JP7774657B2 - Program and game device - Google Patents

Description

Article 30, Paragraph 2 of the Patent Act applies (1) ・Publication date: January 24, 2024 ・Website address: https://www.dbs-cardgame.com/fw/jp/ https://www.dbs-cardgame.com/fw/jp/news/01_22.html <Dragon Ball Super Card Game Fusion World Digital Card Game Open Beta Test> (2) ・Website posting date: February 7, 2024 ・Website address: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYtLXVWU5Po&t <Dragon Ball Super Card Game Fusion World Digital Edition PV>

The present invention relates to a program and a game device, and in particular to an electronic game themed around a trading card game.

In the real world, there are games (trading card games (TCGs)) in which players play by deploying cards on a play field. In real-world TCGs, when a player performs an action related to one of their own cards, they generally declare which card of their own will be the subject of the action (target of the action) and which card of their opponent will be the object of the action (received by the action). Then, with the agreement of the player and opponent, the action is resolved based on the effect information written on the card in question.

There are also electronic games based on this TCG theme that allow users to compete against each other online (Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2021-037078

When playing a TCG in an electronic game, audio information related to declarations is not sent or received in order to reduce the amount of data communication. Therefore, if there is an error, for example, an action unintended by the player may be performed. In other words, in an electronic TCG game, there is a possibility that the player may move on to the action resolution phase without realizing that the intended target card and target card have not been specified.

The present invention aims to provide a program and game device that makes it easier for players to intuitively understand operations during a competitive game.

One aspect of the present invention is a program that causes a computer that executes an electronic game between a player and an opponent by placing game elements on a field to execute the following: a display control process that controls the display of a game screen including the field on a display device; a first selection process that selects a first game element to be acted upon from among the game elements associated with the player placed on the field; a second selection process that selects a second game element to be acted upon from among the game elements associated with the opponent placed on the field; and a grouping process that groups the first game element and the second game element in the electronic game; and, provided that the first game element and the second game element have been grouped, the display control process displays a connecting element that connects the first game element and the second game element.

This invention makes it easier for players to intuitively understand operations during competitive games.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of a game system according to an embodiment and a modification of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of a player terminal 100 according to an embodiment and a modification of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of a server 200 according to an embodiment and a modification of the present invention. 10A and 10B are diagrams illustrating game screens of a fighting game according to an embodiment and a modification of the present invention; FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of a battle area 401 in a battle game according to an embodiment and a modification of the present invention. 10A and 10B are diagrams illustrating examples of displays relating to offensive actions in a fighting game according to an embodiment and a modification of the present invention; FIG. 10 is another diagram illustrating an example of a display related to an attacking action in a fighting game according to an embodiment and a modification of the present invention. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a display relating to a combo operation in a fighting game according to an embodiment and a modification of the present invention. 10A and 10B are diagrams illustrating examples of offensive action activation effects in a fighting game according to an embodiment and a modification of the present invention; FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating changes in the display mode of the field 400 in a fighting game according to an embodiment and a modified example of the present invention. 1 is a flowchart illustrating a competitive game process executed by a player terminal 100 according to an embodiment and a modification of the present invention; 1 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an operation phase process executed by a player terminal 100 according to an embodiment and a modification of the present invention. 1 is a flowchart illustrating a defensive action process executed by the player terminal 100 according to an embodiment and a modification of the present invention;

[Embodiment]
Hereinafter, the embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that the following embodiments do not limit the scope of the invention as claimed, and not all combinations of features described in the embodiments are necessarily essential to the invention. Two or more of the features described in the embodiments may be combined in any desired manner. Furthermore, the same reference numerals are used to designate identical or similar components, and redundant descriptions will be omitted.

In the embodiment described below, the present invention is applied to a game system in which a server connected to player terminals (communication terminals or game devices) used by each player provides a service (battle service) that matches two players connected at the same time and realizes a battle game in which both players participate. However, the present invention can be applied to a system realized with any device configuration that can progress an electronic game in which multiple players participate. Furthermore, in this specification, the term "player" refers to a user who logs in to use the battle service provided by the server 200 in this game system.

<Game System Configuration>
1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a game system according to this embodiment. As shown in the figure, the game system is configured so that a server 200 and a plurality of player terminals 100 can be connected for communication via a network 300. In this embodiment, the server 200 matches two players of connected player terminals 100 as players of a competitive game, establishes a communication session for transmitting and receiving various information related to the competitive game, and provides a competitive service that realizes a competitive game in which the two players participate.

Each player can log in to the battle service by launching a specified client application on the player terminal 100 used by that player. The client application allows players to perform various settings and advance preparations for the battle game to be played, set player profiles, and play (battle, play) the battle game. As will be described in detail below, the battle game (electronic game) that can be played in the battle service of this embodiment is a trading card game (TCG) in which players progress by placing game elements such as cards on a specified game field. The player terminal 100 can also be any communication terminal equipped with communication functions, such as a PC or smartphone.

<Hardware configuration of the player terminal>
Next, the hardware configuration of the player terminal 100 will be described with reference to Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the hardware configuration of the player terminal 100.

The control unit 101 is a processor such as a CPU, and performs various controls, including operational control of each piece of hardware included in the player terminal 100. Specifically, the control unit 101 performs the relevant controls by, for example, reading out necessary programs stored in the storage device 102, expanding them into the memory 103, and executing them.

The storage device 102 is a device capable of permanently storing information, such as a non-volatile memory or HDD. In addition to the operating system and various application programs required to operate the player terminal 100, the storage device 102 also stores parameter information required to implement various controls and various data used for browser display and communication functions. The memory 103 is a storage device used for temporary data storage, such as a volatile memory. The memory 103 may be used not only as a development area for each program, but also as a storage area for temporarily storing data output during the operation of various hardware and various controls.

The GPU 104 is a drawing device that executes various drawing processes related to the generation of display screens for the player terminal 100. The GPU 104 also executes drawing processes for game screens during play of a competitive game. The GPU 104 includes a GPU memory (not shown), and expands various graphics data read from the storage device 102, and performs predetermined calculations to generate various images, including screens. The screens and images generated by the GPU 104 are presented to the player by being displayed, for example, on a display 110 provided in the player terminal 100. The display 110 is an information display device, such as an LCD display, that is provided in the player terminal 100 or is detachably connected to the player terminal 100. The display 110 displays the screens generated by the GPU 104.

The operation I/F 105 is a user interface provided in the player terminal 100 that accepts operation input. When the operation I/F 105 detects that an operation input has been made, it outputs a control signal corresponding to the operation input to the control unit 101. In one aspect, the operation I/F 105 includes, for example, operation members such as buttons provided on the exterior of the player terminal 100, as well as various sensors. In addition, the display 110 provided in the player terminal 100 of this embodiment is configured to be able to detect touch input, and the operation I/F 105 includes a touch input detection sensor provided on the display 110.

The communication I/F 106 is a communication interface provided to the player terminal 100 for communication with an external device. Information communication between the communication I/F 106 and the external device may be performed via a wide area network (WAN) such as the Internet, or via a LAN or the like. Information communication performed by the communication I/F 106 will be described as being performed wirelessly, but this does not exclude wired communication.

The speaker 120 is an audio output interface provided on the player terminal 100. The speaker 120 outputs various audio information, including audio related to the client application.

<Server hardware configuration>
3 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the server 200 according to this embodiment. In the following description, the hardware configuration that realizes the same functions as the player terminal 100 will be prefixed with the letter "server" to clearly distinguish it from the configuration of the player terminal 100.

The server control unit 201 is a processor such as a CPU, and performs control related to the implementation of various functions, including operational control of each piece of hardware provided in the server 200, player management related to the battle service, player matching, and the sending and receiving and sharing of information about the battle game being played. Specifically, the server control unit 201 performs the relevant control by, for example, reading out the necessary programs stored in the server storage device 202, expanding them into the server memory 203, and executing them.

The server storage device 202 is a device capable of permanently storing information, such as non-volatile memory or a HDD. In addition to the operating system and matching-related programs required to run the server 200, the server storage device 202 stores parameter information required to implement various controls and various data required to provide the matching function. The server storage device 202 also has a database function that manages information on each player registered as a player of the game system. The server memory 203 is a storage device used for temporary data storage, such as volatile memory. The server memory 203 may be used not only as a deployment area for each program, but also as a storage area for temporarily storing data output during the operation of various hardware and various controls.

The server communication I/F 204 is a communication interface provided by the server 200 with an external device. Information communication between the server communication I/F 204 and the external device may be performed via a wide area network (WAN) such as the Internet, or via a LAN or the like. Information communication performed by the server communication I/F 204 may be performed either wired or wirelessly.

Overview of the game
Below, an overview of the competitive game that provides a play experience in the game system of this embodiment will be described.

The competitive game is played on a predetermined field defined by the game. Each player builds a "deck" by registering a set of game elements for the competitive game, and can play the competitive game using the deck they have built.

To build a deck, a player must obtain game elements, for example, through a lottery function that can be used by paying a fee. In other words, the game elements that a player can include in the deck they build are limited to, for example, game elements that the player has already obtained. Furthermore, a player is not limited to building one deck; they may be able to build multiple decks that differ in at least some of the registered game elements.

Information about game elements that a player has acquired and decks that the player has built is managed by registering it in the server storage device 202 in association with identification information (player ID) that uniquely identifies the player. More specifically, the server storage device 202 also functions as a database (DB) that manages various information about each player as player information, and in the player information, which is one record in the DB, the player ID is managed in association with information about game elements that the player has acquired and information about decks that the player has built.

