Information processing equipment

Abstract

The first ring buffer 142 records the game moving images and time information by the game software 110 currently being executed. In the case where an event is generated in the game, the event information acquisition unit 120 acquires event information including an event code identifying the event from the game software 110. The second ring buffer 144 records the acquired event information and time information synchronized with the first ring buffer 142.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a technology for recording game moving images. Background Art

[0002] When a user posts mobile image data to a mobile image sharing website, the user adds metadata such as a title and comments for the mobile image data to the mobile image data. Also, when the user views mobile images on the mobile image sharing website, the user inputs a search keyword and selects a mobile image from a list of mobile images retrieved from the mobile image sharing website.

[0003] With the mobile image sharing services in the past, users cannot easily obtain mobile images desired by the users. This is because, when users search for mobile images, it is difficult to input appropriate search keywords, and no appropriate metadata is added to each of the mobile images posted to the mobile image sharing website. The mobile image sharing website cannot thereby provide mobile images that match the needs of users, even if the mobile image sharing website has accumulated many mobile images therein.

[0004] PTL 1 discloses an information processing device, including: a recording part in which moving image data of game software currently being executed is recorded, a metadata acquisition part in which metadata indicating the execution state of the game software is acquired, and a content generation part that extracts the game moving image data recorded in the recording part, the game moving image data from a start point to an end point as content data. The content generation part refers to time information indicating the timing at which the metadata is acquired, and adds the metadata collected in the extraction time period from the start point to the end point to the content data. In addition, the time information of the metadata is used to specify the purpose of the metadata collected in the extraction time period, and is not added to the game moving image data (content data). When the content data is uploaded to a distribution server, the added metadata is used to search for content.

[0005] Reference List

[0006] Patent Literature

[0007] [PTL 1]

[0008] JP 2015-198404A Summary of the invention

[0009] Technical issues

[0010] When playing a game, the user may desire to watch a game moving image related to the user's playing scene. At this time, when the reproduction time period of the game moving image distributed from the moving image distribution server is long, it takes a long time for exploring the scene that the user desires to watch, and therefore it is preferable that there is a mechanism capable of jumping to the desired scene. Moreover, with regard to preventing spoilers, it is preferable that there is a mechanism capable of specifying a spoiler portion in the game moving image corresponding to the user's playing situation.

[0011] The object of the present invention is to provide the technology necessary to implement the above-mentioned mechanism.

[0012] Solution to the problem

[0013] In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, an information processing device in one mode of the present invention includes: a first circular buffer, an event information acquisition part and a second circular buffer, wherein the circular buffer records the game movement image and time information of the game software currently being executed, the event information acquisition part acquires event information including an event code identifying the generated event from the game software when an event is generated in the game, and the second circular buffer records the acquired event information and time information synchronized with the first circular buffer.

[0014] In addition, any combination of the above-described constituent elements and any expression of the present invention converted into a method, an apparatus, a system, a recording medium, a computer program, etc. are also effective as aspects of the present invention. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] Figure 1 is a diagram depicting an information processing system according to an embodiment.

[0016] Figure 2 It is a diagram depicting the hardware configuration of an information processing device.

[0017] Figure 3 is a diagram depicting the functional blocks of an information processing device.

[0018] Figure 4 Depicted are diagrams each depicting an example of a screen of an output device.

[0019] Figure 5 This is a diagram that depicts the relationship between game moving images and event information.

[0020] Figure 6 is a diagram depicting the functional blocks of a search server. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0021] In the information processing system of the embodiment, the user plays the game software (console game) installed in the information processing device. When an event is generated in the game, the game software outputs event information to the system software side, including an event code identifying the generated event. When the progress of the game is changed, when the behavior of the player character or the game character is changed, etc., an event is generated.

