Information processing system, server device, client device, and program

Abstract

To provide an effective user interface for selecting a character used for a play in a game in which each of a plurality of users owns at least one character of a plurality of kinds of characters and plays a stage selected from a plurality of stages prepared beforehand using a character selected from characters owned by the user himself or herself.SOLUTION: A stage that each user has played of a plurality of stages and a kind of a character used in the play are associated with each other and recorded as use character data. When an information presentation request for designating any one of a plurality of kinds of characters as a presentation object character is received from any one of the plurality of users, information on a use stage including at least one of the stages associated with the presentation object character in the use character data is presented to the user making the information provision request.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing system, a server device, a client device, and a program for executing processing related to a game. [Background technology]

[0002] There are games in which a user owns a variety of characters and plays a selected stage from a variety of stages using a character selected from the characters. In such games, when a user plays each stage, the user selects a character suitable for that stage from the characters the user owns (see, for example, Patent Document 1). To help the user make such a selection, characters that have been used successfully by other users in that stage in the past may be presented when the user selects a stage to play. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2015-134036 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Generally, when playing a certain stage, the characters used by many users tend to be limited to a certain set of characters. Therefore, simply presenting users with characters who have been used in each stage may not provide sufficient information to users who want to utilize various characters, such as characters they own and characters they may acquire in the future.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned circumstances, and one of its objectives is to provide an information processing system, a server device, a client device, and a program that can provide an effective user interface for selecting a character to use in a game in which each user plays using one of multiple types of characters. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] An information processing system according to one aspect of the present invention includes a server device that executes processing related to a game in which a plurality of users each own at least one of a plurality of types of characters and play a stage selected from a plurality of stages prepared in advance using a character selected from among the characters owned by the user, and a plurality of client devices that the plurality of users use, respectively. The server device includes a recording means that records, as used character data, a stage played by each user from the plurality of stages and the type of character used in the play, and a recording means that allows a user to designate one of the plurality of types of characters as a character to be presented from any of the plurality of client devices. and a stage information notifying means for notifying the client device that made the information presentation request of information on the use stage including at least one of the stages associated with the character to be presented in the use character data, wherein each of the plurality of client devices includes a request sending means for accepting an operation to select one of the plurality of types of characters from a user of the client device, and sending the information presentation request to the server device specifying the selected character as the character to be presented, and a stage presenting means for presenting to the user of the client device information on the use stage notified by the server device in response to the information presentation request.

[0007] A server device according to one aspect of the present invention is a server device connected to a plurality of client devices used by a plurality of users, each of which possesses at least one of a plurality of types of characters and which executes processing related to a game in which the plurality of users play a stage selected from a plurality of stages prepared in advance using a character selected from among the characters possessed by the user, and which includes: a recording means for recording as used character data a stage of the plurality of stages played by each user and the type of character used in the play; a request receiving means for receiving, from one of the plurality of client devices, an information presentation request specifying one of the plurality of types of characters as a character to be presented; and a stage identification means for notifying the client device that made the information presentation request of information on the used stage, which includes at least one of the stages associated with the character to be presented in the used character data.

[0008] According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a program for causing a computer connected to a plurality of client devices used by a plurality of users, the computer executing processing related to a game in which each of the plurality of users owns at least one of a plurality of types of characters and plays a stage selected from a plurality of pre-prepared stages using a character selected from among the characters owned by the user, to function as: recording means for recording, as used character data, a stage of the plurality of stages played by each user and the type of character used in the play, in association with each other; request receiving means for receiving, from one of the plurality of client devices, an information presentation request specifying one of the plurality of types of characters as a presentation target character; and stage specifying means for notifying the client device that issued the information presentation request of information about the used stage, including at least one of the stages associated with the presentation target character in the used character data. This program may be provided by being stored on a computer-readable, non-transitory information storage medium.