For example, when a game element is acquired by a player, an element ID that uniquely identifies that game element and the number of those elements are included in the player information, making it possible to manage how many of those game elements the player owns. Furthermore, when a deck is constructed by a player, the identification information for that deck (deck ID) and the element IDs of the game elements included in that deck are included in the player information, making it possible to manage information about the deck that the player has constructed (deck information).

As described above, the competitive game that the competitive service of this embodiment provides a play experience with is a TCG, and the game elements that are given to players and can be registered in their decks and used are cards (virtual cards that can be owned in an electronic game). In the competitive game of this embodiment, the cards that players can use are classified into two types: leader cards and member cards, which have different roles in the competitive game, and decks are required to include one leader card. In other words, a deck is constructed from one leader card and multiple member cards (one or more). Each card has a cost that is determined, for example, according to the degree to which it provides an advantage in the competitive game, and players must register the cards to be included in their deck so that the total cost of the deck reaches a specified value.

As with conventional TCGs, the battle game progresses as the player and opponent place cards registered in their respective decks in various areas of the field. In this embodiment of the battle game, as illustrated in the game screen of Figure 4, the game screen includes an area displaying the field 400, where effects related to the progress of the battle game are displayed, as well as multiple areas with different roles. In the example shown, the field 400 includes a battle area 401 where cards that directly trigger battle actions in the battle game are placed, and an energy area 402 and a life area 403 where cards that do not directly trigger battle actions are placed are located outside the field 400 or superimposed on the field 400. As shown in the figure, the battle area 401 is configured as an area shared by both players, while the energy area 402 and life area 403 are configured as areas exclusive to each player.

The game screen illustrated in FIG. 4 is presented to one player and is displayed on the display 110 of the player terminal 100 used by that player. Accordingly, the field 400 in the game screen is configured such that the foreground (lower part of the screen) corresponds to the player, and the background (upper part of the screen) corresponds to the opponent. To facilitate understanding of the invention, in the following description of a competitive game, the player using the player terminal 100 on which the game screen is displayed (the player assigned to the foreground of the screen) will be referred to as the "player," and the opposing player (the player assigned to the background of the screen) competing against that player will be referred to as the "opponent." When there is no need to distinguish between the player and the opponent, the terms "each player" or simply "player" may be used. Furthermore, to distinguish between display elements related to the player and the opponent, display elements related to the former will be labeled with "a" and display elements related to the latter will be labeled with "b." When there is no need to distinguish between display elements related to the player and the opponent, the display elements will be described without the use of a label.

In the fighting game of this embodiment, each card is associated with a character related to the fighting game content, and a default value of life (a parameter indicating the number of attacks the leader character can withstand) is set for the character corresponding to the leader card (hereinafter referred to as the leader character) at the start of the fighting game. In order to ensure fairness between players in the fighting game of this embodiment, the life of each leader character is set to a fixed value of 8. As will be described in more detail below, life is one of the parameters related to the conditions for ending the fighting game, and is managed for each player in the communication session related to the fighting game.

During a competitive game, the life of each player's leader character is displayed using cards (8 at the start of the game) randomly drawn from the member cards included in each player's deck and placed face down (face down) in the life area 403 on the field. A player's life is reduced by one each time an attack by an opponent targeting the leader character is successful. At this time, one member card is removed from the life area 403a and added to the player's hand. Note that, because it is not possible to identify the member cards placed in the life area 403, it is possible to display a combination of a predetermined number of representative card images and an indication of the number of remaining cards, rather than displaying individual face-down card images equal to the number of remaining cards.

Information about each card is associated with a unique card ID (element ID) and registered in the server storage device 202 as card information. More specifically, the server storage device 202 also functions as a DB that manages various information about each card as card information, and manages card information, which is one record in the DB, including a card ID that uniquely identifies the card and information about the character associated with the card. Here, the information about the character associated with the card includes attribute information such as the character's name, graphics data for the character, and parameters referenced when using the character in a fighting game.

Character attribute information may include, for example, parameters referenced when the character acts in a battle game, and unique effects activated when the character acts or when conditions are met. Character attribute information may also include, for example, information about the character's species associated with cards that must be consumed in order to place the character in the battle area 401 on the field. As will be described in more detail below, each character is assigned a species, and in order to place a character in the battle area 401 and make it available for action, a member card associated with a character of the same species must be placed in an energy area 402 separate from the battle area 401 prior to the placement to secure (hereinafter referred to as "charge") a consumption element (energy). Here, character species is not necessarily limited to biological classifications, but may also be a concept that indicates any classification set in relation to the game, such as a color classification assigned in the game or a team defined in the content's story.

The battle game is turn-based, with a player's action turn alternating with the opponent's action turn. Each player's action turn basically consists of an initialization phase, a charge phase, an operation phase, and a resolution phase. During the initialization phase, cards that were inactive after an action in the previous turn are reactivated, and a card is drawn from the deck 405 (drawing one card and adding it to the hand 404) without the player's input. During the charge phase, cards from the player's hand 404 during their action turn are placed in the energy area, thereby charging energy. During the operation phase, the corresponding energy is consumed to place cards from the player's hand 404 during their action turn in the battle area 401, or to deactivate cards placed in the battle area 401 or cards already placed in the battle area 401, and the actions of the corresponding characters are determined. During the resolution phase, the actions determined during the operation phase are resolved.

Here, the charge phase and operation phase are phases in which player input is accepted, while the initialization phase and resolution phase are phases in which player input is not accepted. Furthermore, the operation phase and resolution phase can occur multiple times during each player's action turn, depending on the number of cards in the player's hand 404, the number of cards placed in the battle area 401, and the amount of energy charged.

The battle game ends when the life of one of the players' leader characters reaches 0, or when one of the players' decks (hand 404, deck 405, and member cards in battle area 401) reaches 0 cards. That is, a player can defeat an opponent by reducing the life of the opponent's leader character to 0 (reducing the cards placed in life area 403b to 0 cards) or by forcing the opponent's deck to reach 0 cards first. A player can also be defeated by an opponent by reducing the life of their own leader character to 0 (reducing the cards placed in life area 403a to 0 cards) or by having their deck reach 0 cards before the opponent.

As shown in Figure 4, the game screen is configured with various GUIs superimposed on a field 400. In the example shown, in addition to the battle area 401, energy area 402, and life area 403 described above, each player's hand 404 and deck 405 are displayed. Note that in analog TCGs, for example, there is a discard area where cards removed from the battle area 401 are placed, but in the battle game of this embodiment, discarded cards are hidden from the game screen so that the progress can be easily seen by both players.

A set number of cards (e.g., six) are drawn from the hand 404 at the start of the battle game, and one more card is drawn each time an action turn occurs, so that when each player's action turn arrives, they will generally have one or more cards (member cards) in their hand. Cards in the hand 404 are not placed in any area, and can be moved and placed in either the battle area 401 or the energy area 402 by the player's operation.

On the game screen, the cards in the player's hand 404a are displayed face up so that it is possible to tell which card they are, while the cards in the opponent's hand 404b are displayed face down so that it is impossible to tell which card they are. Furthermore, the decks 405a and 405b are configured so that only the number of cards remaining is known, as it is unclear which card will be drawn next. Cards are moved from the hand 404 to the energy area 402 when the player specifies their placement during the charge phase of each action turn.

As described above, the life area 403 contains eight cards drawn at the start of the battle game, placed face down. As with the deck 405, the identity of the cards placed in the life area 403 should remain unknown until they are removed by an attacking action and moved to the hand 404, so only the number of cards remaining is known. As described above, in the battle game of this embodiment, life is positioned as the number of times the leader character has remaining, so as shown in Figure 4, life areas 403a and 403b are placed near the leader characters associated with the player and opponent, respectively, as described below, and are displayed together with a number image that clearly indicates the number of cards remaining.

As shown in the figure, the field 400 is provided with a battle area 401 where cards that are the subject of actions in the battle game are placed. To increase the interest of the battle game, leader cards are placed in the battle area 401 in character form (a three-dimensional model of the associated character) rather than in card form. In the example of Figure 4, the leader character 411a corresponding to the leader card included in the player's deck is placed at the front of the battle area 401, and the leader character 411b corresponding to the leader card included in the opponent's deck is placed at the back of the battle area 401. In the battle game, the appearance of the leader characters 411a and 411b changes as needed, for example by applying a predetermined motion or adding an affected character, depending on the actions initiated by the player and the actions initiated by the opponent.

Member cards, on the other hand, are placed in the battle area 401 in card form rather than character form. In the example of Figure 4, member card 412a placed in the battle area 401 by the player is placed to the side (right) of the leader character 411a, and member card 412b placed in the battle area 401 by the opponent is placed to the side (left) of the leader character 411b. Unlike leader cards, member cards 412 are always displayed in card form with their appearance not changing.

In this way, the battle area 401 is filled with leader cards and member cards registered as each player's deck, but these cards are displayed with different appearances on the game screen. In the following explanation, these cards may be referred to as leader characters and member cards to match their display on the game screen, but since both are managed as cards in the processing related to the battle game, they may also be referred to simply as "cards."

(placement area)
The placement of cards in the battle area 401 will now be described in detail with reference to Figure 5. As shown in Figure 5, the battle area 401 is configured in the shape of a rectangle (parallelogram). Note that in the example shown, the periphery of the battle area 401 is surrounded by a dashed line for the purpose of explanation, but this is for the purpose of explanation only; the battle area 401 is not explicitly displayed within the field 400 as shown in Figure 4.

