Information processing program, information processing method, and information processing device

Abstract

To provide an information processing program, an information processing method, and an information processing device that can reduce the sense of incongruity felt by a player in comparison with a case where a character is simply moved to a position at an appropriate distance in relation to the action of each character during a battle. [Solution] The computer executes a process to obtain the current distance between a first character performing a skill and a second character that is the target of the skill, obtain an appropriate distance according to at least one of the characteristics of the first character and the skill, and if the current distance differs from the appropriate distance, have the first character perform an additional action that can be recognized by the player as an attack against the second character before performing the skill, move at least one of the first character and the second character according to the additional action, and set the distance between the first character and the second character to the appropriate distance.

Description

[Technical Field]

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

[0002] There is a known game in which, in a battle between a first character and a second character, each character is placed in a predetermined position, and each game character uses that position as a base to carry out attacks, etc., and then returns to their original position each time an attack is completed, such as at the end of each turn.

[0003] In this way, in games in which each character remains positioned in a predetermined position during battle, the movements of each character can appear unnatural. As a technology to address this, for example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technology that allows each character to freely position themselves in the game space during battle, thereby preventing each character from remaining positioned in a predetermined position and eliminating this unnaturalness. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-166053 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, if each character does not remain in a predetermined position during battle, a first character may attempt to use a skill on a second character when the distance between the two characters is inappropriate for the skill execution. In this case, simply moving one of the characters to a position where the distance is appropriate may make the character's movements during battle look unnatural, which may cause the player to feel uncomfortable.

[0006] The present disclosure aims to provide an information processing program, an information processing method, and an information processing device that can reduce the sense of discomfort felt by players regarding the actions of each character during battle, compared to simply moving the character to a position at an appropriate distance. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The information processing program of the first aspect causes a computer to execute a process of acquiring the current distance between a first character that executes a skill during battle and a second character that is the target of the skill, acquiring an appropriate distance according to at least one of the characteristics of the first character and the skill, and, if the current distance differs from the appropriate distance, having the first character perform an additional action that can be recognized by a player as an attack against the second character before executing the skill, moving at least one of the first character and the second character according to the additional action, and setting the distance between the first character and the second character to the appropriate distance.

[0008] The information processing program of the second aspect, in the information processing program of the first aspect, when the first character is made to perform an additional action, executes a performance indicating that it is an attack, or a performance that has at least some parts in common with the skill that is an attack on the second character.

[0009] The information processing program of the third aspect is the information processing program of the first or second aspect, wherein the additional action is an action according to at least one of the difference between the current distance and the appropriate distance and the skill.

[0010] An information processing program of a fourth aspect is an information processing program of any one of the first to third aspects, wherein the sum of the damage value displayed by the first character executing the additional action and the damage value displayed by executing the skill after performing the additional action is a value within a predetermined range of the damage value displayed by the first character executing the skill when the current distance is the appropriate distance.

[0011] An information processing program of a fifth aspect is an information processing program of any one of the first to fourth aspects, in which, when the first character is made to perform the additional action, a damage value smaller than the damage value inflicted by the skill is displayed in response to the execution of the additional action while maintaining the stamina of the second character.

[0012] The information processing program of the sixth aspect is an information processing program of any one of the first to fifth aspects, in which the character is made to perform autonomous actions involving movement, or, if the character is not performing an action that will affect the outcome of the battle, is not performing an action that targets another character, is not an action turn, or is not performing an action based on the player's instructions, the character is made to perform standby actions involving movement in accordance with specified conditions.

[0013] An information processing program of a seventh aspect is an information processing program of any one of the first to sixth aspects, wherein when the first character executes the skill, if a third character other than the first character and the second character is within an area defined according to the first character or the skill, the third character is moved outside the area while the first character is executing the additional action or before executing the skill.

[0014] An information processing program of an eighth aspect is an information processing program of any one of the first to seventh aspects, wherein the current distance is the distance at a predetermined timing after it is decided to have the first character execute the skill and before the skill is executed.

[0015] An information processing method of a ninth aspect is a method in which a computer executes a process to obtain the current distance between a first character that executes a skill during battle and a second character that is the target of the skill, obtain an appropriate distance according to at least one of the characteristics of the first character and the skill, and if the current distance differs from the appropriate distance, have the first character perform an additional action that can be recognized by a player as an attack against the second character before executing the skill, move at least one of the first character and the second character according to the additional action, and set the distance between the first character and the second character to the appropriate distance.

