Computer system and game system

Abstract

To provide a technique of a new and attractive privilege acquisition path.SOLUTION: A user 2 as a player can possess plural kinds of privilege acquisition paths 7 (7a, 7b, ...) in which one portion or the entire portion of an effective period overlaps. In the respective privilege acquisition paths 7, plural tasks attainable by playing a game are set, and privilege based on a standard privilege corresponding to a task is granted to the player when the task is attained. When a combination of tasks to be attained set to different privilege acquisition paths 7 satisfies a given special privilege granting condition, a special privilege is further granted to the player.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a computer system for providing and managing privilege acquisition passes. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, online games have become known to incorporate what are known as "season passes" or "battle passes." These passes divide real-world time into multiple validity periods, with one pass assigned to each validity period. Players who own the pass can enjoy perks such as missions, items, skins, and music, as well as downloadable content that may be added to the game in the near future. Because the pass allows players to obtain perks, it can also be called a perk acquisition pass. Perk acquisition passes offer game developers the benefit of securing funding. Players benefit from the ability to obtain perks at a discount and to be the first to use new content.

[0003] As examples of the technology for the privilege acquisition pass, Patent Document 1 discloses a technology relating to a season pass that grants privileges to players who pay a game play fee (season fee) every certain period (season). Patent Document 2 discloses a technology that provides special game play to players who purchase a season pass. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2018-068912 [Patent Document 2] Patent Publication No. 2018-122154 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] When bonus passes first appeared on the market, they had the effect of motivating players to continue playing the game, but in recent years they have been adopted by many online games and have become so common that they are no longer considered a part of the appeal of game titles.

[0006] The problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a new and attractive technology for a privilege acquisition pass. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] A first invention for solving the above-mentioned problems is a computer system that provides and manages a reward acquisition pass with a given validity period, in which a plurality of tasks that can be achieved by playing a game and rewards associated with each task are set, and a privilege acquisition pass providing means (for example, the server system 1100, control board 1150 of FIG. 1, the server processing unit 200s, game management unit 210, privilege acquisition pass providing control unit 212 of FIG. 9, the privilege acquisition pass initial setting data 530 of FIG. 10, the user management data 600, the privilege acquisition pass management data 610 of FIG. 15, and steps S20 to S22 of FIG. 17) that provides a player with multiple types of privilege acquisition passes whose validity periods overlap in part or in whole; a fulfillment status information presentation means for presenting to the player information on whether each task set in the plurality of types of privilege acquisition passes held by the player has been accomplished (for example, the achievement status presentation screen W8 in FIG. 8, the server system 1100 in FIG. 1, the control board 1150, the server processing unit 200s in FIG. 9, the game management unit 210, the fulfillment status information provision control unit 216, the task-specific achievement progress data 620 in FIG. 15, and steps S80 to S82 in FIG. 17); a bonus awarding control means (e.g., the server system 1100, the control board 1150 of FIG. 1, the server processing unit 200s of FIG. 9, the game management unit 210, the bonus awarding control unit 220 of FIG. 10, the standard bonus initial setting data 512 of FIG. 10, the bonus acquisition pass initial setting data 530 of FIG. 12, the bonus corresponding initial setting data 534 of FIG. 12, the owned item management data 607 of FIG. 15, the standard bonus award history data 622, and steps S100 to S108 of FIG. 17) for determining a bonus to be awarded to the player based on a bonus associated with a task (hereinafter referred to as an "accomplished task") that the player has achieved based on his / her playing status, and for controlling the awarding of the determined bonus to the player; The bonus awarding control means is a computer system (e.g., game system 1000, server system 1100 in FIG. 1) that has a special bonus awarding means (e.g., special bonus awarding control unit 221 in FIG. 9, special bonus definition data 570 in FIG. 14, steps S110 to S118 in FIG. 18) that awards a given special bonus to a player when the combination of achievement tasks set in the different bonus acquisition passes held by the player meets a given special bonus awarding condition.

[0008] According to the first invention, a player can purchase multiple types of privilege acquisition passes whose validity periods overlap in part or in whole. This allows the player to enjoy a service that has not been available before, in which multiple passes can be used simultaneously. By purchasing different privilege acquisition passes, the player can also obtain special privileges according to the combination of the passes. This makes it possible to realize a new and attractive privilege acquisition pass technology compared to the conventional technology that only allows the purchase of one pass.

[0009] The second invention is a computer system of the first invention, in which the bonus awarding control means has a first bonus award variable determination means (for example, the first bonus award variable determination unit 223 of Figure 9, the application requirement 550 of Figure 13, step S102 of Figure 17) that variably determines the bonus to be awarded for a newly completed task by the player based on the progress in completing the tasks set for each of the multiple types of bonus acquisition passes that the player has.

[0010] "Achievement progress" can be determined using information indicating progress for the entire path, such as the ratio of the number of completed tasks to the total number of tasks set in association with the reward acquisition path, the ratio of the number of uncompleted tasks to the total number of tasks, as well as information indicating progress for the entire path. "Achievement progress" can also be determined by looking at each task individually and using information indicating progress for each individual task, such as how close the parameter value for that task is to the standard value for being an completed task, or how much it exceeds the standard value.

[0011] According to the second aspect of the present invention, the content of the reward given for a newly achieved task (achieved task) changes depending on the progress of the task at that time. Therefore, a new and attractive reward acquisition pass that has not been seen before can be realized.

[0012] A third invention is a computer system of the first or second invention, in which the special benefit granting means variably determines the special benefit based on the progress in achieving the tasks set for each of the multiple types of benefit acquisition passes held by the player (for example, special benefit change pattern definition data 575 in Figure 14, step S112 in Figure 18).

[0013] According to the third aspect of the present invention, a player can obtain different special privileges based on the progress of the tasks set for each of the privilege acquisition passes he or she possesses. This allows for the realization of a new and attractive privilege acquisition pass that has never been seen before.

[0014] A fourth invention is a computer system of any of the first to third inventions, wherein the multiple types of bonus acquisition passes include tasks that satisfy given equivalence conditions, and the special bonus granting means determines that the special bonus granting conditions have been satisfied when a combination of the achievement tasks set on the different bonus acquisition passes held by the player satisfies the equivalence conditions (for example, equivalence condition 573b in Figure 14, step S112 in Figure 18).

[0015] "Meeting equivalent conditions" not only means being completely identical, but also includes satisfying conditions that are deemed identical or comparable because the elements of the conditions are common. For example, the conditions include being in the same category, or the actions and benchmarks required of the player to be considered accomplished are similar. For example, in an action RPG (role-playing game), the first task "Defeat 10 water-attribute enemy characters" and the second task "Defeat 10 fire-attribute enemy characters" would "meet equivalent conditions." In other words, although the specified attributes of the enemy characters are different, the action required of the player is the same: "Defeat a specified number of enemy characters."

[0016] According to the fourth invention, a player can receive a special benefit if there are tasks that "satisfy the same conditions" among the different benefit acquisition passes that the player owns. Therefore, since the effort required to satisfy the conditions is roughly the same, when purchasing a new benefit acquisition pass, the player can enjoy thinking about which pass to purchase by referring to the associated tasks.

[0017] The fifth invention is a computer system of any of the first to fourth inventions, further comprising a task increase / decrease control means (for example, the task increase / decrease control unit 232 in Figure 20, the task increase / decrease pattern definition data 582 in Figure 21, step S109 in Figure 23) that increases or decreases the tasks set for each of the multiple types of bonus acquisition passes held by the player based on the progress of achieving the tasks.

[0018] According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, even if a player has already acquired a privilege acquisition pass, the number of tasks increases or decreases based on the progress of the achievement of the tasks of each privilege acquisition pass that the player has. Therefore, a new and attractive privilege acquisition pass that has not been seen before can be realized.

[0019] A sixth invention is a computer system of the fifth invention, in which the task increase / decrease control means controls the increase / decrease of tasks by selecting both a reward acquisition path that increases tasks and a reward acquisition path that decreases tasks from the multiple types of reward acquisition paths.

[0020] According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, the degree of task achievement for each privilege acquisition pass as a whole can be adjusted by increasing or decreasing the number of tasks. For example, if a player has multiple privilege acquisition passes, the number of tasks can be increased or decreased so as to average the degree of task achievement for those passes as a whole. Since the strengths and weaknesses of a player can be estimated from the degree of task achievement for the entire passes, increasing the number of tasks for passes that are estimated to be strong while decreasing the number of tasks for passes that are estimated to be weak can support the player by minimizing the difference between strengths and weaknesses.

[0021] A seventh invention is a computer system according to the fifth or sixth invention, in which the task increase / decrease control means changes the rewards associated with each task set in the reward acquisition path that increases or decreases the task.

[0022] According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, the content of the benefit that the player receives when completing a task can be changed in accordance with an increase or decrease in the number of tasks.

[0023] An eighth invention is a computer system of any of the first to seventh inventions, further comprising a period change control means (e.g., the period change control unit 230 in Figure 9, the validity period change pattern definition data 580 in Figure 10, step S24 in Figure 17) that changes the validity period of the privilege acquisition pass when the combination of privilege acquisition passes held by the player satisfies a given period change condition.

[0024] According to the eighth invention, a computer system that can change the validity period of a privilege acquisition pass depending on the combination of privilege acquisition passes that a player has can give the player more time to complete the tasks of the privilege acquisition pass, or conversely, can reduce the time to increase the difficulty of playing.

[0025] A ninth invention is a computer system according to any one of the first to eighth inventions, comprising an inter-player specific combination benefit change means (for example, the inter-player specific combination benefit change unit 222 of FIG. 9, the inter-player specific combination condition 555 of FIG. 13, or step S102 of FIG. 17) for changing the benefit set in the benefit acquisition pass held by a first player and the benefit set in the benefit acquisition pass held by a second player when the benefit acquisition pass held by the first player and the benefit acquisition pass held by a second player satisfy a given inter-player specific combination condition.

