JP2012245152A - Game control device, matching method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

A main memory having a limited capacity is used to suppress a delay caused by a matching process for a large number of player identification information for a battle between players.
According to a certain rule, M player identification information is extracted from a plurality of player identification information in a non-volatile memory and developed in a main memory (S10). N pieces (N <M) of player identification information are randomly extracted from the player identification information on the main memory (S20). Matching is performed on the extracted N pieces of player identification information (S30). N player identification information items that have not been extracted in the past are newly extracted from the plurality of player identification information items in the non-volatile memory according to the predetermined rule, and the newly extracted N player identification information items are Instead of the N pieces of player identification information for which matching has been performed, the information is developed in the main memory (S40). Each process of S20, S30, and S40 is repeated in this order.
[Selection] Figure 12

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for matching player identification information for a match between players for a plurality of player identification information.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an online game that is executed via a network among a plurality of players when each player operates a game device with a communication function equipped with game software has been known.
In recent years, so-called social games, which are executed by game applications created based on an operating environment such as an API (Application Programming Interface) that runs on a web browser in a social networking service (SNS), have become widespread. ing. It can be said that the social game is a kind of online game that is played while communicating among an unspecified number of players. However, in the social game, unlike the online game described above, the game is not performed between players through a game device with communication function equipped with game software, and the game software is installed or downloaded on the player side. There is no need. That is, if the player has a communication device equipped with a web browser, the player can execute a social game. Therefore, for example, if a portable terminal that can be connected to the Internet is provided, the player can enjoy a social game regardless of time and place.

  In the above-described online game or social game, player identification information (player ID) for individually identifying each player is registered in a server connected to the network. Then, matching (combination of battles) between a plurality of players in the battle game is automatically determined by the server based on the player identification information. Conventionally, as a matching method for a plurality of player identification information, a tournament-type automatic matching method as described in Patent Document 1 and an opponent (player ID) are randomly determined as described in Patent Document 2. Automatic matching methods and the like are known.

JP 2002-35424 A JP 2001-157782 A

  In the above-described online game or social game, player identification information registered by the player is recorded in a nonvolatile memory such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) in a server (game control device) connected to the network. Then, the processor of the server uses a main memory such as a RAM (Random Access Memory) to execute matching of a plurality of player identification information in the nonvolatile memory. At this time, if the number of player identification information to be matched is much larger than the number of player identification information that can be processed at one time in the main memory, all matching processes are executed in the conventional matching method. It may take time to complete. For example, if a method of sequentially extracting a number of player identification information that can be processed at once in the main memory from a plurality of player identification information recorded in the non-volatile memory and performing matching, whether or not the extraction has been completed. It is necessary to set and store a flag for discriminating each player identification information for each player identification information, and to scan each player identification information flag in the nonvolatile memory every time it is extracted.

The delay in the matching process becomes more prominent as the number of player identification information to be processed increases.
In the above-described online game (not a social game), for example, if 1 million player identification information are registered for a specific game, players corresponding to all the player identification information are connected to the network at the same time. Therefore, the number of pieces of player identification information to be matched in the server is much less than 1 million, for example, about several thousand to several tens of thousands. In this case, each time the player identification information is extracted to the main memory in order to perform the matching process for the active player identification information connected to the network in the nonvolatile memory, data of several tens of K bits is scanned. It will be.

  On the other hand, in the above-described social game, the player does not need to perform a complicated operation, and the game is performed by a simple operation only in a short time. Further, the player performs an operation in parallel with this game. In some cases, a game is automatically executed in the background (that is, on the server side) to notify the player only of the result of the battle. In such a game, a battle is automatically executed for all player identification information registered in a server on the network regardless of the player's intention to participate in the battle. In that case, for example, if 1 million player identification information is registered for a specific game, it is necessary to perform matching on 1 million player identification information. At this time, each time player identification information is extracted from the non-volatile memory to the main memory in order to perform the matching process, a large amount of data of several M bits is scanned.

  Furthermore, in social games, it is possible to register for a specific game with a simple procedure using portable terminals that are widely used, so the number of registered users increases as time passes after game distribution. There is a possibility that much more player identification information is registered than the number of player identification information predicted before game distribution. Therefore, for example, even if 1 million player identification information is initially planned and the capacity of the main memory of the server is set so that there is no delay due to the matching process, 2 to 3 million player identification information in the future When the matching is processed, the delay due to the matching process may be at an unacceptable level.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described viewpoints. When matching is performed on a large number of player identification information for a match between players using a limited main memory, matching is performed. It is an object of the present invention to provide a game control device, a matching method, and a program that can suppress delay due to processing.

A game control apparatus according to claim 1 is a game control apparatus that performs matching of player identification information for a battle between players for a plurality of player identification information stored in a nonvolatile memory, and includes the following means: I have.
(1) First extraction means for extracting M player identification information from the plurality of player identification information according to a certain rule and expanding the extracted information in a main memory.
(2) Second extraction means for randomly extracting N (N <M) player identification information from the player identification information on the main memory.
(3) Matching execution means for performing matching on N player identification information extracted by the second extraction means.
(4) N player identification information not extracted by the first extraction means is newly extracted from the plurality of player identification information according to the certain rule, and the newly extracted N player identifications Third extraction means for expanding the information in the main memory instead of the N pieces of player identification information matched by the matching execution means.
Further, this game control device has the following features.
(5) Repeat each process by the second extraction means, the matching means and the third extraction means in this order.

  The game control device may be any information processing device that can establish a connection with each of the communication devices of a large number or a large number of unspecified players via a network. Such a game control device may be, for example, one or a plurality of servers arranged on a network, or a large computer device. Further, the player and the communication terminal do not necessarily have a fixed one-to-one correspondence, and a usage mode of the communication terminal in which a plurality of players share a single communication terminal is also assumed. Therefore, this game control apparatus manages a player for each piece of player identification information such as a player ID as information that can uniquely identify a player who plays a battle game.

  In this game control device, the first extracting means extracts M player identification information from a plurality of player identification information according to a certain rule, and expands it in the main memory. Here, the “certain rule” may be any rule as long as it is a rule that orders each of the plurality of player identification information without duplication, for example, ascending order or descending order. In this first extraction means, since player identification information is extracted according to a certain rule, each of the plurality of player identification information stored in the nonvolatile memory is, for example, a flag or the like for identifying whether or not it has been extracted. There is no need to associate. For example, it is sufficient to temporarily store only the player identification information extracted last (or only the player identification information that newly starts extraction). The M can be set to an arbitrary value according to the capacity of the main memory. If the number of player identification information stored in the nonvolatile memory is 1 to 2 million, for example, M is About 10,000 is sufficient.

  In this game control apparatus, the second extracting means randomly extracts N (N <M) player identification information from the player identification information on the main memory. The matching execution means performs matching on the N player identification information extracted by the second extraction means. N can be set to any value as long as N <M, but M is preferably an integer multiple of N. For example, when M = 10,000, N = 100 may be set. In this case, matching is executed on 100 player identification information randomly extracted from 10,000 player identification information.

  In this game control apparatus, the third extraction means newly extracts N player identification information items that have not been extracted by the first extraction means from among the plurality of player identification information items, and newly adds the new player identification information items. The extracted N player identification information is developed in the main memory in place of the N player identification information that has been matched by the matching execution means. That is, the already matched N player identification information is removed from the main memory. Instead, new N player identification information is extracted from the nonvolatile memory and developed in the main memory. Here, the extraction from the non-volatile memory is sequentially performed according to a certain rule in the same manner as the first extraction means, with the player identification information last extracted by the first extraction means as a reference.

