Game system and program

Abstract

To provide a game system, etc. capable of efficiently providing a player with an image useful in executing a game while referring to a desire of a player who desires to return to the game at an early stage.SOLUTION: A server device 10 executes game restart preparation processing for preparing continued use of a game after the game is set to an end and stop state, specifies a given generation condition in generating a replay image on the basis of a preparation period before a game restart preparation is completed by the game restart preparation processing, or a processing status of the game restart preparation processing such as various processing capacities in executing the game restart preparation processing, and generates the replay image according to the specified generation condition.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a game system, a program, and the like. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, when a game termination condition is met, such as when life energy reaches zero in a competitive game or when a player is hit in a shooting game, it is known to allow the player to continue (restart the game from the point where the termination condition was met) or to start the game from the beginning, thereby allowing the player to play the same game again.

[0003] In addition, in action games and shooting games such as FPS (First Person Shooter) games, in which the player character can freely move around the world and space in the game and fight using weapons or bare hands, if the player is attacked from behind, for example, the player often does not recognize how the game ended.

[0004] Therefore, in recent years, in such games, in order to let the player recognize the situation that meets the game's end conditions and to help them in the next game and beyond, it has become known to provide the player with game images (hereinafter also referred to as "replay images") that replay the situation in which the game's end conditions are met (for example, the situation during a certain period from a predetermined timing until the end conditions are met) as a kill camera after the game's end conditions are met (i.e., after the game is over) and before the next game is resumed by continuing (for example, Non-Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Non-patent literature]

[0005] [Non-Patent Document 1] GAME IS BEST (a personal blog site about games) [Retrieved December 17, 2020] (URL: https: / / GAMEISBEST.JP / archives / 9078) Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] However, in the game described in Non-Patent Document 1 and the game system that provides it, replay images of situations that meet the game's end conditions are simply provided, which is cumbersome for players who want to resume the game as quickly as possible, and many players do not use the review images at the end of the game by using skip processing or the like.

[0007] The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and its purpose is to provide a game system etc. that can efficiently provide players with images that are useful for playing the game, while taking into consideration the wishes of players who wish to resume the game early and return to the game. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] (1) In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides: A game system that progresses a given game based on a player's operation, a game control means for executing a game control process for controlling the progress of the game; a storage control means for storing data relating to the game when the game control process is executed in a storage means as game data for replay; a termination / stop state setting means for setting the game to a termination / stop state when at least one of a given termination condition and a given stop condition is met during execution of the game; a restart preparation processing means for executing a preparation process for preparing to restart the game, the preparation process being a process for setting the game to a restartable state in which the game set to the termination / stop state can be restarted; a game restarting means for restarting the game when a given restart condition is met in the restartable state; a replay image generating means for generating game images for replay of the game in the stopped state, the game images being provided to the player during the period from when the game is set to the stopped state until when the game is set to the restartable state, using game data for replay of the game set to the stopped state; a provision control means for executing a process relating to the replay image in order to provide the generated replay image to the player during the execution of the preparation process; Equipped with The replay image generating means The system is configured to identify given generation conditions for generating the replay image based on the processing status of the preparation processing, and to generate the replay image in accordance with the identified generation conditions.

[0009] With this configuration, the present invention can generate replay images according to the processing status, for example, the period of preparatory processing (hereinafter also referred to as the "preparatory period"), the hardware and software specifications required to execute the preparatory processing, or the communication capabilities.

[0010] Therefore, the present invention can provide players with replay images that have unnecessary parts removed depending on the time until the game is ready to resume and their abilities, so that images that are useful for playing the game can be efficiently provided to players while taking into consideration the wishes of players who want to return to the game as soon as possible.

[0011] The "given game" includes shooting games, fighting games (action games and sports games), sound games, puzzle games, racing games, simulation games, and RPGs.

[0012] The "game control process" includes not only the control process for progressing the game, including the player character, based on the player's operation instructions, but also various control processes related to the game, such as the control process for controlling the player character based on the operation instructions of other players in a competitive game, and the control process for controlling each character appearing in the game based on automatic calculations by NPCs, etc.

[0013] In addition, the game data may include, for example, (A1) Data on the player's operation instructions (in the case of a game being played by multiple players, such as a competitive game, the operation instructions of each player), (A2) Control data for defining the position (coordinates in the game space; the same applies below) and movement (position of each part of the player character; i.e., coordinates in the game space; the same applies below) of the player character (or multiple player characters if multiple players participate in the game), and status, and (A3) Control data for defining the position, movement, and status of each character appearing in the game (including, for example, enemy player characters); (A4) Control data for defining the position, movement, and status of each object that makes up the game space; Includes:

[0014] Furthermore, the "given termination condition" may be, for example, (B1) The parameter value of the life energy or the number of life energies becomes zero, (B2) The player character is hit during the game, and (B3) Failure to complete the given task within the time limit; These include:

[0015] Furthermore, the "given termination condition" may be, for example, (C1) The game progress is paused based on an operation instruction from the player; (C2) The game in progress is forcibly interrupted due to an error in the terminal device 20 itself or a communication error; and (C3) Having been involved in a game in progress by another player; These include:

[0016] The "stopped state" refers to the state in which the game has ended, for example, before the power is turned off (including sleep and pause states) or before continuing (resuming the game based on the situation at the time of the stopped state).

[0017] In addition to the above, the "restart conditions" include, for example, a predetermined operation being performed by the player, such as pressing a predetermined button, and a predetermined time having passed since the game ended and stopped.

[0018] Furthermore, "preparation processing" refers to various processes for progressing the game after it is resumed (continued), such as loading a game map to be used when the game is resumed, restoring the game status such as the player or the player's items at the end of the game, or initializing information to be reset when the game is resumed.

[0019] And the "processing status" is, for example, (D1) Preparation period until the preparation process is completed, (D2) Processing power for executing the preparatory processing (including hardware or software game processing power such as memory and CPU (so-called device specifications) and communication power such as data transmission speed), and (D3) The game status at the time the game was stopped, Includes.

[0020] Furthermore, the "given generation conditions" include, for example, the time length, resolution, and transmission speed of the replay image.

[0021] Furthermore, "processing related to replay images" refers to, when a game is being played using a player's terminal device, performing processing to provide replay image data that can be played back on the terminal device, or, when a game is being played using a standalone game system, performing display control processing to display the replay images on a display means or the like.

[0022] (2) The present invention also provides The replay image generating means identifying the generation condition based on a time length of a preparation period indicating a period from a given timing after the termination / suspension state to the game restart state, as a processing status of the preparation process; The replay image is generated based on the specified generation conditions.

[0023] With this configuration, the present invention can provide the player with replay images by adjusting the time length of the replay images as a generation condition, for example, to the preparation processing period (i.e., the preparation period), and cutting out unnecessary parts according to the period until the game is ready to resume.

[0024] In principle, "given timing" refers to the timing of the stopped state, but if the timing at which preparations for restarting the game begin is different from the timing at which the stopped state was reached, it may also be any timing after the stopped state was reached.

[0025] (3) The present invention also provides When the game is executed in conjunction with the terminal device of the player and images relating to the game, including images for replay, are provided to the terminal device, The replay image generating means identifying the generation conditions based on at least one element that defines the processing status of the preparation process from among the processing capacity of the terminal device related to the game, the communication environment when communicating with the terminal device, and the capacity of the game control process; The replay image is generated in accordance with the specified generation conditions.

[0026] With this configuration, the present invention can generate images for replay in accordance with, for example, the capabilities of the terminal device and the capabilities of communication with the terminal device.

[0027] Therefore, the present invention can provide the player with replay images that are appropriate for the situation until the game is ready to resume, such as when the preparation process is likely to take a long time due to the capabilities of the terminal device or the game system itself, or the communication capabilities with the terminal device, or when the preparation process is likely to be completed in a short time.

[0028] It should be noted that "processing capabilities of the terminal device" and "game control processing capabilities" include, for example, hardware or software specifications of the terminal device or game system, such as available memory capacity, number of CPU cores, and clock frequency of the CPU.

[0029] Furthermore, the "communication environment" refers to the environment relating to the communication line between the terminal device and the game system, and indicates, for example, the communication frequency band, data transmission speed, number of available channels, or whether the system is to be executed via a wired or wireless connection.

[0030] Furthermore, "generating the image for the replay in accordance with the specified generation conditions" indicates that the generation conditions may be specified based on the game-related processing capabilities of the terminal device or game system, or the communication environment alone, or that the generation conditions may be specified including, for example, the length of the preparation period.

[0031] (4) The present invention also provides a display control means for displaying a game image including the replay image on a display means; The replay image generating means identifying the generation conditions based on the processing capacity related to the game and the display capacity of the display means as the processing status of the preparation processing; The replay image is generated in accordance with the specified generation conditions.

[0032] With this configuration, the present invention can generate replay images according to the processing power of, for example, the CPU, memory, or display means (display device), and therefore can provide the player with replay images that are appropriate for the situation until the game is ready to resume, such as when the preparation process is likely to take a long time due to the processing power, or when it is likely to be completed in a short time.

[0033] As mentioned above, "processing capacity" includes hardware or software specifications of the terminal device, such as memory capacity, number of CPU cores, and frequency.

[0034] Furthermore, "display capability" refers to resolution and response speed (the time from when an image signal is input to a display means such as a display panel until the image is displayed on the display means).

[0035] (5) The present invention also provides The replay image generating means Identifying the generation condition based on a game status when the game is restarted, which is a processing status of the preparation processing; The replay image is generated in accordance with the specified generation conditions.