[0009] A client device according to one aspect of the present invention is a client device used by one of a plurality of users in a game in which each user owns at least one of a plurality of types of characters and plays a stage selected from a plurality of stages prepared in advance using a character selected from among the characters owned by the user, and is characterized by including: means for accepting an operation from the user of the client device to select one of the plurality of types of characters as a character to be presented; means for acquiring information on used stages including at least one of stages in which the character to be presented was used in past plays by the plurality of users; and stage presentation means for presenting the acquired information on used stages to the user of the client device in accordance with the operation.

[0010] According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a program for causing a client device used by one of the users to function as: means for accepting an operation from the user of the client device to select one of the plurality of characters as a character to be presented, means for acquiring information on used stages including at least one of the stages in which the character to be presented was used in past plays by the plurality of users, and stage presenting means for presenting the acquired information on used stages to the user of the client device in response to the operation. This program may be provided by being stored on a computer-readable, non-transitory information storage medium. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] 1 is a configuration block diagram showing the overall configuration of an information processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram showing functions of an information processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of character data used. [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a screen on which information about a presentation target character is presented. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a screen presenting information on stages used by a character to be presented. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0012] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[0013] Fig. 1 is a configuration block diagram showing the overall configuration of an information processing system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Fig. 1, the information processing system 1 includes a plurality of client devices 10 and a server device 20. Each client device 10 is connected to the server device 20 via a communication network such as the Internet.

[0014] Each client device 10 is an information processing device such as a smartphone, tablet, or personal computer, and includes a control unit 11, a storage unit 12, a communication unit 13, and an interface unit 14. The client device 10 is also connected to an operation input device 15 and a display device 16. In this embodiment, the client device 10 is used by each user who plays a game provided by the information processing system 1.

[0015] The control unit 11 includes at least one processor and executes various information processes in accordance with programs stored in the storage unit 12. Specific examples of the processes executed by the control unit 11 will be described later. The storage unit 12 includes at least one memory device such as RAM and stores the programs executed by the control unit 11 and data to be processed by the programs. The communication unit 13 is an interface for connecting to a communication network wirelessly or via a wire. Each client device 10 is communicatively connected to the server device 20 via this communication unit 13.

[0016] The interface unit 14 is connected to the operation input device 15 and the display device 16 wirelessly or via a wired connection, and transmits and receives various data to and from these devices. Specifically, the interface unit 14 receives, from the operation input device 15, a control signal indicating the content of the operation input performed by the player to the operation input device 15. The interface unit 14 also transmits, to the display device 16, a video signal indicating the content of the video to be presented to the player.

[0017] The operation input device 15 is configured to include, for example, a touch sensor, operation buttons, etc., and receives operation input from the player and transmits a control signal indicating the content of the input to the client device 10. The display device 16 is a liquid crystal panel or the like, and displays an image corresponding to a video signal received from the client device 10 on a display screen to present to the player. Note that the operation input device 15 and the display device 16 may be configured integrally with the client device 10, for example, by being arranged on the surface of the housing of the client device 10.

[0018] The server device 20 is an information processing device such as a server computer, and includes a control unit 21, a storage unit 22, and a communication unit 23. The server device 20 executes processing related to the game provided by the information processing system 1.

[0019] The control unit 21 includes at least one processor and executes various information processes in accordance with programs stored in the storage unit 22. Specific examples of the processes executed by the control unit 21 will be described later. The storage unit 22 includes at least one memory device such as RAM and stores the programs executed by the control unit 21 and the data to be processed by the programs. The communication unit 23 is an interface for connecting to a communication network wirelessly or via a wire. The communication unit 23 communicatively connects the server device 20 to each client device 10.

[0020] Here, an overview of the game provided by the information processing system 1 will be described. This game is assumed to be a game that can be played simultaneously by multiple users, such as a social game or an online game. In this game, each user owns at least one character from among multiple types of characters prepared in advance in the game. Then, the user plays a prepared stage of the game using a character selected from among the characters they own. Hereinafter, the characters prepared in advance in the game are referred to as appearing characters, and the characters owned by each user are referred to as owned characters. Furthermore, a character used by a user when playing a stage of the game is referred to as a used character. Note that in some cases, each user may be able to select a character other than their own owned character, such as a character owned by another user or a prepared character, as their used character.