In this game control apparatus, once the first extraction means is executed, the processes by the second extraction means, the matching means, and the third extraction means are repeated in this order. Thereby, the matching of N pieces of player identification information is executed in order, and each time a match of N pieces of player identification information is completed, new N pieces of player identification information are stored in the non-volatile memory. Are extracted from the player identification information.
At this time, since the third extraction means sequentially extracts from the non-volatile memory including a large number of player identification information according to the predetermined rule, each time N pieces of player identification information are extracted, By storing only the extracted player identification information (or only the player identification information for newly starting extraction), it is possible to perform the extraction every time by the third extraction means at high speed. For example, if the number of player identification information stored in the non-volatile memory is 1 million, M is 10,000, and N is 100, the number of extractions by the third extraction means is (1 million-10,000) / Although 100 = 9900 times, the player identification information at the start of each extraction is recognized based on the “certain rule” as described above, that is, based on player identification information that is ordered without duplication in ascending or descending order. Therefore, the location where extraction should be started this time is immediately known with respect to the previous extraction, and the extraction method follows a certain rule, so that each extraction process can be completed at high speed. As a result, according to this game control device, matching for a very large amount of player identification information can be performed at high speed using a limited main memory.

  In this game control device, as described above, the first extraction means or the third extraction means for extracting the player identification information from the nonvolatile memory sequentially extracts the player identification information according to a certain rule. That is, it is not necessary to perform processing for sequentially checking, for each player identification information, data for identifying whether or not extraction has been performed, for example, depending on whether or not a flag is set. Therefore, even if the number of player identification information in the nonvolatile memory increases during the operation of the game control device, an increase in processing time required for matching the player identification information in the nonvolatile memory is suppressed. . Therefore, it is possible to avoid measures such as expansion of the main memory (for example, addition of memory) or system modification corresponding to an increase in player identification information stored in the nonvolatile memory.

In this game control device, in the main memory, N player identification information is randomly extracted from the player identification information by the second extraction means, and after the extraction, new N player identification information is non-volatile. Refilled from memory. Therefore, any possibility of matching of the player identification information in the nonvolatile memory is not excluded. Specifically, the number of player identification information stored in the nonvolatile memory is 1 million (1st to 1 millionth player identification information), and even if the number is extracted in ascending order, the first And the possibility of matching the 1 millionth player identification information is not excluded. In other words, according to this game control device, it is possible to provide an opportunity for a player to play against each other over a wide range.
If 1 million pieces of player identification information are grouped for each number of player identification information corresponding to the capacity of the main memory, and each group is randomly matched, Opponents are limited within the group and the opportunity to play between players in different groups is lost, but this is not the case with this game control device.

A game control device according to a second aspect is the game control device according to the first aspect, further comprising the following features.
(6) The non-volatile memory stores each player identification information in association with the time when the device was last accessed based on the player identification information.
(7) The first extracting means and the third extracting means extract, from the plurality of player identification information, player identification information whose current time has not passed a predetermined time from the last accessed time. .

  It is assumed that the player accesses the game control device based on the player identification information via a network or the like, for example. Here, the game control device stores the access time for each player identification information in the nonvolatile memory based on the player identification information. In this game control device, when the player identification information is extracted from the plurality of player identification information in the nonvolatile memory by the first extraction means and the third extraction means, the current time is accessed last. Player identification information for which a predetermined time has not elapsed since the time is extracted.

  In this game control apparatus, the above extraction method is adopted for the following reason. In other words, a player whose player identification information has the current time elapsed from the last accessed time has not accessed the game control device for a certain period of time with reference to the current time, and is not actually playing the game. Probably not participating. For example, in a social game or an online game, player identification information can be registered with a relatively simple procedure. Therefore, the number of player identification information managed by the game control device is likely to increase. It does not always participate continuously in the game later. Actually, among a plurality of player identification information stored in the nonvolatile memory of the game control device, there is a certain percentage of player identification information that is not accessed at all. Therefore, by extracting only the player identification information whose predetermined time has not elapsed since the time when the current time was last accessed, the player identification information that has not substantially participated in the game is excluded from the extraction target. Thereby, since the number of player identification information to be extracted is limited, the time required for matching is further shortened. In addition, since the player corresponding to the excluded identification information does not substantially participate in the game (that is, because the player does not access the game), for example, the battle automatically executed in the background of the normal game Even if no participation is made, there is no problem because it is not known. However, assuming a case where access is made again after not accessing for a long time, for example, a message stating that “the battle was not performed because there was no access for a predetermined period or longer (for example, 2 weeks or more)” is sent. You may do it. In this case, if the game is not continuously accessed, the player can recognize that the battle is not executed, so that motivation to continue the game can be given.

A game control device according to a third aspect is the game control device according to the second aspect, comprising the following means.
(8) Class management means for managing each player identification information in association with any one of a plurality of classes.
(9) Storage means for storing the N player identification information extracted by the second extraction means and the third extraction means for each corresponding class.
Further, this game control device has the following features.
(10) When the number of player identification information accumulated for each class has reached a predetermined number for the class, the matching execution unit has completed matching for the player identification information accumulated for the class To judge.

  In this game control device, the class management means manages each player identification information in association with one of a plurality of classes. The association between the player identification information and the class can be set from various viewpoints. For example, when the player identification information is associated with the ability value of the player character on the game, each player identification information may be associated with a class corresponding to the magnitude of the ability value. Alternatively, when a battle game of a plurality of stages (for example, a plurality of different battle types, respectively) corresponding to the class is set, each player identification information may be associated with the participating stage.

  In this game control device, in order to match the player identification information for each class, the storage means sequentially stores the N player identification information extracted by the second extraction means and the third extraction means for each corresponding class. , Sort and accumulate. Then, when the number of player identification information accumulated for each class reaches a predetermined number for the class, the matching execution unit determines that matching for the player identification information accumulated for the class is completed. . Here, the number predetermined for the class can be set arbitrarily, and may be the same value as N or a different value. When the number of player identification information accumulated in each class by one execution of the second extraction means or the third extraction means does not reach the predetermined number, a plurality of second extraction means or third When the player identification information is accumulated up to the predetermined number by the execution of the extraction means, it is determined that the matching is completed. According to this game control device, matching for a large amount of player identification information can be performed on a class basis while performing high-speed matching using a main memory having a limited capacity. Therefore, useless processing such as combining different classes of player identification information can be avoided, and efficient matching can be performed. Moreover, the variation of the game provided by the game control apparatus can be expanded by providing a plurality of classes.

A game control device according to a fourth aspect is the game control device according to any one of the first to third aspects, comprising the following means.
(10) A communication means for communicating with an arbitrary communication terminal via a network.
(11) Storage means for storing player identification information in the non-volatile memory based on access for registration related to participation in a battle from an arbitrary communication terminal.

  This game control apparatus is assumed to communicate with an arbitrary communication terminal via a network. The communication terminal is, for example, a game device with a communication function equipped with game software, a mobile terminal such as a so-called smartphone, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistance), or the like. That is, an online game or a social game is assumed as a battle game executed by the game control device. As described above, in the social game or the online game, the player identification information can be registered by a relatively simple procedure. Therefore, the number of player identification information managed by the game control device starts the operation of the game control device. At that point, it is difficult to predict. Therefore, at the start of operation of a game control device corresponding to a specific game, for example, 1 million players participate (for example, 1 million pieces of player identification information are registered), and 2 million after 1 month of operation start. There may be a situation where the number of player identification information to be stored in the non-volatile memory of the game control device rapidly increases in a short period of time, such as two players participating (for example, registering 2 million player identification information). . Even in such a situation, according to this game control device, an increase in processing time required for matching the player identification information in the non-volatile memory is suppressed, and accordingly, in response to an increase in the player identification information stored in the non-volatile memory. In addition, it is possible to avoid dealing with expansion of the main memory (for example, addition of memory) or system modification. That is, this game control device has a useful effect particularly when applied to an online game or a social game.

A matching method according to claim 5 is a matching method in a game control device for matching player identification information for a match between players for a plurality of player identification information stored in a non-volatile memory. Has steps.
(12) A first step of extracting M player identification information from the plurality of player identification information according to a certain rule and developing the extracted information in the main memory of the game control device.
(13) A second step of randomly extracting N (N <M) player identification information from the player identification information on the main memory.
(14) A third step in which matching is performed on the N pieces of player identification information extracted in the second step.
(15) N player identification information not extracted in the first step is newly extracted from the plurality of player identification information according to the certain rule, and the newly extracted N player identifications A fourth step of expanding the information in the main memory in place of the N player identification information matched in the third step.
Furthermore, this matching method has the following features.
(16) Repeat the second, third and fourth steps in this order.