[0026] According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, when a first player's privilege acquisition pass and a second player's privilege acquisition pass satisfy a specific player combination condition, the privileges set in the privilege acquisition passes of both players are changed. This makes it possible to realize a new and attractive privilege acquisition pass that has never been seen before.

[0027] A tenth invention is a computer system of any of the first to ninth inventions, in which the bonus awarding control means has a second bonus award variable determination means (for example, the second bonus award variable determination unit 224 in Figure 9, the individual achievement progress condition 554 in Figure 13, or step S102 in Figure 17) that variably determines the bonus to be awarded for the completed task based on the timing of completion of the task.

[0028] According to the tenth aspect of the present invention, the reward that a player receives when completing a task changes depending on the timing of the task completion, thereby realizing a new and attractive reward acquisition pass that has never been seen before.

[0029] An eleventh invention is a computer system of any of the first to tenth inventions, further comprising a management means (e.g., the pass management unit 203 of Figure 9) for managing the privilege acquisition passes held by the players, and the privilege granting control means has a third variable granting privilege determination means (e.g., the third variable granting privilege determination unit 225 of Figure 9, the inter-player relative achievement progress condition 556 of Figure 13, step S102 of Figure 17) for variably determining the privilege to be granted for an accomplished task based on the achievement progress of each player who holds the privilege acquisition pass in the task related to the privilege acquisition pass.

[0030] According to the eleventh aspect of the present invention, the rewards given to players for completing tasks are changed according to the results of comparing the progress of each player. For example, the reward given to a player who is better than other players can be changed to a more valuable reward. This mechanism increases players' motivation to play the game.

[0031] A twelfth invention is a game system comprising a server system which is a computer system according to any one of the first to eleventh inventions, and a player terminal for the player which communicates with the server system and performs the function of a man-machine interface.

[0032] According to the twelfth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to realize a game system that can obtain the same effect as any one of the first to eleventh aspects of the present invention. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0033] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a game system. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a front view showing an example of the configuration of a player terminal. [Figure 3] FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining the season structure of an online game and a bonus acquisition pass. [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a benefit acquisition pass. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a special benefit. [Figure 6]FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining a variable type standard benefit. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a special benefit. [Figure 8] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of an achievement status presentation screen. [Figure 9] FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of a server system. [Figure 10] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing examples of programs and data stored in a server storage unit. [Figure 11] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of assignment initial setting data. [Figure 12] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of the data configuration of privilege acquisition pass initial setting data. [Figure 13] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of standard benefit change pattern definition data. [Figure 14] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of the data configuration of special benefit definition data. [Figure 15] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the data configuration of user management data. [Figure 16] FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of a player terminal. [Figure 17] 10 is a flowchart illustrating the flow of processing executed by the server system. [Figure 18] Flowchart continued from Figure 17. [Figure 19] FIG. 10 is a functional block diagram showing the functional configuration of a modified example of the player terminal. [Figure 20] FIG. 10 is a functional block diagram showing a functional configuration of a modified example of the server system. [Figure 21] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing examples of programs and data stored in a server storage unit in a modified example of the server system. [Figure 22] 10 is a flowchart illustrating a processing flow in a modified example of the server system. [Figure 23] Flowchart continued from Figure 22. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0034] Hereinafter, examples of embodiments of the present invention will be described, but it goes without saying that the forms to which the present invention can be applied are not limited to the following embodiments.

[0035] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a game system. The game system 1000 includes a server system 1100 and player terminals 1500 (1500a, 1500b, ...) of users 2 (2a, 2b, ...) who are players capable of communicating with the server system 1100, and is a system for enabling online game play at the player terminals 1500. Although only two player terminals 1500 are depicted in FIG. 1, in actual system operation, three or more player terminals 1500 can participate in the game system 1000.

[0036] In the game system 1000, the server system 1100 and the player terminals 1500 are connected via a network 9 so as to be able to carry out data communications, and the player terminals 1500 can also be connected to each other via the network 9 so as to be able to carry out data communications.

[0037] The network 9 refers to a communication path that allows data communication. That is, the network 9 includes a dedicated line (dedicated cable) for direct connection, a LAN (Local Area Network) using Ethernet (registered trademark), etc., as well as a communication network such as a telephone communication network, a cable network, or the Internet, and the communication method may be either wired or wireless.

[0038] The server system 1100 is a computer system that includes, for example, a main device 1101, a keyboard 1106, a touch panel 1108, and storage 1140, and in which a control board 1150 is mounted on the main device 1101.

[0039] The control board 1150 is equipped with various microprocessors such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 1151, a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), and a DSP (Digital Signal Processor), various IC memories 1152 such as a VRAM, RAM, and ROM, and a communication device 1153. Note that part or all of the control board 1150 may be realized by an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array), or an SoC (System on a Chip).

[0040] The server system 1100 realizes (1) a user management function that manages information related to user registration, etc., (2) a game management function that allows users to play online games, and (3) a member service management function that provides member services other than playing online games (for example, posting and viewing gameplay videos, providing chat spaces, online shopping for items to be used in online games, etc.) by having the control board 1150 perform calculations based on predetermined programs and data.

[0041] Although the server system 1100 is depicted as if it were a single server device, it may be configured to be realized by multiple devices. For example, the server system 1100 may be configured to include multiple blade servers that share various functions and are connected to each other via an internal bus so that they can communicate data with each other. Furthermore, the location of the hardware that constitutes the server system 1100 does not matter. It may also be configured so that multiple independent servers installed in remote locations communicate data via the network 9, and function as the server system 1100 as a whole.

[0042] The player terminal 1500 is a computer system used by a user 2 who has completed a registration procedure to play a game using the game system 1000 of this embodiment, and is an electronic device that can access the server system 1100 and other player terminals 1500 via the network 9. In other words, the player terminal 1500 functions as a man-machine interface in the game system 1000.

[0043] FIG. 2 is a front view showing an example of the configuration of the player terminal 1500. As shown in FIG. The player terminal 1500 includes a directional input key 1502, button switches 1504, a touch panel 1506 that functions as both an image display device and a contact position input device, an internal battery 1509, a speaker 1510, a microphone 1512, a camera 1520, a control board 1550, and a memory card reader 1542 that can read and write data from a memory card 1540 that is a computer-readable storage medium. Other components, not shown, include a power button, a volume control button, and the like. The player terminal 1500 may also include an IC card reader that can contactlessly read and write data from IC card-type credit cards or prepaid cards that can be used to pay for the use of the game system 1000.

[0044] The control board 1550 is equipped with (1) a CPU 1551 and various microprocessors such as a GPU and DSP, (2) various IC memories 1552 such as VRAM, RAM, and ROM, (3) a wireless communication module 1553 for wireless communication with mobile phone base stations and wireless LAN base stations connected to the network 9, and (4) an interface circuit 1557.

[0045] The interface circuit 1557 includes (1) a driver circuit for the touch panel 1506, (2) a circuit for receiving signals from the directional input keys 1502 and the button switches 1504, (3) an output amplifier circuit for outputting audio signals to the speaker 1510, (4) an input signal generation circuit for generating audio signals collected by the microphone 1512, (5) a circuit for inputting image data of images captured by the camera 1520, and (6) a signal input / output circuit for the memory card reader 1542.

[0046] These elements mounted on the control board 1550 are electrically connected via a bus circuit or the like, and are connected so that data can be read and written and signals can be sent and received. Part or all of the control board 1550 may be configured using an ASIC, FPGA, or SoC. The control board 1550 stores programs and various data for realizing the functions of a player terminal in an IC memory 1552.

[0047] In this embodiment, the player terminal 1500 is configured to download programs and various setting data from the server system 1100, but it may also be configured to read them from a storage medium such as a memory card 1540 obtained separately.

[0048] 2 is a device known as a smartphone, but any computer system may be used, such as a wearable computer such as a smartwatch or smart glasses, a portable game device, a home game device, a tablet computer, or a personal computer. When multiple electronic devices are communicatively connected to perform a single function, such as a combination of a smartphone and a smartwatch communicatively connected to the smartphone, these multiple electronic devices can be considered as a single player terminal 1500.

[0049] A user 2 (2a, 2b, ...) uses a player terminal 1500 (1500a, 1500b, ...) to access the server system 1100 or a predetermined website managed by the server system 1100, and becomes a registered user, i.e., a player, after completing a predetermined user registration procedure. Then, by completing a predetermined sign-in procedure using a unique user account (signature name) set during registration, the user's player terminal 1500 is integrated into the game system 1000 and enters the system online state. Furthermore, by completing a predetermined sign-out procedure, the user can withdraw from the system and take the system offline. In the system online state, user 2 becomes able to play online games as a player.

[0050] FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the season structure of an online game and a bonus acquisition pass. An online game progresses through multiple play seasons (Season 1, Season 2, ... in FIG. 3) each set for a predetermined period (for example, about one month to several months), either continuously or with appropriate intervals in between. The content playable in each play season can be set appropriately depending on the game genre. In an action RPG (role-playing game), a play season may be prepared for each battle field, or a play season may be prepared for each chapter of the story. There may also simply be play seasons with different design concepts based on seasonal events or the like.