[0022] The information processing device causes the game moving image to be output from a television or the like, and then automatically records the game moving image in the background at the same time, and the user can upload the recorded game moving image to a distribution server. When the user manually determines the starting point and the ending point of the recorded game moving image, the information processing device extracts the game moving image spanning from the starting point to the ending point, and uploads the extracted game moving image to the distribution server. At this time, the information processing device sends the event information obtained between the starting point and the ending point together with the time information of the event information to the event server. When the search server accepts a search request from a viewing user, the search server refers to the time series data of events generated between the starting point and the ending point of the game moving image and the time of their generation, which are related to each other, and searches for game moving images that match the playing situation of the viewing user.

[0023] Figure 1 An information processing system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention is depicted. The information processing system 1 includes a plurality of information processing devices 10a, 10b, and 10c (hereinafter, each referred to as "information processing device 10" without being particularly distinguished from each other) and a content server 12, and they are connected to each other via a network 3 such as the Internet or a local area network (LAN). An access point (hereinafter referred to as "AP") 8 has the functions of a wireless access point and a router, and the information processing device 10 is connected to the AP 8 wirelessly or by wire to be communicably connected to the content server 12 existing in the network 3.

[0024] The content server 12 provides a content sharing service for game mobile images and the like, and is depicted in this figure as a concept in which a distribution server 14, an event server 16, and a search server 18 are merged with each other. The distribution server 14 receives an upload of a game mobile image from a distribution user, and distributes the game mobile image to a viewing user. The event server 16 converts the event information sent from the information processing device 10 into time series data suitable for search. When the search server 18 receives a mobile image search request from a viewing user, the search server 18 searches for a game mobile image to be distributed from the distribution server 14 based on the time series data of the event.

[0025] The distribution server 14, the event server 16, and the search server 18 can each be configured as a separate server, and can each communicate with each other through the network 3, and these servers can be formed integrally with each other. Moreover, the distribution server 14 and the event server 16 can be formed integrally with each other, the distribution server 14 and the search server 18 can be formed integrally with each other, or the event server 16 and the search server 18 can be formed integrally with each other.

[0026] The information processing device 10 is connected to the input device 6 operated by the user wirelessly or by a wire, and the input device 6 outputs information operated by the user to the information processing device 10. When the information processing device 10 receives the operation information from the input device 6, the information processing device 10 causes the processing of the system software and the game software to reflect the operation information, and causes the output device 4 to output the processing result. In the information processing system 1, the information processing device 10 is a game device (game console) that executes a game, and the input device 6 may be a device that supplies the user's operation information to the information processing device 10, such as a game controller. In addition, the input device 6 may be an input interface such as a keyboard or a mouse.

[0027] The auxiliary storage device 2 is a large-capacity storage device such as a hard disk drive (HDD) or a flash memory, and may be an external storage device connected to the information processing device 10 via a universal serial bus (USB) or the like, or may be a built-in storage device. The output device 4 may be a television including a display that outputs images and a speaker that outputs sounds, or may be a computer display. The output device 4 may be connected to the information processing device 10 via a wired cable, or may be connected to the information processing device 10 wirelessly.

[0028] The camera 7 as an imaging device is provided in the vicinity of the output device 4 , and images the space around the output device 4 . Figure 1 An example is depicted in which the camera 7 is attached to the upper portion of the output device 4, while the camera 7 may be arranged at the side or lower portion of the output device 4, and in any case, the camera 7 is arranged at a position where the camera 7 can image a user positioned in front of the output device 4. The camera 7 may be a stereo camera.

[0029] The distribution server 14 provides a service for sharing game images uploaded from the information processing device 10. The distribution server 14 has the following functions: distributing the game images accumulated therein according to requests from viewing users, and broadcasting the game images provided to the distribution server 14 by the distribution users in real time. There may be a plurality of distribution servers 14. The image distribution service provided by the distribution server 14 may limit the users who receive the service to registered members, or may be open to the public.

