HK1050748B - Participant search method in online game or online chat, participant searching device, participant network server, network terminal and computer program - Google Patents

Description

Online game participant search method, processing device, network server and network terminal

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for searching and processing a player, a partner or a fellow as a participant in a network game, a chat or the like using a network or the like.

Background

Unlike the offline game, the network game in which the players play via the network are far away from each other, and thus it is very difficult to search for the players. That is, although the competitor of the online game is a "person", there is currently no device equipped to easily search for the opponent, and therefore, the game participant needs to search for the opponent using the contract between friends or the accidental encounter in a chat room.

Japanese patent laying-open No. 9-164271 discloses a network game system capable of smoothly shifting from notification communication to action game communication. According to this network game system, although the opponents can be searched widely by notification communication, it is necessary to start a chat device together with a game device each time a game is started, and search for the opponents one by a complicated method such as a text conversation.

Japanese patent application laid-open No. 11-57215 discloses a network game system for performing a game match between a plurality of unspecified participants on a communication network, the network game system including a server device and a client device, wherein the server device includes a user information storage device for storing information of a plurality of users; a device for responding to the request for the opposite office, if the request for the opposite office is received, the device distinguishes the user who sends the request for the opposite office as waiting for the opposite office; and a match-up person selection device for determining a match-up combination between users who are distinguished as waiting for a match-up, wherein the client device includes a match-up request device for outputting the match-up request to the server device.

In this network game system, since the opponent selecting device in the server device freely selects the opponent of the opponent, the user does not need to select the opponent of the opponent, and convenience can be improved to some extent. However, the client apparatus constituting the network game system includes a game-play request device that outputs a game-play request to the server apparatus and receives a game-play request transmission timing information specifying a time at which the game-play request should be transmitted from the server apparatus; and a player requesting device for outputting the player request to the server device and receiving information on the player from the server device when the player request transmission timing information is specified, and therefore, the player selection device can not start the game immediately as an offline game if the player selection device stays in the process of specifying information on the time.

The present invention provides an on-line game or an on-line chat, especially an on-line game of a match-participation type, which has immediacy and timeliness equivalent to those of an off-line game by automatically searching for a player (or a chat participant) of a game by a communication server.

Disclosure of Invention

A method for searching participants in an online game or online chat according to the present invention is characterized in that, in a network in which a plurality of users are connected with a network server as a core, each time the online game or online chat is started, the network server that receives participant search information from 1 user compares attribute information on a network user stored in the server with the participant search information, selects a user who is matched with the attribute information and is currently connected to the network, transmits participant recruitment information to the user, and returns participation commitment information of the user who has committed the recruitment information to the 1 user.

The invention is a participant search device used in an online game or an online chat performed on a network connecting a network server and a plurality of network terminals, wherein the network server includes a user attribute information storage unit for storing attribute information of network users; an ID storage unit for storing the ID of the user; a participant selection unit for selecting the user from the user attribute information storage unit according to the request of the game or chat hoper; a login monitoring unit for managing the relationship between the ID and IP address of each user in login and the channel, wherein the network terminal comprises an ID holding unit for holding the ID distributed from the network server; and an IP recording unit for temporarily recording IP addresses assigned by the respective joined providers when online until the offline process.

Preferably, the network terminal further includes an ID storage unit for selecting an ID exchanger from among network users and storing the user I D in the terminal.

The program used by a network server for searching participants in an online game or an online chat according to the present invention includes processes of receiving participant search information from 1 user connected to a network, comparing attribute information on a network user stored in the server with the participant search information, selecting a user who is identical to the attribute information and currently connected to the network, distributing participant recruitment information to the user, and returning participation commitment information of the user who has committed the recruitment information to each of the 1 users.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing the overall structure of the apparatus and method of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is an example of a startup initial screen in the terminal a.

Fig. 3 is an example of display screens of a standby state (a) and a call receiving state (B) in the terminal B.

Fig. 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the automatic player search processing device.

Fig. 5 is a flowchart showing the judgment processing in the login monitoring unit 218.

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, an ideal embodiment of the search process of the player in the online game will be described with reference to the drawings.

Fig. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an overall configuration of the apparatus and method of the present invention, and fig. 2 and 3 show display screen examples in a network terminal. In fig. 1, a terminal a and a terminal B1, and terminals B2, …, B5, and B … are connected to a network server S via a network. Accordingly, the terminal a and the terminal B1, the terminals B2, …, the terminals B5, and the terminals B … are network game clients, and in the following description, it is assumed that the terminal a is the network user and spontaneously desires to perform online game entertainment, and that the user side starting the game, that is, the player side is located at the battle requester side, and the terminals B1, the terminals B2, …, the terminals B5, and the terminals B … are network users other than the above, that is, the potential player side of the online game.