[0016] An information processing device of a tenth aspect includes a processor, which acquires the current distance between a first character that performs a skill during battle and a second character that is the target of the skill, acquires an appropriate distance according to at least one of the characteristics of the first character and the skill, and if the current distance differs from the appropriate distance, before executing the skill, causes the first character to perform an additional action that is recognizable to a player as an attack against the second character, moves at least one of the first character and the second character according to the additional action, and sets the distance between the first character and the second character to the appropriate distance. [Effects of the Invention]

[0017] According to the present disclosure, the actions of each character during battle can reduce the sense of discomfort felt by the player compared to when the character is simply moved to a position at an appropriate distance. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0018] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a schematic configuration of a game system. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of a terminal device. [Figure 3] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the positions of a player character and an NPC during battle. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a functional configuration of a terminal device. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a case where the current distance between the player character and the NPC is an appropriate distance. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a case where the current distance between the player character and the NPC is shorter than the appropriate distance. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a case where the current distance between the player character and the NPC is longer than the appropriate distance. [Figure 8A] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating the damage value displayed when the current distance between the player character and the NPC is the appropriate distance. [Figure 8B] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating the damage value displayed when the current distance between the player character and the NPC is different from the appropriate distance. [Figure 8C] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating the damage value displayed when the current distance between the player character and the NPC is different from the appropriate distance. [Figure 9] 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a distance control process executed by the terminal device. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of information indicating a correspondence relationship between a waiting behavior and a predetermined condition. [Figure 11] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a case where another player character interferes with the execution of a skill. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0019] Hereinafter, examples of embodiments for carrying out the technology of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[0020] First, the configuration of a game system 1 of this embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 1. Fig. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of the game system 1 of this embodiment. The game system 1 includes a terminal device 10 and a server device 20. The terminal device 10 and the server device 20 are connected to each other via a network 30 so as to be able to communicate with each other.

[0021] The server device 20 executes processing in response to the player's operation by transmitting and receiving data to the terminal device 10, and provides the execution results to the terminal device 10. More specifically, the server device 20 may execute processes such as downloading programs (applications) to the terminal device 10, logging in players, and managing various databases.

[0022] As an example, the server device 20 may be realized by cloud computing. Although the diagram illustrates an example in which the server device 20 is a single device, the server device 30 may perform the above-mentioned processing in a distributed manner across multiple devices. Furthermore, the diagram illustrates an example in which the game to be played is provided as an online game, but this is not limiting. If the game to be played can be played offline, the game system 1 may not include the server device 20. In other words, in the present disclosure, the server device 20 is not an essential component.

[0023] The terminal device 10 is a device for a player to play a game that he or she is trying to play. The terminal device 10 is, for example, a home game console, a portable game console, an arcade game console, a smartphone, a tablet terminal, a personal computer, or the like. In this embodiment, as an example, a smartphone will be described as the terminal device 10. The terminal device 10 of this embodiment is an example of the information processing device and computer disclosed herein. Note that this is not limited to this embodiment, and the server device 20 may be an information terminal device and computer disclosed herein, or both the terminal device 10 and the server device 20 may be an information terminal device and computer disclosed herein.

[0024] Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the terminal device 10 of this embodiment. As shown in Fig. 2, the terminal device 10 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 11, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 12, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 13, a storage 14, an input unit 15, a display unit 16, and a communication I / F (Interface) 17. The CPU 11, the ROM 12, the RAM 13, the storage 14, the input unit 15, the display unit 16, and the communication I / F 17 are connected to each other via a bus 19 so as to be able to communicate with each other.

[0025] The CPU 11 is a central processing unit that executes various programs and controls each part. The CPU 11 is an example of a processor. The ROM 12 stores various programs and various data. The RAM 13 temporarily stores programs or data as a working area. The storage 14 is composed of a storage device such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), an SSD (Solid State Drive), or a flash memory, and stores various programs and various data.

[0026] The storage 14 stores an information processing program 14A for executing a predetermined game on the terminal device 10. The CPU 11 reads the information processing program 14A from the storage 14 and executes the information processing program 14A using the RAM 13 as a work area. Note that the information processing program 14A is not limited to being stored in advance in the storage 14, and may be downloaded from the server device 30 to the terminal device 10 via the communication I / F 17, for example. Furthermore, for example, the information processing program 14A may be installed in the terminal device 10 from a recording medium storing the information processing program 14A.

[0027] The input unit 15 includes various buttons and is used to perform various inputs. A player operates the game using the input unit 15. The display unit 16 is, for example, a liquid crystal display or an organic EL (Electro Luminescence) display, and displays various information. The input unit 15 and the display unit 16 may be an integrated touch panel.

