Video game processing program, video game processing system and video game processing method

• US 10,265,623 B2
• Filed: 02/07/2018
• Issued: 04/23/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 09/18/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Square Enix Holdings Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Square Enix
• Inventors: Odagiri, Kei, Ohno, Hiroaki
• Primary Examiner(s): D'Agostino, Paul A
• Application Number:
  US15/890,784
• Publication Number:
  US 20180161677A1
• Time in Patent Office: 440 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/35 Details of game servers
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/5255 according to dedicated instructions from a player, e.g. using a secondary joystick to rotate the camera around a player's character
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/537 using indicators, e.g. showing the condition of a game character on screen
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/56 Computing the motion of game characters with respect to other game characters, game objects or elements of the game scene, e.g. for simulating the behaviour of a group of virtual soldiers or for path finding
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/63 by the player, e.g. authoring using a level editor

Abstract

A video game processing program product causes a user terminal to realize functions to control progress of a video game in response to an operation of a user. The functions include: an updating function configured to update a position of a character on a virtual space on the basis of a moving operation by a user; a first displaying function configured to display a normal screen corresponding to the user on the basis of an update result; a second displaying function configured to display a photographing screen, on which an object other than a user character carries out a photographing action when the photographing operation is carried out, on the basis of a photographing operation; and a storing function configured to store at least a part of the photographing screen in a predetermined storage region on the basis of a storing operation.

Claims

1. A non-transitory computer-readable medium including a video game processing program product for causing each of a plurality of user terminals to realize functions to control progress of a video game in response to an operation of a corresponding user of a plurality of users, the plurality of users respectively operating a plurality of user characters by using the plurality of user terminals,

wherein the functions include:

an updating function configured to update a position of a character on a virtual space based on a moving operation by each of the plurality of users, each of the plurality of users being capable of operating a corresponding character via a corresponding user terminal;

a first displaying function configured to display a normal game screen corresponding to each of the plurality of users based on an update result by the updating function;

a second displaying function configured to display a photographing game screen based on a photographing operation, a photographing subject carrying out a photographing action on the photographing game screen when the photographing operation is carried out, the photographing subject being different from a character operated by each of the plurality of users that carries out the photographing operation and satisfying a predetermined condition; and

a storing function configured to store at least a part of the photographing game screen in a predetermined storage region based on a storing operation.

2. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to claim 1,

wherein the second displaying function is configured to display the photographing game screen in which an eye of the photographing subject faces toward a position of a virtual camera.

3. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to claim 1,

wherein the functions further include:

an executing function configured to cause the corresponding user character to carry out a series of actions, the series of actions being defined in advance, and

wherein the second displaying function is configured to display the photographing game screen in which the series of actions is carried out as at least a part of the photographing action.

4. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to claim 3,

wherein the second displaying function is configured to display the photographing game screen in which each of the plurality of user characters starts the series of actions at a predetermined timing as the photographing action in a case where the plurality of user characters is the photographing subject.

7. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to claim 1,

wherein the photographing subject includes a character that acts in accordance with a character of any of the users other than the user that carries out the photographing operation or a predetermined rule.

8. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to claim 1,

wherein the photographing action is an action that is carried out at a first position at which the photographing subject is positioned when the photographing operation is carried out or a second position determined based on the first position.

9. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to claim 1,

wherein the updating function is configured to update a position of each of the user characters in a case where the photographing operation is carried out, and

wherein the first displaying function is configured to cause the user terminal operated by the user, that carries out the photographing operation, to display the normal screen in a case where the user satisfies a terminating condition.

10. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to claim 1,

wherein the functions further include:

a setting function configured to set a form of the photographing subject or a content of the photographing action based on an operation by the user that carries out the photographing operation.

11. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to claim 1,

wherein the second displaying function is configured to cause the user terminal of the user that carries out the photographing operation to display the photographing game screen in which a character or characters positioned within a range set for a virtual camera and corresponding to the user is or are included as the photographing subject.

12. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to claim 1,

wherein the second displaying function is configured to cause the user terminal of the user that carries out the photographing operation to display the photographing screen in which user characters of other users associated with the user are included as the photographing subject.

13. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to claim 1,

wherein the functions further include:

a standard determining function configured to determine an object from the user characters and the photographing subject as a standard; and

a specifying function configured to specify a drawing range of the virtual space based on a position of the object determined as the standard, and

wherein the second displaying function is configured to display the game screen that is generated based on the specified drawing range.

14. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to claim 11,

wherein the functions further include:

a first controlling function configured to control, when the normal game screen is displayed, the virtual camera so that each of the user characters respectively operated by the plurality of users is positioned at a predetermined position in the normal game screen; and

a second controlling function configured to control, when the photographing game screen is displayed, the virtual camera so that each of the user characters respectively operated by the plurality of users is positioned at a position different from the predetermined position.

15. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to claim 1,

wherein the functions further include:

a filter setting function configured to set a filter regarding the photographing game screen, and

wherein the storing function is configured to store at least a part of the photographing game screen, to which the filter is set by the setting function, in the predetermined storage region.

5. A video game processing system configured to control progress of a video game in response to an operation of a user, the video game processing system comprising:

a communication network;

a server; and

a plurality of user terminals respectively operated by a plurality of users,

wherein the server updates a position of a character on a virtual space based on a moving operation by each of the plurality of users, each of the plurality of users being capable of operating a corresponding character via a corresponding user terminal, the moving operation being received by the server via the communication network,

the server causes each of the user terminals to display a normal game screen corresponding to each of the plurality of users based on an update result by the server,

the server causes each of the user terminals to display a photographing game screen based on a photographing operation, a photographing subject carrying out a photographing action on the photographing game screen when the photographing operation is carried out, the photographing subject being different from a character operated by each of the plurality of users that carries out the photographing operation and satisfying a predetermined condition, and

the server stores at least a part of the photographing game screen in a predetermined storage region based on a storing operation received by the server via the communication network.

6. A video game processing method of controlling progress of a video game in response to an operation of a user, the video game processing method comprising:

updating, by a server, a position of a character on a virtual space based on a moving operation by each of a plurality of users, each of the plurality of users being capable of operating a corresponding character via a corresponding user terminal;

causing, by the server, each of user terminals operated by the plurality of the users to display a normal game screen corresponding to each of the plurality of users based on an update result by the updating;

causing, by the server, each of the user terminals to display a photographing game screen based on a photographing operation, a photographing subject carrying out a photographing action on the photographing game screen when the photographing operation is carried out, the photographing subject being different from a character operated by each of the plurality of users that carries out the photographing operation and satisfying a predetermined condition; and

storing, by the server, at least a part of the photographing game screen in a predetermined storage region based on a storing operation.