Game device and program

Abstract

To provide a highly amusing communication element.SOLUTION: A game device executes a game in which characters appear, and includes display control means for displaying a first character pertaining to a game executed in the game device on display means, and communication means capable of performing communication by a first communication method for transmitting and receiving information to and from another game device and a second communication method for transmitting and receiving information to and from an external device that is different from another game device. The communication means acquires information regarding a second character appearing in a game executed by another game device from the other game device by using the first communication method and acquires information regarding a third character appearing in a game executed by a game device from the external device by using the second communication method. The display control means displays a character selected from the second character and the third character in a predetermined area in the game.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a game device and a program, and more particularly to an electronic game involving the display of a character. [Background technology]

[0002] There is a game system that allows users to play an interactive game on their smartphone that brings together characters raised by various users, including users from a wide range of regions, by sending information about characters raised on the game device to a server via the smartphone (Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2020-006264 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, in the game system of Patent Document 1, the experience of playing the social game is only provided on a smartphone, so the fun factor may not be provided appropriately to users who do not own a smartphone or to younger users.

[0005] In addition, the game system of Patent Document 1 also provides an element of interest related to communication by directly communicating information between two game devices, for example, with a game device owned by a friend, and executing an event in which characters developed on both game devices appear on one game device. However, since these communication elements are provided independently in the above game system, it is necessary to communicate with friends directly and with other users through a communication game, which is cumbersome.

[0006] An object of the present invention is to provide a game device and a program that are equipped with highly entertaining communication elements. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] A game device of one embodiment of the present invention is a game device that executes a game in which characters appear, and is equipped with a display control means that causes a first character related to the game executed on the game device to be displayed on a display means, and a communication means that is capable of communicating using a first communication method for transmitting and receiving information with other game devices and a second communication method for transmitting and receiving information with an external device different from the other game devices, wherein the communication means uses the first communication method to obtain information regarding a second character that appears in the game executed on the other game devices, and uses the second communication method to obtain information regarding a third character that appears in the game executed on one of the game devices from the external device, and the display control means causes a character selected from the second character and the third character to be displayed in a predetermined area during the game. Effect of the Invention

[0008] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide highly interesting communication elements. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a game system according to an embodiment and a modification of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of a game device 100 according to an embodiment and a modification of the present invention. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of a server 200 according to an embodiment and a modification of the present invention. [Figure 4] FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining an exchange game according to an embodiment and a modification of the present invention; [Diagram 5] A flowchart illustrating an example of a social game process executed by the game device 100 according to an embodiment and a modification of the present invention. [Figure 6] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of the data structure of various information used in the game system according to the embodiment and the modified example of the present invention. [Figure 7]FIG. 13 is another diagram for explaining an exchange game according to an embodiment and a modification of the present invention. [Figure 8] FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining an exchange game according to a third modified example of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] [Embodiment 1] Hereinafter, the embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that the following embodiments do not limit the invention according to the claims, and not all combinations of features described in the embodiments are essential to the invention. Two or more features among the multiple features described in the embodiments may be arbitrarily combined. In addition, the same reference numbers are used for the same or similar configurations, and duplicated descriptions are omitted.

[0011] In the embodiment described below, an example of the present invention is applied to a game device capable of executing a game in which a character is raised (hereinafter referred to as a raising game), as an example of a game device. However, the present invention is applicable to any device that has a communication function and is capable of executing a game in which a character appears.

[0012] Game System Configuration FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a game system according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, in the game system, a game device 100 is configured to be able to wirelessly communicate with other game devices 100 and a server 200. Although details will be described later, the game device 100 is configured to be able to communicate with two types of communication methods, and transmits and receives information using different communication methods when communicating with other game devices 100 and when communicating with the server 200. As shown in the figure, communication between the game device 100 and the server 200 is performed via an access point (AP) 300 and a network 400, which is different from communication performed directly between the game devices 100. In this embodiment, in order to realize interaction between users in various regions, the network 400 is described as a wide area network (WAN) such as the Internet, but in another aspect, it may be a LAN.

[0013] Hardware Configuration of the Game Device Next, the hardware configuration of the game device 100 will be described with reference to Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the game device 100.

[0014] The control unit 101 is a processor such as a CPU, and performs various controls including operational control of each piece of hardware included in the game device 100. Specifically, the control unit 101 performs the relevant controls by, for example, reading out a necessary program stored in the storage device 102, expanding it in the memory 103, and executing it.

[0015] The storage device 102 is a device capable of permanently storing information, such as a non-volatile memory. The storage device 102 stores information on parameters required for implementing various controls, in addition to programs related to the operation of the game device 100 and programs of the training game executed in the game device 100. In addition, the storage device 102 also functions as a database of various data related to the training game (character DB 121 and item DB 122). The memory 103 is a storage device used for temporary data storage, such as a volatile memory. The memory 103 may be used not only as a development area for each program, but also as a storage area for temporarily storing data output during the operation of various hardware and various controls.

[0016] The character DB 121 is a database that manages, as records, information (character information) about characters that can be trained in a training game. In the training game executed in the game device 100 of this embodiment, the user can train a character that grows through a plurality of growth stages. The character is configured so that its appearance changes as the growth stage changes. The character DB 121 manages, as records, various information about each appearance that the character can have at each growth stage. The character information related to one record is associated with a character ID 601 that uniquely identifies the character (the appearance of the character), and includes graphics information 602 for drawing the appearance of the character, a growth stage 603 indicating the growth stage at which the character will have the appearance, and growth destination information 604 indicating the appearance that the character can grow from the appearance, as shown in FIG. 6(a), for example. The growth destination information 604 may store information about the corresponding character ID 601.

[0017] The item DB 122 is a database that manages, as records, information (item information) about items that can be worn by a character in a training game. In the training game executed in the game device 100 of this embodiment, an item can be worn by a character being trained. The item may be, for example, obtainable in the training game, or may be obtainable in the form of DLC or the like by purchasing a predetermined product. As described above, the appearance of the character changes at each growth stage, and the number of items that can be worn increases as the growth stage progresses. The item information related to one record of the item DB 122 is associated with an item ID 611 that uniquely identifies the item, and includes graphics information 612 for drawing the appearance of the item, a wearing part 613 that indicates a part of the character that can wear the item, a wearable stage 614 that indicates the growth stage at which the item can be worn, and an item attribute 615 that indicates the attribute attached to the item, as shown in FIG. 6(b).

