JP2002282552A - Computer-readable recording medium with video game program recorded thereon, video game program, video game processing method and video game processing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enhance the interest by allowing the rapid and easy confirmation of the relation with another character appearing in a screen. SOLUTION: When a character other than a character operated by a player appears in the present display screen, companion discrimination information for discriminating the other character as a companion is generated according to the operation of the player, and the generated companion discrimination information is stored in a prescribed data area. When meeting with this character again, the companion discrimination information stored in the prescribed data area is acquired to judge whether it is the companion or not on the basis of the acquired companion discrimination information, and a marker is displayed near the character judged as the companion. When an operation for instructing an examination for the character judged as the companion is performed, the information showing the action history between the player character and the character judged as the companion is acquired and displayed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a computer-readable recording medium storing a video game program in which a plurality of players can participate via a network, a video game program, a video game processing method, and a video. The present invention relates to a game processing device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Role playing games (hereinafter referred to as RP) are one of the genres of video games using computers.
G) is known. In the RPG, a character plays a role in a game on behalf of a player, and a story is developed while experiencing a simulated adventure through a character operated by the player (hereinafter, referred to as a player character). is there.

In many cases, in each of the setting zones formed in the virtual space, a character opposing the player character (hereinafter, referred to as an enemy character) is set. The player character proceeds to each zone, and the enemy character and the player character that hinder achievement of the objective in the story fight, and the story is developed by the enemy character being defeated by the player character. Note that the player character is operated by a button, a joystick, or the like on the keypad.

[0004] In response to an operation performed on the keypad, the player character moves and performs a predetermined operation. In addition, many events such as battle scenes are arranged in the progress of the story. The game proceeds by performing a selection operation in this event.

[0005] Recently, there are video game machines which have a communication function and can be connected to a game server via a network. When connecting to a game server using such a network-compatible video game machine and receiving a game progress service from the game server, an unspecified number of players can simultaneously participate in one game via the network. Is possible, and other characters operated by other players are displayed in each screen of the display device of each player in addition to the character operated by the player.

A video game in which an unspecified number of players can simultaneously participate through such a network often has a chat function for communicating between players during the game.

[0007]

However, in a conventional network-compatible video game, other characters encountered in the past tend to be forgotten with the passage of time. In some cases, even if the character appears, the game cannot be smoothly advanced and the interest may be spoiled.

Therefore, in a video game in which an unspecified number of players can simultaneously participate via a network, it is possible to quickly and easily confirm the relationship with other characters appearing on the screen. There is a demand for high-quality video games.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a highly interesting video game program capable of quickly and easily confirming a relationship with another character appearing on a screen in view of the above-mentioned problem. It is an object of the present invention to provide a computer-readable recording medium recording a video game, a video game program, a video game processing method, and a video game processing device.

[0010]

Means for Solving the Problems The above-mentioned problems are solved,
In order to achieve the above object, a first aspect of the present invention is a computer-readable recording medium on which a video game program in which a plurality of players can participate via a network is recorded. Generating, in a case where a character other than the character operated by the player appears in the current display screen, buddy identification information for identifying another character as a buddy according to the operation of the player; and generating the buddy identification information. And a step of storing and holding the associate identification information in a predetermined data area.

According to the first aspect, the friend identification information is generated and stored for other characters other than the character operated by the player according to the instruction of the player, so that the game is played using the friend identification information. It is possible to provide a recording medium that can be diversified and can be more interesting.

[0012] In the first aspect, further, a step of acquiring friend identification information corresponding to another character in the current display screen stored and held in the data area, and a friend identification information obtained by the acquiring step. And a step of displaying a marker in the vicinity of another character in the current display screen in accordance with the determination result obtained in the determining step. Is also good. This allows
A recording medium capable of quickly and easily grasping the relationship with other characters appearing on the screen can be provided.

[0013] In the first aspect, a character operated by the player in response to a player's operation on another character in the current display screen, and a past action history of the other character in the current display screen. May be executed. This makes it possible to provide a recording medium capable of quickly and easily confirming the details of the relationship with other characters appearing on the screen.

A second aspect of the present invention is a video game program in which a plurality of players can participate via a network. Generating a buddy identification information for identifying another character as a buddy in response to a player's operation when a character appears; and storing and holding buddy identification information obtained by the generating step in a predetermined data area. The gist is to execute.

