Information processing device, content display method, and content display program

Abstract

An object of the present invention is to provide an information processing device, a content display method, and a content display program that enable more diverse expressions for content displayed on a screen. [Solution] The manga display process displays on the screen of a mobile terminal a manga 50 formed from a series of multiple still images 52. The manga display process displays on the screen a manga 50 including still images 52 whose length in at least one of the vertical and horizontal directions is greater than the length of the screen, and scrolls the manga 50 displayed on the screen vertically or horizontally depending on the vertical or horizontal length of the still images 52.

Description

[Technical Field]

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

[0002] BACKGROUND ART In recent years, online services such as websites (web pages, web services), online games, and application software (hereinafter referred to as "apps") that are distributed to information processing devices such as mobile terminals via computer networks have become widespread.

[0003] Patent Document 1 discloses an image display device that displays a manga page made up of multiple frames on a screen by switching a specified range within the page (for example, one frame drawn within the page) and enlarging and displaying it on the display screen. To this end, the image display device disclosed in Patent Document 1 generates a display range switching list in which various parameters for sequentially switching the range to be displayed on the display screen are set, and the frames to be displayed, the coordinates of the display center, and the display magnification are set in association with the display order. As a result, the web page is displayed on the display screen while sequentially switching the display range according to the generated display range switching list.

[0004] Therefore, with the image display device disclosed in Patent Document 1, even if the web page is large, the user can comfortably view every corner of the web page without having to perform complicated controller operations such as scrolling up, down, left, and right or zooming in and out of the image. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2010-164862 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] In recent years, manga that can be viewed on information processing devices are not just manga that have been imported as image data from paper media, but also manga that have been created as image data from the beginning with the intention of being distributed to information processing devices. Manga created with the intention of being distributed to such information processing devices are expected to be able to express a variety of expressions that could not be expressed on paper media.

[0007] The image display device disclosed in Patent Document 1 scrolls up, down, left, and right. Its purpose is to allow users to comfortably view manga that is page-by-page and frame-by-frame, captured from paper media as image data, but not to diversify the ways in which manga is expressed. Therefore, there is a need for technological development that enables more diverse ways of expressing content such as manga displayed on information processing devices.

[0008] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and aims to provide an information processing device, a content display method, and a content display program that enable more diverse expression of content displayed on a screen. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] In order to solve the above problems, the information processing device, the content display method, and the content display program of the present invention employ the following means.

[0010] In order to solve the above problem, one aspect of the present invention, an "information processing device", is an information processing device that displays content formed from a plurality of consecutive still images on a screen, and is equipped with a display control means that displays the content on the screen, including still images whose vertical or horizontal length at least one of which is greater than the length of the screen, and a scroll control means that scrolls the content displayed on the screen vertically or horizontally depending on the vertical or horizontal length of the still images.

[0011] In order to solve the above problem, one aspect of the present invention, a "content display method," is a content display method for displaying content formed from a plurality of consecutive still images on a screen, and includes a first step of displaying the content on the screen, the content including still images whose length in at least one direction, vertically or horizontally, is greater than the length of the screen, and a second step of scrolling the content displayed on the screen vertically or horizontally depending on the vertical or horizontal length of the still images.

[0012] In order to solve the above problem, a "content display program" which is one aspect of the present invention causes a computer provided in an information processing device which displays content formed from a plurality of consecutive still images on a screen to function as a display control means which causes the content including still images whose length in at least one direction, vertically or horizontally, is greater than the length of the screen on the screen, and a scroll control means which causes the content displayed on the screen to scroll vertically or horizontally depending on the vertical or horizontal length of the still images.

[0013] Various technical limitations may be imposed on the above-mentioned "information processing device," as exemplified below. Furthermore, technical limitations of the same purport may be imposed on the processing steps executed by the "content display method" or the functions of the "content display program."

[0014] The scroll control means scrolls the still image that is long in the vertical direction vertically, and scrolls the still image that is long in the horizontal direction horizontally.

[0015] The scroll control means scrolls the content in response to a user's operation using an indicator on the screen, controls the amount of movement of the still image in response to an inertial force based on the movement speed of the indicator, and continues scrolling the content in response to the inertial force even if the scrolling direction of the content changes.

[0016] The scroll control means scrolls the content in response to a user's operation using an indicator on the screen, controls the amount of movement of the still image in response to an inertial force based on the movement speed of the indicator, and stops the scrolling of the content regardless of the magnitude of the inertial force when the scrolling direction of the content changes.

[0017] The scroll control means scrolls the still image at a predetermined speed.

[0018] The speed varies depending on the still image.

[0019] The scroll control means determines at a predetermined timing whether or not a predetermined condition for scrolling the content is satisfied, and scrolls the content when the condition is satisfied.

[0020] The content is a manga with a branching progression, and multiple scroll directions are set for the still image before the branching progression, and the scroll control means scrolls the content in one scroll direction selected from the multiple scroll directions.

[0021] The information processing device includes a progress branch control means for determining one of the plurality of scroll directions based on information acquired by the information processing device.

[0022] When the scroll control means scrolls the manga in one selected scroll direction, it prohibits scrolling the manga in other scroll directions that were not selected.

[0023] When a predetermined condition is met, the number of branches in the manga progression increases or decreases compared to before the condition was met.

[0024] The content information indicating the content displayed on the screen includes a plurality of the still images arranged two-dimensionally in accordance with the scroll direction.

