Information processing device, information processing method and program

Abstract

To notify a player of a method for easily acquiring characters that the player does not own.SOLUTION: An information processing device includes a storage section for storing characters that a player owns, and a display control section that, upon receiving, from the player, an operation of displaying information of prescribed characters, if a character satisfying a prescribed condition is included in the prescribed characters, displays a notification screen for notifying the player of information of an event in which the player may acquire the character satisfying the prescribed condition, where the character satisfying the prescribed condition is the character that may be acquired in the event and that the player does not own.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 7

Description

[Technical Field]

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

[0002] There is known a game in which a player completes missions called quests using a team of characters called a deck. Patent Document 1 discloses a technology that identifies a type of lottery game for which the maximum number of required points that can be reached by the end of a play period is set based on the points the user has currently acquired, the points that can be acquired by fulfilling point acquisition conditions by the end of a play period, and the required points for each lottery game, and then notifies the user to play the identified type of lottery game. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2019-115411 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] To construct a deck, multiple characters are required. In order to progress through a quest advantageously, it is desirable for the player to possess a variety of characters and assemble a deck that suits the characteristics of the quest before playing the quest.

[0005] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to inform players of a method by which they can easily obtain characters that they do not own. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] An information processing device according to one aspect of the present invention comprises a memory unit that stores characters owned by a player, and a display control unit that, when an operation to display information about a specified character is received from the player, displays a notification screen that notifies the player of information about an event in which a character that satisfies a specified condition can be obtained if the specified characters include a character that satisfies the specified condition, and the character that satisfies the specified condition is a character that can be obtained in the event and is not owned by the player. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the present invention, it is possible to notify a player of a method by which a character that the player does not own can be easily obtained. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a system configuration of a game system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the hardware configuration of a game server and a terminal. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a functional block configuration of a game server. [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a player management DB and an owned character management DB. [Figure 5] This figure shows an example of a deck management DB, deck usage history DB, character status management DB, and event setting DB. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a functional block configuration of a terminal. [Figure 7] 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a processing procedure performed by a game server. [Figure 8] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a game screen. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

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

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

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

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

[0013] <Game Overview> Next, an overview of the game provided by the game system 1 according to this embodiment will be described. In the game provided by the game system 1 (hereinafter referred to as "this game"), a player can select from among a plurality of characters owned and create a deck with characters, and clear quests using the created deck to obtain new characters and items. Furthermore, the player can combine the obtained characters to make them stronger, or use items to strengthen the attributes of the characters, thereby challenging more difficult quests.

[0014] Here, the term "quest" refers to a mission that requires certain predetermined conditions to be met. A quest is also called an exploration or a task. A player who participates in a quest can complete the quest by meeting the certain conditions. Completing a quest will result in the player receiving a reward and progressing through the story of the game.

[0015] A deck is a term that refers to a group of multiple characters. When a player performs a quest, the player selects characters with the appropriate abilities to complete the quest, organizes a deck, and then performs the quest. The game server 10 can store multiple decks organized by players, and when performing a quest, the player can select one of the stored decks to perform the quest.

[0016] When a player performs a quest, a certain parameter that the player possesses, called "stamina," is consumed. The amount of stamina consumed varies depending on each quest. The upper limit of stamina is set based on the player's level, experience points, etc. Stamina consumed by playing quests is automatically recovered over time.

[0017] Players can establish specific relationships (hereinafter referred to as "friend relationships") with other players. Friend relationships can be established with the approval of both players. A list of other players with whom a player has a friend relationship is displayed on the player's game screen.

[0018] A deck is composed of characters selected by the player from among the characters owned by the player himself / herself and characters owned by other players. Each player sets in advance characters that can be organized into other players' decks (hereinafter referred to as "friend's characters"). When a player performs a quest, the player organizes a deck to be used for the quest and selects one other player from multiple other players listed on the game screen. When a player selects one other player, the friend's character of the selected other player is set in the deck and the quest begins. Note that the multiple other players listed on the game screen are players who are friends with the player, or other players arbitrarily selected by the game server 10.

[0019] Players can also rent (borrow) characters owned by other players who are friends with them. The player who rents the character can incorporate the rented character into their deck and perform quests for a specified period of time.

[0020] Players can obtain characters in various situations during the game (for example, when clearing a quest). Players can also obtain characters through events held within the game where characters can be won (for example, gacha, hereinafter referred to as "events"). The character that can be won varies for each event, and typically, one character is randomly selected by lottery from among multiple characters that are pre-associated with the event. Note that, depending on the event, the probability of winning a specific character among multiple characters is set to be higher (i.e., a character is set to be more likely to win). In this game, multiple events may be held at the same time.

