Information processor, information processing method, and program

Abstract

To deter a user from reading a dead end without clearing a quest.SOLUTION: Provided is an information processor having a storage part for storing game media owned by a user, and a control part for performing control such that the user can play a second quest on the basis of the user's play result of a first quest when the user does not own a first game medium corresponding to the first quest for the first quest and the second quest included in a quest group, and the user can play the second quest by skipping the first quest according to a probability when the user owns the first game medium.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing device, an information processing method, and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] There is known a game in which a player clears a quest using a group called a deck. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a game in which a user executes a quest using a player character owned by the user. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2020-044320 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Some quests are provided as a quest group that includes multiple quests. In order to clear a quest group, the user must clear the multiple quests included in the quest group in order. However, if the user is unable to clear a quest in the quest group, the user may lose interest in playing the quest group.

[0005] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to prevent a user from becoming stuck and being unable to complete a quest. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] An information processing device according to one embodiment of the present invention has a memory unit that stores game media possessed by a user, and a control unit that, for a first quest and a second quest included in a quest group, if the user does not possess a first game media corresponding to the first quest, makes the second quest playable based on the result of the user's play of the first quest, and if the user possesses the first game media, skips the first quest and makes the second quest playable according to a probability. Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to the present invention, it is possible to prevent a user from becoming stuck and being unable to complete a quest. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a system configuration of a game system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining a fixed quest group. [Diagram 3] FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining a group of irregular quests. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the hardware configuration of a game server and a terminal. [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a functional block configuration of a game server. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a functional block configuration of a terminal. [Figure 7] 11 is a diagram showing an example of a user management DB and a quest definition DB. [Figure 8] 13 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a processing procedure performed by a game server. [Figure 9] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a screen display example (part 1). [Figure 10] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a screen display example (part 2). [Figure 11] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a screen display example (part 3). [Figure 12] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a screen display example (part 4). [Figure 13] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a screen display example (part 5). DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which the same reference numerals denote the same or similar configurations.

[0010] <System configuration> Fig. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a system configuration of a game system 1 according to this embodiment. The game system 1 shown in Fig. 1 includes a game server 10 and one or more terminals 20. The game server 10 and the terminals 20 are connected to each other so as to be able to communicate with each other via a communication network N such as the Internet, an intranet, a wireless LAN, or mobile communication.

[0011] The game server 10 is a device that performs some of the functions required for the terminal 20 to provide a game, such as managing various information related to players and executing some of the game processing. The game server 10 may be composed of one or more information processing devices, or may be composed of a virtual server (such as a cloud server).

[0012] The terminal 20 is an information processing device that provides a game to a player, and the player can execute the game according to this embodiment by operating the terminal 20. The terminal 20 is, for example, a computer such as a mobile phone (including a smartphone), a tablet, a personal computer, an arcade game device, or a consumer game device. The terminal 20 notifies the game server 10 of its own position detected using a GPS (Global Positioning System) or the like.

[0013] <Game Overview> Next, an overview of the game provided by the game system 1 according to this embodiment will be described. In the game provided by the game system 1, a user (which may be called a player) can play a quest using a deck that he or she has organized.

[0014] A deck refers to a group of multiple game media. A user can organize a deck with game media selected from multiple game media owned by the user. Game media may be called game objects. Game media may also be characters, items, game cards, etc.

[0015] A quest refers to a task that can be cleared by satisfying certain predetermined conditions. A quest is also generally called a search, a task, or a mission. A user who plays a quest can clear the quest by satisfying the certain conditions, and when the user clears a quest, the user is given a reward such as a game medium or the story of the game progresses.

[0016] Users can combine (or synthesize) multiple game media they have acquired to create new game media, or combine the same game media to enhance the attributes of the game media, allowing them to take on more difficult quests.

[0017] A difficulty level may be set for a quest. The difficulty level is an index showing the difficulty of playing a quest and / or clearing a quest, and a higher value may indicate a more difficult quest. For example, a quest with difficulty level 2 may be more difficult to play / clear than a quest with difficulty level 1. Difficult quests to play / clear include, but are not limited to, quests that are difficult to play / clear because the enemy game media is strong, quests that are difficult to play / clear because the controls are difficult, and quests that are difficult to play / clear because the play time is long.

[0018] In this embodiment, it is assumed that various quests are provided in the game, but the present embodiment is not limited thereto, and for example, only one quest may be provided. The term "quest" in this embodiment may mean the game itself. In this embodiment, a user's execution of a game or execution of a quest may be referred to as playing a game or playing a quest.

[0019] A quest can be played by multiple users together. Hereinafter, playing a quest by multiple users together is referred to as "multiplay". Multiplay may be called cooperative play. On the other hand, playing a quest by a single user may be called single play. In multiplay, each user can operate the game medium assigned to him / herself among the multiple game media that make up a deck. For example, assume that a deck made up of A to D has game medium A assigned to user A (own user) and game media B to D assigned to other users B to D, respectively. In this case, user A operates game medium A, user B operates game medium B, user C operates game medium C, and user D operates game medium D. A user who invites for a multiplay may be called a host or a host user. On the other hand, a user who participates in a multiplay invited by a host may be called a guest or a guest user. Invite for a multiplay may be read as invite to participate in a multiplay, convene a multiplay, invite for a multiplay, etc.

