Server, game data downloading method, and information storage medium

• US 20070232400A1
• Filed: 03/27/2007
• Published: 10/04/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 03/30/2006
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Namco Bandai Games Inc.
• Original Assignee: Namco Bandai Games Inc.
• Inventors: Takahashi, Kazuo, Suzaki, Haruki
• Application Number:
  US11/727,450
• Publication Number:
  US 20070232400A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 463/42
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/12 involving interaction between a plurality of game devices, e.g. transmisison or distribution systems protocols for networked virtual reality, networked games H04L29/06034
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/30 Interconnection arrangements between game servers and game devices; Interconnection arrangements between game devices; Interconnection arrangements between game servers
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/35 Details of game servers
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/60 Generating or modifying game content before or while executing the game program, e.g. authoring tools specially adapted for game development or game-integrated level editor
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/77 involving data related to game devices or game servers, e.g. configuration data, software version or amount of memory
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/50 characterized by details of game servers
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/552 for downloading to client devices, e.g. using OS version, hardware or software profile of the client device
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/5546 using player registration data, e.g. identification, account, preferences, game history
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/65 for computing the condition of a game character
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/8029 Fighting without shooting

Abstract

A game server selects pieces of character control data according to a distribution pattern indicated by a game terminal based on an experience level and a used character received from the game terminal. 100 pieces of selected character control data are combined to create package data, and the package data is downloaded to the game terminal.

Claims

1. A server connected via a communication channel with a game device capable of executing a unit game which realizes various game processes using different pieces of control data, the server comprising:

a control data storage section which stores a number of pieces of control data while associating each piece of control data with an experience level;

a level reception section which receives the experience level from the game device;

a selection section which selects a number of pieces of control data downloaded to the game device from the pieces of control data stored in the control data storage section based on a standard experience level which is the experience level received by the level reception section; and

a downloading section which downloads the pieces of control data selected by the selection section to the game device.

2. The server as defined in claim 1, comprising:

a downloading number reception section which receives the number of pieces of control data downloaded from the game device;

wherein the selection section selects the pieces of control data in the number received by the downloading number reception section.

3. The server as defined in claim 1, comprising:

a downloaded data management section which manages the pieces of control data downloaded by the downloading section in units of the game device or a user of the game device as a requester; and

a requester information reception section which receives from the game device requester information which is identification information of the game device or a user name of the game device;

wherein the selection section selects the control data which has not been downloaded to the requester based on the requester information received by the requester information reception section and the control data which has been downloaded to the requester and is managed by the downloaded data management section.

4. The server as defined in claim 1, comprising:

a downloading exclusion data reception section which receives an indication signal indicating a piece of control data excluded from a downloading target from the game device;

wherein the selection section selects the downloading target control data without selecting the piece of control data excluded from the downloading target which is indicated by the indication signal received by the download exclusion data reception section.

6. The server as defined in claim 1,

wherein the unit game is a game in which a player'"'"'s character plays a match with a computer-controlled character which is computer-controlled based on the control data;

wherein the game device includes a control data generation section which generates control data used as a control standard when controlling the player'"'"'s character of the game device as the computer-controlled character;

wherein the server further includes a control data reception section which receives the control data generated by the control data generation section of the game device from the game device; and

wherein the control data storage section stores the control data received by the control data reception section.

8. The server as defined in claim 1,

wherein the selection section selects the pieces of control data with a neighborhood level including the same level as the standard experience level and a level near the standard experience level as the downloading target control data.

10. The server as defined in claim 8,

wherein the selection section selects the pieces of control data with a level other than the neighborhood level in addition to the pieces of control data with the neighborhood level in a number smaller than the number of pieces of control data with the neighborhood level.

12. The server as defined in claim 10,

wherein the selection section selects the pieces of control data with a level other than the neighborhood level so that the number of pieces of control data with a level other than the neighborhood level decreases as the level moves away from the neighborhood level.

14. The server as defined in claim 1,

wherein the selection section selects the pieces of control data with a level higher than the standard experience level in a number larger than the number of pieces of control data with a level lower than the standard experience level.

18. A game data downloading method for causing a computer which can be connected with the server as defined in claim 1 via a communication channel to download game data from the server, the method comprising:

a game execution step of executing a unit game which realizes various game processes using different pieces of control data based on the control data;

an experience level change step of changing an experience level of a player depending on results of the game executed in the game execution step; and

a downloading control step of transmitting a present experience level to the server to download the pieces of control data corresponding to the present experience level from the server.

20. A game data downloading method for causing a computer which can be connected with the server as defined in claim 2 via a communication channel to download game data from the server, the method comprising:

a downloading number determination step of determining the number of pieces of control data downloaded based on a free space in a storage section which stores the control data downloaded from the server;

a game execution step of executing a unit game which realizes various game processes using different pieces of control data based on the control data;

an experience level change step of changing an experience level of a player depending on results of the game executed in the game execution step; and

a downloading control step of transmitting a present experience level and the number determined in the downloading number determination step to the server to download the pieces of control data corresponding to the experience level from the server in the determined number.

