Information processing system, program, and method

Abstract

To solve a problem in the case that if anyone can utilize various types of services without any restriction where a communication function using voice or a camera is versatile, inadequate use is performed.SOLUTION: An information processing system comprises: an approver setting unit for setting an approver account for an account; a friend setting unit for setting friend relation in which a predetermined function can be executed for each other; a communication permission friend setting unit that on the basis of an approval request from a first account for setting a second account of accounts set in friend relation with the first account to a communication permission friend for the first account, sets the second account to a communication permission friend for the first account; and a communication execution unit for making communication with the account of the communication permission friend.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a system, a program, and a method. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 (JP 2015-072559 A) discloses that in a game system, the approval of a supervisor is required as a condition for establishing a friend relationship between accounts. Accounts that are friends can receive various services. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2015-072559 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Requiring approval to become friends could make it difficult to build smooth friendships. On the other hand, as communication functions using voice and cameras have become commonplace, there is a risk that if anyone can use various services without restriction, they may be used inappropriately. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] (Configuration 1) A system according to one embodiment includes an approver setting unit that sets an approver account for a certain account; a friend setting unit that sets a friend relationship between the certain account and another account, enabling them to perform predetermined functions with each other, without approval from the approver account, in response to an application from the certain account to another account and approval of the application by the other account; and a communication allowed friend setting unit that sets a second account, among the accounts that have been set in a friend relationship with the first account, as a communication allowed friend of the first account, based on an approval request from the first account for which an approver account is set, to set the second account as a communication allowed friend of the first account, and approval of the approval request by the approver account set for the first account; The communication execution unit causes the terminal associated with the first account to communicate with audio between the terminal associated with the account that is the communication permitted friend.

[0006] (Configuration 2) In configuration 1, the information processing system further includes a storage unit that stores information regarding communication-permitted friends entered by the approver account in a manner that is viewable by at least the approver account but not by the first account.

[0007] (Configuration 3) In configuration 2, the storage unit stores information associated with an account that is a communication permitted friend in a manner that allows the approver account to view the information, regardless of whether the icon image or name of the communication permitted friend is changed.

[0008] (Configuration 4) In configuration 2, other accounts with which the first account is currently communicating via voice are displayed on the terminal associated with the approver account, along with information about the other accounts entered by the approver account.

[0009] (Configuration 5) In any of configurations 1 to 4, when an approval request is made again to set a third account as a communication allowed friend of the first account, for which an approval request to set the third account as a communication allowed friend of the first account was previously denied by the approver account, a message is displayed on the device associated with the approver account indicating that the approval request for the third account was previously denied.

[0010] (Configuration 6) In any of configurations 1 to 4, the system further includes a camera image communication unit that enables the display of camera images corresponding to the first account on a terminal associated with another account during a communication involving audio corresponding to an approved camera use approval request, based on a camera use approval request sent from the first account for each communication involving audio in which the first account participates, to display camera images on a terminal associated with the account of the other party in the communication, and approval of the camera use approval request by an approver account set for the first account.

[0011] (Configuration 7) In any of configurations 1 to 6, the system further includes a camera image communication unit that enables the display of camera images sent from a terminal associated with another account during a communication involving audio corresponding to an approved camera use approval request based on a camera use approval request for displaying camera images corresponding to another account on a terminal associated with the first account, the camera use approval request being received by the first account for each communication involving audio in which the first account participates, and approval of the camera use approval request by an approver account set for the first account.

[0012] (Configuration 8) In any of configurations 1 to 7, a camera image communication unit is further provided that enables the display of camera images between a terminal associated with the first account and a terminal associated with another account during a communication involving audio corresponding to an approved approval request based on an approval request for displaying camera images between the first account and another account for each communication involving audio in which the first account participates, and approval of the approval request for sending and receiving camera images by an approver account set for the first account.

[0013] (Configuration 9) In any of configurations 1 to 8, the camera video communication unit enables the approver account to set the display mode of camera video transmitted by a terminal associated with the first account in a communication involving audio in which the terminal associated with the first account participates, on other terminals associated with other accounts participating in the communication.

[0014] (Configuration 10) In configuration 9, the camera image communication unit enables the approver account to set multiple levels of camera image display modes, enables the first account to select a camera image display mode at a level lower than the level set by the approver account, and causes other terminals to display the camera image in the selected display mode.

[0015] (Configuration 11) A program according to one embodiment is a program used to manage a first account to which an approver account has been set in a system in which a first account and another account to which a friend relationship has been set provide predetermined functions to each other, wherein a terminal to which the first account is associated has one or more processors, and the program causes the one or more processors to perform the steps of sending an approval request from the first account to set a second account, among accounts having a friend relationship with the first account, as a communication-permitted friend of the first account, and communicating via voice with a terminal to which the account that is the communication-permitted friend is associated.

[0016] (Configuration 12) A program according to one embodiment is a program used in an information processing system that manages a first account in which an approver account is set, in a system that provides a first account and another account that have a friend relationship with each other with specified functions including voice communication, wherein a terminal associated with the approver account has one or more processors, and the program causes the one or more processors to perform the steps of receiving an approval request to set a second account among the accounts that have a friend relationship with the first account as a communication-allowed friend for the first account, and sending an approval or rejection in response to the approval request.

[0017] (Configuration 13) In configuration 12, the program causes one or more processors to execute a step of storing information regarding communication-allowed friends entered by the approver account in a manner that is viewable by at least the approver account but not by the first account.

[0018] (Configuration 14) In configuration 12 or 13, the program causes one or more processors to execute a camera usage approval request, which is sent from the first account for each audio communication in which the first account participates, to display camera footage on a terminal associated with the account of the communication partner, and a step of approving the camera usage approval request by an approver account set for the first account.

[0019] (Configuration 15) In any of configurations 12 to 14, the program causes one or more processors to execute a camera usage approval request to display camera footage corresponding to another account on a terminal associated with the first account, which is received by the first account for each audio communication in which the first account participates, and a step of approving the camera usage approval request by an approver account set for the first account.

[0020] (Configuration 16) In any of configurations 12 to 15, the program causes one or more processors to execute a step of setting, to an approver account, the display manner of camera footage transmitted by a terminal associated with the first account in a communication involving audio in which the terminal associated with the first account participates, on other terminals associated with other accounts participating in the communication.

[0021] (Configuration 17) A method according to one embodiment is a method used to manage a first account in which an approver account is set in a system that provides predetermined functions to a first account and other accounts that have a friend relationship established with each other, and the method includes the steps of causing a terminal associated with the first account to send an approval request from the first account to set a second account among accounts that have a friend relationship with the first account as a communication-permitted friend for the first account, and causing audio communication with the terminal associated with the account that is the communication-permitted friend.

[0022] (Configuration 18) A method according to one embodiment is a method used in an information processing system that manages a first account in which an approver account is set, in a system that provides a first account and another account that have a friend relationship established with each other with predetermined functions including voice communication, and the method includes the steps of causing a terminal associated with the approver account to receive an approval request to set a second account among accounts that have a friend relationship with the first account as a communication-allowed friend for the first account, and sending an approval or rejection of the approval request.

[0023] (Configuration 19) In configuration 18, the method includes a step of storing, on a terminal associated with the approver account, information about communication-allowed friends entered by the approver account in a manner that is viewable by at least the approver account but not by the first account.

[0024] (Configuration 20) In configuration 18 or 19, the method includes a step of sending a camera usage approval request to a terminal associated with an approver account for each communication involving audio in which the first account participates, to display camera footage on a terminal associated with the account of the communication partner, and a step of approving the camera usage approval request by the approver account set for the first account.