A program according to claim 6 is a program for performing matching of player identification information for a battle between players for a plurality of player identification information stored in a nonvolatile memory. It is a program for making it run.
(17) A first extraction procedure for extracting M player identification information from the plurality of player identification information according to a certain rule and expanding the extracted information in the main memory of the computer.
(18) A second extraction procedure for randomly extracting N (N <M) player identification information from the player identification information on the main memory.
(19) A character ability update step of updating the ability value of the player character corresponding to the player identification information based on the battle result of the first battle.
(20) A matching execution procedure for performing matching on N pieces of player identification information extracted by the second extraction procedure.
(21) N player identification information not extracted in the first extraction procedure is newly extracted from the plurality of player identification information according to the certain rule, and the newly extracted N player identifications A third extraction procedure for expanding the information in the main memory in place of the N pieces of player identification information matched in the matching execution procedure;
(22) A procedure of repeating the second extraction procedure, the matching execution procedure, and the third extraction procedure in this order.

  This program may be stored in a computer-readable information storage medium such as a DVD-ROM or CD-ROM.

  According to the present invention, when matching is performed on a very large number of player identification information for a battle between players using a limited main memory, delay due to matching processing can be suppressed. it can.

The figure which shows the basic composition of the game system of 1st Embodiment. The block diagram which shows the structure of the communication terminal of 1st Embodiment. The block diagram which shows the structure of the game server of 1st Embodiment. The block diagram which shows the structure of the database server of 1st Embodiment. The functional block diagram for demonstrating the function to play main roles with the game control apparatus of 1st Embodiment. The figure which shows the example of a display in the communication terminal of 1st Embodiment. The figure which shows the structural example of the player database contained in a database server. The figure which shows the structural example of the league game database contained in a database server. The figure which shows the structural example of the ranking database contained in a database server. The figure which shows the example of a display in the communication terminal of 1st Embodiment. The functional block diagram of the 2nd battle | competition execution means of the game control apparatus of 1st Embodiment. The flowchart which shows the matching process in 1st Embodiment. The figure which shows notionally the matching process in 1st Embodiment. The figure which shows notionally the matching process in 1st Embodiment. The figure which shows an example of the schedule of the league game which applied the matching of 1st Embodiment. The flowchart which shows a part of main process of the baseball game in 1st Embodiment. The block diagram which shows the structure of the database server of 2nd Embodiment. The figure which shows an example of the schedule of the baseball game of 2nd Embodiment. The functional block diagram for demonstrating the function which plays a main role with the game control apparatus of 2nd Embodiment. The figure which shows the example of a display in the communication terminal of 2nd Embodiment. The functional block diagram of the 2nd battle | competition execution means of the game control apparatus of 2nd Embodiment. The flowchart which shows the matching process in 2nd Embodiment. The figure which shows notionally the part of matching process in 2nd Embodiment. The flowchart which shows a part of main process of the baseball game in 2nd Embodiment.

(1) First Embodiment (1-1) Configuration of Game System FIG. 1 shows a system configuration example of a game system according to an embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, this game system includes communication terminals 10a, 10b, 10c,... That can be connected to a communication network NW such as the Internet, a game server 20 connected to the communication network NW, and a database server 30. And is composed of. Each of the communication terminals 10a, 10b, 10c,... Is a terminal operated by an individual player, for example, a communication terminal such as a portable terminal, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), or a personal computer. In the following description, when referring to the communication terminals 10a, 10b, 10c,. In this game system, an application operable on a web browser is installed in the game server 20 as a game application. The communication terminal 10 includes a web browser capable of displaying a web page provided by the game server 20, and a player operates the communication terminal 10 on the web page to execute a game. The database server 30 stores various information to be described later in executing the game, and is connected to the game server 20 by, for example, a wire for reading and writing the information.

  Although not shown in FIG. 1, an authentication server for authenticating the player of each communication terminal 10 may be provided separately from the game server 20. Further, when a plurality of game servers 20 are provided in order to accept access from many communication terminals 10, a load balancer for adjusting a load between the plurality of game servers 20 may be provided. The game server 20 may be configured as a single server device, but may be configured as a plurality of server devices having distributed functions.

(1-2) Configuration of Communication Terminal The configuration of the communication terminal 10 will be described with reference to FIG.
As shown in FIG. 2, the communication terminal 10 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 11, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 12, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 13, an image processing unit 14, an operation input unit 15, a display unit 16, A wireless communication interface unit 17 is provided, and a bus 18 for transmitting control signals or data signals between the units is provided.

The CPU 11 loads the web browser in the ROM 22 into the RAM 23 and executes it. Then, the CPU 11 displays data for displaying a web page from the game server 20 via the wireless communication interface unit 17 based on appropriate designation of a URL (Uniform Resource Locator) input to the player by the operation input unit 15 or the like. That is, data of an object such as an HTML (HyperText Markup Language) document and an image associated with the document (hereinafter, collectively referred to as “HTML data” as appropriate) is acquired via the wireless communication interface unit 17. The HTML data is interpreted. The communication terminal 10 may be mounted with various plug-ins for extending the browser function of the web browser.
In acquiring HTML data, the CPU 11 sends an access request message including a player ID (player identification information) registered in advance or a player ID input via the operation input unit 15 via the wireless communication interface unit 17. To the game server 20.

  The web browser displays the web page provided from the game server 20 on the display unit 16 based on the acquired HTML data via the image processing unit 14. Further, when the player selects a hyperlink or object on the web page by operating the operation input unit 15, the web browser transmits new HTML data for displaying the web page according to the selection. Is requested to the game server 20.

  The image processing unit 14 displays a web page on the display unit 16 based on display image data provided from the CPU 11 as an analysis result of HTML data. The display unit 16 is, for example, an LCD (Liquid Cristal Display) monitor including thin film transistors arranged in a matrix in a pixel unit, and displays the image of the web page by driving the thin film transistors based on the display image data.

  The operation input unit 15 may include a plurality of buttons for accepting the player's operation input and an interface circuit for recognizing the pressing input of each button and outputting it to the CPU 11, but in FIG. Examples of buttons are shown. For example, the direction instruction button is provided to instruct the CPU 11 to scroll and display the web page displayed on the display unit 16. The determination button instructs the CPU 11 that the player selects one hyperlink or object that is actively displayed (for example, highlighted) when, for example, a plurality of hyperlinks or objects are displayed on the web page. To be provided. When the communication terminal 10 is constituted by a small portable terminal, these buttons are arranged on the front surface of the communication terminal 10 so that the player can easily operate with the thumb while holding the communication terminal 10 with one hand. It is preferable.

(1-3) Configuration of Game Server The configuration of the game server 20 will be described with reference to FIG.
The game server 20 manages, for example, a battle game website including a plurality of hierarchical web pages, and provides a battle game web service to the communication terminal 10. As shown in FIG. 3, the game server 20 includes a CPU 21, a ROM 22, a RAM 23, a database (DB) access unit 24, and a communication interface unit 25 (an example of a communication means). A bus 26 is provided for transmitting signals. In addition, the game server 20 can take the same structure as a general-purpose web server regarding hardware.

The ROM 22 stores an application program (program of this embodiment) that provides a service of displaying an object such as an HTML document or an image (displaying a web page) to the web browser of the communication terminal 10 that is a client. .
The CPU 21 loads the game program in the ROM 22 to the RAM 23 and executes it, and performs various processes via the communication interface unit 25.

For example, the CPU 21 transmits HTML data to the communication terminal 10 via the communication interface unit 25. In addition, when the game server 20 performs the authentication process of the player of the communication terminal 10, the CPU 21 performs the authentication process.
The CPU 21 performs processing according to the hyperlink or object selected by the player on the web page displayed on the communication terminal 10 via the communication interface unit. The processing includes, for example, transmission of new HTML data, arithmetic processing in the game server 20 or data processing.
The database access unit 24 is an interface when the CPU 21 reads / writes data from / to the database server 30.

