JP7606925B2 - Information processing device, program, and defect investigation method - Google Patents

Description

This disclosure relates to an information processing device, a program, and a method for investigating defects.

In recent years, improvements in computer capabilities have led to an increase in the complexity and scale of computer games being developed. This makes the testing process of ensuring that developed computer games are bug-free (or at least function at a level sufficient for release) difficult. Conventionally, there is known technology for carrying out the testing process using play test bots (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2020-108733 A

When investigating whether a developed computer game (hereafter referred to as a single game) is bug-free (or at least functions at a level sufficient for release), it is necessary to run the game, for example by playing it manually or automatically, and discover any bugs that may exist in the game.

The cause of a bug discovered during a defect investigation can often be determined by, for example, a game developer by looking at images of the game. However, there may be many bugs in a game in the early stages of a defect investigation, and as a result there will be many images of the game in which to find bugs during the defect investigation, which increases the workload of game developers and others. Patent Document 1 does not solve this problem.

The objective of this disclosure is to reduce the workload of users who investigate bugs in ongoing game processing.

According to the present disclosure, there is provided an information processing device that investigates defects in a game process that is currently being executed, the information processing device having a measurement value measurement unit that measures one or more types of measurement values used in the investigation of defects in the game process that is currently being executed, and an image recording unit that records an image of the game that is being output on a screen by the game process when the game process that is currently being executed satisfies a predetermined condition.

This disclosure can reduce the workload of users who investigate issues with ongoing game processing.

1 is a configuration diagram of an example of a defect investigation system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of an information processing device according to the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of an information processing device according to the present embodiment. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing of the information processing device according to the embodiment. FIG. 13 is an image diagram of an example of a game image. FIG. 13 is an image diagram of an example of a game image. FIG. 13 is an image diagram of an example of a sorting analysis result screen.

Below, the form for implementing this disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings.

[System configuration]
First, a system configuration for realizing a fault investigation method according to an embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 1. Fig. 1 is a configuration diagram of an example of a fault investigation system according to the present embodiment. The fault investigation system according to an embodiment is configured with an information processing device 10 shown in Fig. 1(A) or an information processing system shown in Fig. 1(B). The information processing device 10 in Fig. 1(A) is a computer operated by a user. The information processing device 10 in Fig. 1(A) accepts an operation from a user via a touch panel, a controller, a mouse, a keyboard, etc., executes information processing according to the operation, and displays the execution result.

The information processing system in FIG. 1(B) has an information processing device 10 and a server device 14 connected to each other so as to be able to communicate with each other via a network 18. The information processing device 10 in FIG. 1(B) is a computer similar to that in FIG. 1(A). The server device 14 in FIG. 1(B) can also be realized by a computer similar to that in FIG. 1(A).

The server device 14 transmits and receives data to and from the information processing device 10, executes information processing according to the user's operation accepted by the information processing device 10, and provides the execution result to the information processing device 10. The information processing device 10 displays the execution result provided by the server device 14.

The server device 14 may be realized by a cloud computer. Note that the number of server devices 14 shown in FIG. 1(B) is not limited to one, and two or more may be used for distributed processing. The server device 14 may be used for downloading programs (applications) to the information processing device 10, user login processing, or processing for managing various databases. Note that the system configuration in FIG. 1 is an example.

[Hardware configuration]
The information processing device 10 according to this embodiment is configured, for example, as shown in Fig. 2. The configuration of the server device 14 is similar to that of the information processing device 10, and therefore a description thereof will be omitted. Fig. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the information processing device according to this embodiment.

The information processing device 10 in FIG. 2 has, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 100, a storage device 102, a communication device 104, an input device 106, and an output device 108. The CPU 100 controls the information processing device 10 in accordance with a program. The storage device 102 is, for example, a memory such as a ROM (Read Only Memory) or a RAM (Random Access Memory), or a storage such as a HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or an SSD (Solid State Drive). The storage device 102 stores the programs and data executed by the CPU 100.