[0018] The GPU 104 is a drawing device that executes various drawing processes related to the generation of a display screen related to the game device 100. The GPU 104 includes a GPU memory (not shown), and develops various graphics data read from the storage device 102, and performs predetermined calculations to generate various images (screens) related to the training game. The screens and images generated by the GPU 104 are presented to the user by being displayed on, for example, a display 110 provided in the game device 100. The display 110 is a device provided in the game device 100 that displays information, such as a liquid crystal display.

[0019] The operation I / F 105 is a user interface provided in the game device 100 and receives an operation input. When the operation I / F 105 detects that an operation input has been made, it outputs a control signal corresponding to the operation input to the control unit 101. In one aspect, the operation I / F 105 includes an operation member such as a button provided on the exterior of the game device 100, various sensors, and the like. In an aspect in which the display 110 is configured to be able to detect a touch input, the operation I / F 105 includes a touch input detection sensor provided on the display 110.

[0020] The communication I / F 106 is a communication interface with an external device that the game device 100 has. As described above, the game device 100 of this embodiment performs wireless information communication with other devices using two types of communication methods. One communication method is ad-hoc mode communication (hereinafter referred to as ad-hoc communication) as a first communication method according to the present invention, in which the game device 100 and another game device 100 directly transmit and receive information between the devices, with one of the game device 100 and another game device 100 acting as a host and the other connected to the host, without the condition that the game device 100 is connected to the AP 300. The other communication method is infrastructure mode communication (hereinafter referred to as infrastructure communication) as a second communication method according to the present invention, in which each game device 100 connects to an associated AP 300, and information is transmitted and received between the game device 100 and the server 200 via the AP 300 and the network 400. Note that in this embodiment, the two types of communication methods that the communication I / F 106 can use are described as ad-hoc communication and infrastructure communication, but the implementation of the present invention is not limited to this, and it goes without saying that other types of communication may be included.

[0021] <Server hardware configuration> 3 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of the server 200 according to this embodiment. In the following description, the hardware configuration that realizes the same functions as the game device 100 will be prefixed with "server" to clearly distinguish it from the configuration of the game device 100.

[0022] The server control unit 201 is a processor such as a CPU, and performs operation control of each piece of hardware included in the server 200, and control related to the realization of various functions including user management and exchange functions related to the training game. Specifically, the server control unit 201 performs the relevant control by, for example, reading out necessary programs stored in the server storage device 202, expanding them in the server memory 203, and executing them.

[0023] The server storage device 202 is a device capable of permanently storing information, such as a non-volatile memory or HDD. The server storage device 202 stores an operating system for operating the server 200 and a program related to matching, as well as parameter information and various necessary data required to realize various controls. In addition, the server storage device 202 also functions as a database of various data related to users who use the game device 100. The server memory 203 is a storage device used for temporary data storage, such as a volatile memory. The server memory 203 may be used not only as an area for developing each program, but also as a storage area for temporarily storing data output during the operation of various hardware and various controls.

[0024] The user DB 211 is a database that manages information (user information) about users who use the game device 100 as records. In the game system of this embodiment, in order to provide an element of characters interacting with each other even in a method in which the game devices 100 are not directly connected to each other, the server 200 manages the progress of the training game of the game device 100 used by each user, and is configured to be shareable with other game devices 100. The user information related to one record of the user DB 211 includes, for example, a language setting 622 set in the game device 100 used by the user, and ghost information 623 related to the character being trained by the user in the game device 100, associated with a user ID 621 that uniquely identifies the user, as shown in FIG. 6(c). Here, the user ID 621 can be unique information such as an individual identification number of the game device 100 used by the user.

[0025] Furthermore, the information on characters being developed in each game device 100 managed in the user DB 211 indicates the state of the character being developed in the game device 100 at the time the information is received, and may be different from the character being developed in the game device 100 at the time the information is used in the server 200, etc., strictly speaking. For this reason, in this embodiment, the information on characters managed in the user DB 211 is expressed as a "ghost" to mean a remnant of the character being developed at a certain point in time, and is managed as ghost information 623. The ghost information 623 may include, for the character being developed, a character ID 631 indicating the appearance of the character, attachment information 632 indicating the attachment status of items to the character, and gender information 633 indicating the gender of the character.

[0026] The server communication I / F 204 is a communication interface with an external device provided in the server 200. Information communication between the server communication I / F 204 and the external device may be performed via a wide area network (WAN) such as the Internet, or via a LAN or the like. Information communication performed by the server communication I / F 204 may be performed either wired or wirelessly.

[0027] Game Overview The following is an overview of a game in which a play experience is provided on the game device 100 of this embodiment. In this embodiment, the game is described as a training game that provides character training elements, communication elements between the user and the character, and interaction elements between the characters as entertainment elements. However, a training game is merely one form of a game in which a character appears, and the implementation of the present invention is not limited to this. The present invention is applicable to any game in which a character appears whose movement is controlled according to an operation input performed by a user. Here, the movement control is not limited to a case in which a user directly operates a character, but also includes an indirect change in the behavior or movement of a character in response to a change in parameters or environment as a result of an evaluation of an operation input performed by a user.

[0028] In the breeding game, the user can breed a character by performing operational inputs related to the care of the character. The breeding game starts, for example, with hatching an egg, and the character progresses through stages of growth by sequentially performing operational inputs related to the care required, and the character is presented as it grows while changing its appearance.

[0029] Characters are configured to be able to wear items, and users can add decoration to the character's appearance by wearing items acquired in the training game on the character. The number of parts on which items can be worn is configured to increase as the growth stage progresses, and parts on which items can be worn are limited until a certain growth stage is reached. The parts on which items can be worn may include, for example, the character's head, face, torso, legs, and hands, and may be configured to be able to wear hat items, eyeglass items, clothing items, shoe items, accessories (belongings), and the like.

[0030] Communication elements The training game is configured to be able to make characters trained by other users appear by communicating with an external device. For this reason, the game device 100 acquires information about characters being trained by other users via the communication I / F 106. As described above, the communication I / F 106 is capable of information communication by two types of communication methods, and can acquire information about characters by each of them. More specifically, the communication I / F 106 acquires information about characters being trained in other game devices 100 by ad-hoc communication from the other game devices 100. Also, the communication I / F 106 acquires information about characters being trained in any of the game devices 100 that have been connected to the server 200 by infrastructure communication from the server 200.