[0025] (Configuration 21) In any of configurations 18 to 20, the method includes a step of receiving a camera usage approval request for displaying camera footage corresponding to another account on a terminal associated with the first account, the camera usage approval request being received by the first account for each audio communication in which the first account participates, and having the approver account set for the first account approve the camera usage approval request.

[0026] (Configuration 22) In any of configurations 18 to 21, the method includes a step of causing a terminal associated with an approver account to set a display mode for camera footage transmitted by the terminal associated with the first account in a communication involving audio in which the terminal associated with the first account participates, on other terminals associated with other accounts participating in the communication. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0027] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic diagram showing an example of an information processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of a server included in the information processing system according to the present embodiment. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of a game terminal included in the information processing system according to the present embodiment. [Figure 4]FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of a terminal included in the information processing system according to the present embodiment. [Figure 5] 10 is an example of a timing chart illustrating a friend relationship setting process. [Figure 6] 10 is an example of a timing chart illustrating a process of approving or rejecting a chat permission friend. [Figure 7] 10 is an example of an initial screen of a director app. [Figure 8] 10 is an example of a screen showing information about chat-allowed friends of a supervised account. [Figure 9] 10 is an example of a screen showing a list of permission requests for chat permission friends. [Figure 10] This is an example of a screen for deciding whether to register account B as a chat-allowed friend for the supervised account. [Figure 11] 10 is an example of a screen for inputting memo information. [Figure 12] This is an example of the screen after registering account B. [Figure 13] 10 is an example of a timing chart for explaining approval processing of camera images. [Figure 14] 10 is an example of a screen for determining the result of a request for permission to transmit and receive data from the camera. [Figure 15] 10 is an example of a screen for setting a state of a chat in which sending and receiving of camera images is permitted. [Figure 16] 10 is an example of a screen for selecting a first mode from among the display modes of camera images. [Figure 17] 10 is an example of a screen for selecting a second mode from among the display modes of the camera image. [Figure 18] 10 is an example of a screen for selecting a third mode from among the camera image display modes. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0028] The present embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the drawings, in which the same or corresponding parts are designated by the same reference numerals and description thereof will not be repeated.

[0029] <Embodiment> [A. Overview] An example of the configuration of an information processing system 100 according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the information processing system 100 according to the present embodiment. The information processing system 100 is a system that provides services such as account management using a server Sr1. An account is information for identifying a user. Information about all created accounts can be stored in the server Sr1.

[0030] In the information processing system 100 of this embodiment, a certain account can supervise other accounts. Hereinafter, an account that supervises a specific account will be referred to as a "supervisor account." Furthermore, a specific account that is the subject of supervision by a supervisor account will be referred to as a "supervised account." A supervised account is, for example, a child's account. A supervisor account is, for example, an account of the child's guardian. In this embodiment, the supervisor account can view the game play status and purchase status of the supervised account and make various approvals.

[0031] By performing a predetermined process, a user can register one account and another account as a supervisor account and a supervised account, respectively, on the server Sr1. An account that is not registered as either a supervised account or a supervisor account is called a "normal account."

[0032] In the information processing system 100 of this embodiment, multiple accounts can communicate with each other using their respective terminals. Communication includes at least one of communication involving voice and communication using text, but this embodiment will mainly describe communication involving voice.

[0033] Communication is realized by executing a communication application program 364 stored in each terminal. The communication application program 364 is a program for executing a chat application (referred to as a "chat app"). While the chat app is running, multiple accounts participating in the same communication group (hereinafter referred to as a virtual room) can communicate with each other. In this embodiment, the chat app allows users to communicate with each other within the virtual room while having one or more accounts broadcast a game. Hereinafter, communication via the chat app will be simply referred to as "chat." It is not necessary to broadcast a game.

[0034] Communication between a game terminal associated with an account participating in a virtual room and one or more other game terminals associated with one or more other accounts participating in the virtual room is enabled when a predetermined condition is satisfied. The server Sr1 may execute at least a part of a process for determining whether the predetermined condition related to the account is satisfied.

[0035] An example of a predetermined condition for communication between accounts that are not supervised accounts (normal accounts and supervisor accounts) is that a friend relationship is established. A friend relationship is a relationship in which some predetermined functions can be provided to two accounts. There are no limitations on how a friend relationship can be established. As an example, a user may apply for a friend relationship with a specific account by inputting the friend code or the like of the account they want to make a friend into their own device.

[0036] The predetermined function may be, for example, a function to display friend information (such as the friend's online status, the game title the friend is playing, and information indicating how and when they became friends), to send invitations to online games, or to play games on the same team. Within a virtual room, each account does not have to be in a friend relationship with all other accounts, as long as it has a friend relationship with at least one other account. Note that a friend relationship is a relationship that allows communication functions to be provided, and other functions may not be provided.

[0037] On the other hand, in this embodiment, even if a friend relationship is established with another account, the supervised account cannot chat using a chat app unless the other account is registered as a predetermined status for the supervised account. In this embodiment, the predetermined status is called a "chat-permitted friend." A chat-permitted friend for a supervised account is a friend of the supervised account with whom communication is permitted by the supervisor account for the supervised account.

[0038] The supervised account selects friends with whom they want to chat and sends a request to the supervisor account for approval to register the selected accounts as chat-allowed friends. The supervisor account then decides whether to approve or reject this approval request.

[0039] In this embodiment, when a supervised account invites a friend to a chat, the supervised account can only invite chat-permitted friends to the virtual room. Also, in this embodiment, when a supervised account is invited to a chat by another account, the supervised account can only participate in the virtual room if all accounts invited to the virtual room are chat-permitted friends. Note that in this embodiment, "all accounts invited to the virtual room" includes not only accounts currently participating in the virtual room, but also accounts that have been invited but have not participated, and accounts that have participated and then left.

[0040] Hereinafter, an example will be described in which account PA associated with terminal 40 is a supervisor account, and account A associated with game terminal 30A is a supervised account. Account PA is, for example, the guardian of account A.

[0041] [B. Overall configuration] The information processing system 100 may include a server Sr1 and several tens, hundreds, or even more terminals. The terminals may include dedicated game terminals, smartphones, tablets, PCs, etc. The terminals included in the information processing system 100 and the server Sr1 can be connected to each other via a network NW. The network NW is, for example, the Internet. In the example of FIG. 1, of the terminals included in the information processing system 100, game terminals 30A and 30B and terminal 40 are illustrated.

[0042] Game terminals 30A and 30B are, as an example, information processing devices dedicated to games that provide users with games. Hereinafter, game terminals 30A and 30B will be collectively referred to as "game terminal 30." Each of game terminals 30A and 30B includes a game application program 361, terminal-side account information 362, and a communication application program 364. Game application program 361 is a program for executing a game application. Game terminal 30 may be any of a portable, stationary, or hybrid type. Game terminal 30 may also be a general-purpose PC or smartphone capable of executing a game application program.

[0043] Terminal-side account information 362 includes information about individual accounts associated with game terminal 30. Accounts A and B are associated with game terminals 30A and 30B, respectively. Therefore, terminal-side account information 362 included in game terminals 30A and 30B each includes information about accounts A and B, respectively. Communication application program 364 is a program for transmitting and receiving audio between users in a virtual room.

[0044] Terminal 40 is an information processing device such as a smartphone, tablet, PC, or smartwatch. Terminal 40 includes terminal-side account information 462 and a supervisor application program 463. An account PA is associated with terminal 40, and terminal-side account information 462 of terminal 40 includes information about account PA. Multiple accounts may be associated with game terminal 30 and terminal 40A. That is, terminal-side account information 462 may include information about multiple accounts. Furthermore, the same account may be associated with multiple terminals. Note that account PA may be associated with game terminal 30A in addition to terminal 40.