The communication device 104 is a communication device such as a network circuit that controls communication. The input device 106 is an input device such as a touchpad, a controller, a mouse, a keyboard, a camera, or a microphone. The output device 108 is an output device such as a display or a speaker. A touch panel is realized by combining a touchpad, which is an example of the input device 106, with a display, which is an example of the output device 108. The hardware configuration in FIG. 2 is an example.

[Function block]
In the following, a functional configuration example will be described in which the information processing device 10 accepts an operation from a user such as a game developer to investigate a problem in a game process being executed, and outputs the results of the investigation. The functional configuration in Fig. 3 is one example, and for example, at least a part of the functional configuration shown in Fig. 3 may be provided in the server device 14, and the information processing device 10 and the server device 14 may cooperate to perform processing.

In addition, FIG. 3 describes an example of investigating a situation where the frame rate falls below an acceptable range due to an excessive load on the game processing as the subject of the defect investigation, but the invention is not limited to this example. It can be applied to various defect investigations in which a defect occurs while the game processing is being executed, and a predetermined condition can be set so that the information processing device 10 can determine whether or not the defect has occurred.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of an information processing device according to this embodiment. The information processing device 10 in FIG. 3 has a control unit 200, an operation reception unit 202, an output control unit 204, a communication unit 206, and a storage unit 210.

The memory unit 210 stores a game program 212, a defect investigation program 214, a defect investigation setting DB 216, a capture image DB 218, and a sorting analysis result DB 220. The memory unit 210 may be realized by the memory device 102, or may be realized by a memory device connected via the network 18, etc.

The game program 212 is an example of a game processing program executed by the CPU 100. The defect investigation program 214 is an example of a defect investigation processing program executed by the CPU 100. The defect investigation setting DB 216 stores the defect investigation settings (described below) used in the defect investigation processing.

The captured image DB 218 stores captured game images (captured images). The sorting analysis result DB 220 stores the results of sorting the captured images (described below) and the results of analyzing the reasons for the defects.

The control unit 200 performs overall control of the information processing device 10. The overall control of the information processing device 10 includes the control of accepting operations from a user to investigate defects in the game processing being executed, and outputting the results of the defect investigation.

The control unit 200 is realized by the CPU 100 executing the processes described in programs such as the game program 212 and the defect investigation program 214. The control unit 200 in FIG. 3 is configured to have a game control unit 230, an auto-play control unit 232, and a defect investigation unit 234. The defect investigation unit 234 is configured to have a measurement value measurement unit 240, an image recording unit 242, a measurement value display control unit 244, a sorting unit 246, and an analysis unit 248.

The game control unit 230 controls the game. For example, the game control unit 230 executes game processing, generates game images according to the game processing being executed, and displays them on the output device 108 as a game screen.

The game control unit 230 accepts game-related operations from users such as developers, and executes game processing according to the accepted operations. The game control unit 230 also accepts game-related operations from functions that act on behalf of game-related operations, such as an automatic play bot, and executes game processing according to the accepted operations.

A function that performs game operations on behalf of a user, such as an automatic play bot, may perform game operations on behalf of a user according to a rule base defined by the developer, or may perform game operations on behalf of a user according to a machine learning model.

The auto-play control unit 232 is a function that performs game-related operations on behalf of users such as developers, and may be realized, for example, by an auto-play function possessed by the game program 212, or may be realized by a function that performs game-related operations on behalf of users such as an auto-play bot separate from the game program 212.

The defect investigation unit 234 performs processing for investigating a defect in the game processing being executed by the game control unit 230. The measurement value measurement unit 240 of the defect investigation unit 234 measures one or more types of measurement values used in investigating a defect in the game processing being executed. The one or more types of measurement values used in investigating a defect in the game processing being executed include, for example, a value representing the frame rate of the game image such as FPS (Frames Per Second), a value representing the number of character objects displayed as characters in the game image, a value representing the number of background objects displayed as background in the game image, and a value representing the number of effects displayed in the game image.