The leader character 411a corresponding to the player's leader card and the leader character 411b corresponding to the opponent's leader card are placed in leader areas 501a and 501b, respectively, which are located diagonally at the furthest corners of the battle area 401. The battle area 401 also has a member area 502 sandwiched between the leader areas 501a and 501b. Member cards moved from the player's or opponent's hand 404 during the operation phase to make them available for action are placed in the member area 502.

The member area 502 is divided into the player's side (below the center line 503 in the figure) and the opponent's side (above the center line 503 in the figure) by a vertical center line 503, indicated by a dashed dotted line. That is, the player's member cards 412a moved from their hand 404a to the member area 502 are placed horizontally in the lower part of the area. The opponent's member cards 412b moved from their hand 404b to the member area 502 are placed horizontally in the upper part of the area. Although the center line 503 is not displayed on the game screen, the member cards 412a and 412b in the member area 502 are horizontally aligned at different vertical positions and are displayed vertically spaced apart via the center line 503. Therefore, the player can easily distinguish between the member cards 412a placed by the player and the member cards 412b placed by the opponent.

In order to make it easier for the player to identify which member card 412b has been placed in the member area 502 by the opponent, the orientation of both member card 412a and member card 412b is controlled so that the cards are displayed in the upright position. In other words, unlike analog TCGs, where the member card 412b is displayed upside down so that it appears upright from the opponent's perspective, the display is controlled so that both cards can be viewed in the upright position on the game screen. In other words, in a mode where the standard orientation (orientation) is such that the up and down directions defined for each member card 412 match the up and down directions on the game screen, both member cards 412a and 412b are placed and displayed in the member area 502 in the standard orientation.

(Attribute information display)
As will be described in detail later, in the battle game of this embodiment, a player can designate a leader character 411a or a member card 412a placed on the field 400 (battle area 401) to perform an attack on an opponent's leader character 411b or a member card 412b. The success or failure of the attack is determined primarily based on the "power" parameter of the attribute information associated with each card.

Power can change sequentially depending on actions initiated by the player or the opponent, such as when a character or card's unique effect is activated when certain conditions are met, reducing the power of the opponent's character or card. For this reason, in this embodiment, the power of each card placed in the battle area 401 is displayed on the game screen so that the player can easily grasp the power that can change as the battle game progresses.

As shown in Figure 4, this power is displayed differently for the leader character 411 and the member card 412. As mentioned above, member cards 412a and 412b are always displayed in card form in the battle area 401, and so the power value is displayed in the card area, similar to cards generally used in TCGs. On the other hand, leader characters 411a and 411b are displayed in character form in the battle area 401, and their appearances are controlled to change to suitably present the progress of the battle game, so the power value is displayed near each leader character but in a position that does not overlap with that leader character.

Offensive Actions
Here, the offensive action required to achieve the conditions for ending the battle game will be described in detail. During the operation phase of the player's turn, the player selects his/her own member card 412a as the target of the offensive action, and then selects the opponent's card (leader character 411b or member card 412b) as the target of the offensive action, thereby completing the input for the operation phase for the offensive action.

The player's cards that can be selected as targets for action are cards that have already been placed in the battle area 401, and the player can choose from leader cards (leader character 411a) and member cards 412a. Member cards 412a can include not only member cards that have already been placed in the battle area 401 in the player's previously completed action turn, but also member cards that the player has placed in the battle area 401 from their hand 404a in the current action turn.

When a player performs operational input on their own card placed in the battle area 401, one or more options for actions that can be specified for that card are displayed, and by selecting an option related to an attack action, the player can select that card as the target of the attack action. In other words, the player has declared an attack action on that card. At this time, the control unit 101 of the player terminal 100 generates new action information that specifies the details of the attack action that the player wishes to perform. For example, the action information includes type information indicating the action type for the action that the player wishes to perform, and target information that groups the target of the action and the target of the action. Therefore, the control unit 101 generates new action information in which each piece of information is set to its initial value, and updates the type information of the action information and the target information of the action from the target information based on the operational input related to the selection of the attack action and the selection of the target of the action.

The player can then select a leader card (leader character 411b) or member card 412b associated with their opponent, selecting that card as the target of an attack action. At this time, the control unit 101 updates the target information in the target information based on the operational input related to the selection of the target. By updating the action information, the target card and the target card for the attack action the player wishes to perform are associated and grouped together. The action information is sent from the player terminal 100 used by the player to the server 200 via the communication I/F 106, and is shared with the opponent player terminals 100 participating in the same communication session.

When an input related to an attack action is made in the operation phase, the success or failure of that attack action is determined in the subsequent resolution phase. The success or failure of an attack action is basically determined based on a numerical comparison of the power of the character associated with the target card and the power of the character associated with the target card. In the fighting game of this embodiment, the attack action is successful if the power of the former is equal to or greater than the power of the latter, and fails if the power of the former is less than the power of the latter.

The effect of a successful attack action differs depending on whether the target of the action is a leader card (leader character 411b) or a member card 412b. If the target of the action is a leader card, the leader character 411b's life is reduced by 1 as a result of the attack action. In other words, one of the opponent's cards placed in the life area 403b is removed. This removed card is moved to the opponent's hand 404b rather than discarded. Furthermore, if the target of the action is a member card 412b, the member card 412b is removed from the battle area 401 (becomes a discard card) as a result of the attack action. Note that if the attack action fails, even if the attack action was executed, the action is negated, or no change occurs in the target's status before and after the action is performed.

When the resolution phase for an attack action is completed, the card selected as the target of the action is set to an inactive state so that it cannot perform any further actions in the current action turn. Here, because the leader card is displayed in a character-type form (leader character 411a) in the battle area 401, unnaturally changing the character's appearance just because it has become inactive could reduce the sense of tension in the battle game. Therefore, the inactive state of the leader card may be indicated to the player simply by making the leader character 411a unable to be selected as a target of action. On the other hand, the member card 412a is not displayed in a character-type form like the leader card, so there is no problem in terms of presentation if it is clearly in an inactive state. For this reason, the inactive state of the member card 412a may be indicated to the player by changing its appearance, for example, by graying out the member card 412a, rotating the member card 412a 90 degrees and laying it on its side, or adding a message indicating its inactive state.

Note that the opponent's member cards 412b that can be selected as targets for an action are limited to member cards 412b that are inactive at that time, i.e., member cards 412b that acted in the opponent's previous action turn. Details will be described later, but in this embodiment of the fighting game, when an offensive action is designated in the operation phase of a player's action turn, the opponent can perform a defensive action in response to the contents of that offensive action. Unplaced member cards in the opponent's hand 404b at that time, or member cards 412b that are active at that time, can participate in the defensive action as support.

In other words, each player can choose as appropriate whether to allow the member cards 412 placed in the battle area 401 to perform an attack action against the opponent's cards, thereby taking the risk of becoming the target of the opponent's attack action, or to take the safe measure of not performing an attack action against the opponent's cards in preparation for participating in a defensive action, and excluding them from the opponent's attack action as well. This configuration allows each player to devise various strategies, such as how to leave member cards 412 that can participate in defensive action until the opponent's turn, or how to ensure that the number of member cards that can participate in defensive action when attacking the opponent's leader character is reduced, thereby increasing the excitement of the battle game.

Therefore, when an operation input is made during a player's action turn to select an active member card 412b as the target of an action, the control unit 101 controls the display 110 to display a notification that the card cannot be selected.

(Display of connected components)
The number of cards placed in the battle area 401 can increase as turns progress. Therefore, it is preferable to clearly indicate the target of the action and the target of the attack selected by each player in the battle area 401. In other words, it is preferable for the player whose turn it is to act to easily know whether the attack action he or she desired has been input, and for the player whose turn it is not to act to easily know what attack action has been input by the opponent.

In the battle game of this embodiment, when the target information stores and groups card information indicating the target and receiver of an action, a connecting element connecting these cards is displayed on the game screen, as shown in FIG. 6. In the example shown, the player's member card 601 is selected as the target and the opponent's leader character 602 is selected as the receiver of an action, and a curved connecting element 603 is formed and displayed connecting these. As shown, the connecting element 603 displays the target and receiver cards involved in the attack action in a different manner from other cards (leader character, member card) in the battle area 401, making it easier for each player to understand the content of the attack action being input during the operation phase. The connecting element 603 is also configured as an arrow pointing from the member card 601 to the leader character 602, clearly indicating the relationship between the target and receiver of an action.

In light of the advantages of these connecting elements 603, the battle game of this embodiment is configured to display connecting elements 603 not only for attacking actions whose details have been determined, but also when selecting a target card after the target card for an action has been determined.

Specifically, the target of an attack action can be determined in two stages: preliminary selection and final selection. First, as described above, when the player's card (leader character 411a or member card 412a) that is the target of the attack action is selected, the card is given a display effect, such as illumination or a color change, and is displayed in a manner that makes it identifiable from the other cards in the battle area 401. Then, when selecting the opponent's card that will be the target of the attack action, as shown in FIG. 7(a), a connecting element 703 is displayed connecting the coordinate 702 on the game screen where the player is entering a command and the target card 701. In the fighting game of this embodiment, player input is accepted, for example, by mouse operation. In this manner, the player can know to which position the command is being entered, because the connecting element 703 connects the coordinate 702 where the command is being entered with the mouse and the target card.