[0028] The communication I / F 17 is an interface for connecting the terminal device 10 to the network 30. The communication I / F 17 uses, for example, a wired communication standard such as Ethernet (registered trademark) or FDDI (Fiber Distributed Data Interface), or a wireless communication standard such as 4G, 5G, or Wi-Fi (registered trademark).

[0029] In the game provided by the terminal device 10 of this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3 , a plurality of player characters 50 (50_1 to 50_5) that can be controlled by the player and a plurality of characters controlled by the terminal device 10, so-called NPCs (Non Player Characters) 60 (60_1 to 60_5), face each other and engage in battle. In the game of this embodiment, during periods other than when a skill is being executed during battle, for example, while waiting to execute a skill, the player characters 50 can move autonomously within the area 52, and the NPCs 60 can move autonomously within the area 62, depending on the battle situation, etc. That is, in this embodiment, the player characters 50 and the NPCs 60 do not remain positioned in predetermined positions during battle. The player characters 50 and the NPCs 60 perform autonomous actions involving movement, for example, by character AI or the like. The player characters 50 and the NPCs 60 perform standby actions involving movement, for example, according to predetermined conditions. Note that, in the example shown in FIG. 3, areas 52 in which multiple player characters 50 can move and areas 62 in which multiple NPCs 60 can move are respectively set, but the method for setting areas 52 and 62 is not limited to this example. For example, areas 52 may be set individually for each of player characters 50_1 to 50_5, and areas 62 may be set individually for each of NPCs 60_1 to 60_5. The player character 50 of this embodiment is an example of a first character of the present disclosure, and the NPC 60 of this embodiment is an example of a second character of the present disclosure. Note that a "skill" is a technique or action that affects the ability value of a target, such as various attacks or debuffs that reduce abilities.

[0030] In this way, since the player character 50 and the NPC 60 are allowed to move during battle, their respective positions may change. Therefore, the player character 50 may attempt to use a skill on the NPC 60 when the distance between them is inappropriate.

[0031] Therefore, when the distance between the player character 50 and the NPC 60 differs from the appropriate distance, the terminal device 10 of this embodiment causes the player character 50 to perform an additional action that can be recognized by the player as an attack against the NPC 60 before the player character 50 executes a skill. Furthermore, the terminal device 10 moves at least one of the player character 50 and the NPC 60 in accordance with the additional action, and sets the distance between the player character 50 and the NPC 60 to the appropriate distance.

[0032] Next, the functional configuration of the terminal device 10 will be described with reference to Fig. 4. As shown in Fig. 4, the terminal device 10 includes an acquisition unit 40 and a control unit 42. The CPU 11 executes the information processing program 14A, thereby functioning as the acquisition unit 40 and the control unit 42.

[0033] The acquisition unit 40 acquires the current distance between the player character 50 who will execute a skill during battle and the NPC 60 who is the target of the skill. Specifically, the acquisition unit 40 acquires the distance in the virtual space of the game between the player character 50 and the NPC 60 who is the target of the skill. The acquisition unit 40 outputs the acquired current distance to the control unit 42. Note that the "current distance" is the distance when the player character 50 is to execute a skill, and in this embodiment, it is the distance at a predetermined timing after it is decided to have the player character 50 execute a skill and before the skill is executed.

[0034] The acquisition unit 40 acquires an appropriate distance according to at least one of the characteristics and skills of the player character 50. The "characteristics" of the player character 50 may, for example, indicate whether the player character 50 is a character that performs long-range attacks or a character that performs close-range attacks. The characteristics of the player character 50 may be determined in advance or may be determined according to items such as weapons and armor possessed by the player character 50. The appropriate distance according to a skill may, for example, be an appropriate distance according to the type of skill. For example, the appropriate distance for a skill related to a physical attack may be shorter than the appropriate distance for a skill related to magic. As an example, in the terminal device 10 of this embodiment, information indicating a correspondence between the appropriate distance and at least one of the characteristics and skills of the player character 50 and the appropriate distance is stored in the storage 14, and the acquisition unit 40 acquires the appropriate distance from the storage 14. The appropriate distance may be set to a specific distance or a range of distances. For example, the appropriate distance may be set to "5 m" or "4.85 m to 5.15 m." Which of these is used may be determined depending on the type of skill, the type of additional action, etc. The acquisition unit 40 outputs the acquired appropriate distance to the control unit 42.