When the game processing being executed satisfies a predetermined condition, the image recording unit 242 captures an image of the game that the game control unit 230 is outputting on the screen in accordance with the game processing, and stores the captured image in the captured image DB 218. For example, the image recording unit 242 monitors, among the measurement values measured by the measurement value measurement unit 240, a measurement value that can determine whether or not a malfunction has occurred in the game processing being executed.

When the monitored measurement value indicates that a malfunction has occurred in the game processing being executed, the image recording unit 242 captures an image of the game and stores the captured image in the captured image DB 218. The image recording unit 242 monitors the frame rate of the game image as an example of a measurement value that can determine whether or not a malfunction has occurred in the game processing being executed.

The defect investigation settings stored in the defect investigation setting DB 216 are an example of the predetermined conditions used by the image recording unit 242. For example, the defect investigation settings stored in the defect investigation setting DB 216 set conditions for the game image to be captured, such as FPS, the number of character objects displayed in the game image, the number of background objects displayed in the game image, the number and range of effects displayed in the game image, etc.

For example, if a lower limit FPS of "25 FPS" is stored as a defect investigation setting, and the FPS measured by the measurement value measurement unit 240 is less than "25 FPS", the image recording unit 242 determines that a predetermined condition is met, captures an image of the game, and stores the captured image in the capture image DB 218. Also, if the number of character objects displayed in the game image is "5 or more" is stored as a defect investigation setting, and the number of character objects measured by the measurement value measurement unit 240 is "5", the image recording unit 242 determines that a predetermined condition is met, captures an image of the game, and stores the captured image in the capture image DB 218.

The measurement value display control unit 244 controls the display of one or more types of measurement values measured by the measurement value measurement unit 240 to be used for investigating defects in the game processing being executed, on the game image displayed by the game control unit 230 on the output device 108. Therefore, the capture image captured by the image recording unit 242 can have one or more types of measurement values measured by the measurement value measurement unit 240 at the scene where the capture image was captured added as information.

The sorting unit 246 performs a process of sorting the captured images stored in the captured image DB 218 so as to make it easier to analyze the reason for the occurrence of a malfunction. For example, the sorting unit 246 sorts the captured images according to a predetermined condition (such as the type of measurement value) that the image recording unit 242 determines to be satisfied when the game image is captured. The sorting unit 246 may also sort the captured images by further considering the stage or area of the game.

For example, the sorting unit 246 sorts out captured images of the game recorded in a scene where the conditions for the bug investigation setting by FPS are satisfied, captured images of the game recorded in a scene where the conditions for the bug investigation setting by the number of character objects are satisfied, captured images of the game recorded in a scene where the conditions for the bug investigation setting by the number of background objects are satisfied, and captured images of the game recorded in a scene where the conditions for the bug investigation setting by the number of effects (effect range) are satisfied.

The analysis unit 248 counts the captured images of the games sorted by the sorting unit 246 for each sorting destination, and analyzes the reason for the malfunction in the game processing executed by the game control unit 230 according to the counting result. The analysis unit 248 can analyze the reason for the malfunction and the game scene according to the counted number of captured images for each sorting destination.

In addition, for example, the sorting unit 246 may further sort game capture images recorded in a scene that satisfies the conditions of the FPS defect investigation setting according to the number of character objects, the number of background objects, and the number of effects (effect range).

The analysis unit 248 may tally up, for example, captured images that satisfy a predetermined condition, such as an FPS lower limit of "25 FPS" as sorted by the sorting unit 246, and further, captured images of games that have been sorted according to measurement values such as the number of character objects, the number of background objects, and the number of effects (effect range), or game scenes, for each sorting destination.

For example, the analysis unit 248 can refer to the measurement value measured by the measurement value measurement unit 240 when a capture image was recorded in a scene that satisfied the conditions of the FPS defect investigation setting, and can analyze the reason for the increase in processing load from the measurement value.