Furthermore, when the instruction input for selecting a target enters (mouse-over) an area associated with one of the opponent's cards placed in the battle area 401, that card is pre-selected as the target. At this time, the control unit 101 pre-selects the opponent's card over which the mouse is over as the pre-selected target, and provisionally sets the target information of that card as the target of the action. As a result, as shown in FIG. 7(b), a connecting element 713 is displayed on the game screen in a manner that connects the mouse-over card 712 and the target card 701 based on the provisionally set target information. In other words, while the mouse is over an area associated with one of the opponent's cards 712, the connecting element 713 is fixedly displayed in a manner that connects the target card 701 and the pre-selected target card (the card currently over the mouse) 712, regardless of the coordinates 702 where the instruction input is made. As shown in the figure, the pre-selected card 712 is also displayed with a display effect applied, similar to the target card 701.

Furthermore, if an operation input to confirm the selection is made while a preliminary selection has been made, the preliminary selected card 712 becomes the final selection as the target of the action. At this time, the control unit 101 updates the target information in the target information, assuming that the opponent's card 712, which was provisionally selected at that time, is the final selection as the target of the action. When a final selection is made, the details of the attack action are confirmed, and the target card 701 and the target card 712 are changed to appear as if they are floating on the field 400, as shown in FIG. 7(c), and are displayed in a manner that is further different from the other cards placed in the battle area 401. At this time, the display position of the connecting element 723 is adjusted to follow the floating target card 701 and target card 712.

Note that while the examples in Figures 6 and 7 illustrate a situation in which only a specific card is the target of an action or the target of an action, it goes without saying that other cards can be selected as the target of an action or the target of an action. In this case, it goes without saying that the connecting element will be formed in a manner in which its length and shape change depending on the positions of the target card and the target card.

Furthermore, to increase the interest of the battle game, attack actions may be configured to activate additional effects when certain conditions are met. The certain conditions may be, for example, activation conditions set for the skills of a character associated with the member card that is the target of the action, or the skills of a leader character.

An additional effect may essentially be an effect that transitions the target card into a state that provides an advantage in the progression of the battle game. For example, an additional effect may include an effect that reduces the opponent's leader character's life by two or more when an attack on that character is successful. It is preferable to notify each player of such an additional effect when it is activated or when the conditions for activation are met. Therefore, in such a situation, when the connecting element related to the content of the attack action is displayed, an effect connecting the target card and the target card is displayed along with the connecting element. This effect may determine the transition direction between cards to indicate which cards will be advantageous/disadvantageous as a result of the activation of the additional effect, such as a lightning bolt moving along the connecting element from the target card to the target card. Note that in this embodiment, the effect related to the additional effect is described as being displayed together with the connecting element, but the implementation of the present invention is not limited to this, and an effect may be displayed in place of the connecting element.

(combo)
However, in the above-described embodiment in which the success or failure of an attacking action is determined based on the power of the character associated with the target card and the power of the character associated with the target card, each player can predict the outcome of the attacking action without waiting for the resolution phase. In other words, if the outcome of an attacking action is determined solely by the power of the target card and the power of the target card, a player who places a card in the battle area 401 with a higher power value than any of the opponent's cards has an advantage, and it is difficult to overturn that player's advantage. For example, simply selecting a card with a power greater than the opponent's leader character and attacking that leader character eight times could result in a situation in which a player is guaranteed victory. In other words, in an embodiment in which the outcome of an attacking action is determined solely by the power of the two target cards, there are fewer uncertainties in the progression of the battle game, which may reduce the game's enjoyment.

For this reason, in the battle game of this embodiment, for an attack action specified in the operation phase, a "combo" function is provided, which allows the player whose turn is acting to add cards to the target card of the action, and the player whose turn is not acting to add cards to the target card of the action, to support the attack action or the defensive action against the attack action. The combo function is a function that, when a card (leader character 411 or member card 412) already placed in the battle area 401 acts, links other cards to support the card that is acting, and this linking can increase the power value of the card that is acting. Hereinafter, linking other cards to support will be simply referred to as "comboing."

More specifically, when it is the player's turn to act, the player can, during the operation phase, combo one card in the battle area 401 that has declared an attack action (the leader character 411a or member card 412a that is the target of the action) with an active member card 412a that is also placed in the battle area 401, or a member card in their hand 404a. Meanwhile, during the resolution phase, the opponent can, during the resolution phase, combo one card in the battle area 401 that has been designated by the player as the target of the action (the leader character 411b or member card 412b), with a member card 412b that is also placed in the battle area 401 and that was not inactive (active) during the opponent's most recent turn to act, or a member card in their hand 404b.

The number of member cards (hereinafter sometimes referred to as combo cards) to be combined with a card (hereinafter sometimes referred to as an action card) that performs an offensive or defensive action can be decided freely by each player, but it goes without saying that this is limited to the number of active member cards 412 placed in the battle area 401 and the number of member cards in the hand 404. If the deck reaches zero cards first, the player will lose the battle game, so each player must strategically choose whether or not to combine each offensive action.

Combos for action cards are accepted by moving the combo card to a designated area on the game screen (hereafter referred to as the combo area) (hereafter referred to as a combo operation). Unlike the Life Area and Energy Area, which play the same role throughout the game and require the card placement status to be constantly displayed, the Combo Area is an area that only needs to be displayed during the period in which an attack action is performed (the period from the declaration of the attack action to its resolution). Furthermore, because action cards are determined by the player's operations related to the attack action, if the Combo Area were set in a fixed location, there is a possibility that the player would not be able to intuitively perform combo operations, especially when the action card and combo area are far apart. In other words, there is a possibility that the player will not be able to intuitively recognize that they are performing combo operations on the action card.

Therefore, in the battle game of this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 8(a), a combo area 803 is displayed at the position of an action card 802 only while a combo card 801 is selected to perform a combo operation (while a selection operation input (e.g., a drag operation of the combo card 801) for that combo card 801 is continuing). The example in the figure shows the game screen display when a player whose turn it is to act is attempting to combo the combo card 801 in their hand 404a with the action card 802 selected as the action target. Because multiple cards can be placed on the battle area 401, displaying the combo area 803 at the position of the action card 802 in this way allows the player to grasp the position on the screen to which the combo card 801 should be moved. Furthermore, a curved connecting element 804 connecting the combo card 801 and the action card 802 is displayed to notify the player that the combo card 801 needs to be moved to the combo area 803 in order to combo with the action card 802.

The connecting element 804 is configured in the shape of an arrow pointing from the combo card 801 to the action card 802, and indicates to which position the combo card 801 must be moved to result in a combo. The connecting element 804 related to combo operations and the connecting element related to the content input of an attack action differ in that the former forms an arrow pointing from the coordinates where the command is input (coordinates on the combo card 801) to the combo area 803 (action card 802), while the latter forms an arrow pointing from the card to be acted upon to the coordinates where the command is input (or the card to be acted upon within whose area the command is input).

The connecting element 804, like the connecting element related to the input of attack action content, is displayed with its shape changing to follow the position of the combo card 801. At least while the combo card 801 is being moved, the action card 802 and combo area 803 are displayed without moving within the battle area 401, and therefore the connecting element 804 is displayed with one end fixed.

When the combo card 801 is moved to the combo area 803 and its selection is cancelled (a drag-and-drop operation is performed), the combo operation is completed and the combo card 801 is now combo'd with the action card 802. When the combo operation is complete, the display of the combo area 803 and connecting elements 804 disappears, and the combo card 801 in the combo state is arranged around the action card 802 in the arrangement mode associated with the inactive state (horizontal in the example shown), as shown in Figure 8(b).

At this time, the control unit 101 also generates/updates combo information indicating the details of the combo related to the action card 802. For example, for a combo card that has been combined with an action card, the combo information includes a card ID that uniquely identifies the action card, a card ID that uniquely identifies the combo card, and change information that indicates the change in attribute information that occurs in the action card as a result of combining the combo card. In other words, the action card and the combo card are grouped according to the combo information.

In the battle game of this embodiment, the power value of an action card increases as a result of a combo, and the change information stores information indicating the power increase due to the combo (e.g., +5000). The power increase due to the combo may be specified, for example, in the card information for the combo card and may also be indicated by the appearance of the member card displayed on the game screen. Furthermore, upon completion of a combo operation, the power value displayed for the action card is changed to reflect the change due to the combo. In the example shown, the power of action card 802, which was "15000" in Figure 8(a) before the combo, has increased to "20000" in Figure 8(b) after the combo operation is completed. The combo information configured in this manner is sent to the server 200 and also transmitted to the player terminal 100 used by the opponent.

As such, it is important for players to understand various attribute information about cards that may be involved in offensive (or defensive) actions during the course of a competitive game. Therefore, in the competitive game of this embodiment, a card details window that displays various attribute information about cards placed in the battle area 401 and cards in the hand, such as the associated character's power value and the power increase value due to combos, can be displayed at any time during the game. For example, the card details window may be displayed in response to an input such as right-clicking while the mouse is hovered over the card for which the player wishes to display attribute information on the game screen.

In addition, if a combo is confirmed, when an action related to an action card is performed, the game screen may be configured to display an effect indicating that the action has been strengthened by the combo. Also, as described above, in the fighting game of this embodiment, multiple combo cards can be combined with one action card, so the increase in power due to the combo tends to increase as the number of combo cards combined increases. In other words, the more combo cards combined, the higher the power value and the higher the success rate of the action. For this reason, when an action related to an action card is performed, the game screen may be configured to display an effect corresponding to the number of combo cards combined.