According to the second aspect, since friend identification information is generated and stored for characters other than the character operated by the player according to the instruction of the player, the game is played using the friend identification information. It can be diversified and can be more interesting.

In the second aspect, further, a step of acquiring friend identification information corresponding to another character in the current display screen stored and held in the data area; and a step of acquiring friend identification information obtained by the acquiring step. And a step of displaying a marker in the vicinity of another character in the current display screen in accordance with the determination result obtained in the determining step. Is also good. This allows
It is possible to quickly and easily grasp the relationship with other characters appearing on the screen.

A third aspect of the present invention is a video game processing method for a video game in which a plurality of players can participate via a network, and a method other than a character operated by the player on the current display screen. Generating a buddy identification information for identifying another character as a buddy in response to a player's operation when a character appears; and storing and holding buddy identification information obtained by the generating step in a predetermined data area. The point is to have.

According to the third aspect, the friend identification information is generated and stored for other characters other than the character operated by the player according to the instruction of the player, so that the game is played using the friend identification information. It can be diversified and can be more interesting.

In the third aspect, further, a step of obtaining friend identification information corresponding to another character in the current display screen stored and held in the data area; and a step of acquiring the friend identification information obtained by the obtaining step. And a step of displaying a marker near another character in the current display screen in accordance with the determination result obtained in the determining step. good. As a result, it is possible to quickly and easily grasp the relationship with other characters appearing on the screen.

Further, in the third aspect, further, a past action history of a character operated by a player in response to a player's operation on another character in the current display screen and another character in the current display screen. May be checked and displayed. This makes it possible to quickly and easily check the details of the relationship with other characters appearing on the screen.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a video game processing apparatus, comprising: storage means for storing a video game program in which a plurality of players can participate via a network; A computer that executes the program, and a display device for displaying a screen provided as an output unit of the computer, wherein the computer executes the program, thereby displaying characters other than a character operated by a player in a current display screen. When another character appears, the gist is to generate buddy identification information for identifying the other character as a buddy in accordance with the operation of the player, and to store the generated buddy identification information in a predetermined data area.

According to the fourth aspect, since friend identification information is generated and stored for characters other than the character operated by the player according to an instruction from the player, the game is played using the friend identification information. It can be diversified and can be more interesting.

[0023] In the fourth aspect, further, companion identification information corresponding to another character in the current display screen stored and held in the data area is acquired, and based on the acquired companion identification information, the friend is identified. Or not, and a marker may be displayed near the other character in the current display screen according to the result of the determination. As a result, it is possible to quickly and easily grasp the relationship with other characters appearing on the screen.

[0024]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS First, before describing an embodiment of the present invention, a game system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing the overall configuration of the game system.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 110 denotes a network including the Internet. As shown in FIG. 1, a server group 1 of an Internet service provider (hereinafter simply referred to as ISP) is provided on a network 110.
And video game machines 10, 10a, 10b, 10c,.
・ Connected to etc. The ISP server group 1 includes an authentication server group 3 that performs account management for user authentication, a content server group 4 that provides a content browsing service such as audio and video, and a message server that provides a chat and messenger environment. Group 5, a mail server group 6 for providing an e-mail service, and a profile server group 7 for managing user profiles
And a game server group 8 for providing a game environment. Each of these server groups 3 to 8 is mutually connected via a LAN 9.

The ISP server group 1 thus configured
When connecting a video game machine to the specified server,
First, the video game machine accesses the authentication server group 3 via the network 110 to obtain personal authentication, and then receives a menu screen. Then, when the player on the video game machine side selects each service displayed on the menu screen, the video game machine 10, 10a, 10b,
Are connected to a server group corresponding to the service, and various services can be provided.

More specifically, the game server group 8 includes a communication server for communicating between arbitrary connected players. This server is called a lobby server since the players form a virtual lobby for gathering and communicating with each other, and the video game machines 10, 10a, 10
When any one of b, 10c,... is connected to the lobby server, a lobby screen is displayed on the display device of the connected video game machine.

In this screen, not only the player's own character is displayed, but also the characters of other players connected to the lobby server are displayed.
With such a virtual lobby displayed,
It is possible to chat between the players, and thereby it is possible to interact with other players,
In addition, it is possible to search for an opponent who participates in the game together.