21. A game data downloading method for causing a computer which can be connected with the server as defined in claim 4 via a communication channel to download game data from the server, the method comprising:

a game execution step of executing a unit game which realizes various game processes using different pieces of control data based on the control data;

an experience level change step of changing an experience level of a player depending on results of the game executed in the game execution step; and

a downloading control step of transmitting an indication signal which excludes the control data stored in a storage section which stores the control data downloaded from the server from a downloading target and a present experience level to download the pieces of control data which correspond to the present experience level and are not stored in the storage section from the server.

24. A computer-readable information storage medium storing a program which causes a computer to execute the game data downloading method as defined in claim 18.

26. A computer-readable information storage medium storing a program which causes a computer to execute the game data downloading method as defined in claim 20.

27. A computer-readable information storage medium storing a program which causes a computer to execute the game data downloading method as defined in claim 21.

5. A server connected via a communication channel with a game device capable of executing a unit game which realizes various game processes using different pieces of control data, the server comprising:

a control data storage section which stores a number of pieces of control data while associating each piece of control data with an experience level;

a selection section which executes a process of selecting a number of pieces of control data downloaded to the game device from the pieces of control data stored in the control data storage section based on a given standard experience level while setting each of the experience levels as the standard experience level;

a level reception section which receives the experience level from the game device; and

a downloading section which downloads the pieces of control data selected by the selection section when setting the experience level received by the level reception section as the standard experience level to the game device.

7. The server as defined in claim 5,

wherein the unit game is a game in which a player'"'"'s character plays a match with a computer-controlled character which is computer-controlled based on the control data;

wherein the game device includes a control data generation section which generates control data used as a control standard when controlling the player'"'"'s character of the game device as the computer-controlled character;

wherein the server further includes a control data reception section which receives the control data generated by the control data generation section of the game device from the game device; and

wherein the control data storage section stores the control data received by the control data reception section.

9. The server as defined in claim 5,

wherein the selection section selects the pieces of control data with a neighborhood level including the same level as the standard experience level and a level near the standard experience level as the downloading target control data.

11. The server as defined in claim 9,

wherein the selection section selects the pieces of control data with a level other than the neighborhood level in addition to the pieces of control data with the neighborhood level in a number smaller than the number of pieces of control data with the neighborhood level.

13. The server as defined in claim 11,

wherein the selection section selects the pieces of control data with a level other than the neighborhood level so that the number of pieces of control data with a level other than the neighborhood level decreases as the level moves away from the neighborhood level.

15. The server as defined in claim 5,

wherein the selection section selects the pieces of control data with a level higher than the standard experience level in a number larger than the number of pieces of control data with a level lower than the standard experience level.

19. A game data downloading method for causing a computer which can be connected with the server as defined in claim 5 via a communication channel to download game data from the server, the method comprising:

a game execution step of executing a unit game which realizes various game processes using different pieces of control data based on the control data;

an experience level change step of changing an experience level of a player depending on results of the game executed in the game execution step; and

a downloading control step of transmitting a present experience level to the server to download the pieces of control data corresponding to the present experience level from the server.

25. A computer-readable information storage medium storing a program which causes a computer to execute the game data downloading method as defined in claim 19.

16. A game data downloading method for execution by a server connected via a communication channel with a game device capable of executing a unit game which realizes various game processes using different pieces of control data, the server including a control data storage section which stores a number of pieces of control data while associating each piece of control data with an experience level, the method comprising:

a level reception step of receiving the experience level from the game device;

a selection step of selecting a number of pieces of control data downloaded to the game device from the pieces of control data stored in the control data storage section based on a standard experience level which is the experience level received by the level reception section; and

a downloading step of collectively or continuously downloading the pieces of control data selected in the selection step to the game device.

22. A computer-readable information storage medium storing a program which causes a server to execute the game data downloading method as defined in claim 16.

17. A game data downloading method for execution by a server connected via a communication channel with a game device capable of executing a unit game which realizes various game processes using different pieces of control data, the server including a control data storage section which stores a number of pieces of control data while associating each piece of control data with an experience level, the method comprising:

a selection step of executing a process of selecting a number of pieces of control data downloaded to the game device from the pieces of control data stored in the control data storage section based on a given standard experience level for each case where each of the experience levels is set as the standard experience level;

a level reception step of receiving the experience level from the game device; and

a downloading step of collectively or continuously downloading to the game device the pieces of control data selected in the selection step when setting the experience level received by the level reception section as the standard experience level.

23. A computer-readable information storage medium storing a program which causes a server to execute the game data downloading method as defined in claim 17.