Information processing apparatus, information processing method, and program

Abstract

To prevent a user from getting stuck without clearing a quest.SOLUTION: An information processing apparatus includes a storage unit configured to store a game content possessed by a user, and a control unit configured to, for a first quest and a second quest included in a quest group, in a case where a first game content corresponding to the first quest is not possessed by the user, enable the second quest to be played based on a play result of the first quest by the user, and in a case where the first game content is possessed by the user, perform control to skip the first quest and enable the second quest to be played according to a probability.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

[Technical Field]

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

[0002] Games in which players complete quests using a group called a deck are known. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a game in which players complete quests using player characters owned by the user. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2020-044320 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Some quests are provided as a group of quests, each containing multiple quests. To complete a group of quests, the user must complete each of the quests in the group in order. However, if the user finds that a quest in the group is incomplete, the user may lose interest in playing the group of quests.

[0005] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to prevent users from getting stuck and being unable to complete a quest. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] An information processing device according to one embodiment of the present invention has a memory unit that stores game media possessed by a user, and a control unit that, for a first quest and a second quest included in a quest group, if the user does not possess the first game media corresponding to the first quest, makes the second quest playable based on the user's results of playing the first quest, and if the user possesses the first game media, skips the first quest and makes the second quest playable according to a probability. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the present invention, it is possible to prevent a user from getting stuck and being unable to complete a quest. [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. 10 is a diagram illustrating a group of fixed quests. [Figure 3] FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining a group of irregular quests. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the hardware configuration of a game server and a terminal. [Figure 5] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a functional block configuration of a game server. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a functional block configuration of a terminal. [Figure 7] 10A and 10B are diagrams illustrating an example of a user management DB and a quest definition DB. [Figure 8] 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a processing procedure performed by a game server. [Figure 9] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a screen display example (part 1). [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a screen display example (part 2). [Figure 11] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a screen display example (part 3). [Figure 12] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a screen display example (part 4). [Figure 13] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a screen display example (part 5). 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 and one or more 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, users (who may also be called players) can play quests using decks that they have organized.

[0014] A deck refers to a group of multiple game contents. A user can create a deck using game contents selected from multiple game contents owned by the user. Game contents may also be called game objects. Game contents may also be characters, items, game cards, etc.

[0015] A quest is a task that can be completed by meeting certain predetermined conditions. Quests are also commonly referred to as explorations, challenges, and missions. A user playing a quest can complete the quest by meeting the certain conditions. Completing a quest may result in the user receiving a reward such as game content or progressing through the game's story.

[0016] Users can combine (or synthesize) multiple game media they have acquired to create new game media, or combine the same game media to strengthen the attributes of the game media, allowing them to take on more difficult quests.

[0017] Difficulty levels may be set for quests. Difficulty level is an indicator of the difficulty of playing and / or completing a quest, with higher values ​​indicating more difficult quests. For example, a quest with difficulty level 2 may be more difficult to play / complete than a quest with difficulty level 1. Difficult quests include, but are not limited to, quests that are difficult to play / complete because the enemy game media is strong, quests that are difficult to play / complete because the controls are difficult, and quests that are difficult to play / complete because the play time is long.

[0018] In this embodiment, it is assumed that various quests are provided in the game, but this embodiment is not limited to this, and for example, only one quest may be provided. The term "quest" in this embodiment may refer to the game itself. In this embodiment, the user's execution of a game or a quest may be referred to as "playing a game" or "playing a quest."

[0019] A quest can be played collaboratively by multiple users. Hereinafter, playing a quest collaboratively by multiple users is referred to as "multiplay." Multiplay may also be called cooperative play. On the other hand, playing a quest by a single user may also be called single play. In multiplay, each user can operate the game media assigned to them among the multiple game media that make up a deck. For example, assume that a deck is made up of A to D, with game media A assigned to user A (the user himself / herself) and game media B to D assigned to other users B to D, respectively. In this case, user A operates game media A, user B operates game media B, user C operates game media C, and user D operates game media D. A user who invites players to a multiplay may be called a host or host user. On the other hand, users who participate in a multiplay invited by a host may be called guests or guest users. Invites for a multiplay may be interpreted as invites to participate in a multiplay, convenes a multiplay, invites players to a multiplay, etc.

[0020] In multiplayer mode, the multiple game media used to form the deck may be composed of game media owned by the host user, or may be composed of game media selected by each of the host and guest users from the game media they own.

[0021] In this embodiment, a quest that includes multiple quests in a set order to be completed is referred to as a "quest group." For example, in a quest group that includes quests A to Z, the order in which the quests must be completed may be set, such that the user can play quest B after completing quest A, and then play quest C after completing quest B. The quest group may also include quest groups in which all quests must be completed in a set order, and quest groups in which the order in which the quests must be completed is set but the next quest to be completed changes, so that the quest is considered to be completed even if not all quests are completed (hereinafter referred to as "irregular quest groups"). Note that, unlike irregular quest groups, quest groups in which all quests must be completed in a set order are referred to as "fixed quest groups" for convenience in this embodiment because the next quest to be completed is fixed.