[0025] The content information indicating the content to be displayed on the screen includes order information indicating the order in which the content is to be displayed on the screen and a plurality of still images associated with a scroll direction.

[0026] The content information is associated with scroll information that indicates the scroll direction of the content, and the scroll control means scrolls the content displayed on the screen vertically or horizontally in accordance with the scroll information. [Effects of the Invention]

[0027] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a more diverse range of expressions for content displayed on a screen. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0028] [Figure 1] 1 is a configuration diagram of a manga distribution system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] 1 is a block diagram showing the electrical configuration of a server according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3] 1 is a block diagram showing the electrical configuration of a mobile terminal according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating the concept of a manga according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 5] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a screen display state in multi-scroll mode according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6] 5A and 5B are schematic diagrams showing images at the timing when the scroll direction changes according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 7] 1A to 1C are schematic diagrams showing manga progression branches according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 8]FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram relating to a manga display function of a mobile terminal according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 9] 5 is a flowchart showing the flow of manga display processing on the mobile terminal according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 10] 1 is a schematic diagram showing the structure of manga data according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 11] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing the structure of other manga data according to the first embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0029] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An information processing device, a content display method, and a content display program according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0030] [1. First embodiment] A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below.

[0031] [1-1. Manga distribution system configuration] 1 is a schematic diagram of a manga distribution system 1 according to this embodiment. The manga distribution system 1 includes a communication line 2, a plurality of mobile terminals 3, and a server 4.

[0032] The communication line 2 forms a computer network, and is, for example, a wide area communication line provided by an electric utility company.

[0033] The mobile terminal 3 is an information processing terminal such as a smartphone, tablet terminal, or laptop computer, and is used by the user to access online services delivered via the communication line 2. The mobile terminal 3 includes a touch panel display 3a that displays images, a speaker 3b that outputs sound, a microphone 3c that inputs sound, and a camera 3d that captures an image of a subject. Here, the touch panel display 3a includes, for example, an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) and a touch sensor. The LCD displays various images, and the touch sensor accepts various input operations performed using a pointing device such as a finger, a stylus, or a pen. In the following description, the touch panel display 3a is also referred to as a screen 3a.

[0034] The server 4 is an information processing device that distributes online services to the mobile terminal 3 via the communication line 2.

[0035] The manga distribution system 1 according to this embodiment distributes manga in the form of digital data from a server 4 to a mobile terminal 3 via a communication line 2 as one of its online services. The manga referred to here is an example of content formed from a series of still images, which are composed of pictures and have a story as a whole. The user views the manga distributed to the mobile terminal 3 using dedicated application software (hereinafter referred to as a "manga viewing app"). The manga viewing app is pre-installed on the mobile terminal 3. Note that the manga viewing app functions even when the mobile terminal 3 and the server 4 are not communicating (offline state) as long as manga data has been downloaded from the server 4 to the mobile terminal 3.

[0036] [1-2. Server configuration] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the electrical configuration of the server 4 according to this embodiment.

[0037] The server 4 according to this embodiment includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 20, which is a main control unit that controls the overall operation of the server 4, a ROM in which various programs and various data are stored in advance, (Read Only Memory) 22, RAM (Random Access Memory) 24 used as a work area when the CPU 20 executes various programs, and HDD (Hard Disk Drive) 26 as storage means for storing various programs and various data.

[0038] The HDD 26 stores manga data indicating manga to be distributed to the mobile terminal 3. Note that the storage means is not limited to the HDD 26, and may be, for example, another storage medium such as a semiconductor memory, such as a flash memory.

[0039] Furthermore, the server 4 is equipped with an operation input unit 28 consisting of a keyboard, mouse, etc., which accepts input of various operations, a monitor 30 such as a liquid crystal display device which displays various images, and an external interface 32 which is connected to other information processing devices such as a mobile terminal 3 via the communication line 2 and sends and receives various data to and from the other information processing devices.

[0040] The CPU 20, ROM 22, RAM 24, HDD 26, operation input unit 28, monitor 30, and external interface 32 are electrically connected to one another via a system bus 34. Therefore, the CPU 20 can access the ROM 22, RAM 24, and HDD 26, grasp the operation status of the operation input unit 28, display images on the monitor 30, and send and receive various data to and from other information processing devices, etc. via the external interface 32.

[0041] [1-3. Electrical configuration of mobile terminal] FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram showing the electrical configuration of the mobile terminal 3. As shown in FIG.

[0042] The mobile terminal 3 includes a main control unit 40, a main memory unit 42, an auxiliary memory unit 44, a communication unit 46, and an operation button 48 in addition to the components shown in FIG.

[0043] The main control unit 40 is, for example, a CPU, a microprocessor, a DSP (Digital Signal Processor), or the like, and controls the overall operation of the mobile terminal 3.

[0044] The main storage unit 42 is configured with, for example, RAM or DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory), and is used as a work area when the main control unit 40 executes processes based on various programs.

[0045] The auxiliary storage unit 44 is, for example, a non-volatile memory such as a flash memory, and stores various data such as images, as well as programs used in processing by the main control unit 40. The programs stored in the auxiliary storage unit 44 include, for example, an operating system (OS) for implementing the basic functions of the mobile terminal 3, drivers for controlling various hardware, and programs for implementing email, web browsing, and various other functions. The auxiliary storage unit 44 also stores in advance a manga viewing application for displaying manga distributed from the server 4 on the touch panel display 3a.