[0021] A user's owned character is a character that the user has acquired in the game and has the right to use. Each user can acquire a character by fulfilling certain conditions in the game, such as clearing a specific stage, and after acquiring the character, can use that character in their own gameplay as a owned character. Each user may also acquire one of the characters through an in-game lottery or by purchasing it for a fee. Note that multiple users may own the same type of character, or one user may own multiple characters of the same type.

[0022] In this game, multiple stages are prepared in advance for playing. A stage is a unit of the game that is played by each user in one play session. The user selects the stage to be played and the character to be used in that stage, and then begins playing the game for that stage. In this embodiment, once a user starts playing a certain stage, they cannot change the character selected before starting the stage until they finish playing that stage. However, after finishing playing that stage or if they stop playing a stage they have already started, they may be able to select a different character and play the same stage from the beginning. Furthermore, a user may be able to temporarily pause play of one stage and resume the paused stage from the state at the time of the pause. Furthermore, multiple stages may be played in parallel, for example, by pausing play of one stage and playing another stage using a different character.

[0023] The content of the game played in each stage may vary and is not particularly limited. However, it is desirable that the difficulty of the game content in each stage varies depending on the relationship between the stage and the type of character used. For example, the characters appearing in this game may have different characteristics, not just having different parameter values ​​representing strength, but also belonging to one of multiple attributes or possessing several skills (special abilities).

[0024] Meanwhile, each stage is set with conditions that affect the advantages or disadvantages of the characters used, depending on the enemy characters that appear in that stage and the game content of that stage. For example, characters with a certain attribute may be advantageous in one stage, while characters with that attribute may be disadvantaged in another stage. Also, depending on the stage, characters with certain skills may be effective, while other skills may not affect the gameplay of that stage. As such, various characteristics are assigned to each character that appears, and different characteristics are assigned to each stage, so the difficulty of clearing that stage varies greatly depending on the combination of the stage and the character used. When starting play of each stage, the user considers the characteristics of the stage and the characteristics of the selectable characters and selects the character that is best suited to play that stage as the character to use. This allows the user to enjoy not only the gameplay within each stage, but also the element of selecting which character from among the characters they own as the character to use as part of the game.

[0025] However, as the number of characters and stages increases, it becomes difficult for the user to grasp the characteristics of the stage and characters they wish to play, which can complicate the process of selecting a character to use. Therefore, it is desirable for the information processing system 1 to be provided with an interface that presents information to assist the user in selecting a character to use. As an example, when a user selects a playable stage, the client device 10 may present, as character information, characters actually used when other users have played that stage in the past. Such an interface allows the user to select a character to use when playing that stage, by referring to characters actually used by other users in playing that stage.

[0026] Here, characters frequently used by other users tend to be biased toward certain characters (for example, characters with high strength parameters or popular characters). Therefore, for a user who does not yet own a character frequently used by other users, or for a user who wants to use a specific character in a stage, information about characters used by other users in such a specific stage may not be sufficient reference information. Therefore, the information processing system 1 according to this embodiment is provided with an interface that presents information that can be used as a reference when the user considers which stage a specific character is suitable for use in. This will be described in detail below.

[0027] The functions realized by each device in the information processing system 1 according to this embodiment will be described below with reference to the functional block diagram in Fig. 2. Note that, here, one of the multiple client devices 10 will be designated as a noted client device 10n, and its functions will be described, but it is assumed that the other client devices 10 also have similar functions. In addition, hereinafter, a user who uses the noted client device 10n will be referred to as a noted user.

[0028] The noted client device 10n functionally includes a stage selection operation receiving unit 31, a playable character selection operation receiving unit 32, a game processing execution unit 33, an information presentation operation receiving unit 34, and a character information presentation unit 35. These functions are realized by the control unit 11 of the noted client device 10n executing a program stored in the storage unit 12. The server device 20 functionally includes a game control unit 41, a playable character data recording unit 42, an information acquisition request receiving unit 43, and a stage information notification unit 44. These functions are realized by the control unit 21 of the server device 20 executing a program stored in the storage unit 22. These programs may be provided to each device via a communication network such as the Internet, or may be provided to each device by being stored on a computer-readable information storage medium such as an optical disc.