(1-4) Configuration of Database Server The database server 30 is an embodiment of a nonvolatile memory, and can be realized by a general-purpose storage such as a large-capacity hard disk device or a device such as a RAID (Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks). Each database in the database server 30 is configured to be able to read and write data from the CPU 21 via the database access unit 24 of the game server 20.
FIG. 4 shows an example of the configuration of the database server 30. The example shown in FIG. 4 is an example of a database for realizing a battle game described later, and the database server 30 includes a player database 31, a league game database 32, and a ranking database 33. The contents of these databases will be described later.

(1-5) Outline of Functions in Game Control Device In the present embodiment, the game server 20 and the database server 30 constitute the game control device of the present invention. The game executed by the game control device may be any type of game (matching game) including a fighting element between players, such as a game simulating sports such as baseball and soccer, or a game simulating combat. It does n’t matter. Below, the function implement | achieved with the game control apparatus in case a baseball game is performed by the game control apparatus of this embodiment as an example of a battle | competition game is demonstrated with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram for explaining functions that play a major role in the game control apparatus of the present embodiment.

The baseball game of this embodiment is configured so that two battles progress. One is an individual battle (first battle) performed between player characters associated with different player IDs, triggered by an operation input of the communication terminal 10 by the player. The other is a league battle (second battle) that is automatically performed between player characters associated with different player IDs without triggering an operation input to the communication terminal 10 by the player.
In the following description, “a battle between player characters associated with different player IDs” and “a battle between player IDs” are synonymous.

The game progression means 51 has a function of advancing a game displayed on the player's communication terminal 10 through a web page on the communication terminal 10 in response to an operation on the communication terminal 10 by the player. For example, in the game progress means 51, the CPU 21 transmits, to the communication terminal 10, HTML data for displaying a web page corresponding to the hyperlink or object selection on the web page by the player via the communication interface unit 25. To do. The CPU 21 sequentially transmits new HTML data in accordance with the selection of a hyperlink or object on the web page by the player, whereby the web page displayed on the communication terminal 10 is sequentially switched, so that the player progresses the game. Recognize
Also, in the game progress means 51, when the CPU 21 of the game server 20 receives an access request message from the communication terminal 10 via the communication interface unit 25 prior to the start of the game, the communication terminal after the predetermined authentication process. 10 recognizes the player ID included in the access request message. Then, the CPU 21 of the game server 20 manages the progress of the game displayed on each communication terminal 10 in units of player IDs. For example, the player ID may be given (registered) after the player accesses a baseball game website provided by the game server 20 through the communication terminal 10 and undergoes a predetermined procedure.

  FIG. 6 is an example of a web page displayed on the communication terminal 10 by the game progress means 51. The web page shown in FIG. 6 is a web page that is displayed when a player accesses a baseball game website provided by the game server 20 through the communication terminal 10, and corresponds to the main menu of the baseball game. In the web page shown in FIG. 6, for example, the text “Scout”, “Order”, “Strengthen”, “Lottery”, “Game”, “League game” is displayed in a predetermined area (with a hyperlink). Object). At this time, when the player selects any of these characters by operating the direction instruction button and the determination button of the operation input unit 15 of the communication terminal 10, the CPU 21 is played by the player via the communication interface unit 25 in the game progress means 51. Recognizing the selection result, new HTML data is transmitted to the communication terminal 10. As a result, a new web page corresponding to the selection result of the player is displayed on the display unit 16 of the communication terminal 10.

The storage means 52 has a function of storing the player character's ability value in association with each player ID. In the present embodiment, the storage means 52 is realized by the player database 31 of the database server 30.
FIG. 7 is an example of the player database 31 in the baseball game of this embodiment. In this example, the player database 31 includes, for each player ID, ability value data for each item of a plurality of player characters associated with the player ID. In the example of FIG. 7, the capability value is a value in the range of 0 to 1000, and the higher the capability value is, the higher the capability is. In FIG. 7, for player A, the case where the batting power is 300, the running power is 450, and the defensive power is 810 is shown as an example. In FIG. 7, “batting force”, “running ability”, and “defense ability” are illustrated as items as indicators of ability, but if the player is a pitcher, other items such as “ball speed”, “ball control” “Power”, “Stamina”, etc.
Note that when the player acquires the player ID, the ability value of the player character associated with the player ID is set as a default value. That is, the CPU 21 of the game server 20 accesses the player database 31 and writes the default data of the ability value of the player character corresponding to the player ID, and the player database 31 stores the default data of this ability value.

  Also, as shown in FIG. 7, the player database 31 has each player ID and the time of last access to the game server 20 based on the player ID (corresponding to “last access date” in FIG. 7). And may be stored in association with each other. In this case, in the game server 20, the time when the game server 20 was accessed is held for each player ID, and the game server 20 notifies the database server 30 of the player ID and the accessed time for each access, The last access date is updated sequentially.

  The first battle execution unit 53 executes an individual battle (first battle) between player characters associated with different player IDs, triggered by an operation input to the communication terminal 10, and a storage unit 52 (this embodiment). Then, the battle result of the individual battle is determined based on the ability value of the player character stored in the player database 31) of the database server 30.

  In the first battle execution means 53, first, the CPU 21 of the game server 20 determines an opponent to perform an individual battle based on an operation input to the operation input unit 15 of the communication terminal 10 by the player. For example, when an operation for selecting an object including the text “game” is performed by the player on the web page illustrated in FIG. 6, the selection result is transmitted to the CPU 21 of the game server 20. And CPU21 accesses the player database 31 of the database server 30 via the database access part 24, for example, selects player ID used as an opponent at random. Alternatively, for a plurality of randomly selected player IDs, the CPU 21 displays the plurality of player IDs and the ability values of the corresponding player characters in order to confirm the selection of the player ID to be the opponent by the player. HTML data may be transmitted to the communication terminal 10 of the player. When the opponent is determined, the CPU 21 executes an individual battle between the player characters associated with the two player IDs to battle.

  As a method for determining the winning or losing of the individual battle, any method can be adopted as long as the ability value of the player character affects the winning or losing. For example, the ability values of the player characters associated with the two player IDs that are opponents are compared, and the player character having a larger ability value has a higher probability (for example, a predetermined probability within a range of 60 to 90%). You may set it to win. The win rate may be higher as the difference in ability values is larger. At this time, as shown in FIG. 7, when there are a plurality of items of ability values to be compared, predetermined weighting (for example, in the example of FIG. The total ability value can be set with a weight of 0.2 for “power” and a weight of 0.4 for “defense”.

  In the first battle execution means 53, when the CPU 21 of the game server 20 determines the battle results of the individual battles of the player characters associated with the two player IDs that are opponents, a web page including the battle results is displayed. HTML data to be transmitted is sent to the communication terminal 10 of the player of the two player IDs that are opponents. Then, the communication terminal 10 interprets the HTML data received from the game server 20 and displays the battle result on the display unit 16. It should be noted that the time from when the player selects an object including the text “game” on the web page illustrated in FIG. 6 until the match result is displayed is extremely short (for example, several seconds). The player can know the battle result in a very short period of time only with a simple operation.

The character ability updating means 54 has a function of updating the ability value of the player character corresponding to the player ID based on the battle result of the individual battle (first battle).
In the character capability updating means 54, the CPU 21 of the game server 20 accesses the player database 31 of the database server 30 based on the battle results of the individual battles between the player characters associated with different player IDs, and the player IDs thereof. The ability value of the player character associated with is updated. That is, the CPU 21 writes a new ability value in the player database 31.
In the character ability updating means 54, it is preferable that the ability value of the player character is updated so as to be larger than the current value when the player character corresponding to the player ID wins the individual battle. On the other hand, it is preferable that the ability value of the player character is updated to be smaller than the current value when the player character corresponding to the player ID is defeated in the individual battle. Note that the amount of change in the ability value can be set arbitrarily. For example, as shown in FIG. 7, when there are a plurality of ability value items, the ability value of all player characters may be made larger or smaller by the same value. Or you may set the variation | change_quantity of a capability value at random.

  The second battle execution means 55 automatically executes a league battle (second battle) between player characters associated with different player IDs without triggering an operation input to the communication terminal 10, and a storage means. 52 (in this embodiment, the player database 31 of the database server 30) determines the match result of the league match based on the ability value of the player character stored.

