WO2025088739A1 - Game server and game system - Google Patents

Abstract

[Problem] To further promote digital data transactions. [Solution] The present invention comprises: a virtual space generation unit that generates a virtual space, an area object corresponding to an area existing in the real space, and a user object to be displayed in the virtual space; an owner information management unit that manages owner information of the area object; an owner information registration unit that registers the owner information of the area object as the user when an occupancy condition including the positional relationship between the user and the area is satisfied in the real space; and an incentive-granting unit that grants an area incentive associated with the area object to a visiting user who visits the area from outside a prescribed range of the area, and grants a visiting user incentive to the owner of the area object in accordance with the number of the visiting users.

Description

Game server and game system

The present invention relates to a content providing device, a content providing method, a content providing program, and a content providing system.

In recent years, technology has been proposed for trading and distributing digital data such as image data as non-fungible tokens (NFTs). The following documents disclose such NFT-related technology, and their entirety is incorporated herein by reference.

Patent No. 6710401 Patent No. 6656628 Patent No. 6572493 Patent No. 6640320 Patent No. 6538996 Patent No. 6404435 Patent No. 6710401 Patent No. 6391128

The NFT technologies mentioned above are merely for trading digital data and are insufficient to actively promote trading.

The present invention aims to further promote trading of digital data.

According to the present invention,
a storage unit that stores a virtual space generated based on geographic information of a real space, an area object corresponding to an area existing in the real space, owner information certified as an owner of the area object, and content information associated with the owner information;
an object providing unit that provides the virtual space, the area object, and the user object in association with position information of a user terminal in the real space so as to be displayable on a display unit of the user terminal;
a content providing unit that provides the content so that it can be used by the user terminal when the location information of the user terminal indicates that the user terminal is visiting within a predetermined range from the area and a request for the content is made from the user terminal in the real space;
A content providing device is obtained that includes an incentive granting section that grants a predetermined incentive to the owner of the corresponding area object in accordance with the number of user terminals that have visited within a predetermined range of the area.

According to the present invention, the use of entertainment can further promote trading of digital data.

1 is a diagram showing an example of a configuration of a content providing system according to an embodiment of the present invention; 2 is a diagram showing a schematic diagram of correspondence between a virtual space and a real space provided by the content providing device of FIG. 1 . 3 is a diagram showing the positional relationship with a user located within a predetermined range from the area in the real space of FIG. 2. 2 is an example of a screen displayed on a display unit of the user terminal of FIG. 1 . FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of the game server of the present system. 13 is a flowchart showing an example of processing of a game server of the present system.

<Details of the embodiment>
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

＜Overview＞
The problem that the invention aims to solve is the problem that there are limited means to encourage users to visit specific areas while providing them with new experiences by linking real space and virtual space. The effect of the invention is that by generating a virtual space based on geographic information of the real space and managing owner information of objects corresponding to the area, it becomes possible to provide occupancy conditions and incentives for visits. This increases the frequency of visits to areas in the real space, and new value is given to the owners of the area objects.

In one embodiment, the game server comprises a virtual space generation unit, an owner information management unit, an owner information registration unit, and an incentive granting unit. In particular, the incentive granting unit can change the content of the incentive depending on the behavior of visiting users, and further comprises an area incentive change receiving unit that receives changes to the content of the area incentive from the owner. Furthermore, by comprising a visiting user recording unit that records information about visiting users, more detailed user behavior analysis and incentive optimization are possible.

<Configuration>
1, a game system according to an embodiment of the present invention (hereinafter referred to as "this system") includes a game server, a user terminal, and an owner terminal. The game server, the user terminal, and the owner terminal are connected to each other via a network so as to be able to communicate with each other.

This system is equipped with a recording medium onto which a program that executes the system can be loaded. The program is loaded into a processor (control unit) of a computer terminal or the like, and physically and/or logically cooperates with hardware resources to realize the system and method.

<System Overview>
As shown in Figures 2 to 4, this system allows a user to use a user terminal to experience a virtual space generated based on geographic information of the real space. That is, as shown clearly in Figure 2, the virtual space 200 is generated by directly reproducing the real space 100. There exists position information ( _Xn , _Yn ) of the virtual space 200 that uniquely corresponds to position information ( _xn , _yn ) of the real space 100.

Note that real-space location information can be measured using GPS (Global Positioning System) or other methods, but location information may also be determined using other methods.)