[0030] The event server 16 obtains an event information group related to the uploaded game moving image from the information processing device 10. The event server 16 converts the event information group into event time series data suitable for search. The event time series data is a data string in which there are events generated between the start time and the end time of the game moving image and their generation time that are related to each other. The event server 16 provides the event time series data to the search server 18.

[0031] When the search server 18 receives a search request for a game mobile image from the information processing device 10 of the viewing user, the search server 18 refers to the event time series data and performs a search process for the game mobile images accumulated in the content server 12. The search request includes state information indicating the playing situation of the game of the viewing user, and the search server 18 searches for the game image to be distributed based on the relationship between the state information and the event time series data.

[0032] Figure 2 Depicted is a hardware configuration of an information processing device 10. The information processing device 10 includes a main power button 20, a power-on light emitting diode (LED) 21, a standby LED 22, a system controller 24, a clock 26, a device controller 30, a media drive 32, a USB module 34, a flash memory 36, a wireless communication module 38, a wired communication module 40, a subsystem 50, and a main system 60.

[0033] The main system 60 includes a main central processing unit (CPU), a memory and a memory controller used as a main storage device, a graphics processing unit (GPU), etc. The GPU is mainly used for arithmetic processing of game programs. The main CPU has the following functions: starting an operating system (OS) and executing a game program installed in the auxiliary storage device 2 in an environment provided by the OS. The subsystem 50 includes a sub-CPU, a memory and a memory controller used as a main storage device, etc., and does not include a GPU.

[0034] The main CPU has a function of executing a game program installed in the auxiliary storage device 2 or the read-only memory (ROM) medium 44, while the sub-CPU does not have such a function. However, the sub-CPU has a function of accessing the auxiliary storage device 2, and a function of sending data to the server device 5 and a function of receiving data from the server device 5. The sub-CPU includes only these limited processing functions, and therefore can operate with low power consumption compared to the main CPU. These functions of the sub-CPU are executed when the main CPU is in a standby state.

[0035] The main power button 20 is an input portion on which an operation input from a user is performed, is provided on the front surface of the housing of the information processing device 10, and is operated to turn on or off the power supply to the main system 60 of the information processing device 10. When the main power button 20 is turned on, the power-on LED 21 lights up, and when the main power button 20 is turned off, the standby LED 22 lights up. The system controller 24 detects the pressing of the main power button 20 by the user.

[0036] The clock 26 is a real-time clock, generates current day-and-time information, and supplies the date-and-time information to the system controller 24 , the subsystems 50 , and the main system 60 .

[0037] The device controller 30 is configured as a large-scale integrated circuit (LSI) that performs information delivery and reception between devices like a south-bridge. As shown in the figure, connected to the device controller 30 are the following devices: such as the system controller 24, the media drive 32, the USB module 34, the flash memory 36, the wireless communication module 38, the wired communication module 40, the subsystem 50, and the main system 60. The device controller 30 absorbs the difference in electrical characteristics and the difference in data transfer speed between devices, and controls the timing for data transfer.

[0038] The medium drive 32 is a drive device to which a ROM medium 44 in which application software such as games and license information are recorded is attached to drive the ROM medium 44, and the medium drive 32 reads programs and data from the ROM medium 44. The ROM medium 44 is a recording medium dedicated to reading, such as an optical disc, a magneto-optical disc, or a Blu-ray disc.

[0039] The USB module 34 is a module connected to an external device via a USB cable. The USB module 34 can be connected to the auxiliary storage device 2 and the camera 7 respectively via USB cables. The flash memory 36 is an auxiliary storage device included in the internal storage. The wireless communication module 38 uses a communication protocol (such as the Bluetooth (registered trademark) protocol or the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 protocol) to perform wireless communication with, for example, the input device 6. The wired communication module 40 communicates with the external device via a wire, and is connected to the network 3 via, for example, the AP 8.