The game server group 8 also includes a game progress server that progresses the online run-in game. This server will respond when the game start is selected
It is connected to any of the video game machines 10, 10a, 10b, 10c,... And displays a game screen on a display device of the connected video game machine.

Then, the game proceeds while processing requests from the connected video game machines in parallel. That is, even in such a game progress state, the player's own character is displayed, and characters of other players who are simultaneously participating in the game are also displayed.

Next, an embodiment will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of the video game machine according to one embodiment of the present invention.

As described above, the video game machine 10 that can be connected to the game server group 8 via the network 110 is connected to the game machine body 11 and the input side of the game machine body 11 as shown in FIG. And a television set 100 having a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube), a speaker, and the like.
1 is connected to the output side.

The game machine body 11 has a CPU (Central Pro
cessing Unit) 12 and ROM (Read Only Memory) 13
, A random access memory (RAM) 14, a hard disk drive 15, a graphic processing unit 16, a sound processing unit 17, a disk drive 18, a communication interface unit 19, a memory card reader / writer 20, an input interface And a bus 22 for interconnecting them.
In addition, the game machine body 11 includes an input interface unit 2.
1 is connected to a keypad 50 as an operation input unit.

The keypad 50 is provided with a cross key 51, a button group 52, and the like.
Button 52a and x button 52b are included. The keypad 50 includes switches associated with the cross key 51, the button group 52, and the like. When a pressing force is applied to each button, the corresponding switch is turned on. A detection signal corresponding to ON / OFF of this switch is generated in the keypad 50.

A detection signal generated by the keypad 50 is supplied to the input interface unit 21, and a detection signal from the keypad 50 is transmitted through the input interface 21 to indicate which button on the keypad 50 is turned on. It becomes detection information. In this way, the user's operation command given to the keypad 50 is given to the game machine main body 11.

The CPU 12 executes an operating system stored in the ROM 13 to centrally control the entire apparatus, and executes a video game program stored in a program area of the RAM 14.

The CPU 12 monitors the operation state of the keypad 50 via the input interface 21, and executes the video game program stored in the program area of the RAM 14 of the RAM 14 as necessary. Various data derived in the course of the progress of the game is stored in a predetermined area of the RAM 14.

The ROM 13 has an EEPROM (Electrica
The EEPROM stores predetermined data in the RAM 14 that needs to be stored even when the power is turned off, before the power is turned off.

The RAM 14 mainly has a program area, an image data area, and an audio data area, and has an area for storing other data. In each of these areas, a DVD or CD-ROM is
And the like, program data, image data, audio data, and other data read from the disk 30 are respectively stored.

The RAM 14 is also used as a work area, and in an area for storing other data, various data derived during the course of the game is also stored.
In addition, the program data read from the disk 30,
Image data, audio data, and other data can also be stored in the hard disk drive 15, and the program data, image data, audio data, and other data once stored in the hard disk drive 15 are transferred to the RAM 14 as necessary. And RAM
Various data derived in the course of the game once stored in the memory 14 may be transferred to the hard disk drive 15 and stored.

The graphic processing section 16 has a VRAM 23
Includes a frame buffer as a buffer memory for storing image data, generates a video signal based on the image data stored in the frame buffer by control information from the CPU 12 accompanying the execution of the program, and transmits the video signal to the television set 100. Output. As a result, a screen display based on the image data stored in the frame buffer is performed on the screen display unit 101 of the television set 100.

The sound processing section 17 has a function of generating sound signals such as BGM, conversation between characters and sound effects. The sound processing unit 17 controls the RAM 14 based on control information from the CPU 12 accompanying execution of the program.
Speaker 102 of the television set 100 as a sound signal including an audio signal based on the data stored in the
Output to

The television set 100 has a screen display section 101 and a speaker 102,
It performs video (image) display and audio output according to the content of the video game based on a video signal (video signal) from the PC and a sound signal.

The disk drive 18 has a configuration in which a disk (DVD or CD-ROM) 30 as a recording medium can be set in a detachable manner, and video game program data and image data stored in the disk 30 are stored. Read audio data and other data.

The communication interface section 19 is connected to the network 110, and performs data communication with a data storage device such as a server of the game server group 8 or another server or an information processing device as necessary to transfer various data. get.

It should be noted that the RA read from the disk 30
Video game program data stored in M14,
Image data, audio data, and other data may be obtained via the network 110 and the communication interface unit 19.