Fig. 2 shows an optimum startup initial screen image in the terminal a, various operation buttons or pull-down menus are displayed on the control screen image 30 on the right side of the screen image, and an expansion screen image 29 for a game or a chat is displayed on all the portions on the left side.

First, the battle requester presses (clicks) the connection button 31 on the initial screen, connects to the network server S and connects to the network. Next, in order to set the conditions of the opponent, the game selection radio button 32 is selected from the game selection radio button 32 and the session selection radio button 33, the game selection pull-down menu 34 is opened, and a desired game, not shown, is selected. Next, after the number of players is input in the player number input field 35 (no input is required in the case of one-to-one game), the player call button 36a is pressed. Of course, in the case of a plurality of matches, the player of the player is determined at that time.

The above operation is a condition setting for searching for an opponent of the online game, and when a search for a chat opponent is intended, the chat call button 36b may be pressed after the chat selection radio button 33 is selected. Reference numeral 37b denotes a chat acceptance button having the same function as the later-described match acceptance button 37a, and reference numeral 40b denotes a chat start button similar to the later-described game start button 40 a.

The player search signal 21 including player search information such as a game type is generated by pressing the player call button 36a, and the signal 21 is transmitted from the terminal a to the web server S. In the network server S, a user currently connected to the network is selected in accordance with the conditions of attribute information such as the taste of the game registered by the network user at the time of joining, or attribute information such as the ability level, score per game, ranking, etc., which are updated and added frequently. The network server S transmits a player recruitment signal 22 including setting conditions such as the game type and the number of players and a message prepared in advance (for example, "search o game player") to the terminal B of the potential player of the online game. In fig. 1, a case is shown where the recruitment signal 22 is transmitted from each of the terminal B1, the terminal B5, and the terminal Bn.

The terminal B is also provided with a control screen 30 similar to the terminal a, and shows the above-described chat or game screen 29 or the screen in the standby state (a) shown in fig. 3, and when the recruitment information number 22 is received, the fighting call button 41 blinks and the screen in the call reception state (B) shown in fig. 3 is displayed. In fig. 3, reference numeral 42 denotes a call button that blinks when the terminal B receives the recruitment signal 22 during a chat.

Terminal B switches between development screen 29 and control screen 30 of the game or chat shown in fig. 2 by pressing on button 44. Therefore, if the user of the game to be dealt with in the terminal B presses the play acceptance button 37a, the terminal B transmits the play acceptance signal 23 including the information to be dealt with to the web server S. The web server S that has received the acceptance signal 23 transmits to the terminal a competitor selection signal 24 including a network name, attribute information of the capability level, and IP address information, which are registered in advance therein. Fig. 1 shows a case where the commitment signals 23 and 23 are transmitted from the terminal B5 and the terminal Bn, respectively, and then the selected signals 24 and 24 are transmitted to the terminal B via the server S.

Since the participants who have indicated the match are listed as the participant list 39 on the control screen 30 of the terminal a that has received the selection signal 24, the match requester presses the network name displayed on the participant list 39 again, refers to the attribute information thereof displayed on another window, not shown, by the pressing, specifies a desired opponent from the participant list 39, presses the game start button 40a, and waits for the game to start. Thus, if the method according to the present invention is used, the game opponents can be instantly searched for by the battle requester by performing only the above-described simple operation.

Fig. 4 is a block diagram showing a basic configuration of the player search processing device, and each of the terminal a, the web server S, and the terminal B shows a communication control unit 100, a communication server unit 200, and a communication control unit 300 constituting the player search processing device of the present invention. Each of the terminal a, the terminal B, and the web server S is provided with a game control means or a chat server means which is otherwise necessary for playing a game.

Each of the communication control section 100, the communication server section 200, and the communication control section 300 has a component that is normally provided in order to perform its function. That is, these components are control units 101, 201, 301 that control the operation of each component 100, 200, 300; processing units 102, 202, 302 that perform data processing of the respective sections; input/output interfaces 105, 205, 305 connected to various input/output peripheral devices and a network; input units 106, 206, 306 for receiving data from the input/output interfaces 105, 205, 305, respectively; output units 107, 207, 307 that output data; storage units 108, 208, 308 that store data; transmission units 109, 209, 309 that transmit communication data; a receiving unit 110, 210, 310 receiving communication data.