[0045] In this embodiment, the account PA and the account A are accounts that are registered in advance, for example, on the server Sr1, in order to receive services provided on the network. Such an account may be associated with the game terminal 30, or one or more game terminal accounts may be associated separately. Furthermore, for example, the account registered on the server Sr1 may be associated with the game terminal account, thereby effectively associating the account with the game terminal 30. As an example, a game terminal account that is not associated with the above accounts may not be able to use chat, and may not be able to be set as a supervisor account or a supervised account. In the following, no particular distinction will be made even if a game terminal account is set separately from the above accounts.

[0046] [C. Hardware configuration example] An example of the hardware configuration of server Sr1, game terminal 30, and terminal 40 constituting information processing system 100 according to the present embodiment will be described below with reference to FIGS.

[0047] 2 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of server Sr1 included in information processing system 100 according to the present embodiment. Referring to FIG. 2, server Sr1 includes one or more processors 14, memory 15, storage 16, and communication unit 13. These components are connected to each other via bus 17 so as to be able to communicate data with each other. Note that server Sr1 may be a dedicated information processing device that manages accounts and executes communications, or may be realized using a general-purpose server.

[0048] The communication unit 13 communicates with multiple terminals included in the information processing system 100 via the network NW. The communication unit 13 has at least one of hardware necessary for wired communication and hardware necessary for wireless communication. Note that all or part of the processing of the communication unit 13 may be implemented by the processor 14.

[0049] The processor 14 is a processing entity (processing means) for executing the processes provided by the server Sr1. In this disclosure, the term "processor" refers to a processing circuit such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), MPU (Micro Processing Unit), or GPU (Graphics Processing Unit). The term "processor" encompasses a processing circuit that executes processing according to instruction codes written in a program, a processing circuit that integrates multiple functions such as an SoC (System on Chip), a hardwired circuit, and the like.

[0050] The memory 15 is a volatile storage device (storage medium) accessible by the processor 14, and may be, for example, a dynamic random access memory (DRAM) or a static random access memory (SRAM). The storage 16 is a non-volatile storage device (storage medium) accessible by the processor 14, and may be, for example, a hard disk or a flash memory. The storage 16 may be, for example, a storage medium detachable from the server Sr1, such as an optical disk or a cartridge.

[0051] Storage 16 stores a management program 162, memo information 163, account information 164, friend information 165, chat permission friend information 166, camera video permission information 167, supervisor relationship information 168, and rejection history information 169. Processor 14 reads management program 162, deploys it in memory 15, and executes it. In this specification, the term "memory" encompasses at least both volatile memory and non-volatile storage.

[0052] The management program 162 is a program for overseeing processes related to the supervision of the supervised account, communication execution processes, account management processes, etc. The memo information 163 is memo information for friends of the supervised account entered by the supervisor account described below, and is associated with each supervised account and each friend of the supervised account. The primary key for uniquely identifying the memo information 163 may be the identification information of the supervised account and the identification information of the friend of the supervised account.

[0053] The account information 164 is information about all accounts registered on the server Sr1, and may include each user's name, age, email address, password, etc. The friend information 165 is information indicating which of all registered accounts have a friend relationship with each other. The friend information 165 associates accounts bidirectionally. When a friend relationship is established between accounts A and B, account A becomes a friend of account B, and account B also becomes a friend of account A.

[0054] Chat-permitted friend information 166 is information that indicates which of the friends of a supervised account are friends that the supervised account is permitted to chat with. Unlike friend relationships, chat-permitted friend information 166 is stored unidirectionally. Even if account B is registered as a chat-permitted friend of account A, this does not necessarily mean that account A is registered as a chat-permitted friend of account B. Chat-permitted friend information 166 may also include the date and time when the friends became chat-permitted friends.

[0055] The camera image permission information 167 is information indicating whether a certain supervised user account is permitted to use a camera in a certain communication. In this embodiment, the camera image permission information 167 is generated for each supervised user account, for example, every time the supervised user account participates in a virtual room.

[0056] The supervisor relationship information 168 is information that indicates which of all registered accounts have a relationship between a supervisor account and a supervised account. Similar to the friend information 165, the supervisor relationship information 168 associates accounts bidirectionally. The rejection history information 169 is information that indicates when a supervisor account has rejected a request by a supervised account to approve the registration of a chat-permitted friend. The rejection history information 169 may also include the date and time of the rejection.

[0057] 3 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of game terminal 30 included in information processing system 100 according to the present embodiment. Game terminal 30 has a display 31, an operation unit 32, a communication unit 33, one or more processors 34, memory 35, storage 36, a camera Cm, a microphone Mk, a speaker Sp, and a bus 39.

[0058] Display 31 displays images generated as a result of information processing executed by processor 34. Operation unit 32 accepts operations by the user operating game terminal 30. Operation unit 32 may include, for example, at least one of a push button, an operation lever, a touch panel, a mouse, and a keyboard.

[0059] The components included in the game terminal 30 are connected to each other via a bus 39 so that they can communicate data with each other. The game terminal 30 uses a microphone Mk, a camera Cm, and a speaker Sp to realize communication between accounts through voice chat.

[0060] Each component, such as the display 31, the operation unit 32, the microphone Mk, the camera Cm, and the speaker Sp, does not have to be included in the game terminal 30. For example, each component may be detachable from the main body of the game terminal 30. For example, at least one of the display 31, the operation unit 32, the microphone Mk, the camera Cm, and the speaker Sp may be an external device separate from the game terminal 30 that can be connected to the game terminal 30 by wire or wirelessly.

[0061] The storage 36 stores a game application program 361, terminal side account information 362, a friend setting program 363, and a communication application program 364.

[0062] Game application program 361 may be downloaded to game terminal 30 from an application distribution server (not shown) via a network, or may be read from a separate storage medium. Friend setting program 363 is a program for making friend relationship requests to other accounts and approving requests received from other accounts.

[0063] The communication application program 364 is an application for performing voice communication with friends. In this embodiment, the communication application program 364 enables accounts in a virtual room to transmit and receive camera images in addition to transmitting and receiving audio. The camera images are images captured by the camera Cm of the terminal 30. In one aspect, a manager application program 463 (described later) may be stored in the storage 36 of the game terminal 30.

[0064] 4 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of terminal 40 included in information processing system 100 according to the present embodiment. Terminal 40 has a display 41, an operation unit 42, a communication unit 43, one or more processors 44, a memory 45, a storage 46, and a bus 49.

[0065] The display 41 and the operation unit 42 may be integrated into a single unit, for example, a touch panel. The storage 46 stores terminal-side account information 462 and a supervisory application program 463. The supervisory application program 463 is a program for managing supervised person accounts. The supervisory application program 463 can display and change information related to supervised person accounts. In one aspect, a communication application program 364 may be stored in the storage 46 of the terminal 40.

[0066] [D. Chat Permission Friends] As mentioned above, chat-allowed friends are friends of a supervised account who are allowed to chat by the supervisor account.

[0067] The following describes how supervised account A registers account B as a chat-permitted friend. In order for supervised account A to request supervisor account PA to register account B as a chat-permitted friend, a friend relationship must be established between accounts A and B. Note that in this embodiment, approval from the supervisor account is not required for a supervised account to establish a friend relationship with another account. When supervised account A selects account B, which is set as a friend, as a friend with whom it wants to chat, a chat-permitted friend approval request is sent to the terminal 40 associated with supervisor account PA. Note that this approval request also includes cases in which supervised account A further operates a button or the like to request approval from supervisor account PA. When supervisor account PA approves the approval request, account B is registered as a chat-permitted friend for supervised account A. As a result, if account B is a normal account, account A and account B can chat using a chat app.

