Computer programs, server devices, terminal devices, and methods

Abstract

To give viewers a sense of being part of the game. [Solution] A computer program is provided which, when executed by at least one processor, delivers a video of a game including a game object generated based on operation data related to the actions of a certain user to another user's terminal device via a communication line, receives gift information generated by the actions of other users from the other user's terminal device via a communication line, displays a game object set based on the received gift information on the game screen of the game, and assigns points and / or parameters to the game object based on the gift information through a predetermined interaction between the game object and the set game object.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The technology disclosed in this application relates to a computer program, a server device, a terminal device, and a method used for delivering a game-related video from a terminal device of a distribution user to a terminal device of a viewing user.

Background Art

[0002] As a service used for delivering a game-related video from a terminal device of a distribution user to a terminal device of a viewing user, a service called Mirrativ (Non-Patent Document 1) is known.

[0003] In this service, a distribution user can use a terminal device to deliver, to terminal devices of a plurality of viewing users, a video including an animation of an avatar generated based on operation data related to the operation of this distribution user, and a game-related video generated based on operation data related to the operation of this distribution user. Note that the above Non-Patent Document 1 is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Prior Art Documents

Non-Patent Documents

[0004]

Non-Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] In the above service, each viewer can exchange comments with the streamer and also send gifts to the streamer. However, the comments and gifts sent by each viewer to the streamer in this way do not affect elements used in the game that the streamer is playing and streaming, such as game objects or parameters. Therefore, it is difficult for each viewer to feel like they are participating in the game when watching videos of games streamed by the streamer.

[0006] Therefore, the technology disclosed in this application provides a computer program, terminal device, server device, and method that can give viewers the feeling that they are participating in a game. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] A computer program according to one embodiment "is executed by at least one processor and delivers a first video including an animation of a first avatar object of a distribution user generated based on operation data relating to the actions of the distribution user, and a second video relating to a game generated based on operation data relating to the actions of the distribution user using a received web page, to a viewing user's terminal device via a communication line; receives gift information from the viewing user's terminal device via a communication line, which is generated by the actions of the viewing user watching the second video and indicates that a gift should be given to the distribution user; and delivers the second video including a game object including an avatar object of a specific viewing user selected from among a plurality of viewing users who generated the gift information in a first period set based on the gift information and in which the game is executed, to the viewing user's terminal device via a communication line in a second period that occurs after the first period." A terminal device according to one embodiment "equipped with at least one processor, which distributes a first video including an animation of a first avatar object of a distribution user generated based on operation data relating to the actions of the distribution user, and a second video relating to a game generated based on operation data relating to the actions of the distribution user using a received web page, to a viewing user's terminal device via a communication line; receives gift information from the viewing user's terminal device via a communication line, which is generated by the actions of the viewing user who is watching the second video, indicating that a gift will be given to the distribution user; and distributes the second video including a game object, which includes an avatar object of a specific viewing user selected from among a plurality of viewing users who generated the gift information during a first period set based on the gift information and during which the game is executed, to the viewing user's terminal device via a communication line during a second period that occurs after the first period." A method relating to one embodiment includes "a method executed by at least one processor that executes computer-readable instructions, comprising the steps of: distributing a first video including an animation of a first avatar object of a distribution user generated based on operation data relating to the actions of the distribution user, and a second video relating to a game generated based on operation data relating to the actions of the distribution user using a received web page, to a viewing user's terminal device via a communication line; receiving gift information indicating that a gift will be given to the distribution user, generated by the actions of the viewing user who is watching the second video, from the viewing user's terminal device via a communication line; and distributing the second video including a game object, which includes an avatar object of a specific viewing user selected from among a plurality of viewing users who generated the gift information in a first period set based on the gift information and in which the game is executed, to the viewing user's terminal device via a communication line in a second period occurring after the first period." A computer program in another embodiment "is executed by at least one processor and delivers to a viewer's terminal device via a communication line a first video including an animation of a first avatar object of a distribution user generated based on operation data relating to the distribution user's actions, and a second video relating to a game generated by the distribution user's terminal device based on operation data relating to the distribution user's actions using a received web page, gift information indicating that a gift will be given to the distribution user, generated by the viewer's actions while viewing the second video, from the viewer's terminal device via a communication line, and includes a game object including an avatar object of a specific viewer selected from among a plurality of viewer users who generated the gift information during a first period set based on the gift information and during which the game is executed, and delivers to the viewer's terminal device via a communication line the second video delivered by the distribution user's terminal device during a second period that follows the first period." A server device according to one embodiment "equipped with at least one processor, which distributes a first video including an animation of a first avatar object of a distribution user generated based on operation data relating to the actions of the distribution user, and a second video relating to a game generated by the distribution user's terminal device based on operation data relating to the actions of the distribution user using a received web page, to a viewing user's terminal device via a communication line; receives gift information from the viewing user's terminal device via a communication line, which is generated by the actions of the viewing user who is watching the second video, indicating that a gift will be given to the distribution user; and includes a game object that includes an avatar object of a specific viewing user selected from among a plurality of viewing users who generated the gift information during a first period in which the game is executed based on the gift information, and distributes the second video distributed by the distribution user's terminal device to the viewing user's terminal device via a communication line during a second period that occurs after the first period." A method relating to another aspect is a method executed by at least one processor that executes computer-readable instructions, comprising the steps of: distributing a first video, which includes an animation of a first avatar object of a distribution user generated based on operation data relating to the actions of the distribution user, and a second video relating to a game generated by the distribution user's terminal device based on operation data relating to the actions of the distribution user using a received web page, to a viewing user's terminal device via a communication line; receiving gift information from the viewing user's terminal device via a communication line, which is generated by the actions of the viewing user watching the second video and indicates that a gift will be given to the distribution user; and distributing the second video, which includes a game object that includes an avatar object of a specific viewing user selected from among a plurality of viewing users who generated the gift information in a first period set based on the gift information and in which the game is executed, and which was distributed by the distribution user's terminal device in a second period occurring after the first period, to the viewing user's terminal device via a communication line. A server device in another embodiment is configured to "have at least one processor, which transmits a web page containing a computer program to a terminal device of a viewing user via a communication line, which is configured to distribute a first video including an animation of a first avatar object of the distribution user generated based on operation data relating to the actions of the distribution user, and a second video relating to a game generated based on operation data relating to the actions of the distribution user using a received web page, to the terminal device of the viewing user via a communication line, wherein the computer program causes the terminal device of the distribution user to receive gift information from the terminal device of the viewing user via a communication line, which indicates that a gift will be given to the distribution user, generated by the actions of the viewing user who is watching the second video, and to distribute the second video including a game object which includes an avatar object of a specific viewing user selected from among a plurality of viewing users who generated the gift information in a first period set based on the gift information and in which the game is executed, in a second period that occurs after the first period." Another embodiment of the method is "a method executed by at least one processor that executes computer-readable instructions, comprising the steps of transmitting a web page containing a computer program to a terminal device of a distribution user configured to distribute a first video containing an animation of a first avatar object of the distribution user generated based on operation data relating to the actions of the distribution user, and a second video relating to a game generated based on operation data relating to the actions of the distribution user using a received web page, to the terminal device of a viewing user via a communication line, wherein the computer program receives gift information from the terminal device of the viewing user via a communication line indicating that a gift will be given to the distribution user generated by the actions of the viewing user who is watching the second video, and distributes the second video containing a game object that includes an avatar object of a specific viewing user selected from among a plurality of viewing users who generated the gift information in a first period set based on the gift information and in which the game is executed, in a second period that occurs after the first period." [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0008] [Figure 1] Figure 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a video distribution system 1 according to one embodiment. [Figure 2] Figure 2 is a schematic block diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the terminal device 10 (server device 20) shown in Figure 1. [Figure 3] Figure 3 is a schematic block diagram showing an example of the functions of the terminal device 10 shown in Figure 1. [Figure 4] Figure 4 is a schematic block diagram illustrating an example of the functions of the server device 20 shown in Figure 1. [Figure 5A] Figure 5A is a flowchart illustrating an example of the operations performed in the video distribution system 1 shown in Figure 1. [Figure 5B]Figure 5B is a flowchart illustrating an example of the operations performed in the video distribution system 1 shown in Figure 1. [Figure 6] Figure 6 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the first video displayed on the display unit of the terminal device 10A shown in Figure 1. [Figure 7] Figure 7 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a second video displayed on the display unit of the terminal device 10A shown in Figure 1. [Figure 8] Figure 8 is a schematic diagram showing another example of the second video displayed on the display unit of the terminal device 10A shown in Figure 1. [Figure 9] Figure 9 is a schematic diagram showing yet another example of the second video displayed on the display unit of the terminal device 10A shown in Figure 1. [Figure 10] Figure 10 is a schematic diagram showing yet another example of the second video displayed on the display unit of the terminal device 10A shown in Figure 1. [Figure 11] Figure 11 is a flowchart illustrating how to select the avatar object of a viewer user displayed in a game run on the terminal device 10 shown in Figure 1. [Figure 12A] Figure 12A shows an example of the first ranking information generated and displayed by the video distribution system 1 shown in Figure 1. [Figure 12B] Figure 12B shows another example of the first ranking information generated and displayed by the video distribution system 1 shown in Figure 1. [Figure 12C] Figure 12C shows yet another example of the first ranking information generated and displayed by the video distribution system 1 shown in Figure 1. [Figure 13A] Figure 13A shows an example of the second ranking information generated and displayed by the video distribution system 1 shown in Figure 1. [Figure 13B] Figure 13B shows another example of the second ranking information generated and displayed by the video distribution system 1 shown in Figure 1. [Figure 13C] Figure 13C shows yet another example of the second ranking information generated and displayed by the video distribution system 1 shown in Figure 1.

Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0009] Hereinafter, various embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, the same reference numerals are assigned to common components. Also, note that components shown in one drawing may be omitted in another drawing for convenience of explanation. Furthermore, note that the attached drawings are not necessarily drawn to an exact scale.