The communication control units 100 and 300 of the terminal a and the terminal B have ID holding units 112 and 312 for holding IDs assigned to the respective users by the web server S, respectively, in addition to the above-described components that should be normally provided; and IP recording units 113 and 313 for temporarily recording IP addresses assigned by the respective servers joined during online to the offline process. It is preferable that the communication control means 100, 300 include ID storage means 114, 314 for selecting an ID exchanger from among network users and storing the user ID in the own terminal in advance.

The communication server section 200 further includes a user attribute information storage section 215 for storing attribute information (name, sex, age, interest, game excellence, highest score, etc.) of all users in addition to the above-described configuration which should be normally provided; an ID storage unit 216 that stores IDs of all users; a competitor selection unit 217 for selecting a competitor from the user attribute information storage unit 215 in accordance with a request of a competitor; and a login monitoring unit 218 for managing the relationship between the ID and the IP address of each user in login and the channel.

Next, an automatic search method for a player by the search processing device will be described.

In the communication control section 100 of the terminal a, conditions such as the distinction of a game and a chat, a specific game name, the number of players, and the like inputted through the input/output interface 105 are stored in the storage section 108 through the processing of the processing section 102 by the input section 106 in accordance with the instruction of the control section 101. Then, in accordance with the instruction of the control unit 101, the own IP address obtained by the current connection stored in the IP recording unit 113 and the above-mentioned information stored in the storage unit 108 are transferred to the transmission unit 109 in accordance with the processing of the processing unit 102, and transmitted as the player search signal 21 to the communication server unit 200 of the web server S from the input-output interface 105 with the network as a medium.

The information contained in the output signal 21 is stored in the storage unit 208 through the processing by the processing unit 202 in accordance with the instruction of the control unit 201 from the input/output interface 205 of the communication server unit 200 through the receiving unit 210. The competitor selection means 217 selects the competitor candidate data based on the search information and the information stored in the user attribute information storage means 215, in accordance with the instruction from the control means 201. That is, the competitor selection means 217 may compare the search information with the information in the user attribute information storage means 205 between fields, and flexibly respond to, for example, a large number of registered users on the network, depending on the parameter setting at this time.

On the other hand, the login monitoring unit 218 of the communication server unit 200 monitors the user logged in the network for a long time. The determination process by the registration monitoring unit 218 is described with reference to fig. 5.

In fig. 5, symbols of a 50-series show the operation states of the operation buttons in the terminal B. Note that the 60-series symbol is the type of signal received by the registration monitoring section 218 by the button operation, and the 70-series symbol is the content of determination by the registration monitoring section 218.

For example, if the operator of the terminal B presses the connection button 31 on the control screen 30 shown in fig. 2 (act 51), the ID information is sent to the server S, and the login monitoring unit 218 determines that the received ID information 61 is the online start 71. In this state, when the player search signal 21 is added from another user to the server S, the terminal B determines that the player cannot play. Hereinafter, each signal is similarly transmitted in the operations 52 to 58 of the terminal B, and the registration monitoring unit 218 performs each determination 72 to 78 based on the received signals 62 to 68. That is, the terminal B determines that the match is impossible for the determinations 71, 73, 75, and 77, whereas the terminals B determines that the match is possible for the determinations 72, 74, 76, and 78. Although not shown, when the off button 38 is pressed on the control screen 30, a network off signal is transmitted from the terminal, and the server S determines the off state, and the off state is not a target of the determination function.

The determination processing by the registration monitoring unit 218 distinguishes the status of each terminal B currently connected to the server S, and extracts the match candidates. Although it is expected that terminals connected to the network will increase in the future, in this case, the number of terminals in the standby state shown in fig. 3(a) increases, and the processing of the registration monitoring unit 218 having this sorting function is indispensable.

The match candidate data is compared with the registration data registered in the registration monitoring section 218, and the match candidate data in registration is searched for and transmitted to the transmission section 209. The transmission unit 209 receives the instruction from the control unit 201, and transmits the competitor recruitment signal 22 to the network from the input/output interface 205 for the IP address included in each data. In addition, the IP address is associated with the user ID stored in the ID storage unit 216.

The player recruitment signal 22 is received by the communication control unit 300 of the terminal B corresponding to the IP address value from the input/output interface 305 through the receiving unit 310 by the instruction of the control unit 301, and is stored in the storage unit 308 by the processing of the processing unit 302. The recruitment signal 22 is transmitted to a terminal display unit (not shown) via the input/output interface 305, and is displayed in the form of a network name (when the terminal B is not registered, the network name is displayed as "new registered") which lights up the participant list 39 shown in fig. 2. In the standby state, as shown in fig. 3(b), the battle call button 41 blinks to display the communication.