[0068] On the other hand, it is possible that account B is also a supervised account. For example, account B may be a schoolmate of account A in the real world, and account B may be supervised by the account of account B's parent (not shown). Chat-permitted friends represent a one-way relationship. In other words, supervised account B may be a chat-permitted friend from the perspective of supervised account A, but supervised account A may not be a chat-permitted friend from the perspective of supervised account B. In this case, supervised account A may also be registered as a chat-permitted friend for supervised account B, allowing supervised accounts A and B to chat with each other.

[0069] In this embodiment, when supervised account A registers supervised account B as a chat-permitted friend, and supervised account B does not register supervised account A as a chat-permitted friend, supervised account A can invite supervised account B to a chat. However, since supervised account A is not a chat-permitted friend of supervised account B, supervised account B cannot participate in the virtual room to which it has been invited, because the virtual room contains supervised account A, which is not a chat-permitted friend. In this way, when supervised accounts chat with each other, they must register each other as chat-permitted friends.

[0070] 5 and 6, the process for registering account B as a chat-permitted friend of supervised account A when a friend relationship has not yet been established between accounts A and B will be described below. Note that at least one of the processes in FIGS. 5 and 6 may be performed collectively not only for account B but also for multiple accounts.

[0071] 5 is an example of a timing chart for explaining the friend relationship setting process. Game terminal 30A associated with account A executes friend setting program 363 and sends a friend request to server Sr1 requesting to add account B as a friend (step S101).

[0072] Server Sr1 transmits the friend request from account A to game terminal 30B associated with account B (step S102). Game terminal 30B transmits a notification to server Sr1 that the friend request is accepted based on an operation by account B (step S103).

[0073] Upon receiving the friend permission, the server Sr1 establishes a friend relationship between the accounts A and B (step S104). Specifically, the server Sr1 adds the friend relationship between the accounts A and B to the friend information 165. In step S104, the server Sr1 notifies each of the game terminals 30A and 30B that a friend relationship has been established.

[0074] 6 is an example of a timing chart for explaining the process of approving or rejecting a chat-permitted friend. Game terminal 30A starts a chat application (step S201). Game terminal 30A accepts from the user a selection of an account to log into the chat application (step S202). In this embodiment, the user selects account A. The selection of the account to log into may be accepted when the game terminal is started up, or at another time.

[0075] Game terminal 30A receives from the user a selection of friends to be registered as chat-permitted friends (step S203). In the example of the present embodiment, account B is selected. In step S203, game terminal 30A requests approval to register account B as a chat-permitted friend of account A. In step S203, game terminal 30A transmits the result of the received selection to server Sr1 as an approval request.

[0076] In this embodiment, a supervisor account PA is associated with a supervised account A. The method for setting a supervisor-supervised relationship between accounts is not limited. As an example, a user equivalent to a guardian uses a predetermined online service from a PC, smartphone, game terminal, etc. to create an account PA on the server Sr1. Next, the user logs in with the account PA and causes the server Sr1 to create an account A as the target of supervision. As a result, the server Sr1 sets the created account PA and account A in a supervisor-supervised relationship. Note that the accounts PA and A are generated independently, and after generation, the server Sr1 may set them in a supervisor-supervised relationship based on a request from the account PA or the account A.

[0077] Upon receiving the approval request, the server Sr1 transmits the approval request to the terminal 40 associated with the supervisor account PA (step S204). In step S204, if the rejection history information 169 contains a history of rejection of the account that is the subject of the approval request, the server Sr1 transmits to the terminal 40 a notification that a rejection history exists. At this time, if memo information 163 (described below) exists regarding the rejected account, the server Sr1 may also transmit the memo information 163. Upon receiving the approval request, the terminal 40 may display a pop-up notification or the like on the display 41. The terminal 40 launches the supervisor application 463 (step S205) and displays the received approval request on the terminal 40 associated with the supervisor account PA.

[0078] The terminal 40 may receive input of memo information from the supervisor account PA regarding account B, which is requested to be registered as a chat-permitted friend (step S206). The supervisor account PA (for example, a parent) may not know who account B is in the real world. Therefore, for example, the supervisor account PA may input memo information for identifying account B so that the memo information can be referenced later. The terminal 40 receives input from the supervisor account PA indicating information indicating approval or rejection as a result of the approval request in step S204 (step S207). The terminal 40 transmits the memo information in step S206 and the information indicating approval or rejection in step S207 to the server Sr1. In the example of the present embodiment, the supervisor account PA approves the registration of account B as a chat-permitted friend.

[0079] The server Sr1 notifies the game terminal 30A of information indicating approval or rejection in step S207 as the result of the approval request (step S208). If the result in step S208 is approval, the server Sr1 registers the account selected in step S203 as a chat-permitted friend of account A and stores the received memo information as memo information 163 in association with the registered chat-permitted friend. If the result in step S208 is rejection, the server Sr1 updates the rejection history information 169 and stores the memo information as memo information 163 in association with the account selected in step S203. In some situations, the memo information 163 may be stored only in the director app 463 of the terminal 40, or may be stored both in the server Sr1 and the director app 463. Note that if the registration of a friend as a chat-permitted friend is canceled, the memo information for that friend may be deleted.

[0080] Game terminal 30A accepts that a friend to be invited to the chat has been selected from among the friends registered as chat-permitted friends (step S209). In the example of the present embodiment, account B is selected. In step S209, game terminal 30A transmits the friend to be invited to the chat to server Sr1. Server Sr1 transmits the invitation to the game terminal 30 associated with the chat-permitted friend invited to the chat (step S210).

[0081] [E. Example of a screen on terminal 40 regarding approval of chat permission friends] 7 to 12, examples of display screens on the display 41 of the terminal 40 when the supervision application 463 is executed will be described below. FIGS. 7 to 12 show screens displayed on the display 41 of the terminal 40. FIG. 7 is an example of the initial screen Im1 of the supervision application 463. Information regarding the supervision status of the supervised person account A is displayed on the initial screen Im1.

[0082] The initial screen Im1 includes areas R1 to R7. Area R1 is an area for setting the amount of time per day that a game app can be played on game terminal 30A. Area R2 is an area for managing chat-permitted friends of supervised account A. Area R3 is an area for setting restrictions on predetermined functions that can be executed on game terminal 30A. Area R4 is an area for setting a PIN number that is required when operating game terminal 30A to release restrictions imposed by supervision app 463. Note that, for example, the setting of playable time and restrictions on predetermined executable functions may be set on an account basis instead of or in addition to on a game terminal basis.

[0083] Area R5 is an area for referencing the types of game apps played in the past and the play time. Area R6 is an area for referencing the types of game apps played in the past on a monthly basis and the play time. Area R7 is an area for configuring various settings for the supervisor app 463. When area R2 is selected, the display screen of the display 41 transitions to FIG. 8, for example, via an account selection screen.

[0084] FIG. 8 is an example of a screen Im2 showing information about chat-permitted friends of supervised account A. The top of FIG. 8 displays the name of account A, "Emi," and the icon IcA of account A. The name of account A is a name registered on server Sr1 and can be changed. For convenience, FIG. 8 displays the characters "(account A)" next to "Emi," but in reality, only "Emi" may be displayed. Also, for convenience, FIG. 8 displays the characters "A" as the icon IcA, but in reality, an image selected by account A may be displayed. The same applies to subsequent FIGs. 8 and later.