[0051] In one play season, multiple types of privilege acquisition passes 7 (7a, 7b, ...) are available for the user 2, who is the player. The privilege acquisition passes 7 may be paid passes, or may be free passes that can be obtained by fulfilling certain conditions. In this embodiment, the privilege acquisition passes 7 are paid passes. Each privilege acquisition pass 7 has a predetermined validity period (represented by the horizontal length of a rectangle), and the validity periods of different privilege acquisition passes 7 overlap partially or completely. A single player can purchase multiple privilege acquisition passes 7 in one play season. Of course, it is also possible to play online games without purchasing a privilege acquisition pass 7. Game play is primarily focused on online games, and the privilege acquisition passes 7 generate secondary effects. Note that the same privilege acquisition pass 7 can only be purchased once during the play season.

[0052] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing examples of the privilege acquisition pass 7, and FIG. 4(1) and FIG. 4(2) show the difference in categories of the privilege acquisition pass 7. Each reward acquisition pass 7 is set with a unique pass type 10, a validity period 11 of the pass, and one or more tasks 12 to be completed during the validity period 11. Each task 12 is associated with a target time required 13 and a standard reward 14 that is a reward for completing the task.

[0053] A number of different types of tasks 12 are prepared in advance, and the tasks 12 set for the reward acquisition paths 7 are selected from among them as appropriate. Some of the reward acquisition paths 7 require similar actions from the player to complete the tasks 12, and paths are categorized according to the types of actions. It can also be said that some of the reward acquisition paths 7 have themes set for completing the tasks.

[0054] For example, Figure 4(1) shows an example of a reward acquisition path 7 in the "battle" category, which mainly requires a battle between the player character 4 (see Figure 3) and an enemy character 6 to complete the task. Figure 4(2) shows an example of a reward acquisition path 7 in the "collection" category, which mainly requires the collection of items to complete the task. The task 12 may be a task related to experience points or game points, or a task related to acquiring a specified item. The task 12 may include content that is a lesson intended to improve the player's skill or the abilities of the player character 4. For example, the task 12 may include "increase experience points by 10," "increase game points by 10," or "acquire 10 of (specified item)."

[0055] The target required time 13 may be written in the form of the number of days until the validity period. Also, the target required time 13 may be set to "same as the validity period" or "none", which means no practical setting or unlimited.

[0056] The standard reward 14 is classified into a fixed type and a variable type. The content of the reward does not change in the fixed type standard reward 14. The content of the reward may change in the variable type standard reward 14 depending on the "achievement progress" of the assignment 12 and the "achievement progress" of the entire reward acquisition path 7 to which the assignment 12 is set.

[0057] Examples of "achievement progress" include absolute achievement progress for each player, such as (1) whether each task 12 has been achieved or not, (2) the ratio of a parameter value for determining achievement of task 12 ("number of enemies defeated" in the example of FIG. 4) to a reference value deemed to have been achieved ("10" for defeating 10 enemies in the example of FIG. 4), (3) the achievement rate, which is the ratio of the number of completed tasks to the total number of tasks set in the reward acquisition path 7, and (4) the relationship between the time required for achievement and the target required time 13 required for achievement of task 12. Examples of relative achievement progress between multiple players include (5) differences in achievement progress between players obtained by comparing the achievement progress of each player who has the same reward acquisition path 7 on the tasks related to that reward acquisition path 7, and the player's progress ranking based on the achievement progress.

[0058] The content of the standard bonus 14 can be set appropriately depending on the game content, but bonuses are set so that there is no excessive difference in gameplay between players who purchase the bonus acquisition pass 7 and those who do not. Bonuses that do not affect the main story of the online game or that have only a small impact are preferred. For example, bonuses that provide visual specialties are preferred. Specifically, the standard bonuses 14 may include the style and costume of the player character 4, items 5 used by the player character 4 (including, for example, weapons, armor, clothing, accessories, storage items, vehicles, gifts for NPCs, etc.), stickers that can be added to the appearance of in-game objects such as the player character 4 and items 5, emotes for the player character 4, music that can be used as background music, etc. Of course, other standard bonuses 14 may also be used, such as granting skills to the player character 4, adding experience points, granting in-game currency, unlocking maps or NPCs (non-player characters), etc. Note that the number of standard bonuses 14 associated with one challenge 12 is not limited to one, and multiple types may be used.

[0059] Then, if User 2, the player, completes the task 12 of the privilege acquisition pass 7 that he or she purchased within that play season, he or she can acquire the standard privilege 14 associated with the completed task. In other words, by purchasing the privilege acquisition pass 7, User 2, the player, acquires the right to challenge the task 12, and can receive the standard privilege 14 if he or she completes it.

[0060] FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the special benefit. The special benefit 16 is a benefit that is determined by a combination of completed tasks (completed tasks) and is given to the user 2 who is the player.

[0061] For example, in Figure 5(1), suppose that user 2, who is a player, has two privilege acquisition passes, 7a and 7b, and has completed task 12a for privilege acquisition pass 7a and task 12b for privilege acquisition pass 7b. In this case, special privilege 16a associated with the combination of task 12a and task 12b is granted to the player.

[0062] In the example of Figure 5(2), the player has completed tasks 12a and 12x of the reward acquisition pass 7a and also completed task 12b of the reward acquisition pass 7b. In this case, the player is awarded a special reward 16b associated with the combination of these three tasks 12.

[0063] In the example of Figure 5(3), the player has completed task 12a of the privilege acquisition pass 7a, task 12b of the privilege acquisition pass 7b, and task 12c of the privilege acquisition pass 7c. A special privilege 16c associated with the combination of these three tasks 12 is awarded to the player.

[0064] FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining the variable type standard benefit 14. In FIG. The content of a variable-type standard reward 14 changes depending on the achievement progress. Specifically, it changes depending on the achievement progress at the time when the task 12 is accomplished. For example, the achievement progress can be the achievement rate of the reward acquisition pass 7 to which the task 12 is set (or all of the reward acquisition passes 7 in the possession) at the time of accomplishing the task 12. The value indicating the achievement progress is set to a higher value as the achievement rate increases. Furthermore, if a target required time length (which may be the target achievement date and time) is set for the task 12, the ratio of the actual required time length to achievement (which may be the actual achievement date and time when the task is accomplished) to the target required time length can also be used. The value indicating the achievement progress is set to a higher value as the ratio increases.

[0065] The standard reward 14d shown in Figure 6 is coins, an in-game currency. As a reward change according to achievement progress, a change amount of 15 (two coins in the example of Figure 6) is applied to the initial number of standard rewards 14d (five coins in the example of Figure 6). In this example, the player will be awarded a total of seven coins.

[0066] The variable type standard bonus 14 can be changed by increasing or decreasing the number of bonuses as shown in FIG. 6, or by changing the set level if the standard bonus 14 is an item with a set level. If the standard bonus 14 is a recovery item, the recovery amount (the amount of effect of the item) can be changed. If the standard bonus 14 is a skin, outfit, decoration, sticker, or the like, the color scheme, brightness, saturation, or pattern of the color used can be changed. If the standard bonus 14 is a lottery ticket for an item, the number of times the lottery ticket can be drawn can be changed.

[0067] Note that changes to the variable-type standard reward 14 are basically set so that the user 2 perceives the reward as being of higher value than the initial setting. However, this is not always the case depending on the game content and the contract terms at the time of purchasing the reward acquisition pass 7. For example, the amount of change may be negative. Furthermore, the relationship between achievement progress and the amount of change is not limited to the relationship shown in the graph in FIG. 6 and can be set as appropriate. For example, it may increase exponentially, have a directly proportional relationship, increase or decrease in stages, etc.

[0068] FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating the special benefit. The content of the special perks 16 also changes depending on the achievement progress. Specifically, it changes depending on the "achievement progress at the time of granting" when the granting requirements of a certain special perk 16 are met.

[0069] "Achievement progress at the time of granting" is the achievement progress at the time of achievement when all of the 12 tasks specified in the combination of tasks included in the special benefit granting requirements have been achieved. The achievement progress value at the time of granting may be, for example, the achievement progress value of each of the tasks 12 specified in the combination. Alternatively, for example, the achievement rate (the ratio of the number of completed tasks to the total number of tasks in the pass) of each of the tasks 12 specified in the combination in the reward acquisition pass 7 may be used.

[0070] The special benefit 16 may be changed by changing the type of item (special benefit 16a, 16e, 16f, 16g) that is the special benefit 16, as in the example of Figure 7. If the value of the special benefit 16 can be changed by the number of special benefits granted (for example, in-game currency, experience points, etc.), the number of special benefits granted may be changed. If an effect is set for the special benefit 16 (for example, granting experience points, the amount of recovery from a recovery item, the number of lottery draws, granting service points, etc.), the change may be realized by increasing or decreasing the effect.

[0071] FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of the achievement status presentation screen. The achievement status presentation screen W8 is a screen that displays information on achievement progress for each bonus acquisition pass 7 held by user 2, and can be displayed by user 2 performing a specified achievement status presentation operation while playing.

[0072] The achievement status presentation screen W8 has tags 21 that can be operated to display for each reward acquisition pass 7. When a display command is issued, the tag 21 is displayed in the foreground and displays a pass type display section 22, a remaining validity period display section 23, an achievement rate display section 24, an assignment type display section 25, a reward type display section 26 showing the planned rewards, and a progress display section 27. The reward type display section 26 and the progress display section 27 are associated with the assignment type display section 25 for each assignment. The progress display section 27 further includes a standard value fulfillment level display section 28 that shows how close the progress is currently to the achievement determination standard value for that assignment, and a time fulfillment level display section 29 that shows the ratio of the time required so far to the target required time for that assignment, etc.

[0073] Next, the functional configuration will be described. FIG. 9 is a functional block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the server system 1100. The server system 1100 includes an operation input unit 100s, a server processing unit 200s, a sound output unit 390s, an image display unit 392s, a communication unit 394s, and a server storage unit 500s.

[0074] The operation input unit 100s is a means for inputting various operations for managing the server, and corresponds to the keyboard 1106 in FIG.