[0022] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a fixed quest group. In the example of FIG. 2, the user completes each quest in order from quest A to quest J, and is considered to have completed the quest group when quest J is finally completed. In a fixed quest group, later quests in the clearing order may be set to be more difficult than earlier quests, but this is not necessarily limited to this. Later quests may also include quests with lower difficulty levels.

[0023] FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an irregular quest group. In the example of FIG. 3, the user first plays quest A. Next, the user plays one of quests B and C, selected by the game server 10. Next, the user plays one of quests D to G, selected by the game server 10. Next, the user plays one of quests H to O, selected by the game server 10. The quest selected by the game server 10 may be different for each user, or may change each time the same user plays a quest group. Once the user clears the quest, the user is considered to have cleared the quest group. Note that in the example of FIG. 3, it is assumed that a boss character appearing in each quest competes against a computer, and the quest in which the boss character wins is selected, but this is not limiting.

[0024] If a user playing a quest group satisfies a predetermined condition, the game server 10 may skip the next quest that the user is to play. For example, if game media are pre-associated with each quest included in a quest group and the user satisfies a predetermined condition related to the game media, the game server 10 may skip the next quest that the user is to play. A case in which the user satisfies a predetermined condition related to the game media may be, for example, when the user owns (or has owned in the past) the game media. For example, assume that game media X is associated with quest X and the user is to play quest X next. In this case, the game server 10 may skip quest X for users who own game media X. Note that in this embodiment, the term "next quest to play" is used to include the first quest to be played in a quest group.

[0025] <Hardware configuration> 4 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 include a processor 11 such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or a GPU (Graphical Processing Unit), a storage device 12 such as a memory, an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) and / or an SSD (Solid State Drive), and a communication interface (IF) for wired or wireless communication. The system includes an interface 13, an input device 14 that accepts input operations, and an output device 15 that outputs 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, a touch panel, and / or a speaker.

[0026] <Function block configuration> (game server) FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a functional block configuration of the game server 10. The game server 10 includes a storage unit 100, a selection unit 101, a control unit 102, and a display control unit 103. The storage unit 100 can be realized using a storage unit 12 provided in the game server 10. The selection unit 101, the control unit 102, and the display control unit 103 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.

[0027] The storage unit 100 stores game data necessary for the game server 10 to execute the game. The game data includes various databases. For example, the storage unit 100 stores game media owned by the user.

[0028] The selection unit 101 selects the next quest for the user to play from among the multiple quests included in the quest group. For example, in the case of a fixed quest group, the selection unit 101 selects the quest that is one quest after the quest that the user has cleared as the next quest for the user to play. On the other hand, in the case of an undefined quest group, the selection unit 101 selects one quest from among the multiple quests included in the quest group as the next quest for the user to play.

[0029] The control unit 102 controls whether or not to skip a quest included in a quest group when the user plays that quest. For example, each quest included in the quest group may be associated with a game content in advance, and the control unit 102 may skip the next quest to be played if the user satisfies a predetermined condition related to the game content. The control unit 102 also performs various processes related to the execution of quests. For example, the control unit 102 performs processes related to a battle between game contents, a process of awarding game contents to the user when a quest is completed, and the like.

[0030] The display control unit 103 displays various screens related to the game on the display (display unit) of the terminal 20. For example, the display control unit 103 displays a screen showing which quests have been cleared out of a group of quests. (Terminal) 5 is a diagram showing an example of a 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 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 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.

[0031] The storage unit 200 stores game data necessary for the control unit 203 to execute the game. The game data includes various image data, game scenarios, and the like.

[0032] The communication unit 201 has a function of performing various communications with the game server 10 using the communication IF 13 .

[0033] The UI unit 202 has a function of accepting various inputs from the user and displaying various game screens on the display. The UI unit 202 also displays game screens on the display (display unit) of the terminal 20 in accordance with instructions from the game server 10.

[0034] The control unit 203 provides various functions necessary for executing the game by cooperating with the game server 10. For example, the 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.

[0035] Regarding the functional block configuration described above, all or some of the storage unit 100, selection unit 101, control unit 102, and display control unit 103 included in the game server 10 may be configured to be provided in the terminal 20. That is, various processes according to the present embodiment may be executed by the game server 10, may be executed by the terminal 20, or may be executed by the game server 10 and the terminal 20 in cooperation with each other.

[0036] <Processing Procedure> Next, specific processing procedures performed by the game server 10 will be described. In this embodiment, game content is pre-associated with each quest included in the quest group, and the control unit 102 controls whether or not to skip the quest depending on whether or not the user possesses the game content associated with the next quest to be played. Note that in the following description, the game content associated with each quest is assumed to be a "character," but this embodiment is not limited to this. Furthermore, the character associated with the quest may be a boss character that appears in the quest, or may be a character other than the boss character.