[0035] When the current distance between the player character 50 and the NPC 60 differs from the appropriate distance, the control unit 42 causes the player character 50 to perform an additional action that can be recognized by the player as an attack against the NPC 60 before the player character 50 executes a skill. Furthermore, the control unit 42 moves at least one of the player character 50 and the NPC 60 in accordance with the additional action, and performs control to set the distance between the player character 50 and the NPC 60 to the appropriate distance.

[0036] An example of the operation of this control unit 42 will be specifically described for the case where the player character 50 who executes the skill is the player character 50_1 and the NPC 60 who is the target of the skill is the NPC 60_1.

[0037] Figure 5 shows a case where the current distance D between the player character 50_1 and the NPC 60_1 is the appropriate distance S (D = S). In this case, the player character 50_1 executes the skill as it is.

[0038] On the other hand, Figure 6 shows a case where the current distance D between the player character 50_1 and the NPC 60_1 is shorter than the appropriate distance S (D < S).

[0039] As shown in (i) of Figure 6, when the current distance D between the player character 50_1 and the NPC 60_1 is shorter than the appropriate distance S (D < S), the control unit 42 causes the player character 50_1 to perform an additional action recognizable to the player as an attack on the NPC 60_1, as shown in (ii). Note that in (ii), a mode in which the player character 50_1 moves to the current position of the NPC 60_1 and performs an additional action is shown, but the present mode is not limited thereto. For example, a mode in which the player character 50_1 performs an additional action while maintaining the current position may also be possible. How to set the mode may be determined according to the additional action.

[0040] The additional action may be any action recognizable to the player as an attack on the NPC 60_1. For example, the additional action may be an action according to at least one of the difference between the current distance between the player character 50_1 and the NPC 60_1 and the appropriate distance, and the skill to be executed. Also, for example, the additional action may be an action capable of giving an influence similar to the influence that the skill to be executed gives to the NPC 60_1. Examples of such additional actions include actions similar to the skill to be executed, actions of the same type as the skill to be executed, and actions that give a lower damage value to the NPC 60_1 than the skill to be executed. Also, for example, the additional action may be a preliminary action for the skill to be executed. An example of such an additional action is an action of swinging a sword when the skill to be executed is a strike with a sword. Also, when the skill to be executed is shooting, an action of loading a bullet into a gun can be cited.

[0041] Furthermore, the additional action may be set as an action different from the skill, or may be set as an action that is a part of the skill. That is, the control unit 42 may cause the player character 50_1 to execute an additional action that is an action different from the skill before causing the player character 50_1 to execute a specific action associated with the skill. Furthermore, the control unit 42 may cause the player character 50_1 to execute an additional action that is another action associated with the skill before causing the player character 50_1 to execute one action associated with the skill.

[0042] Furthermore, "recognizable" means that it can be recognized by the player's five senses. For example, it can be recognized visually by observing the action, aurally by hearing the sound such as sound effects, or tactilely by sensing the vibrations of the controller.

[0043] Furthermore, in the present embodiment, when the control unit 42 causes the player character 50_1 to perform an additional action as a recognizable action, the control unit 42 executes an effect indicating an attack or an effect that is at least partially the same as a skill that attacks the NPC 60_1. Here, "effect" refers to a game effect that can be recognized by the player, and "recognizable" refers to an effect that can be recognized by the player's five senses. Specific examples include visual recognition by displaying damage, staggering the character, displaying a mark indicating that the attack has hit, or displaying effects such as fire or ice, auditory recognition by sounding a sound effect indicating that the attack has hit, and tactile recognition by vibrating the controller, etc.

[0044] Furthermore, as shown in (iii-1) to (iii-3) of FIG. 6, the control unit 42 moves at least one of the player character 50_1 and the NPC 60_1 in accordance with the additional action, thereby setting the distance D between the player character 50_1 and the NPC 60_1 to the appropriate distance S. (iii-1) shows an example in which the NPC 60_1 moves backward by being blown away or the like due to the additional action. (iii-2) shows an example in which the player character 50_1 moves backward by being jumped back or the like due to the additional action. (iii-3) shows an example in which the player character 50_1 also moves backward while the NPC 60_1 moves backward. Which of (iii-1) to (iii-3) is to be used may be determined depending on the types of the player character 50_1 and the NPC 60_1, the types of the skill or additional action to be executed, the current distance D between the player character 50_1 and the NPC 60_1, etc.

[0045] On the other hand, FIG. 7 shows a case where the current distance D between the player character 50_1 and the NPC 60_1 is longer than the appropriate distance S (D>S).