[0085] Area R8 is a notification field for a chat-permitted friend permission request from supervised account A. In the example of FIG. 8, area R8 shows that supervised account A has made three permission requests to supervisor account PA. Area R8 may display information indicating when at least the most recent permission request was made. As an example, it has been described that tapping (selecting) area R2 in FIG. 7 transitions to the screen in FIG. 8. However, if there is a chat-permitted friend permission request, a system notification pop-up on terminal 40 or a pop-up on the display screen shown in FIG. 7 may be displayed. In this case, tapping the pop-up may directly display the display screen shown in FIG. 9. Area R9 is an area that displays a list of chat-permitted friends. Area R9 shows that no accounts are registered as chat-permitted friends for account A.

[0086] When area R8 is selected, the display screen of the display 41 transitions to FIG. 9. FIG. 9 is an example of a screen Im3 showing a list of permission requests for chat permission friends. Areas R10 to R12 each show an individual permission request, and include the icons IcB to IcD of the accounts for which registration as chat permission friends has been requested, and the names of those accounts. Areas R10 to R12 may also display information indicating when each permission request was made. Note that when the pop-up exemplified above is tapped, the display screen shown in FIG. 9 may be displayed directly.

[0087] Area R10 shows a request to register account B. The name of account B is "XYZ". Area R11 shows a request to register account C. The name of account C is "Apple". Area R12 shows a request to register account D. The name of account D is "Bird". Note that accounts B to D are shown for convenience, but they do not need to be displayed in reality.

[0088] Area R12 includes alert AL1. Alert AL1 indicates that a permission request to add account D as a chat permission friend was previously rejected by supervised account A. In this embodiment, information indicating the date and time of the rejection is also displayed. Note that "the permission request was rejected" may include the case where the account was once registered as a chat permission friend but the registration was canceled. Alert AL1 may distinguish between a permission request that was never approved and a permission request that was approved once and then canceled. In some aspects, area R12 may display memo information 163 related to account D. Supervisor account PA can determine the outcome of the current approval request based on the judgment of past approval requests. Note that screen Im3 does not have to include alert AL1.

[0089] When the area R10 is selected, the display screen of the display 41 transitions to Fig. 10. Fig. 10 is an example of a screen Im4 for deciding whether to register account B as a chat-permitted friend of supervised account A.

[0090] The center of screen Im4 shows icon IcB and the name of account B. Area R13 is a button for rejecting the approval request. Area R14 is a button for approving the approval request. The supervisor account PA selects either area R13 or area R14. At this time, the supervisor account PA can determine whether to approve or reject the request by, for example, directly checking with supervised account A who account B is. Screen Im4 may also include a "back button" for leaving the result of the approval request unprocessed without selecting it. Screen Im4 may also include alert AL1.

[0091] When area R14 is selected, the display screen of the display 41 transitions to FIG. 11. FIG. 11 is an example of a screen Im5 for inputting memo information. Area R15 is an input field for memo information. Area R16 is a button for confirming the memo information. The supervisor account PA inputs memo information for identifying account B in area R15. At this time, for example, the parent corresponding to the supervisor account PA can directly discuss with the child corresponding to the supervised account A in the real world who account B is and determine whether they are in a relationship where they can chat. The supervisor account PA inputs, for example, text information such as "B-kun from Class 4" as information for identifying account B. In this way, in this embodiment, when an approval request for a chat permission friend is approved, a screen for inputting memo information is displayed. The timing of displaying the screen for inputting memo information is not limited. Note that input of memo information may be required or optional. Note that even when area R13 is selected on screen Im4, the screen may transition to a screen for inputting memo information. In other embodiments, it is not necessary to be able to input memo information.

[0092] In this embodiment, the entered memo information can be viewed by the supervisor account PA but not by the supervised account A. As an example, it is displayed only on the terminal associated with the supervisor account PA, and not on the terminal associated with the supervised account A. This prevents the contents of the memo information 163 from being known to the supervised account A. When area R16 is selected, the display screen of the display 41 transitions to Figure 12. Figure 12 is an example of screen Im6 after account B has been registered. Screen Im6 is the same page as screen Im2, but is partially different from screen Im2 due to the registration of account B.

[0093] With one permission request processed, the number of unprocessed permission requests in area R8 on screen Im6 becomes two. Area R9 also includes area R17, which indicates account B, registered as a chat permission friend. Area R17 includes icon IcB, the name of account B, and area R18, which indicates memo information 163 associated with account B. Area R18 indicates text information such as "B-kun from Class 4." In some cases, a button may be provided for simultaneously approving multiple permission requests. After approval, memo information 163 may be entered for each account.

[0094] This allows supervisor account PA to check area R17 and confirm that account B has been registered as a chat-permitted friend. Also, by checking the contents of area R18, supervisor account PA can easily determine who account B, "XYZ," with icon IcB, actually belongs to, even after some time has passed since registration.

[0095] More specifically, even if the icon and account name cannot be used to associate an actual person, supervisor account PA can determine who account B is from the content of area R18. Furthermore, in this embodiment, even if the icon and account name are changed from the time they were registered, the server Sr1 continues to store memo information 163 in account B, stating "B-kun from Class 4." This allows supervisor account PA to easily determine who account B is from the content of area R18, even if the icon and account name are changed.

[0096] In this way, in the information processing system 100 of this embodiment, the supervisor account PA determines whether a friend of the supervised person account A is appropriate for chatting. This prevents the supervised person account A from engaging in inappropriate chats with accounts that the supervisor account PA does not recognize. Also, as explained above, since only friend accounts can be requested to be registered as chat-permitted friends, it is possible to prevent inappropriate accounts from being mistakenly registered as chat-permitted friends.

[0097] In this embodiment, chat-permitted friends are determined for each friend of supervised account A. Once a specific account is registered as a chat-permitted friend, supervised account A does not need to request that the specific account be registered as a chat-permitted friend again. On the other hand, in this embodiment, approval for sending and receiving camera footage, as described below, is required for each chat.

[0098] [F: Sending and receiving camera images] As described above, the chat app can transmit and receive camera footage in addition to audio while delivering game footage. The camera footage is footage captured by a camera Cm. In this embodiment, it is assumed that the camera footage includes at least the user's face. However, depending on the imaging direction of the camera Cm and the user's position, the user's face may not be included. This allows the chat in this embodiment to be a so-called video chat, in which not only audio but also facial expressions can be shared.

[0099] The camera video includes both video transmitted from one game terminal 30 to another game terminal 30 and video received by one game terminal 30 from another game terminal 30. A game terminal 30 transmits video captured by camera Cm to server Sr1 by executing communication application program 364. Furthermore, server Sr1 transmits video received from one game terminal 30 to another game terminal 30 by executing management program 162. Furthermore, a game terminal 30 can receive video from another game terminal 30 via server Sr1 and display the video on display 31 by executing communication application program 364. Thus, in this embodiment, camera video communication is performed by executing management program 162 on server Sr1 and communication application program 364 on game terminal 30. In this embodiment, supervised user account A requires separate approval from supervisor account PA to start sending and receiving camera video in a chat.

[0100] Unlike approval for chat-permitted friends, approval for sending and receiving camera footage is required on a per-chat basis. For example, approval for sending and receiving camera footage is required each time a virtual room is created. Figure 13 is an example timing chart for explaining the approval process for camera footage.

[0101] After launching the chat application, game terminal 30A joins a virtual room and starts chatting with voice (step S300). Game terminal 30A requests approval for permission to use the camera in the virtual room in which the user is currently participating, based on an operation by supervised user account A (step S301). Server Sr1 notifies terminal 40 of the approval request (step S302). Terminal 40 receives input from supervisor account PA indicating approval or rejection of the approval request for permission to use the camera (step S303). Server Sr1 notifies game terminal 30A of the result of the approval or rejection input made in step S303 (step S304).

[0102] Game terminal 30A controls the transmission and reception of camera images based on the result of the input of approval or rejection in step S303 (step S305). If approval is given in step S303, game terminal 30A transmits and receives camera images in step S305.

