JP7690303B2 - Game program, recording medium, and game processing method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a game program, a recording medium, and a game processing method.

Online games are known in which game software is installed on a player's terminal device via a network from a server device, and the game is played on the terminal device.

For example, Patent Document 1 describes an information processing device that, when installing game software for the first time, displays a first selection screen for selecting the play mode to be installed first from among multiple play modes, and then displays a second selection screen for selecting a play mode not to be installed or a play mode to be installed.

JP 2020-170361 A

In online games, various data is distributed from the server device to the information processing device as the game progresses, but the data size tends to become large. In the above conventional technology, there is room for further improvement in reducing the amount of data used by the information processing device after the game software is installed.

The present invention was made in consideration of these problems, and aims to provide a game program, a recording medium, and a game processing method that can reduce the amount of data used by an information processing device in online games.

To achieve the above object, the game program of the present invention causes an information processing device communicatively connected to a server device to function as a game execution processing unit that executes an installed game program, a recording processing unit that receives data used when executing the game program from the server device and records it in a recording device, a first reception processing unit that receives an instruction from a player to enable or disable a deletion function of the data, and a data deletion processing unit that deletes at least a portion of the used data recorded in the recording device at a predetermined timing when an instruction to enable the data deletion function is received.

To achieve the above object, the recording medium of the present invention is a recording medium that records the above game program and is readable by an information processing device.

In order to achieve the above object, the game processing method of the present invention is a game processing method executed by an information processing device communicatively connected to a server device, and includes the steps of executing an installed game program, receiving data used when executing the game program from the server device and recording the data in a recording device, receiving an instruction from a player to enable or disable a deletion function of the data, and deleting at least a portion of the used data recorded in the recording device at a predetermined timing when an instruction to enable the deletion function of the data is received.

The game program of the present invention can reduce the amount of data used by an information processing device in an online game.

1 is a system configuration diagram illustrating an example of the overall configuration of a game system according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of a terminal device and a server device. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of a reception screen by a first reception processing unit. FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating another example of the reception screen by the first reception processing unit. FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a processing procedure executed by a CPU of the terminal device. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of a terminal device and a server device when the present invention is applied to a game in which music is played. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the types of instruments and their ranges used in the instrument version data. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of an organization screen by an organization processing unit. FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of a reception screen displayed by a third reception processing unit. FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating an example of detailed content of a game execution process. FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of a detailed setting screen for a data deletion function. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of a detailed setting screen for a character arrangement performance function. FIG. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of a terminal device.

One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

<1. Overall structure of the game system>
First, an example of the overall configuration of a game system 1 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 1. As shown in Fig. 1, the game system 1 has a plurality of terminal devices 3 (only one is shown in Fig. 1) operated by a plurality of players, and a server device 5. Each terminal device 3 and the server device 5 are communicatively connected via a network NW such as a LAN or the Internet. The network NW may be either wireless or wired. Also, although the server device 5 in Fig. 1 is configured by a single computer, it may be configured by a plurality of computers.

The terminal device 3 (an example of an information processing device) is, for example, a smartphone, a tablet computer, a portable game machine, etc. However, it is not limited to these, and may be, for example, a desktop computer, a notebook computer, a stationary game machine, etc. The terminal device 3 has a touch panel 7 on which various displays are displayed and on which various input operations are performed by the player. The player performs desired operation input by touching the touch panel 7 with a finger, a pen, etc.

The detection method of the touch panel 7 is not particularly limited, but various detection methods can be adopted, such as a resistive film method, a capacitance method, an optical method, an electromagnetic induction method, etc. Note that instead of or in addition to the touch panel 7, the terminal device 3 may be provided with an input unit such as a button, switch, lever, or joystick, or a display unit such as a liquid crystal panel. It may also be provided with an audio output unit such as a speaker.

The server device 5 is a so-called server computer. The server device 5 accepts access via the network NW from the terminal device 3 of each player who receives the game service, stores and manages the game information of each player in a recording device, and provides each player with an online game service via the network NW.

In one form of game service provided by the server device 5, a game program (also called application software) is implemented in the server device 5, and the game is not executed on the terminal device 3, but rather the server device 5 executes the game in response to the player's operation input on the terminal device 3, and transmits the execution results to the terminal device 3 of each player. For example, the server device 5 may provide a so-called browser game in which the game can be played using a web browser installed on the terminal device 3 of each player. The server device 5 may also provide a so-called cloud game in which game images resulting from the execution of the game on the server device 5 are transmitted to the terminal device 3 in, for example, a streaming format. Alternatively, the server device 5 may provide a so-called social game that is executed by application software created based on an operating environment such as an API (application programming interface) that operates on a web browser in an SNS (social networking service).

In addition, a part or all of the game program may be installed in the terminal device 3, and the game processing may be partially executed not only in the server device 5 but also in the terminal device 3, or the game processing may be executed mainly in the terminal device 3.

In the game system 1 according to this embodiment, a part or all of a game program (also called a "native application") is installed in the terminal device 3, and game processing is mainly executed in the terminal device 3. The game program may be downloaded from the server device 5, or may be installed from other recording media, etc. The terminal device 3 downloads in-game data related to the content of the game to be executed from the server device 5. The in-game data may be downloaded from the server device 5 when the game program is installed, or may be downloaded from the server device 5 while the installed game program is being executed (during game play).