[0036] With this configuration, the present invention can identify the game situation, such as the position on the game map where the player character, who is the object of player control when the game is resumed, is located and its surrounding environment, as the processing situation of the preparation process.

[0037] Therefore, the present invention can provide the player with replay images that are appropriate for the situation until the game is ready to be resumed, such as when the game situation at the time the game is resumed makes it likely that the preparation process will take a long time or will be completed in a short time.

[0038] The "game situation when the game is resumed" includes, for example, the position on the game map where the player character, who is the object of the player's control when the game is resumed, is placed, the situation around the placed position (the number and placement of enemy characters), and the surrounding environment including the appearance of the enemy character and the shapes of various objects.

[0039] Furthermore, "generating the image for the replay in accordance with the specified generation conditions" indicates that the generation conditions may be specified based only on the game situation when the game is resumed, or that the generation conditions may be specified by including other factors such as the length of the preparation period, the processing power of the terminal device for the game, or the communication environment.

[0040] (6) The present invention also provides further comprising a registration means for registering data relating to a processing status of the corresponding preparation processing and data indicating the generation conditions in the storage means as processing status history data each time the replay image is generated; The replay image generating means executing a comparison process for comparing the current processing status of the preparation process with the processing status indicated by the registered processing status history data; If it is determined that the current processing status of the preparation process and the processing status indicated by the registered processing status history data are in the same range as a result of the comparison processing, the generation conditions registered in association with the processing status history data are compared with the current The image is generated based on the generation conditions for the replay. The replay image is generated in accordance with the specified generation conditions.

[0041] With this configuration, the present invention can identify the processing status of the preparatory processing based on past data, and can also identify generation conditions based on the identified processing status of the preparatory processing, thereby making it possible to easily and reliably provide replay images that correspond to the situation at hand.

[0042] It should be noted that "data relating to the processing status of the preparation processing" includes, for example, data such as the preparation period, the processing capacity relating to the game when the game is executed in conjunction with a terminal device, the communication environment when communicating with the terminal device, the game control processing capacity, and the game status when the game is resumed.

[0043] (7) The present invention also provides The replay image generating means Based on the generation conditions, an image having a time length equal to or less than a specific period from a given timing after the termination / stop state until the resumable state is reached is generated as the image for replay.

[0044] With this configuration, the present invention can provide replay images to the player only for the period required for resuming the game, thereby efficiently providing the player with images that are useful for playing the game while taking into consideration the wishes of players who wish to return to the game as soon as possible.

[0045] In addition, the "specific period" may be the same period as the preparation period, or may start earlier than the start of the preparation period, or later than the start of the preparation period, as long as it starts after the termination stop state.

[0046] (8) The present invention also provides The replay image generating means In order to generate an image having a time length equal to or less than the specific period, the replay image is generated based on the generation conditions, in which the game progresses at a faster rate than the rate at which the game progresses when the game is executed.

[0047] With this configuration, the present invention allows the player to view many game scenes, and also makes it possible to easily generate replay images according to a specified time length.

[0048] The "progression speed" refers to the playback speed at which game images are played back. For example, if the playback speed during the game is "1", this refers to a playback speed faster than that.

[0049] (9) The present invention also provides The replay image generating means In order to generate an image having a time length equal to or less than the specific period, the replay image is generated by thinning out a portion of the game scene during execution of the game based on the generation conditions.

[0050] With this configuration, the present invention allows the player to view many game scenes, and also makes it possible to easily generate replay images for a specified length of time.

[0051] Note that "thinning out a part of a game scene" may mean thinning out a preset scene itself, or reducing the number of frames in that game scene.

[0052] (10) The present invention also provides the replay game data is stored in the storage means for each game scene divided in advance, and includes priority information for each game scene indicating a degree of priority for use as a replay image, The replay image generating means The replay image is generated based on the generation conditions and the priority.

[0053] With this configuration, the present invention can reliably allow the player to view important game scenes, and can easily generate replay images for a specified length of time.

[0054] It should be noted that, for example, "priority" is a value that is assigned in advance to each type of scene, and it is preferable that a high priority be assigned to a scene in which the player character or the player's game energy is damaged, and a scene that is the "decisive factor" in transitioning to a game termination state.

[0055] For example, the scene that became the "decisive factor" for transitioning to the termination stop state was: (E1) The final attack or the scene where you received a lot of damage (E2) Attacks from a direction different from the player character's field of view, (E3) A scene where an enemy character receives a special move. (E4) A scene in which a player operation is input, and (E5) It is not imaged (i.e., not shown) by the virtual camera used to image the game space. These include:

[0056] (11) In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides: A program for progressing a given game based on a player's operation, a game control means for executing a game control process for controlling the progress of the game; a storage control means for storing data relating to the game when the game control process is executed in a storage means as game data for replay; a termination / stop state setting means for setting the game to a termination / stop state when at least one of a given termination condition and a given stop condition is met during execution of the game; a restart preparation processing means for executing a preparation process for preparing to restart the game, which is a process for setting the game to a restartable state that allows the game that has been set to the termination / stop state to be restarted; a game restart means for restarting the game when a given restart condition is met in the restartable state; a replay image generating means for generating game images for replay of the game in the stopped state, the game images being provided to the player during the period from when the game is set to the stopped state until when the game is set to the restartable state, using game data for replay of the game set to the stopped state; and a provision control means for executing a process relating to the replay image in order to provide the generated replay image to the player during the execution of the preparation process; Make the computer function as The replay image generating means Based on the processing status of the preparation processing, a given generation time is set when generating the image for replay. The image replay apparatus is configured to specify a generation condition, and generate the image for replay in accordance with the specified generation condition.

[0057] With this configuration, the present invention can generate replay images according to the processing status, for example, according to the period of preparatory processing, according to the hardware and software specifications required to execute the preparatory processing, or according to the communication capabilities.

[0058] Therefore, the present invention can provide players with replay images that have unnecessary parts removed depending on the time until the game is ready to resume and their abilities, so that images that are useful for playing the game can be efficiently provided to players while taking into consideration the wishes of players who want to return to the game as soon as possible. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0059] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a system configuration showing the configuration of a game system according to an embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 illustrates functional blocks of a server device according to an embodiment. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating functional blocks of a terminal device according to an embodiment. [Figure 4]FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a game restart preparation process including generation of a replay image at the end of a game in one embodiment. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of game data according to an embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of replay data according to an embodiment. [Figure 7] In one embodiment, this is a diagram (part 1) showing the relationship between the game restart control process and the replay image provision control process when executing the replay image generation process during the period from the game termination / stop state to the game restart state. [Figure 8] This is a diagram (part 2) showing the relationship between the game restart control process and the replay image provision control process when executing the replay image generation process during the period from the game termination / stop state to the game restart state in one embodiment. [Figure 9] 10 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of a game restart preparation process including a replay image generation process at the end of a game, which is executed by the server device of an embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0060] The present embodiment will be described below. Note that the present embodiment described below does not unduly limit the content of the present invention described in the claims. Furthermore, not all of the configurations described in the present embodiment are necessarily essential constituent elements of the present invention.

[0061] [1] Game System First, the outline and general configuration of a game system 1 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 1. Fig. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a system configuration showing the configuration of the game system 1 according to this embodiment.

[0062] As shown in FIG. 1, the game system 1 of this embodiment is configured such that a server device 10 that provides game services and terminal devices 20 (e.g., terminal devices 20A, 20B, 20C) are connectable to the Internet (an example of a network).

[0063] By accessing the server device 10 from the terminal device 20, the user can play the game transmitted from the server device 10 via the Internet. Furthermore, by accessing the server device 10 from the terminal device 20, the user can communicate with other users.

[0064] The server device 10 communicates with users using a terminal device 20 connected via the Internet. The server device 10 is an information processing device capable of providing a service that allows users to play games. The server device 10 may also function as an SNS server that provides communication-type services. Here, the SNS server may be an information processing device that provides a service that allows communication between multiple users.

[0065] Furthermore, when the server device 10 functions as an SNS server, for example, it is capable of providing a game called a social game that is executed using the operating environment (API (Application Programming Interface), platform, etc.) of the SNS that it provides.

[0066] In particular, the server device 10 is capable of providing games that are provided on the web browser of the terminal device 20, such as browser games (games that can be started simply by opening the installation site in the web browser) created in various languages, such as HTML, FLASH, CGI, PHP, shockwave, Java (registered trademark) applet, and JavaScript (registered trademark).

[0067] Unlike existing online games, social games include games that can be played using only a web browser and an SNS account, without requiring dedicated client software. The server device 10 is configured to provide an online game that can be connected to other users' devices (smartphones, PCs, game consoles, etc.) via a network and simultaneously share the same game progress online.

[0068] On the other hand, the server device 10 may be configured with one (device, processor) or multiple (devices, processors).

[0069] Information such as billing information and game information stored in the memory area of ​​the server device 10 (memory unit 140 described later) may be stored in a database (broadly speaking, a storage device, memory) connected via a network (intranet or the Internet), or when functioning as an SNS server, information such as player information storage unit 146 stored in the memory area may be stored in a database (broadly speaking, a storage device, memory) connected via a network (intranet or the Internet).

[0070] Specifically, the server device 10 of this embodiment receives input information based on the operation of the user of the terminal device 20 (i.e., the player who executes the game), and performs game processing based on the received input information. The server device 10 then transmits game processing results to the terminal device 20, and the terminal device 20 performs various processes to provide the game processing results received from the server device 10 to the terminal device 20 so that the user can view them.