For example, as shown in FIG. 2, in the real space 100, an area 102 in which a building exists is located at position information (x ₁ , y ₁ ). An area 104 in which a stadium exists is located at position information (x ₂ , y ₂ ). The user position information that changes with the movement of the user 110 is represented as (x ₀ , y ₀ ). Meanwhile, in the virtual space 200 generated by the game server, the area 102 in the real space is displayed as an area object 202 at position information (X ₁ , Y ₁ ) in the virtual space. The area 104 is displayed as an area object 204 at position information (X ₂ , Y ₂ ). The user 110 is represented as a user object 210 at position information (X ₀ , Y ₀ ). The relative positional relationship between the area or terrain in the real space and the user is maintained in the virtual space as well. The virtual space 200 of the present invention is expressed as if the real space were faithfully objectified or symbolized. When the user moves in the real space 100, the user object in the virtual space is displayed moving a distance and in a direction corresponding to the movement.

As shown in FIG. 3, when a user is located within region L of area 102 in real space 100, the game server recognizes that the user has visited (checked in to) area 102. The method of recognizing a visit to area 102 is not limited to this, and may be detected, for example, by connection to a network of a beacon or the like installed in area 102.

FIG. 4 shows an example of a screen displayed on a user terminal. A user can use the game system by using the user terminal. The hardware configuration of the user terminal will be described later. As shown, the area object 202 and user object 210 that existed in the virtual space 200 shown in FIG. 2 are displayed as 3D objects or 3D images on the display unit (display, etc.) of the user terminal. In the example screen, an owner object 220 is written alongside the area object 220.

<Functional configuration>
The functional blocks of the present invention will be described with reference to Fig. 5. The virtual space generation unit generates a virtual space based on geographic information of the real space. At the same time, an area object corresponding to a specific area (e.g., a park, a building, a station, etc.) existing in the real space is created and displayed in the virtual space. The virtual space generation unit generates and displays a user object 210 at a corresponding position in the virtual space based on the user's position in the real space (position information acquired from the user terminal). As a result, the user object is displayed in the same position in the virtual space based on the user's position in the real world.

The owner information management unit manages the owner (occupant) information of area objects. Specifically, it has the function of storing information on which user or group is occupying each area object in a database or other appropriate data storage, and querying and updating that information. This unit cooperates with the owner information registration unit and owner information update unit to register and update owner information when occupancy conditions are met. The owner information management unit can also retain the history when the owner of an area object is changed. This makes it possible to track the history of occupancy of a specific area object and the transition of ownership among multiple users. This function is useful for promoting events and promotions within the game, as well as for encouraging competition between users. Furthermore, the owner information management unit can cooperate with APIs and other systems, and is structured to flexibly support things like referencing owner information in external systems and setting occupancy conditions outside the game server. This allows for scalability and diverse operation.

When a user meets an occupancy condition for a specific area (e.g., staying at a location for a certain period of time), the owner information registration unit registers the user as the owner of the area object. When a new owner is assigned to an area object in the virtual space, the owner information registration unit has a function of registering the information in the database or the owner information management unit. Specifically, when a user meets a specific occupancy condition for a specific area object, the owner information registration unit recognizes the user as the new owner and updates the owner information. This part has logic for acquiring the user's location information in the real space using GPS information and other sensor data and determining whether it matches or is close to a specific area object. The occupancy condition can be set, for example, by a user staying at a specific location for a certain period of time or more, using a specific item, etc. When the owner information registration unit confirms that the condition is met, it updates the owner information in the database in cooperation with the owner information management unit. This makes it possible to change ownership in real time. In addition, when the owner information is changed, it is also possible to notify the relevant user via a notification function. In this way, the owner information registration unit plays a role in enhancing the competitive and cooperative elements in the game and improving user engagement.

The owner information update unit updates the owner information of the area object when another user meets the occupancy conditions. The owner information update unit has a mechanism for updating the information when a new user occupies the location of an existing owner based on specific occupancy conditions. For example, when a new user performs an action that meets the occupancy conditions (e.g., staying in a specific location for a certain amount of time, completing a specific task, etc.), the owner information update unit updates the corresponding record in the database. The owner information update unit refers to real-world location information, item use history, time data, etc. to detect that the occupancy conditions have been met. This information is provided by the owner information management unit, or is obtained directly from a sensor, GPS, user input, etc. Once the new owner is determined, the information is sent to the owner information management unit, and the owner information of the corresponding area object is updated. In addition, when the owner is changed, it is common for the system to have a function for sending a notification to both the existing owner and the new owner. This will stimulate competition between users and increase engagement in games and services. Through the above functions, the owner information update unit efficiently and fairly manages the transfer of ownership in the virtual space, promoting interaction between users.