[0029] The stage selection operation receiving unit 31 of the noted client device 10n receives an operation from the noted user to select a stage to be played (hereinafter referred to as a stage selection operation). The stage to be played is a stage that the noted user is about to play. Specifically, the stage selection operation receiving unit 31 queries the game control unit 41 of the server device 20 to obtain information about stages that the noted user can play at that time. Then, based on the obtained information, a list of playable stages is presented to the noted user. The noted user performs a stage selection operation to specify the stage to be played by selecting a stage that the noted user wishes to play from the presented stages. For example, this stage selection operation may be an operation of specifying a stage by tapping on one of the stages displayed in a list on the screen of the display device 16.

[0030] The stage selection operation receiving unit 31 may receive not only the selection of a stage that the noted user will play immediately, but also the designation of a stage that the noted user wishes to play later (hereinafter referred to as a reserved stage). For example, some stages may be playable only on certain days or during certain time periods. In this case, the stage selection operation receiving unit 31 displays a list of stages that are not currently playable but will be playable in the future as reservation candidate stages, and receives an operation from the noted user to designate a reserved stage. When the time arrives for the reserved stage designated by the noted user to be playable, the stage selection operation receiving unit 31 notifies the noted user accordingly, for example by displaying a message. This allows the noted user to reserve a stage to play later, for example, when the stage that the noted user wishes to play is currently unavailable for immediate play.

[0031] The character selection operation receiving unit 32 of the noted client device 10n receives from the noted user a selection operation of a character to be used to play the play target stage selected by the stage selection operation (hereinafter referred to as a character selection operation). The noted user selects a character to be used to play the play target stage from among the characters the noted user owns. Note that if multiple characters are to be used to play one stage, the noted user must select multiple characters to be used. In this case, the noted user may be able to register in advance a character set (deck) that groups together multiple characters that the noted user wants to use together. If a character set has been registered in advance, the noted user can select multiple characters to be used all at once simply by selecting the registered character set.

[0032] As described above, the usable characters may include characters other than the characters owned by the noted user (for example, characters owned by other users or characters prepared in advance by the game). Hereinafter, a usable character selected from among the characters other than the characters owned by the noted user is referred to as a support character. When a support character is available, the usable character selection operation receiving unit 32 presents candidate support characters selected from among characters owned by other users to the noted user as selection candidates, and receives a selection of a support character from the noted user. Note that information on the candidate characters to be presented to the noted user is acquired from the server device 20. The usable character selection operation receiving unit 32 may independently receive an operation to select a usable character from among the characters owned by the noted user and an operation to select a support character. In this case, the usable characters include both the characters owned by the noted user and the support characters. The usable character selection operation receiving unit 32 may also present the characters owned by the noted user and candidate support characters together to the noted user, and receive an operation to select a usable character from among them.

[0033] A game of the selected stage is started after the stage to be played is selected by the stage selection operation receiving unit 31 and the character to be used is selected by the character selection operation receiving unit 32. The game processing execution unit 33 of the target client device 10n cooperates with the game control unit 41 of the server device 20 to execute the game processing of the selected stage.

[0034] Specifically, for example, the game processing execution unit 33 acquires information about the game of the selected stage, such as enemy characters that appear in that stage, from the game control unit 41. Then, based on the acquired information, the game screen is drawn and displayed on the screen of the display device 16. The game processing execution unit 33 also accepts game operations related to the game from the user of interest. These game operations may include operations to instruct the behavior of the character used during the game of that stage. The game processing execution unit 33 progresses the game in accordance with the game operations accepted from the user of interest and notifies the game control unit 41 of the results.