[0037] Furthermore, in the following description, terms such as "first," "second," and "third" are used merely to identify the nouns that follow these terms, and do not imply an order unless otherwise specified. For example, terms such as first quest, second quest, third quest, and fourth quest do not imply an order in which the quests are performed unless otherwise specified. For example, the term "first quest" can include not only the first quest played, but also any quest played, such as the second or third quest played.

[0038] First, the storage unit 100 of the game server 10 stores a user management DB (Data Base) 100a that stores various information related to users, and a quest definition DB 100b that manages various data related to quests included in a quest group.

[0039] 7 is a diagram showing an example of the user management DB 100a and the quest definition DB 100b. The user management DB 100a stores, for example, an identifier (user ID (identification)) that uniquely identifies a user, a user name (nickname) used in the game, a character ID of a character owned by the user (owned character), the location of the terminal 20 used by the user, and the like. (location information), the user's experience points, level, stamina, and number of skip rights (for example, the number of rights to skip a quest), etc. are stored.

[0040] The quest definition DB 100b stores an identifier (quest group ID) that uniquely identifies a quest group, information (type definition) indicating whether the quest group is a fixed-type quest group or an undefined-type quest group, information (configuration definition) regarding the configuration of the undefined quest group, and, for each quest included in the quest group, an identifier (quest ID) that uniquely identifies the quest, the difficulty level, and a character associated with the quest (hereinafter referred to as a "skip determination character"). For example, in the example of FIG. 7, for a quest group with a quest group ID of G001, the difficulty level of Quest A is 1 and the character ID of the skip determination character is C001. The skip determination character may be different for each quest, may be the same for some quests, or may be the same for all quests. Furthermore, the magnitude of the quest ID may indicate the order in which the quests are performed (play order). For example, Quest B may refer to a quest to be played after Quest A has been cleared. Furthermore, the configuration definition is information that defines from which range of quests the user will select the next quest to play. For example, in the case of the group of irregular quests shown in Figure 3, the configuration definition stores information indicating that Quest A will be played first, that the quest to be played after Quest A will be selected from Quest B and Quest C, that the next quest to be played will be selected from Quests D to G, and that the next quest to be played will be selected from Quests H to O.

[0041] Fig. 8 is a flowchart showing an example of a processing procedure performed by the game server 10. Using Fig. 8, a processing procedure for controlling whether or not to skip a quest based on the character owned by the user when the user plays a group of quests will be described.

[0042] In step S10, the selection unit 101 selects the quest that the user should play next. More specifically, if the quest group is a fixed quest group, the selection unit 101 selects the quest following the quest that the user has cleared, in order of completion, as the quest that the user should play next. For example, in the example of FIG. 2, the user has cleared up to quest C, so the selection unit 101 selects quest D as the quest that the user should play next. Also, if the quest group is an undefined quest group, the selection unit 101 selects the quest that the user should play next from within a certain range of quests, in accordance with the "configuration definition" of the quest definition DB 100b. For example, in FIG. 3, it is assumed that the user has cleared quests A and B. In this case, the selection unit 101 selects one of quests D to G as the quest that the user should play next.

[0043] In addition, when the user selects the next quest to play from a range of quests according to the configuration definition, the selection unit 101 may select a quest randomly, may select the quest with the lowest or highest difficulty, or may select a quest such that the lower (or higher) the difficulty of the quest, the higher the probability of it being selected.

[0044] In step S11, the control unit 102 determines whether or not the user possesses the skip determination character selected in step S10 and corresponding to the quest the user will play next. If the user possesses the skip determination character, the process proceeds to step S12; if the user does not possess the skip determination character, the process proceeds to step S13.

[0045] In step S12, the control unit 102 controls whether or not the user will skip the next quest to be played, based on a predetermined probability. More specifically, the predetermined probability may be defined as "the probability that the next quest to be played will be skipped," or the predetermined probability may be defined as "the probability that the next quest to be played will not be skipped." In the following description, the predetermined probability is defined as "the probability that the next quest to be played will be skipped."

[0046] The predetermined probability may be any value, but may be fixed at 1 / 2 or may change dynamically depending on the quest. If it changes dynamically, the predetermined probability may be weighted according to the difficulty of the quest. For example, the predetermined probability may be determined so that the higher the difficulty level, the lower the probability of skipping. If the difficulty level of quests is defined on a 10-point scale, a quest with difficulty level 1 has a 9 / 10 chance of being skipped, and a quest with difficulty level 2 has an 8 / 10 chance of being skipped, and so on. Alternatively, the predetermined probability may be determined so that the higher the difficulty level, the higher the probability of skipping. For example, the predetermined probability may be determined according to the formula "difficulty level / 10."

[0047] In step S13, the control unit 102 executes the quest selected in the processing procedure of step S 10. The control unit 102 may award the user with a character and / or an item depending on the result of playing the quest.