  The league game executed by the second battle execution means 55 is performed at a predetermined time (for example, a time set by a timer in the game server 20). The league match may be set so that all player IDs participate (or register), but may be set so that only some of the player IDs who want to participate in the league match will participate.

The determination method of the winning / losing of the battle executed by the second battle execution means 55 can be the same as that of the first battle execution means 53. In other words, any method can be employed as long as the ability value of the player character affects the winning or losing.
Note that it takes a certain time to determine all the results of the league match, and the ability value of the player character can be updated in accordance with the execution of the individual match within that time. Accordingly, copy data of the player database 31 is created at the start time of the league match, and the ability value of the player character in the copy data is referred to while the second battle execution means 55 is being executed. As a result, the ability value of the player character (data of the player database 31 itself) can be continuously updated by the character ability update means 54 even during the execution of the second battle execution means 55.

The second battle execution means 55 records the battle results of at least a past league match for a certain period. Specifically, in the second battle execution means 55, the CPU 21 of the game server 20 accesses the database server 30 and writes the league battle result in the league battle database 32 in the database server 30.
An example of the league game database 32 is shown in FIG. In the example illustrated in FIG. 8, when a league game is executed every day, a battle result of the league game is recorded for each date. In the example of FIG. 12, the match result of the league match includes a match ID for identifying the match, a player ID corresponding to the winning player character (winning player ID), and a player ID corresponding to the defeated player character (defeat) Player ID), score, and other data (for example, data of a player character corresponding to a winning pitcher).

In the second battle execution means 55, the ranking of the player ID in the league game is recorded and updated sequentially. Specifically, in the second match execution means 55, the CPU 21 of the game server 20 accesses the league match database 32 of the database server 30 to read out the match result of the past league match of the league match, and the read match result Based on the above, the ranking for each player ID is calculated. Then, the CPU 21 accesses the database server 30 and writes the calculated ranking in the ranking database 33 in the database server 30.
An example of the ranking database 33 is shown in FIG. In the example shown in FIG. 9, the ranking of the player ID is recorded in order from the first, and the number of wins, the negative number, and the number of draws in the league game are recorded for each player ID.

The notifying means 56 shows the player's ranking (rank) for each player ID based on the battle result of one or more league matches (second match) for the predetermined period or the predetermined number of times and / or the match result. Notification is made to the communication terminal 10.
In the notification means 56, when the CPU 21 of the game server 20 recognizes that the “league game” has been selected on the web page shown in FIG. 6, for example, the battle result in the latest league game and / or the past predetermined HTML data for displaying a web page including a ranking for each player ID based on a match result of one or a plurality of league matches for a period or a predetermined number of times is transmitted to the communication terminal 10. FIG. 10 shows an example of a web page displayed on the communication terminal 10 by interpreting the HTML data. In the example of the web page shown in FIG. 10, the result of the league match corresponding to the player ID (for example, the result of winning and losing 45 wins and 15 losses, the ranking of 6573th etc.) is displayed. In the web page illustrated in FIG. 10, information about each of a plurality of sections in the league game (section 4, section 5, section 6) is scrolled by, for example, a direction instruction button of the operation input unit 15 of the communication terminal 10. An example to be displayed is shown. FIG. 10 is a display example on a specific date when the league match of Section 5 is being performed, for example, in order from the bottom, the match result of Section 4, the match result of Section 5, the match schedule of Section 6, The overall winning and losing results and rankings in the current league match are shown.

(1-6) Matching Process In the league game executed by the second battle execution means 55 described above, a very large number of player IDs stored in the player database 31 are targeted. A matching process (matching method) for determining an opponent for the following will be described below.

FIG. 11 is a functional block diagram showing a plurality of means constituting a part of the functions executed by the second battle execution means 55, and each means is executed mainly by the CPU 21.
The first extraction unit 551 has a function of extracting M player IDs from the player IDs stored in the player database 31 and developing them in the RAM 23 (main memory) according to a certain rule. The second extraction unit 552 has a function of randomly extracting N (N <M) player IDs from the player identification information on the RAM 23. The matching execution unit 553 has a function of performing matching on N player IDs extracted by the second extraction unit 552.
The third extraction means 554 newly extracts N player IDs that have not been extracted by the first extraction means 551 from the player IDs stored in the player database 31 according to the above-mentioned fixed rule. A function of expanding the extracted N player IDs in the RAM 23 in place of the N player IDs matched by the matching execution unit 553 is provided.
Further, the second battle execution means 55 has a function of repeating the processes by the second extraction means 552, the matching execution means 553, and the third extraction means 554 in this order.
The battle execution unit 555 has a function of executing a league battle (second battle) between player characters associated with the player ID based on the matching result of the player ID obtained by the matching execution unit 553. .

Next, with reference to FIG. 12, FIG. 13A and FIG. 13B, the matching process executed by the second battle execution means 55 will be described more specifically. FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the matching process of this embodiment. FIG. 13A and FIG. 13B are diagrams for conceptually explaining the state of the matching process of the present embodiment. In FIG. 13A and FIG. 13B, the same step code | symbol is used so that it can contrast with each step of FIG.
Note that steps S10, S20, S30, and S40 in FIG. 12 correspond to the first extraction unit 551, the second extraction unit 552, the matching execution unit 553, and the third extraction unit 554, respectively.

In FIGS. 12, 13A and 13B, the number of player IDs stored in the player database 31 is 1,000,000, M = 10,000, N = 100, and numbers are assigned as player IDs. It is said.
In FIG. 12, the CPU 21 first extracts 10,000 (M) player IDs from the player IDs stored in the player database 31 (player DB 31) in the ascending order of the player IDs, and the RAM 23 (main memory). (Step S10). Here, it is assumed that a certain rule for extracting the player ID from the player database 31 follows the ascending order of the numbers indicated by the player ID. Here, if the player IDs: 1 to 100 are extracted in step S10, the player ID (in this case, 101) for starting the next extraction from the player database 31 is stored in the RAM 23.

  Next, the CPU 21 randomly extracts 100 (N) player IDs from 10,000 (M) player identification information on the RAM 23 (step S20), and the extracted 100 players. Matching is performed for the ID (step S30). An example of matching for 100 player IDs is as follows. 100 player IDs are randomly classified into 25 groups (4 player IDs in each group), and a round-robin battle is performed in each group. In this case, if the four player IDs of each set are A, B, C, and D, A × B, A × C, A × D, B × C, B × D, and C × D 6 Matching of matches (three games for each player ID) is made for each group.

  Next, the CPU 21 determines whether or not there is an unextracted player ID in the player database 31 (step S35). As a result, when there is an unextracted player ID, the CPU 21 newly extracts 100 player IDs not extracted in step S10 from the player IDs stored in the player database 31 in ascending order. Then, the 100 newly extracted player IDs are expanded in the RAM 23 in place of the 100 player IDs matched in step S30 (step S40). When step S40 is first executed, player IDs are extracted in ascending order from the player ID: 101 stored in step S10. After 100 new player IDs are newly extracted and expanded in the RAM 23, the process returns to step S20.

  Thereafter, the processes of steps S20, S30, and S40 are repeated in this order until there is no unextracted player ID in the player database 31. Referring to FIG. 13A, the processes of the first steps S20 and S30 are indicated by S20 (# 1) and S30 (# 1), respectively, and the processes of the second steps S20 and S30 are respectively indicated by S20 (# 2), This is indicated by S30 (# 2). As shown in FIG. 13A, after 10,000 player IDs are extracted from the 1 million player IDs stored in the player database 31, in step S10, S20 to 40 are sequentially repeated. As a result, the player IDs that have not been extracted from the player IDs stored in the player database 31 gradually decrease.