[0040] Figure 3Functional blocks of the information processing device 10 are depicted. The information processing device 10 includes a processing section 100 and a communication section 102. The processing section 100 includes a game software 110, an event information acquisition section 120, a routing section 122, a state management section 124, an output processing section 126, a first recording control section 128, a second recording control section 130, a recording section 140, a memory 146, and a shared processing section 150. The recording section 140 includes a first ring buffer 142 and a second ring buffer 144. The shared processing section 150 includes a receiving section 152, a content extraction section 154, an event extraction section 156, a screenshot generation section 158, a transmission processing section 160, and an operation screen generation section 162. The communication section 102 is expressed as having both Figure 2 The depicted configuration of the functions of the wireless communication module 38 and the wired communication module 40 , the wireless communication module 38 handles the communication with the input device 6 , while the wired communication module 40 handles the communication with the content server 12 .

[0041] exist Figure 3 In the embodiment, the elements depicted as function blocks for executing various processes may each include a circuit block, a memory, and other LSIs for hardware, or may each be implemented by a program loaded into the memory for software. Therefore, it should be understood by those skilled in the art that these function blocks may be implemented in any of various forms by hardware only, software only, or a combination thereof, and the form is not limited to any of the above.

[0042] The game software 110 includes at least a game program, image data, audio data, and a configuration file. The game program receives the user's operation information on the input device 6, and performs an arithmetic process to move the player character in the virtual space. The output processing part 126 generates image data and audio data of the game, and causes the output device 4 to output the image data and audio data. The output processing part 126 may include a graphics processing unit (GPU) that performs a rendering process, etc.

[0043] When a preset event is generated in the progress of the game, the game program generates event information including an event code identifying the generated event, and outputs the event information to the event information acquisition part 120. Game developers can embed various events in the game as follows.

[0044] The tasks, goals, actions, etc. that players can perform in the game are all called "activities". When a player starts an activity, an event indicating the start of the activity is generated, and when the player ends the activity, an event indicating the end of the activity is generated. For example, for an activity of "fighting" with an enemy character, when the player starts the battle, a battle start event is generated, and when the player ends the battle, a battle end event is generated.

[0045] Event code is assigned to each event, and game program produces event information, and event information has game data of game state when the event code of the event generated by the identifier is added, indicating event generation. Game program can make game data include the position of event generation, information about opponent, etc. For example, about battle start event, game data can at least include the information of scene number in the designated game and the information indicating battle position. For battle end event, game data can include the information of scene number in the designated game, the information indicating battle position, the information indicating whether activity is completed, and the experience value of the player increased by battle end. In addition, when the ultimate purpose of the activity (such as, for example, defeating the final boss (Boss) or annihilating the enemy) is achieved, the activity is completed.

[0046] Furthermore, during the play of the game, when the player obtains a weapon, an event indicating that the player obtains the weapon is generated. When the player uses a weapon, an event indicating that the player uses the weapon is generated, and when an enemy character uses a weapon against the player, an event indicating that the weapon is used by the player is generated. The game program generates event information in which game data (such as the type of weapon, the location where the weapon is obtained or used) is added to the event code, and outputs the event information to the event information acquisition section 120. In this way, game developers can define various events and can incorporate these events into the game.

[0047] The configuration file of the game software 110 describes a list of event codes required for managing the user's play situation. In this embodiment, the information required for managing the play situation includes event codes related to activities, but does not include event codes related to weapons. In addition, which type of event is used to manage the user's play situation depends on the management strategy for the play situation, and events related to weapons and other types of events can also be reflected in the management of the user's play situation.

[0048] Before the play of the game starts, the list of event codes is provided to the routing section 122. The event information acquisition section 120 acquires event information from the game software 110, and delivers the event information to the routing section 122. When the event information is delivered to the routing section 122, the routing section 122 supplies all the fragments of the event information to the second recording control section 130, and supplies the fragments required for the management of the user's play situation in the event information to the state management section 124 according to the event code list.