[0010] 1. Configuration of Video Distribution System Briefly speaking, the video distribution system disclosed in the present application enables a user who performs distribution (hereinafter referred to as a "distribution user") to use his / her terminal device to transmit, via a communication line, a first video including an animation of a first avatar object generated based on operation data related to the operation of the distribution user, and a second video related to a game generated based on operation data related to the operation of the distribution user, to a terminal device of a user who views the video (hereinafter referred to as a "viewing user").

[0011] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a video distribution system according to an embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the video distribution system 1 can include a plurality of terminal devices 10 connected to a communication line (not shown) and one or more server devices 20 connected to the communication line. Each terminal device 10 is connected to one or more server devices 20 via a communication line (not shown).

[0012] 1-1. Terminal Device 10 Multiple terminal devices 10 may include one or more terminal devices 10 for distribution users (here, terminal device 10A) and one or more terminal devices 10 for viewing users (here, terminal devices 10B to terminal devices 10D). Each terminal device 10 has a common configuration and can function as either a terminal device for distributing video (distribution user's terminal device 10) or a terminal device for viewing video (viewing user's terminal device 10).

[0013] When each terminal device 10 operates as a terminal device for distributing videos (a terminal device of a distribution user), it can execute an installed video distribution application to acquire operation data related to the actions of that distribution user, and transmit a first video, including the animation of a virtual character (first avatar object) that has been altered according to the acquired data, to the server device 20 (distribution server system 20A) via a communication line. Such a first video is then distributed by the server device 20 (distribution server system 20A) via a communication line to terminal devices 10 for receiving videos (terminal devices of viewing users) that execute an installed video viewing application.

[0014] Furthermore, when each terminal device 10 is operating as a terminal device for a distribution user, it can receive a web page (HTML document) from the server device 20 (web server device 20B) and execute a game program contained in this web page by executing a browser function built into the installed video distribution application and / or by executing an installed web browser application. By executing this game program, each terminal device 10 can generate a second video in which at least one game object is operated based on operation data related to the distribution user's actions. This game object includes a game object that includes a virtual character (second avatar object) of the distribution user, which is operated based on the above operation data.

[0015] Furthermore, when each terminal device 10 is operating as a terminal device of a distribution user, it can transmit the second video generated in this way to the server device 20 (distribution server system 20A) via the communication line by running the video distribution application. This second video is also distributed by the server device 20 (distribution server system 20A) via the communication line to terminal devices (viewing user terminal devices) 10 for receiving videos, which run the installed video viewing application.

[0016] Furthermore, when each terminal device 10 is operating as a terminal device of a distribution user, by executing the video distribution application described above, it can receive gift information indicating that a gift will be given to this distribution user, and / or comment information indicating that a comment will be sent to this distribution user, from the terminal device 10 of a viewing user who is viewing the second video (distributed by this distribution user's terminal device 10) via the server device 20 (distribution server system 20A).

[0017] On the other hand, when each terminal device 10 is operating as a terminal device for viewing videos (a viewing user's terminal device), it can receive the first video and / or the second video distributed by the distribution user's terminal device 10 via the server device 20 (distribution server system 20A) by running the installed video viewing application.

[0018] Furthermore, when each terminal device 10 is operating as a terminal device for a viewing user, it can execute a video viewing application and send gift information indicating that a gift will be given to the distribution user, and / or comment information indicating that a comment will be sent to the distribution user, to the distribution user's terminal device via the server device 20 (distribution server system).

[0019] The video distribution application and video viewing application described above may be installed and executed on each terminal device 10 either as a single integrated application or as separate applications.

[0020] Each terminal device 10 is any terminal device capable of performing such operations, and may include, but is not limited to, smartphones, tablets, mobile phones (feature phones), and / or personal computers.

[0021] 1-2. Server device 20 Figure 1 shows, as an example, one or more server devices 20, a distribution server system 20A and a web server device 20B.

[0022] The distribution server system 20A can distribute the first video and / or the second video transmitted by each terminal device (each distribution user's terminal device) 10 to each terminal device (each viewing user's terminal device) 10. Furthermore, the distribution server system 20A can transmit gift information indicating that a gift will be given to a certain distribution user, and / or comment information indicating that a comment will be sent to a certain distribution user, transmitted by each terminal device (each viewing user's terminal device) 10, to that distribution user's terminal device 10.

[0023] To perform such operations, the distribution server system 20A may, in one embodiment, include a distribution server device 20a, a database (DB) server device 20b, and a game API server device 20c, all connected to each other via communication lines (including wireless and / or wired lines, not shown).

[0024] The distribution server device 20a can distribute the first video and / or the second video transmitted by each distribution user's terminal device 10 to each terminal device 10. Furthermore, the distribution server device 20a can store the gift information and / or comment information transmitted by each viewing user's terminal device 10 in the DB server device 20b.

[0025] The DB server device 20b stores gift information and / or comment information received from the distribution server device 20a, and can read gift information and / or comment information requested by the game API server device 20c and send it to the game API server device 20c.

[0026] When the game API server device 20c receives a query for gift information and / or comment information from each distribution user's terminal device 10, it can read the gift information and / or comment information for that distribution user's terminal device 10 from the DB server device 20b and send it to that distribution user's terminal device 10.

[0027] In the example shown in Figure 1, the distribution server system 20A is configured to have three server devices: a distribution server device 20a, a DB server device 20b, and a game API server device 20c, for the purpose of distributing the load. However, at least one of these three server devices may be integrated with one of the remaining server devices.

[0028] Next, the web server device 20B can send a web page (HTML, for example, a document created according to HTML5) with a game program embedded in it to each terminal device 10 of the accessing distribution user. This game program is executed by the terminal device 10 that receives and decodes it, causing the terminal device 10 to perform various operations related to video distribution, including running the game, sending the game screen generated during game execution to the distribution server system 20A (distribution server device 20a), and retrieving gift information and / or comment information sent to this distribution user from the distribution server system 20A (game API server device 20c).

[0029] 1-3. Communication lines Communication lines (not shown) may include, but are not limited to, mobile phone networks, wireless LANs, fixed-line telephone networks, the Internet, intranets, and / or Ethernet (registered trademark).

[0030] 2. Hardware configuration of each device Next, we will describe an example of the hardware configuration of each of the terminal device 10 and the server device 20.

[0031] 2-1. Hardware configuration of terminal device 10 The hardware configuration examples for each terminal device 10 will be explained with reference to Figure 2. Figure 2 is a schematic block diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the terminal device 10 (server device 20) shown in Figure 1. (Note that in Figure 2, the reference numerals in parentheses are related to the server device 20, as will be explained later.)

[0032] As shown in Figure 2, each terminal device 10 mainly includes a central processing unit 11, a main memory 12, an input / output interface device 13, an input device 14, an auxiliary storage device 15, and an output device 16. These devices are connected to each other by a data bus and / or a control bus.

[0033] The central processing unit 11, referred to as the "CPU," performs calculations on the instructions and data stored in the main memory 12 and stores the results of those calculations in the main memory 12. Furthermore, the central processing unit 11 can control the input device 14, auxiliary storage device 15, output device 16, etc., via the input / output interface device 13. The terminal device 10 may include one or more such central processing units 11.

[0034] The main memory 12, also known as "memory," stores instructions and data received via the input / output interface device 13 from the input device 14, auxiliary storage device 15, and communication line 30 (server device 20, etc.), as well as the calculation results of the central processing unit 11. The main memory 12 may include RAM (random access memory), ROM (read-only memory), and / or flash memory, etc., without being limited to these.

[0035] The auxiliary storage device 15 is a storage device with a larger capacity than the main memory device 12. It stores instructions and data (computer programs) that constitute the specific applications (video distribution applications, video viewing applications, etc.) and web browser applications mentioned above, and can transmit these instructions and data (computer programs) to the main memory device 12 via the input / output interface device 13 under the control of the central processing unit 11. The auxiliary storage device 15 may include magnetic disk devices and / or optical disk devices, etc., without being limited to these.

[0036] The input device 14 is a device that takes in data from an external source and includes, but is not limited to, a touch panel, buttons, a keyboard, a mouse, and / or sensors. The sensors may include, but are not limited to, one or more cameras and / or one or more microphones, as will be described later.

[0037] The output device 16 may include, but is not limited to, a display device, a touch panel, and / or a printer device.

[0038] In such a hardware configuration, the central processing unit 11 sequentially loads instructions and data (computer programs) constituting a specific application stored in the auxiliary storage device 15 into the main memory device 12, and by performing calculations on the loaded instructions and data, it can control the output device 16 via the input / output interface device 13, or it can send and receive various information with other devices (for example, a server device 20 and other terminal devices 10, etc.) via the input / output interface device 13 and the communication line 30.

[0039] As a result, terminal device 10 can perform operations necessary to distribute the first video and / or the second video, operations necessary to receive gift information and / or comment information sent to terminal device 10 by other terminal devices 10, operations necessary to receive the first video and / or the second video distributed by other terminal devices 10, and / or operations necessary to send gift information and / or comment information to other terminal devices 10 (including various operations that will be described in detail later) by running a specific installed application.

[0040] The terminal device 10 may include one or more microprocessors and / or graphics processing units (GPUs) in place of or together with the central processing unit 11.

[0041] 2-2. Hardware configuration of server device 20 The hardware configuration examples for each server device 20 will also be explained with reference to Figure 2. For each server device 20 (distribution server device 20a, DB server device 20b, game API server device 20c, and web server device 20B), it is possible to use the same hardware configuration as the terminal device 10 described above. Therefore, the reference numerals for the components of each server device 20 are shown in parentheses in Figure 2.

[0042] As shown in Figure 2, each server device 20 mainly includes a central processing unit 21, a main memory 22, an input / output interface device 23, an input device 24, an auxiliary storage device 25, and an output device 26. These devices are connected to each other by a data bus and / or a control bus.

[0043] The central processing unit 21, main memory 22, input / output interface device 23, input device 24, auxiliary storage device 25, and output device 26 can be substantially identical to the central processing unit 11, main memory 12, input / output interface device 13, input device 14, auxiliary storage device 15, and output device 16 included in each of the terminal devices 10 described above.

