Video game processing apparatus, a method and a computer program product for processing a video game

• US 7,637,815 B2
• Filed: 01/05/2007
• Issued: 12/29/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 01/25/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Square Enix
• Original Assignee: Square Enix Incorporated (Square Enix Holdings Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Matsui, Yusuke, Matsuhara, Keisuke, Kitase, Yoshinori
• Primary Examiner(s): Vo; Peter DungBa
• Assistant Examiner(s): Hall; Arthur O.
• Application Number:
  US11/620,163
• Publication Number:
  US 20070173333A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,089 Days
• Field of Search: 463 1- 5, 463 7- 8, 463/23, 463 30- 34, 463 36- 39, 463 40- 43, 463 49- 57, 345/156, 345/419, 345 11- 34, 345473-475, 345/539, 345543-544, 345618-619, 345/629, 273/148.R, 273/148.B, 273/309, 273/317.1, 273/340, 273/348, 273361-367, 717168-178, 348/37, 348/240, 434/115, 434/117, 434/211.14, 715/706, 715/738, 715/757, 715/762, 715/764
• US Class Current: 463/43
• 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 13/46 Computing the game score
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/49 Saving the game status; Pausing or ending the game
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/822 Strategy games; Role-playing games A63F13/825, A63F13/828 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/61 Score computation
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/65 for computing the condition of a game character
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/807 Role playing or strategy games

Abstract

In a continue screen operation corresponding process, in the case where the player selects to reflect an acquired experiential value to a PC experiential value, a control section of a video game apparatus adds the acquired experiential value to a level-up unused experiential value. Then, in the case where the control section determines that the level-up unused experiential value is an experiential value required for a next level or more, the control section increments a level of a player character, subtracts the experiential value required for a next level from the level-up unused experiential value, and adds the experiential value required for a next level to a level-up used experiential value. The control section then updates an experiential value required for a next level. In the case where the control section determines that the level-up unused experiential value becomes less than the updated experiential value required for a next level, other status of the player character is updated and the processing flow is terminated.

Claims

1. A video game processing apparatus that causes an image display apparatus to display a player character of a video game on an image screen of the image display apparatus, the video game processing apparatus controlling progress of the video game by controlling an action of the player character displayed on the image screen in accordance with operations by a player, the video game processing apparatus comprising:

a game progress state information memory that stores game progress state information that indicates a progress state of the video game;

a game progress state information update processor that, when a predetermined save execution condition is met, updates the game progress state information stored in the game progress state information memory to allow the player to resume playing the video game from the progress state of the video game indicated by the game progress state information;

an acquired experiential value determiner that determines an experiential value that the player character is caused to acquire when a predetermined condition to acquire the experiential value is met;

an experiential value memory that stores the experiential value determined by the acquired experiential value determiner;

a game continuation determiner that, when the player character attains a battle impossible state, determines whether the video game is to be continued in response to an instruction from the player;

an experiential value reflection receiver that receives from the player whether the experiential value stored in the experiential value memory is to be reflected to a level of the player character in the video game when the game continuation determiner determines to continue playing the video game;

an experiential value reflector that reflects the experiential value stored in the experiential value memory to the level of the player character in the video game when the experiential value reflection receiver receives the instruction that the experiential value is to be reflected to the level of the player character in the video game;

an experiential value parameter reflector that converts and reflects the experiential value stored in the experiential value memory to a money point that is to be used as money in the video name when the experiential value reflection receiver receives the instruction that the experiential value is not to be reflected to the level of the player character in the video game; and

a game continuation processor that, when the experiential value reflection receiver receives the instruction that the experiential value is to be reflected to the level of the player character in the video game after the game continuation determiner determines to continue playing the video game, maintains the level of the player character in the video game, to which the experiential value stored in the experiential value memory has been reflected by the experiential value reflector, and, when the experiential value reflection receiver receives the instruction that the experiential value is not to be reflected to the level of the player character in the video game after the game continuation determiner determines to continue playing the video game, maintains parameters other than the level of the player character in the video game, to which the experiential value stored in the experiential value memory has been reflected by the experiential value parameter reflector, and causes the video game to proceed to a scene indicated by the game progress state information stored in the game progress state information memory.

2. The video game processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the experiential value reflector reflects the experiential value stored in the experiential value memory to the level of the player character in the video game before the game progress state information is updated after the predetermined save execution condition is met, or when a stage in the video game is cleared.

