Conversation control system, conversation control method, and computer program

Abstract

To provide a system that is able to present images of reactions with a higher degree of freedom.SOLUTION: A conversation control system comprises a control unit that generates images showing input character strings and generates display information to be displayed as reaction images showing reactions to an utterance made in a conversation.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a technique for conducting a conversation through the display of information. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, there are conversations that are conducted by outputting information aloud and conversations that are conducted by displaying information. A conversation control system has been proposed for realizing these conversations using a terminal device. In a conversation that is conducted by displaying information, a character string or an image indicating the content of an utterance sent by a participant in the conversation is displayed. For example, the technology disclosed in Patent Document 1 makes it possible to use an image called a stamp, and by displaying the stamp instead of a character string, the speaker can make a more diverse statement.

[0003] Thus, up until now, services that allow conversations to be conducted by displaying information have been limited to displaying character string information indicating the content of a comment, or images (stamps) selected according to the content of a comment. In recent years, services that display images showing reactions to the content of a comment (hereinafter referred to as "reaction images") have also been proposed. Such reaction images are selected by the user from a number of reaction images (icons) prepared in advance for a specific comment (which may include stamps), and are displayed in association with the specific comment. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2022-068063 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] Conventionally, the reaction images that can be used are limited to those prepared in advance by chat services. Therefore, the expression of reactions using reaction images is limited, and some users are unable to show the reaction they truly want to show.

[0006] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned circumstances, and provides a technique that enables the presentation of reaction images with a higher degree of freedom. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] One aspect of the present invention is a conversation control system that includes a control unit that generates an image showing an input character string and generates display information to be displayed as a reaction image showing a reaction to a statement made in a conversation.

[0008] One aspect of the present invention is the above conversation control system, wherein the control unit generates the reaction image by selecting a color of the reaction image from a plurality of options based on a predetermined criterion.

[0009] One aspect of the present invention is the above-mentioned conversation control system, wherein the control unit generates the reaction image by selecting a font to be used in the reaction image from a plurality of options based on a predetermined criterion.

[0010] One aspect of the present invention is the above-mentioned conversation control system, wherein the control unit selects a position of a line break in the character string shown in the reaction image based on an input character string to generate the reaction image.

[0011] One aspect of the present invention is the above-mentioned conversation control system, wherein the control unit generates the reaction image by selecting a size of the character string shown in the reaction image based on an input character string.

[0012] One aspect of the present invention is a conversation control method having the steps of generating an image showing an input string of characters, and generating display information to be displayed as a reaction image showing a reaction to a statement made in a conversation.

[0013] One aspect of the present invention is a computer program for causing a computer to function as an information processing device having a control unit that generates an image showing an input string of characters and generates display information to be displayed as a reaction image showing a reaction to a statement made in a conversation. Effect of the Invention

[0014] The present invention makes it possible to present reaction images with greater freedom. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0015] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic block diagram showing a system configuration of a conversation control system 100 of the present invention. [Diagram 2] 2 is a schematic block diagram showing a specific example of the functional configuration of a terminal device 10. FIG. [Diagram 3] 2 is a schematic block diagram showing a specific example of the functional configuration of the conversation control device 20. FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a specific example of a comment history information table. [Diagram 5] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a specific example of a reaction history information table. [Figure 6] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a specific example of an individual reaction history information table. [Figure 7] 1A to 1C are diagrams showing specific examples of screens displayed on the terminal device 10. [Figure 8] 1A to 1C are diagrams showing specific examples of screens displayed on the terminal device 10. [Figure 9] 1A to 1C are diagrams showing specific examples of screens displayed on the terminal device 10. [Figure 10] 1A to 1C are diagrams showing specific examples of screens displayed on the terminal device 10. [Figure 11] 1A to 1C are diagrams showing specific examples of screens displayed on the terminal device 10. [Figure 12] 1A to 1C are diagrams showing specific examples of screens displayed on the terminal device 10. [Figure 13] 1A to 1C are diagrams showing specific examples of screens displayed on the terminal device 10. [Figure 14] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an outline of a hardware configuration example of an information processing device 80 applied to the present embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0016] Hereinafter, specific configuration examples of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram showing a system configuration of a conversation control system 100 of the present invention. The conversation control system 100 is a system for users operating terminal devices 10 to have a conversation by displaying via a network 70. In a conversation by displaying, a plurality of users can have a conversation by displaying character strings and images. The conversation control system 100 includes a plurality of terminal devices 10 and a conversation control device 20. Character strings and images indicating statements made in a conversation are displayed on the terminal device 10. For example, the character strings and images indicating each statement may be displayed in chronological order according to the timing of the statement. Such a conversation control system 100 may be realized as, for example, a so-called chat system. The plurality of terminal devices 10 and the conversation control device 20 are communicatively connected via a network 70. The network 70 may be a network using wireless communication or a network using wired communication. The network 70 may be configured by combining a plurality of networks.