[0046] The communication unit 46 is, for example, a NIC (Network Interface Controller), and has a function of connecting to the communication line 2. Note that the communication unit 46 may have, instead of or together with the NIC, a function of connecting to a wireless LAN (Local Area Network), a function of connecting to a wireless WAN (Wide Area Network), a function of enabling short-range wireless communication such as Bluetooth (registered trademark), infrared communication, etc.

[0047] The operation buttons 48 are provided on the side of the mobile terminal 3, and include a power button for starting or stopping the mobile terminal 3, a volume adjustment button for adjusting the volume of the sound output by the speaker 3b, and the like.

[0048] The main control unit 40, main memory unit 42, auxiliary memory unit 44, communication unit 46, touch panel display 3a, speaker 3b, microphone 3c, camera 3d, and operation buttons 48 are electrically connected to one another via a system bus 49. Therefore, the main control unit 40 can access the main memory unit 42 and auxiliary memory unit 44, display images on the touch panel display 3a, grasp the operation status of the touch panel display 3a and operation buttons 48 by the user, input sound to the microphone 3c, output sound from the speaker 3b, control the camera 3d, and access various communication networks and other information processing devices via the communication unit 46.

[0049] [1-4. Manga display function on mobile devices] The mobile terminal 3 displays the manga distributed from the server 4 on the screen 3a using a function of the manga viewing app (hereinafter referred to as the "manga display function"), allowing the user to view the manga. The manga according to this embodiment is formed by including still images in which at least one of the vertical and horizontal lengths (hereinafter also referred to as "vertical and horizontal lengths") is greater than the length of the screen 3a of the mobile terminal 3. In other words, the manga according to this embodiment is a mixture of vertically long still images and horizontally long still images.

[0050] The configuration of a manga 50 according to this embodiment will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 4. FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram of a manga 50 distributed to a mobile terminal 3 by a manga distribution system. In the example of FIG. 4, manga 50 includes still images 52A and 52B. Still image 52A is a vertically long still image 52 showing a scene in which two people are having a conversation. Still image 52B is a horizontally long still image 52 showing a scene in which a character is throwing a punch. Note that manga 50 according to this embodiment does not have the concept of pages or frames, for example, and even in the example of FIG. 4, there are no clear page or frame boundaries.

[0051] 4, the horizontal length x is equal to the horizontal length of the screen 3a, and the vertical length y is equal to the vertical length of the screen 3a. That is, the horizontal length of the still image 52A is equal to the horizontal length of the screen 3a, while the vertical length of the still image 52A is longer than the vertical length of the screen 3a. Furthermore, the horizontal length of the still image 52B is longer than the horizontal length of the screen 3a, while the vertical length of the still image 52B is equal to the vertical length of the screen 3a.

[0052] The manga 50 may include a still image 52 whose length and width are both longer than the length and width of the screen 3a. The length of the still image 52 in the length and width directions is determined arbitrarily by the artist who creates the manga according to the scene of the manga 50.

[0053] [1-4-1. Multi-scroll] The manga display function performs multi-scrolling to scroll the manga 50 vertically or horizontally (up, down, left, or right) of the mobile terminal 3 and display it on the screen 3a according to the vertical or horizontal length of the still image 52. More specifically, the multi-scrolling scrolls, for example, a vertically long still image 52 vertically (the long axis direction of the screen 3a, or up and down), and a horizontally long still image 52 horizontally (the short axis direction of the screen 3a, or left and right).

[0054] In this way, multi-scrolling does not scroll manga 50 in one direction, vertically (up and down) or horizontally (left and right), but changes the scrolling direction vertically or horizontally depending on the scene in manga 50. The timing at which the scrolling direction in manga 50 changes is also the timing at which the scene in manga 50 changes, for example.

[0055] In the following description, scrolling in the vertical direction is referred to as “vertical scrolling,” and scrolling in the horizontal direction is referred to as “horizontal scrolling.” Note that if the vertical and horizontal lengths of the still image 52 are both longer than the vertical and horizontal lengths of the screen 3a, the manga 50 can be scrolled in a preset direction.

[0056] 4 indicates the scrolling direction of the manga 50. The still image 52A scrolls vertically because its vertical length is longer than the vertical length of the screen 3a. The still image 52B scrolls horizontally because its horizontal length is longer than the horizontal length of the screen 3a.

[0057] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the display state of the screen 3a by multi-scrolling, and shows the case where the still images 52A and 52B in FIG. 4 are displayed on the screen 3a.

[0058] Figures 5(A) to 5(F) show the change in the image displayed on the screen 3a of the mobile terminal 3 in this order, i.e., the state of scrolling. Figures 5(A) to 5(C) show the state in which the manga 50 scrolls vertically from top to bottom. On the other hand, when the still image 52 displayed on the screen 3a changes from still image 52A to still image 52B as shown in Figures 5(C) and 5(D), the manga 50 changes to scroll horizontally from left to right as shown in Figures 5(D) to 5(F).

[0059] Here, if the scrolling direction of the manga 50 displayed on the screen 3a of the mobile terminal 3 is always one direction, the image changes displayed on the screen 3a may not be appropriate for each scene. For example, if the scrolling direction is only vertical, in a scene where a punch is thrown horizontally as in still image 52B, still image 52B must be created and displayed to match the horizontal length of screen 3a, which results in a lack of realism and expressiveness.