The memory card reader / writer 20 has a configuration in which the memory card 31 can be set in a detachable manner, and has a relatively small capacity such as intermediate data of a video game and environment setting data of the video game. Write the save data to the memory card.

A recording medium according to an embodiment of the present invention, that is, a disk 30 stores a video game program in which a plurality of players can participate via a network, and a computer (CPU 12 and its peripheral devices). ) It is readable. The computer generates, in accordance with a program to be read, buddy identification information for identifying another character as a buddy according to the operation of the player when another character other than the character operated by the player appears in the current display screen; Storing and holding the associate identification information obtained by the generating step in a predetermined data area.

Further, the computer obtains friend identification information corresponding to another character in the current display screen stored and held in a predetermined data area, and based on the friend identification information obtained by the acquiring step. Determining whether or not the user is a friend, and displaying a marker in the vicinity of the other character in the current display screen in accordance with the result of the determination.

Further, the computer investigates and displays past action histories of the character operated by the player in response to the player's operation on the other character in the current display screen and the other character in the current display screen. Steps can be performed.

Therefore, the game machine main body 11 is
And a function for generating companion identification information for identifying another character as a companion in accordance with a player's operation, in addition to a function necessary for performing a conventional video game by software processing based on data stored in a memory of each unit. And a function for storing and holding the associate identification information in a predetermined data area. Further, a function for acquiring the associate identification information once stored and held in the predetermined data area, and a function for acquiring the associate identification information based on the associate identification information. A function of determining whether or not a friend,
There is also provided a function of displaying a marker in the vicinity of another character in the current display screen in accordance with the result of the determination.

The game machine body 1 investigates the past action history of the character operated by the player in response to the player's operation on the other character in the current display screen and the other character in the current display screen. It also has a display function. Therefore, it is possible to realize a highly entertaining video game in which the relationship with other characters appearing on the screen can be quickly and easily confirmed. Note that these functions may not be realized by software processing but may be realized by providing dedicated hardware.

The operation of the embodiment configured as described above will be described. FIG. 3 is a schematic flowchart as an example showing an overall processing procedure of the operation of the above-described embodiment. Steps S1 to S12 are assigned to the respective steps in FIG. 3 as reference numerals.

First, although omitted in FIG. 3,
When the power is turned on, the boot program is read, each unit is initialized, and a process for starting a game is performed. In other words, the program data, image data, audio data, and the like of the video game stored in the disk (DVD or CD-ROM) 30 by the disk drive 18.
Other data is read, and each data is stored in the RAM 14.

Then, various settings are made prior to the actual progress of the game, and the game can be advanced only after being connected to the predetermined server of the game server group 8 as described above. Therefore, when the game proceeds in this state, the scene becomes one of a moving scene, a battle scene, a conversation scene, and an etc (other) scene, and the process proceeds to step S1.

Then, in step S1, it is determined whether or not the scene is a moving scene. If it is determined that the scene is not a moving scene, the process proceeds to step S2, and it is determined whether or not the scene is a battle scene. If it is determined that the scene is not a battle scene, the process proceeds to step S3, and it is determined whether the scene is a conversation scene.

If it is determined that the scene is not a conversation scene,
The process proceeds to step S4, where it is determined whether or not it is an etc scene (shopping scene, article exchange scene, etc.). If it is determined that the scene is not an etc scene, the process returns to step S1 again, and the processes in steps S1 to S4 are repeated to enter a standby state.

If it is determined in step S1 that the scene is a moving scene, the process proceeds to step S5, in which a character operated by a player other than the character operated by the player itself is present on the current display screen. Is determined.

If it is determined that another character is present, the flow shifts to step S6, and automatic friend recognition and investigation / registration processing are performed. When this process is completed, the process moves to step S7, where the current position of the player character and
Movement information indicating a set zone in the virtual space including the names of other characters moving together and their current positions is generated. When the movement information has been generated, the process proceeds to step S11.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S5 that there is no other character, the process directly proceeds to step S7, where the current position of the player character is determined.
Movement information indicating a set zone in the virtual space including the current position is generated, and the process proceeds to step S11.

If it is determined in step S2 that the scene is a battle scene, the process proceeds to step S8, where the name of the enemy character, the names of other characters participating in the battle, the progress of the battle, and the battle The result and battle information indicating the power level of the player character after the battle are generated, and the flow shifts to step S11.