[0103] If approved in step S303, terminal 40 can determine the display mode of the camera image (step S306). The display mode of the camera image indicates the display mode of the camera image transmitted from game terminal 30A on at least the other game terminals 30. In this embodiment, the display mode is divided into levels. When the level of the display mode is high, the proportion of the range displayed on the other game terminals 30 out of the entire range of the image captured by camera Cm becomes larger. Details of the display mode will be explained later.

[0104] Server Sr1 notifies the result of the display mode determined in step S306 (step S307). Game terminal 30A transmits camera video based on the display mode determined by supervisor account PA (step S308).

[0105] If the request is rejected in step S303, game terminal 30A does not transmit or receive camera images in step S305. Also, if the request is rejected in step S303, the processes of steps S306 to S308 are not executed.

[0106] Even if game terminal 30A has been approved to send and receive camera footage once, when joining a new virtual room, it must again obtain approval to send and receive camera footage. Even with the same chat partner, depending on the timing, the supervisor account may not want camera footage to be sent and received, and unintended sending and receiving of camera footage can be prevented.

[0107] In this embodiment, the supervisor account A is made to approve both the sending and receiving of camera footage all at once. This improves the convenience of the supervised account A and the supervisor account PA compared to when the sending and receiving of camera footage are approved separately. In some aspects, the sending and receiving of camera footage may be approved separately. In this case, the information processing system 100 may execute the timing chart shown in FIG. 13 for each sending and receiving. The supervisor account PA may approve either the receiving or the sending and reject the other. Also, in some aspects, approval may be required for only one of the sending and receiving of camera footage, and not the other. Alternatively, once the other is approved, approval may no longer be required thereafter.

[0108] Furthermore, if multiple supervised accounts participate in a virtual room, even if one supervised account is permitted to send and receive camera footage, if other supervised accounts are not permitted to send and receive camera footage, then camera footage will not be sent and received at least between those supervised accounts.

[0109] [G. Example of a screen on terminal 40 regarding approval of camera footage] 14 to 18, examples of the display screen of the display 41 of the terminal 40 when the supervision application 463 is executed will be described below. The examples of Figs. 14 to 18 show a case where, after accounts C and D, in addition to account B, are registered as chat-permitted friends of the supervised account A, a chat is taking place between accounts A to D.

[0110] 14 is an example of a screen Im7 for determining the result of the request for permission to transmit and receive data via the camera. The screen Im7 may be displayed on the display 41 when the supervisor account PA receives the notification in step S302 and starts the supervisor application 463.

[0111] Screen Im7 displays accounts B to D with which supervised account A is currently chatting. Areas R19, R21, and R23 show information about accounts B, C, and D, respectively. Areas R20, R22, and R24 show memo information 163 associated with accounts B, C, and D, respectively. By checking screen Im7, supervisor account PA can understand who supervised account A is currently chatting with. Note that supervised account A may also be displayed in a similar area alongside areas R19, R21, and R23 as a "member currently chatting" instead of "accounts participating in the chat."

[0112] When the area R25 is unlocked, it becomes possible to send and receive camera images from the supervised person account A. Note that instead of the area R25, for example, an Allow button and a Disallow button may be displayed.

[0113] 15 shows an example of a screen Im8 for setting the status of a chat in which sending and receiving of camera footage is permitted. Upon receiving a command to set the status of the chat from the supervisor account PA, the supervisor application 463 displays the screen Im8 on the display 41.

[0114] On screen Im8, area R26 is an area for setting the display mode of the camera image. Area R27 is an area for displaying detailed information about friends participating in the chat. Area R28 is a button for stopping the sending and receiving of camera images. By selecting area R28, supervisor account PA can stop the sending and receiving of camera images by supervised account A.

[0115] As shown in area R26, the default setting is a first mode in which the camera image is displayed on other game terminals with the face of the user of supervised account A cropped out. In other words, the displayed camera image may not include any of the body below the user's face or the background, such as the room, or may include very little of it. Note that "cropping out the face" may refer to an image cropped along the contours of the face, or an image cropped out of a predetermined shape, such as a circle, that includes most of the face. The first mode is the lowest level mode. An image showing only the face of the user of supervised account A may be generated by recognizing and cropping the face of the user of supervised account A captured in an image captured by camera Cm.

[0116] When area R26 is selected, the display screen of display 41 transitions to that shown in FIG. 16. Switching the display mode of camera images will be described with reference to FIGS. 16 to 18. FIG. 16 shows an example of screen Im9 for selecting a first mode from among the display modes of camera images. Screen Im9 includes areas R29 to R31 and image IL1. Area R29 is a button for changing the display mode to the mode currently being displayed on display 41.

[0117] Area R30 is a button for lowering the level of the display mode displayed on display 41. Since the first mode is the lowest level mode, it is not selectable in the example of Fig. 16. Area R31 is a button for raising the level of the display mode displayed on display 41.

[0118] Image IL1 is an image showing how the transmitted camera footage will be displayed on another game terminal 30. As shown in image IL1, the face of the user of supervised account A is superimposed on the game image on display 31.

[0119] When region R31 is selected in FIG. 16, the display screen of display 41 transitions to FIG. 17. FIG. 17 is an example of screen Im10 for selecting the second mode of the camera image display modes. The second mode is a mode in which a cut-out image of the body of the user of supervised account A is displayed on game terminal 30 associated with accounts B, C, and D. In other words, the displayed camera image may not include any background, such as the room, or may include very little of it. Note that the user's body, for example, below the waist, may not be displayed, or the entire body may be displayed. As shown in image IL2 included in screen Im10, the face and body of the user of supervised account A are superimposed on the game image on display 31.

[0120] In Fig. 17, when area R29 is selected, the display mode is changed to the second mode. In Fig. 17, when area R30 is selected, the display screen of display 41 returns to Fig. 16. In Fig. 17, when area R31 is selected, the display screen of display 41 transitions to Fig. 18.

[0121] FIG. 18 shows an example of a screen Im11 for selecting the third mode among the camera image display modes. The third mode is a mode in which an image including the body of the user of account A and the background is displayed on the game terminal 30 associated with accounts B, C, and D. Because the third mode is the highest level mode, area R31 cannot be selected. In FIG. 18, when area R29 is selected, the display mode changes to the third mode. In FIG. 18, when area R30 is selected, the display screen of the display 41 returns to FIG. 17. As shown in image IL3, an image captured by camera Cm, including a background such as a room, is superimposed on the game image on the display 31. The supervisor account PA can determine the display mode of the camera image of the supervised account A by selecting area R29 while the desired mode is displayed on the display 41.

[0122] After the display mode is determined by the supervisor account PA, the supervised account A can change the display mode from game terminal 30A within a predetermined range. The predetermined range may be a range equal to or less than the display mode determined by the supervisor account A. For example, if the second mode is selected by the supervisor account PA, the supervised account A can select either the first mode or the second mode at its own discretion in the ongoing chat. Furthermore, the supervised account A may be able to request that the selected display mode be changed even if the display mode has once been selected by the supervisor account PA.

[0123] As described above, in this embodiment, it has been explained that supervised account A needs to obtain approval from supervisor account PA both when registering a chat-permitted friend and when sending and receiving camera footage. In one aspect, information processing system 100 requires approval when registering a chat-permitted friend, but does not need approval when sending and receiving camera footage.

[0124] Similarly, in another aspect, the information processing system 100 may not require approval when registering a chat-permitted friend, but may require approval when sending and receiving camera footage. In this case, the information processing system 100 may not have any chat-permitted friends, and the supervised account A may be able to chat using the communication application program 364, just like a normal account.

[0125] [H. Variations] Hereinafter, other embodiments that are partial modifications of the above-described embodiment will be described.

