GAME SYSTEM, CONTROL METHOD, STORAGE MEDIUM, AND TERMINAL DEVICE

• US 20130324258A1
• Filed: 01/16/2013
• Published: 12/05/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 05/31/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nintendo Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Nintendo Company Limited
• Inventors: MIZUKI, Kiyoshi, YUZAWA, Hideto, KATO, Shunsaku
• Granted Patent: US 10,576,366 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 463/42
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/35 Details of game servers
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/5372 for tagging characters, objects or locations in the game scene, e.g. displaying a circle under the character controlled by the player
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/5375 for graphically or textually suggesting an action, e.g. by displaying an arrow indicating a turn in a driving game
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/795 for finding other players; for building a team; for providing a buddy list

Abstract

An exemplary game system including a plurality of terminal devices and a predetermined server, the plurality of terminal devices being respectively used by a user, the game system includes: a display control unit configured to performs processing for drawing a virtual space image which is an image representing a virtual space, and processing for compositing at least the posted information input by another user that is stored in the posted information storage unit, in the virtual space image in association with the virtual game character that is indicated by the identification information associated with the posted information, and presenting the composite image to the user in each terminal device.

Claims

1. A game system including a plurality of terminal devices and a predetermined server, the plurality of terminal devices being respectively used by a user, the game system comprising:

a game processing unit configured to perform interaction processing with a virtual game character that exists in a predetermined virtual game space, based on an instruction input from the user of each terminal device;

a posted information generating unit configured to generate posted information, based on an input of the user of each terminal device;

a posted information storage unit configured to store the posted information generated using the input of each user by the posted information generating unit, in the server in association with identification information of the virtual game character; and

a display control unit configured to performs processing for drawing a virtual space image which is an image representing a virtual space, and processing for compositing at least the posted information input by another user that is stored in the posted information storage unit, in the virtual space image in association with the virtual game character that is indicated by the identification information associated with the posted information, and presenting the composite image to the user in each terminal device.

2. The game system according to claim 1, wherein

a plurality of virtual game characters exist in the virtual game space, and

the posted information storage unit is configured to store the identification information of one of the plurality of virtual game characters in association with the posted information.

3. The game system according to claim 1, wherein

the posted information generating unit is configured to generate posted information using an input of a user, when predetermined interaction processing is performed in the game processing unit, or when a result of the interaction processing satisfies a predetermined condition, and

the posted information storage unit is configured to add, as the identification information of the virtual game character to be added to the posted information, the identification information of the virtual game character relating to the interaction processing performed at a time when the posted information is input.

4. The game system according to claim 3, wherein

the interaction processing is fight processing with the virtual game character,

the posted information generating unit is configured to generate posted information using an input of a user, when a result of the fight processing with the virtual game character performed by the game processing unit is victory, and

the posted information storage unit is configured to add, as the identification information of the virtual game character to be added to the posted information, the identification information of the virtual game character that resulted in victory at a time when the posted information is input.

5. The game system according to claim 3, wherein

the interaction processing is fight processing with the virtual game character,

the posted information generating unit is configured to generate posted information using an input of a user, when a result of the fight processing with the virtual game character performed by the game processing unit is defeat, and

the posted information storage unit is configured to add, as the identification information of the virtual game character to be added to the posted information, the identification information of the virtual game character that resulted in defeat at a time when the posted information is input.

6. The game system according to claim 1, wherein

the game processing unit is provided in each of the terminal devices, and is executed stand-alone.

7. The game system according to claim 1, wherein

the game processing unit is provided in each of the terminal devices, the game processing unit of a first of the terminal devices performs interaction processing with the virtual game character, based on an operation input from a first user who uses the first terminal device, and the game processing unit of a second of the terminals is configured to perform interaction processing with the virtual game character, based on an operation input from a second user who uses the second terminal device, and the game processing unit of the first terminal device is configured to perform interaction processing with the virtual game character, not based on an operation input from the second user who uses the second terminal device, and the game processing unit of the second terminal device is configure to perform interaction processing with the virtual game character, not based on an operation input from the first user who uses the first terminal device.

8. The game system according to claim 1, further comprising:

a movement control unit configured to control movement of the virtual game character in the virtual space,

wherein the posted information control unit is configured to change a display position of the posted information, according to movement of the virtual game character by the movement control unit.

9. A game system comprising;

a game processing unit configured to perform interaction processing with a virtual game character that exists in a predetermined virtual game space, based on an operation input from a user;

a posted information generating unit configured to generate posted information using an input of the user;

a posted information accumulation unit configured to accumulate and store the posted information generated using the input of the user by the posted information generating unit, in association with identification information of the virtual game character; and

a display control unit configured to perform processing for drawing a virtual space image which is an image representing a virtual space, and processing for compositing the virtual space image and at least the posted information generated using an input of another user that is accumulated and stored in the posted information accumulation unit, in association with the virtual game character that is indicated by the identification information associated with the posted information, and presenting the composite image to the user.