The games executed on the terminal device 3 are not limited to a particular genre. For example, games of a wide variety of genres can be executed, such as simulation games, role-playing games, adventure games, action games, and fighting games.

2. Functional configuration of terminal device and server device
Next, an example of the functional configuration of the terminal device 3 and the server device 5 will be described with reference to Figures 2 to 4. Note that for the server device 5, only the database configuration is shown, and other functional configurations are omitted.

As shown in FIG. 2, the server device 5 has multiple types of game programs. In FIG. 2, for example, game programs A, B, and C related to three types of games are illustrated. The server device 5 may have only one game program, and may have many more types of game programs. The server device 5 also has a video database 9, a still image database 11, and an audio database 13 for each game. These databases 9, 11, and 13 store in-game data related to the content of the corresponding game. Specifically, the video database 9 stores video data such as animations used for specific events and performances. The still image database 11 stores still image data such as backgrounds used for specific events and performances. The audio database 13 stores audio data such as the voices of game characters, background music, and sound effects used for specific events and performances. It is not necessary for each game to have the above databases 9, 11, and 13, and some games may have at least one of the databases 9, 11, and 13.

When the terminal device 3 downloads and installs the game program from the server device 5, or after the installation, the terminal device 3 can download all of the in-game data stored in the corresponding databases 9, 11, and 13 at once. In addition, while the installed game program is being executed, the terminal device 3 can also download only the necessary amount of in-game data stored in each database 9, 11, and 13 at an appropriate timing according to the progress of the game, for example.

The terminal device 3 has a game execution processing unit 15, a recording processing unit 17, a first reception processing unit 19, a data deletion processing unit 21, a second reception processing unit 23, an invalidation processing unit 25, and a recording device 27.

The game execution processing unit 15 executes the installed game program and progresses the game in accordance with the inputs of the players. For example, it makes each player character act in accordance with the inputs of each player, while automatically controlling other game characters in the game, enemy characters, and other non-player characters, using a predetermined algorithm (so-called game AI) defined by the game program. It also uses in-game data downloaded from the server device 5 to execute various events, effects, and the like, and progresses the game.

The player character operated by the player and the automatically controlled non-player character may be a human character or something else. For example, they may be non-human animals, non-human or non-animal creatures, virtual creatures (e.g., monsters, ghosts, spirits, etc.), robots, objects such as goods and objects, etc.

The recording processing unit 17 receives in-game data related to the content of the game executed by the game execution processing unit 15 from the databases 9, 11, and 13 of the server device 5, and records the data in the recording device 27. The recording device 27 includes, for example, memories such as ROM 503 and RAM 505, and a recording device 517 such as a hard disk (see FIG. 13 described below). The recording device 27 may be a built-in device of the terminal device 3, or an external device or recording medium.

The first reception processing unit 19 receives an instruction from the player to enable or disable the deletion function of the in-game data recorded in the recording device 27. For example, the first reception processing unit 19 displays a reception screen that receives an instruction to enable or disable the deletion function of the in-game data based on the player's operation while the game is being played.

Figure 3 shows an example of a reception screen by the first reception processing unit 19. The setting screen shown in Figure 3 is displayed, for example, when the player performs a predetermined operation to display the setting screen at any timing during gameplay. The setting screen provides, for example, "System," "Sound," "Quest," and "Notification" as configurable items, and displays selection buttons 29, 31, 33, and 35 for selecting each item. Note that the above setting items are merely examples, and other items may be set instead of or in addition to these. In Figure 3, for example, selection button 29 is operated to select "System."

The "System" settings screen (an example of a reception screen) displays a bulk download settings display section 37 and a data deletion function settings display section 39. The bulk download settings display section 37 will be described later. The data deletion function settings display section 39 displays an "ON" button 41, an "OFF" button 43, and an explanation field 45. The explanation field 45 explains that when the data deletion function is turned on, unnecessary data will be deleted from the recording device 27 the next time the game is started. "Unnecessary data" refers to at least a portion of the in-game data, such as video, still images, and audio data used for the specific events and effects mentioned above.

In the "Sound" setting item, it is possible to set the volume of various sounds such as background music, sound effects, character voices, etc. (see FIG. 9 below). In addition, in the "Quest" setting item, it is possible to set, for example, the quests (e.g. objectives, tasks, missions, etc.) that are imposed on the player character and fellow game characters in the game, and in the "Notification" setting item, it is possible to set, for example, the circumstances under which notifications are to be sent to the player.

When the player operates the "ON" button 41, the first reception processing unit 19 receives an instruction to enable the in-game data deletion function. When the player operates the "OFF" button 43, the first reception processing unit 19 receives an instruction to disable the in-game data deletion function. In FIG. 3, for example, the "ON" button 41 is operated to enable the deletion function.

The above setting screen allows the player to freely enable or disable the data deletion function during gameplay. For example, if the setting is switched from "on" to "off," the in-game data up until the previous gameplay will be deleted when the game is started this time, but will not be deleted from the in-game data for the current gameplay. Also, for example, if the setting is switched from "off" to "on," the in-game data up until the previous gameplay will be recorded in the recording device 27, and the in-game data for the current gameplay will also be recorded, but the in-game data will be deleted the next time the game is started.

It is time-consuming for the player to perform an operation to display the setting screen while playing a game. Therefore, the first reception processing unit 19 may display a reception screen for receiving an instruction to enable or disable the in-game data deletion function, for example, at the timing when execution of the game program starts.