[0035] The processing related to the game progress may be executed on the client device 10 side or on the server device 20 side. When the processing related to the game progress is executed on the client device 10 side, the game processing execution unit 33 executes processing to progress the game in accordance with the user's game operations, and when the game in a target stage is completed, transmits the game results for that stage to the game control unit 41 of the server device 20. On the other hand, when the processing related to the game progress is executed on the server device 20 side, the game processing execution unit 33 transmits the content of the game operations received from the target user to the server device 20 each time. The game control unit 41 of the server device 20 executes processing to progress the game in accordance with the content of the received game operations, and transmits a display instruction to the client device 10 including information to be presented to the user as a result. The game processing execution unit 33 of the client device 10 displays content according to the received display instruction on the screen of the display device 16. The game progresses by repeating such processing. Furthermore, the processing related to the game progress may be shared and executed by both the client device 10 and the server device 20, rather than being executed by only one device. In either case, after the user selects the stage to be played and the character to be used and starts the game for the stage to be played, the game for that stage progresses without changing the character to be used, and when the game for that stage ends, information regarding the result of the game is notified to the game control unit 41 of the server device 20.

[0036] Each time a user of the information processing system 1 plays a game, the character data recording unit 42 of the server device 20 records character data that associates the stage on which the game is played with the character used in that play. Figure 3 shows an example of information recorded as character data. In the example shown in this figure, each user uses four characters when playing a stage on which the game is played, and each of these characters is recorded in association with the stage on which the game is played as a character used in a single play.

[0037] The characters recorded as the used character data may be limited to characters selected as the used character from among the characters owned by each user, or may also include support characters. Furthermore, the used character data may include data on characters used in play at each stage, regardless of the game play results for that stage. However, as described below, the used character data is used to present users with information to refer to when playing the game. Therefore, it is desirable to record the characters used when each stage is cleared (successfully). Therefore, when a user of each client device 10 clears a game at a given stage, the game control unit 41 acquires the game results from each client device 10. Then, the used character data recording unit 42 is notified of the data on the used character used when the game was cleared. The used character data recording unit 42 associates the notified used character with information identifying the cleared stage and records it as used character data in the storage unit 22. In this way, data on the characters actually used when each stage is cleared is recorded as used character data.

[0038] The information presentation operation receiving unit 34 of the noted client device 10n receives a character information presentation operation from the noted user. The character information presentation operation is an operation of selecting one of all featured characters as a presentation target character and requesting the presentation of information about the presentation target character. Specifically, for example, the noted user can perform, as a character information presentation operation, an operation of selecting one character from among the characters displayed on various screens, such as a screen displaying a list of characters owned by the noted user or a screen for selecting a character to be used displayed by the character selection operation receiving unit 32 (for example, a tap operation or a long press operation on the screen).

[0039] The information presentation operation receiving unit 34 may also receive a character information presentation operation on a screen displaying a list of all characters, including characters not owned by the user. Furthermore, on a screen for receiving selection of a stage to be played, if there is a character that may be obtained by playing that stage, the information presentation operation for that character may also be received. This allows the user of interest to check information on not only the characters he or she owns, but also characters that he or she may obtain in the future.

[0040] When the information presentation operation receiving unit 34 receives a character information presentation operation for a presentation target character, the character information presenting unit 35 of the target client device 10n presents information about the presentation target character to the user. The presented information may include information about the characteristics of the presentation target character, such as attributes and skills, and parameter information indicating strength. Fig. 4 shows an example of a screen presenting information about the presentation target character.

[0041] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the character information presentation unit 35 presents used stage information as one piece of information about the presentation target character. The used stage information is information including at least one stage that the presentation target character actually used in a past game play by another user. For example, when a screen presenting information about the presentation target character is displayed, the noted user performs an operation to instruct the presentation of used stage information by selecting an icon included on the screen. Specifically, in the example of FIG. 4, an icon image I for accepting an instruction to present used stage information is displayed on the screen presenting information about the presentation target character. When the noted user performs an operation to select this icon image I, the character information presentation unit 35 presents the used stage information of the presentation target character to the noted user.

[0042] The character information presenting unit 35 acquires the use stage information to be presented to the noted user from the server device 20. Specifically, when an operation requesting presentation of the use stage information of the presentation target character is accepted, the information presenting operation accepting unit 34 transmits a request to acquire the use stage information to the server device 20. The information acquisition request accepting unit 43 of the server device 20 accepts the request to acquire the use stage information sent from each client device 10, and notifies the stage information notifying unit 44 of information identifying the presentation target character included in the acquisition request. The stage information notifying unit 44 notifies the client device 10 that sent the acquisition request of the use stage information of the specified presentation target character.