The operation reception unit 202 receives various operations by the user on the input device 106. The output control unit 204 displays various screens on the output device 108 according to the control of the control unit 200. The operation reception unit 202 is realized by the CPU 100 controlling the input device 106 according to a program. The output control unit 204 is realized by the CPU 100 controlling the output device 108 according to a program. Various operations by the user on the input device 106 refer to operations by the user manipulating the operation reception unit 202 to cause the CPU 100 to execute processing. The output control unit 204 displays various screens and outputs sounds according to the control of the control unit 200.

The communication unit 206 communicates via the network 18, etc. The communication unit 206 is realized by the CPU 100 executing a program and controlling the communication device 104 in accordance with the program.

[process]
An example of processing in which the information processing device 10 accepts an operation from a user to investigate a defect in a game process being executed and outputs the results of the defect investigation will be described below. FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an example of processing of the information processing device according to this embodiment. In step S10, the information processing device 10 accepts an operation from a user to start automatic play of the game for which defect investigation is to be performed. The automatic play control unit 232 of the information processing device 10 starts automatic play of the game for which defect investigation is to be performed. Note that while FIG. 4 shows an example of automatic play of the game for which defect investigation is to be performed, a human may play the game.

In step S12, the game control unit 230 executes game processing in accordance with the game-related operations received from the auto-play control unit 232. The measurement value measurement unit 240 of the defect investigation unit 234 starts measuring one or more types of measurement values used for load measurement.

In step S14, the image recording unit 242 of the defect investigation unit 234 determines whether the game processing being executed satisfies a predetermined condition indicating the occurrence of a defect. For example, the image recording unit 242 monitors the measurement value of the game processing being executed, and when the measurement value indicates the occurrence of a defect, determines that the predetermined condition has been satisfied.

If it is determined that the game processing being executed satisfies the predetermined condition, the image recording unit 242 captures the game image output on the game screen in step S16. The image recording unit 242 stores the captured image in the captured image DB 218. In step S18, the sorting unit 246 performs processing to sort the captured images in the captured image DB 218 according to the predetermined condition that has been satisfied.

If it is not determined that the game processing being executed satisfies the predetermined condition, the image recording unit 242 skips the processing of steps S16 and S18. The processing of steps S14 to S18 is repeated until the game being executed ends in step S20. Therefore, a captured image of a scene that satisfies a predetermined condition indicating that a malfunction has occurred in the game processing being executed is automatically recorded in the captured image DB 218 of the information processing device 10.

When it is determined in step S20 that the game being played has ended, in step S22, the analysis unit 248 tally up the captured images of the games sorted by the sorting unit 246 for each sorting destination, and analyzes the reason for the malfunction in the game processing executed by the game control unit 230 based on the accumulation results. A user such as a developer can confirm the results of the analysis by the analysis unit 248 by displaying them on the output device 108.

For example, the game image output on the game screen by the game processing is, for example, as shown in Fig. 5 and Fig. 6. Fig. 5 and Fig. 6 are image diagrams of examples of game images. In the game images of Fig. 5 and Fig. 6, the measurement value 1006 measured by the measurement value measurement unit 240 is additionally displayed by the measurement value display control unit 244.

Figure 5 shows an example where the number of character objects is "2" and the number of background objects is "3". Figure 6 shows an example where the number of character objects is "5" and the number of background objects is "8". Compared to the game image 1000 in Figure 5, the game image 1000 in Figure 6 has a larger number of displayed character objects and background objects, and therefore the measured FPS value is lower than that of the game image 1000 in Figure 5. For example, if a lower limit FPS value of "25 FPS" is stored as a defect investigation setting, the image recording unit 242 does not capture the game image in Figure 5, but captures the game image in Figure 6.

By referring to the automatically captured game image in Figure 6, users such as game developers can easily check the content of the game image in the scene where the FPS fell below the lower limit during the executed game processing, and the measurement value that was measured when that game image was displayed.

In addition, the results of sorting the captured images by the sorting unit 246 and the results of the analysis by the analysis unit 248 can be displayed, for example, on a sorting analysis result screen 1100 as shown in FIG. 7, so that a developer or other user can check them.