Figure 4 shows an example of the reception screen in this case. As shown in Figure 4, for example, a player may input an ID, password, etc. to play an online game, and on the screen on which login is completed, the player may be able to set whether to enable or disable the data deletion function. In the example shown in Figure 4, the login completion screen (an example of a reception screen) displays a confirmation message 47 for confirming with the player whether or not to use the data deletion function, which is available in the game, as well as the same "ON" button 41, "OFF" button 43, and explanation field 45 as described above.

In this case, the player can enable or disable the in-game data deletion function when starting the game, eliminating the need to go through the trouble of displaying a settings screen while playing the game, allowing the player to concentrate on playing the game.

Returning to FIG. 2, when the data deletion processing unit 21 receives an instruction to activate the in-game data deletion function from the first reception processing unit 19, the data deletion processing unit 21 deletes at least a portion of the used in-game data recorded in the recording device 27 at a predetermined timing. The "used in-game data" refers to in-game data such as video, still images, and audio data used in the specific events and effects described above that have been played and displayed at least once. Furthermore, "at least a portion of the in-game data" refers to in-game data such as video, still images, and audio data used in the specific events and effects described above that are strongly related to the story, for example, and are generally not considered to be viewed again by a player once. In this case, for example, in-game data that is weakly related to the story and is considered to be viewed by a player many times regardless of the progress of the game may not be deleted. Furthermore, all in-game data used in specific events and effects may be deleted regardless of the relevance to the story. Furthermore, the "predetermined timing" refers to, for example, the timing of the next startup of the game program. Alternatively, it may be, for example, the timing of logging in to the server device 5 after the next startup of the game program.

The second reception processing unit 23 receives an instruction from the player as to whether or not to receive all of the in-game data at once from the server device 5. For example, the second reception processing unit 23 displays a reception screen for receiving an instruction as to whether or not to receive all of the in-game data at once based on an operation by the player while playing the game.

The aforementioned FIG. 3 shows an example of a reception screen by the second reception processing unit 23. As shown in FIG. 3, the settings screen (an example of a reception screen) for the setting screen item "System" displays a bulk download settings display section 37. A "Download" button 49 and an explanation field 51 are displayed in the bulk download settings display section 37. The explanation field 51 explains the bulk download function, explaining that the in-game data required to run the game will be downloaded all at once. "Data required to run the game" refers to all of the in-game data, such as video, still images, audio data, etc. used for the specific events and effects mentioned above.

When the player operates the "download" button 49, the second reception processing unit 23 receives an instruction to receive all of the in-game data in one go. In this case, the game execution processing unit 15 downloads all of the in-game data from the server device 5 in one go, records it in the recording device 27, and progresses the game while reading it from the recording device 27 at appropriate times. If the player does not operate the "download" button 49, the second reception processing unit 23 does not receive an instruction to receive all of the in-game data in one go. In this case, the game execution processing unit 15 downloads the necessary in-game data from the server device 5 at appropriate times according to the progress of the game, records it in the recording device 27, and progresses the game.

Although not shown in the figures, similar to the setting of the data deletion function described above, the second reception processing unit 23 may display a reception screen that receives an instruction as to whether or not to receive all in-game data at once when execution of the game program is started. In this case, for example, as shown in FIG. 4, the reception screen may be displayed on a login completion screen or the like.

Returning to FIG. 2, when the disabling processing unit 25 receives an instruction from the second reception processing unit 23 to receive all in-game data at once, it disables the in-game data deletion function regardless of the reception by the first reception processing unit 19. For example, when the player operates the "Download" button 49 on the setting screen shown in FIG. 3 described above, the disabling processing unit 25 may automatically switch the state in which the "ON" button 41 of the data deletion function is operated to the state in which the "OFF" button 43 is operated, and may disable the "ON" button 41 so that it cannot be operated. Also, when the "OFF" button 43 of the data deletion function is operated in the above-mentioned manner, it may be maintained as it is, and the "ON" button 41 may be disabled so that it cannot be operated.

The processing in each processing unit described above is not limited to these examples of division of processing, and may be performed by a smaller number of processing units (e.g., one processing unit), or may be performed by a further subdivided processing unit. The functions of each processing unit described above are implemented by a game program executed by the CPU 501 (see FIG. 13 described below), but some of them may be implemented by actual devices such as dedicated integrated circuits such as ASICs and FPGAs, or other electrical circuits. Furthermore, the processing units described above are not limited to being implemented in their entirety on the terminal device 3 side, and some of them may be implemented on the server device 5 side.

3. Processing procedure executed by the terminal device
Next, an example of a processing procedure executed by the CPU 501 of the terminal device 3 will be described with reference to Fig. 5. Note that this flowchart is started when a player performs an operation to start a specific game installed in the terminal device 3 (for example, touching an icon, etc.).

In step S10, the terminal device 3 executes the game program of the game for which the start operation was performed, thereby starting the game, via the game execution processing unit 15.

In step S20, the terminal device 3 determines whether or not all of the in-game data has been received in one batch by the second reception processing unit 23. If the in-game data has been received in one batch (step S20: YES), the process proceeds to step S50, which will be described later. On the other hand, if the in-game data has not been received in one batch (step S20: NO), the process proceeds to step S30.

In step S30, the terminal device 3 determines whether the in-game data deletion function is turned on by the first reception processing unit 19. If the in-game data deletion function is turned off (step S30: NO), the process proceeds to step S50, which will be described later. On the other hand, if the in-game data deletion function is turned on (step S30: YES), the process proceeds to step S40.