[0044] In this hardware configuration, the central processing unit 21 sequentially loads instructions and data (computer programs) constituting a specific application stored in the auxiliary storage device 25 into the main memory device 22, and by performing calculations on the loaded instructions and data, it can control the output device 26 via the input / output interface device 23, or it can send and receive various information with other devices (for example, each terminal device 10, etc.) via the input / output interface device 23 and the communication line 30.

[0045] As a result, the server device 20 can perform operations necessary to distribute the first video and / or second video transmitted by each distribution user's terminal device 10 to each viewing user's terminal device 10, and operations necessary to transmit gift information and / or comment information sent by each viewing user's terminal device 10 to a certain distribution user's terminal device 10 to that distribution user's terminal device 10, etc. (including various operations that will be described in detail later).

[0046] The server device 20 may include one or more microprocessors and / or graphics processing units (GPUs) in place of or together with the central processing unit 21.

[0047] 3. Functions of each device Next, we will describe some examples of the functions that each of the terminal device 10 and server device 20 has. 3-1. Functions of terminal device 10 An example of the functions of the terminal device 10 will be explained with reference to Figure 3. Figure 3 is a schematic block diagram showing an example of the functions of the terminal device 10 shown in Figure 1.

[0048] As shown in Figure 3, the terminal device 10 mainly includes a first video generation unit 100, a second video generation unit 110, a communication unit 120, a display unit 130, a storage unit 140, a user interface unit 150, a gift processing unit 160, and a ranking processing unit 170.

[0049] (1) First video generation unit 100 The first video generation unit 100 can generate a first video, including an animation of a first avatar object of a streaming user, based on operation data relating to the actions of the streaming user. To achieve this, the first video generation unit 100 may include, for example, an acquisition unit 102 (not shown) and a processing unit 104 (not shown).

[0050] The acquisition unit 102 may include one or more first sensors 102a (not shown) that acquire data relating to the face of the streaming user, and one or more second sensors 102b (not shown) that acquire audio data relating to speech and / or singing emitted by the streaming user.

[0051] In a preferred embodiment, the first sensor 102a may include an RGB camera for imaging visible light and a near-infrared camera for imaging near-infrared light. Such cameras could include, for example, those included in the True Depth camera of the iPhone X®. The second sensor 102b may include a microphone for recording sound.

[0052] First, with respect to the first sensor 102a, the acquisition unit 102 uses the first sensor 102a, which is positioned close to the face of the streaming user, to capture an image of the streaming user's face. This allows the acquisition unit 102 to generate data (e.g., an MPEG file) recorded over a unit of time, with the images acquired by the RGB camera associated with a time code (a code indicating the time of acquisition). Furthermore, the acquisition unit 102 can generate data (e.g., a TSV file [a file format that records multiple data points separated by tabs]) recorded over a unit of time, with a predetermined number (e.g., 51) depth values ​​(e.g., floating-point numbers) acquired by the near-infrared camera associated with the above time code.

[0053] Regarding the near-infrared camera, specifically, a dot projector emits an infrared laser forming a dot pattern onto the performer's face, and the near-infrared camera captures the infrared dots projected onto and reflected from the performer's face, generating an image of the captured infrared dots. The acquisition unit 102 compares the image of the dot pattern emitted by the dot projector, which has been registered in advance, with the image captured by the near-infrared camera, and can calculate the depth of each point (each feature point) (for example, each of the 51 points / feature points) using the positional difference at each point (each feature point) in both images (each point / feature point) (the distance between each point / feature point and the near-infrared camera). The acquisition unit 102 can generate data that records the numerical values ​​indicating the calculated depth over a unit of time, associating them with the time code as described above.

[0054] Next, with respect to the second sensor 102b, the acquisition unit 102 uses the second sensor 102b, which is positioned close to the streaming user, to acquire audio related to speech and / or singing emitted by the streaming user. This allows the acquisition unit 100 to generate data (e.g., an MPEG file) recorded over a unit of time, associated with a time code. In one embodiment, the acquisition unit 102 can acquire data related to the streaming user's face using the first sensor 102a and simultaneously acquire audio data related to speech and / or singing emitted by the streaming user using the second sensor 102b. In this case, the acquisition unit 102 can generate data (e.g., an MPEG file) recorded over a unit of time, associated with the same time code, using the image acquired by the RGB camera and the audio data related to speech and / or singing emitted by the streaming user using the second sensor 102b.

[0055] The acquisition unit 102 can output the generated data relating to the face of the distribution user (MPEG file and TSV file, etc.) and / or audio data relating to speech and / or singing uttered by the distribution user (MPEG file, etc.) to the processing unit 104.

[0056] In this description, the case in which the first sensor 102a includes an RGB camera and an infrared camera has been explained. However, the first sensor 102a may include, for example, any of the following: (A) a camera that detects infrared light emitted by an infrared laser and reflected off the performer's face, (B) a plurality of RGB cameras that capture visible light, and (C) a single camera that captures visible light. In case (A), the acquisition unit 102 can calculate the depth for each feature point on the streaming user's face using the same method as described above. In case (B), the acquisition unit 102 can calculate the depth for each feature point on the streaming user's face using multiple images captured by the plurality of RGB cameras. In case (C), the acquisition unit 102 can calculate the depth for each feature point on the streaming user's face from an image captured by a single camera using deep learning or the like. In the case of (C) above, the acquisition unit 102 may calculate the depth of each feature point on the performer's face by performing analysis processing (image processing, etc.) on the image captured by a single camera.

[0057] The processing unit 104 can generate a video including animation of a virtual character (the first avatar object of the streaming user) based on data about the streaming user's face from the acquisition unit 102. Regarding the video of the virtual character itself, the processing unit 104 can generate the video of the virtual character by having a rendering unit (not shown) perform rendering using various information (e.g., geometry information, bone information, texture information, shader information, and blend shape information, etc.) stored in a character data storage unit (not shown).

[0058] Furthermore, the processing unit 104 can use data on the face of the streaming user from the acquisition unit 102 (data on the depth of each feature point on the performer's face) to generate a video in which the facial expression of the first avatar object is changed (for example, a video in which the facial expression of the first avatar object changes in synchronization with the movement of the performer's mouth and eyes, that is, a video in which the facial expression of the first avatar object changes in lip-sync and gaze-tracking with the performer's face) using various well-known techniques.

[0059] Furthermore, it is also possible to utilize any other known technology to generate a first video, including the animation of the first avatar object of the streaming user, based on the operation data regarding the streaming user's actions.

[0060] (2) Second video generation unit 110 The second video generation unit 110 can generate a second video related to the game based on operation data related to the user's actions, using a web page received from the web server device 20B.

[0061] Specifically, the second video generation unit 110 executes a game program embedded in a web page received from the web server device 20B, and based on operation data indicating the operations of the streaming user input by the user interface unit 150, it can render a second video (game video) relating to a game in which game objects (own game objects), including the streaming user's second avatar object, are in operation. In this second video, various game objects, such as enemy characters attacking the own game object and allied character support the own game object, are made to operate according to the game program.

[0062] (3) Communications Section 120 The communication unit 120 can communicate various information necessary for video distribution and / or viewing between the distribution server system 20A and the web server device 20B. For example, the communication unit 120 can access the web server device 20B and receive web pages (HTML documents) containing game programs necessary for running the game. Furthermore, when the terminal device 10 is operating as the terminal device of a distribution user, the communication unit 120 can transmit the first video and / or the second video to the distribution server system 20A and receive gift information and / or comment information sent to this distribution user from the distribution server system 20A. In addition, when the terminal device 10 is operating as the terminal device of a viewing user, the communication unit 120 can receive the first video and / or the second video transmitted by the distribution user's terminal device 10 from the distribution server system 20A and transmit gift information and / or comment information to the distribution user from the distribution server system 20A.

[0063] (4) Display section 130 The display unit 130 can display various information necessary for the distribution and / or viewing of videos. For example, the display unit 130 can display the first video and / or the second video being distributed, and / or the first video and / or the second video that has been received.

[0064] (5) Storage section 140 The memory unit 140 can store various information necessary for the distribution and / or viewing of videos.

[0065] (6) User interface section 150 The user interface unit 150 can receive various information necessary for video distribution and / or viewing through user operations. For example, when running a game, the user interface unit 150 can receive operation data from the distribution user indicating the content of the distribution user's operations and output it to the second video generation unit 110.

[0066] (7) Gift Processing Unit 160 The gift processing unit 160 can process gift information sent and received in relation to the distribution and / or viewing of videos. For example, if the terminal device 10 is operating as the terminal device 10 of a distribution user, the gift processing unit 160 can process gift information sent to this distribution user. Also, if the terminal device 10 is operating as the terminal device 10 of a viewing user, the gift processing unit 160 can process gift information sent by this viewing user.

[0067] (8) Ranking Processing Unit 170 The ranking processing unit 170 can acquire (generate and / or receive) first ranking information showing the ranking for each distribution user who received gift information, and / or second ranking information showing the ranking for each viewing user who sent gift information. Details of this first and second ranking information will be described later in section "6".

[0068] 3-2. Functions of Server Device 20 An example of the functions of the server device 20 will be explained with reference to Figure 4. Figure 4 is a schematic block diagram showing an example of the functions of the server device 20 shown in Figure 1. As shown in Figure 4, the server device 20 may mainly include a communication unit 200, a storage unit 210, a gift processing unit 220, and a ranking processing unit 230.

[0069] The communication unit 200 can communicate various information necessary for the distribution and / or viewing of videos between the terminal devices 10 of the distribution users and / or the terminal devices 10 of the viewing users. For example, when the server device 20 operates as a distribution server system 20A, it can receive the first video and / or the second video from each distribution user's terminal device 10 and distribute them to each viewing user's terminal device 10. Also, when the server device 20 operates as a web server device 20B, it can send a web page with a game program embedded in it to each distribution user's terminal device 10 that has accessed it.

[0070] The memory unit 210 can store various information necessary for the distribution and / or viewing of videos.

[0071] The gift processing unit 220 can process gift information sent from each viewing user to each streaming user.