[0075] The server processing unit 200s is realized by electronic components such as a processor serving as an arithmetic circuit, such as a CPU, GPU, ASIC, or FPGA, as well as IC memory, and controls input and output of data between the server processing unit 200s and each functional unit, including the operation input unit 100s and the server storage unit 500s. The server processing unit 200s performs various types of arithmetic processing based on predetermined programs and data, operation input signals from the operation input unit 100s, data received from the player terminals 1500, etc., and comprehensively controls the operation of the server system 1100.

[0076] The server processing unit 200s includes a user management unit 202, a member service management unit 204, a game management unit 210, a timing unit 280s, a sound generation unit 290s, an image generation unit 292s, and a communication control unit 294s. Of course, other functional units may also be included as appropriate.

[0077] The user management unit 202 performs processing related to user registration procedures and manages the storage of various information linked to user accounts. Specifically, the user management unit 202 performs the following: (1) assigning unique user accounts to registered users, (2) managing the storage of personal information for each user account, (3) managing sign-in / sign-out, (4) managing the storage of save data related to playing online games, and (5) managing service points used as compensation for online shopping and membership services.

[0078] The save data also includes information about the privilege acquisition passes 7 held by the user, so the user management unit 202, together with the progress control unit 211, also functions as a pass management unit 203 that manages the privilege acquisition passes 7 held by each player.

[0079] The member service management unit 204 controls the provision of member services other than online games (for example, posting and viewing gameplay videos, providing chat spaces, online shopping for items that can be used in playing online games, etc.).

[0080] The game management unit 210 performs various controls to allow a given online game to be played on the player terminal 1500. Specifically, the game management unit 210 has a progress control unit 211, a privilege acquisition pass provision control unit 212, a privilege acquisition pass transfer control unit 214, a fulfillment information provision control unit 216, a privilege granting control unit 220, and a period change control unit 230.

[0081] The progress control unit 211 performs various controls related to the progress of the game. This control also includes management control of play data (including various data describing the latest status). Since the play data also includes information on the latest status of the privilege acquisition passes 7 held by the players, the progress control unit 211, together with the user management unit 202, also functions as a pass management unit 203 that manages the privilege acquisition passes 7 held by each player.

[0082] The privilege acquisition pass provision control unit 212 controls the provision of the privilege acquisition pass 7 to the player.

[0083] The privilege acquisition pass transfer control unit 214 controls the transfer of a privilege acquisition pass 7 held by a player to another player.

[0084] The satisfaction information provision control unit 216 controls the presentation of information to the player as to whether or not each task set in the player's privilege acquisition pass 7 has been accomplished. This includes display control of the achievement status presentation screen W8 (see FIG. 8) and various processes for obtaining the displayed content.

[0085] The reward granting control unit 220 determines a reward to be granted to a player based on a reward associated with a task (accomplished task) that the player has completed among the tasks 12 set in the reward acquisition pass 7 held by the player, and controls granting of the determined reward to the player. This corresponds to the process related to granting the standard reward 14 (see FIG. 4).

[0086] The benefit granting control unit 220 has a special benefit granting control unit 221, a player-to-player specific combination benefit changing unit 222, a first granted benefit variable determination unit 223, a second granted benefit variable determination unit 224, and a third granted benefit variable determination unit 225.

[0087] The special benefit granting control unit 221 performs control to grant a given special benefit 16 to a player when the combination of achievement tasks set in different benefit acquisition passes 7 held by the player meets a given special benefit granting condition (a requirement for granting the special benefit 16) (see Figure 5). Specifically, the special bonus granting control unit 221 may determine that the special bonus granting condition is satisfied when a combination of achievement tasks set in different bonus acquisition paths 7 owned by the player satisfies a given equivalence condition. "Satisfying an equivalence condition" not only means that the tasks are completely identical, but also includes satisfying conditions that are considered to be identical or equivalent because the tasks share common elements. For example, this includes conditions such as the tasks being in the same category or the actions and criteria required of the player to be considered accomplished being similar. For example, in an action RPG (role-playing game), the first task "Defeat 10 water-attribute enemy characters" and the second task "Defeat 10 fire-attribute enemy characters" would "satisfy an equivalence condition." That is, although the specified attributes of the enemy characters are different, the action required of the player is the same: "Defeat a specified number of enemy characters."

[0088] Furthermore, the special award granting control unit 221 variably determines the special award 16 based on the progress of accomplishing the task 12 (see FIG. 7).

[0089] The inter-player specific combination benefit change unit 222 changes the benefit set in the benefit acquisition pass 7 held by the first player and the benefit set in the benefit acquisition pass 7 held by the second player when the benefit acquisition pass 7 held by the first player and the benefit set in the benefit acquisition pass 7 held by the second player satisfy a given inter-player specific combination condition.

[0090] The first variable grant benefit determination unit 223 variably determines the benefit to be granted for a newly achieved task that the player has achieved, based on the progress of the task 12 set for each of the multiple types of benefit acquisition passes 7 that the player has (see Figure 6).

[0091] The second granted benefit variable determination unit 224 variably determines the benefit to be granted for the completed task 12 based on the timing of the completion of the task 12.

[0092] The third variable award determination unit 225 variably determines the award to be given for the completed task based on the progress of each player who has the same award acquisition pass 7 in completing the task 12 related to the award acquisition pass 7.

[0093] The period change control unit 230 changes the validity period of the privilege acquisition passes 7 when the combination of the privilege acquisition passes 7 held by the player satisfies a given period change condition.

[0094] The timekeeping unit 280s uses a system clock to keep track of the current date and time, the time limit, and the like.

[0095] The sound generation unit 290s is realized by executing an IC or software that generates or decodes audio data, and generates or decodes audio data such as operation sounds, sound effects, background music, and voice calls related to system management of the server system 1100, provision of member services, and provision of online games. Audio signals related to system management are output to the sound output unit 390s.

[0096] 1, the sound output unit 390s corresponds to a speaker (not shown) provided in the main device or the touch panel 1108.

[0097] The image generation unit 292s generates an image to be displayed on the image display unit 392s and outputs the image signal. This corresponds to part of the function of generating various screens (or data for displaying them on the player terminal 1500) related to system management of the server system 1100, provision of member services, and provision of online games.

[0098] The image display unit 392s is realized by a device that displays images, such as a flat panel display, a head-mounted display, a projector, etc. In the example of FIG.

[0099] The communication control unit 294s executes data processing related to data communication, and realizes data exchange with external devices via the communication unit 394s.

[0100] The communication unit 394s connects to the network 9 and realizes communication. For example, it is realized by a wireless communication device, a modem, a TA (terminal adapter), a jack for a wired communication cable, a control circuit, etc. In the example of FIG. 1, this corresponds to the communication device 1153.

[0101] The server storage unit 500s stores programs and various data for implementing various functions that allow the server processing unit 200s to comprehensively control the server system 1100. It is also used as a work area for the server processing unit 200s, temporarily storing results of calculations executed by the server processing unit 200s according to various programs. This function is realized by, for example, IC memory such as RAM or ROM, magnetic disks such as hard disks, optical disks such as CD-ROMs or DVDs, online storage, etc. In the example of FIG. 1, this corresponds to storage media such as IC memory 1152 and hard disks mounted on the main device 1101, and storage 1140.

[0102] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of programs and data stored in the server storage unit 500s. The server storage unit 500s in this embodiment stores a server program 501, a distribution client program 503, game initial setting data 510, user management data 600, play data 700, and a current date and time 900. The server storage unit 500s also stores other programs and data (for example, timers, counters, various flags, etc.) as appropriate.

[0103] The server program 501 is a program that is read and executed by the server processing unit 200s to realize the functions of the user management unit 202, the member service management unit 204, and the game management unit 210.

[0104] The delivery client program 503 is an original program that is provided to the player terminal 1500 and executed.

[0105] The game initial setting data 510 stores various initial setting data related to the online game. For example, the game initial setting data 510 includes standard bonus initial setting data 512, task initial setting data 520, bonus acquisition pass initial setting data 530, standard bonus change pattern definition data 540, special bonus definition data 570, and validity period change pattern definition data 580. Of course, data other than these may also be included as appropriate.

[0106] The standard bonus initial setting data 512 is prepared for each type of standard bonus 14, and stores information indicating the bonus type in association with content data for the bonus (for example, data for display on the screen, data for use in the game, setting data for effects, information regarding usage restrictions on usable character types, etc.).

[0107] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of the assignment initial setting data 520. The task initial setting data 520 is created for each task 12 and stores various initial setting data related to that task. One task initial setting data 520 includes, for example, a unique task type 521, a task category 523 indicating the classification of the task content, and initial task content data 524. Of course, other data may also be included as appropriate. The initial task content data 524 includes information necessary to determine whether the task has been completed. For example, it includes a judgment target 524a and a judgment reference value 524b. The judgment target stores information such as the type of item or character related to the judgment target, and the identification information of the game stage.

[0108] FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of the data configuration of the privilege acquisition pass initial setting data 530. As shown in FIG. The privilege acquisition pass initial setting data 530 is prepared for each type of privilege acquisition pass 7 and stores various data related to the pass. One privilege acquisition pass initial setting data 530 includes, for example, a unique pass type 531, a purchase price 532, an initial setting validity period 533, and assignment / privilege corresponding initial setting data 534. Of course, data other than these may also be included as appropriate.

[0109] The purchase price 522 is written according to the payment method adopted by the game system 1000. For example, it may be in real-world additional units, virtual currency units, or the number of a predetermined item.