[0020] In multiplayer mode, the multiple game media used to form the deck may be composed of game media owned by the host user, or the deck may be composed of game media selected by each of the host and guest users from among the game media they own.

[0021] In this embodiment, a quest that includes multiple quests in a set order to be cleared is referred to as a "quest group." For example, in a quest group that includes quests A to Z, the order in which the quests should be cleared may be set such that the user can play quest B after clearing quest A, and can play quest C after clearing quest B. The quest group may include quest groups in which all quests must be cleared in a set order, and quest groups in which the order in which the quests should be cleared is set but the next quest to be cleared changes and the quest is considered to be cleared even if not all quests are cleared (hereinafter referred to as "irregular quest groups"). Note that, unlike irregular quest groups, quest groups in which all quests must be cleared in a set order have a fixed quest to be cleared, and therefore are referred to as "fixed quest groups" for convenience in this embodiment.

[0022] Fig. 2 is a diagram for explaining a fixed quest group. In the example of Fig. 2, the user clears each quest in order from quest A to quest J, and is considered to have cleared the quest group when quest J is cleared last. In a fixed quest group, later quests in the clearing order may be set to be more difficult than earlier quests, but this is not necessarily limited to this. Later quests may also include quests with lower difficulty levels.

[0023] FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the irregular quest group. In the example of FIG. 3, the user first plays quest A. Then, the user plays one of quests B and C selected by the game server 10. Then, the user plays one of quests D to G selected by the game server 10. Then, the user plays one of quests H to O selected by the game server 10. The quest selected by the game server 10 may be different for each user, or may change for the same user each time the quest group is played. When the user clears the quest, the user is considered to have cleared the quest group. In the example of FIG. 3, it is assumed that a boss character appearing in each quest plays a computer battle, and the quest in which the boss character wins is selected, but the present invention is not limited to this.

[0024] When a user playing a quest group satisfies a predetermined condition, the game server 10 may skip the next quest to be played by the user. For example, a game medium is associated with each quest included in a quest group in advance, and when a user satisfies a predetermined condition related to the game medium, the game server 10 may skip the next quest to be played by the user. A case in which a user satisfies a predetermined condition related to the game medium may be, for example, when the user owns (or has owned in the past) the game medium. For example, it is assumed that game medium X is associated with quest X, and the user will play quest X next. In this case, the game server 10 may skip quest X for a user who owns game medium X. Note that in this embodiment, the term "next quest to be played" is used to include the first quest to be played in a quest group.

[0025] <Hardware configuration> 4 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the game server 10 and the terminal 20. The game server 10 and the terminal 20 include a processor 11 such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or a GPU (Graphical Processing Unit), a storage device 12 such as a memory, an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) and / or an SSD (Solid State Drive), a communication IF for wired or wireless communication, The computer has an interface 13, an input device 14 that accepts input operations, and an output device 15 that outputs information. The input device 14 is, for example, a keyboard, a touch panel, a mouse, and / or a microphone. The output device 15 is, for example, a display, a touch panel, and / or a speaker.

[0026] <Function block configuration> (Game Server) FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a functional block configuration of the game server 10. The game server 10 includes a storage unit 100, a selection unit 101, a control unit 102, and a display control unit 103. The storage unit 100 can be realized by using a storage unit 12 included in the game server 10. The selection unit 101, the control unit 102, and the display control unit 103 can be realized by the processor 11 of the game server 10 executing a program stored in the storage unit 12. The program can be stored in a storage medium. The storage medium storing the program may be a non-transitory computer readable medium. The non-transitory storage medium is not particularly limited, and may be, for example, a storage medium such as a USB memory or a CD-ROM.

[0027] The storage unit 100 stores game data necessary for the game server 10 to execute a game. The game data includes various databases. For example, the storage unit 100 stores game media owned by a user.

[0028] The selection unit 101 selects the next quest that the user will play from among the multiple quests included in the quest group. For example, in the case of a fixed quest group, the selection unit 101 selects the quest that is one quest after the quest that the user has cleared as the next quest that the user will play. On the other hand, in the case of an undefined quest group, the selection unit 101 selects one quest from among the multiple quests included in the quest group as the next quest that the user will play.

[0029] The control unit 102 controls whether or not to skip a quest included in a quest group when the user plays the quest. For example, a game medium may be associated with each quest included in the quest group in advance, and the control unit 102 may skip the next quest to be played when the user satisfies a predetermined condition related to the game medium. The control unit 102 also performs various processes related to the execution of the quest. For example, the control unit 102 performs processes related to a battle between game media, a process of granting a game medium to the user when a quest is cleared, and the like.

[0030] The display control unit 103 causes various screens relating to the game to be displayed on the display (display unit) of the terminal 20. For example, the display control unit 103 causes a screen indicating which quest has been cleared out of a group of quests to be displayed. (Terminal) FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a functional block configuration of the terminal 20. The terminal 20 includes a storage unit 200, a communication unit 201, a UI (User Interface) unit 202, and a control unit 203. The storage unit 200 can be realized by using a storage unit 12 included in the terminal 20. The communication unit 201, the UI unit 202, and the control unit 203 can be realized by the processor 11 of the terminal 20 executing a program stored in the storage unit 12. The program can be stored in a storage medium. The storage medium storing the program may be a computer-readable non-transitory storage medium. The non-transitory storage medium is not particularly limited, and may be, for example, a storage medium such as a USB memory or a CD-ROM.