The incentive granting unit has a function of linking the geographic information of the real space with the virtual space and rewarding user behavior in a specific area. Specifically, when a user visits a specific area in the real space, that information is reflected in the corresponding area object in the virtual space. This area object may already have owner information set, in which case some incentive is also given to the owner. The incentive granting unit first detects when a visiting user enters the area from outside the specified range of the area. Then, it refers to the area incentive information set in the area object and grants the corresponding area incentive to the visiting user. This area incentive is realized in the form of items or points that can be used in the virtual space, for example. Furthermore, incentives are also given to the owner of the area object based on an increase in visiting users. Specifically, the quantity and quality of the incentives given to the owner are adjusted according to the number and activity level of visiting users. In this way, a system is completed that promotes the activation of the area and provides rewards to both the owner of the area object and the visiting users. This is expected to increase engagement in both the virtual space and the real space.

The incentive granting unit may have a more complex reward structure. Specifically, rather than simply granting incentives to users who visit an area, the visiting user incentive varies depending on the actions the user takes within the area. For example, when a user completes a specific activity within the area or stays for a certain amount of time, the amount and quality of the incentive granted varies depending on the action. This function makes it possible to encourage not only simple visits but also more engaging actions. For the owner of the area object, this increases the possibility that more users will be active within the area, which may result in an increase in the incentives received by the owner. In addition, such a flexible incentive mechanism is expected to improve overall engagement, as users are rewarded for various actions in virtual and real spaces. As a result, activation in both virtual and real spaces will be encouraged.

The actions of the visiting user may be as follows:
Time spent in an area: If a user stays in an area for a certain amount of time, their incentives will increase to reflect their loyalty.
Interaction: When an interaction (e.g. chat, item exchange, etc.) occurs with virtual objects or other users within the area.
Task Completion: When you complete a specific task within an area (e.g. answering a quiz, searching for an item, etc.).
Sharing and Inviting: When you share an Area or its contents on social media or invite other users to access the Area.
Event participation: If you attend a special event (e.g. concert, quiz, etc.) that is held in the area from time to time.
Purchase behavior: If you purchase virtual goods or services in the area.
Reviews and Ratings: If you leave a review or rating for an area or a specific activity within an area.

In addition, in this game system, each user may register a home area. A "home area" is an area in virtual space that corresponds to the real space where each user mainly works or is registered or associated. This area is often determined by the location information when the user first logs into the application, or by the user's own setting. Since the home area is the place that is most easily accessible to the user, it is a place where many basic activities and tasks are set, and often has fewer special incentives and rewards set. Objects, activities, and events unique to the home area may be set, which may cause the user to feel a sense of belonging and attachment to the home area. On the other hand, the newly added mechanism of "granting incentives based on the distance from the home area" increases the possibility that users will be proactive in activities outside the home area. In this way, the "home area" is the center of each user's activities, and its characteristics and reward structure are important factors that greatly affect the user's behavior.

Depending on the association with the "home area", the "incentive granting unit" may adopt a more advanced reward mechanism. Specifically, the incentive granted varies depending on how far away the visiting user is from the "home area" with which the visiting user is normally associated. For example, if the user visits an area very far from the home area, a larger incentive is granted in the form of rewarding the adventurous and curious spirit. Conversely, if the area is close to the home area, the incentive may be more modest. This mechanism increases the motivation of the user to explore new areas, while the owner of the area object also has an incentive to increase the attractiveness and popularity of the area by providing a larger reward to users who visit from far away. In this way, granting incentives based on the distance from the home area will stimulate the user's curiosity and become a new element that promotes the revitalization of the entire area.

The system also includes a visiting user recorder that records information about visiting users. The visiting user recorder records detailed information about each visiting user. This recorder collects and stores a wide range of data, such as the areas visited by visiting users, the duration of their stay, their behavioral history, and the type and amount of incentives acquired by them. This information not only provides useful analytical data to area object owners, but is also used as basic data for future incentive design, area improvements, and increased user engagement. In particular, information such as which areas each user frequently visits and their behavioral patterns at that time is an important indicator for area object owners to develop more effective incentive strategies. Furthermore, there is an increased possibility that personalized incentives and services will be provided to users themselves based on these records. In this way, the visiting user recorder can be said to be an important element for improving the functionality of the game server as a whole.

