Game system and computer program for permitting user selection of game difficulty and setting of control character ability parameter

• US 7,367,882 B2
• Filed: 10/09/2002
• Issued: 05/06/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 10/11/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Konami Digital Entertainment Company Limited (Konami Holdings Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Konami Corporation (Konami Holdings Corp.)
• Inventors: Fukutome, Hideaki
• Primary Examiner(s): THAI, XUAN MARIAN
• Assistant Examiner(s): THAI, XUAN MARIAN
• Application Number:
  US10/267,361
• Publication Number:
  US 20030109297A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,036 Days
• Field of Search: 463/7, 463/30, 463/40
• US Class Current: 463/7
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/10 Control of the course of the game, e.g. start, progess, end
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/45 Controlling the progress of the video game
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/47 involving branching, e.g. choosing one of several possible scenarios at a given point in time
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/58 by computing conditions of game characters, e.g. stamina, strength, motivation or energy level

Abstract

The preset invention provides a game system wherein data is prepared for each stage to execute plural stages separately. When a user has made a predetermined result in one stage, the user progresses to the next stage. The game executes each stage in a predetermined sequence. When a predetermined condition for ability improvement is satisfied, a parameter specifying the ability of a game character is increased. The game allows the user to select one stage from the plural stages out of the predetermined sequence, and the selected stage is executed with the parameter specifying the character ability set to a value below that which would be expected for the selected stage, for example, an initial value for a first stage.

Claims

1. A game system for playing a game involving a character controlled by a user, comprising:

a stage data storing device for storing data prepared for each of a plurality of game stages of the game which have a predetermined sequence and increase in difficulty level based on said predetermined sequence;

a sequential-execution control device for advancing the game to a next game stage of the game stages in response to the character obtaining a predetermined result in one of the stages and executing the game based on the data of each stage in the predetermined sequence;

an ability control device for increasing an ability parameter specifying a character ability every time a predetermined condition to improve the character ability is satisfied, the ability parameter being initialized at a start of the game to an initial ability parameter level, the ability parameter and the difficulty levels of the stages defined by the data for the stages interacting such that apparent difficulty levels of the stages are reduced by increases in the ability parameter specifying the character ability;

a stage selecting device for selecting one of the plural game stages corresponding to an indication of the user;

a selection execution control device for calling the data corresponding to the selected game stage and executing the game in at least part of the selected game stage; and

an ability setting device for reducing the ability parameter of the character to a lower value than a value greater than the initial ability parameter level to which the ability parameter has been increased, the reducing of the ability parameter being automatically effected by said ability setting device based upon said selecting one of the plural game stages corresponding to said indication of the user in place of a game stage determined by said sequential-execution control device such that the selected game stage is executed by the selection execution control device with the ability parameter reduced to the lower value.

2. The game system according to claim 1, wherein said ability setting device reduces the ability parameter to the initial ability parameter level the selected game stage regardless of which game stage has been selected.

3. The game system according to claim 1, wherein:

said stage selecting device is capable of dividing one game stage into plural areas and giving an opportunity for the user to select any one of the areas; and

said selection execution control device is capable of executing the game within a range corresponding to the selected area.

4. The game system according to claim 3, wherein said ability control device increases the ability parameter if the condition to improve the character ability is satisfied while the game is executed within the range corresponding to the selected area.

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

a progress judging device for judging whether a progress of the user has reached a predetermined level under the execution control of the game by said sequential-execution control device; and

a selection administrating device for disabling selecting the game stage by said stage selecting device and processing corresponding to the selection by said selection execution control device and said ability setting device until said progress judging device judges the progress has reached the predetermined level, and ceasing the disabling at least when the progress judging device judges the progress has reached the predetermined level.

6. The game system according to claim 5, wherein said selection administrating device judges that the progress has reached the predetermined level when the user makes the predetermined result in all the stages.

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

a model-play data storing device for storing model-play data to replay a model-play which is a model for making the character reach the predetermined result in each game stage; and

a model-play replaying device for displaying the model-play based on the model-play data on a monitor of the display unit within at least part of a range of a particular game stage.

8. The game system according to claim 7, wherein said model-play replaying device displays the model-play only for the stages the user has already reached under the execution control of the game by said sequential-execution control device.

9. A storage medium including an executable computer program which configures a computer to execute a game wherein a user controls a character, the program including procedures for:

storing data prepared for each of a plurality of game stages of the game which have a predetermined sequence and increase in difficulty level based on said predetermined sequence;

executing the game based on the data of each game stage in the predetermined sequence;

advancing the game to a next game stage of the game stages in response to the character obtaining a predetermined result in one of the game stages;

initializing an ability parameter specifying a character ability at a start of the game to an initial ability parameter level;

increasing the ability parameter specifying a character ability every time a predetermined condition to improve the character ability is satisfied, the ability parameter and the difficulty levels of the game stages defined by the data for the game stages interacting such that apparent difficulty levels of the game stages are reduced by increases in the ability parameter specifying the character ability;

accepting user input selecting a game stage of the plural game stages which is not a next game stage in accordance with said predetermined sequence;

reading the data corresponding to the selected game stage;

reducing the ability parameter of the character to a lower value than a value greater than the initial ability parameter level to which the ability parameter has been increased as an automatic consequence of accepting the user input selecting the selected game stage in place of said executing the game in the predetermined sequence; and

executing the game in at least part of the selected game stage with the ability parameter of the character set to the lower value.

10. The storage medium according to claim 9, wherein the lower value to which the ability parameter is set is the initial ability parameter level regardless of which game stage the selected game stage is.

11. The storage medium according to claim 9, wherein:

said accepting user input selecting a game stage of the plural game stages includes dividing one game stage into plural areas and giving an opportunity for the user to select any one of the areas; and

said executing the game in at least part of the selected game stage includes executing the game within a range corresponding to the selected area.

12. The storage medium according to claim 11, wherein said executing the game in at least part of the selected game stage includes increasing the ability parameter each time a predetermined condition to improve the character ability is satisfied.

13. The storage medium according to claim 9, wherein the program further comprises procedures for:

judging whether a progress of the user has reached a predetermined level while the game stages are executed in the predetermined sequence;

preventing said accepting user input selecting a game stage when the user has not reached said predetermined level; and

permitting said accepting user input selecting a game stage when the user has reached said predetermined level.

14. The storage medium according to claim 13, where said predetermined level is that the user makes the predetermined result in all the game stages.

15. The storage medium according to claim 9, wherein the program further comprises procedures for:

reading model-play data wherein the model-play includes a model for displaying making the character reach the predetermined result in each of the game stages; and

displaying the model-play based on the model-play data on a monitor within at least part of a range of a particular game stage of the game stages.

16. The storage medium according to claim 15, wherein said particular game stage of the game stages is limited to game stages in which the user has reached in accordance with the predetermined sequence of the game stages.