In step S40, the terminal device 3 causes the data deletion processing unit 21 to delete at least a portion of the used in-game data recorded in the recording device 27.

In step S50, the terminal device 3 executes a "game execution process" by the game execution processing unit 15, which progresses the game while using the necessary in-game data according to the player's input. At this time, if the in-game data has been downloaded in bulk and recorded in the recording device 27, the game execution processing unit 15 reads the in-game data from the recording device 27 and executes various events, effects, etc. On the other hand, if the in-game data has not been downloaded in bulk and has been deleted in step S40 above by enabling the deletion function for the in-game data, the game execution processing unit 15 downloads the missing in-game data from the server device 5 as necessary, and executes various events, effects, etc.

In step S60, the terminal device 3 determines whether or not an instruction to end the game has been given by the player. If an instruction to end the game has not been given (step S60: NO), the process returns to step S50 and the game continues. On the other hand, if an instruction to end the game has been given (step S60: YES), this flowchart ends.

The above-mentioned processing steps are merely examples, and at least some of the steps may be deleted or modified, or steps other than those described above may be added. In addition, the order of at least some of the steps may be changed, or multiple steps may be combined into a single step.

4. Effects of the embodiment
The game program of this embodiment causes the terminal device 3 communicatively connected to the server device 5 to function as a game execution processing unit 15 that executes the installed game program, a recording processing unit 17 that receives in-game data related to the content of the game being executed from the server device 5 and records it in the recording device 27, a first reception processing unit 19 that receives an instruction from the player to enable or disable the in-game data deletion function, and a data deletion processing unit 21 that deletes at least a portion of the used in-game data recorded in the recording device 27 at a predetermined timing when an instruction to enable the in-game data deletion function is received.

In this embodiment, when the game program installed on the terminal device 3 is executed, in-game data related to the content of the game is received, for example, from the server device 5, and recorded in the recording device 27 for use. The in-game data includes, for example, animation movies used in specific events and performances, background images, and sound data for game characters. Such data is relatively large in volume, and increases as the game progresses, so there is a possibility that it will strain the capacity of the recording device 27 of the terminal device 3.

In this embodiment, the player can instruct the in-game data deletion function to be enabled or disabled. When the player enables the deletion function, at least a portion of the used in-game data recorded in the recording device 27 is deleted at a predetermined timing. This makes it possible to reduce the amount of data usage in the recording device 27 of the terminal device 3 in the online game.

On the other hand, when the deleted in-game data is to be used again, a new download from the server device 5 is required. For this reason, if downloads are performed frequently, for example to replay past events or effects, this may put a strain on the communication capacity of the terminal device 3, and the download of in-game data may frequently interrupt game play, reducing comfort.

Therefore, depending on the player's own play style, the player can enable the deletion function if he/she wishes to reduce the amount of data used by the recording device 27 of the terminal device 3, or disable the deletion function if he/she wishes to reduce the communication capacity of the terminal device 3 or enjoy gameplay comfortably without interruption.

In this embodiment, the data deletion processing unit 21 may also delete at least a portion of the in-game data the next time the game program is started.

If in-game data related to events, effects, etc. is deleted immediately after use, the player may want to play or view the event, effects, etc. again during the same game execution, and so it will be necessary to download it again. In addition, since the data deletion process is executed in parallel with the game play process, the processing load on the terminal device 3 increases, which may affect game play.

In this embodiment, the possibility of needing to download again can be reduced by deleting the data the next time the game program is started. Also, since the data can be deleted in parallel with the startup process, it is possible to delete in-game data without affecting gameplay and without the player noticing. Also, since the in-game data is deleted every time the game is started, old data is not left behind and data deletion can be prevented.

In this embodiment, the game program may also cause the terminal device 3 to function as a second reception processing unit 23 that receives an instruction from the player as to whether or not to receive all in-game data from the server device 5 at once, and as a disabling processing unit 25 that, when an instruction to receive all in-game data at once is received, disables the deletion function of the in-game data regardless of the reception by the first reception processing unit 19.

If a player selects to receive all in-game data at once, the player may wish to reduce the communication capacity of the terminal device 3, or to enjoy the game comfortably without interrupting it. In such a case, enabling the in-game data deletion function would go against the player's wishes. Therefore, by automatically disabling the in-game data deletion function when bulk reception of in-game data is selected, the settings can be made in line with the player's wishes.

In this embodiment, the first reception processing unit 19 may also display a reception screen that receives instructions to enable or disable the in-game data deletion function at the timing when execution of the game program begins.

This allows players to enable or disable the in-game data deletion function when starting a game, eliminating the need to go to or display a settings screen while playing the game, allowing players to concentrate on playing the game.

In this embodiment, the first reception processing unit 19 may also display a reception screen that receives instructions to enable or disable the in-game data deletion function based on the player's operation while the game is being played.

This allows the player to freely enable or disable the data deletion function in the middle of gameplay. Therefore, if the player wants to keep the currently running event or effect, the player can disable it, and if the player does not want to keep it, the player can enable it. The player can flexibly switch settings based on the content of the event or effect immediately after it is executed.

5. Modifications, etc.
The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications are possible without departing from the spirit and technical concept of the present invention. Such modifications will be described below.