[0071] The terminal device 20 is an information processing device such as a smartphone, a mobile phone, a computer, a game device, a PDA, a tablet, a portable game machine, an image generating device, or the like, and is a device that can be connected to the server device 10 via a network such as the Internet (WAN) or a LAN. The communication line between the terminal device 20 and the server device 10 may be wired or wireless.

[0072] The terminal device 20 also has a web browser capable of viewing web pages (data in HTML format). That is, the terminal device 20 has a communication control function for communicating with the server device 10, a web browser function for performing display control using data received from the server device 10 (web data, data created in HTML format, etc.), and a web browser function for transmitting user operation data to the server device 10, and executes various processes for providing a game screen to the user, allowing the user to play the game. However, the terminal device 20 does not acquire game control information provided by the server device 10 and executes predetermined game processing. The game processing may be executed to execute a game based on the game processing.

[0073] Specifically, when the terminal device 20 makes a request to the server device 10 to play a predetermined game, the terminal device 20 is connected to the game site of the server device 10 and the game starts. In particular, the terminal device 20 is configured to use an API as necessary to cause the server device 10 functioning as an SNS server to perform predetermined processing, or to acquire the player information storage unit 146 managed by the server device 10 functioning as an SNS server, and execute the game.

[0074] [2] Server device Next, the server device 10 of this embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a diagram showing functional blocks of the server device 10 of this embodiment. The server device 10 of this embodiment may have a configuration in which some of the components (units) of Fig. 2 are omitted.

[0075] The server device 10 includes an input unit 120 for use by the administrator and other inputs, a display unit 130 for displaying predetermined information, an information storage medium 180 in which predetermined information is stored, a communication unit 196 for communicating with terminal devices 20 and others, a processing unit 100 for mainly executing processing related to the game to be provided, and a memory unit 140 for storing various data mainly used in the game.

[0076] The input unit 120 is used by a system administrator or the like to input game-related settings and other necessary settings and data. For example, the input unit 120 in this embodiment is configured with a mouse, keyboard, and the like.

[0077] The display unit 130 displays an operation screen for the system administrator. For example, the display unit 130 of this embodiment is configured by a liquid crystal display or the like.

[0078] The information storage medium 180 (computer-readable medium) stores programs, data, etc., and its functions are realized by an optical disk (CD, DVD), a magneto-optical disk (MO), a magnetic disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape, or a memory (ROM), etc.

[0079] The communication unit 196 performs various controls for communicating with the outside (e.g., terminals, other servers, or other network systems), and its functions are configured by hardware such as various processors or communication ASICs, programs, etc.

[0080] The storage unit 140 serves as a work area for the processing unit 100, the communication unit 196, etc., and its functions are realized by RAM (VRAM), etc. The information stored in the storage unit 140 may be managed by a database. The storage unit 140 also constitutes the storage means of the present invention.

[0081] In addition to the main memory unit 142, the memory unit 140 of this embodiment also has a game data memory unit 144 in which game information indicating information related to the game is stored, a player information memory unit 146 in which player information indicating information related to each player and information related to the player's game (hereinafter referred to as "player-related information") are stored, and a game restart data memory unit 148 in which data necessary to restart a game that has reached a game over (i.e., a game end / stop state) is stored.

[0082] In particular, the game data storage unit 144 stores various information necessary for playing the game, such as the game map, information on each object used in the game, various table information, information on each player's player character, and condition information used for various judgments.

[0083] In addition, the player information storage unit 146 stores player-related information, such as information about the player and information about the player character, for each player, in association with identification information such as the player's nickname and player ID, and, if the player belongs to a team, the team name and its ID (hereinafter referred to as "affiliation information").

[0084] In particular, in this embodiment, the player information storage unit 146 stores, for each player, data for allowing the player to view the content of a game played in the past as a replay (hereinafter referred to as "replay data").

[0085] For example, replay data includes: (A1) Operation input data of a player when the player plays a game; and (A2) Data (hereinafter referred to as "game execution data") for performing a process (hereinafter referred to as "game control process") that controls the progress of the game by controlling the player's character, etc., in response to the player's operational input, At least one of the following is included.

[0086] Furthermore, the game restart data storage unit 148 stores data indicating the game situation at the time of game over (hereinafter referred to as "game situation data").

[0087] For example, the game situation data at the time of game over includes data for identifying the position on the game map where the player character is placed, the situation around the position (the number and placement of enemy characters), and the surrounding environment including the appearance of the enemy characters and the shapes of various objects.

[0088] The processing unit 100 performs various processes using the main memory unit 142 in the memory unit 140 as a work area. The functions of the processing unit 100 can be realized by hardware such as various processors (CPU, DSP, etc.) and ASICs (gate arrays, etc.), or by programs.

[0089] The processing unit 100 performs various processes of this embodiment based on programs (data) stored in the information storage medium 180. That is, the information storage medium 180 stores programs for causing a computer to function as each unit of this embodiment (programs for causing a computer to execute the processing of each unit).

[0090] For example, the processing unit 100 (processor) controls the entire server device 10 based on a program stored in an information storage medium, and performs various processes such as controlling the transfer of data between the various units. Furthermore, the processing unit 100 performs processes to provide various services in response to requests from the terminal device 20.

[0091] Specifically, the processing unit 100 of this embodiment has at least a communication control unit 101, a Web processing unit 102, a game management unit 103, a replay data management unit 105, a game resumption control unit 106, a replay image generation unit 107, a timer management unit 109, and an information provision unit 110.

[0092] For example, the game management unit 103 of this embodiment constitutes the game control means, the termination stop state setting means, and the game resumption means of the present invention, and the replay data management unit 105 constitutes the storage control means of the present invention. Also, for example, the game resumption control unit 106 of this embodiment constitutes the resumption preparation processing means of the present invention, and the replay image generation unit 107 constitutes the replay image generation means of the present invention. Furthermore, for example, the information provision unit 110 constitutes the provision control means of the present invention. do.

[0093] The communication control unit 101 performs processing to transmit and receive data to and from the terminal device 20 via the network. That is, the server device 10 performs various processing based on information received from the terminal device 20, etc. by the communication control unit 101. In particular, the communication control unit 101 of this embodiment performs processing to transmit a game screen to the terminal device 20 of a player based on a request from the terminal device 20 of the player.

[0094] In particular, the communication control unit 101 performs processes such as generating packets to be sent to the terminal device 20, specifying the IP address and port number of the terminal device to which the packets are to be sent, saving the data contained in the received packets in the player information storage unit 146, analyzing the received packets, and other control processes related to the sending and receiving of packets.

[0095] The Web processing unit 102 functions as a Web server. For example, the Web processing unit 102 performs a process of transmitting data in response to a request from a Web browser 211 installed in the terminal device 20, and a process of receiving data transmitted by the Web browser 211 of the terminal device 20, via a communication protocol such as HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol).

[0096] In this embodiment, the server device 10 is described as having a function as an SNS server, but the server device 10 may be formed as a server for the game and a server for the SNS separately. Also, the game processing of this embodiment may be performed in part or in whole by the server device 10, or in part by the terminal device 20.

[0097] The game management unit 103 works in conjunction with the terminal device 20 to create a game space as a virtual space, and executes various game processes for each player, such as shooting games, fighting games (action games and sports games), sound games, puzzle games, racing games, simulation games, and RPGs, based on the player's operations input via the terminal device 20.

[0098] In particular, the game management unit 103 executes, for each player, processing related to the progress of the game played by that player based on the operation of that player.

[0099] For example, the game management unit 103 performs processes such as a process for starting a game when a game start condition is met (hereinafter also referred to as "game start process"), a game control process for controlling the progress of various games by controlling the player character in accordance with the player's operational input, a process for ending a game when a game end condition is met (hereinafter also referred to as "game end process"), a process for progressing to the ending when the final stage is cleared, and a process for restarting (continuing) a game that has ended when a given condition is met for the game that has ended when the game end process is executed (a game that has ended).

[0100] The replay data management unit 105 stores, for each player, data of the player's operation input instructions (i.e., operation input data) when a game control process that controls the progress of the game is executed in accordance with the player's operation input, various data executed by the game control process (hereinafter referred to as "game control data"), or both of these data, in the player information storage unit 146 as game data for replay (hereinafter also referred to as "replay data") for each game.

[0101] The replay data management unit 105 also performs a process for preparing to resume the game based on the replay data stored in the player information storage unit 146 (hereinafter referred to as the “game resume preparation process”). When the process (hereinafter referred to as "processing") is executed (for example, when the game ends), the stored replay data is acquired and provided to the replay image generation unit 107.

[0102] The game restart control unit 106 executes a game restart preparation process to prepare for restarting the game that has been set to the stop-end state, and to set the game to a restartable state in which restarting the game is possible.

[0103] During the game restart preparation process, the replay image generation unit 107 reads out the replay data stored in the player information storage unit 146 via the replay data management unit 115, and during the period from when the game ends until preparations for restarting the game are complete (hereinafter referred to as the "preparation period"), creates an image of the play content of the finished game as a replay image in accordance with the read replay data.

[0104] The timer management unit 109 has a timer function and is used to manage the progress of the game. In particular, the timer management unit 109 works in conjunction with the game management unit 103 to output the current time and preset times to each unit. The timer management unit 109 is also used to synchronize with each terminal device.

[0105] The information providing unit 110 generates various types of game information to cause the terminal device 20 to process the game, and provides the information to the terminal device 20 .

[0106] Specifically, the information providing unit 110 generates information (i.e., game information) for controlling each player's target player character using the corresponding terminal device 20, and provides the generated game information to the player via the corresponding terminal device 20.