[0110] Assignment / Benefit Initial Setting Data 534 is prepared for each assignment 12 set in the pass, and stores the initial settings associated with the assignment. Specifically, one assignment / benefit initial setting data 534 stores the assignment type, target required time length, and standard reward type in association with each other. The target required time length may be written as the date and time elapsed from the start date of the validity period 533 of the pass. In this case, it indicates the target date and time by which the assignment 12 should be completed.

[0111] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of the standard benefit change pattern definition data 540. As shown in FIG. The standard benefit change pattern definition data 540 is prepared for each pattern of how the standard benefit 14 is changed, and stores various data for executing the pattern. One standard benefit change pattern definition data 540 includes a unique change pattern ID 541, application requirements 550, and standard benefit change content data 559. Of course, other data may also be included as appropriate.

[0112] The application requirements 550 define the conditions that must be met for the change pattern to be applied. The application requirements 550 are written by combining one or more sub-conditions using AND or OR. Examples of sub-conditions that can be used include a path type condition 551, a new achievement task type condition 552, an overall achievement progress condition 553, an individual achievement progress condition 554, a player-specific combination condition 555, and a player-relative achievement progress condition 556. Each sub-condition can also be set to essentially "not set." Other sub-conditions can also be used as appropriate.

[0113] The pass type condition 551 indicates which type of pass the player possesses that must satisfy the requirement. Specifically, it is written as a single pass type, a combination of pass types, or no setting.

[0114] The newly completed task type condition 552 specifies the type of the newly completed task 12. The type of the specified task 12 may be one or more.

[0115] The overall achievement progress condition 553 indicates the content that must be satisfied for the progress of the entire path to which the new task 12 is set at the time of achievement of the new task 12. For example, it is described as the ratio of the number of achieved tasks, including the newly achieved task 12, to the number of all tasks 12 in the path to which the task is set, or the range of the achievement rate.

[0116] The individual achievement progress condition 554 is an individual condition related to the newly achieved task 12 at the timing of accomplishing the task. For example, it can be described as a range of the ratio of the required time length at the timing of accomplishment to the target required time length set for the task 12 (i.e., how early or late the task was accomplished relative to the target).

[0117] By properly describing and appropriately combining the path type condition 551, the new achievement task type condition 552, the overall achievement progress condition 553, and the individual achievement progress condition 554, it is possible to describe requirements that categorize into detailed cases, such as "which task 12 was newly achieved on which reward acquisition path 7, and what was the achievement status at the time of achievement?" Conversely, it is also possible to describe an easily fulfilled requirement, such as "when a specified task 12 is newly achieved on any reward acquisition path 7."

[0118] The inter-player specific combination condition 555 and the inter-player relative achievement progress condition 556 are used when it is desired to refer to the task achievement status of other players other than the player whose satisfaction of the requirements is being determined in the applicable requirements 550.

[0119] The inter-player specific combination condition 555 is used when it is desired to include in the application requirement 550 that the privilege acquisition pass 7 possessed by the first player and the privilege acquisition pass 7 possessed by the second player form a certain combination relationship. The inter-player specific combination condition 555 can be written as a combination of pass types.

[0120] The inter-player relative achievement progress condition 556 indicates the conditions that must be met for the progress of each player who has the same privilege acquisition pass 7 (for example, a pass of the type specified in the pass type condition 551) in achieving the tasks 12 related to that privilege acquisition pass. The inter-player relative achievement progress condition 556 is described, for example, by the pass types to be compared between players and a judgment reference value related to the overall achievement progress (achievement rate) of the pass types to be compared. In other words, the application requirement 550 can include "how far ahead (or behind) the player who is the subject of judgment in the application requirement 550 is in terms of achievement rate compared to other players who have the same privilege acquisition pass 7."

[0121] The standard benefit change content data 559 specifies how to change the standard benefit 14. The standard benefit change content data 559 is described, for example, as one or more of: (1) an added benefit type indicating the type of new benefit to be added as the standard benefit 14; (2) an excluded benefit type indicating the type of benefit to be excluded from the standard benefit 14; and (3) a combination of a benefit type to be changed and a change amount. The benefit type to be changed indicates the type of standard benefit 14 whose benefit content is to be changed, i.e., the type of standard benefit 14 that is set to a variable type. The change amount specifies how to change the amount of the standard benefit 14 to be granted, the set level, and the effect.

[0122] FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of the special benefit definition data 570. As shown in FIG. Special benefit definition data 570 is prepared for each type of special benefit 16. One special benefit definition data 570 includes a unique special benefit type 571, special benefit data 572, special benefit granting conditions 573, and special benefit change pattern definition data 575. Of course, data other than these may also be included as appropriate.

[0123] The special bonus data 572 stores the initial setting data for the special bonus 16 (for example, data for display on the screen, data for use in the game, setting data for effects, information on usage restrictions such as usable character types, etc.).

[0124] The special benefit granting condition 573 indicates the content that must be met to grant the special benefit 16. The special benefit change pattern definition data 575 is described by a combination of one or more sub-conditions with AND or OR. As the sub-conditions, for example, an achievement task combination condition 573a, an equivalent condition 573b, and an achievement progress condition 573c can be used.

[0125] The achievement task combination condition 573a is a condition for the combination of achievement tasks for each of the different privilege acquisition passes 7 held by the player. Specifically, it is described as a list of combinations of task 12 types. Alternatively, it is described by preparing multiple sets of pass types 531 and tasks 12. In the latter case, it is possible to specify in detail which tasks 12 are included as achievement tasks in which types of privilege acquisition passes 7.

[0126] The equivalence condition 573b indicates the conditions for deeming the compared tasks 12 equivalent when comparing the tasks 12 for different reward acquisition passes 7 held by the player. The equivalence condition 573b may be described as the exact sameness of all condition elements, or as the existence of common condition elements. In other words, the equivalence condition 573b may be the exact same condition, a condition that can be deemed equivalent, or a condition that has common condition elements. For example, for an enemy defeat type task 12 such as "defeat X or more enemy characters," the equivalence condition 573b can be described using the range of the judgment criteria value 524b. For example, if the equivalence condition 573b is described using the "water attribute," a task 12 that "defeats 10 or more water-attribute enemy characters" and a task 12 that "recruits one water-attribute NPC" can be described as equivalent tasks 12 because they share the same "water attribute." Alternatively, the equivalent condition 573b may be described using the issue category 523 (see FIG. 11).

[0127] The achievement progress condition 573c is either or both of (1) the condition for the achievement progress of an individual task that must be satisfied by the achievement progress of a task 12 that satisfies the achievement task combination condition 573a and / or the equivalent condition 573b, and (2) the condition for the achievement progress of the entire path that must be satisfied by the overall achievement progress (achievement rate) of the reward acquisition path 7 that includes the task 12 that satisfies the achievement task combination condition 573a and / or the equivalent condition 573b. Both are described as a range of values that represent the achievement progress. Note that each sub-condition can also be set to essentially "not set." Other sub-conditions can also be used as appropriate.

[0128] The special benefit change pattern definition data 575 is prepared for each pattern of how to change the special benefit 16 under each situation, and stores various data for realizing the change. One special benefit change pattern definition data 575 includes change requirements 576 and special benefit change content data 577.

[0129] The change requirement 576 is written by combining one or more sub-conditions with AND or OR. The sub-conditions may be a path type condition 576a and an achievement progress condition 576b. Note that any of the sub-conditions may be set to "not set."

[0130] The pass type condition 576 a specifies the type of privilege acquisition pass 7 that satisfies the special privilege granting condition 573 . The achievement progress condition 576b is a condition regarding the achievement progress of the assignment 12 that satisfies the special reward granting condition 573, and / or a condition regarding the achievement progress of the entire reward acquisition pass 7 specified in the pass type condition 576a. If the achievement progress condition 573c is set in the special reward granting condition 573, it can be set as a more detailed condition regarding the achievement progress.

[0131] The special benefit change content data 577 specifies how to change the special benefit 16 indicated by the special benefit data 572. The special benefit change content data 577 is described by, for example, one or more of new special benefit data to be added as the special benefit 16 and change amount data to change the amount of the special benefit 16 granted, its action and effect, etc.

[0132] 10, the validity period change pattern definition data 580 is prepared for each pattern for changing the default validity period 533 of the privilege acquisition pass 7 held by the player, and stores various data required to execute the change. One validity period change pattern definition data 580 includes a period change condition, a change target designation, and period change content.

[0133] The period change condition is written as a combination of the privilege acquisition passes 7 that the player has. The change target designation designates the type of privilege acquisition pass 7 whose period is to be changed. The change target designation is written as, for example, one or more pass types. The specified period change content is described as the extension or shortening of the period that is applied when the period change condition is met. Note that the period change may be common to all privilege acquisition passes 7 owned by a player who meets the period change condition, or may be set for each pass.

[0134] FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example of the data configuration of the user management data 600. As shown in FIG. The user management data 600 is created for each registered user who will become a player, and stores various data associated with that user. For example, one piece of user management data 600 stores a unique user account 601 and game save data 603. Of course, other data may also be stored as appropriate.

[0135] The game save data 603 includes player character save data 605, owned item management data 607, bonus acquisition pass management data 610, special bonus grant history data 630, and pass transfer history data 632. Of course, the game save data 603 can also include other data (e.g., save point data) as appropriate.

[0136] The player character save data 605 stores data indicating the state of the player character at the time of saving. For example, it stores the character type, applied skin type, equipment type list, ability parameter value list, etc. Of course, other data may also be stored as appropriate.

[0137] The owned item management data 607 is created for each item owned by the user, and stores data indicating the status of the item at the time of saving. For example, the type of item and the number of items owned are stored. Of course, other data may also be stored as appropriate.