[0049] The state management section 124 records the latest state information indicating the play situation of the user in the memory 146. The state management section 124 updates the state information based on the event information. For example, the state management section 124 can manage the play situation of the user using the following pieces of state information.

[0050] Activity_A

[0051] - This indicates the most recently started activity.

[0052] Activity_B

[0053] - This indicates the activities that have been played so far.

[0054] Activity_C

[0055] This indicates the activity that has been cleared so far.

[0056] Activity_D

[0057] -This indicates the activities that can be played.

[0058] Activity_E

[0059] -This indicates an activity that cannot be played.

[0060] Each of all the above-mentioned fragments of state information is managed using identification information of the activity (activity identification (ID)). By pre-acquiring a conversion table to convert event codes into activity IDs according to a configuration file, the state management section 124 manages "activity_A", "activity_B", "activity_C", "activity_D", and "activity_E" using activity IDs. When event information related to an activity is supplied to the state management section 124 from the routing section 122, the state management section 124 updates the state information. For example, when a start event for a new activity is supplied, the state management section 124 updates "activity_A" and "activity_B". Moreover, when an activity that has been played so far is completed, the state management section 124 updates "activity_C".

[0061] In the information processing device 10 of the present embodiment, the output processing section 126 generates image data and audio data of the game, causes the output device 4 to output the image data and audio data, and supplies the image data and audio data to the first recording control section 128. Hereinafter, the image data and audio data of the game will be referred to simply as "game moving images" or "game moving image data". The information processing device 10 has a function of recording the game moving images output from the output device 4 in the background, and the first recording control section 128 records the game moving image data together with time information (time stamp) in the first ring buffer 142.

[0062] The first ring buffer 142 is generated by setting the first start address and the first end address of the storage area of ​​the auxiliary storage device 2. This ring buffer can be set in advance when the information processing device 10 is launched. The first recording control section 128 records the game moving image of the currently executed game software generated by the output processing section 126 in the first ring buffer 142 together with the time stamp.

[0063] The first recording control section 128 records the segments of the image data in the order of the addresses predetermined starting from the first start address in the first ring buffer 142, and when the first recording control section 128 records the segments of the image data until the first end address, returns to the first start address to record by overwriting, and repeats this process. For example, the first ring buffer 142 is set so that the first ring buffer 142 records 20 minutes of game moving images, and time information (time stamp) is given to each of the recorded game moving images. Recording the game moving images in the first ring buffer 142 in the background enables the user to cut the most recent 20 minutes of play moving images and upload the cut play moving images to the distribution server 14.

[0064] When an event is generated in the game, the event information acquisition section 120 acquires event information including an event code identifying the generated event from the game software 110, and supplies the event information to the routing section 122. The routing section 122 sends all the segments to which the event information is supplied to the second recording control section 130, and the second recording control section 130 records the segments of the event information in the second ring buffer 144 together with time information (time stamp).

[0065] The second ring buffer 144 is generated by setting the second start address and the second end address of the storage area of ​​the auxiliary storage device 2. Similar to the first ring buffer 142, this ring buffer can be set in advance when the information processing device 10 is marketed. The second recording control part 130 records the fragments of event information in the order of the addresses determined in advance starting from the second start address in the second ring buffer 144, and when the second recording control part 130 records the fragments of event information until the second end address, returns to the second start address to record by overwriting, and repeats this process. The second ring buffer 144 is set so that the second ring buffer 144 records the fragments of event information within the same time period (for example, 20 minutes) as the time period of the first ring buffer 142, and time information (time stamp) is assigned to each of the fragments of recorded event information. The time stamp recorded in the second ring buffer 144 is synchronized with the time stamp recorded in the first ring buffer 142. The game image is thereby recorded in the first ring buffer 142 at the same timing, and when the event information is recorded in the second ring buffer 144, the same time stamp is assigned to both of them.