In addition, the information on these visiting users brings the following benefits, for example. The benefit for the owner of the area object is that detailed information on visiting users can be recorded, allowing for the formulation of more sophisticated marketing strategies and incentive plans. For example, it is possible to provide specialized incentives to specific target groups based on the visiting users' stay time, frequency, and behavioral history. This allows the owner of the area object to increase user engagement and promote interest in the area and motivation to participate. Economic benefits also arise for the area in real space. Incentives in the virtual space can have a positive impact on consumption activities and frequency of visits in the real space. For example, if a specific incentive provided in the virtual space is linked to discounts or benefits at an actual store, this will contribute to the number of visitors and sales at the actual store. In addition, if activities in the virtual space become a hot topic, the brand value of the area itself will increase, which may lead to tourism and regional revitalization. In this way, by recording information on visiting users, it is thought that not only the owner of the area object but also the corresponding area in the real space can enjoy various benefits.

<Hardware Configuration>
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of a game server according to the present invention. The illustrated configuration is an example, and other configurations may be included, or elements having similar functions may be substituted. Furthermore, the illustrated game server is shown as a single device, but may be configured as a single device by combining multiple devices. Each functional block can be configured, for example, by hardware, a DSP (Digital Signal Processor), or software provided in the server device. For example, when configured by software, each functional block is actually configured with a computer's CPU, RAM, ROM, etc., and is realized by the operation of a program stored in a recording medium such as a RAM, ROM, hard disk, or semiconductor memory.

Area object information is information necessary to display area objects placed in virtual space. Area objects are objects that represent areas that exist in real space. Areas that exist in real space include places with a certain area, such as areas defined by municipalities, cities, and regions, commercial facilities (shopping malls, department stores), parks and squares, tourist destinations, famous places, school and university campuses, areas around train stations, areas around bus stops, residential areas, art galleries and museums, restaurants, cafes, bars, and other eating and drinking establishments, sports facilities (gyms, stadiums, swimming pools), airports, ports, government facilities, expressways, toll roads, general national highways, major regional roads, general prefectural roads, rivers, and lakes.

<Processing flow>
As shown in FIG. 6, the embodiment of the present invention comprises the following steps.
Acquiring real space data (step S1): The virtual space generation unit acquires geographic information of the real space.
Virtual space generation (step S2): A virtual space and a corresponding area object are generated based on the acquired geographic information of the real space.
Obtain user position information (step S3): Obtain user position information in the real space.
Display user object (step S4): Based on the acquired user position information, a corresponding user object is displayed in the virtual space.
Owner information determination (step S5): The owner information management unit determines whether or not the area object that the user has approached already has an owner.
Occupancy condition check (step S6): The owner information registration unit evaluates the occupancy conditions such as the positional relationship between the user and the area object.
- Owner information update (step S7): If the occupancy condition is satisfied, the owner information is updated to reflect the relevant user.
· Granting incentives (step S8): The incentive granting unit grants a set incentive to users and owners who visit the area object.

<Other Examples>
The present invention may have the following configuration.
Area user count monitoring unit: In this improved invention, a new area user count monitoring unit is added. This unit monitors the number of users in a specific area in real time and stores the number in the memory unit. Enhanced real-time performance: The frequency of monitoring is increased to further enhance real-time performance.
Aggregation of user attributes: User attributes such as age, gender, and interests are also monitored.
Considering dwell time: The time a user spends in an area is also monitored and incentives are adjusted based on that.
Incentive calculation unit: Based on the data obtained from the area user count monitoring unit, the incentive calculation unit dynamically adjusts the amount of incentive given to the owner and users. Specifically, the more users there are in the area, the greater the amount of incentive. Staged incentive: The incentive is increased each time the number of users exceeds a certain threshold. Time-of-day adjustment: The incentive is set higher during certain times of the day. Special event: A special incentive is set when an event occurs that causes a sudden increase in the number of users.
Dynamic content provision: In addition, if an area attracts many users, the owner of that area will have an incentive to provide higher quality content. This will be improved so that the content provider can adjust the quality of the content according to the number of users in the area. Content rotation: The type of content provided will be automatically changed according to the number of users in the area. User-participatory content: When there are a large number of users, interactive content will be provided to encourage participation. Optimization by AI: AI will automatically select the optimal content based on the number of users and other indicators.
・User experience optimization: In areas with a large number of users, a more attractive experience can be achieved by providing each user with a high incentive. Gamification elements: When the number of users is large, gamification that incorporates elements of competition and cooperation can be used to enhance the experience.
Localization: Optimize the user experience for locale and culture.
Premium Option: Premium options are provided to users who receive high incentives.