[0072] The ranking processing unit 230 can acquire (generate and / or receive) first ranking information showing the ranking for each distribution user who received gift information, and / or second ranking information showing the ranking for each viewing user who sent gift information. Details of this first and second ranking information will be described later in section "6".

[0073] Furthermore, if the server device 20 operates as a web server device 20B, it may omit the gift processing unit 220 and the ranking processing unit 330.

[0074] 4. Overall operation of video distribution system 1 Next, the overall operation of the video distribution system 1 having the above configuration will be explained with reference to Figures 5A and 5B. Figures 5A and 5B are flowcharts showing an example of the operation performed in the video distribution system 1 shown in Figure 1.

[0075] First, referring to Figure 5A, in step (hereinafter referred to as "ST") 302, the terminal device 10 (here referred to as terminal device 10A) starts and runs the video distribution application in accordance with the operation of the distribution user (here, distribution user A).

[0076] Next, in ST304, the terminal device 10A generates a first video including the animation of the first avatar object of the distribution user A based on the operation data relating to the actions of the distribution user A. As a result, as illustrated in Figure 6, the display unit 130 of the terminal device 10A displays the first video 404 including the animation of the first avatar object 402 of the distribution user A.

[0077] Returning to Figure 5A, the terminal device 10A then transmits the generated first video 404 to the distribution server device 20a of the distribution server system 20A. The distribution server device 20a distributes the first video received from the terminal device 10A to the terminal devices 10 of each viewing user running the video viewing application. As a result, the first video 404 is displayed on the display unit 130 of each viewing user's terminal device 10, as illustrated in Figure 6.

[0078] Next, in ST306, when user A taps the "Game" icon 406 (see Figure 6) displayed on the display unit 130 of terminal device 10A, terminal device 10A executes the browser function installed in the video distribution application. As a result, in ST308, terminal device 10A, with the video distribution application running (i.e., having distributed the first video 404 to each viewing user's terminal device 10), can access the web server device 20B and receive an HTML5 document containing the game program.

[0079] Next, in ST310, the terminal device 10A can generate a video related to the game (a second video) by executing the game program embedded in the received HTML5 document.

[0080] Figure 7 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a second video displayed on the display unit of the terminal device 10A shown in Figure 1. As illustrated in Figure 7, in the second video 500, the player's own game object 504, which includes the second avatar object 502 of the streaming user A, can operate based on operation data related to operations performed by the streaming user A on the user interface unit 150. As a result, for example, the player's own game object 504 can operate according to the operations of the streaming user A and attack the enemy character game object 506.

[0081] The second avatar object 502 of distribution user A can be generated using the first avatar object 402 of the first distribution user A. For example, the second avatar object 502 may be completely or substantially identical to the first avatar object 402, or it may be a modified, reduced, and / or enlarged version of at least a part of the first avatar object 402, or it may be a part of the first avatar object 402.

[0082] In this second video 500, a portion of the video (the chat area) may be used to display comment information sent by at least one viewer to broadcaster A (for example, in the upper area 508 as illustrated in Figure 7). The comment information may include any comment information, such as a comment 510 from viewer X supporting broadcaster A, or a comment 512 from viewer Y indicating that gift G1 has been given to broadcaster A.

[0083] Returning to Figure 5A, in ST312, terminal device 10A transmits the second video (game screen) generated in ST310 to distribution server device 20a of distribution server system 20A. Distribution server device 20a distributes the second video received from terminal device 10A to the terminal devices 10 of each viewing user running the video viewing application. As a result, the display unit 130 of each viewing user's terminal device 10 may also display the second video 500 as illustrated in Figure 7 (for example, overlaid on the first video as illustrated in Figure 6, hiding most of the first video).

[0084] Next, consider the case in ST314 where a viewer user (in this case, viewer user B) who is watching the second video 500 transmitted by terminal device 10A sends gift G2 to distribution user A. Viewer user B can operate terminal device 10B to select a command to give gift B from among several prepared gifts to distribution user A. As a result, terminal device 10B sends gift information indicating that gift G2 will be given to distribution user A to the distribution server device 20a of the distribution server system 20A. This gift information may include, for example, recipient identification information that identifies the recipient of the gift (distribution user A), gift identification information that identifies the gift, and sender identification information that identifies the sender of the gift (viewer user B).

[0085] When viewing user B operates their terminal device 10B to grant a gift, they can also send a comment along with the gift. In this case, the gift information that terminal device 10B sends to the distribution server device 20a may include comment information in addition to recipient identification information, gift identification information, and sender identification information.

[0086] In ST316, the distribution server device 20a can store the gift information received from the terminal device 10B in the DB server device 20b. For example, the DB server device 20b can store as gift information the number of gifts to which the gift was assigned, the gift identification information, and the sender identification information (and even comment information), in association with the recipient identification information.

[0087] In ST318, the terminal device 10A of streaming user A can query the game API server device 20c at predetermined time intervals while the game is running to see if any new gift information has arrived for streaming user A. For example, if terminal device 10A has received one gift piece of information (for example, the gift information from viewing user Y as illustrated in Figure 7) from the game API server device 20c since starting the game, it can query the game API server device 20c to see if there is any further gift information.

[0088] In ST320, the game API server device 20c responds to an inquiry from the terminal device 10A by requesting the second and subsequent gift information for distribution user A from the DB server device 20b. If the DB server device 20b can retrieve the second and subsequent count identification information stored in association with distribution user A (recipient identification information), it sends the gift identification information and sender identification information (and comment information) corresponding to each of the second and subsequent count identification information to the game API server device 20c as the second gift information. Here, we assume that the DB server device 20b was able to retrieve only the second count identification information, and sends the gift identification information and sender identification information (and comment information) corresponding to this second count identification information to the game API server device 20c as the second gift information. In response, the game API server device 20c sends the second gift information to distribution user A's terminal device 10A.

[0089] Next, referring to Figure 5B, in ST322, terminal device 10A, having received the second gift information, can execute the game based on this second gift information. Terminal device 10A can display game objects set based on the sender identified by the sender identification information included in the gift information (in this case, viewer user B), and / or the gift uniquely identified by the gift identification information included in the gift information (in this case, gift G2), on the game screen (second video). For example, terminal device 10A can display game objects (enemy characters and / or ally characters) including viewer user B's avatar object on the second video, or it can display its own game object (a game object including the second avatar object of distributor user A) whose hit points have increased based on gift G2 on the second video. Each terminal device 10 stores the avatar object (image) of its user (viewer) in association with each sender identification information, and stores the gift (image), etc., in association with each gift identification information, thereby enabling it to generate and display a second video including the avatar object and / or each gift of each viewer. The specific method for generating the second video based on the gift information will be described later in section "5".

[0090] Furthermore, terminal device 10A can also display comment information included in the gift information on the game screen (second video). For example, as illustrated in Figure 7, if viewer user B chooses to send a comment when giving gift G2 to distributor user A in ST314, terminal device 10A can display the comment information "Gift G2." on the second video. Thus, the viewer user's comment displayed on the second video may correspond to the gift information sent by that viewer user to that distributor user.

[0091] Furthermore, since terminal device 10A has already received two gift information items from game API server device 20c (terminal device 10A identifies how many gift information items it has received so far while the game is running), in the next time interval, it can query game API server device 20c for the presence of a third or subsequent gift information item.

[0092] Next, returning to Figure 5B, in ST324, the terminal device 10A distributes the second video, which includes the game objects set based on the gift information in this manner, to each viewing user's terminal device 10 via the distribution server system 20A using the same method as in ST312.

[0093] Next, in ST326, if terminal device 10A decides to continue the game, the processing from ST308 onwards described above can be repeated. On the other hand, if terminal device 10A decides to end the game, the process proceeds to ST328.

[0094] In ST328, terminal device 10A can distribute ranking information to each viewing user's terminal device 10 via distribution server device 20a of distribution server system 20. Alternatively, or after ST328, in ST330, distribution server device 20a can distribute ranking information to each viewing user's terminal device 10. At least one of ST328 and ST330 may be executed, or both ST328 and ST330 may be omitted. Details of the ranking information will be described later in section "6".

[0095] 5. Generation of a second video (game screen) based on gift information. Next, we will describe a specific method for generating a second video based on the gift information mentioned above in relation to ST322.

[0096] 5-1. Creating game objects that attack or support your own game object (Part 1) Figure 8 is a schematic diagram showing another example of the second video displayed on the display unit of the terminal device 10A shown in Figure 1. In the second video 600 shown in Figure 8, the display of the user's own game object 504, including the second avatar object 502 of the streaming user A, is the same as in the example shown in Figure 7.

[0097] First, a viewer user (in this case, viewer user 10C) who is watching the second video 600 distributed by the terminal device 10A of distribution user A can use their terminal device 10 (in this case, terminal device 10C) to send gift information to distribution user A. In this case, terminal device 10A receives the gift information sent by terminal device 10C from the game API server device 20c in the manner described above in relation to ST318 and ST320. In response, terminal device 10A can generate a game object 604, including the avatar object 602 of viewer user C, as a game object set based on the received gift information, and display it in the second video 600. This game object 604 can be set as an enemy character that attacks its own game object 504 (it may be a common, frequently appearing weak enemy character, or it may be a so-called boss character that appears at the end of a scene, level, scenario, or stage).

[0098] Next, another viewer (viewer 10D) watching the second video 600 can use their terminal device 10 (terminal device 10D) to send gift information to the broadcaster A. In this case, terminal device 10A receives the gift information sent by terminal device 10D from the game API server device 20c using the method described above in relation to ST318 and ST320. In response, terminal device 10A can generate a game object 608, including the viewer D's avatar object 606, as a game object set based on the received gift information, and display it in the second video 600. This game object 608 can be set as an allied character (wingman) that supports and attacks the game object 504.

[0099] Furthermore, another viewer (in this case, viewer 10E) watching the second video 600 can use their terminal device 10 (in this case, terminal device 10E) to send gift information to the broadcaster A. In this case, terminal device 10A receives the gift information sent by terminal device 10E from the game API server device 20c using the method described above in relation to ST318 and ST320. In response, terminal device 10A can generate a game object 612, including viewer E's avatar object 610, as a game object set based on the received gift information, and display it in the second video 600. This game object 612 can be set as an allied character that supports its own game object 504 and attacks game object 604 (a missile that flies towards game object 604 and reduces its health).

