific event is started even after the plurality of users have formed the group, a process related to the game is executed using position information acquired by each of the plurality of users' user terminals.
Information processing device. a processor, when the plurality of users are not grouped, executes a process related to the game using position information acquired at a user terminal used by each of the plurality of users;
a processor, when the plurality of users form a group, executes a process related to a game to be played by the group using position information acquired by a part of user terminals selected from among the user terminals used by each of the plurality of users;
the processor executes a process related to the game using position information acquired by each of the user terminals of the plurality of users when a specific event is started even after the plurality of users have formed the group;
Information processing methods. When the plurality of users are not in a group, executing a process related to a game using position information acquired by a user terminal used by each of the plurality of users;
when the plurality of users form a group, executing a process related to a game to be played by the group using position information acquired by a part of user terminals selected from among the user terminals used by each of the plurality of users;
A program for causing a processor to function such that when a specific event is initiated, even after the multiple users have formed a group, the program executes game-related processing using location information acquired on each of the multiple users' user terminals. A server and a user terminal are included,
The server,
When the plurality of users are not in a group, executing a process related to a game using position information acquired by a user terminal used by each of the plurality of users;
when the plurality of users form a group, executing a process related to a game to be played by the group using position information acquired by a part of user terminals selected from among the user terminals used by each of the plurality of users;
When a specific event is started even after the plurality of users have formed the group, a process related to the game is executed using position information acquired by each of the plurality of users' user terminals.
system.

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