It goes without saying that the invention examples described in the embodiments of this application document are not limited to those described in this application document, but can be applied to various examples within the scope of the technical concept. For example, in the embodiments of this application document, the system of each embodiment may be configured so that information presented on the screen of an information processing device can be transmitted to another information processing device so that it can be displayed on the screen of the other information processing device.

Furthermore, the processes and procedures described in this application document may be realizable not only by those explicitly described in the embodiments, but also by software, hardware, or a combination of these. Furthermore, the processes and procedures described in this application document may be implemented as computer programs and executed by various computers. Furthermore, these computer programs may be stored in storage media. Furthermore, these programs may be stored in non-transient or temporary storage media.

The configurations included in the present invention are as follows.
(Configuration 1)
a virtual space generation unit that generates a virtual space based on geographic information of a real space; an area object corresponding to an area existing in the real space; and a user object to be displayed at a corresponding position in the virtual space based on a user's position in the real space;
an owner information management unit for managing owner information of the area object;
an owner information registration unit that registers the owner information of the area object as the user when an occupancy condition including a positional relationship between the user and the area in the real space is satisfied;
A game server comprising an incentive granting unit that grants an area incentive associated with the area object to visiting users who visit the area from outside a specified range of the area, and grants visiting user incentives to the owner of the area object in accordance with the number of visiting users.
(Configuration 2)
2. The game server according to claim 1,
the incentive granting unit grants the visiting user incentive in accordance with the behavior of the visiting user.
Game server.
(Configuration 3)
2. The game server according to claim 1,
Each of the visiting users is associated with a predetermined home area;
the incentive granting unit grants the visiting user incentive in accordance with a distance between the home area and the area in question.
Game server.
(Configuration 4)
2. The game server according to claim 1,
A visiting user recording unit that records information about the visiting user,
Game server.
(Configuration 5)
A game system including a user terminal and a game server,
The game server includes:
a virtual space generation unit that generates a virtual space based on geographic information of a real space; an area object corresponding to an area existing in the real space; and a user object to be displayed at a corresponding position in the virtual space based on a position of a user terminal in the real space;
an owner information management unit for managing owner information of the area object;
an owner information registration unit that registers the owner information of the area object as the user terminal when an occupancy condition including a positional relationship between the user terminal and the area in the real space is satisfied;
an incentive granting unit that grants an area incentive associated with the area object to visiting users who visit the area from outside a predetermined range of the area, and grants visiting user incentives to an owner of the area object in accordance with the number of visiting users;
Game system.

100 Real space 102, 104 Area 106 Road 110 User 200 Virtual space 202, 204 Area object 206 Road object

Claims (5)

a virtual space generation unit that generates a virtual space based on geographic information of a real space; an area object corresponding to an area existing in the real space; and a user object to be displayed at a corresponding position in the virtual space based on a user's position in the real space;
an owner information management unit for managing owner information of the area object;
an owner information registration unit that registers the owner information of the area object as the user when an occupancy condition including a positional relationship between the user and the area in the real space is satisfied;
A game server comprising an incentive granting unit that grants an area incentive associated with the area object to visiting users who visit the area from outside a specified range of the area, and grants visiting user incentives to the owner of the area object in accordance with the number of visiting users. 2. The game server according to claim 1,
the incentive granting unit grants the visiting user incentive in accordance with the behavior of the visiting user.
Game server. 2. The game server according to claim 1,
Each of the visiting users is associated with a predetermined home area;
the incentive granting unit grants the visiting user incentive in accordance with a distance between the home area and the area in question.
Game server. 2. The game server according to claim 1,
A visiting user recording unit that records information about the visiting user,
Game server. A game system including a user terminal and a game server,
The game server includes:
a virtual space generation unit that generates a virtual space based on geographic information of a real space; an area object corresponding to an area existing in the real space; and a user object to be displayed at a corresponding position in the virtual space based on a position of a user terminal in the real space;
an owner information management unit for managing owner information of the area object;
an owner information registration unit that registers the owner information of the area object as the user terminal when an occupancy condition including a positional relationship between the user terminal and the area in the real space is satisfied;
an incentive granting unit that grants an area incentive associated with the area object to visiting users who visit the area from outside a predetermined range of the area, and grants visiting user incentives to an owner of the area object in accordance with the number of visiting users;
Game system.