  When there is no unextracted player ID in the player database 31, the process proceeds from step S35 to step S50, and the processes of steps S20 and S30 are repeated in this order. This is a state in which there is no player ID to be newly extracted from the player database 31, but matching is sequentially performed for player IDs (maximum 10,000) in the RAM 23. At this time, as shown in FIG. 13B, among a plurality of player IDs developed in the RAM 23, S20 (#n) and S30 (#n) which are the processes of the n-th steps S20 and S30, and the next The number of player IDs that have not been matched gradually decreases as the process proceeds in the order of S20 (# n + 1), S30 (# n + 1). Then, when matching of all player IDs extracted from the player database 31 is completed (step S50: YES), the entire matching process ends.

  In the matching process shown in FIG. 12, in step S40, which is repeatedly executed, extraction from the player database 31 storing 1 million player IDs is sequentially performed in ascending order of player IDs. Each time the player ID is extracted, by storing only the player ID for which extraction is newly started, it is possible to perform the extraction every time in step S40 at high speed. Here, as an example, since the number of player IDs stored in the player database 31 is 1 million, M is 10,000, and N is 100, the number of extractions in step S40 is (1 million-10,000) / 100. However, since the player ID at the start of each extraction is immediately known and the extraction method follows the ascending order of the player ID, each extraction process can be completed at high speed. As a result, according to the matching process shown in FIG. 12, matching for a very large number of player IDs can be executed at high speed using the RAM 23 with a limited capacity.

  In this matching process, in step S10 or step S40 for extracting the player ID from the player database 31, the player ID is sequentially extracted in ascending order of the player ID, and data for identifying whether or not the extraction has been performed. Processing for scanning for each player ID is not necessary. Therefore, even if the number of player IDs in the player database 31 increases during the operation of the game server 20, an increase in processing time required for matching player IDs in the player database 31 is suppressed. Therefore, it is possible to avoid a response such as expansion of the RAM 23 (for example, addition of memory) or system modification corresponding to the increase of the player ID stored in the player database 31.

  As illustrated in FIG. 7, in the player database 31, each player ID is stored in association with the time (last access date and time) when the game server 20 was last accessed based on the player ID. Also good. In this case, in step S10 and step S40, it is preferable to extract from the player IDs in the player database 31 a player ID whose current time has not passed a predetermined time from the last access date. That is, not all player IDs stored in the player database 31 are extracted, but filtering of player IDs to be extracted is performed based on the last access date and time. In this way, player IDs that have been registered in the game server 20 but have not been accessed for a certain period of time (that is, player IDs that are registered but not used) are excluded from the extraction targets. Thereby, since the number of player IDs to be extracted is limited, the time required for matching is further shortened.

  In the above description, as an example of matching for 100 player IDs, 100 player IDs are randomly classified into 25 sets (4 player IDs in each set), and a round-robin battle is performed in each set. Although an example has been described, FIG. 14 shows an example of a league game schedule using such matching. In FIG. 14, the leagues of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th sections of the week are scheduled on weekdays (in the example of FIG. 14, 9 o'clock, 14 o'clock, 19 o'clock, 25 o'clock) Scheduled for war to take place. In each league game, the matching process shown in FIG. 12 is performed each time, and in each section, a total of six games (three games for each player ID included in each group) are performed. . As a result, on a weekday day, each player ID will have a total of 12 games of 3 games x 4 games. In this case, the second battle execution means 55 calculates the ranking of the player ID in the league game every time each section is finished, and writes the calculated ranking in the ranking database 33 in the database server 30. Good.

  In the above description, the case of M = 10,000 is taken as an example, but it goes without saying that the number of M may be set as appropriate according to the capacity of the RAM 23 set in advance in the game server 20 of the present embodiment. Yes. In the above description, N = 100 is taken as an example, and matching is performed for 100 player IDs. However, the number of player IDs extracted in step S20 and the player IDs extracted in step S40. The number may be changed as appropriate according to the number of player IDs to be matched. For example, when N = 50, the player IDs to be matched may be classified into 10 pairs each consisting of 5 player IDs, and a round-robin battle may be scheduled. When N = 200, the player IDs to be matched may be classified into 100 pairs each composed of two player IDs, and a single battle may be scheduled at an appropriate timing. That is, if the number to be matched is determined, a battle plan can be arbitrarily set according to the number.

(1-7) Main Processing Flow of Baseball Game Next, an example of a main processing flow in the league game of the baseball game in the present embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing execution processing of a league match (second match).

In FIG. 15, for example, as shown in FIG. 14, the second match execution means 55 is executed when the league match of each section is scheduled (YES in Step S <b> 200). The second battle execution means 55 is automatically executed without triggering an operation input to the communication terminal 10 by the player. The second battle execution means 55 performs, for example, the matching process of the battle in the first league game when the first league game is performed for the player ID stored in the player database 31 (step 1). S210). This matching process is as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 12, and is performed at high speed even when the number of player IDs stored in the player database 31 is extremely large.
When the matching process is completed, the second match execution means 55 next refers to the player database 31 so that the player character's ability value affects the winning / losing based on the ability value of the player character. Then, the battle result is determined (step S220). The second match execution means 55, after determining the match result, records the match result of the first round league match in the league match database 32, and also determines the player ID based on the match result of the first round match match. The ranking is recorded in the ranking database 33 (step S230). Thereafter, the notification means 56 notifies the communication terminal 10 of the player corresponding to each player ID participating in the league game of the match result of the first section and the ranking of the player ID at the time when the first section ends. (Step S240). Note that this notification is made when each player selects “League Battle” on the web page illustrated in FIG. 6, for example, at the communication terminal 10 as a result of the first section match and at the time when the first section ends. The web page including the ranking of the player ID can be displayed.
In the same way for the second and subsequent sections, the processes of steps S200 to S240 are performed again.

(2) Second Embodiment Hereinafter, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. In each of the following embodiments, unless otherwise specified, the configuration and operation of the communication terminal 10 and the game server 20, each means executed by the game control device, and the main processing flow of the baseball game are described in the first embodiment. This is the same as that described in.
As shown in FIG. 16, the database server 30a of this embodiment is different from the database server 30 (see FIG. 4) in that a replacement battle database 34 is added. In the player database 31, as shown in FIG. 7, classes are associated with each player ID. In FIG. 7, for example, class: 1 is associated with player ID: 000001.

  In the present embodiment, each player ID is associated with one of a plurality of classes. The class type can be arbitrarily set. For example, hierarchical classes from a beginner class (beginner class, for example, class: 1) to a master class (advanced class, for example, class: 9) can be set. In the baseball game of the present embodiment, a league game for a certain period is performed for each class. A replacement game is held between league games for a certain period. Depending on the result of the replacement battle, the class corresponding to the player ID may be updated (changed). Therefore, in the baseball game of this embodiment, in addition to the game elements described in the first embodiment, the game is performed for the purpose of promoting the player of each player ID to a higher class. The class update performed by the replacement battle is either promotion to a higher class, demotion to a lower class, or maintenance of the current class.

  In FIG. 17, an example of the schedule of the baseball game of this embodiment including a league game and a replacement game is shown. According to the schedule shown in FIG. 17, classes 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9 are provided for league games, and classes 2, 4, 6, and 8 are provided for replacement games. Here, in the league and replacement games, the higher the class, the higher the class. For example, in league game # 1, which is the first league game, four leagues (see FIG. 14) are performed every week from Monday to Friday on weekdays, and a total of 20 league games are executed in class units. League game # 1 in class units Will be determined on Friday. Replacement game # 1, which is the first replacement game, has four verses every day on weekends and Sundays (for example, the same as in FIG. 14). Ranking for Replacement Game # 1 is decided on Sunday.

  The update of the class of each player ID in the replacement game # 1 following the league game # 1 is determined according to a predetermined rule based on the ranking result of the league game # 1. In the example shown in FIG. 17, all the player IDs of class 1 in league game # 1 and the lower half of the player IDs in class 3 ranking are class 2 in replacement game # 1. The upper half of the player IDs in the class 3 ranking in the league game # 1 and the lower half of the player IDs in the class 5 ranking become the class 4 in the replacement game # 1. The upper half of the player IDs in the class 5 ranking in the league game # 1 and the lower half of the player IDs in the class 7 ranking are the class 6 in the replacement game # 1. The player ID of the upper half in the ranking of class 7 in league game # 1 and all player IDs of class 9 become class 8 in replacement game # 1.

