Method for controlling display of messages transmitted/received in network game

• US 7,115,035 B2
• Filed: 12/13/2002
• Issued: 10/03/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 12/14/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Square Enix
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Square Enix
• Inventors: Tanaka, Hiromichi
• Primary Examiner(s): Coburn, Corbett B.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Pandya, Sunit
• Application Number:
  US10/318,222
• Publication Number:
  US 20030134678A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,390 Days
• Field of Search: 709/206, 709/207, 709/204, 463/40, 463/42, 463/43, 463/41
• US Class Current: 463/42
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/335 using Internet
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/35 Details of game servers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/048 Interaction techniques based on graphical user interfaces [GUI]

Abstract

Multiple video game apparatuses are connected to a game server apparatus. This network game progresses when players of the respective video game apparatuses exchange messages via the game server apparatus. When a predetermined event is generated by processing in the game server apparatus, a specific message is transmitted to each video game apparatus. In a chat window provided on a display screen of each video game apparatus, the message sent from the game server apparatus is scrolled and displayed from the bottom to the top. When the specific message reaches an uppermost portion of the chat window, a lock window is set and the specific message is displayed therein. The specific message in the lock window is not erased by the reception of a next message.

Claims

1. A network game system having a server apparatus and a plurality of client apparatuses each connected to said server apparatus via a network, said server apparatus comprising:

a server message receiver that receives messages from each of said plurality of client apparatuses;

a server message transmitter that transmits messages on progress of a game including the messages received by said server message receiver to each of said plurality of client apparatuses via the network; and

a specific information transmitter that transmits specific information when said server message transmitter transmits a specific message, the specific information indicating that the transmitted message is the specific message,

each of said plurality of client apparatuses comprising;

a message input device that inputs a desired message on the progress of the game according to a user'"'"'s operation;

a client message transmitter that transmits the messages input from said message input device via said network to cause said server message receiver to receive the messages;

a client message receiver that receives messages transmitted from said server message transmitter;

a specific information receiver that receives the specific information transmitted from said specific information transmitter;

a message display device that displays messages received by said client message receiver within a chat window while scrolling the messages sequentially; and

a display controller that controls scroll-display displayed by said message display device such that the received messages are sequentially scrolled to erase an oldest message from the chat window, and display of the message corresponding to specific information received by said specific information receiver is prevented from being erased from the chat window by the scrolling a until a predetermined condition is satisfied, when the specific message is the oldest message and otherwise would be erased by scrolling in response to displaying a new message.

2. A game server apparatus, connected to a plurality of client apparatuses via a network, comprising:

a message receiver that receives messages input by players of the plurality of client apparatuses via the network;

a message transmitter that transmits messages on progress of a game including the messages received by said message receiver via the network such that the messages are sequentially scrolled and displayed in a chat window of each of said plurality of client apparatuses; and

a specific information transmitter that transmits specific information when said message transmitter transmits a specific message such that display of the specific message in the chat windows is prevented from being erased by scrolling in each of said plurality of client apparatuses until a predetermined condition is satisfied when the specific message is the oldest message and the otherwise would be erased by scrolling in response to displaying a new message.

3. The game server apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising an event generator that generates a predetermined event according to the progress of the game, wherein the specific message comprises a message transmitted according to the predetermined event.

4. The game server apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the specific message comprises a message that said message receiver has received from a specific client apparatus.

5. The game server apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the specific information is added to the specific message, and said specific information transmitter is included in said message transmitter that transmits the message having the specific information added.

6. A game server apparatus connected to a plurality of client apparatuses via a network, comprising:

a memory that stores a network game program;

a processor that executes the network game program; and

a communications apparatus that performs communications with the plurality of client apparatuses,

the network game program causing the processor to execute;

receiving messages input by players of the plurality of client apparatuses via the network;

transmitting messages on progress of a game including the messages received from the client apparatuses via the network such that the messages are sequentially scrolled and displayed in a chat window of each of the client apparatuses; and

transmitting specific information such that display of a specific message is prevented from being scrolled and erased from the chat window in each of the client apparatuses until a predetermined condition is satisfied, when scrolling other messages as a result of displaying a new message.

7. A video game apparatus connected, via a network, to a server apparatus, which is connected to at least one other video game apparatus via the network, said video game apparatus comprising:

a message input device that inputs a desired message on the progress of a game according to a player'"'"'s operation;

a message transmitter that transmits the message input from said message input device to the server apparatus via the network;

a message receiver that receives messages on the progress of the game, including the messages received from the video game apparatuses connected to the server apparatus, from the server apparatus via the network;

a specific information receiver that receives specific information from the server apparatus via the network, when a message to be received by said message receiver is a specific message, which specific information indicates that the received message is the specific message;

a message display device that displays messages received by said message receiver in a chat window while scrolling the messages sequentially; and

a display controller that controls scroll-display displayed by said message display device such that display of a message corresponding to specific information received by said specific information receiver is prevented from being scrolled and erased from the chat window until a predetermined condition is satisfied, when scrolling other messages as a result of displaying a new message.

8. The video game apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the predetermined condition is satisfied when a predetermined period of time passes after receiving the specific information or a message corresponding to the specific information.

9. The video game apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the predetermined condition is satisfied when the player performs a predetermined operational input.

10. The video game apparatus according to claim 7, wherein said display controller controls the scroll-display such that the message corresponding to the specific information is scrolled up to a predetermined position and thereafter the message is fixed and displayed to be prevented from being scrolled from the position.

11. The video game apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the specific message comprises a message transmitted according to a predetermined event generated by the server apparatus according to the progress of a game.