The user who can meet the above-described display presses the proof of match button 37 when the own terminal screen is the development screen 29 of the game or chat shown in fig. 2, and presses the immediate match button 43 when the own terminal screen is the standby screen shown in fig. 3. As a result, terminal B receives the instruction from control section 301, transfers the current own IP address from IP recording section 313 and the user ID from ID holding section 312 to processing section 302, and transmits the result to transmitting section 309. Then, according to an instruction from control section 301 of terminal B, match acceptance signal 23 including these pieces of information is transmitted to communication server section 200 via the network via input/output interface 305.

The engagement acceptance signal 23 input from the input/output interface 205 of the communication server unit 200 to the receiving unit 210 receives an instruction from the control unit 201, and moves to the processing unit 202. The processing section 202 transmits the data together with the data stored in the user attribute information storage section 215 to the transmission section 209, and transmits the data as the player selection signal 24 to the terminal a via the network again via the input/output interface 205.

After the player selection signal 24 is input to the receiving section 110 via the input/output interface 105 of the terminal a, the processing section 102 that has received the instruction from the control section 101 processes the player selection signal and stores the user ID included in the selection signal 24 in the ID storage section 114. At the same time, the selection signal 24 is transmitted to the display unit of the terminal a, not shown, via the storage unit 108 and the output unit 107 via the input/output interface 105, and the network names of the participation list 39 are displayed as shown in fig. 2.

Then, the match requester of the terminal a presses the network name, selects a desired opponent from the many opponents with reference to the attributes and the like displayed in the other window, presses the game start button 40a, and waits for the start of the game. By pressing the game start button 40a, a game start signal 25 is generated in the terminal a, and the start signal 25 is input to the receiving unit 210 of the communication server unit 200 via the input/output interfaces 105 and 205. Start signal 25 receives an instruction from control section 201, and is transmitted to registration monitoring section 218 via processing section 202, and is monitored until an end signal is received from terminal a.

The various processing functions of the communication control units 100 and 300 and the communication server unit 200 can be recorded in advance as a processing program on a computer-readable recording medium such as a CD-ROM or a DVD-ROM.

According to the participant search processing method of the present invention, since the participant search is automatically performed at the start of the online game or online chat, the participant search can be very easily performed. Further, since the game can be started as desired at any time and immediately as an offline game, it is most suitable for use in a competitive online game.

According to the participant search processing device of the present invention, a participant search requester of a game or chat can instantaneously perform a search only by a simple operation.

Claims (6)

1. A participant search method, comprising:

in a network in which a plurality of users are connected with a network server as a core, every time an online game or online chat is started, the network server receiving participant search information from 1 user compares attribute information of the user related to the network stored in the server with the participant search information, selects a user which is identical with the attribute information and is currently connected to the network other than the 1 user, transmits participant invitation information to the user, and returns participation acceptance information of the user receiving the invitation information to the 1 user.

2. A participant search device used in an online game or an online game chat performed on a network to which a network server and a plurality of network terminals are connected, the participant search device comprising:

the network server includes:

a user attribute information storage unit that stores attribute information of network users;

an ID storage unit for storing the ID of the user;

a user selection unit for selecting the user from the user attribute information storage unit according to the request of the game or chat hoper;

a login monitoring unit for managing the relationship between the ID and IP address of each user in login and the channel,

the network terminal is provided with.

An ID holding unit for holding an ID assigned from the web server;

an IP recording unit for temporarily recording IP addresses assigned from providers of respective users while online until an offline process in advance.

3. The participant search device according to claim 2, wherein:

the network terminal further includes an ID storage unit for selecting an ID exchanger from network users and storing the user ID in the terminal.

4. A web server provided with a participant communication server unit for searching for an online game or an online chat, characterized in that:

the communication server unit includes:

a user attribute information storage unit that stores attribute information of network users;

an ID storage unit for storing the ID of the user;

a user selection unit for selecting the user from the user attribute information storage unit according to the request of the game or chat hoper;

and a login monitoring unit for managing the relationship between the ID and IP address of each user in login and the channel.

5. A network terminal provided with a communication control unit for searching for participants in an online game or online chat, characterized in that:

the communication control unit includes:

an ID holding unit for holding an ID assigned from the web server;

and an IP recording unit for temporarily recording IP addresses allocated from the respective participating providers in the online state until the offline process.

6. The network terminal of claim 5, wherein:

the communication control means further includes an ID storage means for selecting an ID exchanger from among network users and storing the user ID in the own terminal in advance.