[0021] In this game, when an operation to display information about predetermined characters is received from a player on the game screen, if the predetermined characters include a character that can be obtained in an event but that the player does not own (hereinafter referred to as a "character that satisfies a predetermined condition"), a screen (hereinafter referred to as an "event notification screen") is displayed to notify the player of information about the event in which the character that satisfies the predetermined condition can be obtained. Here, "predetermined character" refers to a character that appears in the game and meets some condition. For example, the predetermined character may be a character that has been newly added to the game, a character whose status is equal to or exceeds a predetermined value, or a character that has a specific attribute. It may also be a popular character and / or a character whose popularity is rapidly increasing, as described below. This allows the player to recognize that an event in which a character that the player does not own can be obtained is being held (or is being held).

[0022] <Hardware configuration> 2 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the game server 10 and the terminal 20. The game server 10 and the terminal 20 each have a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 11, a storage device 12 such as a memory, an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) and / or an SSD (Solid State Drive), a communication IF (Interface) 13 for wired or wireless communication, an input device 14 for accepting input operations, and an output device 15 for outputting information. The input device 14 is, for example, a keyboard, a touch panel, a mouse, and / or a microphone. The output device 15 is, for example, a display and / or a speaker.

[0023] <Function block configuration> (game server) FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the functional block configuration of the game server 10. The game server 10 includes a storage unit 100 and a game control unit 110. The storage unit 100 can be realized using a storage unit 12 provided in the game server 10. The game control unit 110 can be realized by the processor 11 of the game server 10 executing a program stored in the storage unit 12. The program can be stored in a storage medium. The storage medium storing the program may be a non-transitory computer-readable medium. The non-transitory storage medium is not particularly limited, and may be, for example, a storage medium such as a USB memory or a CD-ROM.

[0024] The storage unit 100 stores a player management DB 100a, an owned character management DB 100b, a deck management DB 100c, a used deck history DB 100d, a character status management DB 100e, and an event setting DB 100f.

[0025] 4 is a diagram showing an example of the player management DB 100a and the owned character management DB 100b. The player management DB 100a manages game data owned by each player. The player management DB 100a also stores, among the characters owned by the player, friend-used characters that can be organized into the decks of other players. The player management DB 100a stores, in association with each other, for example, an ID (player ID) that uniquely identifies the player, the player's nickname, the player IDs of other players registered as friends, the current location of the terminal 20 used by the player, the player's experience points, the player's rank, the player's stamina, and the number of owned items consumed when executing an event (event execution items).

[0026] The owned character management DB 100b manages characters owned by the player. The owned character management DB 100b stores an ID (player ID) that uniquely identifies the player, an ID (character ID) that uniquely specifies the character, a rank indicating whether the character is easy to obtain or difficult to obtain, various parameters that indicate the character's strength (level, luck, HP (hit points), attack power, speed, etc.), etc.

[0027] FIG. 5 shows an example of the deck management DB 100c, the deck usage history DB 100d, the character status management DB 100e, and the event setting DB 100f.

[0028] The deck management DB 100c manages the characters that make up each deck. For example, the deck management DB 100c stores an ID (player ID) that uniquely identifies a player, an ID (deck ID) that uniquely identifies each player's deck, and an ID (character ID) that uniquely identifies each character that makes up each deck, all of which are associated with each other.

[0029] The used deck history DB 100d records a history (deck history) indicating which deck each player used when they executed each quest in the past. The used deck history DB 100d stores, in association with each other, for example, an ID (player ID) that uniquely identifies the player, an ID (quest ID) that uniquely identifies the quest, and the history of multiple characters (character IDs) that constitute one or more decks used when the quest was executed. The used deck (last time) stores the characters of the deck used the last time the quest was executed. The used deck (before last time) stores the characters of the deck used the second time the quest was executed.

[0030] The character status management DB 100e manages information indicating the status of each character appearing in the game. The "Popular Character Ranking" stores a predetermined number of character IDs of characters that are popular in the game in order of popularity (for example, the top 10). Specifically, the popular characters may be a predetermined number of characters ranked in order of the total number of times they have been used in quests played by each player over a predetermined period. Furthermore, the "Rapidly Rising Popularity Character Ranking" stores a predetermined number of character IDs of characters (for example, the top 10) ranked in order of the most significant rise in popularity ranking over a predetermined period.

[0031] The event setting DB 100f manages information about events held in this game. The event setting DB 100f stores information such as an ID (event ID) that uniquely identifies the event, the event period, characters that can be obtained in the event (characters that can be drawn by lottery), and characters that are above a certain rank and have a high probability of being drawn among the available characters (hereinafter referred to as "pick-up characters").

[0032] 3, the explanation will be continued. The game control unit 110 provides various functions necessary for executing the game. The game control unit 110 includes a reception unit 111, an execution unit 112, and a display control unit 113.