[0046] As shown in (i) of FIG. 7, when the current distance D between the player character 50_1 and the NPC 60_1 is longer than the appropriate distance S (D>S), the control unit 42 causes the player character 50_1 to perform an additional action that can be recognized by the player as an attack against the NPC 60_1, as shown in (ii). Note that (ii) illustrates a mode in which the player character 50_1 moves to the current position of the NPC 60_1 and performs the additional action, but this mode is not limited to this, and for example, the player character 50_1 may perform the additional action while maintaining its current position. The mode may be determined depending on the additional action. Note that the additional action may be the same or different depending on whether the current distance D between the player character 50_1 and the NPC 60_1 is longer or shorter than the appropriate distance S.

[0047] Furthermore, as shown in (iii-1) to (iii-3) of FIG. 7, the control unit 42 moves at least one of the player character 50_1 and the NPC 60_1 in accordance with the additional action, thereby setting the distance D between the player character 50_1 and the IP 30_1 to the appropriate distance S. (iii-1) shows an example in which the NPC 60_1 moves backward by being blown away or the like due to the additional action. (iii-2) shows an example in which the player character 50_1 moves backward by an additional action, by jumping back or the like as a preparatory action. (iii-3) shows an example in which the player character 50_1 also moves backward while the NPC 60_1 moves backward. Which of (iii-1) to (iii-3) is to be used may be determined depending on the types of the player character 50_1 and the NPC 60_1, the types of the skill or additional action to be executed, the current distance D between the player character 50_1 and the NPC 60_1, etc.

[0048] The display unit 16 may display a damage value to be inflicted on the NPC 60_1 by the player character 50_1 performing an additional action and a skill. In this case, the sum of the damage value displayed by the player character 50_1 performing the additional action and the damage value displayed by the player character 50_1 performing the skill after performing the additional action may be set to a value within a predetermined range from the damage value displayed by the player character 50_1 performing the skill when the current distance is the appropriate distance. This embodiment will be described as a specific example in which the player character 50_1 inflicts "-400" damage on the NPC 60_1 by performing a skill when the current distance is the appropriate distance. Inflicting "-400" damage means that the damage value is "-400" and the stamina is reduced by "400."

[0049] As shown in FIG. 8A , when the current distance is the appropriate distance, the control unit 42 causes the player character 50_1 to execute a skill, thereby displaying a damage value of “−400.” On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 8B , when the current distance is not the appropriate distance (in FIG. 8B , the current distance D<appropriate distance S), the control unit 42 may cause the player character 50_1 to execute an additional action to display a damage value of “−200” and to execute a skill to display a damage value of “−200.” As in the example shown in FIG. 8B , a value obtained by equally dividing the damage value when the current distance is the appropriate distance may be displayed by executing each of the additional action and the skill. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 8C , when the current distance is not the appropriate distance, the control unit 42 may cause the player character 50_1 to execute an additional action to display a damage value of “−100” and to execute a skill to display a damage value of “−300.”

[0050] The damage value displayed by executing the additional action may be smaller than the damage value inflicted on NPC 60_1 by executing a skill after executing the additional action.

[0051] In this case, the value obtained by adding the damage value displayed by executing the skill and the damage value displayed by executing the additional action may be the same as the damage value inflicted by executing the skill.

[0052] The vitality of NPC 60_1 may be decreased according to the displayed damage value, or may not be decreased when an additional action is performed, but may be decreased when a skill is executed. For example, in the case shown in FIG. 8C , the vitality of NPC 60_1 may be decreased by "100" when an additional action is performed, and further decreased by "300" when a skill is executed. Alternatively, when an additional action is performed, the vitality may be maintained, and decreased by "400" when a skill is executed. By maintaining the vitality of NPC 60_1 when an additional action is executed in this way, NPC 60_1 will not die, and the subsequent skill performance can be shown to the player.

[0053] Next, the operation of the terminal device 10 will be described with reference to Fig. 9. The CPU 11 executes the information processing program 14A, thereby executing the distance control process shown in Fig. 9. As an example, the distance control process of this embodiment is executed for each player character 50 when a battle between the player character 50 and an NPC 60 starts. Note that, hereinafter, a specific example will be described in which the player character 50_1 executes a skill on the NPC 60_1, as in Figs. 6 and 7.