[0126] Each of the processors 14, 34, and 44 may be implemented as a single chip or multiple chips. Each of the processors 14, 34, and 44 and associated processing circuits may be implemented as multiple computers interconnected by wire or wirelessly over a local area network or a wireless network. The processors and associated processing circuits may be implemented as a cloud computer that performs remote calculations based on input data and outputs the results of the calculations to other devices in remote locations.

[0127] In the example of FIG. 1, the server Sr1, the game terminal 30, and the terminal 40 are illustrated as a single device. However, each of the server Sr1, the game terminal 30, and the terminal 40 may be realized as a collection of multiple devices. For example, the server Sr1 may be configured to include multiple servers. For example, the game terminal 30 and the terminal 40 may each have separate configurations consisting of a main unit having at least a processor, a terminal unit having at least an operation unit, and a display unit having at least a display.

[0128] In Figure 2, it was explained that memo information 163, account information 164, friend information 165, chat permission friend information 166, camera image permission information 167, supervisor relationship information 168, and rejection history information 169 are stored in storage 16 of server Sr1, but at least some of this information may be held by an external server other than server Sr1.

[0129] In the above example, it has been described that the supervisor account PA is the guardian of the supervised account A. However, the actual relationship between the supervisor account PA and the supervised account A does not have to be a parent-child relationship or a guardian-ward relationship, and both may be adults.

[0130] In the above example, it has been described that terminal 40 is a smartphone or the like. In one aspect, terminal 40 may be a dedicated information processing device for providing a game, similar to game terminal 30. In this case, terminal 40 and game terminal 30A may be different devices or the same device. Using the example of the present embodiment, game terminal 30A may be associated with supervisor account PA and supervised account A, and game terminal 30A may be shared.

[0131] In the above example, the supervisor account PA supervises the supervised account A, but multiple supervisor accounts may supervise one supervised account A. In this case, the multiple supervisor accounts may each be able to approve one approval request, or all the supervisor accounts may be required to approve. Also, memo information 163 entered by a certain supervisor account may or may not be shared with other supervisor accounts.

[0132] Similarly, multiple supervised accounts may be supervised by a single supervisor account PA. The supervisor account PA can approve chat permission friends and approve sending and receiving of camera footage for each of the multiple supervised accounts.

[0133] In the above example, the memo information 163 is text information entered by the supervisor account PA. In some aspects, the memo information 163 may be a label prepared in advance by the information processing system 100. The label may be, for example, "friends," "relatives," or "neighbors." The supervisor account PA can select the memo information 163 from the label, which improves operability. The supervisor account PA may be able to create this label itself.

[0134] In the above example, it has been explained that supervised user account A can send approval requests for chat permission friends and sending and receiving camera footage from game terminal 30A to terminal 40 via server Sr1. In some aspects, the process of sending approval requests does not need to be incorporated as a function of information processing system 100. In this case, for example, supervised user account A may directly converse with supervisor account PA, causing supervisor account PA to voluntarily perform approval processing on the terminal.

[0135] In the above example, an example has been described in which the supervisor account PA can perform approval. The supervisor account is an example of an "approver account" in the present disclosure. In one aspect, the supervisor account PA may temporarily grant approval authority to, for example, another account that the supervisor account PA can trust. In this case, the account temporarily granted authority also corresponds to an example of an "approver account." In another aspect, the supervisor account may not have approval authority and may only be able to view the play time, etc., of the supervised account. In this case, the other account may have approval authority. In this case, the other account corresponds to an example of an "approver account." In another aspect, an approver account and an approved account may be set separately from the supervisor account and the supervised account.

[0136] In the above example, a supervised account that is permitted to send and receive camera footage can have the camera footage of that supervised account displayed on all other game terminals 30 in the virtual room, and can have the camera footage of all other game terminals 30 displayed on the supervised account's own game terminal 30. However, the sending or receiving of camera footage may be permitted for each account in the virtual room.

[0137] In the above example, a supervised account that is not permitted to send or receive camera footage cannot send or receive camera footage. However, an unauthorized supervised account may send or receive camera footage as long as its own camera footage is not displayed on other game terminals 30 and camera footage of other accounts is not displayed on its own game terminal 30. In other words, regardless of whether permission is granted from the supervisor account, sending or receiving camera footage may be performed, and transmission on server Sr1 and display on the receiving game terminal 30 may be restricted.

[0138] In the above example, the sending and receiving of camera footage is authorized for each chat. However, the sending and receiving of camera footage may also be authorized for each friend, similar to the case of chat-permitted friends. In this case, a "camera-permitted friend" setting may be provided for each friend, and the supervised account A may be able to send and receive camera footage only with friends registered as camera-permitted friends, using settings determined by the supervisor account PA. Note that the supervised account A may be able to send and receive camera footage only if everyone in the virtual room is registered as each other's camera-permitted friends.

[0139] The sending and receiving of camera footage may be permitted on a time-based basis. For example, for a predetermined or set period (hours, days, weeks, etc.) after permission is granted, chats involving the sending and receiving of camera footage may be possible with any of the chat-permitted friends or with certain chat-permitted friends at any time.

[0140] Furthermore, the supervisor account PA may be able to set at least one of "always allow" and "always disallow" for sending and receiving camera footage. If "always allow" is set, the supervised account A can send and receive camera footage during chat without receiving permission from the supervisor account PA again. The supervised account PA may be able to freely select the display mode of the camera footage, or it may be set separately by the supervisor account. If "always disallow" is set, the supervised account A may not be able to request approval for the camera footage. Alternatively, even if an approval request is made, a pop-up may not be displayed on the supervisor account A's device. Note that "always allow" or "always disallow" may be set for each friend.

[0141] Approval of a chat-permitted friend may be required for each chat. In this case, approval of a chat-permitted friend may be set to at least one of "always permitted" and "always not permitted."

[0142] The screens shown in Figures 16 to 18 for selecting the display mode of the camera image are one example. For example, in the above example, selecting area R30 or area R31 displays a screen showing the display mode of the next higher or lower level. In another example, a horizontally extending bar may be displayed with marks corresponding to each level, and when the user selects a position corresponding to one of the marks, the display mode of that level may be displayed on the screen. In this way, any level may be directly selectable.

[0143] In the above example, an example has been described in which there are first to third modes for the display mode of the camera image. However, the display mode of the camera image is not limited to the first to third modes, and other modes may be settable. For example, a mode in which a display mode with an abstract background may be settable. Also, there may be a mode in which the user's face image is processed before being transmitted.

[0144] The camera image display mode that the supervisor account can set may include a mode that does not display camera images. This mode may be the lowest level. For example, by being able to select from a mode that does not display camera images to a mode that displays the background, the user of the supervisor account can easily understand that they can set the level of the camera image. Furthermore, even if the user of the supervisor account allows the sending and receiving of camera images, the user can feel secure knowing that they can turn off the camera at any time. Note that in the above example, while the sending and receiving of camera images are permitted simultaneously, if the supervisor account sets a mode that does not display camera images, a supervised account can view the camera images of other accounts in the chat, but the other accounts cannot view their own camera images. Note that if a mode that does not display camera images is available, this mode may be set as the default, or the first mode (or another mode) may be set as in the above example.

[0145] Furthermore, in the above example, the supervised account was able to freely select from modes below the level of the display mode set by the supervisor account. However, the supervised account may only be able to select the display mode set by the supervisor account. Note that the supervisor account may also be able to set multiple display modes that the supervised account may select. The display mode of the camera video does not need to have the concept of a "level."