(Awakening)
In the battle game of this embodiment, in addition to the combo function, a card awakening function is provided as an interesting element that can make a difference in the success or failure of attack actions, so that the game tends to develop in a balanced manner. The card awakening function is a function that can be used only once for the leader card, provided that a predetermined condition is met during the progress of the battle game.

The specified condition under which the Awakening function becomes available can be, for example, when the leader character's life is halved. In other words, if the leader character is assigned 8 life at the start of the battle game, the player can use the leader character's Awakening function in the action turn when their life drops to 4 or less.

When the leader character's awakening function is used, the leader character transforms into an awakened character with a different appearance, and attribute information including power changes. Here, the awakened character with a different appearance may be the same character as the leader character but with a changed state, or it may be a different character from the leader character. The attribute information of the awakened character with a different appearance is basically set to a state that gives the awakened character an advantage in the progression of the battle game compared to the leader character, so that a player at a disadvantage can more easily turn the tide of battle. The change in appearance may be represented by replacing the three-dimensional model of the leader character with the three-dimensional model of the awakened character when drawing the game screen, or by adding a specified display effect to the three-dimensional model of the leader character.

Which awakened character the leader character will be can be confirmed in the card details window for the corresponding leader card. The card details window may initially display the card-form appearance and attribute information of the leader character associated with the front side of the leader card, and upon a specified operational input, the display may switch to the appearance of the back side of the leader card and display the attribute information of the awakened character associated with the back side.

(solved)
In the resolution phase, processing related to action resolution is performed for the attack action instructed by the player whose turn it is to act, including the details of combo operations on the card that is the target of the action by that player and the details of combo operations on the card that is the target of the action by the player whose turn it is not to act. In the game system of this embodiment, the action resolution processing is performed by the server control unit 201, and the resulting information is shared via a communication session with the player terminals 100 used by each player participating in the competitive game. However, the implementation of the present invention is not limited to this, and it goes without saying that the processing related to action resolution may be performed by, for example, the control unit 101 of the player terminal 100 used by the player whose turn it is to act or the control unit 101 of the player terminal 100 used by the player whose turn it is not to act.

As described above, whether or not an attack action instructed by a player on an action turn will succeed is determined based on the power value (after the combo) of the target card and the power value (after the combo) of the target card. More specifically, the server control unit 201 determines that the attack action will succeed if the power value of the target card is equal to or greater than the power value of the target card. The server control unit 201 also determines that the attack action will fail if the power value of the target card is less than the power value of the target card.

If the attack action is successful, a display related to the attack action will be displayed on the game screen. When the attack action begins, as shown in Figure 9(a), the connecting elements are first hidden, and the postures of the target card 901 and the target card 902 are changed so that their tops face each other. This posture change makes it clear which of the opponent's cards the target card 901 will attack, or which of the opponent's cards the target card 902 will receive an attack from.

Once the posture changes of the target card 901 and the target card 902 have been completed, the attack action begins. This action can consist of a series of movements, such as the target card 901 rising further out of the battle area 401 as shown in Figure 9(b), then moving to the position of the target card 902, colliding with it, and returning to its original position as shown in Figure 9(c).

After this effect is displayed, the handling of the target card differs depending on the type of card. If the target card is a leader card, the server control unit 201 subtracts 1 life from the leader character's life associated with the player whose turn is not in action. As the life is subtracted, one card is moved from the life area associated with the player whose turn is not in action to the player's hand on the game screen. It should be easy to understand that if the life is reduced to 0 as a result of the life subtraction, the display on the game screen will transition to a display indicating the end of the battle game. Furthermore, if the target card is a member card, the server control unit 201 performs processing to remove the card from the battle area 401. At this time, the game screen will display an effect in which the target card is broken and removed from the field 400.

Furthermore, after the attack action effect is displayed, the target card of the action is controlled to an inactive state and cannot be operated. In addition, cards that are in a combo state with the target card of the action or the target card of the action are removed from the field 400 after the effect is displayed, and are not displayed thereafter as the game progresses, i.e., they are controlled to a state where they do not participate in the progress of the game.

<Field Display>
Next, the display control of the field 400 on the game screen for the battle game of this embodiment that proceeds in this manner will be described.

As described above, the display of each leader character is constructed using a three-dimensional model. Therefore, the display of the field 400 is generated by arranging, in a specified three-dimensional space, a three-dimensional model of the field, which serves as the ground on which the leader character and member cards are placed, a three-dimensional model of the leader character, and, if necessary, a three-dimensional model of the member cards, and then rendering these from a viewpoint (camera) placed within the same space. Hereinafter, these three-dimensional models will be referred to as the field model, character model, and card model, respectively. That is, in the three-dimensional space, two character models and, if necessary, one or more card models are placed on the field model, and the movement of the character models and card models is controlled as the battle game progresses. As shown in FIG. 4 and other figures, various camera parameters are set for the camera to generate a bird's-eye view image of the field 400, primarily the battle area 401, from the player's side, and the camera captures the movement of the character models and card models on the field model within its field of view.

In TCGs, card manipulations performed in each action turn may need to be carried out strategically, taking into account attacking actions planned for the following action turn and possible attacking actions by the opponent. Specifically, a variety of development methods can be used depending on the strategy devised by each player, such as postponing the placement of member cards from one's hand in the battle area 401 in consideration of the power and skills of member cards placed in the battle area 401 related to the opponent, or placing multiple member cards in the battle area 401 in one action turn to deter the opponent from making an attacking action. Therefore, in TCGs, each action turn is structured to end when a player makes a declaration, and the length of one action turn can be changed at the player's discretion.

On the other hand, there are also constraints that limit a player's card manipulation during a single turn, such as cards in the battle area 401 that become inactive becoming uncontrollable until the next turn, or member cards from the player's hand not being able to be placed in the battle area 401 if there is insufficient remaining energy. If these constraints arise or overlap, the player may be unable to manipulate any cards during the turn and may only be able to declare the end of the turn. However, especially if the player is a beginner or otherwise unfamiliar with competitive games, it may take some time for the player to recognize that they are in this situation, which could result in a prolonged play time for the competitive game.

Therefore, in the fighting game of this embodiment, in phases requiring player input, control is exercised to generate a game screen in which the display mode of the field 400 varies depending on the progress of the fighting game, in order to guide the player to the required operations. The display mode of the field 400 is changed by changing the position and orientation of the camera that depicts the three-dimensional space in which various three-dimensional models are arranged. In phases requiring player input, the field 400 is displayed on the game screen primarily in two different display modes, as shown in Figures 10(a) and 10(b).

The game screen 1000 in FIG. 10(a) shows the display mode of the field 400 when there are actionable cards on the field 400 in a phase that requires player input. This display mode is drawn using first camera parameters that are set so that the display area of the field 400 on the game screen is larger than a predetermined area threshold (or the occupancy rate of the image of the field 400 on the game screen is larger than a predetermined value) so that the player can easily focus on their own cards on the field 400 (leader character 411a and member card 412a). The game screen 1000 is displayed, for example, when there are actionable cards on the field 400 (active leader character 411a or member card 412a) in the operation phase of the player's action turn.

In contrast, the game screen 1010 in FIG. 10(b) shows the display mode of the field 400 when there are no cards available for action on the field 400 during a phase requiring a player's operation input. This display mode is rendered using second camera parameters that position the camera farther from the field 400 than the first camera parameters, so as to draw the player's attention away from the cards related to the player on the field 400. As shown, the game screen 1010 is configured so that the display area of the field 400 is smaller than the area threshold (or the occupancy rate of the image of the field 400 on the game screen is smaller than a predetermined value). Therefore, with the second camera parameters, the display area of the field 400 is smaller than when rendered using the first camera parameters. The game screen 1010 is displayed, for example, during the operation phase of the player's action turn when there are no cards available for action on the field 400. The game screen 1010 is also displayed during the charge phase of the player's action turn. This type of game screen 1010 lets the player know that there is nothing they can do with the cards placed on the field 400 (they cannot manipulate the cards).

Furthermore, on the game screen 1010, the hand 404a is displayed in a more emphasized manner than on the game screen 1000, so that the player can more easily focus on the cards in the hand 404a rather than on the cards related to the player on the field 400. In the example of Figure 10(b), the emphasis on the hand 404a is achieved by making the display area of the hand 404a larger than on the game screen 1000.

In the examples of game screens 1000 and 1010 shown in Figures 10(a) and 10(b), for example, cards in the field 400 that cannot be operated are shown in an inactive state (in the example shown, the word "REST" is added to indicate that the card is in an inactive state), thereby indicating that operation input for the card is not possible. However, the implementation of the present invention is not limited to this. For example, to inform the player of cards that can be operated, game screens 1000 and 1010 may display cards in the field 400 or hand 404a that can be operated in an emphasized manner. This emphasis can be achieved, for example, by using an effect such as illuminating the outer periphery of cards that can be operated.

In the above explanation, it has been described that during a player's action turn, the game screen 1000 and the game screen 1010 are switched depending on whether or not there are actionable cards on the field 400. However, the phases requiring player input are not limited to the player's action turn. That is, during the opponent's action turn, player input related to a defensive action is possible in the resolution phase when an offensive action is designated by the opponent. At this time, at least the player's cards selected as the target of an action are forcibly made actionable (designated as a combo destination) regardless of whether they were inactive in the most recent player's action turn. Therefore, during the resolution phase of the opponent's action turn, it is assumed that there are actionable cards on the field 400, and the field 400 is drawn using the first camera parameters. In other words, during the resolution phase of the opponent's action turn, the field 400 is always displayed in the display format of the game screen 1000.