[0031] In the following, a character being developed in the game device 100 is referred to as a "own character", a character being developed in another game device 100 about which information is acquired from the other game device 100 through ad-hoc communication is referred to as a "friend character", and a character being developed in any of the game devices 100 connected to the server 200 about which information is acquired from the server 200 through infrastructure communication is referred to as an "other user character", and are clearly distinguished. That is, the own character is a character whose movement is controlled in response to an operation input by the user of the game device 100 in the development game executed in the game device 100. Also, the friend character is a character whose movement is controlled in response to an operation input by the user of the game device 100 in the development game executed in the other game device 100 connected through ad-hoc communication. Also, the other user character is a character whose movement is controlled in response to an operation input by the user of the game device 100 in the development game executed in any of the game devices 100 connected to the server 200 through communication.

[0032] In order to enable acquisition of information about characters via infrastructure communication, each game device 100 is configured to periodically connect to the server 200 via infrastructure communication, for example, at a predetermined time, and upload information about the player's character being developed. The uploaded information about the player's character is used to update ghost information 623 of the user information managed for the corresponding user. Thus, the game device 100 is configured to periodically upload to the server 200 the user information as well as the user ID, language setting, and information about the player's character (character ID, wearing information, gender information).

[0033] These pieces of information are configured by acquiring necessary information from owner information managed for the user in the game device 100. The owner information may be configured, for example, as shown in Fig. 6(d), to include a user name 642 indicating the nickname set by the user in association with a user ID 641 that uniquely identifies the user, a language setting 643 indicating a display language set in the game device 100, a virtual residence setting 644 indicating the residence of the player's character in the game, and training character information 645 indicating information about the player's character, and may be stored in the storage device 102. The training character information 645 includes a character ID 651 indicating the appearance of the player's character, attachment information 652 indicating an item attached to the player's character, gender information 653 indicating the gender of the player's character, and a parameter 654 of the player's character that may change depending on the training situation.

[0034] Furthermore, when uploading information about the player's character, each game device 100 acquires information about other users' characters from the server 200 for use in a social game described below. When the server 200 receives information about the player's character from each game device 100, the server 200 randomly selects a predetermined number (e.g., a fixed number equal to or greater than 10) from the user information of users other than the user of that game device 100 managed in the user DB 211. The server 200 then transmits the language settings 622 and ghost information 623 of the selected predetermined number of pieces of user information to that game device 100 as information about other users' characters.

[0035] When information on a predetermined number of other user characters is received through infrastructure communication, the control unit 101 registers the information in the other user list, which is a second list according to the present invention. Here, the other user list is a list that manages information for displaying other user characters in a social game, and is stored in the storage device 102, for example.

[0036] On the other hand, information about the friend character is acquired from the other game device 100 on the condition that the user performs an operation input in the game device 100 to communicate with the other game device 100. At this time, the game device 100 also transmits information about the player's character to the other game device 100 with which it is communicating.

[0037] Since the user with whom the ghost information is shared in infrastructure communication is not necessarily an acquaintance or friend of the user who is developing the character related to the ghost information, sharing information such as a nickname that can lead to the identification of the individual user is not preferable. For this reason, as described above, the information about the characters of other users transmitted from the server 200 does not include information that can lead to the identification of the individual user (user ID 641, user name 642). On the other hand, in ad-hoc communication, the game devices 100 are basically in a state in which they can communicate with each other at the same time, and information is directly transmitted and received, so it is assumed that the user of the game device 100 and the user of the other game device 100 are acquaintances or friends. For this reason, the information about the characters transmitted and received between the game devices 100 in ad-hoc communication (information about friend characters / information about the own character) is configured differently from the information about the characters of other users acquired by each game device 100 in infrastructure communication. That is, in order to provide an element of interest that can be enjoyed between acquaintances and friends, the information exchanged in ad-hoc communication includes information such as the nickname of the user. More specifically, the information regarding the characters transmitted and received via ad hoc communication includes, for example, the user ID 641, user name 642, game device language setting 643, virtual residence setting 644, and character development information 645 of the owner information managed by each game device 100.

[0038] When information about a friend character is received through ad-hoc communication, the control unit 101 registers the information together with information about the reception date and time in a friend list serving as a first list according to the present invention. Here, the friend list is a list for managing information for displaying a friend character in a social game, and is stored in the storage device 102, for example.

[0039] In addition, the friend list and the other user list have different update conditions. In this embodiment, the friend list is configured to be able to manage information about friend characters related to up to eight users who communicated by ad-hoc communication. When the control unit 101 receives information about a friend character by ad-hoc communication, it judges whether or not information about the same friend character is already registered in the friend list. This judgment can be made, for example, by checking whether or not information having the same user ID is registered in the friend list based on the user ID included in the received information. If information about the same friend character is already registered, the control unit 101 updates the information about the same friend character registered in the friend list with the newly received information. This allows the information about a character (friend character) being trained by a user who has previously performed ad-hoc communication to be updated to the latest state. If information about the same friend character is not registered, the control unit 101 additionally registers the newly received information in the friend list. At this time, if information about up to eight friend characters is already registered in the friend list, the control unit 101 replaces the information that was registered oldest in the friend list with the newly received information, thereby registering it in the friend list.

[0040] On the other hand, the other user list is configured to be able to manage information on a predetermined number of other user characters received from the server 200. When the control unit 101 receives information on a predetermined number of other user characters through infrastructure communication, it registers the information in the other user list by replacing all information currently registered in the other user list with the received information. That is, in the game device 100 of this embodiment, the information in the other user list is all updated every time infrastructure communication is performed. This is because, unlike friend characters, other user characters are not characters related to acquaintances, friends, etc., and therefore do not need to be retained for a long period of time, and frequent updates can provide the user with an element of excitement that they are playing a game together with many users.

[0041] The other user list is also referred to when a social game described below is executed, and information is used to display other user characters in the social game. In other words, the information registered in the other user list does not need to be updated when the social game is not executed. Therefore, in one aspect, in order to reduce the amount of information transmitted and received in infrastructure communication and to reduce the amount of power consumed in communication, the acquisition of information about other user characters from the server 200 may be performed on the condition that other user characters are displayed in the social game based on the information registered in the other user list. This control may be realized by not making a request to transmit information about other user characters from the game device 100.