[0031] The storage unit 200 stores game data necessary for the control unit 203 to execute the game. The game data includes various image data, game scenarios, and the like.

[0032] The communication unit 201 has a function of performing various communications with the game server 10 using the communication IF 13 .

[0033] The UI unit 202 has a function of accepting various inputs from a user and displaying various game screens on the display. The UI unit 202 also displays game screens on the display (display unit) of the terminal 20 according to instructions from the game server 10.

[0034] The control unit 203 provides various functions necessary for executing the game by cooperating with the game server 10. For example, the control unit 203 provides a function for acquiring various information (icon image data, text data, etc.) for drawing on the game screen from the game server 10.

[0035] Regarding the functional block configuration described above, all or some of the storage unit 100, the selection unit 101, the control unit 102, and the display control unit 103 included in the game server 10 may be configured to be provided in the terminal 20. That is, various processes according to the present embodiment may be executed by the game server 10, may be executed by the terminal 20, or may be executed by the game server 10 and the terminal 20 in cooperation with each other.

[0036] <Processing Procedure> Next, a specific processing procedure performed by the game server 10 will be described. In this embodiment, a game medium is previously associated with each quest included in the quest group, and the control unit 102 controls whether or not to skip the quest depending on whether or not the user has the game medium associated with the quest to be played next. In the following description, the game medium associated with each quest is a "character," but the present embodiment is not limited to this. In addition, the character associated with the quest may be a boss character that appears in the quest, or may be a character different from the boss character.

[0037] In the following description, the terms "first," "second," "third," etc. are used merely to identify the nouns that follow these terms, and do not imply an order unless otherwise specified. For example, the terms "first quest," "second quest," "third quest," and "fourth quest" do not imply an order in which the quests are performed unless otherwise specified. For example, the term "first quest" can include any quest, such as not only the first quest played, but also the second or third quest played.

[0038] First, the storage unit 100 of the game server 10 stores a user management DB (Data Base) 100a that stores various information related to users, and a quest definition DB 100b that manages various data related to quests included in a quest group.

[0039] 7 is a diagram showing an example of the user management DB 100a and the quest definition DB 100b. The user management DB 100a stores, for example, an identifier (user ID (identification)) that uniquely identifies a user, a user name (nickname) used in the game, a character ID of a character owned by the user (owned character), the location of the terminal 20 used by the user, (Location information), the user's experience points, level, stamina, and number of skip rights (for example, the number of rights to skip a quest) are stored.

[0040] The quest definition DB 100b stores an identifier (quest group ID) that uniquely identifies a quest group, information (type definition) that indicates whether the quest group is a fixed quest group or an undefined quest group, information (configuration definition) regarding the configuration of the undefined quest group, and for each quest included in the quest group, an identifier (quest ID) that uniquely identifies the quest, a difficulty level, and a character associated with the quest (hereinafter referred to as a "skip determination character"). For example, in the example of FIG. 7, for a quest group with a quest group ID of G001, the difficulty level of quest A is 1, and the character ID of the skip determination character is C001. The skip determination character may be different for each quest, may be the same for some quests, or may be the same for all quests. In addition, the magnitude of the quest ID may indicate the order in which the quests are performed (the order in which they are played). For example, quest B may mean a quest to be played after quest A is cleared. In addition, the configuration definition is information that defines from which range of quests the user will select the quest to play next. For example, in the case of the irregular quest group shown in Figure 3, the configuration definition stores information indicating that quest A will be played first, that the quest to be played after quest A will be selected from quests B and C, that the quest to be played after that will be selected from quests D to G, and that the quest to be played after that will be selected from quests H to O.

[0041] Fig. 8 is a flowchart showing an example of a processing procedure performed by the game server 10. With reference to Fig. 8, a processing procedure for controlling whether or not to skip a quest based on a character owned by a user when the user plays a group of quests will be described.

[0042] In step S10, the selection unit 101 selects a quest that the user should play next. More specifically, if the quest group is a fixed quest group, the selection unit 101 selects the quest next to the quest that the user has cleared as the quest that the user should play next, in accordance with the clearing order. For example, in the example of FIG. 2, since the user has cleared up to quest C, the selection unit 101 selects quest D as the quest that the user should play next. Also, if the quest group is an indefinite quest group, the selection unit 101 selects a quest that the user should play next from among a certain range of quests, in accordance with the "configuration definition" of the quest definition DB 100b. For example, in FIG. 3, it is assumed that the user has cleared quest A and quest B. In this case, the selection unit 101 selects one of quests D to G as the quest that the user should play next.

[0043] In addition, when the selection unit 101 selects the next quest that the user will play from a range of quests in accordance with the configuration definition, the selection unit 101 may select a quest randomly, may select the quest with the lowest or highest difficulty, or may select a quest such that the lower (or higher) difficulty of the quest is more likely to be selected.