The update of the class of each player ID in league game # 2 following replacement game # 1 is determined according to a predetermined rule based on the ranking result of replacement game # 1. In the example shown in FIG. 17, the lower 2/3 number of player IDs in the ranking of class 2 in replacement game # 1 is class 1 in league game # 2, and higher in the ranking of class 2 in replacement game # 1. The 1/3 number of player IDs is class 3 in league # 2. The lower half of the player IDs in the class 4 ranking in the replacement game # 1 is class 3 in the league battle # 2, and the upper half of the player IDs in the ranking of the class 4 in the replacement game # 1 is the league. Class 5 in Battle # 2. The lower half of the player IDs in the class 6 ranking in the replacement game # 1 is class 5 in the league game # 2, and the upper half of the player IDs in the class 4 ranking in the replacement game # 1 is the league. Class 7 in Battle # 2. The lower 1/3 number of player IDs in class 8 ranking in replacement game # 1 becomes class 7 in league game # 2, and the upper 2/3 number of players in class 8 ranking in replacement game # 1. The ID is class 9 in league game # 2.
It should be noted that the schedule or class update shown in FIG. 17 is merely an example and can be arbitrarily set.

(2-1) Overview of Functions in Game Control Device FIG. 18 is a functional block diagram for explaining functions that play a major role in the game control device of the present embodiment. The functional block diagram shown in FIG. 18 is different from that shown in FIG. 5 in that third battle execution means 57 and class management means 58 are added.

The third battle execution means 57 automatically executes a replacement battle (third battle) between player characters associated with different player IDs without triggering an operation input to the communication terminal 10, and a storage means. 52 (in this embodiment, the player database 31 of the database server 30) determines the match result of the replacement battle based on the ability value of the player character stored.
The replacement battle executed by the third battle execution means 57 is performed at a predetermined time (for example, a time set by a timer in the game server 20). The replacement game may be set so that all player IDs participate, but may be set so that only some of the player IDs who want to participate in the league game participate.

  The determination method of the winning / losing of the battle executed by the third battle execution means 57 can be the same as that of the first battle execution means 53. In other words, any method can be employed as long as the ability value of the player character affects the winning or losing.

The third battle execution means 57 records the battle result of the replacement battle. Specifically, in the third battle execution means 57, the CPU 21 of the game server 20 accesses the database server 30a and writes the match result of the replacement battle in the replacement battle database 34 in the database server 30a.
The third battle execution means 57 records the player ID ranking in the replacement battle and updates it sequentially. Specifically, in the third battle execution means 57, the CPU 21 of the game server 20 accesses the replacement battle database 34 of the database server 30a, and in the past certain period of the replacement battle (for example, in the replacement battle # 1 in FIG. 17). (2 days) of the battle results are read out, and the ranking of the player IDs for each class is calculated based on the read-out battle results. Then, the CPU 21 accesses the database server 30a and writes the calculated ranking in the ranking database 33 in the database server 30a.

  In the second match execution means 55 of the present embodiment, the CPU 21 of the game server 20 accesses the league match database 32 of the database server 30a to access a league match in the past for a certain period (for example, league match # 1 in FIG. 17). For 5 days), and the ranking of player IDs in class units is calculated based on the read competition results. Then, the CPU 21 accesses the database server 30a and writes the calculated ranking in the ranking database 33 in the database server 30a.

  The class management means 58 manages each player ID in association with any one of a plurality of classes (including both league games and replacement games), and a league game for a certain period (for example, In FIG. 17, when the league match # 1 (for 5 days) and the replacement match (for example, in FIG. 17, the replacement match # 1 for 2 days) are finished, as shown in FIG. Update the class. Specifically, the CPU 21 accesses the database server 30 a and updates the data of each player ID class in the player database 31 based on the ranking result stored in the ranking database 33.

  In the notification means 56 of this embodiment, when the CPU 21 of the game server 20 recognizes that the “league game” is selected on the web page shown in FIG. 6, for example, and / or HTML data for displaying, on the communication terminal 10 of each player, a web page including the result of the replacement battle in addition to the ranking for each player ID based on the result of the battle of one or a plurality of league matches of a predetermined period or a predetermined number of times Is transmitted to the communication terminal 10. FIG. 19 shows an example of a web page displayed on the communication terminal 10 by interpreting the HTML data. In the example of the web page shown in FIG. 19, the match result of the replacement game and the result of the class update are additionally displayed in the league game result column with respect to the web page shown in FIG. 10. As an example, FIG. 19 shows a case where the result of the replacement battle last week was promoted to one class with 18 wins and 6 losses, and the result of this week's replacement battle was demoted to one class after 3 wins and 7 losses.

(2-2) Matching Process A matching process (matching method) for determining an opponent for a very large number of player IDs in the second battle execution means 55 of this embodiment will be described below. In addition, since the matching process in the 3rd battle execution means 57 of this embodiment is the same as that in the 2nd battle execution means 55 demonstrated below, duplication description is abbreviate | omitted.
The second battle execution means 55 of the present embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that a league game is performed on a class basis.

FIG. 20 is a functional block diagram showing a plurality of means constituting a part of functions executed by the second battle execution means 55 of the present embodiment, and each means is executed mainly by the CPU 21. The functional block diagram shown in FIG. 20 is different from that shown in FIG. 11 in that a storage unit 556 is added.
The accumulation unit 556 has a function of accumulating N player IDs extracted by the second extraction unit 552 and the third extraction unit 554 for each corresponding class.
When the number of player IDs accumulated for each class reaches a predetermined number for the class, the matching execution unit 553 of the present embodiment determines that matching for the player ID accumulated for the class is completed. It has a function to do.

Hereinafter, the matching process of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 21 and 22. FIG. 21 is a flowchart showing the matching process of this embodiment. FIG. 22 is a diagram conceptually showing accumulation of player IDs for each class in the buffer in the matching processing of the present embodiment.
The flowchart shown in FIG. 21 differs from the flowchart shown in FIG. 12 in that steps S31, S32, and S33 are provided instead of the matching process in step S30, and that N = 500 is illustrated. . Further, as shown in FIG. 22, buffers corresponding to the league game classes 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9 (see FIG. 17) are provided. Here, in step S31 in FIG. 21 (corresponding to the processing of the storage means 556), each player ID extracted in step S20 in FIG. 21 is distributed for each corresponding class and stored in the buffer of each class. . In the initial state before executing the matching process, the buffer of each class is empty, but player IDs are sequentially stored in the buffer every time step S31 is repeated. Then, the CPU 21 determines that the matching of the player ID in the buffer has been completed for the buffer that has become FULL (step S32: YES), sweeps out the player ID in the buffer, and makes it empty again (step). S33).
The capacity of the buffer may be set as appropriate. However, since N = 500 is taken as an example here, the capacity of each buffer may be 100 player IDs. In this case, the battle execution means 555 uses a plurality of sets for the 100 player IDs of the same class that have been swept out of the buffer (that is, matching has been completed) as in the method described with reference to FIG. Every round-robin battle may be executed.
Since the matching method of this embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment in the extraction process, matching can be performed at high speed using a limited main memory, and the matching is individually performed for each class. Since it is performed using the provided buffer, matching of player IDs of different classes can be avoided even in a game configuration with a plurality of classes, thereby realizing efficient matching without wasteful processing. There is an advantage that can be.

(2-3) Baseball Game Replacement Battle Process Flow Next, an example of a baseball game replacement game process flow in the present embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. FIG. 23 is a flowchart showing execution processing of a replacement battle (third battle).

In FIG. 23, when the start time for the replacement battle is reached (YES in step S300), the third battle execution means 57 is executed. The third battle execution means 57 is automatically executed without triggering an operation input to the communication terminal 10 by the player. When the third battle execution means 55 performs a replacement battle for the player ID stored in the player database 31, the third battle execution means 55 performs a match matching process in the replacement battle (step S310). This matching process is as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 21 and is performed at high speed for each class even when the number of player IDs stored in the player database 31 is extremely large.
When the matching process is completed, the third battle execution means 57 next refers to the player database 31 so that the player character's ability value affects the winning / losing based on the ability value of the player character. Then, the battle result is determined (step S320). After determining the battle result, the third battle execution means 57 records the battle result of the replacement battle in the replacement battle database 34.