[0042] 《Interaction Games》 The training game of this embodiment allows the player to continue training one character, but also includes an element that allows the player to train a new generation of characters born from marriage with another character. This element keeps the user from getting bored and keeps them highly interested in the training game.

[0043] The game device 100 of this embodiment can execute a communication game in which, when ad-hoc communication is performed, a friend character being trained in the communication partner game device 100 is displayed and the friend character interacts with the player's character. Therefore, the communication game can be used to marry the player's character and the friend character, unlocking the element of training a new generation of characters. On the other hand, the interest element of such a communication game requires that the owner of the other game device 100 with which the player is to communicate is nearby. In addition, if the character to be married to is limited to a character trained by a close acquaintance or friend, the types of characters that can be born may be limited.

[0044] For this reason, the game device 100 of this embodiment has a function of executing an exchange game to provide an exchange element with various characters, including marriage with other characters. The exchange game is configured to feature characters (friend characters, other user characters) whose information is registered in a friend list and other user list stored in advance so that the game can be played even in an offline situation. In addition, in order to provide interest by displaying characters with various personalities (characters decorated with various items) and interest related to the above marriage, the friend characters and other user characters displayed in the exchange game are limited to characters that have reached a predetermined growth stage. Similarly, the exchange game is configured to be playable on the condition that the player's character has reached the predetermined growth stage.

[0045] The interaction game is played out using an interaction area as shown in FIG. 4. As shown in the figure, in this embodiment, the interaction area is composed of five areas, and different areas are displayed in sequence by performing an operational input related to area movement (area 401 → area 402 → area 403 → area 404 → area 405 → area 401 →...). In the predetermined area, characters selected from among friend characters whose information is registered in the friend list and other user characters whose information is registered in the other user list are placed separately in each area. The selected character is placed in one of the areas, and is configured to be able to interact with the player's character in that area.

[0046] At the start of the interaction game, for example, after all the areas are displayed, an effect is displayed in which the player's character moves into the interaction area. An entrance gate to the interaction area is provided in one of the five areas, area 401, and the area 401 is controlled to be displayed at the start of the interaction game, and as shown in Fig. 7, the player's character 701 is first displayed in area 401 together with friend characters and other user characters arranged in the area. When the user wants to move the player's character 701 to another area, the user can move and display the player's character 701 in the next area in the display order (area 402 is next after area 401) by performing an operation input related to the area movement.

[0047] In the interaction area, the actions of the friend characters and other user characters placed therein are controlled without being based on the operation input of the user using the game device 100. In the interaction game of this embodiment, the actions performed by the friend characters and other user characters placed in the interaction area include actions accompanied by a greeting performance toward the player's character. The greeting performance is displayed differently based on the information of the language setting associated with the friend characters and other user characters in order to convey to the user the interest of interaction with users from various countries. For example, for other user characters associated with an English language setting, a greeting performance including a speech bubble display of "Hi!" is displayed, and for other user characters associated with a French language setting, a greeting performance including a speech bubble display of "Salut!" is displayed.

[0048] <Selection control of characters to be displayed> The number of characters to be placed in the interaction area is predetermined, and in this embodiment, one friend character and ten other user characters are placed. Therefore, when the interaction game is executed, the control unit 101 selects one piece of information from the information registered in the friend list by lottery, and places one friend character corresponding to the information in a predetermined area. Also, when the interaction game is executed, the control unit 101 selects ten pieces of information from the information registered in the other user list by lottery, and places ten other user characters corresponding to the information in a predetermined area.

[0049] 《Interactive Game Processing》 Hereinafter, the specific processing of the exchange game processing executed in the exchange game in the game device 100 of this embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 5. The processing corresponding to the flowchart can be realized by the control unit 101 reading out the corresponding processing program stored in the storage device 102, for example, and expanding and executing the program in the memory 103. Note that this exchange game processing will be described as being started when, for example, an operation input related to menu selection of the exchange game is detected in the game device 100. Note that during the execution of this exchange game processing, the GPU 104 sequentially generates corresponding screens related to the exchange game under the control of the control unit 101, and the control unit 101 controls the display 110 to display the screens.

[0050] In S501, the control unit 101 selects characters to be placed in the interaction area. Specifically, the control unit 101 selects one character from among the friend characters whose information is registered in the friend list and ten characters from among the other user characters whose information is registered in the other user list as characters to be placed in the interaction area (hereinafter referred to as visiting characters).

[0051] In S502, the control unit 101 places the visitor character selected in S501 in the interaction area, and displays an effect that displays the entire area of ​​the interaction area.

[0052] In S503, the control unit 101 displays an effect in which the player's character moves in the region 401 of the interaction area.

[0053] In S504, the control unit 101 judges whether the greeting display conditions are satisfied for the visiting character arranged in the displayed area. If the control unit 101 judges that the greeting display conditions are satisfied, the process proceeds to S505, and if the control unit 101 judges that the greeting display conditions are not satisfied, the process proceeds to S506.

[0054] In S505, the control unit 101 displays the greeting performance of the visiting character for which the display condition for the greeting performance is satisfied, based on the language setting information registered in the friend list or other user list.

[0055] In S506, the control unit 101 determines whether or not an operational input related to area movement has been made. If the control unit 101 determines that an operational input related to area movement has been made, the process proceeds to S507, and if the control unit 101 determines that an operational input related to area movement has not been made, the process returns to S504.

[0056] In S507, the control unit 101 displays an effect in which the player's character moves to the area that is next in order to the currently displayed interaction area in the area display order, and returns the process to S504.

[0057] As described above, the game device of this embodiment can provide highly entertaining communication elements.

[0058] [Variation 1] In the above embodiment, when the social game is executed, one friend character whose information is registered in the friend list and ten other user characters whose information is registered in the other user list are selected as the visiting character, but the implementation of the present invention is not limited to this. If no information is registered in the friend list, the control unit 101 may control not to include the friend character in the visiting character. Also, if information on ten or more other user characters is not registered in the other user list, the control unit 101 may select default characters that are the number of characters that are insufficient and have different appearances that have been registered in the storage device 102 in advance, and display them as the visiting character.