[0048] In step S14, the selection unit 101 refers to the quest definition DB 100b and determines whether there is a quest to be played next after the quest that the user cleared in the processing procedure of step S13. If there is no quest, the processing ends assuming that the quest group has been cleared, but if there is a quest, the processing returns to the processing procedure of step S10.

[0049] The processing procedure of steps S10 to S14 described above can be explained as follows: That is, for a first quest and a second quest included in a quest group, if the user does not have a first character (first game medium) corresponding to the first quest, the control unit 102 may control the second quest to be playable based on the user's play result of the first quest, and if the user has the first character, the control unit 102 may control the first quest to be skipped and the second quest to be playable according to a predetermined probability (probability).

[0050] For example, in the example of FIG. 3, the "first quest" is quest A, and the "second quest" is quest C. Furthermore, the "first character" is character A. If the user does not have character A, the control unit 102 has the user play quest A, and if the user clears quest A, has the user play quest C, which is the quest after quest A. On the other hand, if the user has character A, the control unit 102 determines whether to skip quest A according to a predetermined probability. If the control unit 102 determines to skip quest A, it has the user play quest C, which is the quest after quest A. If the control unit 102 determines not to skip quest A, it has the user play quest A, and if the user clears quest A, it has the user play quest C, which is the quest after quest A.

[0051] Furthermore, the quest group may further include a third quest in addition to the first quest and the second quest, and the character corresponding to the second quest may be a second character (second game medium). If the user does not have the second character corresponding to the second quest, the control unit 102 may control the third quest to be playable by having the user clear the second quest, and if the user has the second character, the control unit 102 may control the second quest to be skipped and the third quest to be playable according to a predetermined probability (probability).

[0052] For example, in the example of FIG. 3 , the first quest is quest A, the second quest is quest C, and the third quest is quest E. The skip determination characters for quest A and quest C are character A (first game medium) and character C (second game medium), respectively. The user has either completed or skipped quest A. If the user does not own character C, the control unit 102 has the user play quest C, and if the user has completed quest C, has the user play quest E, which is the quest after quest C. On the other hand, if the user owns character C, the control unit 102 determines whether to skip quest C according to a predetermined probability. If the control unit 102 determines to skip quest C, it has the user play quest E, which is the quest after quest C. If the control unit 102 determines not to skip quest C, it has the user play quest C, and if the user has completed quest C, has the user play quest E, which is the quest after quest C.

[0053] As a result, if the user is stuck and unable to complete a quest, the user can skip the quest and proceed to the next quest if they can somehow obtain a skip determination character for the quest that they cannot complete. In other words, according to this embodiment, it is possible to prevent the user from being stuck and unable to complete a quest.

[0054] <Modification> Next, several variations of the above-described processing procedure will be described. The variations described below can be combined in any manner.

[0055] (Variation 1) When the user possesses a skip determination character (first game medium) corresponding to the next quest to be played, and the number of skip determination characters (first game media) previously acquired by the user is large, the control unit 102 may set the predetermined probability (probability) higher than when the number of skip determination characters (first game media) previously acquired by the user is small. Note that the number of skip determination characters previously acquired may include both skip determination characters previously acquired and still in possession of, and skip determination characters previously acquired but no longer in possession for reasons such as having sold them.

[0056] For example, it is assumed that the next quest the user will play is quest C, and the skip determination character for quest C is character C. It is also assumed that the user owns character C. The control unit 102 may set the predetermined probability to be higher when the user has acquired 10 characters C by playing the game so far, compared to when the user has acquired 5 characters C by playing the game so far. In other words, the more characters C the user has acquired in the past, the higher the predetermined probability (i.e., the higher the probability that quest C will be skipped). This makes it possible to control the probability that a quest will be skipped depending on the number of skip determination characters the user has acquired in the past.

[0057] (Variation 2) The quest group may include a first quest group provided in a first period and a second quest group provided in a second period after the first period. The control unit 102 may also determine whether a user (first user) who has satisfied a predetermined condition in playing the first quest group plays the second quest group, or whether a user (first user) who has not satisfied the predetermined condition in playing the first quest group plays the second quest group. In a case where a user (first user) plays the second quest group, the difficulty level of the quests included in the second quest group may be controlled to be higher for a user (first user) who satisfies a predetermined condition than for a user (second user) who does not satisfy the predetermined condition. The first quest group and the second quest group may be the same quest group or different quest groups. The predetermined condition may be any condition, such as clearing the first quest group or playing the first quest group (without being required to clear it). The predetermined condition may also be clearing the first quest group a predetermined number of times (for example, once, twice, etc.).