Figure 7 is an image diagram of an example of a sorting analysis result screen. The sorting analysis result screen 1100 in Figure 7 has a sorting result display field 1102 and an analysis result display field 1104. The sorting result display field 1102 displays captured image files sorted according to a predetermined condition determined to be met when the game image was captured, such as the number of character objects being "5" or more, the number of background objects being "8" or more, the sum of the number of character objects and the number of background objects being "10" or more, or the number of effects being "100" or more.

In addition, the analysis result display field 1104 tally up the results of sorting the captured images displayed in the sorting result display field 1102, and displays the results of an analysis of the reason for the defect based on the tallying results.

By displaying the automatically sorted and analyzed results on a sorting and analysis result screen 1100 like that shown in Figure 7, users such as game developers can easily check the analysis results of the reasons for problems occurring in the game processing they executed.

As described above, this embodiment can reduce the workload of users, such as game developers, who investigate bugs in game processing during execution.

The disclosed embodiment of the information processing device should be considered as an example and not a limitation. The above embodiment can be modified and improved in various forms without departing from the scope and spirit of the appended claims. Furthermore, the matters described in the above-mentioned embodiments can have other configurations as long as they are not inconsistent, and can be combined as long as they are not inconsistent.

In this embodiment, examples of measurement values measured by the measurement value measuring unit 240 include FPS, the number of character objects displayed in the game image, the number of background objects displayed in the game image, the number of effects displayed in the game image, etc., but are not limited to these examples.

For example, the measurement value measurement unit 240 may measure the number of character objects of each size (e.g., large, medium, and small) displayed in the game image, or may measure the number of background objects of each size (e.g., large, medium, and small) displayed in the game image. In addition, the defect investigation unit 234 may be realized as one function of a development tool used when programming, such as a debug tool.

10 Information processing device 14 Server device 18 Network 200 Control unit 202 Operation reception unit 204 Output control unit 206 Communication unit 210 Memory unit 212 Game program 214 Malfunction investigation program 216 Malfunction investigation setting DB
218 Capture Image DB
220 Sorting analysis results DB
230 Game control unit 232 Automatic play control unit 234 Malfunction investigation unit 240 Measurement value measurement unit 242 Image recording unit 244 Measurement value display control unit 246 Sorting unit 248 Analysis unit

Claims (7)

An information processing device that investigates a malfunction of a game process being executed,
a measurement value measurement unit that measures one or more types of measurement values used for investigating a defect in the game processing being executed;
an image recording unit that records an image of the game being output on a screen by the game processing when the game processing being executed satisfies a predetermined condition;
a sorting unit that sorts the recorded game images according to the measurement values that were measured when the predetermined condition was satisfied;
An information processing device having the above configuration. 2 . The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising a measurement value display control unit that controls the one or more types of measurement values to be displayed on the game image recorded by the image recording unit. 3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an automatic play control unit for executing the game by automatic play. An information processing device as described in any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the measurement values include at least one of the frame rate of the game image, the number of objects displayed as characters in the game image , the number of objects displayed as background in the game image, and the number of effects displayed in the game image. 2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising an analysis unit that counts the number of game images sorted by the sorting unit and analyzes a reason for a malfunction occurring in the game processing according to a result of the counting. An information processing device that performs a defect investigation on a game process in progress,
a measurement value measurement unit that measures one or more types of measurement values used for investigating a defect in the game processing being executed;
an image recording unit that records an image of the game being output on a screen by the game processing when the game processing being executed satisfies a predetermined condition;
a sorting unit that sorts the recorded game images according to the measurement values that were measured when the predetermined conditions were satisfied;
A program to function as a A method for investigating a defect in a game process being executed, comprising the steps of:
a measurement value measuring step of measuring one or more types of measurement values used for investigating a defect in the game processing being executed;
an image recording step of recording an image of the game being output on a screen by the game processing when the game processing being executed satisfies a predetermined condition;
a sorting step of sorting the recorded game images according to the measurement values measured when the predetermined condition is satisfied;
The defect investigation method is executed by an information processing device.

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