On the other hand, in phases in which player input is not required, the field 400 is displayed on the game screen in a display format as shown in FIG. 10(c). Because the game screen 1020 displayed in this phase is displayed in a state in which player input is not accepted, there is no need to display the field 400 with a display area equal to or greater than the area threshold, as in game screen 1000, or to highlight the hand 404a, as in game screen 1010. In other words, game screens 1000 and 1010 are game screens configured to facilitate input of the player's cards placed on the field 400 or the cards in the hand 404a, respectively. However, in phases in which player input is not required, there is no need to display the field 400 in a display format suitable for input. For this reason, the display format of the field 400 on game screen 1020 is rendered using third camera parameters intended to optimally display the battle scenes unfolding on the field 400.

The third camera parameters are camera parameters set so that the entirety of all three-dimensional models in three-dimensional space (field models, character models, and card models) is included in the angle of view. As described above, in the battle game of this embodiment, battle effects are displayed in the resolution phase, in which the target card of an action and the target card of an action are moved. The third camera parameters are adaptively changed to show this to the player in a more realistic display format. In other words, because the spatial positions of character models and card models and the form (appearance) of character models can change as the battle game progresses, the third camera parameters may be adjusted each time to take into account their relative positions so that they are captured within the angle of view. For example, in a mode in which a leader character becomes gigantic due to awakening, the third camera parameters may be adjusted to different values before and after awakening so that the entire body of the character model is included in the angle of view.

Therefore, during a player's action turn, the camera depicting the field 400 transitions as follows: the third camera parameters during the initialization phase, the second camera parameters during the charge phase, the first camera parameters (if an active card is present on the field 400) or the second camera parameters (if no active card is present on the field 400), and the third camera parameters during the resolution phase. During an opponent's action turn, the camera depicting the field 400 transitions as follows: the third camera parameters during the initialization phase, the third camera parameters during the charge phase, the third camera parameters during the operation phase, and the first camera parameters during the resolution phase. Note that even during the resolution phase of the opponent's action turn, if there are no selectable member cards in the hand 404a for performing a combo operation (if the player has 0 cards in their hand and the phase is essentially one in which operation input is not possible), the third camera parameters may be selected.

Comparing these three display modes for the field 400 also reveals the following relationship: The display area of the field 400 on the game screen is largest when the first camera parameters are used (game screen 1000). In other words, the first camera parameters do not change the angle of view depending on the state of various three-dimensional models like the third camera parameters, and therefore can maintain a fixed maximum display area for the field 400, thereby providing a display mode that makes it easiest to input controls for cards placed on the field 400. Furthermore, in phases that require player input, only a portion of the field 400 is displayed (game screen 1000, game screen 1010), while in phases that do not require player input, the entire field 400 is displayed (game screen 1020).

In the example shown in Figure 10, the appearance of the field 400 does not change, but to increase the interest of the battle game, the appearance of the field 400 may be configured to change as the battle game progresses. Changes in the appearance of the field 400 may include, for example, the addition of representations of damage or collapse of the ground in response to a decrease in life, the occurrence of an attack action involving a combo, or the awakening of a leader character.

"Match Game Processing"
A specific example of a competitive game process executed to provide a competitive game experience in the player terminal 100 of this embodiment having such a configuration will be described using the flowchart of FIG. 11 . The process corresponding to this flowchart can be realized by the control unit 101 reading out a corresponding processing program stored in, for example, the storage device 102, expanding it into the memory 103, and executing it. Note that this competitive game process will be described as being initiated, for example, when the server 200 completes matching of opponents. In addition, in this competitive game process, some of the display control processes related to the competitive game, such as applying motion to character models and displaying effects, are similar to display control processes related to conventional games, and therefore may not be described here. However, this does not mean that such processes are not executed when implementing the present invention. Although description may be omitted to facilitate understanding of the invention, information necessary for display and control at each player terminal 100 is basically calculated by the server 200 and provided to each player terminal 100 as needed, so that the progress of the competitive game is synchronized between the player terminal 100 used by the player and the player terminal 100 used by the opponent.

At S1101, the control unit 101 executes start-up processing related to the start of the competitive game. This start-up processing includes processing such as displaying each player's profile and an introduction to the leader card, shuffling the deck, selecting an initial hand, and determining who will play first or second in a turn-based game. These processes may be performed based on information obtained from the server 200.

At S1102, the control unit 101 determines whether the current action turn is the player's action turn. If the control unit 101 determines that it is the player's action turn, it proceeds to S1103; if it determines that it is the opponent's action turn, it proceeds to S1110.

At S1103, the control unit 101 executes the initialization phase processing for the player's action turn. The initialization phase processing includes activating the member card 412a placed on the field 400 and the member card placed in the life area 403a associated with the player, and drawing one member card from the deck 405a and adding it to the hand 404a. The control unit 101 also sets third camera parameters for drawing the field 400.

At S1104, the control unit 101 executes processing for the charge phase related to the player's action turn. During the charge phase, one member card selected from the hand 404a is placed in the energy area 402a. The control unit 101 also sets second camera parameters for drawing the field 400.

At S1105, the control unit 101 executes operation phase processing for the operation phase of the player's action turn.

<Operation Phase Processing>
Here, the operation phase process executed in this step will be described in detail with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

In S1201, the control unit 101 determines whether or not there are any actionable cards (active cards) among the cards placed on the field 400 associated with the player. If the control unit 101 determines that there are actionable cards on the field 400, it proceeds to S1202, where it sets first camera parameters for drawing the field 400. If the control unit 101 determines that there are no actionable cards on the field 400, it proceeds to S1203, where it sets second camera parameters for drawing the field 400.

At S1204, the control unit 101 determines whether or not an operational input has been made to select a card (action card) that is the target of the attack action to be executed. If the control unit 101 determines that an operational input has been made to select an action card, it proceeds to S1205; if it determines that an operational input has not been made, it proceeds to S1216.

At S1205, the control unit 101 generates initial behavior information and updates the behavior target information of the behavior information based on the operation input received at S1204.

In S1206, the control unit 101 determines whether an operation input has been made to select a combo card to be used to combo the action card. If the control unit 101 determines that an operation input has been made to select a combo card, it proceeds to S1207; if it determines that an operation input has not been made, it proceeds to S1210.

At S1207, the control unit 101 controls the operation of the GPU 104 to display a combo area at the position of the action card, and further to display a connecting element connecting the selected combo card and the action card.

In S1208, the control unit 101 determines whether the combo operation has been completed. The combo operation is completed, for example, when a drag-and-drop operation is performed to place a combo card in the combo area. If the control unit 101 determines that the combo operation has been completed, it proceeds to S1209; if it determines that the operation has not been completed, it repeats the processing of this step. Note that if the combo card is deselected or placed outside the combo area, the control unit 101 does not determine that the combo operation has been completed, and instead performs control to hide the combo area and connected elements, and proceeds to S1210.

At S1209, the control unit 101 generates combo information based on the completed combo operation.

In S1210, the control unit 101 determines whether an operation input has been made to proceed to the selection of a target card. As described above, in the fighting game of this embodiment, the player is free to choose whether or not to combo a combo card with an action card, and how many combo cards to combo. Therefore, in this step, the control unit 101 determines whether or not to end the acceptance of combo operations based on the operation input from the player to proceed to the selection of a target card. If the control unit 101 determines that an operation input has been made to proceed to the selection of a target card, it proceeds to S1211; if it determines that an operation input has not been made, it returns to S1206.

In S1211, the control unit 101 determines whether an operation input related to the preliminary selection of a card to be acted on has been made. If the control unit 101 determines that an operation input related to the preliminary selection of a card to be acted on has been made, the control unit 101 proceeds to S1212; if it determines that an operation input related to the preliminary selection of a card to be acted on has not been made, the control unit 101 repeats the processing of this step.

At S1212, the control unit 101 updates the action information for the target of the action to a pre-selected state. The control unit 101 also controls the operation of the GPU 104 to display a connecting element connecting the action card and the pre-selected target of the action.

In S1213, the control unit 101 determines whether or not an operation input related to the final selection of the card to be acted on has been made. If the control unit 101 determines that an operation input related to the final selection of the card to be acted on has been made, the control unit 101 proceeds to S1214; if it determines that an operation input related to the final selection of the card to be acted on has not been made, the control unit 101 returns to S1211.

At S1214, the control unit 101 updates the action information for the target of the action to indicate the final selection state. The control unit 101 also controls the operation of the GPU 104 to display the action card and the card for the final selected target of the action in a floating manner.

At S1215, the control unit 101 transmits information related to the attacking action to the server 200 via the communication I/F 106, completing this operation phase processing. The information related to the attacking action includes not only action information, but also combo information if a combo operation has been performed.

On the other hand, if it is determined in S1204 that no operational input has been made regarding the selection of an action card, the control unit 101 determines in S1216 whether or not an operational input has been made regarding the placement of a member card in the hand 404a. If the control unit 101 determines that an operational input has been made regarding the placement of a member card, it proceeds to S1217; if it determines that no operational input has been made, it proceeds to S1218.

At S1217, the control unit 101 executes a process to place the specified member card from the hand 404a in the corresponding area based on the operation input received at S1216.

At S1218, the control unit 101 determines whether an operation input has been made to declare the end of the player's action turn. If the control unit 101 determines that an operation input has been made to declare the end of the action turn, it completes this operation phase processing and moves to S1109 of the fighting game processing; if it determines that an operation input has not been made, it returns the processing to S1201.