[0058] For example, suppose there is a first group of quests that can be played from October 1st to October 15th, and a second group of quests that can be played from November 1st to November 15th. The predetermined condition is to complete the first group of quests. In this case, the control unit 102 may increase the difficulty level of the second group of quests (for example, by making the boss characters that appear in each quest stronger) when a user who has completed the first group of quests plays the second group of quests compared to when a user who has not completed the first group of quests plays the second group of quests. This makes it possible to reduce the possibility that a user will become bored with playing a group of quests, since a user who has fulfilled the predetermined condition by playing a group of quests in an earlier period will experience a higher difficulty level for the group of quests in a later period.

[0059] <Screen display example> Next, several display examples will be described for the screen displayed on the screen of the terminal 10. The display examples described below can be combined in any way. Furthermore, the following display examples will be described using an unstructured quest group as an example, but each display example can also be applied to a fixed quest group.

[0060] (Display example 1) 9 is a diagram showing a screen display example (part 1). The display control unit 103 displays, on the screen of the terminal 10, a screen M100 including information Q10 indicating the completion status of the group of quests being played by the user and a button B10 for receiving an instruction to play the next quest.

[0061] Here, after receiving a predetermined operation from the user, the control unit 102 may determine whether to skip the next quest (first quest) according to a predetermined probability (probability) before starting to play the next quest. The predetermined operation may be, for example, a user operation related to starting the next quest. For example, when button B10 in FIG. 9 is pressed, the control unit 102 may determine whether to skip the next quest (quest A in the example of FIG. 9).

[0062] If the control unit 102 determines not to skip the next quest to be played, the display control unit 103 displays a screen M110 for executing the quest. On the other hand, if the control unit 102 determines to skip the next quest to be played, the display control unit 103 displays a screen M120 indicating that the next quest to be played has been skipped. This makes it possible to determine whether or not to skip a quest at an appropriate time.

[0063] (Display example 2) The display control unit 103 may display, on a screen accepting a predetermined operation, information (hereinafter referred to as "quest information") regarding a quest in which a user can acquire a character (first game medium) corresponding to the quest (first quest) to be played next, based on the possession state of the character (first game medium) corresponding to the quest. Here, the predetermined operation may be a user operation related to starting the quest to be played next, as in display example 1. The possession state may be, for example, whether the user possesses at least a character, or whether the user possesses a predetermined number of characters. Furthermore, the possession state may be, for example, whether the user possesses a character corresponding to the quest to be played next and whose predetermined parameter (e.g., a parameter that increases by combining identical characters) is at its maximum value.

[0064] 10 is a diagram showing a screen display example (part 2). As shown in screen M200, the display control unit 103 may display quest information R20 indicating that the quest in which the user can obtain a skip determination character for quest C to be played next is "normal quest NC." A user viewing this screen can recognize that in order to skip quest C to be played next, they can simply play normal quest NC and obtain the character.

[0065] (Display example 3) When a quest in which the user can obtain a character (first game content) corresponding to the quest (first quest) to be played next is a quest held during a specific period, the display control unit 103 may display information related to the specific period as quest information. For example, as shown in display field R21 of screen M210 in FIG. 10 , the display control unit 103 may display information indicating that the event quest IC is playable during the period from March 2 to March 4 as information related to an event quest IC in which the user can obtain a skip determination character for quest C to be played next. A user viewing this screen can recognize that to skip quest C to be played next, the user can obtain the character by playing an event quest IC that is playable during the period from March 2 to March 4.

[0066] (Display example 4) When there are multiple quests in which the user can acquire a character (first game content) corresponding to the quest (first quest) to be played next, the display control unit 103 may display the multiple quests in a display manner based on the difficulty of the quests. The display manner based on the difficulty of the quests may be, for example, displaying the multiple quests in order of difficulty, starting from the quest with the lowest (or highest) difficulty.

[0067] For example, as shown in display field R22 of screen M220 in Fig. 10, the display control unit 103 may display, from lowest to highest difficulty, a normal quest NC1, which has a low difficulty level, and a normal quest NC2, which has a high difficulty level, as information about quests in which the user can obtain a skip determination character for quest C to be played next. A user viewing this screen can recognize that to skip quest C to be played next, the user can obtain a character by playing normal quest NC1 or normal quest NC2, and that because normal quest NC1 has a lower difficulty level than normal quest NC2, it is easier to obtain the skip determination character by playing normal quest NC1.

[0068] (Example 5) In display example 5, the first quest and the second quest are quests included in a quest group, and the second quest is the quest that the user plays after the first quest. Also, the skip determination character for the first quest and the skip determination character for the second quest are the first character (first game medium) and the second character (second game medium), respectively.

[0069] If the user has skipped or not completed the first quest, the display control unit 103 may display a quest in which the first character can be obtained preferentially over a quest in which the second character can be obtained. Furthermore, if the user has skipped or completed the first quest, the display control unit 103 may display a quest in which the second character can be obtained preferentially over a quest in which the first character can be obtained. Note that "displaying A preferentially over B" may mean displaying A in a manner that makes it easier for the user to see than B. Specifically, this may mean displaying information indicating A (such as letters or an icon) above information indicating B in the vertical direction of the screen. Alternatively, it may mean displaying information indicating A without displaying information indicating B (the same applies to the following explanation).