[0107] In particular, the information providing unit 110 transmits data of the image for replay (i.e., replay image) generated by the replay image generating unit 107 (hereinafter referred to as "replay image data") to the terminal device 20 of the corresponding player.

[0108] The information provider 110 then controls the terminal device 20 that has received the replay image data to play back the received replay image data, and provides the replay image to the player.

[0109] [3] Terminal device Next, the terminal device 20 of this embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 3. Fig. 3 is a diagram showing functional blocks of the terminal device 20 of this embodiment. The terminal device 20 of this embodiment may have a configuration in which some of the components (units) of Fig. 2 are omitted.

[0110] The input unit 260 is a device for inputting input information from the player, and outputs the player's input information to the processing unit 200. The input unit 260 of this embodiment includes a detection unit 262 that detects the player's input information (input signal). The input unit 260 may be, for example, a lever, a button, a steering wheel, a microphone, a touch panel display, a keyboard, or a mouse.

[0111] The storage unit 270 serves as a work area for the processing unit 200, the communication unit 296, etc., and its functions can be realized by RAM (VRAM) or the like. The storage unit 270 of this embodiment includes a main memory unit 271 used as a work area, and an image buffer 272 in which the final display image, etc. are stored. Note that a configuration in which some of these components are omitted may also be used.

[0112] The information storage medium 280 (computer-readable medium) stores programs and data. Its function can be realized by an optical disk (CD, DVD), a magneto-optical disk (MO), a magnetic disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape, or a memory (ROM).

[0113] The processing unit 200 performs various processes of this embodiment based on programs (data) stored in the information storage medium 280. The information storage medium 280 can store programs for causing a computer to function as each unit of this embodiment (programs for causing a computer to execute the processing of each unit).

[0114] In this embodiment, the programs and game data for causing a computer to function as each unit of this embodiment, which are stored in the information storage medium 180 and storage unit 140 of the server device 10, are received via a network, and the received programs and data are stored in the information storage medium 280. The programs and data received from the server device 10 may also be stored in the storage unit 270. Such cases of receiving programs and data and causing a network system to function are also included within the scope of the present invention.

[0115] The display unit 290 outputs the image generated by this embodiment, and its function can be realized by a CRT, LCD, touch panel display, HMD (head mounted display), etc. The sound output unit 292 outputs the sound generated by this embodiment, and its function can be realized by a speaker, headphones, etc.

[0116] The communication unit 296 performs various controls for communicating with the outside (for example, other terminals, servers), and its functions can be realized by hardware such as various processors or communication ASICs, programs, etc.

[0117] The processing unit 200 (processor) performs processing such as game processing, display control, image generation processing, or sound generation processing based on game information and game control information acquired from the server device 10 via the communication unit 296, input information acquired from the input unit 260, or programs.

[0118] The processing unit 200 performs various processes using a main memory unit 271 in the memory unit 270 as a work area. The functions of the processing unit 200 can be realized by hardware such as various processors (CPU, DSP, etc.) and ASICs (gate arrays, etc.), or by programs.

[0119] The processing unit 200 includes a communication control unit 210, a web browser 211, a game processing unit 212, a display control unit 213, a drawing unit 220, and a sound processing unit 230. Note that some of these may be omitted.

[0120] The communication control unit 210 performs processing for transmitting and receiving data to and from each server device 10. The communication control unit 210 also performs processing for storing data received from the server device 10 in the storage unit 270, processing for analyzing the received data, and other control processing related to the transmission and reception of data.

[0121] The communication control unit 210 may store and manage destination information (IP address, port number) of the server in the information storage medium 280. The communication control unit 210 may then communicate with the server device 10 when receiving input information from the player to start communication.

[0122] In particular, the communication control unit 210 transmits player identification information and operation information to the server device 10, and stores data related to the player information storage unit 146 (player's web page, game screen, etc. ) from the server device 10.

[0123] The communication control unit 210 may transmit and receive data to and from the server device 10 at a predetermined cycle, or may transmit and receive data to and from the server device 10 when input information is received from the input unit 260. In particular, the communication control unit 210 of this embodiment performs processing to receive a game screen from the server device 10.

[0124] The web browser 211 is an application program for viewing web pages (game screens), downloading HTML files, image files, etc. from the web server (server device 10), analyzing the layout, and controlling the display. The web browser 211 also transmits data to the web server (server device 10) using input forms (links, buttons, text boxes, etc.).

[0125] The web browser 211 of this embodiment can realize a browser game. For example, the web browser 211 may execute a program written in JavaScript (registered trademark), FLASH, Java (registered trademark), or the like, received from a web server (server device 10).

[0126] The terminal device 20 can display information from a web server specified by a URL via the Internet using the web browser 211. For example, the terminal device 20 can display a game screen (data such as HTML) received from the server device 10 using the web browser 211.

[0127] The game processing unit 212 performs various game calculation processes in conjunction with the server device 10. For example, these processes include a process for starting a game when a game start condition is met, a process for progressing the game, and a process for ending the game when a game end condition is met.

[0128] The game processing unit 212 may then perform processing to place and set various objects (objects composed of primitives such as polygons, free-form surfaces, or subdivision surfaces) representing display objects such as player characters, buildings, stadiums, cars, trees, pillars, walls, and maps (terrain) in the object space.

[0129] Here, object space refers to a virtual space, including both two-dimensional and three-dimensional spaces. Two-dimensional space is a space in which an object is placed, for example, using two-dimensional coordinates (X, Y), and three-dimensional space is a space in which an object is placed, for example, using three-dimensional coordinates (X, Y, Z). However, this does not apply to browser games.

[0130] In addition, the game processing unit 212 controls the sending and receiving of various information at the time of login, and executes game processing including the execution of game processing based on the player's operation when executing a game in real time in conjunction with the server device 10.

[0131] The display control unit 213 controls a display area for displaying the game information of each player, and performs processing to display the game information of each player on the display unit 290. Note that the display control unit 213 may display the game information of each player using the Web browser 211, for example.

[0132] The drawing unit 220 performs drawing processing based on various processes (for example, game processing) performed by the processing unit 200, thereby generating an image, which is output to the display unit 290 by the display control unit 213. The image generated by the drawing unit 220 may be a so-called two-dimensional image or a so-called three-dimensional image.

[0133] The sound processing unit 230 performs sound processing based on the results of various processes performed by the processing unit 200 , generates game sounds such as background music, sound effects, or voices, and outputs them to the sound output unit 292 .

[0134] [4] Method of this embodiment [4.1] Overview Next, the method and outline of the game restart preparation process, including the generation of replay images at the end of the game in this embodiment, will be described with reference to FIG.

[0135] FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the game restart preparation process, including the generation of a replay image at the end of the game in this embodiment.

[0136] The server device 10 of this embodiment is a server device that works in conjunction with the terminal device 20 operated by each player, and provides a game such as a shooting game or an action game, which, when the game is terminated or stopped due to a game over or other reason, allows the game to be resumed with the player characters and other elements in a fresh state while continuing the content of the game at the time of the termination or stoppage (so-called a game that allows continuation).

[0137] In particular, the server device 10 of this embodiment is configured to execute a game restart preparation process to prepare for continued use of the game after the game has been set to a stopped state, and to generate and provide a replay image of the game to the player depending on the preparation period until the game is ready to be restarted by the game restart preparation process, or depending on various processing capabilities when the game restart preparation process is executed.

[0138] Specifically, the server device 10 is configured to execute a game control process for controlling the progress of the game for each player, and store data related to the game when the game control process is executed in the memory unit 140 as game data for replay.

[0139] Then, the server device 10 performs the following processing, for example, as shown in FIG. (A1) When at least one of a given termination condition and a given stop condition is met during execution of a game, the game is set to a termination / stop state; (A2) A game restart preparation process for setting a game that has been set to a stopped state to a restartable state, which allows the game to be restarted; (A3) A game control process for restarting the game and progressing the game when a given restart condition is met in a restartable state; (A4) A process (hereinafter referred to as a "replay image generation process") for generating game images for replay of a game in a stopped state (hereinafter referred to as a "replay image"), which are provided to a player during the period from when the game is set to a stopped state until when the game is set to a restartable state (i.e., a preparation period), using game data for replay of the game that has been set to a stopped state; and (A5) During the execution of the game restart preparation process, the system is configured to execute various processes related to the generated replay image in order to provide the replay image to the player (hereinafter referred to as "replay image provision control process").

[0140] In particular, the server device 10 is configured to execute a replay image provision control process, which includes a process of providing replay image data (i.e., replay image data) on the terminal device 20 of the corresponding player, a playback control process of playing back the replay image, and a process of providing replay image data used in the playback control process.

[0141] Then, the server device 10 specifies given generation conditions for generating a replay image based on the processing status of the game restart preparation processing, and generates the replay image in accordance with the specified generation conditions. The imaging device has a configuration for generating an image.

[0142] In addition, Figure 4 (B1) A given game is started, and a given end condition is met during execution of the game control process of the game, resulting in a transition to a game end / stop state. (B2) A game restart preparation process is executed from the time when the game transitions to the game termination / stop state, and a replay image playback control process (i.e., a replay image provision control process) is executed during the period from the time when the game transitions to the game termination / stop state until the time when the game transitions to the resumable state (i.e., the preparation period); and (B3) When a restart condition is met during the playable state (i.e., during standby), the game is restarted and the game control process is restarted. FIG.

[0143] With this configuration, the server device 10 is able to generate replay images according to the processing status, for example, according to the preparation period, according to the hardware and software specifications required to execute the preparation processing, or according to the communication capabilities.