12. The video game apparatus according to claim 11, further comprising a specific message storage that stores identification information peculiar to the specific message in association with a content of the specific message,

wherein said message receiver receives the identification information of the specific message, and said message display device reads the content of the specific message corresponding to the identification information received by said message receiver from said specific message storage, and displays the read content.

13. The video game apparatus according to claim 7, wherein said message display device displays messages input by said message input device and the messages input by the other video game apparatuses among the messages received by said message receiver, alternately, while scrolling the messages sequentially.

14. The video game apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the specific information is added to the specific message, and said specific information receiver is included in said message receiver that receives the message having the specific information added.

15. A video game apparatus connected, via a network, to a server apparatus, which is connected to at least one other video game apparatus via the network, said video game apparatus comprising:

a memory that stores a network game program;

a processor that executes the network game program;

a display device that displays a processing result of the network game program performed by said processor; and

a communications apparatus that communicates with the server apparatus,

the network game program causing said processor to execute;

inputting a desired message on progress of a game according to a user'"'"'s operation, transmitting the input message to the server apparatus via the network;

receiving messages on the progress of the game including the messages, which the server apparatus received from said video game apparatus and the other video game apparatuses, from the server apparatus via the network;

receiving specific information from the server apparatus via the network, when a message to be received is a specific message, which specific information indicates that the received message is the specific message; and

displaying the received messages in a chat window while scrolling the messages sequentially such that display of the message corresponding to the specific information among the received messages is prevented from being scrolled and erased from the chat window in a display area on a display device until a predetermined condition is satisfied, when scrolling other messages as a result of displaying a new message.

16. A message transmitting method in a network game executed in a server apparatus connected to a plurality of video game apparatuses via a network, comprising:

receiving messages input by players of the plurality of video game apparatuses via the network;

transmitting messages on progress of a game including the messages received from the plurality of video game apparatuses via the network such that the messages are sequentially scrolled and displayed in a window in each of the plurality of video game apparatuses; and

transmitting specific information such that display of a specific message is prevented from being scrolled and erased from the window in a display area on a display device in each of the plurality of video game apparatuses until a predetermined condition is satisfied, when scrolling other messages as a result of displaying a new message.

17. A message display controlling method in a network game executed in a video game apparatus connected to a server apparatus, which is connected to at least one other video game apparatus, via a network, comprising:

inputting a desired message on progress of a game according to a player'"'"'s operation;

transmitting the input message to the server apparatus via the network;

receiving messages on the progress of the game including messages, which the server apparatus received from said video game apparatus and the other video game apparatuses, from the server apparatus via the network;

receiving specific information, from the server apparatus via the network, when a message to be received is a specific message, which specific information indicates that the received message is the specific message; and

displaying the received messages in a chat window while scrolling the messages sequentially such that display of the message corresponding to the specific information among the received messages is prevented from being erased, by scrolling, from the chat window in a display area on a display device until a predetermined condition is satisfied.

18. A computer-readable storage medium on which a network game program is recorded, the program causing a computer connected to a plurality of client apparatuses via a network to execute:

receiving messages input by players of the plurality of client apparatuses via the network;

transmitting messages on progress of a game including the messages received from the client apparatuses via the network such that the messages are sequentially scrolled and displayed in a window in each of the client apparatuses; and

transmitting specific information such that display of a specific message is prevented from being erased, by scrolling, from the window in a display area on a display device in each of the plurality of video game apparatuses until a predetermined condition is satisfied.

19. A computer-readable storage medium on which a network game program is recorded, the program causing a computer connected, via a network, to a server apparatus, which is connected to at least one other video game apparatus via the network to execute:

inputting a desired message on progress of a game according to a user'"'"'s operation, transmitting the input message to the server apparatus via the network;

receiving messages on the progress of the game including the messages, which the server apparatus received from said video game apparatus and the other video game apparatuses, from the server apparatus via the network;

receiving specific information, from the server apparatus via the network, when a message to be received is a specific message, which specific information indicates that the received message is the specific message; and

displaying the received messages in a chat window while scrolling the messages sequentially such that the display of the message corresponding to the specific information among the received messages is prevented from being erased, by scrolling, from the chat window in a display area on a display device until a predetermined condition is satisfied.

20. A carrier wave having a data signal of a network game program, which is executed by a computer apparatus connected to a plurality of client apparatuses via a network, superimposed thereon, wherein the program causes the computer to execute:

receiving messages input by players of the plurality of client apparatuses via the network;

transmitting messages on progress of a game including the messages received from the client apparatuses via the network such that the messages are sequentially scrolled and displayed in a chat window in each of the client apparatuses; and

transmitting specific information such that display of a specific message is prevented from being erased and scrolled from the chat window in a display area on a display device in each of the plurality of video game apparatuses until a predetermined condition is satisfied, when scrolling other messages as a result of displaying a new message.

21. A carrier wave having a data signal of a network game program, which is executed by a computer apparatus connected, via a network, to a server apparatus, which is connected to at least one other video game apparatus via the network, superimposed thereon, wherein the program causes the computer apparatus to execute:

inputting a desired message on progress of a game according to a user'"'"'s operation, transmitting the input message to the server apparatus via the network;

receiving messages on the progress of the game including the messages, which the server apparatus received from said video game apparatus and the other video game apparatuses, from the server apparatus via the network;

receiving specific information, from the server apparatus via the network, when a message to be received is a specific message, which specific information indicates that the received message is the specific message; and

displaying the received messages in a window while scrolling the messages sequentially such that display of the message corresponding to the specific information among the received messages is prevented from being erased, by scrolling, from the window in a display area on a display device until a predetermined condition is satisfied.