[0070] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a third example of a screen display. In the example of FIG. 11, the first and second quests are quest A and quest C, respectively. In the example of screen M300, the user must play quest A before quest C. Therefore, if the user has not skipped or completed quest A, the display control unit 103 may preferentially display a normal quest NA in which the skip determination character for quest A (i.e., the first character) can be acquired over a normal quest NC in which the skip determination character for quest C (i.e., the second character) can be acquired, as shown in a display field R30 of screen M300. Furthermore, if the user has skipped or completed quest A, the display control unit 103 may preferentially display a normal quest NC in which the skip determination character for quest C (i.e., the second character) can be acquired over a normal quest NA in which the skip determination character for quest A (i.e., the first character) can be acquired, as shown in a display field R31 of screen M310. Display example 5 allows the user viewing the screen to appropriately recognize the quest in which the skip determination character for the next quest to be played can be acquired.

[0071] (Example 6) The display control unit 103 may display information about a quest in which a skip determination character can be obtained in a quest that the user plays earlier than the multiple quests included in the quest group, in preference to information about a quest in which a skip determination character can be obtained in a quest that the user plays later.

[0072] In display example 6, the first quest, the second quest, the third quest, and the fourth quest are quests included in a quest group, the second quest is the quest that the user plays after the first quest, the third quest is the quest that the user plays after the second quest, and the fourth quest is the quest that the user plays after the third quest. Also, the skip determination character for the first quest, the skip determination character for the second quest, the skip determination character for the third quest, and the skip determination character for the fourth quest are the first character (first game medium), the second character (second game medium), the third character (third game medium), and the fourth character (fourth game medium), respectively.

[0073] The processing performed by the control unit 102 and the display control unit 103 in display example 6 can be expressed as follows. When the next quest to be played is the first quest, if the user does not have a first character corresponding to the first quest, the control unit 102 controls the control so that the second quest becomes playable by having the user clear the first quest, and if the user has the first character, the control unit 102 skips the first quest and makes the second quest playable according to a predetermined probability (probability). Furthermore, when the next quest to be played is the second quest, if the user does not have a second character corresponding to the second quest, the control unit 104 controls the control so that the third quest becomes playable by having the user clear the second quest, and if the user has the second character, the control unit 104 skips the second quest and makes the third quest playable according to a predetermined probability (probability). In addition, when the next quest to be played is the third quest, if the user does not possess the third character corresponding to the third quest, the control unit 104 controls the user to clear the third quest so that the fourth quest can be played, and if the user possesses the third character, the control unit 104 controls the user to skip the third quest and so that the fourth quest can be played according to a predetermined probability (probability).

[0074] The display control unit 103 may also display a quest in which the user can obtain a skip determination character (first character) for a first quest that the user will play next, preferentially over a quest in which the user can obtain a skip determination character (second character) for a second quest that the user will play after the first quest. The display control unit 103 may also display a quest in which the user can obtain a skip determination character (second character) for a second quest that the user will play after the first quest, preferentially over a quest in which the user can obtain a skip determination character (third character) for a third quest that the user will play after the second quest. The display control unit 103 may also display a quest in which the user can obtain a skip determination character (third character) for a third quest that the user will play after the second quest, preferentially over a quest in which the user can obtain a skip determination character (fourth character) for a fourth quest that the user will play after the third quest.

[0075] 12 is a diagram showing a screen display example (part 4). In the example of FIG. 12, the quest group is an undefined quest group, and the first quest, the second quest, and the third quest correspond to quest A, quest C, and quest E, respectively.

[0076] 12, if the user has not skipped or cleared quest A, the display control unit 103 may display normal quest NC, which allows the user to obtain a skip determination character for quest C, which the user will play after quest A, in preference to normal quest NE, which allows the user to obtain a skip determination character for quest E, which the user will play after quest C (for example, displaying normal quest NC higher than normal quest NE).Furthermore, the display control unit 103 may display normal quest NA, which allows the user to obtain a skip determination character for quest A, which the user will play next, in preference to normal quest NC, which allows the user to obtain a skip determination character for quest C, which the user will play after quest A (for example, displaying normal quest NA higher than normal quest NC). 12, when the user has skipped or cleared quest A, the display control unit 103 may preferentially display a normal quest NC in which the user can obtain a skip determination character for quest C, which the user will play after quest A, over a normal quest NC in which the user can obtain a skip determination character for quest E, which the user will play after quest C. In other words, regardless of whether the user has skipped or cleared quest A (first quest), the display control unit 103 may preferentially display a normal quest NC in which the user can obtain a skip determination character (second character) for quest C (second quest), which the user will play after quest A, over a normal quest NE in which the user can obtain a skip determination character (third character) for quest E (third quest), which the user will play after quest C (second quest).