[0044] In step S11, the control unit 102 determines whether or not the user possesses the skip determination character selected in step S10 and corresponding to the quest that the user is to play next. If the user possesses the skip determination character, the process proceeds to step S12, and if the user does not possess the skip determination character, the process proceeds to step S13.

[0045] In step S12, the control unit 102 controls whether or not the user skips the next quest to be played, based on a predetermined probability. More specifically, the predetermined probability may be defined as "the probability that the next quest to be played will be skipped," or the predetermined probability may be defined as "the probability that the next quest to be played will not be skipped." In the following description, the predetermined probability is defined as "the probability that the next quest to be played will be skipped."

[0046] The predetermined probability may be any value, but may be set to a fixed probability of 1 / 2, or may be dynamically changed according to the quest. If dynamically changed, the predetermined probability may be a probability weighted according to the difficulty of the quest. For example, the predetermined probability may be determined so that the higher the difficulty, the lower the probability of skipping. If the difficulty of the quest is defined on a 10-point scale, the predetermined probability may be determined according to the formula "(10-difficulty) / 10", such that a quest with difficulty level 1 is skipped with a probability of 9 / 10 and a quest with difficulty level 2 is skipped with a probability of 8 / 10. Alternatively, the predetermined probability may be determined so that the higher the difficulty, the higher the probability of skipping. For example, the predetermined probability may be determined according to the formula "difficulty level / 10".

[0047] In step S13, the control unit 102 executes the quest selected in the processing procedure of step S 10. The control unit 102 may award the user a character and / or an item depending on the result of playing the quest.

[0048] In step S14, the selection unit 101 refers to the quest definition DB 100b and determines whether or not there is a quest to be played next to the quest cleared by the user in the processing procedure of step S13. If there is no quest, the processing ends assuming that the group of quests has been cleared, and if there is, the processing returns to the processing procedure of step S10.

[0049] The processing procedure of steps S10 to S14 described above can be explained as follows: That is, for a first quest and a second quest included in a quest group, if the user does not have a first character (first game medium) corresponding to the first quest, the control unit 102 may control the second quest to be playable based on the user's play result of the first quest, and if the user has the first character, the control unit 102 may control the first quest to be skipped and the second quest to be playable according to a predetermined probability (probability)

[0050] For example, in the example of FIG. 3, the "first quest" is quest A, and the "second quest" is quest C. Also, the "first character" is character A. If the user does not have character A, the control unit 102 has the user play quest A, and if the user clears quest A, has the user play quest C, which is the quest next to quest A. On the other hand, if the user has character A, the control unit 102 determines whether or not to skip quest A according to a predetermined probability. If the control unit 102 determines to skip quest A, it has the user play quest C, which is the quest next to quest A, and if the control unit 102 determines not to skip quest A, it has the user play quest A, and if the user clears quest A, it has the user play quest C, which is the quest next to quest A.

[0051] Furthermore, the quest group may further include a third quest in addition to the first and second quests, and the character corresponding to the second quest may be a second character (second game medium). If the user does not possess a second character corresponding to the second quest, the control unit 102 may control the third quest to be playable by having the user clear the second quest, and if the user possesses the second character, the control unit 102 may control the second quest to be skipped and the third quest to be playable according to a predetermined probability (probability).

[0052] For example, in the example of FIG. 3, the first quest is quest A, the second quest is quest C, and the third quest is quest E. The skip determination characters for quest A and quest C are character A (first game medium) and character C (second game medium), respectively. The user has cleared or skipped quest A. If the user does not own character C, the control unit 102 has the user play quest C, and if the user has cleared quest C, has the user play quest E, which is the quest next to quest C. On the other hand, if the user owns character C, the control unit 102 determines whether or not to skip quest C according to a predetermined probability. If the control unit 102 determines to skip quest C, it has the user play quest E, which is the quest next to quest C. If the control unit 102 determines not to skip quest C, it has the user play quest C, and if the user has cleared quest C, has the user play quest E, which is the quest next to quest C.

[0053] As a result, if the user is stuck and unable to complete a quest, the user can skip the quest and proceed to the next quest if he or she can somehow obtain a skip determination character for the quest that the user cannot complete. In other words, according to this embodiment, it is possible to prevent the user from being stuck and unable to complete a quest.

[0054] <Modification> Next, a number of variations of the above-described processing procedure will be described. The variations described below can be combined in any manner.

[0055] (Variation 1) When the user possesses a skip judgment character (first game medium) corresponding to the next quest to be played, the control unit 102 may set the predetermined probability (probability) higher when the user has acquired a large number of skip judgment characters (first game media) in the past than when the user has acquired a small number of skip judgment characters (first game media) in the past. Note that the number of skip judgment characters acquired in the past may include both skip judgment characters acquired in the past and still possessed to the present, and skip judgment characters acquired in the past but not possessed at present for reasons such as having been sold.

[0056] For example, it is assumed that the next quest the user will play is quest C, and the skip determination character for quest C is character C. It is also assumed that the user possesses character C. The control unit 102 may set the predetermined probability to be higher when the user has acquired 10 characters C by playing the game so far, compared to when the user has acquired 5 characters C by playing the game so far. In other words, the more characters C the user has acquired in the past, the higher the predetermined probability (i.e., the higher the probability that quest C will be skipped). This makes it possible to control the probability that a quest will be skipped according to the number of skip determination characters the user has acquired in the past.