[0060] On the other hand, with the manga display function according to this embodiment, the manga 50 is scrolled and displayed on the screen 3a according to the vertical and horizontal lengths of the still image 52, so that, for example, a scene of a punch being thrown as in still image 52B is scrolled horizontally, and the arm and fist are gradually displayed on the screen 3a. This makes it possible for the manga display function to enhance the realism and expressiveness of the manga 50 displayed on the screen 3a.

[0061] In this way, the multi-scrolling with the manga display function according to this embodiment allows for more diverse expressions for the manga 50 displayed on the screen 3a.

[0062] [1-4-2. Scrolling Operation] The manga display function scrolls the manga 50 in response to a user's operation using a pointer on the screen 3a. Note that the pointer according to this embodiment is, for example, the user's finger.

[0063] When scrolling the manga 50 displayed on the screen 3a, the user moves (swipes or flicks) their finger touching the screen 3a in the scrolling direction, for example. The manga display function scrolls the manga 50 when the screen 3a detects that a swipe or flick has been performed (hereinafter referred to as a "scrolling operation") while the manga 50 is displayed on the screen 3a.

[0064] As an example, the manga display function according to this embodiment scrolls the manga 50 displayed on the mobile terminal 3 when the direction of movement of the user's finger performing the scrolling operation matches a predetermined scrolling direction. However, this is not limited to this, and the manga display function may scroll the manga 50 in a predetermined direction when a scrolling operation is performed, regardless of the direction of movement of the user's finger. Furthermore, instead of performing the scrolling operation by swiping or flicking the user's finger, the manga 50 may be scrolled in a predetermined direction when the tap is performed, for example.

[0065] 6 is a schematic diagram showing still image 52C at the timing when the scrolling direction changes. As an example, the manga display function according to this embodiment changes the scrolling direction to horizontal when the bottom edge of still image 52C is displayed on screen 3a and further downward scrolling is not possible.

[0066] However, the scroll direction may be changed when the central area of ​​the still image 52C is displayed on the screen 3a. In this case, the coordinates indicating the central area of ​​the still image 52C, which is the timing at which the scroll direction changes, are set in advance in the manga.

[0067] Furthermore, the manga display function according to this embodiment may display an arrow image 54 indicating the scrolling direction on the screen 3a. This arrow image 54 is displayed, for example, at the edge of the screen 3a so as not to interfere with the manga displayed on the screen 3a. This allows the user to understand the scrolling direction of the manga displayed on the screen 3a, and therefore allows the user to perform scrolling operations without making a mistake.

[0068] The manga display function also changes the scrolling speed of the manga 50 according to the moving speed of the user's finger performing the scrolling operation. That is, the faster the moving speed of the finger, the greater the amount of scrolling of the still image 52 of the manga 50.

[0069] [1-4-3. Inertial Scrolling] The manga display function according to this embodiment changes the amount of scrolling of still images 52 constituting the manga 50 in response to inertial force based on the moving speed of the user's finger performing the scrolling operation. Specifically, the faster the moving speed of the user's finger, the more the scrolling of the manga 50 continues even after the finger is removed from the screen 3a. Note that the inertial force referred to here is a pseudo-inertial force that is predetermined in response to the moving speed of the user's finger, and this inertial force decreases over time, i.e., with the amount of scrolling after the finger is removed from the screen 3a. In the following description, scrolling due to inertial force is referred to as inertial scrolling.

[0070] Here, when the manga 50 displayed on the mobile terminal 3 is inertial scrolled and the timing (scene) for the scroll direction to change comes, the manga display function performs first inertial scroll control or second inertial scroll control as scroll control.

[0071] The first inertial scroll control is a control that continues scrolling of the manga 50 in accordance with an inertial force even when the timing for changing the scroll direction of the manga 50 comes and the scroll direction of the manga 50 changes.

[0072] On the other hand, the second inertial scroll control is a control that stops the scrolling of the manga 50 regardless of the magnitude of the inertial force when the scrolling direction of the manga 50 changes. That is, the second inertial scroll control temporarily stops the scrolling of the manga 50 before the scrolling direction of the manga 50 changes.

[0073] The first inertial scroll control and the second inertial scroll control will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

[0074] In the first inertial scroll control, when the still image 52C is displayed on the screen 3a of the mobile terminal 3 by inertial scrolling, the scrolling does not stop at the timing when the still image 52C is displayed on the screen 3a, but the scrolling direction changes from vertical scrolling to horizontal scrolling, and the inertial scrolling continues. Therefore, the first inertial scroll control enables smooth scrolling in response to the user's scrolling operation.

[0075] On the other hand, with the second inertial scroll control, when the still image 52C is displayed on the screen 3a of the mobile terminal 3 by the inertial scroll, the scrolling is stopped at the timing when the still image 52C is displayed on the screen 3a. Then, when the user performs a scroll operation, the scrolling of the manga 50 is resumed and the manga 50 is scrolled horizontally. Therefore, the second inertial scroll control can prevent the user from missing a change in the scene of the manga 50.

[0076] Whether to use the first inertial scrolling control or the second inertial scrolling control may be determined by a user setting, for example, or may be set in advance according to the desires of the artist of the manga 50. Furthermore, a single manga 50 may use a combination of the first inertial scrolling control and the second inertial scrolling control. For example, if the still image 52C contains a conversation that is important to the story of the manga 50, the second inertial scrolling control is performed to stop the scrolling. On the other hand, in a scene in which it is desired to express a sense of speed in the manga 50, the first inertial scrolling control is performed to allow the manga 50 to progress without stopping the scrolling.