[0144] The server device 10 can provide the player with replay images that have been stripped of unnecessary parts depending on the time until the game is ready to resume and the player's capabilities, so that it can efficiently provide the player with images that are useful for playing the game while taking into consideration the player's desire to return to the game as soon as possible.

[0145] In this embodiment, the period from when the termination-suspended state is set to when the restartable state is set is referred to as the preparation period, and the game restart preparation process is executed during this preparation period, but the period from when the termination-suspended state is set to when the restartable state is set may be different from the preparation period. In other words, the game restart preparation process may be executed after the termination-suspended state is set, or the preparation period may end before the restartable state is set.

[0146] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the replay image provision control process is described as being executed during the preparation period (specifically, as being provided to the player), but the replay images may be provided to the player at a timing later than the start of the preparation period, or the provision of replay images to the player may be terminated before the end of the preparation period (specifically, before the game resumption preparation process is completed).

[0147] [4.2] Game data (replay data) Next, the game data (replay data) of this embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 5 and 6. Figures 5 and 6 are diagrams showing examples of the game data (replay data) of this embodiment.

[0148] The game data in this embodiment is data relating to a game when a game control process is executed in which the player's character is controlled to control the progress of the game in accordance with the player's operation input.

[0149] In particular, the game control processing of this embodiment includes not only control processing for progressing the game based on the operation control of the player character, but also control processing for controlling other player characters based on the operation instructions of other players in a competitive game, etc., and control processing for controlling other player characters based on automatic calculations of NPCs, etc.

[0150] For this reason, the game data of this embodiment includes data for controlling the player character. This includes not only the game data but also data for controlling other player characters such as NPCs.

[0151] For example, the game data may be as follows, as shown in FIGS. 5(A) and 5(B): (A1) Data of the player's operation instructions (in the case of a game being played by multiple players, such as a competitive game) accepted by the terminal device 20 (hereinafter referred to as "operation instruction data"); (A2) Control data for specifying the position (coordinates in the game space; the same applies below), movement (i.e., motion; specifically, the position of each part of the player character, which is the coordinates in the game space; the same applies below; or data for specifying movements such as rotation and jumping) and status (current state and remaining amount of vitality value and life energy, current value and remaining amount of parameters used when performing techniques, presence or absence of power-up states such as invincibility, or presence or absence of restrictions on some actions such as blocked attacks) of player characters (including NPCs), (A3) Control data for defining the position, movement, and status of each character appearing in the game (including, for example, enemy player characters); (A4) Control data for specifying the position, movement, and status of each object that constitutes a game space such as a stage where a game such as a battle is played, a course where a race is played, or an object space for an RPG, or (A5) A combination of two or more of (A1) to (A4), is.

[0152] In particular, the game data is preferably a series of data groups in time series from the start to the end of the game, but may also be a series of data groups in time series for any one section during the game.

[0153] Note that Figure 5(A) shows an example of game data for a competitive game, including operation instruction data (combinations of the direction of the cross key and the right hand button, left hand button, right foot button, and left foot button) for player A and player B from the start of the game (0 seconds).

[0154] FIG. 5(B) also shows an example of control data for a competitive game, including the position coordinates, movements (i.e., motions), and statuses of the player characters of Player A and Player B from the start of the game (0 seconds).

[0155] On the other hand, replay data is game data stored in the player information storage unit 146 for replay purposes, and is game data to which various information has been added, such as identification information about the game (game ID), identification information about the player (player ID), and information about the date and time when the game was played, as shown in Figures 6(A) and (B).

[0156] Figure 6(A) shows an example of game data for game ID "001" played on September 10, 2020, from the start of the game (0 seconds), showing operation instruction data (combinations of the direction of the directional pad and the right hand button, left hand button, right foot button, and left foot button) for player A with player ID "101" and CPU player B.

[0157] Figure 6(B) also shows an example of control data for the position coordinates, movement (i.e., motion), and status of player characters of player A with player ID "121" and CPU player B from the start of the game (0 seconds) for game ID "001" played on September 14, 2020.

[0158] [4.3] Game control process including game termination and game restart Next, the ending and restarting of the game in this embodiment will be described.

[0159] (Game control processing) For each game, when the game is started or resumed, the game management unit 103 executes a game control process for progressing the game including the player character based on the player's operation instructions.

[0160] In particular, in the case of a competitive game, the game management unit 103 executes various control processes related to the game, such as a control process for controlling player characters based on operation instructions from other players, and a control process for controlling each character appearing in the game based on automatic calculations such as NPCs.

[0161] (End of game) When a given termination condition is met during the execution of the game control process as described above, the game management unit 103 sets the game to a termination suspension state.

[0162] Specifically, during execution of the game control process, the game management unit 103 executes a judgment process (hereinafter referred to as "end condition judgment process") at predetermined intervals (5 ms) to judge whether or not the game situation meets the end condition, and if the end condition judgment process determines that the end condition is met, it suspends the progress of the game at that point and changes the game to a stopped state.

[0163] For example, the game management unit 103 may set the following as the termination condition: (A1) Whether the parameter value of life energy or the number of life energies has become zero, (A2) The player character is hit during the game, or (A3) You were unable to complete the given task within the time limit, Determine the following.

[0164] If the game management unit 103 determines that these conditions are met, it sets the state of the game being executed to a termination stop state, which ends the game being executed.

[0165] In particular, the termination / stop state is a state in which the game control processing of an ongoing game has ended, such as the state before the power is turned off (including sleep and pause states) or before continuing (resuming the game based on the situation at the time of the termination / stop state).

[0166] Furthermore, when the game management unit 103 transitions to the termination suspension state, it basically does not accept any operational instructions from the player, and instead waits until an instruction to resume the game is given in order to start preparations for resuming the game.

[0167] The game restart preparation process in this embodiment will be described in detail later.

[0168] (Restart the game) When the game restart preparation process is executed as a result of the game being in a stopped state as described above, and the restart preparation process is completed and the game transitions to a restartable state in which the game can be restarted, the game management unit 103 restarts the game that has been in a stopped state if given restart conditions are met.

[0169] In particular, the game management unit 103 reads out necessary data from the game restart data storage unit 148, and stores the game content at the time of the end / stop state (the position on the map at the time of the end, the type of stage being executed, the number of enemy characters defeated, the number of items acquired, the number of items acquired, etc.). The game is restarted with the player character and other elements in a fresh state (for example, with the same energy and number of lives as when the game started), while continuing the player's previous experience points, benefits, and so on.

[0170] Furthermore, for example, the game management unit 103 may set the following as the restart conditions: (B1) Whether or not a predetermined operation, such as the player pressing a predetermined button, has been performed; (B2) Whether a predetermined time has elapsed since the game was stopped, or (B3) Whether or not both conditions (B1) and (B2) are met. Determine the following.

[0171] [4.4] Game restart preparation process Next, the game restart preparation process of this embodiment will be described.

[0172] As described above, the game restart control unit 106 executes a game restart preparation process to set a game that has been set to a stopped state due to the fulfillment of a termination condition during game execution to a restartable state, which allows the game to be restarted.

[0173] Specifically, the game restart control unit 106 executes various processes to progress the game after it is restarted (continued), such as loading the game map to be used when the game is restarted, restoring the game status such as the player or the player's items at the time the game ends, and initializing information to be reset when the game is restarted.

[0174] In particular, the game restart control unit 106 may use, as the game status, for example, (A1) Parameters set for each character in the game, including the player character, such as the position (coordinates in the game space), the action content (specifically, the current coordinates of each part of the character and the coordinates of the final point after the action), stamina value (current value and maximum value), experience value, ability value (including those to be unlocked in the future; the same applies below), etc. (information about color, the coordinates of the target to be reached in the case of a moving object, and the final form in the case of a transforming object), (A2) Parameters related to items such as the type, number, and ability values ​​of items acquired by each character or player (information about color, coordinates of the target to be reached in the case of a moving object, and final form in the case of a transforming object), (A3) Parameters such as acquired in-game currency, scores, points, and performance, and (A4) Parameters related to objects such as the type, position, and characteristics of each object that constitutes the game space; The system performs a process to restore game elements such as the above so that they can be used continuously even when the game is restarted.

[0175] In addition, the game restart control unit 106 may not faithfully reproduce a specific game situation as part of the game restart preparation process, such as setting contents excluding predetermined setting contents such as stamina value and time limit, or only some of the setting contents, or setting contents to which predetermined setting contents such as player level and number of items have been added.

[0176] Furthermore, the game resumption control unit 106 may provide the restored and unrestored contents to the player by displaying them or the like.

[0177] [4.5] Replay image generation process Next, the replay image generation process of this embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 7 and Fig. 8. Fig. 7 and Fig. 8 show the game restart control process and the replay image provision process when the replay image generation process is executed during the period from the game termination / stop state to the game restart state. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the relationship of control processes.

[0178] (Basic processing of replay image generation) The replay image generating unit 107 uses game data for replay of the game set to the stopped state to generate game images for replay of the game set to the stopped state, which are provided to the player during the period from when the game is set to the stopped state until when the game is set to the restartable state (i.e., the preparation period).

[0179] In other words, the replay image generation unit 107 is a process that simply generates images for replaying past game content like animation (video) based on game data, and does not require any real-time player input, but generates images for the player to view past game content.

[0180] Specifically, the replay image generation unit 107 reads out the various game data as described above stored in the player information storage unit 146, and in accordance with the read out game data, visualizes as a replay image the actual play content (specifically, a part of it) that was executed from a given timing, such as the timing when the game started (hereinafter referred to as the "game start timing"), until the game ended and stopped.

[0181] In particular, when the replay image generating unit 107 uses the player's operation instruction data as game data, it controls the game management unit 103, executes game control processing based on the game data, and generates replay images.