Once the operation phase processing is completed in this manner, the control unit 101 moves the competitive game processing to S1106.

At S1106, the control unit 101 executes processing for the resolution phase of the player's action turn. In processing the resolution phase, the server control unit 201 executes processing related to action resolution based on the action information transmitted in the operation phase processing and the information on the operation input by the opponent. When the server control unit 201 obtains the result of resolving the attack action, it transmits result information related to the result to the player terminals 100 used by the player and opponent connected to the communication session. Therefore, processing in the resolution phase includes receiving result information and generating and displaying a corresponding game screen based on the received result information.

In S1107, the control unit 101 determines whether the conditions for ending the competitive game have been met as a result of the processing of the resolution phase in S1106. That is, the control unit 101 determines whether the outcome of the competitive game has been determined. If the control unit 101 determines that the conditions for ending the competitive game have been met, it displays the match result and completes the competitive game processing; if it determines that the conditions have not been met, it proceeds to S1108.

At S1108, the control unit 101 determines whether an operation input has been made to declare the end of the player's action turn. If the control unit 101 determines that an operation input has been made to declare the end of the action turn, it proceeds to S1109; if it determines that an operation input has not been made, it returns to S1105.

At S1109, the control unit 101 ends the current action turn, moves on to the next player's action turn, and returns processing to S1102.

On the other hand, if it is determined in S1102 that the current action turn is the opponent's action turn, the control unit 101 executes processing of the initialization phase related to the opponent's action turn in S1110. The control unit 101 also sets third camera parameters for drawing the field 400.

At S1111, the control unit 101 executes processing for the charge phase related to the opponent's action turn.

At S1112, the control unit 101 executes processing of the operation phase related to the opponent's action turn. Here, the processing of the operation phase includes displaying a game screen corresponding to the opponent's operation input based on information input during the operation phase processing performed on the opponent's player terminal 100 and transmitted to the player's player terminal 100 via the server 200.

At S1113, the control unit 101 determines whether or not an instruction to perform an attack action has been issued during processing of the operation phase of the opponent's action turn. If the control unit 101 determines that an instruction to perform an attack action has been issued, it proceeds to S1114; if it determines that an instruction to perform an attack action has not been issued, it proceeds to S1117.

At S1114, the control unit 101 executes defensive action processing to accept operational input related to defensive actions during the resolution phase of the opponent's action turn.

<Defensive Action Processing>
Here, the defensive action processing executed in this step will be described in detail with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

In S1301, the control unit 101 sets the first camera parameters for drawing the field 400.

At S1302, the control unit 101 determines whether or not an operational input has been made to select a combo card to be used in a combo with the target card for the attack action to be executed. If the control unit 101 determines that an operational input has been made to select a combo card, it proceeds to S1303; if it determines that an operational input has not been made, it proceeds to S1306.

At S1303, the control unit 101 controls the operation of the GPU 104 to display a combo area at the position of the target card and to display a connecting element connecting that card with the selected combo card.

In S1304, the control unit 101 determines whether the combo operation has been completed. If the control unit 101 determines that the combo operation has been completed, it proceeds to S1305; if it determines that the combo operation has not been completed, it repeats the processing of this step. Note that if a combo card is deselected or placed outside the combo area, the control unit 101 does not determine that the combo operation has been completed, and performs control to hide the combo area and connected elements before proceeding to S1306.

At S1305, the control unit 101 generates combo information based on the completed combo operation.

In S1306, the control unit 101 determines whether an operation input related to the end of defensive action has been made. If the control unit 101 determines that an operation input related to the end of defensive action has been made, the process proceeds to S1307; if it determines that an operation input related to the end of defensive action has not been made, the process returns to S1302.

At S1307, the control unit 101 transmits information related to the defensive action to the server 200 via the communication I/F 106, and completes this defensive action processing. The information related to the defensive action includes combo information if a combo operation has been performed, and includes information indicating that a combo operation has not been performed if a combo operation has not been performed.

Once the defensive action processing is completed in this manner, the control unit 101 moves the competitive game processing to S1115.

At S1115, the control unit 101 executes processing for the resolution phase of the opponent's action turn. In processing the resolution phase, the server control unit 201 executes processing related to action resolution based on the action information transmitted by the operation phase processing executed on the player terminal 100 used by the opponent and the information related to the defensive action transmitted by the defensive action processing. When the server control unit 201 obtains the result of resolving the offensive action, it transmits result information related to the result to the player connected to the communication session and to the player terminal 100 used by the opponent. Based on the result information received from the server 200, the control unit 101 generates and displays a corresponding game screen.

At S1116, the control unit 101 determines whether the conditions for ending the competitive game have been met as a result of the processing of the resolution phase at S1115. If the control unit 101 determines that the conditions for ending the competitive game have been met, it displays the match result and completes the competitive game processing; if it determines that the conditions have not been met, it proceeds to S1117.

At S1117, the control unit 101 determines whether the opponent has declared the end of their action turn. If the control unit 101 determines that the opponent has declared the end of their action turn, it proceeds to S1109; if it determines that the opponent has not declared the end of their action turn, it returns to S1113.

As explained above, the communication terminal of this embodiment makes it easier for players to intuitively understand operations during a competitive game, supports optimal game progression, and provides a highly entertaining playing experience.

[Modification 1]
In the above-described embodiment, a member card is removed from the field 400 when an attack action targeting the member card is successful. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a durability parameter (attribute information) may be set for the member card, and when an attack action targeting the member card is successful, the durability value may be reduced by a certain amount or an amount corresponding to the power difference. In this embodiment, the member card may be removed from the field 400 when the durability value falls below a predetermined value, such as 0. Therefore, the game screen may also display durability value information for each member card placed on the field 400, and display control for changing the durability value may be performed after displaying an effect involving the movement of the target card in the attack action.

[Modification 2]
In the above-described embodiment, the operational input for specifying an attacking action is performed in two stages: an operational input for selecting the target of the action and an operational input for selecting the target of the action. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The operational input for specifying an attacking action may be accepted, for example, by dragging and dropping the target card onto the target card, similar to a combo operation. Furthermore, the operational input for specifying an attacking action may be configured to be accepted in two ways: an input method that involves moving the target card, and an input method that does not involve movement.

[Modification 3]
In the above embodiment, the combo card 801 in a combo state as shown in FIG. 8B is simply placed in an inactive state near the action card 802, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, after being placed near the action card 802, the display of the combo card 801 may be terminated, and instead the action card 802 may be displayed in a manner that adds an emphasis effect. Such emphasis effects may include, for example, display effects such as scattering light particles or rubble, or burning, as well as display effects such as simple changes in brightness or color.

[Modification 4]
In the above-described embodiment, a combo card designated as a combo by an action card is described as being placed horizontally near the action card, in an inactive state where it does not accept operational input. However, the present invention is not limited to this. A combo card designated as a combo may be configured to be able to cancel its combo designation, for example, before the corresponding attack action is executed, i.e., before the target card is designated and the operation phase is completed. The combo designation may be canceled, for example, when the combo card is moved a predetermined distance or more away from the action card by a drag operation. In this case, the card whose combo designation has been canceled may be changed to a vertical orientation (the standard orientation) and returned to its position before the combo designation was specified.

[Modification 5]
In the above embodiment, it has been described that it is possible to combine a combo card with an action card without consuming energy, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, to require more strategy, a combo operation may also be accepted on the condition that energy associated with the combo card is consumed.

[Modification 6]
In the above-described embodiment, the connecting elements related to the attacking action and the connecting elements related to the combo operation are described as being curved, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, at least one of these elements may be formed in a straight line.

[Summary of the embodiment]
The above embodiment discloses at least the following program and game device.

(1) A computer that executes an electronic game in which game elements are placed on a field to progress between a player and an opponent,
a display control process for controlling the display of a game screen including the field on a display device;
a first selection process for selecting a first game element to be acted on from among game elements associated with the player placed on the field;
a second selection process for selecting a second game element to be acted on from among the game elements associated with the opponent placed on the field;
a grouping process for grouping the first game element and the second game element in the electronic game;
A program for executing
A program in which, on the condition that the first game element and the second game element are grouped, a connecting element connecting the first game element and the second game element is displayed in the display control process.

(2) The program described in (1), in which the connecting elements are formed in a straight or curved shape.

(3) The program described in (1) or (2), in which the second selection process is executed after the first game element is selected in the first selection process.

(4) The second selection process includes a preliminary selection process of preliminarily selecting the second game element, and a final selection process of finally selecting the second game element based on a confirmation operation input after the preliminary selection of the second game element in the preliminary selection process,
The program according to (3), wherein the grouping process groups the second game element and the first game element that have been preliminarily selected or finally selected in the preliminary selection process and the final selection process, respectively.

(5) The program described in any one of (1) to (4), wherein the connecting element is formed with a length that changes depending on the positional relationship between the first game element and the second game element on the field.

(6) A program described in any one of (1) to (5), wherein, in the display control process, the orientation of the first game element and the second game element is changed and displayed depending on the relative positions of the first game element and the second game element on the field.

(7) The program described in (6), wherein, in the display control process, the orientation of the grouped first game element and the grouped second game element is changed so that they face each other.

(8) A program described in any one of (1) to (7), in which, in the display control process, game elements placed on the field are displayed in different ways depending on whether they are grouped or not.