[0077] [1-4-4. Condition Scroll] The manga display function according to this embodiment may determine at a predetermined timing (hereinafter referred to as "condition detection timing") whether a predetermined condition for scrolling the manga 50 (hereinafter referred to as "scroll condition") is met, and may scroll (progress) the manga 50 if the scroll condition is met. Note that the manga display function does not scroll the manga 50 if the scroll condition is not met at the condition detection timing.

[0078] The manga display function scrolls the manga 50 when, for example, an instruction is issued to the user from the mobile terminal 3 as a scrolling condition and an input according to the instruction is made to the mobile terminal 3. The instruction to the user from the mobile terminal 3 is displayed, for example, on the screen 3a. That is, the condition detection timing occurs after the instruction is displayed on the screen 3a. The timing at which the condition detection timing occurs may also be displayed on the screen 3a together with the instruction.

[0079] As an example, the instruction to the user from the mobile terminal 3 is associated with the story of the manga 50. For example, a scene in which the main character of the manga 50 turns around is set as a predetermined timing, and when the user actually holds the mobile terminal 3 and turns around together with the mobile terminal 3 during this scene, the manga 50 is scrolled. The scrolling condition in this case is that the acceleration sensor included in the mobile terminal 3 detects an acceleration of a predetermined value or more. That is, the manga 50 is scrolled when the user turns around together with the mobile terminal 3 that they are holding at the condition detection timing, and the acceleration sensor included in the mobile terminal 3 detects an acceleration of a predetermined value or more that satisfies the scrolling condition.

[0080] In addition, in a configuration in which the mobile terminal 3 is a head mounted display device (HMD) and the manga 50 is displayed on the display, if the user turns around at the condition detection timing, the scrolling condition may be determined to be met and the manga display function may scroll the manga 50.

[0081] In this way, the manga display function that performs conditional scrolling requires a new user operation to scroll the manga 50, and therefore allows the manga 50 to be presented in a highly interactive manner for the user.

[0082] [1-4-5. Branching] The manga 50 according to this embodiment may have a branch in its progression (hereinafter referred to as a "progression branch"). In the manga 50 with a progression branch, multiple scroll directions are set for the still image before the progression branch (hereinafter referred to as a "pre-branch still image"). The manga display function then scrolls the manga 50 in one scroll direction selected from the multiple scroll directions. Note that a progression branch is, in other words, a branch in the story, but the final ending may remain the same or may change even if only part of the manga story branches.

[0083] 7 is an example of a pre-branch still image 52D displayed on the mobile terminal 3, and the pre-branch still image 52D has scroll directions set to the left and right. That is, when the pre-branch still image 52D is displayed on the mobile terminal 3, the user selects the scroll direction by performing a scroll operation in either the left or right direction.

[0084] 7 is a simplified illustration, and in reality, for example, information prompting the user to scroll left or right for a forward branch is displayed on the pre-branch still image 52D. The multiple scrolling directions may be not only left and right but also up and down, left and down, or right and down, and the number of selectable scrolling directions may be three.

[0085] In this way, the manga display function according to this embodiment determines one of a plurality of scroll directions based on information acquired by the mobile terminal 3, such as a scroll operation on the screen 3a.

[0086] Furthermore, the manga display function may determine the scroll direction based not only on information regarding the user's scrolling operation acquired on the screen 3a, but also on information acquired by other sensors included in the mobile terminal 3 and the time. More specifically, for example, when an acceleration sensor included in the mobile terminal 3 acquires a predetermined value, the scroll direction may be determined according to the acquired value. Furthermore, when a location information acquisition sensor included in the mobile terminal 3, such as a so-called GPS (Global Positioning System), acquires predetermined location information, a new manga 50 may be acquired, and the scroll direction may be determined so that the user can view the acquired manga 50. Furthermore, when the time measured by the mobile terminal 3 reaches a predetermined time, a new manga 50 may be acquired, and the scroll direction may be determined so that the user can view the acquired manga 50.

[0087] Furthermore, when the manga display function scrolls the manga in one selected scroll direction, it may prohibit scrolling of the manga in other scroll directions that were not selected. For example, even if the user selects progress A shown in Figure 7 and the manga scrolls in this direction, and then the user returns the manga to pre-branch still image 52D, the user will be prohibited (hereinafter referred to as "locked") from selecting progress B.

[0088] This lock may be released when a predetermined unlocking condition is met, such as when the user has read the manga to the end, when the user has paid for the manga, when the user has posted a review of the manga, etc.

[0089] By locking the progression branches in this way, the manga display function can encourage the user to view the manga multiple times.

[0090] In this way, the manga display function with branching progression can give multiple stories to one manga 50, allowing for a variety of expressions for the manga 50.

[0091] Furthermore, when a predetermined condition for increasing progression branches is met, the number of progression branches in the manga may increase compared to before the condition was met. For example, an increase in the number of progression branches means that pre-branch still image 52D, which had two progression branches as shown in Figure 7, now has three progression branches, or a new progression branch appears in a scene where there was no progression branch.

[0092] The conditions for increasing the number of progression branches include, for example, the number of times the user has viewed the manga, a predetermined period of time since the manga was released, a predetermined time period, execution of another associated service (such as a predetermined quest in an online game), or payment of fees. Another condition for increasing the number of progression branches may be that, after reading the manga, the user returns to a predetermined part that was previously read, and a progression branch that was not previously displayed in that predetermined part is displayed.