[0054] In step S100 of FIG. 9 , the acquisition unit 40 determines whether or not a skill execution instruction for the player character 50_1 has been received. If any of the other player characters 50 (50_2 to 50_5) executes a skill or if it is the NPC 60's turn to attack, the determination in step S100 is negative, and the process proceeds to step S102. In this case, the player character 50_1 enters a standby state waiting for the execution of a skill and performs a standby action. As described above, the player character 50 enters a standby state with movement according to a predetermined condition when the player character 50 is not performing an action that will affect the battle result, when the player character 50 is not performing an action targeting another character, when it is not the player's turn to act, or when the player character 50 is not performing an action based on the player's instructions. In this embodiment, the player character 50 performing the standby action is an example of a third character of the present disclosure. Note that the standby action may be an action that does not affect the battle result. The standby action may be an action that has less of an impact on the battle result than an action performed every action turn. The standby action may be an action that has less of an impact on the battle result than an action that consumes resources.

[0055] In step S102, the control unit 42 causes the player character 50_1 to perform a standby action, and then returns to step S100. The standby action may be an action based on a predetermined condition. Examples of the predetermined condition include an action based on a battle situation or a condition based on the state of the player character 50_1. In this embodiment, as an example, information representing the correspondence between the standby action and the predetermined condition is stored in the storage 14. FIG. 10 shows an example of the information representing the correspondence between the standby action and the predetermined condition. In the information representing the correspondence shown in FIG. 10, "condition" refers to the predetermined condition, "actor" refers to the character performing the standby action, and "action" refers to the content of the standby action. Furthermore, "movement" refers to whether or not movement occurs, "○" refers to movement (yes), and "×" refers to no movement (no), and "priority" refers to the priority of which standby action to perform, with a larger number indicating a higher priority. The control unit 42 refers to the information representing the correspondence stored in the storage 14 to identify a standby action based on the predetermined condition, and causes the player character 50_1 to perform the identified standby action.

[0056] On the other hand, if an instruction to execute a skill for the player character 50_1 has been received, the determination in step S100 is affirmative, and the process proceeds to step S104. In step S104, the acquisition unit 40 acquires the current distance between the player character 50_1 and the NPC 60_1. Note that the timing at which the instruction to execute a skill in this embodiment is received is an example of the predetermined timing of the present disclosure.

[0057] In the next step S106, the acquisition unit 40 acquires an appropriate distance according to at least one of the characteristics of the player character 50_1 and the skill to be executed.

[0058] In the next step S108, the control unit 42 determines whether or not the current distance acquired in the above step S104 is the same as the appropriate distance acquired in the above step S106 (current distance = appropriate distance). If the current distance and the appropriate distance are the same, the determination in step S108 is affirmative, and the process proceeds to step S114, where the control unit 42 causes the player character 50_1 to execute a skill.

[0059] On the other hand, if the current distance and the appropriate distance are different, the determination at step S108 becomes negative, and the process proceeds to step S110. At step S110, the control unit 42 causes the player character 50_1 to perform the additional action, as described above.

[0060] In the next step S112, the control unit 42 moves at least one of the player character 50_1 and the NPC 60_1 as described above so that the distance between the player character 50_1 and the NPC 60_1 becomes the appropriate distance, and then proceeds to step S114. In step S114, the control unit 42 causes the player character 50_1 to execute a skill in a state where the distance between the player character 50_1 and the NPC 60_1 becomes the appropriate distance.

[0061] In the next step S116, the control unit 42 determines whether or not to end the distance control process shown in Fig. 9. For example, in this embodiment, if the battle ends, the distance control process shown in Fig. 9 ends. Therefore, if the battle is continuing, the determination in step S116 is negative, the process returns to step S100, and the processes of steps S100 to S114 are repeated. On the other hand, if the battle ends, the determination in step S116 is positive, and the distance control process shown in Fig. 9 ends.

[0062] As described above, the acquisition unit 40 of the terminal device 10 acquires the current distance between the player character 50 who executes a skill during battle and the NPC 60 who is the target of the skill. The acquisition unit 40 also acquires an appropriate distance according to at least one of the characteristics of the player character 50 and the skill. If the current distance differs from the appropriate distance, the control unit 42 causes the player character 50 to perform an additional action that the player can recognize as an attack against the NPC 60 before executing the skill, and moves at least one of the player character 50 and the NPC 60 in accordance with the additional action, thereby setting the distance between the player character 50 and the NPC 60 to the appropriate distance.

[0063] Unlike the terminal device 10 of this embodiment, when at least one of the player character 50 and the NPC 60 is simply moved to a position that is the appropriate distance, for example, even if the player instructs the execution of a skill to attack the NPC 60, the NPC 60 simply runs or walks away without performing any action related to the attack. Such actions appear unnatural to perform during battle, which may cause the player to feel uncomfortable. Also, when the NPC 60 is simply moved to a position that is the appropriate distance, for example, the NPC 60 simply runs or walks away without performing any action related to the attack. Such actions appear unnatural to perform during battle, which may cause the player to feel uncomfortable.