[0100] As described above in relation to ST324, the second video 600 (game screen) generated by terminal device 10A is distributed to each viewer's terminal device 10 via distribution server device 20c. This allows the second video 600 illustrated in Figure 9 to be displayed similarly on each viewer's terminal device 10.

[0101] In one embodiment, the operation of the game objects 604, 608, and 612, which are set based on the gift information, can be automatically controlled by a game program executed by the terminal device 10A.

[0102] Furthermore, at least one parameter of each of these game objects 604, 608, and 612 may be set based on gift information. This parameter may include the attack power, defense power, health, mobility, equipment, and / or items of the corresponding game object.

[0103] Furthermore, this parameter can be set based on gift information. Specifically, for example, when a viewer user C sends a gift to a distributor user A using their terminal device 10C, they can select a desired gift from among several available gifts. Each of these gifts has points (gift points) assigned to it that are displayed. In one embodiment, the gift points corresponding to a gift can be the purchase price of that gift. In another embodiment, each viewer user can earn points (also referred to as "My Points") each time they watch a second video (which may be the first video) distributed by the distributor user. Each viewer user can select a desired free gift from among several available free gifts and acquire this desired free gift by consuming their My Points. In this case, the gift points corresponding to a gift can be the number of My Points consumed when acquiring that gift.

[0104] When the terminal device 10A of the distribution user A receives gift information from the viewing user C, it reads the gift points corresponding to the gift identification information contained in the gift information from the storage unit 140, and can set the above parameters of the game object 604 based on the read gift points (for example, in proportion to the gift points).

[0105] In this way, when each viewer watching the second video 600 sends gift information to the broadcaster, the game object including the viewer's avatar object is displayed in the second video 600, which is viewed by both the broadcaster and each viewer, as a game object that can influence their own game object (the game object including the broadcaster's avatar object). This allows each viewer to feel a sense of participation in the game by influencing the success or failure of the game the broadcaster is playing by sending gift information to the broadcaster. Furthermore, by selecting a gift with higher gift points (e.g., price) to give to the broadcaster, each viewer will have a game object set based on the level of that gift point that will influence their own game object (having a greater impact on the success or failure of the game). This further strengthens each viewer's sense of participation in the game.

[0106] Furthermore, generally speaking, if a game program is installed on terminal device 10, or if a game program is incorporated into a video distribution application installed on terminal device 10, then in order to run a new game, terminal device 10 needs to install a new game program or a video distribution application incorporating the new game program. In this case, from the perspective of the game program developer, there is a problem that the amount of work required to produce the game program increases because they need to prepare a game program that is compatible with each of the multiple operating systems. On the other hand, from the user's perspective, there is a problem that communication load, communication costs, time, and effort are incurred because in order to obtain a new game, they need to download a new game program and / or update an existing game program.

[0107] In contrast, the technology disclosed in this application allows the distribution user's terminal device 10 to run a game. Instead of running a game program installed on the terminal device 10, it calls a browser function built into the video distribution application, uses this browser function to receive a web page (HTML document, especially an HTML5 document) from the web server device 20B, and runs the game program embedded in this web page. This allows the distribution user's terminal device 10 to easily run new games. Therefore, when providing a new game, the game program creator only needs to embed the new game program into the web page (HTML document, especially an HTML5 document) transmitted by the web server device 20B, thus reducing the man-hours required to create a new game program. Furthermore, since users do not need to download a new game program to receive a new game, communication load, communication costs, time, and effort can be reduced.

[0108] 5-2. Creating a game object that changes parameters related to the game object itself Figure 9 is a schematic diagram showing yet another example of the second video displayed on the display unit of the terminal device 10A shown in Figure 1. In the second video 700 shown in Figure 9, the display of the user's own game object 504, including the second avatar object 502 of the streaming user A, is the same as in the example shown in Figure 7.

[0109] First, a viewer (in this case, viewer 10C) who is watching the second video 700 distributed by the terminal device 10A of distribution user A can use their terminal device 10 (in this case, terminal device 10C) to send gift information to distribution user A. In this case, terminal device 10A receives the gift information sent by terminal device 10C from the game API server device 20c in the manner described above in relation to ST318 and ST320. In response, terminal device 10A can generate a game object that, by interacting with its own game object 504, awards points (ranking points) to distribution user A based on the gift information, and / or a game object that, by interacting with its own game object 504, assigns parameters to its own game object 504 based on the gift information, and display these in the second video 700.

[0110] Specifically, in the first example, by manipulating its own game object 504 and interacting with a game object 702 that displays the words "Thank you for your hard work" (for example, by touching the game object 702, or by making a missile fired at the game object 702 touch it), the distribution user A can obtain ranking points set based on the gift information corresponding to this game object 702. In this case, the terminal device 10A can read the ranking points corresponding to the gift identification information contained in the received gift information from the storage unit 140 and award the read ranking points (or ranking points obtained by further increasing or decreasing these ranking points) to the distribution user A.

[0111] In the second example, the distributor A can manipulate their own game object 504 to interact with a game object 704 that has, for example, a diamond shape (for example, by making contact with game object 702, or by making contact with game object 702 with a missile that has been fired), thereby allowing their own game object 504 to have parameters set based on the gift information corresponding to this game object 704. In this case, the terminal device 10A can read the gift points corresponding to the gift identification information from the storage unit 140 and set at least one parameter of their own game object 504 based on the read gift points (for example, in proportion to the gift points). These parameters may include the attack power, defense power, health, mobility, equipment and / or items of their own game object 504. This allows streaming user A to manipulate their own game object 504 to interact with game object 704, thereby increasing (or decreasing) parameters such as attack power, defense power, health, and / or mobility of their own game object 504, and to give their own game object 504 new equipment (weapons and / or armor) and / or items (or to remove equipment and / or items that their own game object 504 possesses).

[0112] In the first example above, instead of a configuration in which streaming user A acquires ranking points when the local game object 504 interacts with game object 702 once, it is also possible to adopt a configuration in which streaming user A acquires ranking points only after the local game object 504 interacts with game object 702 a predetermined number of times (threshold). Similarly, in the second example above, instead of a configuration in which the parameters of the local game object 504 are changed when the local game object 504 interacts with game object 704 once, it is also possible to adopt a configuration in which the parameters of the local game object 504 are changed only after the local game object 504 interacts with game object 704 a predetermined number of times (threshold).

[0113] For example, focusing on the second example above, each time the terminal device 10A interacts with the game object 704 displayed in the second video based on gift information received from the terminal device 10 of any of the multiple viewers, the count value is incremented by one, and only when this count value exceeds a threshold does it change (increase or decrease) the parameters of its own game object 504, such as attack power, defense power, health and / or mobility, and / or grant (or remove) equipment and / or items. In this case, each time the terminal device 10A interacts with the game object 704 displayed in the second video based on gift information received from the terminal device 10 of any of the viewers, it lights up the count value (here, a count value from 1 to 5) shown on the gauge 706 one by one, and when the count value exceeds a threshold (here, 4) (when the count value becomes 5), it can change the parameters of its own game object 504.

[0114] Thus, the method of displaying a count value and threshold (the display of a number from 1 to 5 indicates that the threshold is 4) based on the received gift information in the second video 700, and changing the parameters of the game object 504 when the count value exceeds the threshold, can also be applied to the first example above, in which ranking points based on the received gift information are awarded to the broadcasting user A when the count value based on the received gift information exceeds the threshold.

[0115] The second video 700 (game screen) generated by the terminal device 10A is distributed to each viewer's terminal device via the distribution server device 20c, as described above in relation to ST324. As a result, the second video 700 illustrated in Figure 9 can be displayed similarly on each viewer's terminal device.

[0116] Furthermore, the game objects 702, 704, etc., displayed in the second video may be generated from any characters, symbols, images, and / or combinations thereof. Additionally, the game objects 702, 704, etc., displayed in the second video may include the avatar object of the viewer user who sent the corresponding gift. Moreover, the game objects 702, 704, etc., may be static or moving in the second video.

[0117] Furthermore, when awarding ranking points to a broadcaster based on gift information received from any viewer, and / or when changing the parameters of the broadcaster's game object based on gift information received from any viewer, the ranking point value and / or parameter value may be set to change based on the progress of the game being broadcast by the broadcaster at the time the gift information is generated or sent by the viewer's terminal device 10 (or at the time the gift information is received by the broadcaster's terminal device 10). For example, the ranking point value and / or parameter value can be set to be smaller the closer the game being broadcast is to the early stages at the time the gift information is generated or sent, and larger the closer the game is to the late stages at the time the gift information is generated or sent. This allows the broadcaster to obtain larger ranking points and / or larger parameters assigned to their game object the better they are at the game (i.e., the longer they can play the game without failing), and to obtain larger ranking points and / or larger parameters assigned to their game object the more viewers who watch the game and send gifts (i.e., the larger the total number of fans of the broadcaster). This will allow both the streamer and the viewers to enjoy the game even more.

[0118] In this way, each viewer watching the second video 700 can send gift information to the broadcaster, and based on that gift information, they can change the parameters of their own game objects or award ranking points to the broadcaster. This allows each viewer to influence the success or failure of the game the broadcaster is playing and / or support the broadcaster by sending gift information, thus giving them a sense of participation in the game. Furthermore, each viewer can instantly change the count value displayed in the second video by sending gift information to the broadcaster, so each viewer (especially those who generate a count value that exceeds the threshold; in the example shown in Figure 9, the viewer who generated a count value of 5 that exceeds threshold 4) can feel an even stronger sense of participation in the game.

[0119] 5-3. Displaying Multiple Game Objects If multiple viewers send gift information to broadcaster A to grant them the same game object 702 (or game object 704) as illustrated in Figure 7, then typically, a number of game objects 702 (or 704) corresponding to the total number of viewers will be displayed in the second video 700. When the total number of viewers sending gift information is large, the simultaneous display of numerous game objects 702 (or 704) in the second video 700 may disrupt the game's progress.