[0093] The above-mentioned lock may be released when a condition for increasing the number of progression branches is met. Furthermore, a predetermined condition for decreasing the number of progression branches may be set, and when the condition is met, the number of progression branches of the manga may be reduced compared to before the condition was met. The condition for decreasing the number of progression branches may be, for example, a predetermined period of time after the publication of the manga or a predetermined time period.

[0094] Alternatively, the user may be allowed to view only a predetermined amount of the manga after a branching progression, allowing a preview of the story after the branching progression. More specifically, when a branching progression splits the manga into two, the user may view one of the progressions without restriction, but the other progression may be restricted to be viewed only if a predetermined condition is met. In this case, the user may view only a predetermined amount of the other progression even if the predetermined condition is not met, and may view more than the predetermined amount of scrolling if the predetermined condition is met. The predetermined condition may be, for example, the same condition as the branching progression increase condition.

[0095] Furthermore, when a user views a progression branch with viewing restrictions, the display on the screen 3a may return to the progression branch when the finger that scrolls lifts off the screen 3a. That is, for a user who does not satisfy a predetermined condition and can view only a predetermined amount of scrolling, a pseudo inertial force is applied that returns to the progression branch when the finger lifts off the screen 3a.

[0096] [1-4-6.Effects] Various effects (image effects) may be applied to the manga 50 according to this embodiment. The effects are applied to a part of the manga 50, and for example, a part of a scene of the manga 50 (a part of the still images 52 that make up the manga 50) changes dynamically due to the effect.

[0097] The scene (still image 52) to which the effect is applied is set in advance together with the content of the effect. The cartoon display function executes the effect set for the scene when the scene to which the effect is set is displayed on the screen 3a.

[0098] More specifically, some of the images constituting the manga 50 may be moving images, and the manga display function may have an effect in which, when the moving image is displayed by scrolling, playback of the moving image begins, and when playback of the moving image ends, the manga 50 may scroll to the next still image 52. In other words, the manga 50 may include moving images between still images 52.

[0099] Furthermore, as an effect of the cartoon display function, a predetermined still image 52 may be enlarged or reduced, slightly vibrated up and down and left and right, or rotated, etc. Furthermore, as an effect of the cartoon display function, a predetermined still image 52 displayed on the screen 3a may be faded out and the next still image 52 may be faded in, so that the still image is displayed on the screen 3a.

[0100] Furthermore, as an effect, the cartoon display function may superimpose another still image on a predetermined still image 52. For example, after a still image 52 including a person is displayed, a still image showing a speech bubble may be displayed superimposed on the still image 52, or a still image showing another person may be displayed.

[0101] Furthermore, among the still images 52 constituting the manga 50, different still images 52 may be arranged in a pseudo-depth direction (or forward direction) relative to the screen 3a, and the manga display function may display, as an effect, the multiple still images 52 arranged in a pseudo-depth direction of the screen 3a in sequence on the screen 3a. In other words, this effect displays the multiple still images 52 in sequence on the screen 3a as if they were a picture-story show.

[0102] In this way, the manga display function that applies effects allows for a greater variety of expressions for the manga 50.

[0103] [1-5. Functional block of manga display function] 8 is a functional block diagram relating to the manga display function of a manga viewing application installed on the mobile terminal 3 according to this embodiment. The main control unit 40 provided in the mobile terminal 3 includes a manga display control unit 60, a scroll control unit 62, a progress branch control unit 64, and an effect control unit 66. The processing executed by each function provided in the main control unit 40 is realized by a program stored in the auxiliary storage unit 44.

[0104] The cartoon display control unit 60 displays on the screen 3a a cartoon 50 including a still image 52 whose length in at least one of the vertical and horizontal directions is greater than the length of the screen 3a.

[0105] The scroll control unit 62 scrolls the manga 50 displayed on the screen 3a vertically or horizontally depending on the vertical or horizontal length of the still image 52. More specifically, the scroll control unit 62 scrolls the vertically long still image 52 vertically, and scrolls the horizontally long still image 52 horizontally. The scroll control unit 62 also performs first inertial scroll control and second inertial scroll control.

[0106] The progress branch control unit 64 determines one of the multiple scroll directions for the manga 50, which has a progress branch due to multiple scroll directions being set in the pre-branch still image 52D, based on information acquired by the mobile terminal 3.

[0107] When a scene (still image 52) for which an effect has been set is displayed on the screen 3a, the effect control unit 66 applies the effect to the scene.

[0108] [1-6. Manga display process flowchart] 9 is a flowchart showing the flow of manga display processing executed by the main control unit 40 provided in the mobile terminal 3. A program (manga viewing application) for executing the manga display processing is stored in advance in a predetermined area of ​​the auxiliary storage unit 44.

[0109] First, in step 100, the manga display control unit 60 causes the manga 50 distributed from the server 4 to be displayed on the screen 3a.

[0110] In the next step 102, the scroll control unit 62 detects whether or not a scroll operation has been performed on the screen 3a by the user.

[0111] In step 104, the scroll control unit 62 determines whether the direction of the scroll operation is the same as the scroll direction of the manga 50. If the determination is affirmative, the process proceeds to step 106; if the determination is negative, the process returns to step 102.

[0112] In step 106, the scroll control unit 62 scrolls the manga 50 displayed on the screen 3a.

[0113] In the next step 108, the progress branch control unit 64 determines whether the still image 52 displayed on the screen 3a is the pre-branch still image 52D, and if the determination is positive, proceeds to step 110, and if the determination is negative, proceeds to step 112.