(9) The program described in (8), in which, during the display control process, the grouped game elements are displayed as if they are floating above the field.

(10) The program further causes the computer to execute a determination process for determining whether to activate an additional effect for the first game element,
A program described in any one of (1) to (9), wherein, when it is decided to activate the additional effect, in the display control processing, a presentation connecting the first game element and the second game element is displayed together with or instead of the connecting element.

(11) The program described in (10), wherein the additional effect is an effect of transitioning the first game element to a state that is advantageous for the progress of the electronic game.

(12) Each of the game elements is associated with attribute information;
the program further causes the computer to execute a resolution process for resolving an action of the first game element for the grouped first game element and the grouped second game element;
The program according to any one of (1) to (11), wherein the attribute information of either the first game element or the second game element is changed in the solution process.

(13) In the display control process, a presentation relating to an action of the first game element is displayed.
The program described in (12), wherein, after the display of the effect relating to the action of the first game element, the attribute information of either the first game element or the second game element is changed in the resolution process.

(14) The program described in (12) or (13), in which, in the display control process, the connected element is hidden after the display of the effect related to the action of the first game element begins.

(15) In the electronic game, the game elements associated with the player and the opponent include a first type of game element and a second type of game element;
In the display control process, the acted game element is changed from a first state to a second state and displayed;
The program described in any one of (1) to (14), wherein the selection of the second type of game element in the second selection process is executed on the condition that the state of the second type of game element is the second state.

(16) The program described in (15), wherein the display control process displays a notification that the second type of game element in the second state cannot be selected as the second game element.

(17) The program described in any one of (1) to (16), wherein the selection of the first game element in the first selection process and the selection of the second game element in the second selection process can be accepted using two input methods: a first input method involving movement of the first game element on the field, and a second input method not involving movement of the first game element.

(18) The electronic game is a turn-based game in which a first turn in which an action related to the player is executed and a second turn in which an action related to the opponent is executed alternately;
A program described in any one of (1) to (17), wherein the first selection process, the second selection process, and the grouping process are executed on the condition that the progress of the electronic game is the first turn.

(19) A game device that executes an electronic game that progresses between a player and an opponent by placing game elements on a field, comprising:
a display control means for controlling the display of a game screen including the field on a display device;
a first selection means for selecting a first game element to be acted on from among game elements associated with the player placed on the field;
second selection means for selecting a second game element to be acted upon from among game elements associated with the opponent placed on the field;
grouping means for grouping the first game element and the second game element in the electronic game;
Equipped with
The display control means is a game device that displays a connecting element that connects the first game element and the second game element, on the condition that the first game element and the second game element are grouped.

[Other embodiments]
The invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications and variations are possible within the scope of the gist of the invention.

100: Player terminal, 101: Control unit, 102: Storage device, 103: Memory, 104: GPU, 105: Operation interface, 106: Communication interface, 110: Display, 120: Speaker, 200: Server, 201: Server control unit, 202: Server storage device, 203: Server memory, 204: Server communication interface, 300: Network

Claims (19)

a computer that executes an electronic game that progresses between a player and an opponent while activating normal effects associated with game elements placed on a field;
a display control process for controlling the display of a game screen including the field on a display device;
a first selection process for selecting a first game element to be acted on from among game elements associated with the player placed on the field;
a second selection process for selecting a second game element to be acted on from among the game elements associated with the opponent placed on the field;
a grouping process for grouping the first game element and the second game element in the electronic game;
a determination process for determining whether or not to activate an additional effect associated with the first game element, the additional effect being different from the normal effect associated with the first game element, in addition to the normal effect associated with the first game element;
A program for executing
on condition that the first game element and the second game element are grouped, a connecting element connecting the first game element and the second game element is displayed in the display control process;
A program in which, when it is decided to activate the additional effect, the display control process displays the connecting element accompanied by an effect of moving between the first game element and the second game element along the connecting element. The program described in claim 1, wherein the connecting elements are formed in a straight or curved shape. The program described in claim 1, wherein the second selection process is executed after the first game element is selected in the first selection process. the second selection process includes a preliminary selection process of preliminarily selecting the second game element, and a final selection process of finally selecting the second game element based on a confirmation operation input after the preliminary selection of the second game element in the preliminary selection process,
The program according to claim 3 , wherein the grouping process groups the second game element and the first game element that have been preliminarily selected or finally selected in the preliminary selection process and the final selection process, respectively. The program described in claim 1, wherein the connecting element is formed with a length that changes depending on the relative positions of the first game element and the second game element on the field. The program according to claim 1, wherein in the display control process, the orientation of the grouped first game element and the grouped second game element is changed and displayed depending on the positional relationship between the first game element and the grouped second game element on the field . The program described in claim 6, wherein, in the display control process, the orientation of the grouped first game element and the grouped second game element is changed so that they face each other. A program described in any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein, in the display control process, game elements placed on the field are displayed in different manners depending on whether they are grouped or not. The program described in claim 8, wherein the display control process displays the grouped game elements as if they are floating above the field. 2. The program according to claim 1 , wherein the additional effect is an effect of transitioning the first game element to a state that is advantageous for the progress of the electronic game. Each of the game elements is associated with attribute information,
the program further causes the computer to execute a resolution process for resolving an action of the first game element for the grouped first game element and the grouped second game element;
2. The program according to claim 1, wherein the attribute information of either the first game element or the second game element is changed in the solving process. In the display control process, a presentation relating to the action of the first game element is displayed,
The program according to claim 11 , wherein the attribute information of either the first game element or the second game element is changed in the solution process after the display of the effect relating to the action of the first game element. The program according to claim 11 , wherein the display control process starts displaying an effect related to the action of the first game element, and then the connected element is hidden. A computer that executes an electronic game that progresses between a player and an opponent by placing game elements on a field,
a display control process for controlling the display of a game screen including the field on a display device;
a first selection process for selecting a first game element to be acted on from among game elements associated with the player placed on the field;
a second selection process for selecting a second game element to be acted on from among the game elements associated with the opponent placed on the field;
a grouping process for grouping the first game element and the second game element in the electronic game;
A program for executing
on condition that the first game element and the second game element are grouped, a connecting element connecting the first game element and the second game element is displayed in the display control process;
the electronic game is a turn-based competitive game in which a first turn in which an action related to the player is executed and a second turn in which an action related to the opponent is executed alternately;
in the electronic game, the game elements associated with each of the player and the opponent include a first type of game element associated with a parameter involved in an end condition of the competitive game , and a second type of game element not associated with a parameter involved in an end condition of the competitive game ;
In the display control process, the acted game element is changed from a first state to a second state and displayed;
the second state of the game element associated with the player and acting on the player is maintained until the next first turn of the player is reached, and the second state of the game element associated with the opponent and acting on the opponent is maintained until the next first turn of the opponent is reached;
A program that selects the second type of game element in the second selection process on the condition that the state of the second type of game element is the second state. The program according to claim 14 , wherein the display control process displays a notification that the game element of the second type in the second state cannot be selected as the second game element. The program described in claim 1, wherein the selection of the first game element in the first selection process and the selection of the second game element in the second selection process can be accepted using two input methods: a first input method that involves moving the first game element on the field, and a second input method that does not involve moving the first game element. the electronic game is a turn-based game in which a first turn in which an action related to the player is executed and a second turn in which an action related to the opponent is executed alternately;
The program according to claim 1 , wherein the first selection process, the second selection process, and the grouping process are executed on the condition that the progress of the electronic game is the first turn. A game device that executes an electronic game that progresses between a player and an opponent while activating normal effects associated with game elements by placing game elements on a field, the game device comprising:
a display control means for controlling the display of a game screen including the field on a display device;
a first selection means for selecting a first game element to be acted on from among game elements associated with the player placed on the field;
second selection means for selecting a second game element to be acted upon from among game elements associated with the opponent placed on the field;
grouping means for grouping the first game element and the second game element in the electronic game;
a determination means for determining whether or not to activate an additional effect associated with the first game element, the additional effect being different from the normal effect associated with the first game element, in addition to the normal effect associated with the first game element;
Equipped with
the display control means displays a connecting element connecting the first game element and the second game element on condition that the first game element and the second game element are grouped;
When it is decided to activate the additional effect, the display control means displays the connecting element along with an effect of moving between the first game element and the second game element along the connecting element . A gaming device that executes an electronic game that progresses between a player and an opponent by placing game elements on a field,
a display control means for controlling the display of a game screen including the field on a display device;
a first selection means for selecting a first game element to be acted on from among game elements associated with the player placed on the field;
second selection means for selecting a second game element to be acted upon from among game elements associated with the opponent placed on the field;
grouping means for grouping the first game element and the second game element in the electronic game;
Equipped with
the display control means displays a connecting element connecting the first game element and the second game element on condition that the first game element and the second game element are grouped;
the electronic game is a turn-based competitive game in which a first turn in which an action related to the player is executed and a second turn in which an action related to the opponent is executed alternately;
in the electronic game, the game elements associated with each of the player and the opponent include a first type of game element associated with a parameter involved in an end condition of the competitive game, and a second type of game element not associated with a parameter involved in an end condition of the competitive game;
the display control means changes the acted game element from a first state to a second state and displays the changed state;
the second state of the game element associated with the player and acting on the player is maintained until the next first turn of the player is reached, and the second state of the game element associated with the opponent and acting on the opponent is maintained until the next first turn of the opponent is reached,
The selection of the second type of game element by the second selection means is executed on the condition that the state of the second type of game element is the second state.