[0182] Furthermore, when control data is used as game data, the replay image generation unit 107 controls each object such as a player character in accordance with this control data, and generates a replay image by imaging the results of controlling the player character, etc.

[0183] For example, when the replay image generation unit 107 uses both the player's operation instruction data and control data as game data, it executes game control processing to control the player's character based on the operation instruction data for important parts such as battle scenes.

[0184] Furthermore, for example, the replay image generating unit 107 controls the action scene of the player character when an attack is successful, or other characters and objects, etc., in accordance with the control data.

[0185] The replay image generating unit 107 then generates a replay image by integrating the movements and changes of objects including the player character in accordance with the game control process and the content of control performed in accordance with the control data.

[0186] (Basic principle of replay image generation process based on generation conditions) The replay image generation process of this embodiment is characterized in that given generation conditions are identified based on the processing status of the game restart preparation process, and a replay image is generated based on the identified generation conditions.

[0187] That is, the replay image generation unit 107 specifies the generation conditions, for example, in accordance with the preparation period for the game restart preparation process, in accordance with the hardware and software specifications for executing the game restart preparation process, or based on the communication capabilities with the terminal device 20.

[0188] Specifically, the replay image generation unit 107 determines the processing status of the game restart preparation process as follows: (A1) The preparation period until the game restart preparation process is completed, (A2) Processing power required to execute the game restart preparation process (including hardware or software game processing power (so-called device specifications) such as memory and CPU, and communication power such as data transmission speed), and (A3) The game status at the time the game was stopped, Identify.

[0189] Furthermore, based on these identified processing conditions, the replay image generation unit 107 identifies generation conditions such as the duration of the replay image, the resolution of the replay image, and the transmission speed when transmitting the replay image, and generates the replay image in accordance with the identified generation conditions.

[0190] (Identification of generation conditions based on the length of the preparation period and associated replay image generation process 1) The replay image generation unit 107 determines the generation conditions based on the length of the preparation period, which indicates the period from a given timing after the termination / stop state (for example, the timing of transition to the termination / stop state) until the game resumes, as the processing status of the game restart preparation process.

[0191] In other words, the replay image generation unit 107 uses the length of the preparation period as the processing status of the game restart preparation process in order to generate a replay image from which unnecessary parts have been removed in accordance with the period until the game is ready to restart (specifically, the preparation period of the game restart preparation process).

[0192] Then, based on the length of the identified preparation period, the replay image generating unit 107 generates a replay image having a time length equal to the length of the preparation period as a generation condition, for example.

[0193] Specifically, as shown in FIG. 4, for example, the replay image generation unit 107 picks out the game scene that is the "decisive factor" in transitioning to a termination stop state during game execution, and generates a replay image having the same duration as the preparation period.

[0194] For example, the replay image generating unit 107 (B1) The final attack or the scene where you received a lot of damage (B2) A scene where the player character is attacked from a direction different from the player's field of view. (B3) A scene where an enemy character has received a special move. (B4) A scene in which a player's operation is input, and (B5) It is not imaged (i.e., not shown) by the virtual camera used to image the game space. A replay image is generated based on replay data having game scenes such as the above.

[0195] In addition, the replay image generation unit 107 generates a replay image constructed from the player's perspective, a replay image constructed from the enemy character's perspective, a replay image constructed from a virtual camera dedicated to replays (so-called God's perspective), or a replay image constructed from a combination of these.

[0196] In particular, as shown in FIG. 7, the start timing of the game restart preparation process may be a timing after the game has been terminated and stopped, in which case the replay image generation unit 107 may generate a replay image to be provided (played) to the player in accordance with the start timing of the game restart preparation process, or may generate a replay image to be provided (played) to the player from a timing before the start timing of the game restart preparation process.

[0197] 7 shows a case where the game restart preparation process is started after a predetermined time lag from the timing when the game is stopped and ended. This figure shows examples of when a replay image provision control process (example 1) is executed at the start timing of the game restart preparation process, when a replay image provision control process (example 2) is executed before the start timing of the game restart preparation process, and when a replay image provision control process (example 3) is executed at a timing after the start timing of the game restart preparation process.

[0198] On the other hand, the replay image generation unit 107 of this embodiment may generate, as a replay image, an image having a time length equal to or less than the period from a given timing after the game has ended and stopped until the game becomes resumable (e.g., the preparation period).

[0199] Generally, replay images longer than the preparation period length are annoying to players who want to return to the game quickly, but without replay images, players cannot view useful images.

[0200] Therefore, in order to achieve the dual effects of providing useful images and supporting players who wish to return to the game early, the replay image generation unit 107 of this embodiment may, for example, execute a replay image generation process that generates replay images with a duration shorter than the length of the preparation period.

[0201] For example, as shown in FIG. 8, the replay image generating unit 107 may generate replay images whose provision (ie, playback) ends before the end of the preparation period.

[0202] In other words, the replay image generation unit 107 may generate a replay image so that the replay image provision control process ends before the timing at which the resumable state arrives, which is the timing at which the game resumption preparation process ends, as shown in Figure 8.

[0203] (Replay image generation process 2 according to generation conditions based on the length of the preparation period) In this embodiment, the replay image generation unit 107 may generate a replay image having a generation condition of a time length equal to or shorter than the preparation period of the game restart preparation process by progressing the game at a speed faster than the game progression speed (i.e., the playback speed at which the game image is played) when the game is being executed, in order to generate the replay image.

[0204] For example, if the in-game progression speed (playback speed) is "1 (x speed)," then a faster playback speed (for example, 2 (x speed)) will allow twice as many game scenes to be incorporated into the replay image as in a normal replay image.

[0205] That is, with this configuration, it is possible to provide a larger number of game scenes as replay images, and it is therefore possible to easily generate replay images having a restricted time length.

[0206] (Replay image generation process 3 according to generation conditions based on the length of the preparation period) Similarly, the replay image generation unit 107 of this embodiment may generate a replay image by thinning out a portion of the game scene during game execution in order to generate a replay image based on a generation condition having a time length equal to or shorter than the preparation period of the game restart preparation process.

[0207] Specifically, if the game scene that was the "decisive factor" in transitioning to the termination stop state is made up of two scenes, the replay image generation unit 107 may generate a replay image in which one of the game scenes is thinned out, or may generate a replay image in which the number of frames of each game scene is reduced (for example, halved).

[0208] With this configuration, as with the above, in this embodiment, more game scenes can be provided as replay images, and even when the same game scene as a normal replay image is provided, a replay image can be provided that is provided in a shorter time than the normal replay image, making it possible to easily generate replay images with a restricted time length.

[0209] (Identifying generation conditions based on processing power, etc. and the associated replay image generation process) The replay image generation unit 107 may identify generation conditions based on at least one of the factors that define the processing status of the game restart preparation process, including the game-related processing capabilities of the terminal device 20 (including data transmission capabilities and display capabilities when displaying replay images), the communication environment when communicating with the terminal device 20, and the game control processing capabilities (specifically, the capabilities of the processing unit 100).

[0210] That is, in this embodiment, in order to generate a replay image that is appropriate for the situation until the game is ready to resume, such as when the game resume preparation process is likely to take a long time or when the game resume preparation process is likely to be completed in a short time due to the capabilities of the terminal device 20 or the server device 10 (specifically, the processing unit 100), or the communication capabilities with the terminal device 20, the replay image generation unit 107 uses the game-related processing capabilities of the terminal device 20 as the processing status of the game resume preparation process.

[0211] Specifically, the replay image generation unit 107 determines the length of the preparation period for the game restart processing as a generation condition, depending on the processing capabilities of the terminal device 20 and the game control processing capabilities of the server device 10, for example, the hardware or software specifications of the terminal device 20 and the server device 10, such as available memory capacity, number of CPU cores, and clock frequency of the CPU.

[0212] In addition, the replay image generation unit 107 determines the length of the preparation period for the game restart process as a generation condition depending on the communication environment, which is the environment related to the communication line between the terminal device 20 and the server device 10, such as the communication frequency band, data transmission speed, number of available channels, or whether the process is to be performed via a wired or wireless connection.

[0213] Note that the replay image generating unit 107 may specify, as the generation conditions, the resolution of the replay image and the transmission speed at which the replay image is transmitted, instead of the time length of the replay image.

[0214] In addition, the replay image generation unit 107 may determine the generation conditions based only on the game processing capabilities of the terminal device 20 or the server device 10, or the communication environment, or may determine the generation conditions by including other factors, such as the length of the preparation period.

[0215] Furthermore, the details of the replay images generated in accordance with the generation conditions are the same as those described above, including the generation of replay images having a time length shorter than the duration of the preparation period, and therefore individual explanations will be omitted.

[0216] (Identifying generation conditions based on the game situation when the game is restarted and generating replay images accordingly) The replay image generating unit 107 may specify the generation conditions based on the game status when the game is restarted, which is the processing status of the game restart preparation processing.

[0217] That is, in this embodiment, the processing status of the preparation processing is determined by the position on the game map where the player character, which is the object of operation of the player, is located when the game is resumed. By setting this, the replay image generation unit 107 uses the game status when the game is resumed as the processing status of the game restart preparation process, in order to generate a replay image that is appropriate depending on the situation until the game is ready to restart, such as when the game restart preparation process is likely to take a long time or when the game restart preparation process is likely to end in a short time.

[0218] Specifically, the replay image generation unit 107 determines the length of the preparation period in the game restart processing as a generation condition depending on the game situation at the time of restarting the game, such as the position on the game map where the player character, who is the object of operation by the player when the game is restarted, is placed, the situation around the placed position (the number and placement of enemy characters), and the surrounding environment including the appearance of the enemy character and the shapes of various objects.