[0066] The following will describe a process in which user A uploads a game moving image to distribution server 14 during play of a game. When user A presses a predetermined button (share button) of input device 6, a plurality of options related to sharing of the game image are displayed on output device 4.

[0067] Figure 4 (a) depicts an example of a sharing menu screen 200 displayed superimposed on a game screen. When user A operates a sharing button provided on the input device 6 during play of a game, the receiving section 152 receives the operation information of the sharing button, and the operation screen generating section 162 generates a sharing menu screen 200 to be displayed superimposed on the game screen. On the sharing menu screen 200, it is indicated:

[0068] - Upload video clips;

[0069] -Upload screenshots;

[0070] - Broadcasting game play; and

[0071] - Start a shared play,

[0072] and four options related to game image sharing. At this time, the progress of the game is temporarily suspended, and the first recording control section 128 and the second recording control section 130 simultaneously suspend writing to the first circular buffer 142 and the second circular buffer 144, respectively. The recording of 20 minutes before the operation of the share button is thus stored in each of the first circular buffer 142 and the second circular buffer 144.

[0073] When the sharing menu screen 200 is displayed, the operation information of the input device 6 is used for the operation of the sharing menu screen 200. To upload the game moving image, the user A selects “Upload Video Clip.” The user A thereafter selects the distribution server 14 to upload the game moving image thereto. Figure 1 Only a single distribution server 14 is depicted, but there may be a plurality of distribution servers 14, and in this case, the user A needs to select one or more distribution servers 14. When the user A selects a distribution server 14, the operation screen generation section 162 generates a screen for editing a game moving image.

[0074] Figure 4(b) depicts the trimming editing screen 202. In an embodiment, a game moving image of up to 20 minutes is recorded in the first circular buffer 142, and depending on the distribution server 14, only game moving images with a time period less than 20 minutes may be allowed to be uploaded. Therefore, user A cuts the game moving image with a length that can be uploaded on the trimming editing screen 202. User A operates the input device 6, and thereby specifies the starting point and the ending point to cut the game moving image. When the receiving part 152 receives the designation of the starting point and the ending point from user A, the receiving part 152 notifies the content extraction part 154 and the event extraction part 156 of the designation. The content extraction part 154 extracts the game moving image and the timestamp from the starting point to the ending point of the game moving image recorded in the first circular buffer 142, and the event extraction part 156 extracts the event information and the timestamp from the same starting point to the same ending point of the event information recorded in the second circular buffer 144. In the following, the segment of the event information extracted from the starting point to the ending point is referred to as an "event information group". Note that the user A can determine the start point and the end point, and can cut the user's favorite play scene regardless of the moving image allowable time period of the distribution server 14.

[0075] Figure 5 The relationship between the extracted game moving image and the fragment of event information is depicted. Because the first ring buffer 142 and the second ring buffer 144 set the timestamp to be common, the time lines of the extracted game moving image and the fragment of the extracted event information can be matched with each other. The content extraction part 154 adds at least the game identification information (game ID) and the content identification information (content ID) as attribute information to the extracted game moving image. Note that information specifying user A can also be added to the extracted game moving image. The content ID must be unique in the information processing system 1. The content extraction part 154 provides the content ID to the event extraction part 156, and the event extraction part 156 adds the game ID and the content ID to the extracted event information group as attribute information.

[0076] The transmission processing section 160 transmits the game moving image extracted by the content extraction section 154 to the distribution server 14. The distribution server 14 has the game moving image uploaded thereto from the information processing device 10 of each of a plurality of users, and the user to whom the game moving image is desired to be distributed accesses the distribution server 14 and views the game moving image.

[0077] The transmission processing section 160 transmits the event information group extracted by the event extraction section 156 to the event server 16. Although the event information group is a set of combinations of event codes and game data, since the event codes and game data are defined by the game developer, the event codes and game data for each game are different. The event server 16 thus converts the fragments of the event code and game data included in the event information group into fragments of the event code and game data commonly used by the content server 12 using a conversion table provided from the game developer.