[0120] Therefore, if the terminal device 10A of distribution user A receives gift information from multiple viewing users regarding the same game object 702 (704), it can integrate these multiple identical game objects in various ways according to the total number of these multiple identical game objects and display them in the second video.

[0121] Figure 10 is a schematic diagram showing yet another example of the second video displayed on the display unit of the terminal device 10A shown in Figure 1. Here, for convenience, the total number of multiple identical game objects is referred to as the "total number of objects."

[0122] First, as a first embodiment, an embodiment in which a representative game object overlaps by the "total number of objects" is available. As illustrated in Figure 10, for example, if the target game object 802 has a diamond shape, and five of these identical game objects 802 are displayed (the total number of objects is 5), then the five identical game objects 802 are displayed in an embodiment in which a representative object 804 overlaps by the total number of objects (in this case, 5). Here, as an example, the representative object 804 is assumed to be identical to each of the game objects 802, but it may also be a modified version of the game object 802 (enlarged, reduced, rotated, flipped, or extracted, etc.), or it may be a representation of the game object 802 using letters and / or symbols, etc.

[0123] As a second embodiment, a representation using a combination of a representative game object and characters indicating the total number of objects is available. As illustrated in Figure 10, for example, if the target game object 806 has a diamond shape, and 98 of these identical game objects 806 are displayed (the total number of objects is 98), then the 98 identical game objects 806 are represented by a combination of a representative object 808 and characters indicating the total number of objects (in this case, 98) (such as "98" or "×98"). Here, as an example, the representative object 808 is assumed to be identical to each of the game objects 806, but it may also be a modified version of the game object 806 (enlarged, reduced, rotated, flipped, or extracted, etc.), or the game object 806 may be represented by characters and / or symbols.

[0124] As a third embodiment, a representation in which a representative game object is represented by a density corresponding to the total number of objects is available. For example, the density of the color assigned to the representative game object can be set to be higher (or lower) in proportion to the total number of objects. In this embodiment as well, the representative object may be the same as the target game object, but it may also be a modified version of the target game object (enlarged, reduced, rotated, flipped, or extracted, etc.), or it may be a representation of the target game object using characters and / or symbols, etc.

[0125] As a fourth embodiment, a representation in which a representative game object is represented by a size corresponding to the total number of objects is available. For example, the size of the representative game object can be set to be larger in proportion to (or inversely smaller in proportion to) the total number of objects. In this embodiment as well, the representative object may be the same as the target game object, but it may also be a modified version of the target game object (enlarged, reduced, rotated, flipped, or extracted, etc.).

[0126] Furthermore, the first to fourth embodiments described above are applicable when displaying multiple identical game objects in the second video, but the identical game objects may include, but are not limited to, game objects 604, 608, and 612 as exemplified in Figure 8, and game objects 702 and 704 as exemplified in Figure 9. Moreover, the first to fourth embodiments described above can be used in combination with each other.

[0127] In this way, when each viewer watching the second video sends gift information to the broadcaster, the viewer's avatar object and other game objects will be displayed in the second video viewed by both the broadcaster and each viewer as game objects that can influence their own game objects. This allows each viewer to feel a sense of participation in the game by influencing the success or failure of the game the broadcaster is playing by sending gift information. Furthermore, when each viewer watching the second video sends gift information to the broadcaster, they can change the parameters of their own game objects or award ranking points to the broadcaster based on that gift information. This allows each viewer to feel a sense of participation in the game by influencing the success or failure of the game the broadcaster is playing and / or supporting the broadcaster by sending gift information.

[0128] Furthermore, if multiple viewers send the same gift to the broadcaster, the broadcaster's terminal device 10 can integrate multiple identical game objects in a manner corresponding to the total number of these game objects and display them in the second video. This allows the terminal device 10 to reliably show in the second video the fact that multiple identical gifts have been given to the broadcaster (i.e., the fact that each viewer has given a gift to the broadcaster), while at least partially preventing situations that disrupt the progress of the game being broadcast.

[0129] By displaying multiple game objects in a manner that corresponds to the total number of these game objects, the size occupied by these multiple objects on the display unit and the amount of computation required for rendering and processing these multiple objects can be reduced. Generally, the resolution (screen size) and processing power of the user's terminal device 10 are limited, becoming even more limited in the order of personal computers, smartphones, and feature phones. Therefore, displaying multiple game objects in a manner that corresponds to the total number of these game objects is particularly important for terminal devices 10 with such limited resolution and processing power.

[0130] 5-4. Creating game objects that attack or support your own game object (Part 2) Figure 11 is a flowchart illustrating how to select the avatar object of a viewer user displayed in a game run on the terminal device 10 shown in Figure 1.

[0131] First, in ST900, the game is started on terminal device 10A of distribution user A using the method described with reference to Figures 5A and 5B, and a video related to this game (second video) is distributed from terminal device 10A to each viewing user's terminal device 10 via distribution server device 20a. Here, as an example, a shooting game as illustrated in Figures 7 to 10 is played and distributed.

[0132] Next, in ST902, in order to determine the avatar object of the viewer user to appear as a boss character (or part of a boss character) in ST912, which will be described later, the terminal device 10A starts accumulating information on multiple candidate viewer users. Specifically, the terminal device 10A generates a list of viewer users who have sent gift information to distribution user A, based on the gift information received from the game API server device 20c at predetermined time intervals. This list generation may continue until processing in ST906 begins.

[0133] Next, in ST904, the terminal device 10A performs a battle (minor battle) between its own game object 504 (see Figure 7, etc.) and a minor character (a trivial character with relatively weak attack power and health, and simple behavior patterns) during the game. During ST904, the list of viewing users mentioned in ST902 continues to be generated.

[0134] Next, in ST906, terminal device 10A randomly selects one viewer from the list of viewer users generated so far. The game object containing the avatar object of the selected viewer (viewer X in this case) will be displayed as a boss character in ST912, which will be described later.

[0135] Next, in ST908, terminal device 10A resets (deletes) the list of viewing users that has been generated so far. After this, in ST910, terminal device 10A starts accumulating information on several new candidate viewing users (generating a new list of viewing users), similar to what was done in ST902 described above. This list generation may continue until processing in ST916 begins.

[0136] Next, in ST912, terminal device 10A performs a battle (boss X battle) between its own game object 504 and a boss character (an important character with very strong attack power and health, and complex behavior patterns) during the game. Here, terminal device 10A can be used as a game object and boss character that includes the avatar object of one viewer user X selected in ST906 above. During ST912, the list of viewer users mentioned in ST910 continues to be generated.

[0137] After the boss battle with Boss X is over (the game object containing the avatar object of viewer user X is defeated by the player's own game object 504), in ST914, terminal device 10A executes a battle between its own game object 504 and a regular enemy character (a regular enemy battle) during the game. In this regular enemy battle, terminal device 10A can use the game object containing the avatar object of one viewer user X selected in ST906 as a wingman character (a game object that attacks regular enemy characters to support the player's own game object 504) instead of a boss character. During ST914, the list of viewer users mentioned in ST910 continues to be generated.

[0138] Next, in ST916, terminal device 10A randomly selects one viewer from the list of viewer users generated so far. The game object containing the avatar object of the selected viewer (viewer Y in this case) will be displayed as a boss character in ST922, which will be described later.

[0139] Next, in ST918, the terminal device 10A resets (deletes) the list of viewing users that has been generated so far. After this, in ST920, the terminal device 10A starts accumulating information on several new candidate viewing users (generating a new list of viewing users), similar to what was done in ST902 and ST910 described above. This list generation may continue until the processing in ST926 begins.

[0140] Next, in ST922, terminal device 10A executes a battle (boss Y battle) between its own game object 504 and a boss character during the game. Here, terminal device 10A can use a game object containing the avatar object of one viewer user Y selected in ST916 as the boss character. During ST922, the list of viewer users mentioned in ST920 continues to be generated.

[0141] After the boss battle with Y is over (the game object containing the avatar object of viewer user Y is defeated by the player's own game object 504), in ST924, terminal device 10A performs a battle between its own game object 504 and a regular enemy character (minion battle) during the game. In this minion battle, terminal device 10A can use the game object containing the avatar object of one viewer user Y, selected in ST916 above, as a wingman character instead of a boss character. During ST924, the list of viewer users mentioned in ST920 continues to be generated.

[0142] Next, in ST926, terminal device 10A randomly selects one viewer from the list of viewer users generated so far. The game object containing the avatar object of the selected viewer (viewer Z in this case) will be displayed as the boss character in the next boss battle, which is not shown in the diagram.

[0143] Next, in ST928, terminal device 10A resets (deletes) the list of viewing users that has been generated so far. Subsequently, terminal device 10A can repeat the same processing as described above in relation to ST910~ST918 (or ST920~ST928).

[0144] In short, terminal device 10A first selects a specific viewer (viewer X) from among multiple viewer users who generated (sent) gift information during the "first period" in which the game is executed (ST906). Next, terminal device 10A can display the game object, including the avatar object of the specific viewer (viewer X), in the second video during the "second period" that occurs after the "first period". During this "second period", terminal device 10A can display the game object, including the avatar object of the specific viewer (viewer X), as a boss character (ST912).

[0145] Next, in the "third period" that occurs after the "second period", the terminal device 10A can display a game object including the avatar object of a specific viewing user (viewing user X) as a wingman character (ST914).

[0146] Next, the terminal device 10A selects a specific viewing user (viewing user Y) from among a plurality of viewing users who have generated (transmitted) gift information from after the end of the "first period" to the "third period" (ST916). Next, the terminal device 10A can display a game object including the avatar object of the specific viewing user (viewing user Y) in a second video in the "fourth period" that occurs after the "third period". In this "fourth period", the terminal device 10A can display a game object including the avatar object of the specific viewing user (viewing user Y) as a boss character (ST922). Further, the terminal device 10A can display a game object including the avatar object of the specific viewing user (viewing user X) as a wingman character (ST922).

[0147] Next, in the "fifth period" that occurs after the "fourth period", the terminal device 10A can display a game object including the avatar object of the specific viewing user (viewing user Y) as a wingman character (ST924).