[0114] In step 110, based on the information acquired by the mobile terminal 3, the progress branch control unit 64 determines one of the multiple scroll directions set in the pre-branch still image 52D, and the scroll control unit 62 scrolls the manga 50 in the determined scroll direction.

[0115] In the next step 112, the effect control unit 66 determines whether or not an effect has been set for the scene of the manga 50 displayed on the screen 3a, and if the determination is affirmative, the process proceeds to step 114, and if the determination is negative, the process proceeds to step 116.

[0116] In step 114, the effect control unit 66 executes the effect set for the scene of the cartoon 50 displayed on the screen 3a.

[0117] In step 116, the manga display control unit 60 determines whether the manga 50 displayed on the screen 3a has ended, and if the determination is affirmative, the manga display process ends, whereas if the determination is negative, the process proceeds to step 102 and the display of the manga 50 continues. Note that, as an example, the manga display control unit 60 determines that the manga 50 has ended when the manga 50 displayed on the screen 3a cannot be scrolled any further.

[0118] As described above, the manga display process according to this embodiment displays a manga 50 formed of a series of multiple still images 52 on the screen 3a of the mobile terminal 3. The manga display process then displays on the screen 3a a manga 50 including still images 52 whose length in at least one of the vertical and horizontal directions is greater than the length of the screen 3a, and scrolls (multi-scrolls) the manga 50 displayed on the screen 3a vertically or horizontally according to the vertical or horizontal length of the still images 52. This allows the manga display process according to this embodiment to provide a wider variety of expressions for the manga 50 displayed on the screen 3a.

[0119] [1-7. Manga Data Structure] Next, the structure (also called format or authoring) of manga data representing the manga 50 displayed on the mobile terminal 3 will be described.

[0120] In this embodiment, the manga data showing the manga 50 displayed on the screen 3a of the mobile terminal 3 includes a plurality of still images (still image data) arranged two-dimensionally in accordance with the scroll direction.

[0121] 10 is a schematic diagram showing the structure of manga data 70 according to this embodiment. As an example, manga data 70 according to this embodiment is formed using a data format 74 in which a plurality of cells 72 (areas indicated by dashed lines in FIG. 10) are arranged in a grid pattern. For example, one side of each cell 72 constituting data format 74 corresponds approximately to the horizontal length of screen 3a of mobile terminal 3, and two consecutive sides correspond approximately to the horizontal length of screen 3a.

[0122] Then, still images 52 are placed (written) in adjacent squares 72 that share a common side, thereby forming manga data 70. As an example, the area indicated by solid lines and hatching in Fig. 10 is manga data 70 formed by placing still images 52.

[0123] Therefore, an artist who creates a manga 50 using the data format 74 shown in FIG. 10 can create the manga 50 while directly sensing (imagining) the display state of the manga 50 on the screen 3a.

[0124] The manga data 70 is associated with scroll information that indicates the scroll direction of the manga 50, and the scroll control unit 62 scrolls the manga 50 displayed on the screen 3a vertically or horizontally in accordance with the scroll information. As an example, the scroll information is associated with each square 72, but this is not limiting, and the scroll information may be associated with each group consisting of multiple consecutive squares 72, each still image 52, or each group consisting of multiple consecutive still images 52.

[0125] In this way, since scroll information is associated with the manga data 70, the manga display function can easily determine the scroll direction of the manga 50 and scroll the manga 50 displayed on the screen 3a in the direction intended by the artist of the manga 50.

[0126] Furthermore, an effect may be set for each still image 52 or each square 72, and multiple still images 52 are arranged in squares 72 corresponding to scenes in which the still images 52 are superimposed.

[0127] FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram showing another embodiment of the manga data 70. In FIG.

[0128] 11 is a data table 76 configured to include a plurality of still images 52 associated with scroll directions and order information indicating the order (scroll order) in which the still images are to be displayed on the screen 3a of the mobile terminal 3. The scroll directions described in the data table 76 include the scroll start position and scroll end position for each still image 52.

[0129] The still images 52 included in the data table 76 may include the still image data itself, or may describe the link destination of the still image data. Note that the data table 76 according to this embodiment is, for example, a CSV (Comma-Separated Values) file, and describes the link destination of the still image data.

[0130] Therefore, by using the data table 76 shown in FIG. 11, it is possible to easily create manga data 70 that allows multi-scrolling without creating a new data format 74 described above.

[0131] By reading the data table 76, the scroll control unit 62 displays the still images 52 on the screen 3a in the scroll order and scrolls the manga 50 in the scroll direction associated with the still images 52. In the data table shown in Fig. 11, a scroll direction is associated with each piece of still image data, but a scroll direction may also be associated with each group made up of multiple consecutive pieces of still image data. In addition to this, the scroll control unit 62 also performs various other processes related to scrolling the manga displayed on the screen 3a.

[0132] When distributing manga, the server 4 distributes the manga data 70 (data table 76) to the mobile terminal 3 by streaming, for example.

[0133] [2. Second Embodiment] A second embodiment of the present invention will now be described.

[0134] The configurations of the manga distribution system 1, server 4, and mobile terminal 3 according to this embodiment are the same as those of the manga distribution system 1, server 4, and mobile terminal 3 according to the first embodiment, and therefore description thereof will be omitted.

[0135] The manga display function according to this embodiment scrolls the still image 52 at a predetermined speed (hereinafter referred to as the "scroll speed"). That is, the manga display function according to this embodiment automatically scrolls the manga 50 displayed on the screen 3a based on the scroll speed. (Hereinafter referred to as "automatic scrolling"). The scrolling speed is set in the manga data 70, for example, for each still image 52. Then, the scroll control unit 62 reads the scrolling speed set in the manga data 70, and scrolls the still images 52 displayed on the screen 3a at the read scrolling speed.