[0043] Here, the content of the use stage information notified to each client device 10 by the stage information notification unit 44 of the server device 20 will be described. The stage information notification unit 44 extracts information about stages associated with the target presentation character from the use character data and identifies at least one of the stages as a use stage. A stage associated with the target presentation character from the use character data is a stage on which a user has actually played in the past using the target presentation character. Such a stage is likely to be a stage where the target presentation character can be used effectively. Therefore, by referring to the use stage information, a user of interest can use it as a reference when considering in which stage to use a character they own or a character they are considering acquiring.

[0044] The stage information notification unit 44 may notify all stages associated with the character to be presented in the used character data (i.e., stages where the character has been used) as used stages, or may notify only some stages specified based on predetermined conditions. Below, several specific examples of predetermined conditions used when the stage information notification unit 44 specifies the used stages to be notified will be described.

[0045] As a first example, the stage information notification unit 44 may identify, as a usable stage, a stage determined according to the usage status of the presentation target character, among the stages associated with the presentation target character. More specifically, the stage information notification unit 44 may identify, as a usable stage, a stage in which the presentation target character has been used many times. In this way, stages in which the presentation target character is likely to be particularly effective can be presented to the noted user. Specifically, for example, the stage information notification unit 44 may notify, as usable stages, a predetermined number of stages in descending order of the number of times of use. Furthermore, the stage information notification unit 44 may notify, as usable stages, stages that have been used a predetermined number of times or more, and exclude stages that have been used less than the predetermined number of times from the usable stages.

[0046] As a second example, the stage information notification unit 44 may identify as a used stage a stage that has been used within a predetermined period of time in the past. For example, if the number of characters and selectable stages increases over time, the stages used by each character may also change over time. Therefore, by notifying the user of stages that have been used by the presented character within a predetermined period of time in the recent past (e.g., the past month), used stage information that reflects recent trends can be presented to the noted user. In this case, old used character data that has been recorded for a predetermined period of time may be discarded in order. In other words, it is possible to record the performance of characters already available in the game and characters that will newly become available in the game over the same period (conditions).

[0047] As a third example, the stage information notification unit 44 may determine whether or not to include a stage in the available stages according to the type of each stage associated with the presented character. For example, if the playable period of each stage is limited, the stage information notification unit 44 may notify only the stages that are playable at the time the request for notification of available stage information is received as available stages. Furthermore, only stages of a specific difficulty level or stages classified into a specific group may be subject to notification, and other stages may be excluded from the notification targets.

[0048] The stage information notification unit 44 may identify the stage to be notified based on various conditions other than those described above. Furthermore, the conditions used to identify the stage to be notified described above may be used in combination. For example, the stage information notification unit 44 may notify, as used stage information, a stage that has been used a predetermined number of times or more within a predetermined period of time in the recent past.

[0049] The stage information notification unit 44 may identify the use stage information of the presentation target character specified in the received presentation request each time a presentation request for use stage information is received from each client device 10. Alternatively, the use stage information may be identified in advance at predetermined intervals for all characters that may be the subject of a presentation request, and the previously identified use stage information may be notified when a presentation request is received. In this way, although the latest use character data may not be reflected, it is not necessary to repeatedly execute the same type of processing, and the response time to a presentation request from the client device 10 can be shortened. As a specific example, the stage information notification unit 44 may execute a process of identifying the use stage for all characters once a day using the use character data recorded up to that point.

[0050] Furthermore, the stage information notification unit 44 does not have to notify the stage information used for all characters available in the game, but may only notify the stage information used for some of the characters that are expected to interest the user.