(5-1. When applied to games that play music)
In the above embodiment, the specific content of the game to be played was not specifically described, but the present invention may be applied to a game in which, for example, a player organizes multiple game characters and plays music with the organized game characters.

An example of the functional configuration of the terminal device 3 and the server device 5 in this modified example will be described with reference to Figures 6 to 9. As in the above embodiment, only the database configuration of the server device 5 is illustrated, and other functional configurations are omitted.

As shown in FIG. 6, the server device 5 illustrates game programs D, E, and F relating to three types of games, for example. In FIG. 6, for example, the game executed by game program D is a game that includes content in which a game character plays music. The server device 5 has a video database 9, a still image database 11, an audio database 13, and a music database 53 in game program D. Databases 9, 11, and 13 are the same as those in the previously described embodiment, so a description thereof will be omitted.

The music database 53 stores sound source data of preset music. The sound source data is included in the in-game data related to the content of the game to be executed. The genre of music is not particularly limited, and may include various genres such as classical, pop, rock, jazz, etc. The sound source data includes ready-made data generated in advance for each music regardless of the character composition, and instrument version data for which the character composition is effective. The ready-made data is sound source data generated with a predetermined instrument according to the type of music, regardless of the composition of the game characters by the player. The ready-made data is generated as, for example, a single sound source data for each music, so the data capacity is relatively small. On the other hand, the instrument version data is sound source data generated for each instrument for each music, and one sound source data corresponds to one instrument. The instrument version data has different tones depending on the instrument, and also has different melodies and ranges, for example, and is combined and played according to the type of music. For this reason, the data capacity is relatively large.

Figure 7 shows an example of the types of instruments used in the instrument version data and their ranges. As shown in Figure 7, for example, string instruments, woodwind instruments, and brass instruments are set as the types of instruments. The ranges are divided into, for example, high, mid, low, and lowest ranges. For string instruments, for example, the violin is set in the high range, the viola in the mid range, the cello in the low range, and the double bass in the lowest range. For woodwind instruments, for example, the flute or oboe is set in the high range, the clarinet in the mid range, and the bassoon in the low range. For brass instruments, for example, the trumpet is set in the high range, the horn in the mid range, the trombone in the low range, and the tuba in the lowest range.

It is not necessary to set instrument version data for all of the instruments shown in FIG. 7 for each song, but rather it is sufficient that instrument version data for at least some of the instruments is set according to the type of song. Also, in the game of this modified example, for example, two violins are set, a first violin and a second violin, and the player character (protagonist) operated by the player is set as the first violin.

Note that the instruments and ranges shown in FIG. 7 are merely examples, and other instruments and ranges may be added instead of or in addition to these. Also, there may be only one violin, and the main character may be, for example, a conductor who does not play an instrument.

Returning to FIG. 6, the game execution processing unit 15 has an arrangement processing unit 55 and a sound source playback processing unit 57. The arrangement processing unit 55 arranges a plurality of game characters, each of which is associated with a preset musical instrument, in an arbitrary combination based on the input of the player. As described above, the player character is set to be the first violin, and each of the other game characters that appear is also set to play an instrument. For example, the player may operate the player character to search for a game character that plays a desired instrument and make them his or her companions, thereby forming a performing member such as an orchestra, band, or band. Game characters may be collected by, for example, the player character going on an adventure or journey in the game, or by deepening friendships in the story. Game characters (including character cards) may also be collected through a lottery game known as "gacha."

Figure 8 shows an example of a formation screen by the formation processing unit 55. In the example shown in Figure 8, for example, six formation slots 59a to 59f are displayed, and a maximum of six performing members can be formed. The player can add a game character selected from fellow game characters (or owned character cards, etc.) to the formation by, for example, operating the plus sign 61 in the formation slot 59. Note that, for example, the appearance and status (e.g. level, instrument, performance ability, etc.) of the game character are displayed in the formed formation slot 59. In the example shown in Figure 8, game characters have been formed in, for example, four formation slots 59a to 59d out of the six formation slots 59a to 59f.

An "OK" button 63 and a "Cancel" button 65 are displayed below the formation frames 59a to 59f. When the player operates the "OK" button 63 after forming game characters into all or some of the formation frames 59a to 59f, the formation of the performing members is finalized. When the player operates the "Cancel" button 65, for example, the formation is reset, and the formation can be started over.

The arrangement screen also displays a "recommended arrangement" button 67. In this embodiment, a recommended instrument is set for each song, and when the player operates the "recommended arrangement" button 67, game characters corresponding to the recommended instruments are automatically arranged.

The number of formation slots may be less than six, or may be greater. The player character may be included in the formation slots, or the player character may not be included in the formation slots, for example, in the role of a conductor or concertmaster. Some of the formation slots may be set as guest slots, making it possible to borrow game characters from other players in an online game, for example, to form a formation. More detailed status may be displayed as the status of each game character, such as sense of rhythm, ability to harmonize with other members, and accuracy of pitch. Furthermore, the status of all performing members, such as overall playing ability and balance, may be displayed.

Returning to FIG. 6, the sound source playback processor 57 plays back the sound source data of the music recorded in the recording device 27 using the game characters organized by the organization processor 55. When the character organization is set to valid, the sound source playback processor 57 plays back the music using the instrument version data corresponding to each instrument of the organized game characters. On the other hand, when the character organization is set to invalid, the music is played back using the previously described pre-made data that is unrelated to the character organization.