[0057] (Variation 2) The quest group may include a first quest group provided in a first period and a second quest group provided in a second period after the first period. The control unit 102 may determine whether a user (first user) who meets a predetermined condition in playing the first quest group plays the second quest group, or whether a user (first user) who does not meet the predetermined condition in playing the first quest group plays the second quest group. In a case where a user (first user) who satisfies a predetermined condition plays the second quest group, the difficulty level of the quests included in the second quest group may be controlled to be higher for the user (first user) who satisfies the predetermined condition than for the user (second user) who does not satisfy the predetermined condition. Note that the first quest group and the second quest group may be the same quest group or different quest groups. The predetermined condition may be any condition, and may be, for example, clearing the first quest group or playing the first quest group (not being required to clear it). The predetermined condition may also be clearing the first quest group a predetermined number of times (for example, once, twice, etc.).

[0058] For example, it is assumed that there is a first quest group that can be played from October 1st to October 15th, and a second quest group that can be played from November 1st to November 15th. The predetermined condition is to clear the first quest group. In this case, the control unit 102 may make the difficulty level of the second quest group higher (for example, the boss character appearing in each quest becomes stronger) when a user who has cleared the first quest group plays the second quest group compared to when a user who has not cleared the first quest group plays the second quest group. In this way, when a quest group can be played in a plurality of periods, the difficulty level of the quest group in the later period is higher for a user who has satisfied the predetermined condition by playing a quest group in an earlier period, so that it is possible to reduce the possibility that the user will get bored of playing the quest group.

[0059] <Screen display example> Next, several display examples will be described for the screen displayed on the screen of the terminal 10. The display examples described below can be combined in any way. In addition, the following display examples will be described using an undefined quest group as an example, but each display example can also be applied to a fixed quest group.

[0060] (Display example 1) 9 is a diagram showing a screen display example (part 1). The display control unit 103 causes the screen of the terminal 10 to display a screen M100 including information Q10 indicating the completion status of the quest group being played by the user and a button B10 for receiving an instruction to play the next quest.

[0061] Here, the control unit 102 may determine whether or not to skip the next quest (first quest) according to a predetermined probability (probability) before starting the next quest to be played after accepting a predetermined operation from the user. The predetermined operation may be, for example, a user operation related to starting the next quest to be played. For example, the control unit 102 may determine whether or not to skip the next quest to be played (quest A in the example of FIG. 9) when button B10 in FIG. 9 is pressed.

[0062] If the control unit 102 determines not to skip the next quest to be played, the display control unit 103 displays a screen M110 for executing the quest. On the other hand, if the control unit 102 determines to skip the next quest to be played, the display control unit 103 displays a screen M120 indicating that the next quest to be played has been skipped. This makes it possible to determine whether or not to skip a quest at an appropriate time.

[0063] (Display example 2) The display control unit 103 may display, on the screen accepting the predetermined operation, information (hereinafter referred to as "quest information") on a quest in which a character (first game medium) corresponding to the quest (first quest) to be played next by the user can be acquired, based on the possession state of the character (first game medium) corresponding to the quest. Here, the predetermined operation may be a user operation related to starting the quest to be played next, as in the display example 1. The possession state may be, for example, whether or not the user possesses at least a character, or whether or not the user possesses a predetermined number of characters. In addition, the possession state may be, for example, whether or not the user possesses a character corresponding to the quest to be played next and having a maximum value of a predetermined parameter (for example, a parameter that increases by combining the same character).

[0064] 10 is a diagram showing a screen display example (part 2). As shown in screen M200, the display control unit 103 may display quest information R20 indicating that the quest in which the user can obtain a skip determination character for quest C to be played next is "normal quest NC." A user who sees this screen can recognize that in order to skip quest C to be played next, the user can obtain a character by playing normal quest NC.

[0065] (Display example 3) When a quest in which a user can obtain a character (first game medium) corresponding to a quest (first quest) to be played next is a quest held in a specific period, the display control unit 103 may display information related to the specific period as the quest information. For example, as shown in a display field R21 of the screen M210 in FIG. 10, the display control unit 103 may display that the event quest IC is playable during the period from March 2 to March 4 as information related to an event quest IC in which a skip judgment character for the quest C to be played next can be obtained. The user who sees the screen can recognize that to skip the quest C to be played next, the user only needs to play the event quest IC playable during the period from March 2 to March 4 to obtain the character.

[0066] (Display example 4) When there are multiple quests in which the user can obtain a character (first game medium) corresponding to the quest (first quest) to be played next, the display control unit 103 may display the multiple quests in a display manner based on the difficulty of the quests. The display manner based on the difficulty of the quests may be, for example, displaying the multiple quests in order of difficulty from the lowest (or highest).

[0067] For example, as shown in display field R22 of screen M220 in Fig. 10, the display control unit 103 may display normal quest NC1, which has a low difficulty level to clear, and normal quest NC2, which has a high difficulty level to clear, in ascending order of difficulty from top to bottom as information regarding quests in which the user can obtain a skip judgment character for quest C to be played next. A user who sees this screen can recognize that in order to skip quest C to be played next, it is sufficient to obtain a character by playing normal quest NC1 or normal quest NC2, and that because normal quest NC1 has a lower difficulty level than normal quest NC2, it is easier to obtain the skip judgment character by playing normal quest NC1.