[0078] This conversion process will be described. When the player starts an activity, an activity start event is generated. For example, in game X, the event code of the activity start event may be "mission Start", while in game Y, the event code of the activity start event may be "task Start", and the event server 16 converts the event code of the activity start event into "start". The event server 16 thus retains a table for converting "mission start" into "start" for game X, and retains a table for converting "task start" into "start" for game Y. In this way, the event server 16 converts fragments of event information of all games into fragments of event codes and game data used in common by the content server 12. The fragments of the converted event codes and game data are referred to as "event time series data", and the scene numbers in the activities included in the game data before conversion are converted into activity IDs through the conversion table. The event server 16 supplies the event time series data to the search server 18, and the search server 18 analyzes the event time series data, and can thereby specify the type and generation time of the event generated in the game moving image.

[0079] The above description is a process in which user A sends a game moving image and an event information group to the content server 12. The following description will describe a process in which user B, who operates the information processing device 10b, accesses the content server 12 and views the game moving image. In the information processing system 1, during the game play of user B, user B can receive the distribution of the game moving image that matches the current play situation by performing a predetermined operation.

[0080] In the information processing device 10b of user B, similarly, the state management section 124 manages state information indicating the play situation of user B in the memory 146. "Activity_A", "Activity_B", "Activity_C", "Activity_D" and "Activity_E" as pieces of state information are managed using activity IDs.

[0081] During the play of the game, when user B performs a predetermined operation, user B can receive provision of a candidate list of game moving images that match the current play situation. When the information processing device 10b receives the predetermined operation of user B, the information processing device 10b sends a search request for game moving images to the search server 18. At this time, the information processing device 10b causes the search request to include the game ID currently being played and the state information managed by the state management section 124.

[0082] Figure 6 Depicted are functional blocks of the search server 18. The search server 18 includes a search processing section 210 and a communication section 212. The search processing section 210 includes an event time series data acquisition section 220, a search request acquisition section 222, a state information acquisition section 224, a candidate extraction section 226, and a recording device 230.

[0083] exist Figure 6 In the embodiment, the elements depicted as function blocks that perform various processes may each include a circuit block, a memory, and other LSIs as hardware, or may each be implemented by a program loaded into the memory as software. Therefore, it should be understood by those skilled in the art that these function blocks may be implemented in any of various forms by hardware alone, software alone, or a combination thereof, and the form is not limited to any of the above.

[0084] The event time series data acquisition section 220 acquires the event time series data of the game moving image from the event server 16, and stores the event time series data in the recording device 230. Preferably, when event information is transmitted from the information processing device 10 to the event server 16, the event server 16 immediately generates the event time series data, and provides the event time series data to the search server 18. The event time series data has the game ID and content ID added thereto.

[0085] The search request acquisition section 222 receives a search request for game moving images from the information processing device 10b of the user B who is a viewing user. The status information acquisition section 224 acquires the game ID currently being played by the user B and status information on the management of this game from the search request.

[0086] The candidate extraction section 226 specifies the event time series data to which the game ID currently being played by user B is added, and searches for a game moving image that matches the status information of user B. In the status information, the activity ID of “activity_A” specifies the activity currently being played, and the candidate extraction section 226 can thereby specify the event time series data including the end event of the activity indicated by the activity ID of “activity_A”. A game moving image including a video image of the completion of the activity can thereby be specified.

[0087] The activity ID included in "Activity_B" indicates the activity that has been played so far. From the perspective of preventing spoilers, the candidate extraction section 226 can thereby avoid selecting any event time series data including an activity ID that is not included in "Activity_B". This prevents activities that user B has not played so far from being included in the candidate moving images. When the candidate extraction section 226 specifies multiple segments of event time series data that match the status information of user B, the candidate extraction section 226 notifies the distribution server 14 of the content IDs of the multiple segments of the event time series data. The distribution server 14 specifies the game moving image based on the content ID and sends a list of thumbnails of the game moving images to the information processing device 10b. When user B selects one of the thumbnails, the distribution server 14 distributes the selected game moving image. This enables user B to watch the game moving image that matches the current play situation without entering any search keywords.