The third reception processing unit 69 receives an instruction from the player to enable or disable the formation of game characters when the sound source data is reproduced by the sound source playback processing unit 57. When the recording processing unit 17 receives an instruction to enable from the third reception processing unit 69, it receives the sound source data generated for each instrument (the above-mentioned instrument version data) from the server device 5 based on the organized game characters, and records it in the recording device 27 as the sound source data of the song. When the recording processing unit 17 receives an instruction to disable from the third reception processing unit 69, it receives the sound source data (the above-mentioned pre-made version data) that is predetermined as the sound source data of the song regardless of the organized game characters from the server device 5, and records it in the recording device 27. The sound source playback processing unit 57 reproduces the song using the sound source data recorded in the recording device 27.

Figure 9 shows an example of a reception screen by the third reception processing unit 69. In Figure 9, for example, the selection button 31 is operated to select "Sound" on the setting screen shown in Figure 3 described above.

The "Sound" settings screen (an example of a reception screen) displays a character composition performance settings display section 71 and a volume settings display section 73 for each sound. The character composition performance settings display section 71 displays an "ON" button 75, an "OFF" button 77, and an explanation field 79. The explanation field 79 explains the character composition performance function, stating that when turned on, the musical instrument played will change depending on the character composition.

When the player operates the "ON" button 75, the third reception processing unit 69 receives an instruction to enable character formation when playing music. When the player operates the "OFF" button 77, the third reception processing unit 69 receives an instruction to disable character formation when playing music. In FIG. 9, for example, the "ON" button 75 is operated to enable the character formation performance function.

In addition, in the setting display section 73, the player can set the volume of various sounds such as background music, sound effects (SE), character voices, etc., by operating, for example, the slider 81.

Note that the configuration other than that shown in FIG. 6 is the same as that of the previously described embodiment (FIG. 2), and therefore description thereof will be omitted. However, in this modified example, music data is further included in addition to the in-game data such as video, still images, and audio data in the previously described embodiment. In other words, the recording processing unit 17 receives in-game data such as video, still images, audio data, and music data from the databases 9, 11, 13, and 53 of the server device 5, and records them in the recording device 27. Furthermore, when the in-game data deletion function is enabled, the data deletion processing unit 21 deletes at least a portion of the used in-game data recorded in the recording device 27 at a predetermined timing. "Used in-game data" refers to in-game data such as video, still images, audio data, and music data used in the previously described specific events and effects, etc., that has been played and displayed at least once.

Next, an example of the processing procedure executed by the CPU 501 of the terminal device 3 will be described with reference to FIG. 10. Note that this flowchart shows part of the processing content executed in the "game execution processing" of step S50 in FIG. 5 in this modified example. Note that steps S10 to S40 and step S60 are the same as in the previously described embodiment, and therefore description thereof will be omitted.

In step S510, the terminal device 3 determines whether or not the player has issued an instruction to play a specific piece of music (e.g., an instruction from a performing member to start playing, etc.). If there has been no instruction to play a piece of music (step S510: NO), the process proceeds to step S60 shown in FIG. 5. On the other hand, if there has been an instruction to play a piece of music (step S510: YES), the process proceeds to step S520.

In step S520, the terminal device 3 determines whether or not all of the sound source data has been received in a lump sum by the second reception processing unit 23. If the sound source data has been received in a lump sum (step S520: YES), the process proceeds to step S560, which will be described later. On the other hand, if the sound source data has not been received in a lump sum (step S520: NO), the process proceeds to step S530.

In step S530, the terminal device 3 determines whether the character arrangement performance function is on or not by the third reception processing unit 69. If the character arrangement performance function is on (step S530: YES), the process proceeds to step S540. In step S540, the terminal device 3 downloads the sound source data (instrument version data) corresponding to each instrument of the arranged game characters from the server device 5 and records it in the recording device 27.

On the other hand, if the character arrangement performance function is turned off in step S530 (step S530: NO), the process proceeds to step S550. In step S550, the terminal device 3 downloads, for example, a single piece of sound source data (pre-existing data) that has been generated in advance according to the type of music, and records it in the recording device 27.

In step S560, the terminal device 3 causes the sound source playback processing unit 57 to play back the sound source data recorded in the recording device 27. Then, the process proceeds to step S60 in FIG. 5 described above. This completes this flow chart.

In this modified example, the sound source data for the music is included in the in-game data, and when the in-game data deletion function is enabled, the sound source data is also subject to deletion, but this is not limited to the above. For example, even if the sound source data for the music is not included in the in-game data and the in-game data deletion function is enabled, the sound source data may be excluded from deletion.

In the above-described modified example, the player can arbitrarily combine and organize multiple game characters, each of which is associated with a musical instrument. Then, the organized game characters are used to play the sound source data of the music recorded in the recording device 27. In this modified example, the player can instruct whether to enable or disable the organization of the game characters when playing the sound source data. When the player enables the organization, the terminal device 3 receives the sound source data generated for each musical instrument from the server device 5 according to the organized game characters, combines them, and records them in the recording device 27 as the sound source data of the music. The sound source playback processing unit 57 plays back the sound source data, so that the music is played back with different instruments according to the player's organization, which improves the interest of the music. On the other hand, since multiple types of sound source data different for each instrument are downloaded, the data capacity becomes large, which may put a strain on the capacity of the recording device 27.