[0033] The reception unit 111 receives from the player the selection of a quest to be performed, the selection of a deck to be used for the quest, etc. The reception unit 111 also receives from the player an operation on the screen to display information about a predetermined character. The information about the predetermined character means information about some of the characters that appear in the game and meet certain conditions. For example, the information about the predetermined character may be information indicating a ranking of popular characters or information indicating a ranking of characters whose popularity is rapidly increasing.

[0034] The execution unit 112 executes the quest accepted by the acceptance unit 111.

[0035] When the reception unit 111 receives an operation from a player to display information about a specified character, and if the specified characters include a character that satisfies a specified condition, the display control unit 113 displays an event notification screen (a screen for notifying information about an event in which a character that satisfies the specified condition can be obtained).

[0036] (Terminal) FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of the functional block configuration of the terminal 20. The terminal 20 includes a storage unit 200, a communication unit 201, a UI (User Interface) unit 202, and a game control unit 203. The storage unit 200 can be realized using the storage unit 12 included in the terminal 20. The communication unit 201, the UI unit 202, and the game control unit 203 can be realized by the processor 11 of the terminal 20 executing a program stored in the storage unit 12. The program can be stored in a storage medium. The storage medium storing the program may be a computer-readable non-transitory storage medium. The non-transitory storage medium is not particularly limited, and may be, for example, a storage medium such as a USB memory or a CD-ROM.

[0037] The storage unit 200 stores game data necessary for the game control unit 203 to execute the game. The game data includes image data of characters, a game scenario, and the like.

[0038] The communication unit 201 has a function of performing various communications with the game server 10 using the communication IF 13 .

[0039] The UI unit 202 has a function to process various inputs from the player and to display various game screens on the display. The UI unit 202 also displays game screens in accordance with instructions from the game server 10.

[0040] The game control unit 203 provides various functions necessary for executing the game by cooperating with the game server 10. For example, the game control unit 203 provides a function for acquiring, from the game server 10, various information (icon image data, text data, etc.) for drawing on the game screen.

[0041] With regard to the functional block configuration described above, all or part of the reception unit 111, execution unit 112, and display control unit 113 included in the game server 10 may be configured to be provided in the game control unit 203 of the terminal 20.

[0042] <Processing Procedure> Fig. 7 is a flowchart showing an example of a processing procedure performed by the game server 10. When the reception unit 111 receives an operation on the screen from the player to display information on a predetermined character, the processing procedure shown in Fig. 7 starts.

[0043] First, the display control unit 113 acquires information about a character that corresponds to a predetermined character from among the characters appearing in the game (S10). For example, if the predetermined character is a popular character or a character whose popularity is rapidly increasing, the display control unit 113 acquires information about the popular character or the character whose popularity is rapidly increasing by referring to the character status management DB.

[0044] Next, the display control unit 113 refers to the event setting DB to acquire characters that can be obtained in an event that is currently being held or will be held in the future (S11). Next, the display control unit 113 determines whether or not a character that satisfies a predetermined condition is included among the predetermined characters (S12). If a character that satisfies the predetermined condition is included (S12-YES), the display control unit 113 displays an event notification screen on the display of the terminal 20 (S13). If a character that satisfies the predetermined condition is not included (S12-NO), the display control unit 113 ends the process without displaying the event notification screen.

[0045] Figure 8 is a diagram showing an example of a game screen. When button B10 on the screen shown in Figure 8(a) is pressed, the screen transitions to the screen shown in Figure 8(b). When button B20 is pressed on the screen of Figure 8(b), the top 10 popular characters are displayed in display area B21, and the top 10 characters whose popularity is rapidly increasing are displayed in display area B22. Pressing button B10 on the screen shown in Figure 8(a) corresponds to receiving an operation on the screen from the player to display information about a predetermined character.

[0046] The screen in FIG. 8(b) displays a character icon C1. The character icon C1 indicates that a character that satisfies a predetermined condition is present among the top 10 popular characters. When the character icon C1 is pressed, the screen transitions to the screen shown in FIG. 8(c). The screen shown in FIG. 8(c) displays a message encouraging the player to participate in an event in which a character that satisfies a predetermined condition can be obtained, and when button B30 is pressed, the screen transitions to FIG. 8(d), which is a screen for participating in the event (for example, a screen for drawing gacha). In FIG. 8(d), the display area B40 displays the icons of the characters that can be obtained in the event. will be done.

[0047] The event notification screen may correspond to the screen shown in Fig. 8(c), or may correspond to the screen shown in Fig. 8(b), which displays an icon C1 indicating the presence of a character that satisfies a predetermined condition.