[0219] Note that the replay image generating unit 107 may specify, as the generation conditions, the resolution of the replay image, the transmission speed at which the replay image is transmitted, and the like, instead of the time length of the replay image.

[0220] In addition, the replay image generation unit 107 may determine the generation conditions based only on the game situation when the game is resumed, or may determine the generation conditions by including other factors such as the length of the preparation period, the game-related processing capabilities of the terminal device 20 and the server device 10, or the communication environment.

[0221] Furthermore, the details of the replay images generated in accordance with the generation conditions are the same as those described above, including the generation of replay images having a time length shorter than the duration of the preparation period, and therefore individual explanations will be omitted.

[0222] [4.6] Replay image provision control process Next, the replay image provision control process of this embodiment will be described.

[0223] The information providing unit 110 transmits the data of the replay image generated by the game restart control unit 106 (that is, replay image data) to the terminal device 20 of the corresponding player.

[0224] Then, during the execution of the game restart preparation process, the information providing unit 110 executes processing related to the replay image in order to provide the generated replay image to the player.

[0225] In particular, as processing related to replay images, the information providing unit 110 provides replay image data that can be played back to play replay images on the terminal device 20 while the game restart preparation process is being executed, and controls the playback control (specifically, the playback timing).

[0226] As described above, the information providing unit 110 may start controlling the playback of the replay image data before the timing at which the game restart preparation process starts, and may also terminate the playback control of the replay image data so that it ends at a timing at which the game is in a restartable state or before the timing at which the game becomes in a restartable state.

[0227] [4.7] Variations Next, a modification of this embodiment will be described.

[0228] (Variation 1: Standalone) In the above embodiment, the game restart preparation process is described using the game system 1 having the server device 10 and the terminal device 20, but the game restart preparation process may also be executed by a standalone game device.

[0229] In this case, the game device (for example, the terminal device 20) (A1) A game device that progresses a given game based on a player's operation, (A2) Execute a game control process to control the progress of the game; (A3) storing data relating to the game when the game control process is executed as replay data in a storage unit; (A4) When a given termination condition is met during the execution of the game, the game is set to a termination suspension state; (A5) A process for setting a game that has been set to a stopped state to a restartable state that allows the game to be restarted, which is a game restart preparation process for preparing to restart the game, (A6) When the game is in a restartable state, if a given restart condition is met, the game is restarted. (A7) Using replay data of a game that has been set to a stopped state, a replay image of the game in the stopped state is generated, the replay image being provided to a player during the period from when the game is set to the stopped state until when the game is set to a restartable state; (A8) During execution of the game restart preparation process, the generated replay image is displayed on the display unit, and processing related to the replay image (i.e., display control processing) is executed. It has the following structure.

[0230] Furthermore, the game device of this modified example is configured to identify given generation conditions for generating a replay image based on the processing status of the preparation process, and to generate the replay image in accordance with the identified generation conditions.

[0231] Specifically, in this case, the game device includes a display control unit that causes a game image including a replay image to be displayed on a display unit.

[0232] The game device then specifies generation conditions based on the processing capacity related to the game and the display capacity of the display unit as the processing status of the game restart preparation process, and generates the replay image in accordance with the specified generation conditions.

[0233] The display capabilities of this modified example include, for example, resolution and response speed (the time from when an image signal is input to a display means such as a display panel until the image is displayed on the display means).

[0234] (Variation 2: Priority-Based Replay Image Generation Process) In the above embodiment, the replay image may be generated based on a priority indicating the degree to which the replay data is to be preferentially used as a replay image.

[0235] That is, in order to generate replay images that the player can refer to as useful information, the replay images may be generated so as to be mainly composed of game scenes that are likely to be useful.

[0236] Specifically, the replay data is stored in the player information storage unit 146 for each pre-delimited game scene, and for each game scene, priority information indicating the degree to which the game scene is to be preferentially used as an image for replay is stored.

[0237] Then, the replay image generating unit 107 generates a replay image based on the generation conditions and the priority.

[0238] For example, in this case, the replay image generating unit 107 connects game scenes with high priority (for example, the scene that determined the transition to the end / stop state as described above) in chronological order based on the time length as a generation condition, and generates replay images of that time length or less. Generate a play image.

[0239] (Variation 3: Identifying generation conditions based on history) In the above embodiment, in order to easily and reliably generate a replay image that corresponds to the situation at hand using past assets, the generation conditions used to generate the replay image may be identified based on past history.

[0240] Specifically, each time a replay image is generated, the replay data management unit 105 associates data regarding the processing status of the corresponding preparation processing with data indicating the generation conditions used, and registers this data in the player information storage unit 146 as processing status history data.

[0241] Then, when executing the replay image generation process, the replay image generation unit 107 executes a comparison process that compares the processing status of the current game restart preparation process with the processing status indicated by the processing status history data already registered in the player information storage unit 146.

[0242] Next, if the replay image generation unit 107 determines, based on the results of the comparison process, that the processing status of the current game restart preparation process and the processing status indicated by the registered processing status history data are in the same range, it identifies the generation conditions registered in association with the processing status history data as the generation conditions for generating the current replay image, and generates a replay image in accordance with the identified generation conditions.

[0243] The data relating to the processing status of the game restart preparation process includes, for example, the preparation period, the processing capacity for the game when the game is executed in conjunction with the terminal device 20, the communication environment when communicating with the terminal device 20, the game control processing capacity of the server device 10, and the game status when the game is restarted.

[0244] In addition, the range of similarity is not only when the processing status is completely identical, but also when the preparation period is within ±5 seconds or the memory capacity is less than ±10%. .

[0245] (Variation 4: Game control process when restarting the game) In the above embodiment, the game management unit 103 reads the necessary data from the game restart data storage unit 148 and restarts the game based on the content of the game when the game was stopped and ended, but this is not limited to this. At least one of the following processes may be executed as game control processing when the game is restarted, and the game may be restarted without continuing some or all of the game content when the game was stopped and ended.

[0246] For example, the game control process when the game is restarted is as follows: (B1) In a game that has ended, resetting some or all of the game content, such as the number of enemy characters defeated, the number and type of items acquired, and experience points, to their initial state. (B2) Setting the player character's life energy, experience points, score, and other parameters to their initial state or to other values ​​(values ​​smaller than the initial values ​​or values ​​larger than the initial values); (B3) Setting the position of the player character on the game map to an initial position at the start of the game, a predetermined position for when the game is resumed (for example, a specific respawn spot set in the game space), or a randomly determined position; and (B4) Setting the placement and type of various objects, such as enemy characters and background objects, to a different setting from the initial state or the state when the game is stopped or terminated. These include:

[0247] Furthermore, even when the game is over, the game management unit 103 may not stop the game progress itself, but may continue to execute given game processing such as actions including the movement of enemy characters within the game space and actions including the movement of other player characters, as time passes after the game is over.

[0248] In this case, when the game is restarted, the game management unit 103 restarts the game in accordance with the game content that has progressed from the game end / stop state until the game is restarted (when the restart conditions are met).

[0249] (Variation 5: Stopping the game) In the above embodiment, the game management unit 103 sets the game to a termination suspension state when a given termination condition is met, but it may also set the game to a termination suspension state when a given termination condition is met.

[0250] Specifically, in this case, during execution of the game control process, the game management unit 103 executes a judgment process (hereinafter referred to as the "stop condition judgment process") to judge whether or not the game situation satisfies the stop condition every predetermined period (5 ms), and if the stop condition judgment process determines that the stop condition is met, it suspends the progress of the game at that point and changes the game to a terminated / stopped state.

[0251] For example, the game management unit 103 may set the following as a stopping condition: (C1) Whether the game was paused based on the player's operation instruction, (C2) The game in progress was forcibly interrupted due to an error in the terminal device 20 itself or a communication error, or (C3) Has another player joined a game in progress? Determine the following:

[0252] In particular, the game management unit 103 determines that the stop condition is met when it detects a player's operation input as the stop condition determination process (C1), when it detects that data communication from the relevant terminal device 20 has been interrupted for a certain period as the stop condition determination process (C2), and when it detects that another player has started the game or joined the same game space as the stop condition determination process (C3).

[0253] The processing after the change to the termination suspension state is the same as in the above embodiment, and therefore the explanation thereof will be omitted.

[0254] On the other hand, in this modified example, when both a given end condition and a given stop condition are met during the execution of a game, the game management unit 103 may set the game to a stop state.

[0255] For example, in this case, the game management unit 103 changes the state to a game end stop state when a communication abnormality occurs, or when the game is paused based on the player's operation and the game ends without stopping the game progress during the pause, and when the state is determined to be a stopped state and the game ends during the stopped state.

[0256] [5] Operation in this embodiment Next, the operation of the game restart preparation process, which includes the generation of a replay image at the end of the game and is executed by the server device 10 of this embodiment, will be described with reference to FIG.

[0257] FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the operation of the game restart preparation process, which includes the replay image generation process at the end of the game, executed by the server device 10 of this embodiment.

[0258] In this operation, it is assumed that a game has already been executed and that replay data relating to the executed game has been stored in the player information storage unit 146 in sequence.

[0259] This operation will be explained using the preparation period as the processing status of the game restart preparation process and the duration of the replay image as the generation condition.

[0260] First, when the game management unit 103 detects that the end condition is met (step S101), it transitions the game being executed to a stop state (step S102).

[0261] Next, when the game transitions to the end / stop state, the game restart control unit 106 starts a game restart preparation process for continuing and restarting the game (step S103).