[0148] Note that in each of ST906, ST916, and / or ST926 illustrated in FIG. 11, the selection (lottery) of a specific viewing user from among a plurality of viewing users may be performed based on information indicating the following activities exemplified below, which are stored for each of these plurality of viewing users. (1) Information indicating the type of gifting (giving a paid or free gift to the distributing user) (for example, when a paid gift is given, a higher point may be given compared to when a free gift is given, and the winning probability may increase) (2) Information indicating the importance and / or rarity of the gifts given to the distribution user (purchase amount and / or points consumed (My Points consumed) (for example, if a gift of higher importance and / or rarity is given, the probability of winning may increase as more points will be awarded compared to if a gift of lower importance and / or rarity is given) (3) Information indicating the number of times (total) gifts have been sent to the distribution user (for example, the more gifts sent, the higher the points awarded, which may increase the probability of winning). (4) Information indicating the number of comments entered (sent) by the distribution user (for example, the more comments a user makes, the higher the points they will be awarded, which may increase their chances of winning). (5) Information indicating the number of "Likes" sent to the distribution user (for example, the more "Likes" a user receives, the higher the points awarded, which may increase their chances of winning). (6) Information indicating whether the user is following the broadcaster (for example, if the user is following the broadcaster, the chances of winning may increase by awarding higher points). (7) Information indicating the number of streaming users being followed (for example, the more streaming users being followed, the higher the points awarded, which may increase the chances of winning). (8) Information indicating the time and / or number of times the first video and / or second video distributed by the distribution user was viewed (for example, the longer the viewing time, the higher the points awarded, which may increase the probability of winning). (9) Information indicating the number of times and / or duration of the first and / or second videos streamed in collaboration with the streaming user (for example, the more times it is streamed, the higher the points awarded, which may increase the chances of winning). Furthermore, the term "distributing user" in the "activity information" exemplified in (1) to (9) above, which is stored for each viewing user, may include, but is not limited to, (i) the distributing user who is currently distributing the second video to the viewing user and has received gift information from the viewing user, (ii) the distributing user who has previously distributed the second video to the viewing user, and / or (iii) the distributing user who has not yet distributed the second video to the viewing user.

[0149] Specifically, for example, in a single drawing, for each of the multiple viewers watching the second video, the total points may be calculated using the information indicating the above-mentioned activity stored for that viewer, and the viewer with the highest total points may be given priority as a designated viewer (if N designated viewers are to be selected in a single drawing, the N viewers with the highest total points may be given priority as designated viewers).

[0150] Furthermore, it is possible to calculate points using any method from the information indicating the activities corresponding to each of the above (1) to (7).

[0151] Furthermore, the activities covered may include activities performed during the period in which the second video illustrated in Figure 11 is being distributed, and / or activities performed during periods other than the period in which the second video illustrated in Figure 11 is being distributed.

[0152] Furthermore, in the example shown in Figure 11, the game object containing the avatar object of a viewer who was selected by lottery is displayed as a boss character and then as a wingman character. However, in another example, the game object containing the avatar object of a viewer who was selected by lottery may be displayed as a wingman character and then as a boss character.

[0153] Furthermore, in the example shown in Figure 11, only "one" specific viewing user is selected in ST906 (or ST916, etc.), and the game object containing the avatar object of the selected specific viewing user is displayed in ST912 and ST914 (ST922 and ST924, etc.). However, the number of specific viewing users that can be selected may be multiple.

[0154] In this way, the terminal device 10A can select a specific viewer from among multiple viewer users who have sent gift information during a certain period in the game, and display the game object including this specific viewer user's avatar object as a game object that supports or attacks its own game object in the next period that follows that period. As a result, the viewer selected as the specific viewer user can feel that they are participating in the game they are watching, as their game character, including their avatar object, is used as a boss character and / or wingman character that can influence the success or failure of the game.

[0155] Furthermore, games featuring boss characters and wingman characters that operate according to default settings generally tend to become monotonous. However, the technology disclosed in this application selects a specific viewer from among multiple viewers and displays the selected viewer's avatar object, along with other game objects, as a boss character and / or wingman character in a second video. This increases the variety of the game, thereby preventing it from becoming monotonous.

[0156] Furthermore, since the terminal device 10A selects a specific viewer from among multiple viewers who are actually watching the second video (game screen) during a certain period, viewers watching the second video are more likely to be selected as a specific viewer sooner or later. As a result, viewers watching the second video are more likely to become engrossed in watching the game without getting bored.

[0157] In the example shown in Figure 11, the terms "First Period" to "Fifth Period" were used for the sake of explanation, but other periods may occur between each period (for example, between the First Period and the Second Period, between the Second Period and the Third Period, etc.).

[0158] 6. Generation, display, and distribution of ranking information A specific example of the ranking information mentioned in relation to ST328 and ST330 in Figure 5B will be explained.

[0159] Firstly, the video distribution system 1 disclosed in this application can generate ranking information (first ranking information) relating to the total value of points calculated based on gift information received from each viewing user for each distribution user, and transmit it to the terminal device 10 of each user (each distribution user and / or each viewing user).

[0160] This first ranking information may be generated for a game distributed by each distribution user (for example, a game sold or provided as a software application) (the sum of multiple levels, stages, scenes, scenarios, and missions related to a given game). Such first ranking information may be displayed on each terminal device 10 as a table, for example, as shown in Figure 12A.

[0161] Furthermore, this first ranking information may be generated for a specific unit of game (e.g., one level, one stage, one scene, one scenario, one mission, etc.) included in a game distributed by each distribution user. Such first ranking information can be displayed on each terminal device 10 as a table, for example, as shown in Figure 12B.

[0162] Furthermore, this first ranking information may be generated for all games (total of multiple types of games) distributed by each distribution user during a unit period (for example, an event period, as well as periods such as one day, one week, and one month). Such first ranking information may be displayed on each terminal device 10 as a table, for example, as shown in Figure 12C.

[0163] Such first ranking information can be calculated, for example, by the ranking processing unit 170 of the terminal device 10 or the ranking processing unit 230 of the server device 20 using the following method.

[0164] When a streaming user A receives gift information from a viewer user B who is watching a game (or unit game) that is streamed by streaming user A, the ranking processing unit 170 (230) can obtain the gift points or ranking points stored in association with the gift identification information contained in that gift information. Therefore, the ranking processing unit 170 (230) can obtain the total value of gift points and / or ranking points for streaming user A by using the gift information received from each viewer user who is watching the game (or unit game) that is streamed by streaming user A. As mentioned above, the sender identification information contained in the gift information identifies which viewer sent the gift information. The "streaming user name" exemplified in Figures 12A to 12C can be identified from the user information stored in the storage unit in association with the sender identification information.

[0165] The ranking processing unit 170(230) can similarly obtain the total value of gift points and / or ranking points for each of the other distribution users. After this, the ranking processing unit 170(230) can obtain the first ranking information as illustrated in Figures 12A and 12B by sorting the total value of gift points and / or ranking points for each distribution user in descending order.

[0166] Furthermore, the ranking processing unit 170 (230) can obtain the first ranking information as illustrated in Figure 12C by performing the same processing as described above, but limited to games (or unit games) distributed by each distribution user during a unit period (for example, an event period, and periods such as one day, one week, and one month).

[0167] Since gift information sent to a certain distribution user's terminal device 10 is similarly stored in the DB server device 20b, such first ranking information can be generated by either the ranking processing unit 170 of the distribution user's terminal device 10 or the ranking processing unit 230 of the server device 20. However, as explained in section 5-2, if the value of ranking points awarded to a distribution user changes according to the progress of the game being distributed by that distribution user, the changed value of ranking points is usually only recognizable by that distribution user's terminal device 10. Therefore, the changed value of ranking points needs to be notified from that distribution user's terminal device 10 to the DB server device 20b, for example, via the game API server device 20c.

[0168] The first ranking information obtained in this manner may be distributed from the distribution user's terminal device 10 to each terminal device 10 via the distribution server system 20 (or its distribution server device 20a), or it may be distributed from the distribution server system 20 to each terminal device 10 regardless of the operation of the distribution user's terminal device 10.

[0169] Secondly, the video distribution system 1 disclosed in this application can generate ranking information (second ranking information) relating to the total value of points calculated based on gift information sent to a certain distribution user for each viewing user, and transmit it to the terminal device 10 of each user (each distribution user and / or each viewing user).

[0170] This second ranking information (also called support ranking information) may be generated for a game distributed by a certain distribution user (for example, a game sold or provided as a software application). Such second ranking information may be displayed on each terminal device 10 as a table, for example, as shown in Figure 13A.

[0171] Furthermore, this second ranking information may be generated for a specific unit of game (e.g., one or more levels, one or more stages, one or more scenes, one or more scenarios, one or more missions, etc.) included in a game distributed by a particular distribution user. Such second ranking information may be displayed on each terminal device 10 as a table, for example, as shown in Figure 13B.

[0172] Furthermore, this second ranking information may be generated for all games distributed by any distribution user during a unit period (for example, a period of one day, one week, one month, etc.). Such second ranking information may be displayed on each terminal device 10 as a table, for example, as shown in Figure 13C.

[0173] Such second ranking information can be calculated, for example, by the ranking processing unit 170 of the terminal device 10 or the ranking processing unit 230 of the server device 20 using the following method.

[0174] When a streaming user A receives gift information from a viewing user B who is watching a game (or unit game) streamed by streaming user A, the ranking processing unit 170 (230) can obtain the sender identification information and gift identification information contained in the gift information, and further obtain the gift points or ranking points stored in association with this gift identification information. As a result, the ranking processing unit 170 (230) can obtain the total value of gift points and / or ranking points for viewing user B by using all the gift information received from viewing user B through that game (or unit game). The ranking processing unit 170 (230) can similarly obtain the total value of gift points and / or ranking points for other viewing users.

[0175] Subsequently, the ranking processing unit 170 (230) can obtain a second ranking information, as illustrated in Figures 13A and 13B, by sorting the total value of gift points and / or ranking points for each viewing user in descending order.