[0048] In the example of Fig. 8, the screen transition is not limited to the above description. For example, when button B10 on the screen shown in Fig. 8(a) is pressed, Fig. 8(b) may be omitted and the screen may transition to the screen shown in Fig. 8(c). Furthermore, the screen of Fig. 8(b) is not limited to displaying popular characters and characters whose popularity is rapidly increasing. Any screen that can display multiple predetermined characters side by side may be used.

[0049] <Modification of processing procedure> [Variation (Part 1)] The character that satisfies the predetermined condition may further be a featured character (a character of a predetermined rank or higher that can be obtained in an event and that has a higher probability of being drawn among the characters of the predetermined rank or higher). A featured character is often a powerful character that can advance a quest advantageously (however, this embodiment is not limited to this). This allows the player to easily obtain a featured character from among characters that the player does not own.

[0050] Furthermore, the character satisfying the predetermined condition may be a featured character that has a predetermined relationship with a predetermined number of quests that the player has not yet played. The predetermined relationship may be a character that has been predefined as a character that can advantageously progress through the quest based on the character's status, the character's attributes, etc. For example, when playing a quest in which many monsters with a wood attribute appear, it is assumed that adding a character with a fire attribute to the deck can advantageously progress through the quest. In this case, if a quest that the player has not played in which many monsters with a wood attribute appear and a character with a fire attribute is included in the featured characters, the display control unit 113 may notify the terminal 20 of information about an event in which the character can be obtained.

[0051] Furthermore, the predetermined relationship may be a character that is included in a predetermined number of characters (e.g., top 1 to 3) in data obtained by tallying the number of times each character has been used when another player cleared a quest that the player has never cleared. For example, suppose that for quest A that the player has never cleared, the characters U1 to U4 were included in the deck of another character C1 when he cleared quest A, and the characters U4 to U7 were included in the deck of another character C2 when he cleared quest A. In this case, the number of times characters U1 to U3 have been used is counted as one, the number of times character U4 has been used is two, and the number of times characters U5 to U7 have been used is counted as one.

[0052] This allows the player to easily obtain a featured character that is related to a quest to be played in the future, among characters that the player does not own.

[0053] [Variation (2)] The characters that satisfy the predetermined condition may be popular characters (a predetermined number of characters in descending order of the total number of times they have been used in quests during a predetermined period), which allows the player to easily obtain characters that are frequently used in quests among characters that the player does not own.

[0054] [Variation (3)] A character that satisfies a predetermined condition may be a character that was included in a deck that the player previously used in a quest, that is owned by another player (for example, a character used by a friend), or that is rented from another player. This allows a player to easily obtain a character that was included in a deck that the player previously used in a quest and that is the same as a character owned or rented by another player.

[0055] [Variation (4)] The character that satisfies the predetermined condition may be a character used by another player who cleared a quest that the player was unable to clear. The character used by the other player when clearing the quest is assumed to be a character that exerts an advantageous effect when clearing the quest. This allows the player to easily clear the quest that they were unable to clear.

[0056] [Additional information for Variations (1 to 4)] In this embodiment, characters may be able to transform (hereinafter referred to as "evolve") into other, more powerful characters by gaining experience points through use in quests or by combining with other characters.

[0057] In this case, the "character satisfying a predetermined condition" in the modified examples (No. 1 to No. 4) may include a character that is obtainable in an event, that is not possessed by the player, and that, by evolving, satisfies the conditions set forth in the modified examples (No. 1 to No. 4) (i.e., conditions other than that the character is obtainable in an event and is not possessed by the player). For example, suppose there is a character m that evolves to become character M. Also, suppose character m is a character that is obtainable in an event, that is not possessed by the player. In this case, if character M is a friend's character, the display control unit 113 may determine that character m corresponds to modified example (No. 3), and may display an event notification screen on the display of terminal 20.

[0058] [Variation (5)] The featured character may be set to appear periodically during an event. Furthermore, if the player executes an event after displaying the notification screen, the display control unit 113 may cause the event notification screen to be displayed again at the timing when the featured character (a character whose lottery probability is set high) is set as the featured character again (the timing when the lottery probability is set high again). Furthermore, if the player does not execute an event after displaying the event notification screen, the display control unit 113 may not cause the event notification screen to be displayed even at the timing when the featured character is set as the featured character again.

[0059] For example, suppose an event is set up in which characters A, B, and C are available, and character A is set as the featured character in the first, fourth, and seventh weeks, character B is set as the featured character in the second, fifth, and eighth weeks, and character C is set as the featured character in the third, sixth, and ninth weeks, so that the same featured character appears repeatedly in a cyclical manner.

[0060] Also, suppose that the player does not own character A, and in the first week when character A is set as the featured character, the display control unit 113 displays an event notification screen (for example, the screen in FIG. 8(c)) indicating that character A is available in an event. In this case, if the player executes the event (that is, if the player sees the event notification screen, decides that he wants to obtain character A, and executes gacha), the event notification screen (for example, the screen in FIG. 8(c)) indicating that character A is available in an event may also be displayed on the player's terminal 20 in the fourth and seventh weeks.

