Online-composite servicing method, recording medium recorded with programs for realizing the method, and online-composite servicing system

• US 7,018,295 B2
• Filed: 01/19/2001
• Issued: 03/28/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 01/20/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Square Enix
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Square Enix
• Inventors: Sakaguchi, Hironobu, Kokubo, Keizo, Narita, Ken
• Primary Examiner(s): Hotaling, II, John M.
• Application Number:
  US09/764,409
• Publication Number:
  US 20010009868A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,894 Days
• Field of Search: 463 40- 43, 463/1, 463/25, 463/29, 434/322
• US Class Current: 463/42
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/32 for games, toys, sports, or amusements
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3244 Payment aspects of a gaming system, e.g. payment schemes, setting payout ratio, bonus or consolation prizes
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3255 Incentive, loyalty and/or promotion schemes, e.g. comps, gaming associated with a purchase, gaming funded by advertisements

Abstract

To make it possible to provide other services even at the time of executing an online game and to communicate with a player receiving the other services in an online game space.

Each game terminal receives comics distributions from a comics server and music distributions from a music server, even while executing the online game over its own browser. The game server administers the game participation of each game terminal and the utilization of various services (e.g., comics distributions, music distributions, mails or chats) by using a service utilization database. The game players can communicate with each other in the game space by the knock function in accordance with the service utilizations under the control of the game server.

Claims

1. An online-composite servicing method for controlling communications between a game server and at least one game terminal through a network, comprising:

assigning, under control of said game server, identification information individually to each game terminal and administering game space positional information of a displayed player of each game terminal participating in a game;

discriminating, under control of said game server, users of each game terminal participating in the game that is receiving at least one other service concurrently through the network from a server, the at least one other service including one of entertainment data, musical data, comics data, and chat communication;

adding, under control of said game server, information specifying said at least one other service to the game space positional information of a discriminated displayed player corresponding to each discriminated game terminal; and

feeding, under control of said game server, each game terminal participating in the game with said administered game space positional information of the displayed player of each game terminal and the information specifying said at least one other service;

displaying, under control of said at least one game terminal, a service utilization of another user based on the game space positional information of another displayed player, as fed from said game server, and the information specifying the at least one other service;

accepting, under control of said at least one game terminal, a demand for the at least one other service in response to a first operation of the user participating in the game; and

receiving, under control of said at least one game terminal, said at least one other service through said network while executing the game in a background, and informing said game server of the at least one other service being received.

2. An online-composite servicing method according to claim 1, further comprising:

accepting, under control of said at least one game terminal, identification information specifying the other displayed player in response to a second operation of the user when a knock is made in a game space to the other displayed player, and transmitting said accepted identification information and the identification information of an own game terminal as the identification information of a knocked game terminal and the identification information of a knocking game terminal to said game server, respectively, for demanding the knock, and

knocking, under control of said game server, to said knocked game terminal, when said knock demand is received, and providing the identification information of said knocking game terminal.

3. An online-composite servicing method according to claim 2, further comprising:

controlling, under control of said game server, a message exchange between said knocked game terminal and said knocking game terminal when said knocked game terminal answers the knock.

4. An online-composite servicing method according to claim 2, further comprising:

controlling, under control of said game server, chat communications between said knocked game terminal and said knocking game terminal when said knocked game terminal answers the knock.

5. An online-composite servicing method according to claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, under control of said at least one game terminal, a feed of the musical data as the at least one other service.

6. An online-composite servicing method according to claim 5, further comprising:

changing, under the control of said at least one game terminal, the other displayed player into a display mode listening to music in a game space when it is confirmed from said information specifying the at least one other service that the other user is receiving the musical data.

7. An online-composite servicing method according to claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, under control of said at least one game terminal, a feed of the comics data as the at least one other service.

8. An online-composite servicing method according to claim 7, further comprising:

displaying, under control of said at least one game terminal, the other displayed player into a display mode reading comics in a game space when it is confirmed from said information specifying the at least one other service that the other user is receiving the comics data.

9. An online-composite servicing method according to claim 2, further comprising:

detecting, under control of the game server, if the distance between the displayed player and the other displayed player is within a predetermined range to initiate the knock; and

requiring, under control of the game server, the user to confirm a desire to knock.

12. A recording medium according to claim 9, wherein said program further comprises:

controlling, under control of said game server, a message exchange between said knocked game terminal and said knocking game terminal when said knocked game terminal answers the knock.

13. A recording medium according to claim 9, wherein said program further comprises:

controlling, under control of said game server, chat communication between said knocked game terminal and said knocking game terminal when said knocked game terminal answers the knock.