  Next, the class management unit 58 updates the class for each player ID according to a predetermined rule (step S330). At this time, the class management means 58 refers to the match result of the replacement battle recorded in the replacement battle database 34, and determines a new class for each player ID according to a predetermined standard. The class management means 58 records a new class for each player ID in the player database 31. Thereafter, the notification means 56 notifies the player's communication terminal 10 corresponding to each player ID of the match result of the replacement battle and the update result of the class (step S340). In this notification, when each player selects “League Battle” on the web page illustrated in FIG. 6, for example, the communication terminal 10 displays a web page including the result of the replacement battle along with the result of the league battle. Can be done.

As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described in detail, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment. In addition, it goes without saying that each embodiment may be variously improved and changed without departing from the gist of the present invention.
For example, in the above-described embodiment, the battle game is progressed by a web page displayed by the web browser of the communication terminal of the player based on the provision of the web service from the game server. According to this, there is an advantage that it is not necessary for the communication terminal to download or install the game software, but this is not restrictive. The competitive game of this embodiment can also be configured to download or install a part of functions realized by game software on a communication terminal.
Each functional block described in the description of each embodiment can be realized by causing a computer to execute a program including a procedure corresponding to each function.

10: Communication terminal 11 ... CPU
12 ... ROM
13 ... RAM
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 14 ... Image processing part 15 ... Operation input part 16 ... Display part 17 ... Wireless communication interface part 18 ... Bus 20 ... Game server 21 ... CPU
22 ... ROM
23 ... RAM
24 ... Database access unit 25 ... Communication interface unit 26 ... Bus 30, 30a ... Database server 31 ... Player database 32 ... League game database 33 ... Ranking database 34 ... Replacement game database 51 ... Game progress means 52 ... Storage means 53 ... First Match execution means 54 ... Character ability update means 55 ... Second match execution means 56 ... Notification means 57 ... Third match execution means 58 ... Class management means

A game control apparatus according to claim 1 is a game control apparatus that performs matching of player identification information for a battle between players for a plurality of player identification information stored in a nonvolatile memory, and includes the following means: I have.
(1) First extraction means for extracting M player identification information from the plurality of player identification information according to a certain rule and expanding the extracted information in a main memory.
(2) Second extraction means for randomly extracting N (N <M) player identification information from the player identification information on the main memory.
(3) Matching execution means for performing matching on N player identification information extracted by the second extraction means.
(4) N player identification information not extracted by the first extraction means is newly extracted from the plurality of player identification information according to the certain rule, and the newly extracted N player identifications Third extraction means for expanding the information in the main memory instead of the N pieces of player identification information matched by the matching execution means.
Further, this game control device has the following features.
(5) The processes by the second extraction unit, the matching execution unit, and the third extraction unit are repeated in this order.

In this game control apparatus, once the first extraction means is executed, the processes by the second extraction means, the matching execution means, and the third extraction means are repeated in this order. Thereby, the matching of N pieces of player identification information is executed in order, and each time a match of N pieces of player identification information is completed, new N pieces of player identification information are stored in the non-volatile memory. Are extracted from the player identification information.
At this time, since the third extraction means sequentially extracts from the non-volatile memory including a large number of player identification information according to the predetermined rule, each time N pieces of player identification information are extracted, By storing only the extracted player identification information (or only the player identification information for newly starting extraction), it is possible to perform the extraction every time by the third extraction means at high speed. For example, if the number of player identification information stored in the non-volatile memory is 1 million, M is 10,000, and N is 100, the number of extractions by the third extraction means is (1 million-10,000) / Although 100 = 9900 times, the player identification information at the start of each extraction is recognized based on the “certain rule” as described above, that is, based on player identification information that is ordered without duplication in ascending or descending order. Therefore, the location where extraction should be started this time is immediately known with respect to the previous extraction, and the extraction method follows a certain rule, so that each extraction process can be completed at high speed. As a result, according to this game control device, matching for a very large amount of player identification information can be performed at high speed using a limited main memory.

Program according to claim 6, in order to match the player identification information for battle between the player as a target a plurality of player identification information stored in the nonvolatile memory, the computer, perform the following respective steps It is a program to make it.
(17) A first extraction procedure for extracting M player identification information from the plurality of player identification information according to a certain rule and expanding the extracted information in the main memory of the computer.
(18) A second extraction procedure for randomly extracting N (N <M) player identification information from the player identification information on the main memory.
(19) A character ability update step of updating the ability value of the player character corresponding to the player identification information based on the battle result of the first battle.
(20) A matching execution procedure for performing matching on N pieces of player identification information extracted by the second extraction procedure.
(21) N player identification information not extracted in the first extraction procedure is newly extracted from the plurality of player identification information according to the certain rule, and the newly extracted N player identifications A third extraction procedure for expanding the information in the main memory in place of the N pieces of player identification information matched in the matching execution procedure;
(22) A procedure of repeating the second extraction procedure, the matching execution procedure, and the third extraction procedure in this order.

Claims (6)

A game control device for matching player identification information for a match between players for a plurality of player identification information stored in a nonvolatile memory,
First extraction means for extracting M player identification information from the plurality of player identification information according to a certain rule and developing the extracted information in a main memory;
Second extraction means for randomly extracting N (N <M) player identification information from the player identification information on the main memory;
Matching execution means for performing matching on N pieces of player identification information extracted by the second extraction means;
From the plurality of player identification information, N player identification information not extracted by the first extraction means is newly extracted according to the certain rule, and the newly extracted N player identification information is A third extraction means for developing in the main memory instead of the N player identification information matched by the matching execution means;
Each process by the second extraction means, the matching means and the third extraction means is repeated in this order,
Game control device. The non-volatile memory stores each player identification information in association with the time when the device was last accessed based on the player identification information,
The first extracting means and the third extracting means extract, from the plurality of player identification information, player identification information for which a predetermined time has not elapsed since the last accessed time. To
The game control apparatus according to claim 1. Class management means for managing each player identification information in association with one of a plurality of classes;
Accumulation means for accumulating N player identification information extracted by the second extraction means and the third extraction means for each corresponding class;
With
When the number of player identification information accumulated for each class reaches a predetermined number for the class, the matching execution unit determines that matching for the player identification information accumulated for the class is completed. Characterized by
The game control device according to claim 1 or 2. A communication means for communicating with an arbitrary communication terminal via a network;
Storage means for storing player identification information in the non-volatile memory based on an access for registration related to participation in a battle from an arbitrary communication terminal,
The game control apparatus memorize | stored in any one of Claims 1-3. A matching method in a game control device for matching player identification information for a match between players for a plurality of player identification information stored in a nonvolatile memory,
A first step of extracting M player identification information from the plurality of player identification information according to a certain rule and developing the extracted information in the main memory of the game control device;
A second step of randomly extracting N (N <M) player identification information from the player identification information on the main memory;
A third step for performing matching on the N pieces of player identification information extracted in the second step;
From the plurality of player identification information, N player identification information not extracted in the first step is newly extracted according to the certain rule, and the newly extracted N player identification information is A fourth step of developing in the main memory instead of the N pieces of player identification information matched in the third step;
With
The second, third and fourth steps are repeated in this order,
Matching method. A program for matching player identification information for a match between players for a plurality of player identification information stored in a nonvolatile memory,
A first extraction procedure for extracting M player identification information from the plurality of player identification information according to a certain rule and developing the extracted information in the main memory of the computer;
A second extraction procedure for randomly extracting N (N <M) player identification information from the player identification information on the main memory;
A matching execution procedure for performing matching on N pieces of player identification information extracted by the second extraction procedure;
From the plurality of player identification information, N player identification information not extracted in the first extraction procedure is newly extracted according to the certain rule, and the newly extracted N player identification information is A third extraction procedure that expands in the main memory in place of the N player identification information matched in the matching execution procedure;
A procedure of repeating the second extraction procedure, the matching execution procedure and the third extraction procedure in this order;
A program that causes a computer to execute.

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