[0061] On the other hand, if the player does not execute the event (that is, if the player does not want to obtain character A even after seeing the event notification screen and does not execute the gacha), the event notification screen (for example, the screen in FIG. 8(c)) indicating that character A can be obtained through the event may not be displayed on the player's terminal 20 for the fourth and seventh weeks. This makes it possible to switch whether or not to notify the player of an event again in an event in which a featured character can be periodically obtained with a high probability, depending on whether or not the player executed the event.

[0062] In the above-described modified example (5), after displaying the event notification screen on the player's terminal 20, the display control unit 113 may switch whether or not to display the event notification screen again depending on the number of times the player has performed the event, the number of characters the player owns, the parameters of those characters, and / or the usage status in quests. For example, suppose that the player does not own character A, and in the first week when character A is set as the pick-up character, the display control unit 113 displays an event notification screen (for example, the screen of FIG. 8(c)) indicating that character A is available in an event.

[0063] In this case, suppose that the player has performed the event a predetermined number of times (once, twice, three times, etc.). In this case, an event notification screen (for example, the screen in FIG. 8(c)) indicating that character A is available in the event may be displayed on the player's terminal 20 in the fourth and seventh weeks as well.

[0064] In this case, suppose that the player has performed the event a predetermined number of times or more and has obtained a predetermined number of characters A (one, two, three, etc.). In this case, the event notification screen (for example, the screen in FIG. 8(c)) may be displayed on the player's terminal 20 for the fourth and seventh weeks as well.

[0065] In this case, it is also assumed that the player has performed the event a predetermined number of times or more, has obtained a predetermined number of characters A or more, and the parameters of at least one of the characters A are above a predetermined level (i.e., the player has strengthened the obtained character A in some way). In this case, the event notification screen (for example, the screen in FIG. 8(c)) may be displayed on the player's terminal 20 for the fourth and seventh weeks as well.

[0066] In this case, it is assumed that the player has performed the event a predetermined number of times or more, obtained character A a predetermined number of times or more, and used character A in quests a predetermined number of times or more (i.e., the player has used the obtained character A in quests). In this case, the event notification screen (for example, the screen in FIG. 8(c)) may be displayed on the player's terminal 20 in the fourth and seventh weeks as well.

[0067] In this case, it is assumed that the player has performed the event a predetermined number of times or more, obtained a predetermined number of characters A, the parameters of at least one of the characters A are above a predetermined value, and used character A in quests a predetermined number of times or more. In this case, the event notification screen (for example, the screen in FIG. 8(c)) may be displayed on the player's terminal 20 for the fourth and seventh weeks as well.

[0068] In this case, if the player has not performed the event a predetermined number of times or more, the display control unit 113 may prevent the event notification screen (for example, the screen of FIG. 8(c)) from being displayed on the player's terminal 20 for the fourth and seventh weeks.

[0069] In this case, if the player has acquired a predetermined number of characters A or more but subsequently sells them and no longer owns them, the display control unit 113 may prevent the event notification screen (for example, the screen in Figure 8(c)) from being displayed on the player's terminal 20 for the fourth and seventh weeks.

[0070] In this case, if the player has acquired a predetermined number of characters A or more but has not changed the parameters of any of the characters A (i.e., has not strengthened the characters A), the display control unit 113 may not display the event notification screen (for example, the screen of Figure 8(c)) on the player's terminal 20 for the fourth and seventh weeks.

[0071] In this case, if the player has obtained a predetermined number of characters A or more but has not used any of the characters A in a quest (i.e., has not strengthened the characters A), the display control unit 113 may not display the event notification screen (for example, the screen of Figure 8(c)) on the player's terminal 20 for the fourth and seventh weeks.

[0072] On the other hand, suppose that the player has participated in the event but has not been able to obtain character A. In this case, for the fourth and seventh weeks, the event notification screen (for example, the screen in FIG. 8(c)) indicating that character A is available in the event may not be displayed on the player's terminal 20.

[0073] [Variation (6)] The display control unit 113 may change the appearance of the event notification screen depending on whether a plurality of characters satisfy a predetermined condition or a single character satisfies the predetermined condition.