[0176] Furthermore, the ranking processing unit 170 (230) can obtain a second ranking information, as illustrated in Figure 13C, by performing the same processing as described above, but limited to games (or units of games) distributed by each distribution user during a unit period.

[0177] Since the gift information sent to a certain distribution user's terminal device 10 is similarly stored in the DB server device 20b, the second ranking information, as illustrated in Figures 13A and 13B, can be obtained by either the ranking processing unit 170 of the distribution user's terminal device 10 or the ranking processing unit 230 of the server device 20. However, since the gift information sent from each viewing user's terminal device to the terminal devices 10 of "other" distribution users is not automatically transferred to a certain distribution user's terminal device 10, in order to generate the second ranking information, as illustrated in Figure 13C, the distribution user's terminal device 10 needs to request the gift information sent to each distribution user from the DB server device 20b, for example, via the game API server device 20c.

[0178] The second ranking information obtained in this manner may be distributed from the distribution user's terminal device 10 to each terminal device 10 via the distribution server system 20 (or its distribution server device 20a), or it may be distributed from the distribution server system 20 to each terminal device 10 regardless of the operation of the distribution user's terminal device 10.

[0179] In the examples shown in Figures 12A to 12C, the total value of gift points and / or ranking points acquired by each streaming user is compared to generate the first ranking information. However, instead of this, or in addition to this, the total number of times each streaming user has received gift information from each viewing user may be compared and displayed. Similarly, in the examples shown in Figures 13A to 13C, the total value of gift points and / or ranking points calculated from gift information received from each viewing user is compared to generate the second ranking information. However, instead of this, or in addition to this, the total number of times each viewing user has received gift information may be compared and displayed.

[0180] If the generation, display, and distribution of the ranking information described in section "6" is performed by the distribution user's terminal device 10, this terminal device 10 may perform the operations described above necessary for the generation, display, and distribution of the ranking information (the first ranking information and / or the second ranking information 9) in accordance with the game program embedded in the web page received from the web server device 20B.

[0181] Thus, in the first ranking information, if each viewer who watches the second video (a video about games) distributed by a particular streamer sends more gift information to that streamer, that streamer is more likely to be ranked higher and become more famous. Therefore, it can increase the motivation of viewers to support that streamer. Also, in the second ranking information, if each viewer who watches the second video (a video about games) distributed by a particular streamer sends more gift information to that streamer, that viewer themselves is more likely to be ranked higher, thus increasing their own visibility. Therefore, by sending gift information to a particular streamer, each viewer who watches the second video distributed by a particular streamer can indirectly feel that they are participating in the game.

[0182] Furthermore, in both the first and second rankings, each user can use their terminal device 10 to view a ranking screen (a screen displaying the first and / or second ranking information) listing multiple broadcasting users and / or multiple viewing users. Among these multiple broadcasting users and / or multiple viewing users, there may be users that each user is unaware of (for example, not following). This allows each user to discover new users through this ranking screen, thereby revitalizing the entire community.

[0183] Furthermore, the ranking screen may include detailed information about each listed streaming user and / or viewing user (for example, various information including, but not limited to, name / nickname, age, gender, residential area, information indicating the first and second videos they have streamed / viewed, hobbies, appeal message, URLs of their homepage / SNS, etc.). In addition, the ranking screen may include buttons (UI) for following each listed streaming user and / or viewing user, buttons (UI) for sending a direct message or starting a chat with each listed streaming user and / or viewing user, and / or buttons (UI) for jumping to each streaming user and / or viewing user's homepage / SNS.

[0184] 7. Variations In the various embodiments described above, the case was explained in which the distribution user's terminal device 10 receives an HTML (particularly HTML5) document containing the game program from the web server device 20B in order to generate a video related to the game (the second video). However, instead of receiving an HTML document containing the game program from the web server device 20B, the distribution user's terminal device 10 can also generate a second video including game-related screens by running an installed video distribution application and receiving necessary information from a data server device (not shown) (or some server device included in the distribution server system 20A, not shown).

[0185] In the various embodiments described above, the terminal device 10 for the distribution user may be a smartphone or the like used by a general user, or it may be a dedicated terminal device installed in a studio or the like. In this case, at least one of the server devices included in the distribution server system 20A, namely the distribution server device 20a, the DB server device 20b, and the game API server device 20c (and also the web server device 20B), may be installed in the studio or the like alongside the dedicated terminal device.

[0186] In the various embodiments described above, as an example of a game distributed as the second video, the case where a shooting game is used has been described. However, the technology disclosed in the present application is equally applicable when distributing any game in which some game objects are displayed, for example, role-playing games, action games, simulation games, breeding games, puzzle games, and the like.

[0187] In the various embodiments described above, the case where the terminal device 10 of the distribution user generates a first video including an animation of the first avatar object of this distribution user based on the operation data regarding the operation of the distribution user and the voice data regarding the voice of the distribution user, and transmits this first video to the distribution server device 20a has been described. However, the terminal device 10 of the distribution user may transmit the operation data regarding the operation of the distribution user and the voice data regarding the voice of the distribution user to the distribution server device 20a, and the distribution server device 20a may generate a first video based on this operation data and voice data and distribute it to the terminal devices 10 of each viewing user. Alternatively, the terminal device 10 of the distribution user may transmit the operation data regarding the operation of the distribution user and the voice data regarding the voice of the distribution user to a separately provided server device, and this separately provided server device may generate a first video based on the operation data and voice data and return it to the terminal device 10 of the distribution user, and the terminal device 10 of the distribution user may transmit the received first video to the distribution server device 20a. Furthermore, the terminal device 10 of the distribution user may transmit the operation data regarding the operation of the distribution user and the voice data regarding the voice of the distribution user to the terminal devices 10 of each viewing user via the distribution server device 20a or the above-mentioned separately provided server device, and the terminal devices 10 of each viewing user may generate (render) and display a first video based on the received operation data and voice data.

[0188] Furthermore, in either of the above cases, the generation of the first video based on the motion data and audio data transmitted by the distribution user's terminal device 10 may be shared among at least two of the distribution server device 20a, the separate server device mentioned above, and each viewing user's terminal device 10. In any case, the device responsible for generating the first video can receive and store information (images, etc.) about the avatar object to be operated from, for example, the distribution server device 20a.

[0189] Furthermore, in any case, the gift information and / or comment information transmitted by each viewer's terminal device 10 can be transmitted by any method to the device responsible for generating the first video, among the distribution server device 20a, the separate server device mentioned above, and each viewer's terminal device 10. This allows the device that generates the first video to perform processing based on the received gift information (for example, displaying gift objects in the first video) and / or perform processing based on the received comment information (for example, displaying comments in the first video). Also, in any case, the device responsible for generating the first video can receive and store information (images, etc.) corresponding to the various gifts used, for example from the distribution server device 20a.

[0190] In the various embodiments described above, the case in which comment information is incorporated into gift information and transmitted from the viewing user's terminal device 10 to the distribution user's terminal device 10 via the distribution server system 20A has been explained. However, the comment information may also be transmitted separately from the gift information to the distribution user's terminal device 10. In this case, a configuration equivalent to the DB server device 20b and game API server device 20c used for transmitting gift information can be separately provided for transmitting comment information.

[0191] The various embodiments described above can be used in combination with each other, as long as no contradictions or inconveniences arise. [Explanation of symbols]

[0192] 1. Video distribution system 10 Terminal devices 10A Terminal device of the distribution user 10B, 10C, 10D Viewing user terminal devices 20 Server Devices 20A Distribution Server System 20a Distribution Server Device 20b Database (DB) Server Device 20c Game API Server Device 29B Web Server Device

Claims

1. By being executed by at least one processor, A video related to a game, including a game object generated based on operation data related to a user's actions, is distributed via a communication line to another user's terminal device. The gift information generated by the aforementioned other user's operation is received from the other user's terminal device via a communication line. The game screen of the aforementioned game displays a game object set based on the received gift information, A computer program that, through a predetermined interaction between the aforementioned game object and the configured game object, grants points and / or parameters to the aforementioned game object based on the gift information.

2. The computer program according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined interaction includes contact between the local game object and the set game object.

3. The computer program according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined interaction includes contact by firing a projectile from the local game object to the designated game object.

4. The computer program according to claim 1, wherein the points include ranking points indicating a ranking for a certain user.

5. The computer program according to claim 1, wherein the parameters include the attack power, defense power, health, mobility, equipment and / or items of the game object.

6. The computer program according to claim 1, wherein the points and / or parameters are assigned by the predetermined interaction occurring one or more times.

7. The computer program according to claim 6, wherein the points and / or parameters are awarded when the count value of the predetermined interaction exceeds a predetermined number of times as a threshold.

8. The computer program according to claim 1, wherein the configured game objects are generated by any characters, symbols, images, and / or combinations thereof.

9. The computer program according to claim 1, wherein the configured game object includes the avatar object of the other user relating to the gift information.

10. The computer program according to claim 1, wherein the value of the points and / or the value of the parameters changes based on the progress of a game being distributed by a certain user at the time the gift information is generated or transmitted by the other user's terminal device, or at the time the gift information is received by the other user's terminal device.

11. The computer program according to claim 10, wherein the value of the points and / or the value of the parameters are smaller when the game is near the beginning and larger when it is near the end.

12. An information processing system comprising at least one processor, The at least one processor, A video related to a game, including a game object generated based on operation data related to a user's actions, is distributed via a communication line to another user's terminal device. The gift information generated by the aforementioned other user's operation is received from the other user's terminal device via a communication line. The game screen of the aforementioned game displays a game object set based on the received gift information, An information processing system that, through a predetermined interaction between the aforementioned game object and the configured game object, assigns points and / or parameters to the aforementioned game object based on the gift information.

13. A method performed by at least one processor that executes instructions readable by a computer, A video related to a game, including a game object generated based on operation data related to a user's actions, is distributed via a communication line to another user's terminal device. The gift information generated by the aforementioned other user's operation is received from the other user's terminal device via a communication line. The game screen of the aforementioned game displays a game object set based on the received gift information, A method for assigning points and / or parameters to the aforementioned game object based on the gift information by having the aforementioned game object and the aforementioned configured game object interact in a predetermined manner.

Images