[0059] [Embodiment 2] In the above embodiment, one friend character is always placed in the interaction area, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, if only one friend character is registered in the friend list, the same friend character will be placed in the interaction area every time, which may cause the user to feel uncomfortable. Therefore, whether or not to place a friend character in the interaction area may be randomly determined by a lottery process each time the interaction game is played.

[0060] In addition, in a case where there is only one friend character whose information is registered in the friend list, even if the lottery process randomly determines whether or not the friend character will be placed in the interaction area, the same friend character will often be placed, so the lottery process may be executed on the condition that new information about the friend character has been obtained through ad hoc communication after the previous lottery process was executed.

[0061] [Variation 2] In the above-described embodiment and variant examples, we have described an aspect in which one friend character is selected as a visiting character from among the friend characters whose information is registered in the friend list, but the implementation of the present invention is not limited to this.

[0062] Since opportunities to perform ad-hoc communication with other game devices 100 may be limited to cases where acquaintances or friends own game devices 100, some users may not update the information registered in the friend list very often. Therefore, if one friend character is randomly selected from the friend list as a visiting character, a friend character that has not left an impression on the user because a long time has passed since the information was received may be placed in the interaction area. In addition, since the visiting character is drawn using the information registered in the friend list, a friend character whose appearance does not change even though a long time has passed since the information was received, or whose appearance does not match the time of playing the interaction game (for example, the friend character is wearing an item for a different season) may be placed in the interaction area. In such a case, even if the friend character is placed and displayed in the interaction area, it may not contribute to improving the interest of the interaction game.

[0063] Therefore, in this modified example, in order to improve the interest of the social game, one friend character selected from the friend list as a visiting character is controlled to be the friend character whose information has been acquired most recently from another game device 100 using ad-hoc communication. In other words, when a friend character is placed in the social area, the friend character becomes a character whose information has been acquired in the most recent ad-hoc communication and registered in the friend list. For this reason, a friend character that is in the user's impression (a character being developed by a friend who has played recently) and that may have an appearance suitable for the time of playing the social game can be displayed in the social game.

[0064] In particular, in the second embodiment, in which the lottery process determines whether to select a friend character as a visiting character on the condition that new information about the friend character has been acquired through ad-hoc communication after the previous lottery process is executed, the friend character whose information is registered closer to the time when the interaction game is executed is selected as the visiting character. In other words, the friend character is more likely to have an appearance suitable for the time when the interaction game is executed, which can improve the interest of the interaction game.

[0065] [Variation 3] In the above-described embodiment and modified examples, the friend characters are described as being arranged and displayed in the interaction area in the same manner as other user characters, but the implementation of the present invention is not limited to this.

[0066] The friend character is not a character randomly selected by the server 200, as with the other user characters, but a character whose information is acquired by the user's willingness to cause the game device 100 to communicate with another game device 100 in an ad-hoc manner. In other words, the user is more likely to have a strong attachment to the friend character than to the other user character. Therefore, in a display mode in which the friend character blends in with the other user characters as in FIG. 4, a favorable play experience may not be provided to the user.

[0067] Therefore, when a friend character and another user character are selected as visiting characters, they may be controlled to be displayed in different display modes. In one embodiment, in order to highlight the appearance of the friend character in the interaction area, after the interaction game starts and the player's character is displayed entering the interaction area, the friend character is displayed with a dance performance in which the friend character and the player's character dance together. The dance performance transitions, for example, as shown in FIG. 8, and indicates that the friend character is a different character from the other user character. In the dance performance of FIG. 8, after two other user characters 802 and the player's character 801 are placed in the area 401 with the entrance gate (FIG. 8(a)), the two other user characters 802 temporarily exit the entrance gate (FIG. 8(b)), the friend character 803 appears (FIG. 8(c)), and the display transitions to the content in which the player's character 801 and the friend character 803 dance together (FIG. 8(d)). After the dance performance is presented, the two other user characters 802 that temporarily left are placed in the area 401 again and displayed together with the player's character 801. The friend character 803 may be configured to appear only in the dance performance, or may be placed in the area 401 after the dance performance.

[0068] In this modified example, the display mode of the friend character in the social game is made different from that of the other user characters by using a dance effect, but the implementation of the present invention is not limited to this, and it goes without saying that other display modes may be adopted. The display mode of the friend character and the other user characters may be differentiated, for example, by using a different type of effect from a dance, or by simply explicitly differentiating the display positions of the friend character and the other user characters.

[0069] [Variation 4] In the above-mentioned modified example 3, the friend character is displayed in the area 401 where the entrance gate is provided, but the implementation of the present invention is not limited to this. The area 401 is the area that is first displayed on the display 110 when the interactive game starts, and placing a character that attracts the user's interest in the area also leads to increasing the user's interest in the interactive game itself. Therefore, the control unit 101 may perform control so that, of the other user characters selected as visiting characters, other user characters that satisfy a predetermined condition are placed in the area 401.

[0070] [Embodiment 3] In the above-described embodiment and modified example, the visiting characters are selected from among the characters of other users whose information is registered in the other user list by a lottery process, but the present invention is not limited to this. The visiting characters may be selected on the condition that they are characters related to the exchange area.

[0071] In an aspect in which an area attribute (theme park, sports stadium, etc.) is set for an interaction area or each region of an interaction area according to, for example, a structure object or background object to be placed, a character associated with the area attribute among other user characters whose information is registered in the other user list may be selected as a visiting character. For example, in an aspect in which an area attribute of a theme park is set for a certain region, other user characters equipped with items associated with the theme park (items with the same theme, items of related characters, items with a theme color, etc.) may be preferentially selected as other user characters to be placed in the region.

[0072] In addition, in a case where an event is held in the exchange area or in the region of the exchange area, an area attribute related to the event may be set. In this case, for example, other user characters equipped with items related to the event or items distributed / sold at the event may be controlled to be preferentially selected as visiting characters.

[0073] Alternatively, the control may be such that, rather than being limited to characters wearing items related to the area attribute, other user characters having a language setting corresponding to the area attribute (characters raised by a user in a particular region in an area corresponding to the same region) or other user characters of a gender corresponding to the area attribute are preferentially selected when selecting visiting characters.