10. A computer-readable recording medium storing a program for realizing a method for controlling communications between a game server and at least one game terminal through a network,

wherein said program comprises:

assigning, under control of said game server, identification information individually to each game terminal and to administer game space positional information of a displayed player of each said game terminal participating in a game;

discriminating, under the control of said game server, users of each game terminal participating in the game that is receiving at least one other service concurrently through the network from a server, the at least one other service including one of entertainment data, musical data, comics data, and chat communication;

adding, under control of said game server, information specifying said at least one other service to the game space positional information of a discriminated displayed player corresponding to each discriminated game terminal; and

feeding, under control of said game server, each game terminal participating in the game with said administered game space positional information of the displayed player of each game terminal and the information specifying said at least one other service;

displaying, under control of said at least one game terminal, a service utilization of another user based on the game space positional information of another displayed player, as fed from said game server, and the information specifying the at least one other service;

accepting, under control of said at least one game terminal, a demand for the at least one other service in response to a first operation of the user participating in the game; and

receiving, under control of said at least one game terminal, said at least one other service through said network while executing the game in the background, and informing said game server that said at least one other service is being received.

11. A recording medium according to claim 10,

wherein said program further comprises:

accepting, under control of said at least one game terminal, identification information specifying the other displayed player in response to a second operation of the user when a knock is made in a game space to the other displayed player, and to transmit said accepted identification information and the identification information of an own game terminal as the identification information of a knocked game terminal and the identification information of a knocking game terminal to said game server, respectively, for demanding the knock; and

knocking, under control of said game server, to said knocked game terminal, when said knock demand is received, and providing the identification information of said knocking game terminal.

14. A recording medium according to claim 11,

wherein said program further comprises:

detecting, under control of said game server, if the distance between the displayed player and the other displayed player is within a predetermined range to initiate the knock; and

requiring, under control of said gamer server, the user to confirm a desire to knock.

15. A recording medium according to claim 10, wherein said program further comprises:

receiving, under control of said at least one game terminal, a feed of the musical data as the at least one other service.

16. A recording medium according to claim 15, wherein said program further comprises:

changing, under control of said at least one game terminal, the other displayed player into a display mode listening to music in a game space when it is confirmed from said information specifying the at least one other service that the other user is receiving the musical data.

17. A recording medium according to claim 10, wherein said program further comprises:

receiving, under control of said at least one game terminal, a feed of the comics data as the at least one other service.

18. A recording medium according to claim 17, wherein said program further comprises:

changing, under control of said at least one game terminal, the other displayed player into a display mode reading comics in a game space when it is confirmed from said information specifying the at least one other service that the other user is receiving the comics data.

19. An online-composite servicing system for controlling communications between a game server and at least one game terminal through a network, wherein the game server comprises:

an administrator that assigns identification information individually to each game terminal and that administers game space positional information of a displayed player of each game terminal participating in a game;

a discriminator that discriminates users of each game terminal participating in the game that is receiving at least one other service concurrently through the network from a server, the at least one other service including one of entertainment data, musical data, comics data, and chat communication;

an adder that adds information specifying the at least one other service to the game space positional information of a discriminated displayed player corresponding to each discriminated game terminal to the administrator; and

a feeder that feeds each game terminal participating in the game with the administered game space positional information of the displayed player of each game terminal and the information specifying the at least one other service, and

wherein the at least one game terminal comprises;

a display that displays a service utilization of another user based on the game space positional information of the other displayed player, as fed by the feeder from the game server, and the information specifying the at least one other service;

an acceptor that accepts a demand for the at least one other service in response to a first operation of the user participating in the game; and

a composite servicer that receives the at least one other service through the network while executing the game in a background, and for informing the game server that the at least one other service is being received.

20. An online-composite servicing system according to claim 19, wherein the acceptor further comprises:

identification information specifying the other displayed player in response to a second operation of the user when a knock is made in a game space to the other displayed player, and for transmitting the accepted identification information and the identification information of an own game terminal as the identification information of a knocked game terminal and the identification information of a knocking game terminal to the game server, respectively, for demanding the knock, and wherein the game server further comprises;

a knocker that makes a knock to the knocked game terminal, when the knock demand is received, and for providing the identification information of the knocking game terminal.

21. An online-composite servicing system according to claim 20, wherein the game server further comprises:

a controller that controls a message exchange between the knocked game terminal and the knocking game terminal when the knocked game terminal answers the knock.

22. An online-composite servicing system according to claim 20, wherein the game server further comprises:

a controller that controls a chat communications between the knocked game terminal and the knocking game terminal when the knocked game terminal answers the knock.

23. An online-composite servicing system according to claim 20, wherein the game server further comprises:

said knocker initiating said knock when the distance between the displayed player and the other displayed player is within a predetermined range; and

said acceptor further requiring the user to confirm a desire to knock.

24. An online-composite servicing system according to claim 19, wherein the at least one game terminal further comprises:

a receiver that receives the musical data as the at least one other service.

25. An online-composite servicing system according to claim 24, wherein the at least one game terminal further comprises:

a changer that changes the other displayed player to a display mode listening to music in a game space when it is confirmed, by the information specifying the at least one other service, that the other user is receiving the musical data.

26. An online-composite servicing system according to claim 19, wherein the at least one game terminal further comprises:

a receiver that receives the comics data as the at least one other service.

27. An online-composite servicing system according to claim 26, wherein the at least one game terminal further comprises:

a changer that changes the other displayed player into a display mode reading comics in a game space when it is confirmed, by the information specifying the at least one other service, that the other user is receiving the comics data.