[0074] For example, in step S12 of FIG. 7, if there are multiple characters among the predetermined characters that satisfy a predetermined condition, the display control unit 113 may display a screen capable of displaying multiple characters as shown in FIG. 8(b) as an event notification screen. Furthermore, the event notification screen may display multiple icons (e.g., icons in the shape of character icon C1) indicating characters that satisfy the predetermined condition. Furthermore, when an icon is pressed, an event notification screen (the screen shown in FIG. 8(c)) corresponding to an event in which the character indicated by the icon can be obtained may be displayed. Furthermore, at this time, if there are multiple characters that satisfy the predetermined condition, the shape of icon C1 may be changed to a shape indicating the presence of multiple characters that satisfy the predetermined condition (e.g., "!!" if there are two characters). Note that, since one icon C1 is assigned to each character on the screen of FIG. 8(b), when "!!" is displayed, the "!!" icon will be displayed in two places on the screen of FIG. 8(b). Similarly, when "!!!" is displayed, the "!!!" icon will be displayed in three places on the screen of FIG. 8(b). This makes the icon stand out more.

[0075] Furthermore, when there are multiple characters that satisfy a predetermined condition among the predetermined characters, and each character can be obtained in a different event, the display control unit 113 may display the event notification screen in a manner that allows the events in which the characters can be obtained to be identified. For example, on the screen of FIG. 8(b), an "A" icon may be displayed for a character that can be obtained in event A, and a "B" icon may be displayed for a character that can be obtained in event B.

[0076] On the other hand, when there is one character among the predetermined characters that satisfies the predetermined condition, the display control unit 113 may display, as the event notification screen, a screen that simply displays a message encouraging the player to perform an event (a message encouraging the player to perform gacha), as shown in Fig. 8(c). Alternatively, the display control unit 113 may display, as the event notification screen, a screen for performing an event (a screen for performing gacha), as shown in Fig. 8(d).

[0077] This allows the player to easily understand whether there are multiple characters that are available among the characters that the player does not own.

[0078] [Variation (7)] The display control unit 113 may display a character list screen (for example, the screen of FIG. 8(b)) that displays information about a predetermined character when it receives an operation on the screen from the player to display information about a predetermined character (for example, when button B10 in FIG. 8(a) is pressed), and may display an event notification screen (the screen of FIG. 8(c)) when a predetermined operation is performed on the character list screen (for example, when character icon C1 is pressed on the screen of FIG. 8(b)).

[0079] In addition, the display control unit 113 may display an event notification screen when an operation to select a character that satisfies a predetermined condition is performed for the first time on the character list screen, and may not display the same event notification screen when the operation to select a character that satisfies a predetermined condition is performed for the second or subsequent time on the character list screen.

[0080] For example, suppose that button B10 is pressed on the screen of FIG. 8(a), causing the screen of FIG. 8(b) to be displayed. Furthermore, suppose that character icon C1 is pressed on the screen of FIG. 8(b), causing the screen of FIG. 8(c) to be displayed. Furthermore, suppose that button B30 is pressed on the screen of FIG. 8(c), causing the screen of FIG. 8(d) to be displayed. In this case, suppose that some screen operation is performed, causing the screen of FIG. 8(b) to be displayed again. In this case, if character icon C1 is pressed on the screen of FIG. 8(b), the screen of FIG. 8(c) may not be displayed, but the screen of FIG. 8(d) may be displayed instead. This makes it possible to prevent the same event notification screen from being displayed multiple times. Furthermore, it is possible to prevent the player from feeling annoyed by the same event notification screen being displayed multiple times.

[0081] [Variation (8)] The display control unit 113 may display predetermined characters on the character list screen described in the seventh modified example by dividing the predetermined characters into at least characters that do not satisfy a predetermined condition and characters that satisfy a predetermined condition.

[0082] Furthermore, when a character that does not satisfy a predetermined condition is selected on the character list screen, the display control unit 113 may cause the terminal 20 to display information about the character that does not satisfy the predetermined condition, and when a character that satisfies the predetermined condition is selected, the display control unit 113 may cause the terminal 20 to display an event notification screen. The information about the character that does not satisfy the predetermined condition may be a screen that displays the detailed status (detailed specifications) of the character.

[0083] For example, the character list screen may be in the form shown in Fig. 8(b), with the top 10 most popular characters displayed in display area B21 and the top 10 characters whose popularity is rapidly increasing in display area B22. Display control unit 113 may display the characters displayed in Fig. 8(b) in a form that allows characters that satisfy a predetermined condition to be distinguished from characters that do not satisfy the predetermined condition.

[0084] Furthermore, the display control unit 113 may display predetermined characters in the character list screen described in the seventh modified example in the following three patterns.

[0085] Pattern 1: "A character that is available in an event, that the player does not own, and that is set as the featured character for that event." Pattern 2: "Characters that are obtainable in an event, but that the player does not own, and that are not set as featured characters in that event," and "Characters that are not obtainable in an event, but that the player does not own." Pattern 3: "Characters owned by the player" This allows the player to easily understand whether or not each character displayed on the character list screen is a character that satisfies a predetermined condition.