[0136] The scrolling speed may vary depending on the scene (still image 52) of the manga 50. For example, the scrolling speed may be relatively fast in a scene where a sense of speed is desired to be expressed, and the scrolling speed may be relatively slow in a scene showing magnificent nature.

[0137] Furthermore, the manga display function according to this embodiment may perform automatic scrolling in some scenes (still images 52), and perform scrolling by a user's scrolling operation (hereinafter referred to as "manual scrolling") in other scenes. In this case, the manga display function may, for example, display a countdown on screen 3a indicating the timing for automatic scrolling or manual scrolling, or may display on screen 3a that the scrolling state of manga 50 displayed on screen 3a is automatic scrolling or manual scrolling.

[0138] 3. Other Embodiments Although the present invention has been described above using the above-mentioned embodiments, the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the scope described in the above-mentioned embodiments. Various modifications or improvements can be made to the above-mentioned embodiments without departing from the gist of the invention, and such modifications or improvements are also included in the technical scope of the present invention. Furthermore, the above-mentioned embodiments may be combined as appropriate.

[0139] For example, in the above embodiment, the content is described as a manga 50, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the still images 52 constituting the content may be a novel or the like composed of text.

[0140] In addition, in the above embodiment, the manga display functions were described as including multi-scrolling, scroll operation, inertial scrolling, conditional scrolling, progression branching, and effect functions, but as long as the manga display function has the functions of multi-scrolling and scroll operation, it does not have to have other functions, or it may have only some of the other functions.

[0141] Furthermore, the flow of the manga display process described in the above embodiment is also one example, and unnecessary steps may be deleted, new steps may be added, or the processing order may be rearranged within the scope of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0142] 3. Mobile terminals (information processing devices) 3a screen 50 Manga (content) 52 still images 60 Manga display control unit (display control means) 62 Scroll control unit (scroll control means) 64 Progression branch control unit (progression branch control means) 70 Manga Data (Content Information)

Claims

1. An information processing device that displays content formed by a plurality of consecutive still images on a screen, a display control means for displaying on the screen the content including the still image, at least one of whose vertical and horizontal lengths is greater than the length of the screen; and a scroll control means for scrolling the content displayed on the screen vertically or horizontally in accordance with the vertical or horizontal length of the still image.

2. 2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the scroll control means scrolls the still images that are long in the vertical direction vertically and scrolls the still images that are long in the horizontal direction horizontally.

3. 3. The information processing device according to claim 1, wherein the scroll control means scrolls the content in response to a user's operation using an indicator on the screen, controls the amount of movement of the still image in response to an inertial force based on the movement speed of the indicator, and continues scrolling the content in response to the inertial force even if the scrolling direction of the content changes.

4. 4. The information processing device according to claim 1, wherein the scroll control means scrolls the content in response to a user's operation using an indicator on the screen, controls the amount of movement of the still image in response to an inertial force based on the movement speed of the indicator, and stops the scrolling of the content regardless of the magnitude of the inertial force when the scrolling direction of the content changes.

5. 5. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the scroll control means scrolls the still image at a predetermined speed.

6. The information processing apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein the speed varies depending on the still image.

7. 7. The information processing device according to claim 1, wherein the scroll control means determines at a predetermined timing whether a predetermined condition for scrolling the content is satisfied, and scrolls the content when the condition is satisfied.

8. the content is a manga with branching progression, A plurality of scroll directions are set for the still image before the progression branches, 8. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the scroll control means scrolls the content in one scroll direction selected from the plurality of scroll directions.

9. 9. The information processing apparatus according to claim 8, further comprising a progress branching control means for determining one of the plurality of scroll directions based on information acquired by the information processing apparatus.

10. 10. The information processing device according to claim 8, wherein the scroll control means, when scrolling the manga in one selected scroll direction, prohibits scrolling the manga in other scroll directions that were not selected.

11. 11. The information processing device according to claim 8, wherein, when a predetermined condition is satisfied, the number of branches in the manga progression is increased or decreased compared to before the condition was satisfied.

12. 12. The information processing device according to claim 1, wherein content information indicating the content displayed on the screen includes a plurality of the still images arranged two-dimensionally in accordance with the scroll direction.

13. 12. The information processing device according to claim 1, wherein content information indicating the content to be displayed on the screen includes order information indicating the order in which the content is to be displayed on the screen and a plurality of still images associated with a scroll direction.

14. the content information is associated with scroll information indicating the scroll direction of the content; 14. The information processing apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the scroll control means scrolls the content displayed on the screen vertically or horizontally in accordance with the scroll information.

15. A content display method for displaying content formed by a plurality of consecutive still images on a screen, comprising: a first step of displaying on the screen the content including the still image, at least one of the vertical and horizontal lengths of which is greater than the length of the screen; a second step of scrolling the content displayed on the screen vertically or horizontally in accordance with the vertical or horizontal length of the still image.

16. An information processing device that displays content formed by a plurality of consecutive still images on a screen includes a computer, a display control means for displaying on the screen the content including the still image, at least one of whose vertical and horizontal lengths is greater than the length of the screen; a content display program for causing the content displayed on the screen to function as a scroll control means for vertically or horizontally scrolling the content according to the vertical or horizontal length of the still image;

Images