[0051] Next, a method for presenting the used stage information to the noted user by the character information presenting unit 35 will be described. The character information presenting unit 35 may present the used stage information to the noted user by displaying a screen including a list of used stages, or may notify the used stage information by audio. FIG. 5 shows an example of a screen presenting the used stage information of the presented character. In this example, a screen including a list of used stages of the presented character is displayed as a pop-up so as to overlap the screen including detailed information about the presented character shown in FIG. 4. When displaying the list of used stages in this way, in addition to information such as the name and difficulty of each stage and the reward received when clearing that stage, information regarding the usage status of the presented character, such as the number of times the presented character has been used in that stage, may also be displayed in association with the information.

[0052] The order in which the used stages are presented is determined based on several criteria. For example, the character information presentation unit 35 may present the used stages of the presented character in descending order of the number of times they have been used. The order in which the used stages are presented may also be determined according to the type and difficulty of each stage. If the used stages include a stage reserved by the noted user, the character information presentation unit 35 may present the reserved stage preferentially. In addition, the character information presentation unit 35 may narrow down the list of used stages to be displayed to those of a specific type or sort them according to a specific criterion, in response to an instruction operation by the noted user.

[0053] Furthermore, in a state where a list of available stages is displayed, the stage selection operation receiving unit 31 may receive a selection of a stage to be played. Specifically, in a state where a list of available stages is displayed as shown in Fig. 5, when a user of interest performs an operation to select one of the stages, the stage selection operation receiving unit 31 regards that stage as being designated as a stage to be played, and executes processing related to the game of that stage.

[0054] Furthermore, in this case, the noted client device 10n may use information about the presented target character to execute processing related to the selected play target stage. Specifically, for example, when the use character selection operation receiving unit 32 receives the selection of a use character to be used in the play target stage, the present target character may be highlighted or displayed with high priority, thereby providing control to assist the operation of selecting the presented target character as the use character. Alternatively, the presented target character or a character set to which the presented target character belongs may be selected as the use character, and subsequent processing (e.g., processing to start a game for the selected play target stage) may be executed. This allows the noted user to use the presented target character to play a game for the stage presented as the use stage for the presented target character with relatively simple operations.

[0055] Note that the stages presented as available stages may include stages that cannot be played at the time they are presented (for example, stages that are outside the playable time period). When such a stage is selected, the stage selection operation receiving unit 31 may display a message indicating that the stage is currently unavailable. Alternatively, the unit may receive an operation to designate the stage as a reserved stage. This allows the noted user to play the stage later when it becomes available for play. Furthermore, in this case, when the noted user plays a game of a stage that he or she selected and reserved from the screen presenting the available stages, the unit 32 may execute control to assist in the selection of a character to be presented.

[0056] According to the information processing system 1 of this embodiment described above, by focusing on the character to be presented selected by the user and providing an interface that presents to the user stages in which that character has been used by other users, it becomes easier for users to utilize various characters in games in which the user selects the stage to play and the character to use.

[0057] It should be noted that the embodiments of the present invention are not limited to those described above. For example, the screen contents described above are merely examples, and the client device 10 may present the stage information used by the presented character to the user in various forms.

[0058] In the above description, at least a portion of the processing to be executed by each of the client device 10 and the server device 20 may be distributed and executed by multiple devices. At least a portion of the processing to be executed by the client device 10 may be executed by the server device 20, and conversely, at least a portion of the processing to be executed by the server device 20 may be executed by the client device 10. [Explanation of symbols]

[0059] 1 Information processing system, 10 Client device, 11 Control unit, 12 Storage unit, 13 Communication unit, 14 interface unit, 15 operation input device, 16 display device, 20 server device, 21 control unit, 22 memory unit, 23 communication unit, 31 stage selection operation reception unit, 32 use character selection operation reception unit, 33 game processing execution unit, 34 information presentation operation reception unit, 35 character information presentation unit, 41 game control unit, 42 use character data recording unit, 43 information acquisition request reception unit, 44 stage information notification unit.