[0086] [Variation (No. 9)] The event may include multiple events, and the display control unit 113 may extract one or more events from the multiple events that the player can perform and that allow the player to obtain a character that satisfies a predetermined condition, depending on the number of items the player possesses that are necessary to perform the event, and may display a screen that notifies the player of information about the extracted one or more events.

[0087] For example, assume that five items are consumed to execute event A and ten items are consumed to execute event B. Assume also that the player possesses eight items. Assume also that character A and character B exist as characters that satisfy a predetermined condition, and character A can be obtained in event A, and character B can be obtained in event B. In this case, since the player possesses only eight items, event A can be executed but event B cannot be executed. Therefore, the display control unit 113 may cause the terminal 20 to display an event notification screen that notifies the player of event A that can be executed. Furthermore, when displaying the character list screen described in the seventh modification, the display control unit 113 may display character A on the character list screen as a character that satisfies the predetermined condition and character B as a character that does not satisfy the predetermined condition.

[0088] Also, for example, assume that five items are consumed to execute event A and event B. Furthermore, assume that character X, character Y, and character Z exist as characters that satisfy a predetermined condition, and that characters X and Y can be obtained in event A, and character Z can be obtained in event B. If the player possesses 10 or more items, the display control unit 113 may cause the terminal 20 to display an event notification screen that notifies the player of both event A and event B that the player can execute.

[0089] On the other hand, if the player has 5 to 9 items, the display control unit 113 may cause the terminal 20 to display an event notification screen notifying the player of either event A or event B as an event that the player can execute. The event to be notified may be determined randomly or based on a predetermined priority. The predetermined priority may be, for example, the order of events in which the most characters that satisfy a predetermined condition are available. In this example, in event A, two characters X and Y are available, and in event B, only one character Z is available. Therefore, the display control unit 113 may cause the terminal 20 to display an event notification screen notifying the player of event A, in which the most characters that satisfy a predetermined condition are available are available.

[0090] This makes it possible to notify the player of information about events that can be executed according to the number of items required to execute the events that the player possesses.

[0091] [Variation (10)] The event notified on the event notification screen may be the event with the most characters that satisfy a predetermined condition among the events in which characters can be obtained by lottery, thereby enabling the player to easily grasp the event with the most characters that satisfy the predetermined condition.

[0092] <Summary> According to the embodiment described above, it is possible to notify the player of a method by which the player can easily obtain a character that the player does not own.

[0093] The above-described embodiments are intended to facilitate understanding of the present invention and are not intended to limit the present invention. The flowcharts, sequences, elements included in the embodiments, and their arrangements, materials, conditions, shapes, sizes, etc., described in the embodiments are not limited to those illustrated and can be modified as appropriate. Furthermore, configurations shown in different embodiments can be partially substituted or combined with each other.

[0094] <Additional Notes> <Appendix 1> a storage unit that stores characters owned by players; a display control unit that, when an operation for displaying information about predetermined characters is received from the player and, if a character satisfying a predetermined condition is included in the predetermined characters, displays a notification screen for notifying information about an event in which the character satisfying the predetermined condition can be obtained; The character that satisfies the predetermined condition is a character that is available in the event and is not owned by the player. Information processing device.

[0095] According to Supplementary Note 1, it is possible to notify the player of a method by which the player can easily obtain a character that the player does not own.

[0096] <Appendix 2> The character that satisfies the predetermined condition is a character that is a predetermined rank or higher, and is a character that is set to have a higher probability of being selected among the characters that are a predetermined rank or higher. 10. The information processing device according to claim 1.

[0097] According to Supplementary Note 2, the player can easily obtain characters of a predetermined rank or higher that he or she does not own.

[0098] <Appendix 3> The character that satisfies the predetermined condition is further a character that has a predetermined relationship with a quest that the player has not played, among the characters that are set to have a high probability of being selected. 3. The information processing device according to claim 2.

[0099] According to Supplementary Note 3, the player can easily obtain characters that the player does not own, that are of a predetermined rank or higher, and that are related to the quest that the player will play in the future.

[0100] <Appendix 4> the character having a high probability of being selected is set to periodically appear repeatedly in the event; The display control unit after displaying the notification screen, if the player executes the event, the character for which the lottery probability is set to be high displays the notification screen again at a timing when the lottery probability is set to be high; If the player does not execute the event after the notification screen is displayed, the notification screen is not displayed. 4. The information processing device according to claim 2 or 3.

[0101] According to Appendix 4, in an event where characters of a certain rank or higher can be obtained periodically with a high probability, it becomes possible to switch whether or not to notify the player of the event again depending on whether or not the player has performed the event.

[0102] <Appendix 5> The characters that satisfy the predetermined condition are further a predetermined number of characters in descending order of the total number of times they have been used in quests during a predetermined period. 5. The information processing device according to any one of Supplementary Notes 1 to 4.