[0138] The reward acquisition pass management data 610 is prepared for each reward acquisition pass 7 held by the user, and includes information indicating the contents of each reward acquisition pass 7. Specifically, one reward acquisition pass management data 610 includes a pass type 611, a validity period 612, assignment / reward correspondence setting data 614, achievement history data 616, overall pass achievement progress data 618, assignment-specific achievement progress data 620, and standard reward grant history data 622. Of course, data other than these may also be included as appropriate.

[0139] When a user acquires the privilege acquisition pass 7 indicated by the pass type 611, the assignment / privilege corresponding initial setting data 534 of the privilege acquisition pass initial setting data 530 (see Figure 12) that matches the pass type 611 is copied into the assignment / privilege corresponding setting data 614.

[0140] The achievement history data 616 is created each time a task 12 set in the relevant privilege acquisition pass 7 is completed. One achievement history data 616 stores the type of completed task and the date and time of completion.

[0141] The entire path achievement progress data 618 stores data indicating the achievement progress of the entire privilege acquisition path 7. For example, the number of completed tasks and the ratio (achievement rate) of the number of completed tasks to the total number of tasks of the privilege acquisition path 7 are stored.

[0142] The assignment-specific achievement progress data 620 is prepared for each assignment 12 set in the relevant reward acquisition path 7, and stores data indicating the achievement progress of each assignment. One assignment-specific achievement progress data 620 includes, for example, assignment type, criterion achievement progress, and required time achievement progress. The criterion achievement progress is data indicating the degree of achievement relative to the criterion value 524b of the initial assignment content data 524 (see FIG. 11) for the assignment 12. The required time achievement progress indicates the ratio of the latest required time length to the target required time length associated with the assignment 12 (see assignment-reward-related initial setting data 534 in FIG. 12). Of course, data other than these can also be included as appropriate.

[0143] The standard bonus grant history data 622 is created each time a standard bonus 14 is granted, and stores various data related to the grant. One standard bonus grant history data 622 includes a task type indicating which task 12 the grant relates to, the grant content, and the grant date and time. The grant content indicates the content of the standard bonus 14 granted to the player. For example, the task type and the grant amount are described.

[0144] The special benefit grant history data 630 is created each time a special benefit 16 is granted, and stores various data related to the grant. One special benefit grant history data 630 includes the type of special benefit indicating which special benefit definition data 570 (see FIG. 14) the grant is based on, the grant content, and the grant date and time.

[0145] The pass transfer history data 632 is created each time a specific transfer operation is performed to transfer a privilege acquisition pass 7 held by the user to another user. One pass transfer history data 632 includes the transferee user account, the transfer pass type, and the transfer date and time. The transfer of a privilege acquisition pass 7 is executed when the user selects either "purchase for myself" or "purchase as a gift" during the pass purchase procedure and selects the latter. The privilege acquisition pass management data 610 for the newly purchased privilege acquisition pass 7 is added to the privilege acquisition pass management data 610 of the transferee user, and if the transferee user is currently playing, a notification is sent that the pass has been transferred.

[0146] Returning to FIG. 10, play data 700 is created for each game play and stores various data describing the latest game progress status for that play. The play data 700 includes player character control data 705. This control data is copied from the player character save data 605 (see FIG. 15) in an initialization step before play begins, and indicates the latest status of the player character 4 for that play after play begins. When the game is saved, the player character save data 605 is updated to reflect the contents of the player character control data 705.

[0147] FIG. 16 is a functional block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the player terminal 1500. As shown in FIG. The player terminal 1500 includes an operation input unit 100 , a terminal processing unit 200 , a sound output unit 390 , an image display unit 392 , a communication unit 394 , and a terminal storage unit 500 .

[0148] The operation input unit 100 outputs operation input signals corresponding to various operation inputs made by the player to the device processing unit 200. For example, this can be realized by a push switch, a joystick, a touchpad, a trackball, an acceleration sensor, a gyro, a CCD module, etc. Examples of this include the direction input keys 1502, button switches 1504, and touch panel 1506 in FIG. 2.

[0149] The device processing unit 200 is realized by electronic components such as a microprocessor such as a CPU or GPU, and an IC memory, and controls the input and output of data between the device and each functional unit including the operation input unit 100 and the device storage unit 500. The device processing unit 200 controls the operation of the player terminal 1500 by executing various arithmetic processes based on predetermined programs and data, operation input signals from the operation input unit 100, and various data received from the server system 1100. This corresponds to the control board 1550 in FIG. 2.

[0150] The device processing unit 200 in this embodiment includes a client control unit 260 , a clock unit 280 , a sound generation unit 290 , an image generation unit 292 , and a communication control unit 294 .

[0151] The client control unit 260 performs control as a client in a client-server system. Specifically, it performs various controls for playing online games and for receiving member services other than online games.

[0152] The timekeeping unit 280 uses a system clock to keep track of the current date and time, time limit, and the like.

[0153] The sound generation unit 290 is realized by, for example, a digital signal processor (DSP), a processor such as a voice synthesis IC, or an audio codec capable of playing audio files, and generates sound signals for music, sound effects, and various operation sounds, and outputs them to the sound output unit 390.

[0154] The sound output unit 390 is realized by a device that outputs (emits) sound based on the sound signal input from the sound generation unit 290. This corresponds to the speaker 1510 in FIG.

[0155] The image generation unit 292 generates various images (for example, images of a play screen of an online game, etc.) under the control of the client control unit 260. Then, it outputs image signals to display them on the image display unit 392. In the example of Fig. 2, this corresponds to a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) and a graphics controller mounted on the control board 1550.

[0156] The image display unit 392 is realized by a device that displays images, such as a flat panel display, a head-mounted display, a projector, etc. In the example of Fig. 2, this corresponds to the touch panel 1506.

[0157] The communication control unit 294 executes data processing related to data communication, and realizes data exchange with external devices via the communication unit 394.

[0158] The communication unit 394 connects to the network 9 to realize communication. For example, it is realized by a wireless communication device, a modem, a TA (terminal adapter), a jack for a wired communication cable, a control circuit, etc. In the example of FIG. 2, this corresponds to the wireless communication module 1553.

[0159] The device storage unit 500 stores programs for causing the device processing unit 200 to realize given functions, various data, etc. It is also used as a work area for the device processing unit 200, and temporarily stores the results of calculations executed by the device processing unit 200 in accordance with various programs, input data input from the operation input unit 100, etc. These functions are realized by, for example, IC memory such as RAM or ROM, magnetic disks such as hard disks, optical disks such as CD-ROMs or DVDs, etc. In the example of FIG. 2, these correspond to the IC memory 1552 and memory card 1540 mounted on the control board 1550. A configuration using online storage is also possible.

[0160] Specifically, the device storage unit 500 stores a client program 502 (application program) for causing the device processing unit 200 to function as the client control unit 260, and a current date and time 900. Of course, other data can also be stored as appropriate. For example, if the client control unit 260 is to share part of the functions of the game management unit 210 (see FIG. 9), game initial setting data 510 (see FIG. 11) may be downloaded from the server system 1100 and stored as appropriate.

[0161] Next, the operation of the game system 1000 will be described. 17 and 18 are flowcharts for explaining the flow of processing executed by the server system 1100 for executing an online game. For ease of understanding, the following will be explained using an example of single play.

[0162] As shown in FIG. 17, the server system 1100 first initializes the play data 700 (step S10). For user 2, who is a player who has already played at least once, the server system 1100 reads out the game save data 603 from the user management data 600 as appropriate. In this embodiment, when processing related to each player's bonus acquisition pass 7 is performed, the bonus acquisition pass management data 610 (see FIG. 15) stored in the user management data 600 is referenced and updated. Of course, it is also possible to copy the bonus acquisition pass management data 610 to the play data 700, reference and update the copied data during play, and reflect and save the latest status indicated by the copied data in the bonus acquisition pass management data 610 stored in the user management data 600 when the game is saved.

[0163] Next, the server system 1100 starts controlling the game progress (step S12). The server system 1100 also starts periodically updating the achievement progress of the bonus acquisition pass 7 held by the player (step S14). Step S14 ensures that the entire pass achievement progress data 618 and the individual task achievement progress data 620 always reflect the latest game progress status (see FIG. 15).

[0164] When the player terminal 1500 detects an input of an operation to start purchasing a privilege acquisition pass 7 during play, it transmits a purchase request to the server system 1100. When the server system 1100 receives the request (YES in step S20), it executes the purchase procedure for the privilege acquisition pass 7 (step S22).

[0165] In the purchase procedure, the privilege acquisition pass initial setting data 530 (see FIG. 12) is searched for privilege acquisition passes 7 that are currently available for purchase, and the search results are presented to the player on the player terminal 1500 as purchase candidates, and a selection input of the pass to be purchased is accepted. In addition, the player is presented on the player terminal 1500 with a choice of whether to purchase the pass for themselves or as a gift, and the selection input of the purchase purpose is accepted.

[0166] If the purpose of the purchase is "purchase for oneself," the server system 1100 performs online payment for the purchase price (e.g., credit card payment, virtual currency payment, payment with a specified item, etc.) and adds new privilege acquisition pass management data 610 for the newly purchased privilege acquisition pass 7 to the purchaser user's user management data 600 (see Figure 15).

[0167] If the purchase purpose is "purchase as a gift," the server system 1100 prompts the player to input the other user's account to which the gift is to be given, and designates the user of the input account as the transfer recipient. New privilege acquisition pass management data 610 for the newly purchased privilege acquisition pass 7 is then added to the transfer recipient user's user management data 600 (see FIG. 15). New pass transfer history data 632 is added to the purchaser user's user management data 600. In addition, if the transfer recipient user is currently playing, it is preferable to display a notification on the transfer recipient user's player terminal 1500 that the privilege acquisition pass 7 has been transferred from the purchaser user.