[0064] On the other hand, as described above, when the distance between the player character 50 and the NPC 60 is not the appropriate distance, the terminal device 10 of this embodiment has the player character 50 perform an additional action that can be recognized by the player as an attack on the NPC 60, and moves at least one of the player character 50 and the NPC 60 to a position where the appropriate distance is achieved. In this way, the player character 50 is made to perform a natural action as an action during battle, and at least one of the player character 50 and the NPC 60 is moved, thereby reducing the sense of discomfort felt by the player.

[0065] Therefore, on the terminal device 10 of this embodiment, the player's sense of discomfort regarding the actions of the player character 50 and NPC 60 during battle can be reduced compared to when each character is simply moved to a position at an appropriate distance.

[0066] Note that, in the above embodiment, a case where the player character 50 executes a skill on the NPC 60 has been described; however, the present invention is not limited to this embodiment, and for example, the NPC 60 may execute a skill on the player character 50. That is, the NPC 60 may be an example of a first character of the present disclosure, and the player character 50 may be an example of a second character of the present disclosure. Furthermore, for example, the player character 50 may execute a skill on another player character 50, or the NPC 60 may execute a skill on another NPC 60. That is, the player character 50 may be an example of the first character and the second character of the present disclosure, or the NPC 60 may be an example of the first character and the second character of the present disclosure.

[0067] Furthermore, the characters that perform the standby action are not limited to the player character 50 and the NPC 60. For example, it may be a specific character, or it may be all characters that exist in the game.

[0068] The same configuration as in the above embodiment may also be applied to so-called auto-battles that do not require player operation. Even in the case of auto-battles, if the player character 50 or NPC 60 is simply moved to maintain the appropriate distance between them, the player character 50 or NPC 60 may appear to be simply moving around, or may turn their back to the enemy and start walking away even during combat, which may cause the player to feel uncomfortable. In contrast, the terminal device 10 of this embodiment allows the player to perform natural movements during combat, as described above, thereby reducing the sense of discomfort felt by the player.

[0069] In addition, in cases where a player character 50 other than the player character 50 executing a skill interferes with the execution of the skill, the control unit 42 of the terminal device 10 may move the player character 50 interfering with the execution of the skill to a position where it does not interfere. That is, when the player character 50 executes a skill, if a character other than the player character 50 executing the skill and the NPC 60 that is the target of the skill is within an area defined for the player character 50 executing the skill or the skill, the control unit 42 may move the character out of the area while the player character 50 executing the skill is performing an additional action or before the skill is executed. This aspect will be described with reference to FIG. 11 . The example shown in FIG. 11 illustrates a case where the player character 50_1 is about to execute a skill, the target of the skill is the NPC 60_1, and the player character 50_2 is located within an area 70 defined in advance for the skill. The player character 50_2 in this case is an example of a third character in the present disclosure. In this embodiment, the area that interferes with the execution of a skill is predetermined in accordance with the skill. Areas that may interfere with the execution of a skill include, for example, areas where the player character 50_1 and the NPC 60_1 may move in relation to the execution of a skill, such as areas where they move to close the distance or areas where they may move due to the influence of the skill, such as when they stagger after being hit. These areas may be determined in advance according to the type of skill, etc. In the example shown in FIG. 11 , the area 70 includes three areas: an area within a circle of radius r centered on the NPC 60_1, which is the target of the skill; an area on a line L connecting the player character 50_1 and the NPC 60_1; and an area within a triangle whose base is a diameter 2r of a circle centered on the NPC 60_1, whose vertex is the player character 50_1, and whose perpendicular line is the line L. Note that the area 70 is not limited to the example shown in FIG. 11 , and may be determined according to the skill, and may be one or more of the three areas.If a player character 50_2 other than the player character 50_1 and the NPC 60_1 is in an area 70 defined according to a skill before the player character 50_1 executes the skill, the control unit 42 moves the player character 50_2 out of the area 70 before the player character 50_1 executes the skill. This prevents the other player characters 50_2 not executing the skill from getting in the way or from being affected by the skill. Furthermore, the control unit 42 may perform control so that characters other than the player character 50_1 do not enter the above-mentioned area while the player character 50_1 is executing the additional action, between the additional action and the skill, and while the player character 50_1 is executing the skill.