Further, if it is determined in step S3 that the scene is a conversation scene, the process proceeds to step S6, where the name of another character to be a conversation partner and conversation information indicating the contents of the conversation are generated. Move to

If it is determined in step S4 that the scene is an etc scene, the process proceeds to step S8, where, for example, etc information indicating the purchased equipment, the replaced article, and the name of the character to be replaced. Is generated, and the process proceeds to step S11.

In step S 11, the current position of the player character is sequentially updated by storing the movement information in the RAM 14. At the same time, the battle information, the conversation information, and the etc information are stored in the RAM 14 for each set zone, and are made into a database.

That is, the action histories of the player character and the other characters are stored and held in a state where other information can be searched and extracted as needed with the predetermined information. These pieces of information stored in the database are read out during the investigation process described later. Then, in step S12, it is determined whether or not the game has ended.

If it is determined in step S12 that the game is not over, the process returns to step S1 and the above-described steps S1 to S12 are repeated. If it is determined in step S12 that the game has ended, the game is ended.

At the end of the game, the RAM 14
Is stored in the ROM 13 in the EE of the ROM 13.
After being transferred to and stored in a writable nonvolatile memory such as the PROM, the hard disk drive 15, or the memory card 31, the power supply voltage is cut off.

FIG. 4 is a schematic flow chart as an example showing a processing procedure relating to the automatic buddy recognition and investigation / registration processing (step S6) in the above-described embodiment, and FIG. 5 (A), (B), ( (C) and (D) show specific examples of display screens in the buddy automatic recognition and investigation / registration processing. Steps in FIG. 5 are denoted by reference numerals S21 to S35.

First, as described above, when the process proceeds to the friend automatic recognition and investigation / registration processing, another character is identified in step S21, and friend identification information corresponding to the character is obtained (step S22).

When the friend identification information is obtained, step S
At 23, it is determined whether or not the person is registered as a friend based on the friend identification information. If it is determined that the user is not a friend, the process proceeds to step S24, and it is determined whether an operation instruction to the friend registration screen has been given to the operation member of the keypad 50.

If it is determined that an operation instruction has been given to the friend registration screen, the process proceeds to step S25, and the friend registration screen is displayed.
It is determined whether a registration operation instruction has been issued.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 5A, a character 502 operated by the player himself having the character name "B" and another player whose character name is "C" are operated. It is assumed that a character 503 and a character 504 operated by another player whose character name is “A” are displayed.

Here, as shown in FIG. 5A, the cursor 501 is moved to the vicinity of another character 504 to be registered by the cursor key (for example, the cross key 51), and in this state, the enter key is set. Assuming that an operation instruction to the friend registration screen has been made when the (for example, the o button 52a of the button group 52) is turned on, a friend registration screen is displayed as shown in FIG. It will be in the receiving state.

In this state, a message is displayed in the upper part of the display screen as shown in FIG. 5B, and a window 505 for finally determining whether or not to register is displayed in the lower part of the display screen. Is opened, and in the window 505,
“Yes No” is displayed as a selection item. If it is determined in step S26 that a registration operation instruction has been made, the process proceeds to step S27, and associate identification information is generated.

For example, an operation instruction for registration is made by moving the cursor 501 to “Yes” in “Yes No” by using the cursor key (for example, the cross key 51), and in this state, pressing the enter key (for example, the button group 52). ○ button 52a)
Is completed when is turned on, and the process proceeds to step S27.

When the generation of the friend identification information is completed, the friend identification information is stored in a predetermined data area of the RAM 14 together with the character name in step S28, and the registration is completed. When the buddy registration for another character is completed, the buddy registration screen is erased in step S29, and a series of buddy automatic recognition and investigation / registration processing ends. If it is determined in step S24 that the operation instruction to the registration screen is not made, or if it is determined in step S27 that the operation instruction for registration is not made, the registration process is not performed. , A series of peer automatic recognition and investigation / registration processing ends.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S23 that the character is a friend, the process proceeds to step S30, and a marker is displayed near another character recognized as a friend.

Then, in step S31, it is determined whether or not an investigation operation instruction has been given to the operation member of the keypad 50. If it is determined that a survey operation instruction has been given, the process proceeds to step S32, the survey is performed, and the obtained survey result is displayed (step S3).
3).