[0168] Next, the server system 1100 executes a process for changing the validity period of the privilege acquisition pass 7 held by the player (step S24). Specifically, if the purpose of the purchase is "purchase for oneself," the server system 1100 searches for validity period change pattern definition data 580 in which the type of privilege acquisition pass 7 held by the purchaser user satisfies the period change conditions, and if matching definition data is found, changes are made to the privilege acquisition pass 7 corresponding to the change target designation in accordance with the period change settings. If the purpose of the purchase is "purchase as a gift," the server system 1100 searches for validity period change pattern definition data 580 in which the type of privilege acquisition pass 7 held by the transferee user satisfies the period change conditions, and if matching definition data is found, changes are made to the privilege acquisition pass 7 corresponding to the change target designation in accordance with the period change settings.

[0169] Furthermore, when the player terminal 1500 detects a predetermined achievement status presentation operation input by the player during play, it transmits an achievement status presentation request to the server system 1100 . When the server system 1100 receives this (YES in step S80), it displays the achievement status presentation screen W8 (see FIG. 8) on the player terminal 1500 (step S82).

[0170] During play, the server system 1100 checks whether each task 12 set in the reward acquisition pass 7 held by the player has been completed. If a newly completed task 12, i.e., a newly completed task, occurs (YES in step S100), the server system 1100 determines the standard reward 14 to be granted for the newly completed task (step S102).

[0171] Specifically, the server system 1100 references the task / award correspondence setting data 614 in the reward acquisition path management data 610 (see FIG. 15) for the reward acquisition path 7 to which the newly achieved task is assigned, and provisionally assigns the standard reward type set therein as the standard reward 14 to be granted. Furthermore, the server system 1100 searches the standard reward change pattern definition data 540 (see FIG. 13) for definition data that satisfies the application requirements 550, and, according to the settings in the standard reward change content data 559 of the searched definition data, adds a new reward to the provisional standard reward 14, excludes part of the provisional standard reward 14 from being granted, or changes the reward content of the provisional standard reward 14. In this way, the content of the standard reward 14 to be granted is determined. Furthermore, the standard reward grant history data 622 (see FIG. 15) may be referenced to set a limit on the number of times the standard reward 14 is granted for the same type of task 12 within the same play season. For example, a limit may be imposed on all tasks 12 only once, or on the number of times only for specific types of tasks 12.

[0172] Next, the server system 1100 grants the determined standard bonus 14 to the player who has completed the newly achieved task (step S104). If the standard bonus 14 to be granted is an item, the server system 1100 changes or adds to the possessed item management data 607 (see FIG. 15). If the standard bonus 14 to be granted is a bonus that changes the abilities of the player character or the like, the server system 1100 changes the player character control data 705 (see FIG. 10).

[0173] Then, the server system 1100 adds the standard bonus award history data 622 (see FIG. 15) (step S106), and displays a notification on the player terminal 1500 of the player to whom the bonus has been awarded that the standard bonus 14 has been awarded (step S108).

[0174] 18, the server system 1100 next searches for special benefit definition data 570 in which the special benefit granting condition 573 (see FIG. 14) is satisfied by the occurrence of the new achievement task, and if there is a match (YES in step S110), determines the special benefit 16 (step S11). Specifically, the server system 1100 provisionally designates the special benefit 16 specified in the special benefit data 572 of the matched special benefit definition data 570 as the special benefit 16 to be granted. Furthermore, the server system 1100 searches the special benefit change pattern definition data 575 of the definition data for setting data in which the change requirement 576 is satisfied, and adds a new benefit to the provisional special benefit 16 or changes the content of the provisional special benefit 16 according to the setting of the special benefit change content data 577 of the searched setting data. In this way, the content of the special benefit 16 to be granted is determined.

[0175] Then, the server system 1100 grants the determined special benefit 16 to the player who has completed the newly achieved task (step S114), adds the special benefit granting history data 630 (see Figure 15) (step S116), and displays a notification on the player terminal 1500 of the player to whom the special benefit 16 has been granted (step S118).

[0176] The server system 1100 repeats steps S20 to S118 until the game play ends (NO in step S130). When the game play ends (YES in step S130), the server system 1100 saves the game (step S132) and ends the series of processes.

[0177] Although the processing flow has been described with a focus on one player, for multiple players, the contents described in steps S20 to S118 may be performed for each player.

[0178] As described above, according to this embodiment, a new and attractive privilege acquisition pass technology can be put into practical use. That is, user 2 can purchase multiple types of privilege acquisition passes 7 whose validity periods overlap in part or in whole. This is a privilege acquisition pass technology that has not existed before. In addition, by purchasing different privilege acquisition passes 7, user 2 can obtain a special privilege 16 according to the combination. Compared to the conventional technology in which there is only one pass for one validity period, a privilege acquisition pass technology that is new and attractive to user 2 can be realized.

[0179] Furthermore, the content of the standard benefit 14 granted for a newly completed achievement task changes depending on the progress of the task 12 at that time. The standard benefit 14 changes when a player-specific combination condition related to the combination of the benefit acquisition passes 7 held by different players is met, or depending on the timing of the achievement of the task. The standard benefit 14 also changes depending on the results of a comparison between players of the achievement status related to the same benefit acquisition pass among the benefit acquisition passes held by the players. The special benefit 16 also changes based on the achievement progress related to the benefit acquisition passes 7 held by the players.

[0180] These changes to the standard benefits 14 and special benefits 16 create new excitement and allow users to have a great user experience.

[0181] Furthermore, the validity period can be changed depending on the combination of the privilege acquisition passes 7 that the player has. By changing the validity period, it is possible to give more time to complete the tasks of the privilege acquisition passes 7, or conversely, to reduce the time to increase the difficulty of the game. Therefore, it is possible to realize a new and attractive privilege acquisition pass technology.

[0182] [Modification] An example of an embodiment to which the present invention is applied has been described above, but the forms to which the present invention can be applied are not limited to the above-described form, and components can be added, omitted, or modified as appropriate.

[0183] (Variation 1) For example, in the above embodiment, the server system 1100 is configured to control the game progress, but this can also be configured to be performed by the player terminal 1500. That is, as in the player terminal 1500B shown in FIG. 19, the client control unit 260B may include a game management unit 210B. The game management unit 210B performs the processes related to game progress control and awarding of benefits, which were previously handled by the game management unit 210 in the above embodiment. Accordingly, some or all of the functions of the game management unit 210 can be omitted from the server system 1100 in this configuration.

[0184] Accordingly, the terminal storage unit 500 of the player terminal 1500B stores a game program 504 that causes the terminal processing unit 200 to realize the functions of the client program 502B, game initial setting data 510, and play data 700.

[0185] The processing executed by the player terminal 1500B regarding game progress and awarding of benefits is the same as that in the flowcharts of Figures 17 and 18, except that the execution entity of each step is changed from the server system 1100 to the player terminal 1500B. Depending on the content of the step, it may be necessary to refer to or update data included in the user management data 600, and the player terminal 1500B can simply make a request for referencing or updating to the server system 1100 each time.

[0186] (Variation 2) The above embodiment and modified examples can also be supplemented with (1) a function for managing statistics of achievement progress related to the reward acquisition pass 7, (2) a function for changing the reward to be granted in accordance with statistics of achievement progress related to the reward acquisition pass 7, and (3) a function for changing the task 12 set in the reward acquisition pass 7 held by the user 2 who is a player. Specifically, as illustrated in Fig. 20, the server system 1100C can be configured to include an achievement progress statistics unit 218, a fourth granted reward variable determination unit 226, and a task increase / decrease control unit 232. Note that the server system 1100C may also be configured to include the achievement progress statistics unit 218 and the fourth granted reward variable determination unit 226, but without the task increase / decrease control unit 232, or to include only the task increase / decrease control unit 232.

[0187] The achievement progress statistics unit 218 performs statistical processing to calculate statistics of "task-specific achievement progress statistics" and "pass type achievement rate distribution" for each type of reward acquisition pass 7 possessed by all players. The statistical processing is part of step S14. "Task-specific achievement progress statistics" are statistics showing, when a cross-sectional view is taken of all players for a certain type of challenge, what percentage of players have achieved that challenge 12 among all players who have a reward acquisition pass 7 with that challenge 12 set in it and can attempt that challenge 12. "Pass type achievement rate distribution" is a distribution of the number of players by achievement rate, showing how many of the challenges 12 set in that reward acquisition pass 7 have been achieved, when a cross-sectional view is taken of all players who have a certain type of reward acquisition pass 7. These statistical results are stored in the server storage unit 500s as achievement progress statistical data 800.

[0188] The fourth variable award determination unit 226 variably determines the award to be given for the completed task based on the statistical results of the achievement progress statistics unit 218. Specifically, when determining the standard award in step S102, one or both of the following changes (a) and (b) are made. That is, (a) when the task-specific achievement progress statistics for the newly completed task 12 in step S100 satisfy a given high achievement condition, a more beneficial award is added to the player, or the content of the standard award 14 is changed to be more beneficial. Multiple high achievement conditions may be set. (b) when the distribution center of the path-specific achievement rate distribution for the award acquisition path 7 of the type to which the newly completed task 12 is set in step S100 satisfies a given high achievement rate distribution condition, a more beneficial award is added to the player, or the content of the standard award 14 is changed to be more beneficial. Multiple high achievement rate distribution conditions may be set. The standard benefit 14 may be changed to be more beneficial to the player by replacing the type of the standard benefit 14 or by increasing or decreasing the change amount 15 (see FIG. 6).