[0068] (Example 5) In display example 5, the first quest and the second quest are quests included in a quest group, and the second quest is the quest that the user plays after the first quest. Also, the skip judgment character for the first quest and the skip judgment character for the second quest are the first character (first game medium) and the second character (second game medium), respectively.

[0069] The display control unit 103 may display a quest in which the first character can be obtained preferentially over a quest in which the second character can be obtained if the user has skipped or not completed the first quest. The display control unit 103 may display a quest in which the second character can be obtained preferentially over a quest in which the first character can be obtained if the user has skipped or completed the first quest. Note that "displaying A preferentially over B" may mean displaying A in a manner that makes it easier for the user to visually recognize A than B. Specifically, information indicating A (such as characters or an icon) may be displayed at a position above information indicating B in the vertical direction of the screen. Alternatively, information indicating A may be displayed without displaying information indicating B (the same applies to the following description).

[0070] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a screen display example (part 3). In the example of FIG. 11, the first quest and the second quest are quest A and quest C, respectively. In the example of the screen M300, the user needs to play quest A before quest C. Therefore, when the user has not skipped or cleared quest A, the display control unit 103 may preferentially display the normal quest NA in which the skip judgment character (i.e., the first character) of quest A can be obtained, over the normal quest NC in which the skip judgment character (i.e., the second character) of quest C can be obtained, as shown in the display field R30 of the screen M300. In addition, when the user has skipped or cleared quest A, the display control unit 103 may preferentially display the normal quest NC in which the skip judgment character (i.e., the second character) of quest C can be obtained, over the normal quest NA in which the skip judgment character (i.e., the first character) of quest A can be obtained, as shown in the display field R31 of the screen M310. According to the display example 5, the user who sees the screen can appropriately recognize the quest in which the skip judgment character of the quest to be played next can be obtained.

[0071] (Example 6) The display control unit 103 may display information regarding a quest in which a skip judgment character can be obtained in a quest that the user plays earlier than the other quests in the quest group, in preference to information regarding a quest in which a skip judgment character can be obtained in a quest that the user plays later.

[0072] In display example 6, the first quest, the second quest, the third quest, and the fourth quest are quests included in a quest group, the second quest is the quest the user plays after the first quest, the third quest is the quest the user plays after the second quest, and the fourth quest is the quest the user plays after the third quest. Also, the skip judgment character for the first quest, the skip judgment character for the second quest, the skip judgment character for the third quest, and the skip judgment character for the fourth quest are the first character (first game medium), the second character (second game medium), the third character (third game medium), and the fourth character (fourth game medium), respectively.

[0073] The process performed by the control unit 102 and the display control unit 103 in the display example 6 can be expressed as follows. When the quest to be played next is the first quest, if the user does not possess a first character corresponding to the first quest, the control unit 102 controls the first quest to be skipped and the second quest to be playable in accordance with a predetermined probability (probability) if the user possesses the first character, and controls the first quest to be skipped and the third quest to be playable in accordance with a predetermined probability (probability) if the user possesses a second character corresponding to the second quest. Also, when the quest to be played next is the second quest, if the user does not possess a second character corresponding to the second quest, the control unit 104 controls the second quest to be skipped and the third quest to be playable in accordance with a predetermined probability (probability) if the user possesses the second character. In addition, when the next quest to be played is the third quest, if the user does not possess a third character corresponding to the third quest, the control unit 104 controls the user to clear the third quest to make the fourth quest playable, and if the user possesses the third character, the control unit 104 controls the user to skip the third quest and make the fourth quest playable according to a predetermined probability (probability).

[0074] The display control unit 103 may also preferentially display a quest in which the user can obtain a skip judgment character (first character) for a first quest that the user will play next, over a quest in which the user can obtain a skip judgment character (second character) for a second quest that the user will play after the first quest. The display control unit 103 may also preferentially display a quest in which the user can obtain a skip judgment character (second character) for a second quest that the user will play after the first quest, over a quest in which the user can obtain a skip judgment character (third character) for a third quest that the user will play after the second quest. The display control unit 103 may also preferentially display a quest in which the user can obtain a skip judgment character (third character) for a third quest that the user will play after the second quest, over a quest in which the user can obtain a skip judgment character (fourth character) for a fourth quest that the user will play after the third quest.

[0075] 12 is a diagram showing a screen display example (part 4). In the example of Fig. 12, the quest group is an undefined quest group, and the first quest, the second quest, and the third quest correspond to quest A, quest C, and quest E, respectively.

[0076] 12, when the user has not skipped or cleared quest A, the display control unit 103 may display a normal quest NC in which the user can obtain a skip judgment character for quest C that the user plays after quest A in preference to a normal quest NE in which the user can obtain a skip judgment character for quest E that the user plays after quest C (for example, displaying the normal quest NC higher than the normal quest NE). Also, the display control unit 103 may display a normal quest NA in which the user can obtain a skip judgment character for quest A that the user plays next in preference to a normal quest NC in which the user can obtain a skip judgment character for quest C that the user plays after quest A (for example, displaying the normal quest NA higher than the normal quest NC). 12, when the user has skipped or cleared quest A, the display control unit 103 may preferentially display a normal quest NC in which the user can obtain a skip judgment character for quest C to be played after quest A, over a normal quest NC in which the user can obtain a skip judgment character for quest E to be played after quest C. In other words, regardless of whether the user has skipped or cleared quest A (first quest), the display control unit 103 may preferentially display a normal quest NC in which the user can obtain a skip judgment character (second character) for quest C (second quest) to be played after quest A, over a normal quest NE in which the user can obtain a skip judgment character (third character) for quest E (third quest) to be played after quest C (second quest).