On the other hand, if the player disables the formation, the terminal device 3 receives sound source data generated with a predetermined instrument as sound source data for the song from the server device 5, regardless of the formation, and records it in the recording device 27. By generating a single sound source data with, for example, a typical instrument for each song, only one sound source data is downloaded, so the data capacity can be reduced. This makes it possible to reduce the amount of data used by the recording device 27 of the terminal device 3 in online games.

Therefore, players can enable the arrangement to suit their own play style, for example, to enjoy music created with their own arrangement or to enjoy playing the same piece of music on a variety of instruments, and can disable the arrangement if they would rather reduce data usage and communication capacity of the recording device 27 of the terminal device 3 than enjoy music.

(5-2. Setting details of data deletion function)
In the above, when the data deletion function is enabled, the data deletion processing unit 21 deletes a preset portion of unnecessary data from among used in-game data recorded in the recording device 27, but this is not limited to the above. Since the types of in-game data considered unnecessary may differ from player to player, for example, the player may be allowed to select the type of data to be deleted.

Figure 11 shows an example of a detailed setting screen for the data deletion function. This screen may be displayed as a screen for setting further details when, for example, the "ON" button 41 for the data deletion function is operated on the setting screen shown in Figure 3 described above. As shown in Figure 11, check boxes 83 are displayed for each selection method. By operating the check boxes 83, the player can select the selection method as either "select all" or "select individually." When "select all" is selected, all types of pre-set in-game data are selected.

When "Select individually" is selected, a data type selection field 85 is displayed. In the data type selection field 85, a check box 87 is displayed for each type of in-game data. By operating the check box 87, the player can select the type of in-game data to be deleted from, for example, "animation movie," "character voice," "background image," "music," etc. In the example shown in FIG. 11, for example, "background image" has been selected.

(5-3. Setting details of character arrangement performance)
In the above modification (5-1), when character arrangement performance is enabled, the music is generated using all the sound source data of the musical instruments of the arranged characters, but this is not limited to this. It is also possible to enable character arrangement performance while reducing the amount of data.

Figure 12 shows an example of a detailed setting screen for the character formation performance function. This screen may be displayed as a screen for setting further details when, for example, the "ON" button 75 for the character formation performance function is operated on the setting screen shown in Figure 9 described above. As shown in Figure 12, a check box 89 is displayed for each type of formation. By operating the check box 89, the player can select the type of formation as either "full formation" or "partial formation". When "full formation" is selected, a song is generated using the sound source data for all of the instruments of the formed characters.

When "partial arrangement" is selected, a priority item selection field 91 is displayed. In the priority item selection field 91, for example, a check box 93 is displayed for each priority item. The player can select the priority item as either "range emphasis" or "instrument emphasis" by operating the check box 93. When "range emphasis" is selected, priority is given to covering the entire range of the musical piece to be played (if only a part of the range can be covered, the widest possible range), and, for example, if there are overlapping instruments in the same range, the sound source data of at least one of the instruments is omitted. When "instrument emphasis" is selected, priority is given to covering all of the types of instruments set in the musical piece to be played (if only a part of the instruments can be covered, priority is given to, for example, an instrument playing the main melody or an instrument that matches the atmosphere of the musical piece), and, for example, if there are overlapping instruments of the same type (string instrument, woodwind instrument, or brass instrument), the sound source data of at least one of the instruments is omitted. In the example shown in FIG. 12, for example, "range emphasis" is selected.

In this way, it is possible to some extent to play music using different instruments depending on the player arrangement, while also reducing the data usage and communication capacity of the recording device 27 of the terminal device 3 to some extent. Therefore, it is possible to achieve both the interest of music and the reduction of data usage.

In addition to what has already been described above, the methods according to the above embodiments and each modified example may be used in appropriate combination. Although not illustrated individually, the above embodiments and each modified example may be implemented with various modifications within the scope of their intent.

<6. Server Hardware Configuration>
Next, an example of a hardware configuration of the terminal device 3 that realizes each processing unit implemented by the program executed by the CPU 501 described above will be described with reference to Fig. 13. Note that the server device 5 may have a similar hardware configuration.

As shown in FIG. 13, the terminal device 3 has, for example, a CPU 501, a ROM 503, a RAM 505, a GPU 506, a dedicated integrated circuit 507 constructed for a specific application, such as an ASIC or FPGA, an input device 513, an output device 515, a recording device 517, a drive 519, a connection port 521, and a communication device 523. These components are connected to each other via a bus 509, an input/output interface 511, etc., so that signals can be transmitted between them.

The game program can be recorded, for example, in a recording device 517 such as ROM 503, RAM 505, or a hard disk, which constitutes the aforementioned recording device 27.

The game program may also be temporarily or permanently (non-temporarily) recorded on a removable recording medium 525, such as a magnetic disk such as a flexible disk, various types of CDs, MO disks, optical disks such as DVDs, or semiconductor memories. Such recording media 525 may also be provided as so-called package software. In this case, the game program recorded on these recording media 525 may be read by the drive 519 and recorded on the recording device 517 via the input/output interface 511, bus 509, etc.

The game program may also be recorded, for example, on a download site, another computer, or another recording device (not shown). In this case, the game program is transferred via a network NW such as a LAN or the Internet, and the communication device 523 receives this program. The program received by the communication device 523 may then be recorded in the recording device 517 via the input/output interface 511, bus 509, etc.

The game program may also be recorded, for example, in an appropriate external connection device 527. In this case, the game program may be transferred via an appropriate connection port 521 and recorded in the recording device 517 via the input/output interface 511, bus 509, etc.