[0262] Next, the replay image generation unit 107 identifies the processing status of the game restart preparation process (specifically, the preparation period and the duration of the preparation period) (step S104), and identifies the generation conditions for generating a replay image (specifically, the duration of the replay image) based on the identified processing status of the game restart preparation process (step S105).

[0263] Next, the replay image generator 107 executes a replay image generation process to generate a replay image as replay image data in accordance with the identified generation conditions (step S106).

[0264] Next, the information provider 110 starts providing the generated replay image data to the corresponding terminal device 20, and starts controlling the playback of replay images (executing replay image provision control processing) for the terminal device 20 (step S107).

[0265] The information providing unit 110 sequentially provides the replay image data generated by the replay image generating unit 107 to the terminal device 20 until it detects the timing to end generation of the generated replay images.

[0266] Next, when the information providing unit 110 detects the timing to end the provision of the generated replay image (step S108), such as the arrival of the playback end time of the generated replay image (preferably the end timing of the preparation period), it terminates playback control over the terminal device 20 (step S109).

[0267] Finally, when the game restart control unit 106 detects that the restart conditions are met, such as by detecting input of a specific operation instruction by the player (step S110), it restarts the game that has been stopped (step S111) and ends this operation.

[0268] In the processing of step S111, the game restart control unit 106 initializes some parameters such as the energy and number of lives of the player character, while reproducing the game situation in the terminated and stopped state, including the position on the game map and the items and scores already acquired, and starts executing the game control processing.

[0269] [6] Other The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible. For example, terms cited in the specification or drawings as broadly defined or synonymous terms can be replaced with broadly defined or synonymous terms in other descriptions in the specification or drawings.

[0270] In this embodiment, a fighting game is used for explanation, but the present invention can also be used in other games such as RPGs or simulation games.

[0271] Furthermore, in this embodiment, each game may be provided to the terminal device 20 by one server device 10, or a server system may be constructed by linking a plurality of server devices 10, and each game may be provided to the terminal device.

[0272] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the game provided by the server device 10 is executed by the terminal device 20, but with the exception of operation input, each function of the processing unit 200 of the terminal device 20 and the execution of the game program may be executed by the server device 10, and the terminal device 20 may realize the above game by executing operation input and image display by streaming.

[0273] In this embodiment, a plurality of game terminal devices may be connected by wire or wirelessly, and one game device may function as the server device 10, thereby realizing the system using a plurality of game devices.

[0274] In addition, in this embodiment, the game system of the present invention is applied to a server device 10 that runs in conjunction with a terminal device 20 via a network, but it can also be applied to a tablet-type information terminal device, a personal computer, or a game device installed in an amusement park.

[0275] The present invention includes configurations that are substantially the same as the configurations described in the embodiments (for example, configurations with the same functions, methods, and results, or configurations with the same purpose and effects). The present invention also includes configurations in which non-essential parts of the configurations described in the embodiments are replaced. The present invention also includes configurations that achieve the same effects as the configurations described in the embodiments or that can achieve the same purpose. The present invention also includes configurations in which publicly known technology is added to the configurations described in the embodiments.

[0276] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail as above, it will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that many modifications can be made without substantially departing from the novel features and effects of the present invention. Therefore, all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0277] 1: Game System 10: Server device 20: Terminal device 100: Processing section 101: Communication control unit 102: Web processing unit 103: Game Management Department 105: Replay Data Management Department 106: Game restart control unit 107: Replay image generation unit 109: Timer management unit 110: Information provision department 115: Replay Data Management Department 120: Input section 130: Display section 140: Storage section 142: Main memory 144: Game data storage unit 146: Player information storage unit 148: Game restart data storage unit 180: Information storage medium 196: Communications Department 200: Processing section 210: Communication control unit 211: Web browser 212: Game processing section 213: Display control unit 220: Drawing section 230: Sound processing unit 260: Input section 262:Detection unit 270: Storage section 271: Main memory 272: Image buffer 280: Information storage medium 290:Display section 292: Sound output unit 296: Communications Department

Claims

1. A game system that progresses a given game based on a player's operation, a game control means for executing a game control process for controlling the progress of the game; a storage control means for storing data relating to the game when the game control process is executed in a storage means as game data for replay; a termination / stop state setting means for setting the game to a termination / stop state when at least one of a given termination condition and a given stop condition is met during execution of the game; a restart preparation processing means for executing a preparation process for preparing to restart the game, the preparation process being a process for setting the game to a restartable state in which the game set to the termination / stop state can be restarted; a game restarting means for restarting the game when a given restart condition is met in the restartable state; a replay image generating means for generating game images for replay of the game in the stopped state, the game images being provided to the player during the period from when the game is set to the stopped state until when the game is set to the restartable state, using game data for replay of the game set to the stopped state; a provision control means for executing a process relating to the replay image in order to provide the generated replay image to the player during the execution of the preparation process; Equipped with The replay image generating means A game system characterized in that, when the preparation process is executed, given generation conditions for generating the replay image are identified based on a predicted situation, and the replay image is generated in accordance with the identified generation conditions while controlling the viewpoint when generating the replay image.

2. 2. The game system according to claim 1, The replay image generating means When the preparation process is executed, the generation condition is identified based on a time length of a preparation period indicating a period from a given timing after the termination suspension state until the resumption enable state is reached as a predicted situation; The game system generates the replay image based on the specified generation conditions.

3. 3. The game system according to claim 1, When the game is executed in conjunction with the terminal device of the player and images relating to the game, including images for replay, are provided to the terminal device, The replay image generating means identifying the generation condition based on at least one or more elements that define a predicted situation when the preparation process is executed, among the processing capacity of the terminal device related to the game, the communication environment when communicating with the terminal device, and the capacity of the game control process; A game system that generates an image for the replay in accordance with the specified generation conditions.

4. 3. The game system according to claim 1, a display control means for displaying a game image including the replay image on a display means; The replay image generating means specifying the generation conditions based on a processing capacity for the game and a display capacity of the display means as predicted situations when the preparation process is executed; A game system that generates an image for the replay in accordance with the specified generation conditions.

5. In the game system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, The replay image generating means When the preparation process is performed, the generation condition is identified based on a game situation when the game is restarted as a predicted situation; A game system that generates an image for the replay in accordance with the specified generation conditions.

6. In the game system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising a registration means for registering data relating to a predicted situation and data indicating the generation conditions in the storage means as situation history data each time the replay image is generated, when the preparation process of the corresponding preparation process is executed; The replay image generating means executing a comparison process for comparing a predicted situation with a situation indicated by the registered situation history data during the current execution of the preparation process; If it is determined based on the result of the comparison process that the predicted situation at the time of execution of the current preparation process and the situation indicated by the registered situation history data are in the same range, the generation conditions registered in association with the situation history data are specified as the generation conditions for generating the current replay image; A game system that generates an image for the replay in accordance with the specified generation conditions.

7. In the game system according to any one of claims 1 to 6, The replay image generating means A game system that generates, based on the generation conditions, an image for the replay, having a time length equal to or less than a specific period from a given timing after the stopped state until the restartable state is reached.

8. 8. The game system according to claim 7, The replay image generating means A game system that generates the replay image in which the game progresses at a faster rate than the rate at which the game progresses when the game is executed, based on the generation conditions, in order to generate an image having a time length equal to or shorter than the specific period.

9. 9. The game system according to claim 7 or 8, The replay image generating means A game system that generates the replay image by thinning out a portion of the game scene during execution of the game based on the generation conditions in order to generate an image having a duration equal to or less than the specific period.

10. In the game system according to any one of claims 7 to 9, the replay game data is stored in the storage means for each game scene divided in advance, and includes priority information for each game scene indicating a degree of priority for use as a replay image, The replay image generating means A game system that generates the replay image based on the generation conditions and the priority.

11. In the game system according to any one of claims 1 to 10, The replay image generating means When controlling the viewpoint when generating the replay image, the game system generates an image based on one of two or more different viewpoints.

12. In the game system according to any one of claims 1 to 10, The replay image generating means When controlling the playback start timing when generating the replay image, the game system generates a replay image that starts playback from any of the following timings: a timing that coincides with the start timing of the preparation process, a timing after the start timing of the preparation process, and a timing before the start timing of the preparation process.

13. In the game system according to any one of claims 1 to 10, The replay image generating means In the case of controlling the timing at which playback ends when generating the replay image, the game system generates a replay image whose playback ends either at the timing at which the preparation process ends or at a timing before the timing at which the preparation process ends.

14. A program for progressing a given game based on a player's operation, a game control means for executing a game control process for controlling the progress of the game; a storage control means for storing data relating to the game when the game control process is executed in a storage means as game data for replay; a termination / stop state setting means for setting the game to a termination / stop state when at least one of a given termination condition and a given stop condition is met during execution of the game; a restart preparation processing means for executing a preparation process for preparing to restart the game, which is a process for setting the game to a restartable state that allows the game that has been set to the termination / stop state to be restarted; a game restart means for restarting the game when a given restart condition is met in the restartable state; a replay image generating means for generating game images for replay of the game in the stopped state, the game images being provided to the player during the period from when the game is set to the stopped state until when the game is set to the restartable state, using game data for replay of the game set to the stopped state; and a provision control means for executing a process relating to the replay image in order to provide the generated replay image to the player during the execution of the preparation process; Make the computer function as The replay image generating means A program characterized by specifying given generation conditions for generating the replay image based on a predicted situation when the preparation process is executed, and generating the replay image in accordance with the specified generation conditions while controlling the viewpoint when generating the replay image.

Images