[0077] According to display example 6, the user can recognize, in priority order according to the order in which the quests to be played in the future can acquire skip determination characters.

[0078] (Example 7) If a user fails to clear a quest included in the quest group, the display control unit 103 may display information about multiplayer play in which multiple users play quests together, and in which a recruitment is open for the quest that the user was unable to clear.

[0079] 13 is a diagram showing a screen display example (part 5). For example, as shown in screen M500, when the user is unable to clear quest E, the display control unit 103 may display information R50 encouraging participation in a multiplay for which a request is being made for quest E, and buttons B50-1 and B50-2 for accepting participation in a multiplay for which a request is being made for quest E. In addition, when a request for a multiplay is not being made for a quest that the user was unable to clear, the display control unit 103 may display information R51 recommending that the user become a host user and request a multiplay, as shown in screen M530.

[0080] According to display example 7, if the user is unable to clear the quest, the user can participate in multiplay and play the quest with the help of other users.

[0081] (Example 8) The display control unit 103 may display information regarding whether or not a host player inviting a multiplayer game will use a character (game medium) used by another user when the other user cleared a quest that the user was unable to clear. Here, the character used by the other user when the other user cleared a quest that the user was unable to clear may be, for example, a character that the other user incorporated into a deck when the other user cleared a certain quest. The ease of clearing some quests may change depending on the attributes of the character incorporated into the deck. Therefore, it is considered that the quest can be cleared more easily by incorporating into one's own deck a character that the other user incorporated into a deck when the quest was cleared.

[0082] 13, if the user fails to clear quest E, the display control unit 103 may display information R52 encouraging participation in a multiplay for which recruitment is being held for quest E, and buttons B52-1 and B52-2 for accepting participation in a multiplay for which recruitment is being held for quest E. Also, information S52 is displayed indicating that the character used by the host player in the multiplay for recruitment 1 (the character to be incorporated into the deck) is the character used by another user when that other user cleared quest E.

[0083] When the button B52-1 is pressed, the display control unit 103 may display a list of characters used by the host player and characters used by guest players who have declared their participation, as shown in screen M530. Also, the display control unit 103 may display, on the screen, the number of characters that correspond to "characters used by other users when the other users cleared quest E" among the characters used by the host player and the characters used by guest players who have declared their participation.

[0084] According to display example 8, if a user is unable to clear a quest, the user can participate in a multiplayer game and play the quest with the help of other users. Also, the user can recognize whether the host user in the open multiplayer game will use a character that is advantageous for clearing the quest.

[0085] <Summary> According to the embodiment described above, the game server 10 controls whether or not to skip a quest included in a quest group, depending on whether or not the user has a character corresponding to the quest. In other words, if the user cannot complete a quest included in a quest group, the user can skip the quest by having a character corresponding to the quest. This makes it possible to prevent the user from becoming stuck and being unable to complete a quest.

[0086] The above-described embodiment is intended to facilitate understanding of the present invention, and is not intended to limit the present invention. The flow charts, sequences, elements included in the embodiment, and their arrangements, materials, conditions, shapes, sizes, etc. described in the embodiment are not limited to those exemplified, and may be modified as appropriate. <Additional Notes> <Appendix 1> A storage unit that stores game media owned by a user; a control unit that, for a first quest and a second quest included in a quest group, makes the second quest playable based on a result of the user's play of the first quest when the user does not possess a first game medium corresponding to the first quest, and controls the first quest to be skipped and the second quest to be playable according to a probability when the user possesses the first game medium; An information processing device having the above configuration.

[0087] According to Addendum 1, it is possible to prevent the user from becoming stuck and being unable to complete a quest. <Appendix 2> the group of quests further includes a third quest, the control unit, when the user does not possess a second game medium corresponding to the second quest, controls the user to clear the second quest to make the third quest playable, and, when the user possesses the second game medium, controls the second quest to be skipped and the third quest to be playable according to a probability. 2. An information processing device according to claim 1.

[0088] According to Supplementary Note 2, if the user possesses the game medium corresponding to each quest, the user will be able to skip each quest. <Appendix 3> the control unit sets the probability higher when the user has previously acquired a large number of first game media than when the user has previously acquired a small number of first game media. 3. The information processing device according to claim 1 or 2.

[0089] According to Supplementary Note 3, it is possible to change the probability that a quest will be skipped depending on the number of game media that the user has acquired in the past. <Appendix 4> the control unit, after receiving a predetermined operation from the user, determines whether to skip the first quest according to the probability before starting to play the first quest; 4. The information processing device according to claim 1.