Then, the CPU 501 executes various processes according to the programs recorded in the recording device 517, thereby realizing processes by the game execution processing unit 15, recording processing unit 17, first reception processing unit 19, data deletion processing unit 21, second reception processing unit 23, invalidation processing unit 25, etc. described above. At this time, the CPU 501 may, for example, read and execute the programs directly from the recording device 517, or may execute the programs after first loading them into the RAM 505. Furthermore, when the CPU 501 receives a program via the communication device 523, drive 519, or connection port 521, for example, it may execute the received program directly without recording it in the recording device 517.

The CPU 501 may also perform various processes based on signals and information input from an input device 513, which may include the aforementioned touch panel 7, a mouse, a keyboard, a microphone, etc.

The GPU 506 performs image display processing, such as rendering processing, in response to instructions from the CPU 501.

The CPU 501 and the GPU 506 then output the results of the above processing from the output device 515, which includes the aforementioned touch panel 7 and an audio output unit (not shown), such as a speaker or headphones. Furthermore, the CPU 501 and the GPU 506 may transmit the processing results via the communication device 523 or the connection port 521 as necessary, or may record the results in the recording device 517 or the recording medium 525.

3. Terminal device (information processing device)
5 Server device 15 Game execution processing unit 17 Recording processing unit 19 First reception processing unit 21 Data deletion processing unit 23 Second reception processing unit 25 Invalidation processing unit 27 Recording device 55 Organization processing unit 57 Sound source playback processing unit 69 Third reception processing unit 525 Recording medium

Claims (7)

An information processing device connected to a server device so as to be able to communicate with the server device,
a game execution processing unit that executes the installed game program;
a recording processing unit that receives in-game data relating to the content of the game to be executed from the server device and records the in-game data in a recording device;
a first reception processing unit that receives an instruction to enable or disable the in-game data deletion function from a player;
a data deletion processing unit that deletes at least a portion of the used in-game data recorded in the recording device at a predetermined timing when an instruction to enable a deletion function of the in-game data is received;
Function as a
The first reception processing unit is
accepting from the player a selection of a type of the in-game data to be deleted;
The data deletion processing unit includes:
deleting the in-game data of a type selected by the player from the used in-game data ;
The game execution processing unit includes:
an arrangement processing unit that arranges a plurality of game characters, each of which is associated with a predetermined musical instrument, in an arbitrary combination based on an input by the player;
a sound source playback processing unit that uses the organized game characters to play back sound source data of the music, which is the in-game data, recorded in the recording device;
The information processing device,
a third reception processing unit that receives an instruction from a player to enable or disable the formation of the game characters when the sound source data is reproduced;
It also functions as
The recording processing unit includes:
when an instruction to activate the arrangement of the game characters is received, the sound source data generated for each of the musical instruments is received from the server device based on the arranged game characters, and the sound source data is recorded in the recording device as sound source data of the musical piece;
when an instruction to disable the organization of the game characters is received, the sound source data that is predetermined as the sound source data of the music piece is received from the server device regardless of the organized game characters, and recorded in the recording device .
Game program. The data deletion processing unit includes:
deleting at least a portion of the in-game data the next time the game program is started;
The game program according to claim 1 . The information processing device,
a second reception processing unit that receives, from the player, an instruction as to whether or not to receive all of the in-game data from the server device at once;
a disabling processing unit that, when an instruction to receive all of the in-game data at once is received, disables a deletion function of the in-game data regardless of reception by the first reception processing unit;
3. The game program according to claim 1 or 2, further functioning as a The first reception processing unit is
displaying a reception screen for receiving an instruction to enable or disable the in-game data deletion function at a timing when execution of the game program is started;
The game program according to any one of claims 1 to 3. The first reception processing unit is
displaying a reception screen for receiving an instruction to enable or disable the in-game data deletion function based on an operation by the player during game play;
The game program according to any one of claims 1 to 3. 6. A recording medium readable by an information processing device, on which the game program according to claim 1 is recorded. A game processing method executed by an information processing device communicatively connected to a server device,
running the installed game program;
receiving in-game data relating to the content of the game to be executed from the server device and recording the in-game data in a recording device;
receiving an instruction from a player to enable or disable the in-game data deletion function;
when an instruction to enable a deletion function of the in-game data is received, deleting at least a portion of the used in-game data recorded in the recording device at a predetermined timing;
having
The step of receiving an instruction from a player includes:
accepting from the player a selection of a type of the in-game data to be deleted;
The step of deleting includes:
deleting the in-game data of a type selected by the player from the used in-game data ;
The step of executing the game program includes:
arranging a plurality of game characters, each of which is associated with a preset musical instrument, in an arbitrary combination based on an input by the player;
and playing back the sound source data of the music, which is the in-game data, recorded on the recording device, using the organized game characters;
The game processing method includes:
receiving an instruction from a player to enable or disable the formation of the game characters when the sound source data is reproduced;
and
The recording step includes:
when an instruction to activate the arrangement of the game characters is received, the sound source data generated for each of the musical instruments is received from the server device based on the arranged game characters, and the sound source data is recorded in the recording device as sound source data of the musical piece;
when an instruction to disable the organization of the game characters is received, the sound source data that is predetermined as the sound source data of the music piece is received from the server device regardless of the organized game characters, and recorded in the recording device .
Game processing method.

Images