[0074] [Embodiment 4] In the above-mentioned embodiment and modified example, a predetermined number of characters selected from friend characters and other user characters are placed in the interaction area of ​​the executed interaction game, but the implementation of the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a character (hereinafter referred to as a special character) configured not based on a training game executed on a specific game device 100, such as a character generated by the operator of the game system, may be placed in the interaction area. In one aspect, the special character may be a so-called collaboration character generated to have the appearance of a character appearing in other content, for example, in a collaboration event with the other content.

[0075] Such information on special characters may be provided from the server 200 to the game device 100 separately from information on other users' characters, and may be referred to when an interaction game is executed on the game device 100. The special character may be selected as a visiting character when an interaction game is executed within a predetermined period of time, for example, or may be controlled to be selected as a visiting character when a specific area in which an area attribute related to the special character is set is included in the interaction area.

[0076] [Variation 5] In the above-mentioned embodiment and modified example, the character selected by the lottery process from among the other user characters whose information is registered in the other user list is determined as the visiting character, but the implementation of the present invention is not limited to this. As described above, in an aspect in which an interest element related to marriage with a character of the opposite sex is provided in the social game, in order for the user to utilize the interest element, a character of a different gender from the player's character must be placed in the social area. That is, in an aspect in which the other user character to be the visiting character is randomly selected by the lottery process, the interest element may not be provided in the executed social game. On the other hand, an aspect in which all the visiting characters are characters of the same gender as the player's character may give the user an unnatural impression. For this reason, when selecting the other user characters to be the visiting characters, the selection may be controlled so that the same number of other user characters of each gender are included. Alternatively, the selection may be controlled so that the other user characters of each gender are included at a predetermined ratio.

[0077] In addition, the control of the ratio of other user characters included in the visiting characters may be performed not only based on the gender of the character. For example, the number of characters included in the visiting characters may be controlled based on various attributes defined for the character, such as the character's blood type, personality, and appearance, the items worn, and the association with the event held in the exchange area.

[0078] [Variation 6] In the above-described embodiment and modified example, when an interaction game is executed in the game device 100, all information registered in the other user list is replaced with information on a predetermined number of other user characters received by infrastructure communication, but the implementation of the present invention is not limited to this. An interesting element that allows interaction with a different character each time an interaction game is executed can be provided without using such a method of updating the other user list. For example, it may be realized by replacing at least information on other user characters displayed as visiting characters in the other user list with information on other user characters received next using infrastructure communication.

[0079] [Variation 7] In the above-mentioned embodiment and modified example, the information registered in the friend list and other user list is used only to display the character in the social game (to determine the character's appearance), but the present invention is not limited to this. Information other than the appearance registered in each list may be displayed on the display 110 in a manner that allows the user to confirm the contents. Since the friend list and other user list have different roles, the display control of the information registered in each list may be performed, for example, as follows.

[0080] The friend list stores information acquired when the game device 100 is subjected to ad-hoc communication between acquaintances, friends, etc. at the user's will. That is, allowing users to confirm the information registered in the friend list can be advantageous in terms of facilitating communication between the users. On the other hand, in the social game, the number of friend characters displayed is limited, and other user characters are displayed more. For this reason, the information registered in the friend list is controlled so that it can be displayed even when the social game is not being executed. For example, it is sufficient to control so that various information of the friend character is displayed on a screen to which a transition can be made from a menu of the training game, etc. The various information of the friend character displayed in the friend list includes, for example, the user name 642, the language setting 643, the virtual residence setting 644, and the wearing information 652, the gender information 653, and the parameters 654 included in the training character information 645, which are received from the other game device 100 and managed as the owner information in the other game device.

[0081] On the other hand, the other user list stores information about characters raised by the user who are not necessarily acquaintances or friends. In other words, the information registered in the other user list is not information received / sent through the user's will. In addition, the other user characters whose information is registered in the other user list are characters whose appearances are not presented to the user unless they are selected as visiting characters and displayed in the social game. Therefore, even if information about characters whose appearances are not presented is presented to the user, it may confuse the user. Furthermore, since the other user list is expected to be updated more frequently than the friend list, even if the information can be confirmed after the social game ends, it may not be possible to display information about the other user characters desired by the user. Therefore, the information registered in the other user list is controlled so that it can be displayed only while the social game is being executed. For example, it is only necessary to control so that various information about the other user characters arranged in the area included in the game screen of the social game is displayed in response to a predetermined operation input made when the game screen of the social game is displayed on the display 110. The various information of other user characters displayed in the other user list includes, for example, only the language setting 643, and the wearing information 652 and gender information 653 included in the developed character information 645, among the information transmitted from any one of the game devices 100 to the server 200 and managed as owner information in that game device. In other words, the information displayed in the other user list includes fewer types of items than the information displayed in the friend list, and does not include information that could lead to the identification of individual users, as described above.

[0082] [Summary of the embodiment] The above embodiment discloses at least the following game device and program.

[0083] (1) A game device for executing a game in which a character appears, a display control means for causing a display means to display a first character relating to the game executed on the game device; a communication means capable of communicating using a first communication method for transmitting and receiving information with another game device and a second communication method for transmitting and receiving information with an external device different from the other game device; Equipped with The communication means includes: obtaining, from the other game device, information relating to a second character appearing in the game executed on the other game device, using the first communication method; obtaining, from the external device using the second communication method, information regarding a third character appearing in the game executed on any one of the game devices; The display control means is a game device that displays a character selected from the second character and the third character in a predetermined area during the game.

[0084] (2) The game device according to (1), wherein the display control means causes at least one of the selected characters to be displayed together with the first character when the first character moves to the predetermined area.

[0085] (3) further comprising an operation input unit for receiving an operation input from a user; the first character is a character whose movement is controlled in response to an operation input by a user of the game device in the game executed on the game device, the second character is a character whose movement is controlled in response to an operation input by a user of the other game device in the game executed on the other game device, The game device according to (1) or (2), wherein the third character is a character whose movement is controlled in response to an operation input by a user of one of the game devices in the game executed on the one of the game devices.

[0086] (4) The game device according to (3), wherein the action of the selected character in the specified area is controlled without being based on a user's operational input.

[0087] (5) The game device according to any one of (1) to (4), wherein the selected characters include a greater number of the third characters than the second characters.