[0090] According to Appendix 4, it will be possible to execute the process of skipping a quest at the appropriate time. <Appendix 5> the group of quests includes a first group of quests provided in a first period and a second group of quests provided in a second period after the first period; the control unit controls the difficulty level of the quests included in the second quest group to be higher for a first user who satisfies a predetermined condition in playing the first quest group and plays the second quest group, and for a second user who does not satisfy the predetermined condition in playing the first quest group and plays the second quest group, than for the first user. 5. The information processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

[0091] According to Appendix 5, when a group of quests is provided over multiple periods, it becomes possible to change the difficulty level of the group of quests when playing a later group of quests based on whether or not a user satisfied a specified condition when playing the group of quests in an earlier period. <Appendix 6> a display control unit that displays, on a screen that accepts a predetermined operation, quest information related to a quest for which the first game medium can be acquired based on the possession state of the first game medium by the user; 6. The information processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

[0092] According to Supplementary Note 6, it becomes possible to notify the user of information regarding quests for which the user can acquire game content corresponding to each quest, based on whether the user possesses the game content corresponding to that quest. <Appendix 7> the display control unit, when the quest for which the first game medium can be acquired is a quest held during a specific period, displays information relating to the specific period as the quest information; 7. The information processing device according to claim 6.

[0093] According to Supplementary Note 7, when a quest for which game media corresponding to a quest can be obtained is held during a specific period of time, it becomes possible to notify the user of the specific period of time. <Appendix 8> the display control unit, when there are multiple quests for which the first game medium can be acquired, displays the multiple quests in a display manner based on the difficulty level of the quest; 8. The information processing device according to claim 6 or 7.

[0094] According to Supplementary Note 8, when there are multiple quests for which game content can be acquired, it becomes possible to notify the user of the multiple quests in accordance with their difficulty levels. <Appendix 9> If you have skipped or not completed the first quest, quests for obtaining the first game medium are displayed in preference to quests for obtaining the second game medium; If you skip or clear the first quest, a display control unit that displays a quest for obtaining the second game medium in priority to a quest for obtaining the first game medium; 3. An information processing device according to claim 2.

[0095] According to Appendix 9, depending on whether a quest has been cleared or not, it becomes possible to switch between prioritizing the display of quests in which a character corresponding to the quest can be obtained, or prioritizing the display of quests in which game media corresponding to the next quest to be played after the quest in question can be obtained. <Appendix 10> The group of quests further includes a fourth quest, the control unit, when the user does not possess a third game medium corresponding to the third quest, controls the user to clear the third quest to make the fourth quest playable, and, when the user possesses the third game medium, controls the user to skip the third quest and make the fourth quest playable according to a probability; The display control unit, regardless of whether the first quest has been skipped or cleared, quests for obtaining the second game medium are displayed with priority over quests for obtaining the third game medium; 10. The information processing device according to claim 9.

[0096] According to supplementary note 10, the user can recognize quests for which game media corresponding to a quest to be played in the future can be obtained, in order of priority, according to the order in which the quests will be played. <Appendix 11> a display control unit that, when the user fails to clear a quest included in the quest group, displays information about a multiplay in which a recruitment is being held for the quest and in which a plurality of users jointly play the quest; 11. The information processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 10.

[0097] According to Appendix 11, if a user is unable to complete a quest, the user can participate in multiplayer play to play the quest with the help of other users. <Appendix 12> the display control unit displays information regarding whether or not a host player inviting the multiplayer game will use a game medium used by another user when the other user cleared a quest that the user was unable to clear, 12. The information processing device according to claim 11.

[0098] According to Appendix 12, a user can recognize whether or not a host user in a recruiting multiplayer game is using game media used by another user. <Appendix 13> a step of the information processing device storing a game medium owned by a user in a storage unit; an information processing device controls, for a first quest and a second quest included in a quest group, when the user does not possess a first game medium corresponding to the first quest, to make the second quest playable based on a result of the user playing the first quest, and when the user possesses the first game medium, to skip the first quest and make the second quest playable according to a probability; An information processing method comprising:

[0099] According to Addendum 13, it is possible to prevent the user from becoming stuck and being unable to complete a quest. <Appendix 14> storing game media owned by a user in a storage unit; a step of controlling a first quest and a second quest included in a quest group so that, when the user does not possess a first game medium corresponding to the first quest, the second quest is playable based on a result of the user playing the first quest, and, when the user possesses the first game medium, skipping the first quest and making the second quest playable according to a probability; A program for causing a computer to execute the following.

[0100] According to Addendum 14, it becomes possible to prevent the user from becoming stuck and being unable to complete a quest. [Explanation of symbols]

[0101] 1...game system, 10...game server, 11...processor, 12...storage device, 13...communication IF, 14...input device, 15...output device, 20...terminal, 100...storage unit, 100a...user management DB, 100b...quest definition DB, 101...selection unit, 102...control unit, 103...display control unit, 200...storage unit, 201...communication unit, 202...UI unit, 203...control unit

Claims

[Claim 1] A storage unit that stores game media owned by a user; a control unit that, for a first quest and a second quest included in a quest group, makes the second quest playable based on a result of the user's play of the first quest when the user does not possess a first game medium corresponding to the first quest, and controls the first quest to be skipped and the second quest to be playable according to a probability when the user possesses the first game medium; An information processing device having the above configuration.

Images