10. A control method that is executed by a computer in a game system including a plurality of terminal devices and a predetermined server, the plurality of terminal devices being respectively used by a user, the method comprising:

performing interaction processing with a virtual game character that exists in a predetermined virtual game space, based on an operation input from the user of each terminal device;

generating posted information, based on an input of the user of each terminal device;

storing the posted information generated using the input of each user in the posted information generation step, in the server in association with identification information of the virtual game character; and

performing processing for drawing a virtual space image which is an image representing a virtual space, and processing for compositing at least the posted information input by another user that is stored in the posted information storage step, in the virtual space image in association with the virtual game character that is indicated by the identification information associated with the posted information, and presenting the composite image to the user in each terminal device.

11. A computer-readable non-transitory storage medium storing a program causing a computer device in a game system including a plurality of terminal devices and a predetermined server, the plurality of terminal devices being respectively used by a user, to execute a process, the process comprising:

performing interaction processing with a virtual game character that exists in a predetermined virtual game space, based on an operation input from the user of each terminal device;

generating posted information, based on an input of the user of each terminal device;

transmitting the posted information generated using the input of each user in the posted information generation step, to the server in association with identification information of the virtual game character;

obtaining, from the server, the posted information with which the identification information is associated; and

performing processing for drawing a virtual space image which is an image representing a virtual space, and processing for compositing at least the posted information input by another user that is obtained in the obtaining step, in the virtual space image in association with the virtual game character that is indicated by the identification information associated with the posted information, and presenting the composite image to the user in each terminal device.

12. A terminal device in a game system including a plurality of terminal devices and a predetermined server, the plurality of terminal devices being respectively used by a user, the terminal device comprising:

a game processing unit configured to perform interaction processing with a virtual game character that exists in a predetermined virtual game space, based on an operation input from the user of each terminal device;

a posted information generating unit configured to generate posted information, based on an input of the user of each terminal device;

a transmitting unit configured to transmit the posted information generated using the input of each user by the posted information generating unit, to the server in association with identification information of the virtual game character;

an obtaining unit configured to obtain, from the server, the posted information with which the identification information is associated; and

a display control unit configured to perform processing for drawing a virtual space image which is an image representing a virtual space, and processing for compositing at least the posted information input by another user that is obtained in the obtaining step, in the virtual space image in association with the virtual game character that is indicated by the identification information associated with the posted information, and presenting the composite image to the user in each terminal device.

13. A game system including a plurality of terminal devices and a predetermined server, the plurality of terminal devices being respectively used by a user, the game system comprising:

a stage data storage unit configured to store a plurality of items of stage data;

a stage selecting unit configured to select a stage to be played from the plurality of items of stage data;

a game processing unit configured to execute predetermined game processing in the stage selected by the stage selecting unit, based on an operation input from the user of each terminal device;

a posted information generating unit configured to generate posted information using an input of the user of each terminal device; and

a posted information storage unit configured to store the posted information generated using the input of each user by the posted information generating unit, in the server in association with identification information of the stage data,

wherein the stage selecting unit includes;

an icon image storage unit configured to store an icon image indicating each item of stage data;

an icon image display unit configured to selectably display the icon images; and

a posted information display control unit configured to display at least posted information of another user that is stored in the posted information storage unit, in association with the icon image of the stage that is indicated by the stage identification information of the posted information.

14. The game system according to claim 13, wherein

the posted information storage unit is configured to store the posted information in association with the identification information of the stage being played when there is an input relating to the posted information by the posted information generating unit.

15. The game system according to claim 13, wherein

the posted information generating unit is configured to input the posted information when the stage is cleared, and

the posted information storage unit is configured to store the posted information in association with the identification information of the stage that was cleared when there is an input relating to the posted information by the posted information generating unit.

16. The game system according to claim 13, wherein

the game processing unit is provided in each of the terminal devices, and is executed stand-alone.

17. A game system comprising:

a stage data storage unit configured to store a plurality of items of stage data;

a stage selecting unit configured to select a stage to be played from the plurality of items of stage data;

a game processing unit configured to execute predetermined game processing in the stage selected by the stage selecting unit, based on an operation input from a user;

a posted information input unit configured to input posted information by the user; and

a posted information storage unit that stores the posted information input to the posted information input unit by the user, in association with identification information of the stage data, wherein

the stage selecting unit includes;

an icon image storage unit configured to store an icon image indicating each item of stage data;

an icon image display unit configured to selectably display the icon images; and

a posted information display control unit configured to display at least posted information of another user stored in the posted information storage unit, in association with the icon image of the stage that is indicated by the stage identification information of the posted information.