3. The video game processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the experiential value reflector reflects the experiential value stored in the experiential value memory to the level of the player character in the video game only when the experiential value is a predetermined reference value or more.

4. The video game processing apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising:

a reference value determiner that determines the predetermined reference value used to determine whether the experiential value stored in the experiential value memory is to be reflected to the level of the player character in the video game in accordance with at least one of setting contents of the degree of difficulty in the video game and the type of a stage in the video game.

5. The video game processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined condition to acquire the experiential value is met when a life point of an enemy character is lowered to a predetermined battle impossible value and the enemy character becomes a battle impossible state or when a battle state with an enemy character whose life point is lowered is terminated due to a predetermined condition such as escape of the enemy character.

6. The video game processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the predetermined battle impossible value includes:

an action impossible value that is set as a value at which the enemy character becomes an action impossible state; and

an escape value that is set as a value at which the enemy character starts to escape.

7. A method of processing a video game by causing an image display apparatus to display a player character of a video game on an image screen of the image display apparatus, the method controlling progress of the video game by controlling an action of the player character displayed on the image screen in accordance with operations by a player, the method comprising:

updating game progress state information that indicates a progress state of the video game and is stored in a game progress state information memory to allow the player to resume playing the video game from the progress state of the video game indicated by the game progress state information, when a predetermined save execution condition is met;

determining an experiential value that the player character is caused to acquire when a predetermined condition to acquire the experiential value is met;

storing the experiential value thus determined in an experiential value memory;

determining whether the video game is to be continued in response to an instruction from the player, when the player character becomes a battle impossible state;

receiving, from the player, whether the experiential value stored in the experiential value memory is to be reflected to a level of the player character in the video game when it is determined to continue playing the video game;

reflecting the experiential value stored in the experiential value memory to the level of the player character in the video game when the instruction that the experiential value is to be reflected to the level of the player character in the video game is received;

converting and reflecting the experiential value stored in the experiential value memory to a money point that is to be used as money in the video name when the instruction that the experiential value is not to be reflected to the level of the player character in the video game is received; and

when the instruction that the experiential value is to be reflected to the level of the player character in the video game is received after it was determined to continue playing the video game, maintaining the level of the player character in the video game, to which the experiential value stored in the experiential value memory has been reflected, when the instruction that the experiential value is not to be reflected to the level of the player character in the video game is received after it was determined to continue playing the video game, maintaining parameters other than the level of the player character in the video game, to which the experiential value stored in the experiential value memory has been reflected, and causing the video game to proceed to a scene indicated by the game progress state information stored in the game progress state information memory.

8. A computer readable storage medium on which a program that processes a video game is recorded, progress of the video game being controlled by causing an image display apparatus to display a player character of the video game on an image screen of the image display apparatus, and controlling an action of the player character displayed on the image screen in accordance with operations by a player, the program causing a computer to execute:

updating game progress state information that indicates a progress state of the video game and is stored in a game progress state information memory to allow the player to resume playing the video game from the progress state of the video game indicated by the game progress state information, when a predetermined save execution condition is met;

determining an experiential value that the player character is caused to acquire when a predetermined condition to acquire the experiential value is met;

storing the experiential value thus determined in an experiential value memory;

determining whether the video game is to be continued in response to an instruction from the player, when the player character becomes a battle impossible state;

receiving from the player, whether the experiential value stored in the experiential value memory is to be reflected to a level of the player character in the video game, when it is determined to continue playing the video game;

reflecting the experiential value stored in the experiential value memory to the level of the player character in the video game when the instruction that the experiential value is to be reflected to the level of the player character in the video game is received;

converting and reflecting the experiential value stored in the experiential value memory to a money point that is to be used as money in the video name when the instruction that the experiential value is not to be reflected to the level of the player character in the video game is received; and

when the instruction that the experiential value is to be reflected to the level of the player character in the video game is received after it was determined to continue playing the video game, maintaining the level of the player character in the video game, to which the experiential value stored in the experiential value memory has been reflected, and when the instruction that the experiential value is not to be reflected to the level of the player character in the video game is received after it was determined to continue playing the video game, maintaining parameters other than the level of the player character in the video game, to which the experiential value stored in the experiential value memory has been reflected, and causing the video game to proceed to a scene indicated by the game progress state information stored in the game progress state information memory.