More specifically, it is assumed that a friend has been registered with the character 504 having the character name "A" in the past, and that the character 504 appears on the current display screen and the marker 506 is displayed. I do.

In this case, the cursor key (for example, the cross key 51) is used to move the character
The cursor 501 is moved as shown in (C), and in that state, the enter key (for example, the O button 5 of the button group 52) is pressed.
Assuming that a survey operation instruction was given when 2a) was turned on, a survey is performed, and the survey result is displayed as shown in FIG. 5 (D).

This investigation is a process for acquiring information indicating an action history between the player character 502 and another character 504 retrieved and extracted with the character name “A”. In the display screen of the survey results shown in (D), the heading "Memory with A" is displayed at the top of the screen, and at the bottom, "I went to the magical cave with C""I got a friendship batch It is displayed.

When the results of the survey are displayed as described above,
The process shifts to step S34, where it is determined whether or not an operation instruction to end the investigation has been issued, and the apparatus enters a standby state until an operation instruction to end the investigation is issued.

Then, only when it is determined that a predetermined operation has been performed on the keypad 50 (for example, the O button 52a of the button group 52 has been turned on) and that an operation instruction to end the investigation has been made, the process proceeds to step S35. The display for notifying the result and the marker are erased, and a series of automatic peer recognition and investigation / registration processing ends. The operation instruction to end the investigation is completed when, for example, the X button 52b of the button group 52 is turned on.

Therefore, the above-described embodiment has the following effects. The first effect is that mate identification information can be arbitrarily generated for a character other than the character operated by the player according to an instruction of the player, and the game can be diversified by using the mate identification information. The point is that it is possible to enhance the interest.

Next, the second effect is that it is possible to quickly and easily grasp the relationship with other characters appearing on the screen by displaying markers. In addition, the third effect is that the results of the survey can be displayed as needed,
The point is that it is possible to quickly and easily check the details of the relationship with other characters appearing on the screen.

Next, another embodiment will be described. In the above-described embodiment, a case has been described in which the cursor direction of the keypad 50, the O button 52a, and the X button 52b are used to receive an operation instruction related to the investigation / registration processing. However, other buttons may be used. good.

Further, a circle button 52a and a cross button 52b
Although the case where the operation instruction is received by monitoring only the timing at which the button is pressed has been described, the operation instruction can be received using the timing at which the switch associated with the predetermined button is turned off, or the operation associated with the predetermined button can be received. It is also possible to monitor both the ON and OFF timings of the switch to be operated, and receive an operation instruction by combining both of them. Further, an operation instruction may be received by combining a time during which a switch associated with a predetermined button is turned on or a time when the switch is turned off.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the friend identification information is stored in the RAM 14 has been described, but it may be stored in a predetermined data area of the memory of the game server group 8. This makes it possible to manage the friend identification information in a centralized manner, thereby enabling more complicated processing and processing in groups.

Further, in one embodiment described above,
Although the case where each process is performed by the computer on the video game machine 10 side has been described, the computer on the server side may be used, or both computers may be linked to execute each process by two computers. You may do it.

In other words, the video game machine 10 and the game server connected via the network can be regarded as one video game processing device, and the sharing and use of the respective memory areas is free. , And each CP
Regarding the sharing of processing in U, any combination is possible depending on the program to be read.

Further, in one embodiment described above,
A case has been described in which buddy identification information is arbitrarily generated in accordance with a player's operation instruction, stored and held in a predetermined data area of the RAM 14, and this buddy identification information is read as it is and used for automatic recognition. The friend identification information stored in the area may be linked with other processing, and may be rewritten as needed according to the result of the processing. By doing so, more complicated processing becomes possible, and it becomes possible to further enhance interest.

In the above-described embodiment, when it is determined that the user is a friend based on the friend identification information,
A case has been described in which a marker is displayed in the vicinity of another character recognized as a buddy, but a marker is displayed in the vicinity of another character not recognized as a buddy when it is not determined to be a buddy based on buddy identification information. You may do it.