[0088] For example, in the case where the reproduction time period of the game moving image is long, the game moving image can be adapted to start at the time location of the start event code of the activity of "Activity_A". Moreover, in the case where a spoiler video image is included in the game moving image, the distribution server 14 can specify the spoiler part and avoid any distribution of the spoiler part. In this way, the distribution server 14 can specify the scenes to be distributed preferentially and the scenes that cannot be distributed according to the event time series data and the status information of the user B.

[0089] The process of associating event time series data with uploaded game moving images has been described above.

[0090] Return to reference Figure 4 (a), user A can upload a screenshot. When user A selects "Upload Screenshot" and captures (or selects) a screenshot to upload the screenshot, the screenshot generation section 158 obtains a screenshot of the game screen. At this time, the screenshot generation section 158 reads at least a portion of the latest state information from the memory 146 when obtaining the screenshot, and adds the portion as metadata to the screenshot image. The screenshot generation section 158 adds metadata to the screenshot of the game moving image, thereby enabling management so that no other user can view the screenshot from the perspective of preventing spoilers.

[0091] The present invention has been described above based on the embodiment. The present embodiment is exemplary, and those skilled in the art should understand that various modified examples can be made to each of its constituent elements, and each of the combinations of processing procedures and such modified examples are within the scope of the present invention.

[0092] Industrial Applicability

[0093] The present invention is applicable to the technical field in which game moving images are recorded.

[0094] Reference numerals list

[0095] 1: Information Processing System

[0096] 10: Information processing equipment

[0097] 12: Content Server

[0098] 14: Distribution Server

[0099] 16: Event Server

[0100] 18: Search Server

[0101] 100: Processing part

[0102] 102: Communication part

[0103] 110: Gaming software

[0104] 120: Event information acquisition part

[0105] 122: Routing section

[0106] 124: State management part

[0107] 126: Output processing part

[0108] 128: First Record Control Section

[0109] 130: Second recording control part

[0110] 140: Recording section

[0111] 142: First ring buffer

[0112] 144: Second ring buffer

[0113] 146: Memory

[0114] 150: Shared processing section

[0115] 152: Receiving part

[0116] 154: Content extraction part

[0117] 156: Event extraction part

[0118] 158: Screenshot generation part

[0119] 160: Send processing part

[0120] 162: Operation screen generation part

[0121] 210: Search processing part

[0122] 212: Communication part

[0123] 220: Event time series data acquisition part

[0124] 222: Search request acquisition part

[0125] 224: Status information acquisition part

[0126] 226: Candidate extraction part

[0127] 230: Recording device.

Claims

1. An information processing device, comprising: A first ring buffer that records game movement images and time information of the game software currently being executed; an event information acquisition section that, in the case where an event is generated in the game, acquires event information including an event code identifying the generated event from the game software; a second circular buffer, which records the acquired event information and the time information synchronized with the first circular buffer; a content extraction section that extracts a game moving image from a start point specified for the game moving image to an end point specified for the game moving image of the game moving image recorded in the first ring buffer; as well as An event extraction section extracts event information from the start point to the end point of the segment of event information recorded in the second ring buffer.

2. The information processing device according to claim 1, further comprising: A receiving section receives designation of the start point and the end point from a user.

3. The information processing device according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising: A transmission processing section transmits the extracted game moving image to the first server device, and transmits the extracted event information to the second server device.

4. The information processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 2, comprising: a state management section that updates state information indicating a user's play situation based on the acquired event information; as well as The screenshot generation part takes a screenshot of the game screen, wherein: The screenshot generation section adds at least a portion of the latest status information when the screenshot is acquired as metadata.

Images