[0088] (6) A selection unit is provided for selecting whether or not to display the second character in the predetermined area. The game device according to (5), wherein, when the result of the lottery by the lottery means is a win, the selected characters include the second character.

[0089] (7) A game device according to (6), in which the lottery is performed by the lottery means on the condition that information regarding the second character has been obtained from the other game device using the first communication method after the previous lottery was performed.

[0090] (8) The game device described in (7) above, in which the second character to be included in the selected characters if the lottery result is a winning entry is the second character about which information has most recently been obtained from the other game device using the first communication method.

[0091] (9) The game device according to any one of (6) to (8), wherein the display control means displays the second character and the third character in different display modes in the predetermined area.

[0092] (10) The game device according to (9), wherein the display control means causes the second character to be displayed in the predetermined area accompanied by a predetermined effect.

[0093] (11) an area attribute is set for the predetermined area; The game device according to any one of (5) to (10), wherein the display control means includes, in the selected characters, the third character associated with the area attribute set for the specified area.

[0094] (12) The information about the third character includes at least information for identifying an appearance of the character, The game device according to (11), wherein the display control means includes, in the selected characters, the third character having an appearance associated with the area attribute set for the specified area.

[0095] (13) Further comprising an input unit for receiving an operation input, The predetermined area is composed of a plurality of regions, The display control means placing a different character from among the selected characters in each of the plurality of regions; The game device according to any one of (5) to (12), wherein, during the display of the predetermined area, which of the plurality of areas is displayed is changed in response to an operation input being performed.

[0096] (14) One of the plurality of regions is determined as an area to be initially displayed when the first character moves to the predetermined area; The game device according to (13), wherein the display control means places the third character, which satisfies a predetermined condition, among the selected characters in the area displayed initially.

[0097] (15) The game device according to any one of (1) to (14), wherein the display control means displays, in the predetermined area, an effect in which the third character of the selected characters greets the player.

[0098] (16) The information about the third character includes information about a language setting in the corresponding one of the game devices, The game device according to (15), wherein the performance of the third character greeting varies depending on language setting information included in information relating to the third character.

[0099] (17) The game device according to any one of (1) to (16), wherein the display control means further controls the display means to display information about the second character and information about the third character.

[0100] (18) The game device according to (17), wherein the information about the second character includes information that is not included in the information about the third character.

[0101] (19) The game device according to (17) or (18), wherein the information about the second character includes information about a user of the other game device.

[0102] (20) A game device described in any one of (1) to (4), wherein the display control means displays, in a specified area during the game, a character selected from among the third character and the second character about which information has most recently been obtained from the other game device using the first communication method.

[0103] (21) A management unit for managing information on the character acquired by the communication unit is further provided, The management means includes: registering information about the second character acquired by the first communication method in a first list; registering information about the third character acquired by the second communication method in a second list different from the first list; making the first list and the second list have different update conditions; A game device described in any one of (1) to (4), wherein the display control means displays the selected character in the specified area based on information regarding the second character registered in the first list and information regarding the third character registered in the second list.

[0104] (22) The game device described in (21), wherein, on condition that the third character is displayed in the specified area based on information about the third character registered in the second list, the management means replaces at least information about the third character registered in the second list with newly acquired information about the third character the next time the game device communicates with the external device using the second communication method.

[0105] (23) The game device described in (22), wherein the management means replaces all information registered in the second list with newly acquired information about the third character the next time the device communicates with the external device using the second communication method, on condition that the third character is displayed in the specified area based on information about the third character registered in the second list.

[0106] (24) The second list includes information about a predetermined number of the third characters; A character appearing in the game is assigned one of a plurality of attributes; the communication means acquires information about the predetermined number of the third characters from the external device at one time using the second communication method; The game device described in (23), wherein the information regarding the specified number of third characters acquired at one time includes information regarding the third characters of each attribute of the multiple attributes at a predetermined ratio.

[0107] (25) The communication means acquires new information about the second character when communicating with the other game device by using the first communication method; The management means includes: when information about a character identical to the newly acquired information about the second character is registered in the first list, updating the information about the identical character registered in the first list based on the newly acquired information about the second character; A game device according to any one of (21) to (24), wherein if information relating to a character identical to the newly acquired information about the second character is not registered in the first list, the newly acquired information about the second character is registered in the first list.

[0108] (26) The first list has a maximum number of pieces of information about the second character that can be registered, The game device described in (25), wherein the management means replaces the oldest information registered in the first list with the newly acquired information about the second character if information about the second character identical to the newly acquired information about the second character is not registered in the first list and the number of pieces of information about the second character registered in the first list has reached the upper limit.

[0109] (27) A game device described in any one of (21) to (26), wherein the display control means displays a predetermined number of characters whose information is registered in the first list and the second list in the predetermined area as the selected characters.

[0110] (28) The game device described in (27), wherein the display control means displays a shortage of predetermined characters when the number of characters whose information is registered in the second list is less than the number of the third characters that can be placed in the specified area.

[0111] (29) A game device according to any one of (1) to (28), wherein the second character and the third character displayed in the specified area are characters that have reached a specified stage of growth in the game.

[0112] (30) The communication means further acquires, from the external device using the second communication method, information regarding a fourth character not related to the game being executed on any of the game devices; A game device described in any one of (1) to (29), wherein the display control means, when information regarding the fourth character is acquired by the communication means, displays a character selected from the second character, the third character, and the fourth character in the specified area.

[0113] (31) An area attribute is set for the predetermined area, The game device according to (30), wherein the display control means includes the fourth character associated with the area attribute set for the predetermined area in the selected characters.

[0114] (32) A program for causing a computer to function as each of the means of the game device described in any one of (1) to (30).

[0115] [Other embodiments] The invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications and variations are possible within the scope of the gist of the invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0116] 100: Game device, 101: Control unit, 102: Storage device, 103: Memory, 104: GPU, 105: Operation I / F, 106: Communication I / F, 110: Display, 121: Character DB, 122: Item DB, 200: Server, 201: Server control unit, 202: Server storage device, 203: Server memory, 204: Server communication I / F, 211: User DB, 300: AP, 400: Network

Claims

1. A game device for executing a game in which a character appears, a display control means for causing a display means to display a first character relating to the game executed on the game device; a communication means capable of communicating using a first communication method for transmitting and receiving information with another game device and a second communication method for transmitting and receiving information with an external device different from the other game device; Equipped with The communication means is obtaining, from the other game device using the first communication method, information relating to a second character appearing in the game executed on the other game device; obtaining, from the external device using the second communication method, information about a third character appearing in the game executed on one of the game devices; The display control means is a game device that displays at least one of the second character and the third character during the game.