[0070] In the above embodiment, the case where the player character 50 performs one additional action has been described, but the distance between the player character 50 and the NPC 60 may be set to the appropriate distance by performing the additional action multiple times. For example, if the difference between the current distance and the appropriate distance is less than a threshold, the additional action may be performed once, and if the difference is equal to or greater than the threshold, the additional action may be performed twice.

[0071] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, a case has been described in which there are a plurality of player characters 50 and a plurality of NPCs 60 participating in a battle (five of each in FIG. 4), but the number of player characters 50 and NPCs 60 participating in a battle is not limited. For example, the number of player characters 50 and the number of NPCs 60 may be different. Also, there may be a one-to-one relationship between a player character 50 and an NPC 60. Furthermore, when there are a plurality of player characters 50, each player character 50 may be operated by a different player, and in this case, the terminal device 10 operated by each player may be different.

[0072] Furthermore, various processes executed by the CPU 11 of the terminal device 10 after reading software (programs) in the above embodiment may be executed by various processors other than a CPU. Examples of such processors include programmable logic devices (PLDs) whose circuit configuration can be changed after fabrication, such as field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), and dedicated electrical circuits, such as application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), which are processors with circuit configurations specifically designed to execute specific processes. Furthermore, various processes may be executed by one of these various processors, or by a combination of two or more processors of the same or different types (e.g., multiple FPGAs, or a combination of a CPU and an FPGA). Furthermore, the hardware structure of these various processors is, more specifically, an electrical circuit that combines circuit elements such as semiconductor devices. [Explanation of symbols]

[0073] 10 Terminal Equipment 11 CPU 14A Information Processing Program 20 Server device 40 Acquisition Department 42 Control Unit

Claims

1. obtaining a current distance between a first character performing a skill during combat and a second character that is a target of the skill; acquiring an appropriate distance according to at least one of the characteristics of the first character and the skill; If the current distance is different from the appropriate distance, before executing the skill, the first character is made to perform an additional action that can be recognized by a player as an attack on the second character, and at least one of the first character and the second character is moved in accordance with the additional action, and the distance between the first character and the second character is set to the appropriate distance. An information processing program that causes a computer to execute a process.

2. When the first character is made to perform an additional action, a performance indicating that the action is an attack or a performance that is at least partially the same as the skill that is an attack on the second character is executed. The information processing program according to claim 1 .

3. The additional action is an action according to at least one of the difference between the current distance and the appropriate distance and the skill. The information processing program according to claim 1 .

4. The sum of the damage value displayed by the first character performing the additional action and the damage value displayed by the first character performing the skill after performing the additional action is: When the current distance is the appropriate distance, a value within a predetermined range from the damage value displayed when the first character executes the skill. The information processing program according to claim 1 .

5. When the first character is made to perform the additional action, a damage value smaller than the damage value inflicted by the skill is displayed in response to the execution of the additional action while maintaining the physical strength of the second character. The information processing program according to claim 1 .

6. If a character is performing an autonomous action that involves movement, or if the character is not performing an action that will affect the outcome of the battle, is not performing an action that targets another character, is not an action turn, or is not performing an action based on the player's instructions, the character will perform a standby action that involves movement according to specified conditions. The information processing program according to claim 1 .

7. When the first character executes the skill, if a third character other than the first character and the second character is within an area defined according to the first character or the skill, the third character is moved out of the area while the first character is executing the additional action or before the first character executes the skill. The information processing program according to claim 1 .

8. The current distance is the distance at a predetermined timing after it is decided to have the first character execute the skill and before the skill is executed. The information processing program according to claim 1 .

9. obtaining a current distance between a first character performing a skill during combat and a second character that is a target of the skill; acquiring an appropriate distance according to at least one of the characteristics of the first character and the skill; If the current distance is different from the appropriate distance, before executing the skill, the first character is made to perform an additional action that can be recognized by a player as an attack on the second character, and at least one of the first character and the second character is moved in accordance with the additional action, and the distance between the first character and the second character is set to the appropriate distance. An information processing method in which processing is performed by a computer.

10. a processor, the processor comprising: obtaining a current distance between a first character performing a skill during combat and a second character that is a target of the skill; acquiring an appropriate distance according to at least one of the characteristics of the first character and the skill; If the current distance is different from the appropriate distance, before executing the skill, the first character is made to perform an additional action that can be recognized by a player as an attack on the second character, and at least one of the first character and the second character is moved in accordance with the additional action, and the distance between the first character and the second character is set to the appropriate distance. Information processing device.

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