[0146] The embodiments disclosed herein should be considered to be illustrative in all respects and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is defined by the claims, not by the above description, and is intended to include all modifications within the meaning and scope of the claims. [Explanation of symbols]

[0147] 13,33,43 Communication unit, 14,34,44 Processor, 15,35,45 Memory, 16,36,46 Storage, 17,39,49 Bus, 30,30A,30B Game terminal, 40 Terminal, 31,41 Display, 32,42 Operation unit, 100 Information processing system, 162 Management program, 163 Memo information, 164 Account information, 165 Friend information, 166 Chat permission friend information, 167 Camera image permission information, 168 Supervision relationship information, 169 Rejection history information, 361 Game application program, 362,462 Terminal side account information, 363 Friend setting program, 364 Communication application program, 463 Supervision application program, A,B,C,D,PA Account, AL1 Alert, Cm Camera, IL1 to IL3 Image, IcA to IcD Icon, Im1~Im11 screen, Mk microphone, NW network, R1~R31 area, Sp speaker, Sr1 server.

Claims

1. an approver setting unit for setting an approver account for a certain account; a friend setting unit that, in response to an application from a certain account to another account and approval of the application by the other account, sets the certain account and the other account in a friend relationship in which the certain account and the other account can execute predetermined functions with respect to each other without approval from the approver account; a communication allowed friend setting unit that sets a second account, among accounts that have been set to a friend relationship with the first account, as a communication allowed friend of the first account, based on an approval request from the first account to which the approver account is set, to set the second account as a communication allowed friend of the first account, and based on approval of the approval request by the approver account set for the first account; An information processing system comprising: a communication execution unit that causes a terminal associated with the first account to communicate with a terminal associated with an account that is the communication permitted friend, the terminal communicating with the first account and the communication permission friend.

2. The information processing system of claim 1 further includes a storage unit that stores information regarding the communication-permitted friends entered by the approver account in a manner that is viewable by at least the approver account but not by the first account.

3. The information processing system of claim 2, wherein the storage unit stores the information associated with the account that is the communication permitted friend in a manner that allows the approver account to view the information regardless of whether the icon image or name of the communication permitted friend is changed.

4. The information processing system of claim 2, wherein other accounts with which the first account is currently communicating involving the voice are displayed on a terminal associated with the approver account along with the information regarding the other accounts entered by the approver account.

5. When an approval request is made again to set a third account as the communication permitted friend of the first account, the third account having previously not been approved by the approver account for the approval request to set the third account as the communication permitted friend of the first account, The information processing system according to claim 1 , wherein a display is made on a terminal associated with the approver account that an approval request for the third account has not been approved in the past.

6. a camera use approval request for displaying camera footage on a terminal associated with an account of a communication partner, the camera use approval request being sent from the first account for each communication involving audio in which the first account participates, and approval of the camera use approval request by the approver account set for the first account, The information processing system of claim 1, further comprising a camera image communication unit that enables camera images corresponding to the first account to be displayed on a terminal associated with another account during communication involving audio corresponding to the approved camera use approval request.

7. based on a camera use approval request for displaying camera footage corresponding to another account on a device associated with the first account, which is received by the first account for each communication involving audio in which the first account participates, and approval of the camera use approval request by the approver account set for the first account, The information processing system of claim 1, further comprising a camera image communication unit that enables camera images sent from a terminal associated with another account to be displayed on a terminal associated with the first account during communication involving audio corresponding to the approved camera use approval request.

8. based on an approval request for displaying camera images between the first account and the other account for each communication involving audio in which the first account participates, and approval of the approval request for transmitting and receiving the camera images by the approver account set for the first account, The information processing system of claim 1, further comprising a camera image communication unit that enables the display of camera images between a terminal associated with the first account and a terminal associated with the other account during communication involving the audio corresponding to the approved approval request.

9. The information processing system of claim 6, wherein the camera video communication unit enables the approver account to set the display mode of camera video transmitted by a terminal associated with the first account in the audio communication in which the terminal associated with the first account participates, on other terminals associated with the other accounts participating in the communication.

10. The information processing system of claim 9, wherein the camera image communication unit enables the approver account to set multiple levels of camera image display modes, enables the first account to select a camera image display mode at a level lower than the level set by the approver account, and causes the other terminal to display the camera image in the selected display mode.

11. In a system in which a first account and another account having a friend relationship are provided with a predetermined function, a program used to manage the first account to which an approver account is set, comprising: a terminal associated with the first account having one or more processors; The program causes the one or more processors to: sending an approval request from the first account to set a second account, among accounts having a friend relationship with the first account, as a communication-permitted friend of the first account; and performing a step of communicating with a terminal associated with an account that is the communication permitted friend.

12. In a system that provides a predetermined function including audio communication between a first account and another account that have a friend relationship established therebetween, a program used in an information processing system that manages the first account to which an approver account has been established, comprising: a terminal associated with the approver account having one or more processors; The program causes the one or more processors to: receiving an approval request to set a second account among accounts having a friend relationship with the first account as a communication-permitted friend of the first account; and transmitting approval or rejection in response to the approval request.

13. The program causes the one or more processors to: The program of claim 12, further comprising a step of storing information regarding the communication-permitted friends entered by the approver account in a manner that is viewable by at least the approver account but not by the first account.

14. The program causes the one or more processors to: The program described in claim 12 executes a camera use approval request sent from the first account for each audio communication in which the first account participates, to display camera footage on a terminal associated with the account of the communication partner, and a step of approving the camera use approval request by the approver account set for the first account.

15. The program causes the one or more processors to: The program of claim 12, further comprising: a step of receiving a camera usage approval request for displaying camera footage corresponding to another account on a terminal associated with the first account for each audio communication in which the first account participates; and a step of approving the camera usage approval request by the approver account set for the first account.

16. The program causes the one or more processors to: The program described in claim 12, which causes the approver account to execute a step of setting the display mode of camera footage transmitted by a terminal associated with the first account in the audio communication in which the terminal associated with the first account participates, on other terminals associated with the other accounts participating in the communication.

17. 1. A method for managing a first account having an approver account in a system in which a friend relationship is established between the first account and another account and the first account provides the other account with a predetermined function, the method comprising: The method includes, for a terminal associated with the first account, a step of transmitting an approval request from the first account to set a second account among accounts having a friend relationship with the first account as a communication permitted friend of the first account; and causing the user to communicate with a terminal associated with an account that is the communication permitted friend, the terminal including the communication permitted friend, using voice.

18. 1. A method for managing a first account in a system that provides a predetermined function including voice communication between a first account and another account in which a friend relationship is established, the method comprising: The method includes, for a terminal associated with the approver account, receiving an approval request for setting a second account among accounts having a friend relationship with the first account as a communication-permitted friend of the first account; causing an approval or denial of the approval request to be transmitted.

19. The method includes, for a terminal associated with the approver account, The method of claim 18, further comprising a step of storing information about the communication-permitted friends entered by the approver account in a manner that is viewable by at least the approver account but not the first account.

20. The method includes, for a terminal associated with the approver account, 19. A method according to claim 18, comprising a step of sending a camera usage approval request from the first account for each communication involving audio in which the first account participates, to display camera footage on a terminal associated with the account of the communication partner, and approving the camera usage by the approver account set for the first account.

21. The method includes, for a terminal associated with the approver account, 19. A method as described in claim 18, comprising a step of receiving a camera usage approval request for displaying camera footage corresponding to another account on a terminal associated with the first account for each audio communication in which the first account participates, and having the approver account set for the first account approve the camera usage approval request.

22. The method includes, for a terminal associated with the approver account, 19. The method of claim 18, further comprising a step of causing the approver account to set the display manner of camera footage transmitted by a terminal associated with the first account in the audio communication in which the terminal associated with the first account participates, on other terminals associated with the other accounts participating in the communication.

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