[0077] According to display example 6, the user can recognize, in order of priority, the quests in which the skip determination character can be obtained in the quests to be played in the future, in accordance with the order in which the quests will be played.

[0078] (Example 7) If a user fails to complete a quest included in a quest group, the display control unit 103 may display information about multiplayer play in which multiple users play quests together, and in which a call for participants is being made for the quest that the user was unable to complete.

[0079] 13 is a diagram showing a fifth example of a screen display. For example, as shown in screen M500, if the user is unable to complete quest E, the display control unit 103 may display information R50 encouraging the user to participate in a multiplayer game for which a request for participation is being made for quest E, and buttons B50-1 and B50-2 for accepting participation in a multiplayer game for which a request for participation is being made for quest E. Furthermore, if the user is not seeking multiplayer games for the quest that he or she was unable to complete, the display control unit 103 may display information R51 encouraging the user to become the host user and solicit multiplayer games, as shown in screen M530.

[0080] According to display example 7, if a user is unable to complete a quest, the user can participate in multiplayer and play the quest with the help of other users.

[0081] (Example 8) The display control unit 103 may display information regarding whether a host player recruiting for multiplayer games will use a character (game content) used by another user when that other user cleared a quest that the user was unable to clear. Here, the character used by that other user when that other user cleared a quest that the user was unable to clear may be, for example, a character that the other user incorporated into their deck when they cleared a quest. The ease of clearing some quests may vary depending on the attributes of the characters incorporated into their deck. Therefore, it is considered that the quest will be easier to clear by incorporating into your own deck a character that the other user incorporated into their deck when they cleared the quest.

[0082] 13, if the user fails to clear Quest E, the display control unit 103 may display information R52 encouraging participation in a multiplay for which recruitment is being held for Quest E, and buttons B52-1 and B52-2 for accepting participation in a multiplay for which recruitment is being held for Quest E. Also, information S52 indicating that the character used by the host player in the multiplay for Recruitment 1 (the character to be incorporated into the deck) is the character used by another user when that other user cleared Quest E is displayed.

[0083] When button B52-1 is pressed, the display control unit 103 may display a list of characters used by the host player and characters used by guest players who have expressed their intention to participate, as shown on screen M530. Furthermore, the display control unit 103 may display, on the screen, the number of characters that correspond to "characters used by other users when those users cleared quest E," among the characters used by the host player and the characters used by guest players who have expressed their intention to participate.

[0084] According to display example 8, if a user is unable to complete a quest, they can join a multiplayer game and get help from other users to complete the quest. In addition, the user can determine whether the host user in a multiplayer game is using a character that is advantageous for completing the quest.

[0085] <Summary> According to the embodiment described above, the game server 10 controls whether or not to skip a quest included in a quest group, depending on whether or not the user possesses a character corresponding to the quest. In other words, if the user cannot complete a quest included in a quest group, the user can skip the quest by possessing a character corresponding to the quest. This prevents the user from becoming stuck and being unable to complete a quest.

[0086] 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, as well as their arrangements, materials, conditions, shapes, sizes, etc., are not limited to those exemplified and may be modified as appropriate. <Additional Notes> <Appendix 1> a storage unit that stores game media owned by a user; a control unit that, for a first quest and a second quest included in a quest group, makes the second quest playable based on the user's results in playing the first quest when the user does not own a first game medium corresponding to the first quest, and that, when the user owns the first game medium, skips the first quest and makes the second quest playable according to a probability; An information processing device having the above.

[0087] According to Supplementary Note 1, it is possible to prevent the user from getting stuck and being unable to complete a quest. <Appendix 2> the group of quests further includes a third quest, the control unit, when the user does not possess a second game medium corresponding to the second quest, controls the user to clear the second quest and thereby make the third quest playable, and, when the user possesses the second game medium, controls the second quest to be skipped and the third quest to be playable according to a probability. 10. The information processing device according to claim 1.

[0088] According to Supplementary Note 2, if the user possesses the game content corresponding to each quest, the user will be able to skip each quest. <Appendix 3> the control unit sets the probability higher when the number of first game media previously acquired by the user is large than when the number of first game media previously acquired by the user is small; 3. The information processing device according to claim 1 or 2.

[0089] According to Supplementary Note 3, it is possible to change the probability that a quest will be skipped depending on the number of game contents that the user has acquired in the past. <Appendix 4> the control unit, after receiving a predetermined operation from the user, determines whether to skip the first quest according to the probability before starting to play the first quest; 4. The information processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

[0090] According to Appendix 4, it will be possible to execute the process of skipping a quest at the appropriate time. <Appendix 5> the quest group includes a first quest group provided in a first period and a second quest group provided in a second period after the first period; the control unit controls the difficulty of the quests included in the second quest group to be higher for a first user who has satisfied a predetermined condition in playing the first quest group and who plays the second quest group, and for a second user who has not satisfied the predetermined condition in playing the first quest group and who plays the second quest group, than for the first user. 5. The information processing device according to any one of Supplementary Notes 1 to 4.