[0103] According to Appendix 5, the player can easily obtain characters that are frequently used in quests among characters that the player does not own.

[0104] <Appendix 6> The character that satisfies the predetermined condition is further a character that is owned by or rented from another player and that was incorporated into a deck that the player previously used in a quest. 6. The information processing device according to any one of Supplementary Notes 1 to 5.

[0105] According to Appendix 6, a player can easily obtain characters that were included in a deck used in a quest in the past and that are owned or rented by other players.

[0106] <Appendix 7> The character that satisfies the predetermined condition is further a character that another player who has completed a quest that the player was unable to complete is using in the quest. 7. The information processing device according to any one of Supplementary Notes 1 to 6.

[0107] According to Appendix 7, the player can easily obtain a character that enables the player to complete a quest that the player was unable to complete.

[0108] <Appendix 8> the display control unit changes the manner of the notification screen depending on whether a plurality of characters satisfy the predetermined condition or a single character satisfies the predetermined condition. An information processing device according to any one of Supplementary Notes 1 to 7.

[0109] According to Supplementary Note 8, the player can easily know whether there are multiple characters that are available among the characters that the player does not own.

[0110] <Appendix 9> The display control unit When the operation is accepted, a character list screen is displayed on which information of a predetermined character is displayed; When an operation of selecting a character that satisfies the predetermined condition is performed for the first time on the character list screen, the notification screen is displayed, and when the operation of selecting a character that satisfies the predetermined condition is performed for the second time or later on the character list screen, the notification screen is not displayed. An information processing device according to any one of appendices 1 to 8.

[0111] According to Appendix 9, it is possible to prevent the same notification screen from being displayed multiple times.

[0112] <Appendix 10> The display control unit On the character list screen, the predetermined characters are displayed by dividing them into at least characters that do not satisfy the predetermined condition and characters that satisfy the predetermined condition; When a character that does not satisfy the predetermined condition is selected, information about the character that does not satisfy the predetermined condition is displayed, and when a character that satisfies the predetermined condition is selected, the notification screen is displayed. 10. The information processing device according to any one of Supplementary Notes 1 to 9.

[0113] According to Supplementary Note 10, the player can grasp different information depending on whether or not the character satisfies a predetermined condition.

[0114] <Appendix 11> The event includes a plurality of events, the display control unit extracts, from the plurality of events, one or more events that can be executed by the player and that allow the player to obtain a character that satisfies the predetermined condition, in accordance with the number of items owned by the player that are necessary to execute the event, and displays a screen that notifies the player of information about the extracted one or more events. An information processing device according to any one of appendices 1 to 10.

[0115] According to Supplementary Note 11, it becomes possible to notify the player of information about events that can be executed, depending on the number of items required to execute the events.

[0116] <Appendix 12> An information processing method performed by an information processing device, storing a character owned by a player in a storage unit; and when an operation for displaying information about predetermined characters is received from the player and a character satisfying a predetermined condition is included in the predetermined characters, displaying a notification screen for notifying information about an event in which the character satisfying the predetermined condition can be obtained, The character that satisfies the predetermined condition is a character that is available in the event and is not owned by the player. Information processing methods.

[0117] According to Supplementary Note 12, it is possible to notify the player of a method by which the player can easily obtain a character that the player does not own.

[0118] <Appendix 13> On the computer, storing a character owned by a player in a storage unit; when an operation for displaying information about predetermined characters is received from the player, and when a character satisfying a predetermined condition is included in the predetermined characters, a notification screen is displayed to notify information about an event in which the character satisfying the predetermined condition can be obtained; The character that satisfies the predetermined condition is a character that is available in the event and is not owned by the player. program.

[0119] According to Supplementary Note 13, it is possible to notify the player of a method by which the player can easily obtain a character that the player does not own. [Explanation of symbols]

[0120] 1...game system, 10...game server, 11...processor, 12...storage device, 13...communication IF, 14...input device, 15...output device, 20...terminal, 100...storage unit, 100a...player management DB, 100b...owned character management DB, 100c...deck management DB, 100d...used deck history DB, 100e...character status management DB, 100f...event setting DB, 110...game control unit, 111...reception unit, 112...execution unit, 113...display control unit, 200...storage unit, 201...communication unit, 202...UI unit, 203...game control unit

Claims

[Claim 1] a storage unit that stores characters owned by players; a display control unit that, when an operation for displaying information about predetermined characters is received from the player and, if a character satisfying a predetermined condition is included in the predetermined characters, displays a notification screen for notifying information about an event in which the character satisfying the predetermined condition can be obtained; The character that satisfies the predetermined condition is a character that is available in the event and is not owned by the player. Information processing device.

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