That is, the present invention may be in any form as long as it can notify a friend and a non-friend, and a marker may be displayed on one side or a different marker may be displayed on both sides. In addition, the marker is a dedicated display (FIG. 5).
(See 506 in (C)) as well as the marker can be used by making the display form and design of the target neighborhood different from the current display. That is, the present invention
It is not limited to the form or design of the marker.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and it is obvious that the embodiments can be appropriately modified within the scope of the technical idea of the present invention. Further, the same components in the respective drawings are denoted by the same reference numerals.

[0095]

As described above, according to the present invention,
When mate identification information is arbitrarily generated for a character other than the character operated by the player according to the instruction of the player, and a character registered as a mate appears in the current display screen based on the mate identification information, Since a marker is displayed near the character, the relationship with other characters appearing on the screen can be quickly and easily grasped.

Further, according to the present invention, the investigation result can be displayed as necessary, and the details of the relationship with other characters appearing on the screen can be quickly and easily confirmed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing the overall configuration of a game system according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart used to explain the overall operation of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart used to describe a peer automatic recognition and investigation / registration processing according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram used for describing the operation of the embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 ISP server group 8 Game server group 10, 10a, 10b, 10c Video game machine 11 Game machine body 12 CPU 13 ROM 14 RAM 15 Hard disk drive 16 Graphic processing unit 17 Sound processing unit 18 Disk drive 21 Input interface unit 30 Disk 50 Keypad 51 Cross key 52 Button group 52a ○ button 52b × button 100 Television set 101 Screen display unit 110 Network 501 Cursor 502, 503, 504 Character 505 Window

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. A computer-readable recording medium on which a video game program in which a plurality of players can participate via a network is recorded. The computer displays a character operated by a player in a current display screen. Generating a buddy identification information for identifying another character as a buddy in response to the operation of the player when a character other than the above appears; And a computer-readable recording medium having recorded thereon a program for executing the steps. 2. A step of obtaining friend identification information corresponding to another character in the current display screen stored and held in the data area; and a step of obtaining a friend based on the friend identification information obtained by the obtaining step. Determining whether or not there is a marker, and displaying a marker in the vicinity of another character in the current display screen according to a determination result obtained in the determining step. A computer-readable recording medium according to claim 1. 3. A step of investigating and displaying a past action history of a character operated by a player in response to a player's operation on another character in the current display screen and another character in the current display screen. The computer-readable recording medium according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the program is executed. 4. A video game program in which a plurality of players can participate via a network, wherein when a character other than the character operated by the player appears on a current display screen, Generating buddy identification information for identifying another character as a buddy in accordance with an operation of the player; and storing and holding buddy identification information obtained by the generating step in a predetermined data area. Program to do. 5. A step of acquiring friend identification information corresponding to another character in the current display screen stored and held in the data area; and a step of acquiring a friend based on the friend identification information obtained by the acquiring step. 5. A step of determining whether or not there is, and displaying a marker near another character in the current display screen according to a determination result obtained in the determining step. The program described in. 6. A video game processing method for a video game in which a plurality of players can participate via a network, wherein when a character other than the character operated by the player appears in a current display screen, Generating a buddy identification information for identifying another character as a buddy according to a player's operation; and storing and holding the buddy identification information obtained by the generating step in a predetermined data area. Video game processing method. 7. A step of acquiring associate identification information corresponding to another character in the current display screen stored and held in the data area, and a step of acquiring associates based on the associate identification information obtained by the obtaining step. 7. The method according to claim 6, further comprising: a step of determining whether or not there is a marker, and a step of displaying a marker near another character in the current display screen in accordance with a determination result obtained in the determining step. The video game processing method according to the above. 8. A step of investigating and displaying past action histories of a character operated by a player in response to a player's operation on another character in the current display screen and another character in the current display screen. 8. The video game processing method according to claim 6, comprising: 9. A video game processing apparatus, comprising: storage means for storing a video game program in which a plurality of players can participate via a network; and a computer for executing the program read from the storage means. A display device for screen display provided as an output unit of the computer, wherein the computer executes the program, and when a character other than the character operated by the player appears on the current display screen, 2. A video game processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: generating buddy identification information for identifying another character as a buddy in accordance with an operation of the player; and storing and generating the generated buddy identification information in a predetermined data area. 10. Acquiring friend identification information corresponding to another character in the current display screen stored and held in the data area, and determining whether or not the user is a friend based on the acquired friend identification information. 10. The video game processing device according to claim 9, wherein a marker is displayed near another character in the current display screen according to a result of the determination.