[0091] According to Appendix 5, when a group of quests is provided over multiple periods, it becomes possible to change the difficulty level of the group of quests when playing them in a later period based on whether or not the user satisfied certain conditions when playing the group of quests in an earlier period. <Appendix 6> a display control unit that displays, on a screen that accepts a predetermined operation, quest information related to a quest for which the first game medium can be acquired based on the possession status of the first game medium by the user; 6. The information processing device according to any one of Supplementary Notes 1 to 5.

[0092] According to Supplementary Note 6, it becomes possible to notify the user of information regarding quests for which the game content corresponding to each quest can be acquired, based on whether the user possesses the game content corresponding to that quest. <Appendix 7> the display control unit, when the quest for obtaining the first game medium is a quest held during a specific period, displays information relating to the specific period as the quest information; 7. The information processing device according to claim 6.

[0093] According to Supplementary Note 7, if a quest that allows the acquisition of game content corresponding to the quest is held for a specific period of time, it becomes possible to notify the user of that specific period. <Appendix 8> the display control unit, when there are multiple quests for which the first game content can be obtained, displays the multiple quests in a display manner based on the difficulty level of the quests; 8. The information processing device according to claim 6 or 7.

[0094] According to Supplementary Note 8, when there are multiple quests for which game content can be acquired, it becomes possible to notify the user of the multiple quests in order of difficulty. <Appendix 9> If you have skipped or not completed the first quest, quests for obtaining the first game medium are displayed with priority over quests for obtaining the second game medium; If you skip or clear the first quest, a display control unit that displays a quest for acquiring the second game medium in priority over a quest for acquiring the first game medium; 3. The information processing device according to claim 2.

[0095] According to Appendix 9, depending on whether a quest has been cleared or not, it is possible to switch between prioritizing the display of quests in which the character corresponding to the quest can be obtained, or prioritizing the display of quests in which the game content corresponding to the quest to be played next after the quest in question can be obtained. <Appendix 10> the group of quests further includes a fourth quest, the control unit, when the user does not possess a third game medium corresponding to the third quest, controls the user to clear the third quest and thereby make the fourth quest playable, and, when the user possesses the third game medium, controls the user to skip the third quest and make the fourth quest playable according to a probability; The display control unit, regardless of whether the first quest has been skipped or cleared, quests that allow players to acquire the second game medium are displayed with priority over quests that allow players to acquire the third game medium; 10. The information processing device according to claim 9.

[0096] According to Supplementary Note 10, the user can recognize, in priority order, quests for which game content corresponding to quests to be played in the future can be obtained, in accordance with the order in which the quests will be played. <Appendix 11> a display control unit that, if the user fails to complete a quest included in the quest group, displays information about a multiplay in which a recruitment for the quest is being held and in which a plurality of users play the quest together; An information processing device according to any one of appendices 1 to 10.

[0097] According to Appendix 11, if a user is unable to complete a quest, the user can participate in multiplayer and play the quest with the help of other users. <Appendix 12> the display control unit displays information regarding whether the host player inviting the user to play in a multiplayer game will use a game medium that was used by another user when the other user completed a quest that the user was unable to complete, 12. The information processing device according to claim 11.

[0098] According to Appendix 12, a user can recognize whether a host user in a recruiting multiplayer game is using game media that has been used by another user. <Appendix 13> a step in which the information processing device stores game media owned by the user in a storage unit; an information processing device performing control such that, for a first quest and a second quest included in a quest group, if the user does not possess a first game medium corresponding to the first quest, the second quest is playable based on the user's play result of the first quest, and if the user possesses the first game medium, the first quest is skipped and the second quest is playable according to a probability; An information processing method including:

[0099] According to Appendix 13, it is possible to prevent the user from getting stuck and being unable to complete a quest. <Appendix 14> storing game media owned by a user in a storage unit; With respect to a first quest and a second quest included in a quest group, when the user does not possess a first game medium corresponding to the first quest, making the second quest playable based on the user's results in playing the first quest, and when the user possesses the first game medium, skipping the first quest and making the second quest playable according to a probability; A program that causes a computer to execute the following.

[0100] According to Appendix 14, it is possible to prevent the user from getting stuck and being unable to complete a quest. [Explanation of symbols]

[0101] 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...user management DB, 100b...quest definition DB, 101...selection unit, 102...control unit, 103...display control unit, 200...storage unit, 201...communication unit, 202...UI unit, 203...control unit

Claims

[Claim 1] a storage unit that stores game media owned by a user; a control unit that, for a first quest and a second quest included in a quest group, makes the second quest playable based on the user's play result of the first quest when the user does not possess a first game medium corresponding to the first quest, and that, when the user possesses the first game medium, skips the first quest and makes the second quest playable according to a probability; An information processing device having the above.

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