[0189] Based on the progress of accomplishing the tasks 12 set for each of the multiple types of reward acquisition passes 7 owned by the player, the task increase / decrease control unit 232 performs the following controls: (1) increase or decrease the tasks 12 set for the reward acquisition pass 7, (2) change the standard reward 14, and (3) notify the player that the tasks have been increased or decreased. Depending on the increase / decrease pattern setting and the game progress status, the task increase / decrease control unit 232 selects both a reward acquisition pass 7 that increases the tasks 12 and a reward acquisition pass 7 that decreases the tasks 12 from the multiple types of reward acquisition passes 7, and controls the increase / decrease of the tasks 12. In addition, in accordance with the control of the task increase / decrease, task / reward corresponding setting data 614 in the reward acquisition pass management data 610 (see FIG. 15 ) is added, deleted, or its content is changed.

[0190] As shown in FIG. 21, the server storage unit 500s of the server system 1100C stores a server program 501C, task increase / decrease pattern definition data 582, and achievement progress statistical data 800. The server program 501C can cause the server processing unit 200s to realize the function of the task increase / decrease control unit 232.

[0191] The assignment increase / decrease pattern definition data 582 is prepared for each type of increase / decrease in assignment 12, and stores various data for realizing the increase / decrease. For example, one assignment increase / decrease pattern definition data 582 includes an increase / decrease application condition, a list of additional assignment types, additional standard bonus types, and a list of decreased assignment types.

[0192] The increase / decrease application conditions indicate the content that must be met in order for the definition data to be applied. For example, the increase / decrease application conditions are described by the type of bonus acquisition pass 7, the period within the play season schedule, and the range of goal achievement progress during that period (described as the range of goal achievement rates).

[0193] The step relating to the increase or decrease in the number of tasks may be executed after step S108, as shown in, for example, FIGS. 22 and 23 (step S109; FIG. 23). Specifically, for any of the reward acquisition passes 7 held by the player that exceed the range of goal achievement progress for that day indicated by the increase / decrease application conditions (passes with an achievement rate higher than the range deemed appropriate by the system operator), a new challenge 12 is added from the list of additional challenge types.For any pass that does not reach the range of goal achievement progress indicated by the increase / decrease application conditions (passes with an achievement rate lower than the range deemed appropriate by the system operator), the challenge 12 indicated in the list of reduced challenge types is deleted.The standard reward 14 granted when the added challenge 12 is achieved is then filled with the benefit indicated by the additional standard reward type.

[0194] In addition, the additional task type list may list tasks 12 to be added in association with the type of privilege acquisition pass 7, so that a specific type of task 12 is added to a specific type of pass.

[0195] Furthermore, when increasing or decreasing the number of tasks, the increase or decrease of the tasks may be controlled by selecting both paths to increase and paths to decrease the number of tasks 12 from among the multiple types of reward acquisition paths 7 so that the number of reward acquisition paths 7 that increase the number of tasks 12 is smaller than the number of reward acquisition paths 7 that decrease the number of tasks 12. In this case, the increase or decrease of the number of tasks 12 is preferably well-balanced for the player.

[0196] According to this modified example, the increase or decrease in tasks can be used to adjust the degree of task completion for each benefit acquisition pass 7 as a whole. For example, if a player has multiple benefit acquisition passes 7, the task completion degrees for each pass can be averaged. Considering that completing tasks improves the player's skill and the abilities of the player character 4, averaging can help prevent bias in the player's skill and the abilities of the player character 4 from becoming too great. Furthermore, since the player's strengths and weaknesses can be estimated from the task completion degree for each pass, it is possible to assist users with a large difference between strengths and weaknesses by increasing the tasks for passes estimated to be their strengths and decreasing the tasks for passes estimated to be their weaknesses.

[0197] By appropriately setting the conditions for applying increases and decreases, the operator of the game system 1000 can synchronize the growth of each player and player character 4 so that the player's skill and player character 4 reach their peak on a schedule desired by the operator of the game system 1000.

[0198] Furthermore, the rewards that users receive when they complete a task will also change as the number of tasks increases or decreases. This allows for a new and attractive reward acquisition pass technology to be realized.

[0199] Furthermore, by changing the benefits given depending on the results of the achievement progress statistics, it is possible to give players an incentive to all purchase the same type of Benefit Acquisition Pass 7. Furthermore, by setting the achievement progress statistics by task and the high achievement rate distribution conditions as conditions that assume that the number of players who have completed Task 12 will increase towards the end of the season when the cumulative number of purchasers of Benefit Acquisition Pass 7 is expected to increase, it is possible to create a system that will maintain excitement until the end of the season. [Explanation of symbols]

[0200] 7...Benefit acquisition pass 11...Validity period 13…Target required time 14...Standard benefits 16...Special benefits 27...Progress display section 28...Standard value fulfillment level display section 29...Time sufficiency display section 200s...Server processing section 203...Path management unit 210...Game Management Department 211...Progress control unit 212...Benefit acquisition pass provision control unit 214...Benefit acquisition pass transfer control unit 216...Satisfaction status information provision control unit 218...Achievement Progress Statistics Department 220...Benefit granting control unit 221...Special benefit granting control unit 222... Player specific combination benefit change section 223...First grant benefit variable determination unit 224...Second grant benefit variable determination unit 225...Third grant benefit variable determination unit 226...Fourth Grant Benefit Variable Determination Unit 230...Period change control unit 232...Task increase / decrease control unit 500s...Server storage section 501...Server program 502...Client program 504...Game program 510... Game initial setting data 512...Standard bonus initial setting data 530... Initial setting data for the privilege acquisition pass 533...Validity period 534... Initial setting data for assignment benefits 540...Standard benefit change pattern definition data 550…Applicable requirements 552...New achievement task type conditions 553...Overall achievement progress conditions 554...Individual achievement progress conditions 555...Player specific combination conditions 556...Relative achievement progress conditions between players 559...Standard benefit change data 570...Special Benefits Definition Data 573...Special benefits conditions 573a…Achievement task combination conditions 573b…Equivalent conditions 573c...Achievement progress conditions 575...Special benefit change pattern definition data 577...Special bonus change data 580...Validity period change pattern definition data 582...Problem increase / decrease pattern definition data 600...User management data 610...Benefit acquisition pass management data 611...Pass type 612...Validity period 614...Setting data for assignment bonuses 622...Standard reward history data 630...Special bonus grant history data 632...Pass transfer history data 1000...Game System 1100...Server system 1500...Player terminal W8: Achievement status presentation screen

Claims

1. A computer system that provides and manages a reward acquisition pass with a given validity period, in which a plurality of tasks that can be achieved by playing a game and rewards associated with each task are set, a privilege acquisition pass providing means for providing a player with a plurality of types of the privilege acquisition passes whose validity periods overlap in part or in whole; a fulfillment information presenting means for presenting to the player information on whether or not each task set in the plurality of types of privilege acquisition passes held by the player has been accomplished; a privilege granting control means for determining a privilege to be granted to the player based on a privilege associated with a task (hereinafter referred to as an "accomplished task") that has been accomplished based on the player's playing status, among tasks set in the plurality of types of privilege acquisition passes possessed by the player, and for controlling the granting of the determined privilege to the player; Equipped with The benefit granting control means a special benefit granting means for granting a given special benefit to a player when a combination of the achievement tasks set in the different benefit acquisition passes owned by the player satisfies a given special benefit granting condition; having Computer system.

2. The benefit granting control means a first variable award determination means for variably determining an award to be granted for a newly achieved task set for each of the plurality of types of award acquisition passes owned by the player, based on the progress of the achievement of the task set for each of the plurality of types of award acquisition passes owned by the player; having 10. The computer system of claim 1.

3. the special benefit granting means variably determines the special benefit based on progress in accomplishing tasks set for each of the plurality of types of benefit acquisition passes possessed by the player; 3. A computer system according to claim 1 or 2.

4. The plurality of types of reward acquisition passes include tasks that satisfy given equivalent conditions; the special benefit granting means determines that the special benefit granting condition is satisfied when a combination of the achievement tasks set in the different benefit acquisition passes owned by the player satisfies the equality condition; The computer system according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

5. a task increase / decrease control means for increasing or decreasing the tasks set for each of the plurality of types of privilege acquisition passes owned by the player based on the progress of achievement of the tasks set for each of the plurality of types of privilege acquisition passes; The computer system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising:

6. the task increase / decrease control means controls the increase / decrease of tasks by selecting both a reward acquisition path that increases tasks and a reward acquisition path that decreases tasks from among the plurality of types of reward acquisition paths; 6. The computer system of claim 5.

7. The task increase / decrease control means changes the rewards associated with each task set in the reward acquisition path to increase or decrease the task.

7. A computer system according to claim 5 or 6.

8. a period change control means for changing the validity period of the privilege acquisition pass when the combination of the privilege acquisition pass held by the player satisfies a given period change condition; The computer system according to any one of claims 1 to 7, further comprising:

9. an inter-player specific combination benefit changing means for changing the benefit set in the benefit acquisition pass owned by the first player and the benefit set in the benefit acquisition pass owned by the second player when the benefit acquisition pass owned by the first player and the benefit acquisition pass owned by the second player satisfy a given inter-player specific combination condition; having A computer system according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

10. The benefit granting control means a second grant benefit variable determination means for variably determining a benefit to be granted for the completed task based on the timing of the completion of the task; having A computer system according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

11. management means for managing the privilege acquisition passes possessed by each player; Further provided with The benefit granting control means a third variable granting privilege determination means for variably determining a privilege to be granted for an accomplished task based on the progress of each player who has the privilege acquisition pass in accomplishing the task related to the privilege acquisition pass; having A computer system according to any one of claims 1 to 10.

12. A server system that is the computer system according to any one of claims 1 to 11; a player terminal of the player that communicates with the server system and functions as a man-machine interface; A game system comprising:

Images