2. 2. The game device according to claim 1, wherein the display control means displays at least one of the at least any characters together with the first character when the first character moves to a predetermined area during the game.

3. further comprising an operation input means for receiving an operation input from a user; the first character is a character whose movement is controlled in response to an operation input by a user of the game device in the game executed on the game device, the second character is a character whose movement is controlled in response to an operation input by a user of the other game device in the game executed on the other game device, The third character is a character whose movement is controlled in response to an operation input by a user of the game device in the game executed on the game device.

2. The game device according to claim 1.

4. A game device as described in Claim 3, wherein the behavior of at least one of the characters is controlled without being based on user input.

5. The game device according to claim 1 , wherein the at least any one of the characters includes more third characters than second characters.

6. Further comprising a lottery means for executing a lottery as to whether or not to display the second character; When the result of the lottery by the lottery means is a winning result, the at least one character includes the second character.

6. The game device according to claim 5.

7. The game device according to claim 6, wherein the lottery is executed by the lottery means on the condition that information regarding the second character has been obtained from the other game device using the first communication method after the previous lottery was executed.

8. A game device as described in claim 7, wherein the second character to be included in at least one of the characters if the lottery result is a win is the second character whose information was most recently obtained from the other game device using the first communication method.

9. 7. The game device according to claim 6, wherein the display control means displays the second character and the third character in different display modes during the game.

10. The game device according to claim 9 , wherein the display control means displays the second character during the game accompanied by a predetermined effect.

11. The game includes an area having an area attribute set thereto, The game device according to claim 5 , wherein the display control means includes, in the at least one character, the third character associated with the area attribute set for the area.

12. the information about the third character includes at least information for identifying the appearance of the character; The display control means includes, in the at least one character, the third character having an appearance related to the area attribute set for the area. The game device according to claim 11.

13. further comprising an input means for receiving an operation input, The game includes a plurality of regions, The display control means a different character from among the at least any of the characters is arranged in each of the plurality of regions; During the game, which of the plurality of areas is to be displayed is changed in response to an operation input.

6. The game device according to claim 5.

14. one of the plurality of regions is determined as an region that is initially displayed when the first character moves to a predetermined area in the game; The display control means arranges the third character, which satisfies a predetermined condition among at least any of the characters, in the area to be initially displayed.

14. The game device according to claim 13.

15. 2. The game device according to claim 1, wherein the display control means displays, during the game, an effect in which the third character of at least any one of the characters greets the player.

16. the information about the third character includes information about a language setting in the corresponding one of the game devices; The performance of the greeting by the third character differs depending on the language setting information included in the information about the third character.

16. The game device according to claim 15.

17. 2. The game device according to claim 1, wherein the display control means further controls the display means to display information about the second character and information about the third character.

18. The game device according to claim 17 , wherein the information about the second character includes information that is not included in the information about the third character.

19. The game device according to claim 17 , wherein the information about the second character includes information about the user of the other game device.

20. The game device according to claim 1, wherein the display control means displays at least one of the third character and the second character whose information was most recently obtained from the other game device using the first communication method as the at least one character during the game.

21. further comprising a management means for managing information about the characters acquired by the communication means; The management means registering information about the second character acquired by the first communication method in a first list; registering information about the third character acquired by the second communication method in a second list different from the first list; different update conditions for the first list and the second list; The display control means displays at least one of the characters during the game based on information about the second character registered in the first list and information about the third character registered in the second list.

2. The game device according to claim 1.

22. The game device according to claim 21, wherein the management means, on the condition that the third character is displayed during the game based on information about the third character registered in the second list, replaces at least information about the third character registered in the second list with information about the third character newly acquired the next time communication is established with the external device using the second communication method.

23. The game device according to claim 22, wherein the management means replaces all information registered in the second list with newly acquired information about the third character the next time the device establishes a communication connection with the external device using the second communication method, on the condition that the third character is displayed during the game based on information about the third character registered in the second list.

24. the second list registers information about a predetermined number of the third characters; A character appearing in the game is assigned one of a plurality of attributes, the communication means simultaneously acquires information about the predetermined number of the third characters from the external device using the second communication method; The information about the predetermined number of third characters acquired at one time includes information about the third characters of each attribute of the plurality of attributes at a predetermined ratio.

24. The game device according to claim 23.

25. the communication means acquires new information about the second character when communicating with the other game device using the first communication method; The management means If information about a character identical to the newly acquired information about the second character is registered in the first list, the information about the identical character registered in the first list is updated based on the newly acquired information about the second character; If information about a character identical to the newly acquired information about the second character is not registered in the first list, the newly acquired information about the second character is registered in the first list.

22. The game device according to claim 21.

26. an upper limit of the number of pieces of information about the second character that can be registered in the first list is determined; When information on a character identical to the newly acquired information on the second character is not registered in the first list and the number of pieces of information on the second character registered in the first list has reached the upper limit number, the management means replaces the oldest information registered in the first list with the newly acquired information on the second character.

26. The game device according to claim 25.

27. 22. The game device according to claim 21, wherein the display control means displays a predetermined number of characters whose information is registered in the first list and the second list as at least one of the characters during the game.

28. The game device according to claim 27, wherein the display control means displays a shortage of predetermined characters when the number of characters whose information is registered in the second list is less than the number of third characters that can be placed in the game.

29. 2. The game device according to claim 1, wherein the second character and the third character displayed during the game are characters that have reached a predetermined stage of growth in the game.

30. the communication means further acquires, from the external device using the second communication method, information regarding a fourth character not based on the game being executed on any of the game devices; When information about the fourth character is acquired by the communication means, the display control means displays at least one of the second character, the third character, and the fourth character as the at least one character during the game.

2. The game device according to claim 1.

31. The game includes an area having an area attribute set thereto, 31. The game device according to claim 30, wherein the display control means includes, in the at least one character, the fourth character associated with the area attribute set for the area.

32. A program for causing a computer to function as each of the means of the game device according to any one of claims 1 to 30.

Images