Claims

1. An information processing system including: a server device that executes processing related to a game in which a plurality of users each own at least one of a plurality of types of characters and play a stage selected from a plurality of stages prepared in advance using a character selected from among the characters owned by the user; and a plurality of client devices that are used by the plurality of users, The server device a recording means for recording, as used character data, a stage played by each user among the plurality of stages and the type of character used in the play; a request receiving means for receiving, from one of the plurality of client devices, an information presentation request that designates one of the plurality of types of characters as a presentation target character; a stage information notification means for notifying the client device that has made the information presentation request of information on use stages including at least one of the stages associated with the presentation target character in the use character data; Including, Each of the plurality of client devices a request sending means for receiving an operation from a user of the client device to select one of the plurality of types of characters, and sending the information presentation request to the server device, the information presentation request specifying the selected character as the presentation target character; a stage presentation means for presenting information about the use stage notified by the server device in response to the information presentation request to a user of the client device; An information processing system comprising:

2. 2. The information processing system according to claim 1, The stage information notification means notifies, as the use stage, a stage determined according to a usage situation of the presentation target character among the stages associated with the presentation target character in the use character data. An information processing system comprising:

3. 3. The information processing system according to claim 2, The stage information notification means notifies a stage on which the presentation target character has been used many times as the used stage. An information processing system comprising:

4. 4. The information processing system according to claim 3, The stage presentation means presents the use stages in order of the number of times the presentation target character has been used. An information processing system comprising:

5. 5. The information processing system according to claim 1, Each of the plurality of client devices a reservation receiving means for receiving, from a user of the client device, a designated stage that the user wishes to play later from among the plurality of stages; The stage presenting means presents, as the available stage, a stage designated as the reserved stage by the user of the client device with priority. An information processing system comprising:

6. 6. The information processing system according to claim 1, the client device that has made the information presentation request further includes means for accepting an operation from a user of the client device to select one of the available stages as a play target stage; When an operation to select one of the available stages as a play target stage is accepted, a process related to the game of the play target stage is executed using the presented target character. An information processing system comprising:

7. A server device connected to a plurality of client devices used by a plurality of users, the server device executing a process related to a game in which each of the plurality of users owns at least one of a plurality of types of characters and plays a stage selected from a plurality of stages prepared in advance using a character selected from among the characters owned by the user, a recording means for recording, as used character data, a stage played by each user among the plurality of stages and the type of character used in the play; a request receiving means for receiving, from one of the plurality of client devices, an information presentation request that designates one of the plurality of types of characters as a presentation target character; a stage specifying means for notifying the client device that has made the information presentation request of information on use stages including at least one of the stages associated with the presentation target character in the use character data; A server device comprising:

8. A computer connected to a plurality of client devices used by a plurality of users, the computer executing processing related to a game in which each of the plurality of users owns at least one of a plurality of types of characters and plays a stage selected from a plurality of stages prepared in advance using a character selected from among the characters owned by the user, a recording means for recording, as used character data, a stage played by each user among the plurality of stages and the type of character used in the play; a request receiving means for receiving, from one of the plurality of client devices, an information presentation request that designates one of the plurality of types of characters as a presentation target character; a stage specifying means for notifying the client device that has made the information presentation request of information on use stages including at least one of the stages associated with the presentation target character in the use character data; A program to function as a

9. In a game in which a plurality of users each own at least one of a plurality of types of characters and play a stage selected from a plurality of stages prepared in advance using a character selected from among the characters owned by the user, a client device used by any of the plurality of users comprises: means for receiving an operation from a user of the client device to select one of the plurality of types of characters as a character to be presented; a means for acquiring information on stages used, the information including at least one stage on which the presentation target character was used in a past play by the plurality of users; a stage presenting means for presenting the acquired information on the use stage to a user of the client device in response to the operation; 10. A client device comprising:

10. In a game in which a plurality of users each own at least one of a plurality of types of characters and play a stage selected from a plurality of stages prepared in advance using a character selected from among the characters owned by the user, a client device used by any of the plurality of users is means for receiving an operation from a user of the client device to select one of the plurality of types of characters as a character to be presented; a means for acquiring information on stages used, the information including at least one stage on which the presentation target character was used in a past play by the plurality of users; a stage presenting means for presenting the acquired information on the use stage to a user of the client device in response to the operation; A program to function as a

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