[0017] 2 is a schematic block diagram showing a specific example of the functional configuration of the terminal device 10. The terminal device 10 is configured using information devices such as a smartphone, a tablet, a personal computer, a portable game machine, a stationary game machine, a dedicated device, etc. The terminal device 10 includes a communication unit 11, an operation unit 12, a display unit 13, a storage unit 14, and a control unit 15.

[0018] The communication unit 11 is a communication device. The communication unit 11 may be configured as, for example, a network interface. The communication unit 11 performs data communication with other devices via the network 70 in response to the control of the control unit 15. The communication unit 11 may be a device that performs wireless communication or a device that performs wired communication.

[0019] The operation unit 12 is configured using existing input devices such as a keyboard, a pointing device (mouse, tablet, etc.), buttons, and a touch panel. The operation unit 12 is operated by the user when inputting a character string indicating the user's instruction or remark content to the terminal device 10. The operation unit 12 may be an interface for connecting the input device to the terminal device 10. In this case, the operation unit 12 inputs an input signal generated in the input device in response to the user's input to the terminal device 10. The operation unit 12 may be configured using a microphone and a voice recognition device. In this case, the operation unit 12 performs voice recognition on a word spoken by the user, and inputs character string information of the recognition result to the terminal device 10. In this case, the voice recognition process may be executed by the control unit 15. The operation unit 12 may be configured in any way as long as it is configured to input a user's instruction to the terminal device 10.

[0020] The display unit 13 is an image display device such as a liquid crystal display or an organic EL (Electro Luminescence) display. The display unit 13 displays image data used in the conversation control system 100. The displayed image data includes character strings and images. The display unit 13 may be an interface for connecting an image display device to the terminal device 10. In this case, the display unit 13 generates a video signal for displaying the image data and outputs the video signal to the image display device connected to itself.

[0021] The storage unit 14 is configured using a storage device such as a magnetic hard disk device or a semiconductor storage device. The storage unit 14 stores data used by the control unit 15. The storage unit 14 may function as, for example, a user information storage unit 141. The user information storage unit 141 stores information about the user who operates the terminal device 10 (hereinafter referred to as "user information"). The user information may include, for example, user identification information, the user's handle name, the user's icon data, and the user's attribute information. The user identification information is identification information for uniquely identifying the user in the conversation service provided by the conversation control system 100. The handle name is the name (nickname or real name) that the user uses when having a conversation in the conversation control system 100. The icon data is image data that the user uses when having a conversation in the conversation control system 100. The attribute information may include, for example, information about the user's age, sex, and affiliation.

[0022] The control unit 15 is configured using a processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and a memory. The control unit 15 functions as a conversation control unit 151 by the processor executing a program. All or part of the functions of the control unit 15 may be realized using hardware such as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), a PLD (Programmable Logic Device), or an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array). The above program may be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium. The computer-readable recording medium is, for example, a portable medium such as a flexible disk, a magneto-optical disk, a ROM, a CD-ROM, or a semiconductor storage device (e.g., an SSD: Solid State Drive), or a storage device such as a hard disk or a semiconductor storage device built into a computer system. The above program may be transmitted via an electric communication line.

[0023] The conversation control unit 151 receives display information indicating the contents of the conversation from the conversation control device 20 via the communication unit 11. The conversation control unit 151 generates an image signal based on the acquired display information and displays it on the display unit 13. The conversation control unit 151 transmits information input by the user by operating the operation unit 12 to the conversation control device 20. The information input by the user includes, for example, information indicating the contents of the user's utterance. The contents of the user's utterance may be, for example, a character string input by the user, an image selected by the user, or information indicating the user's operation.

[0024] The conversation control unit 151 performs display control within the display area of ​​the application in which the application of the conversation control system 100 is running. For example, when the application of the conversation control system 100 is a web browser, display control is performed within the window of the web browser. When the web browser is displayed full screen, display control is performed on the entire display screen of the display unit 13.

[0025] The display information includes character strings and images indicating the contents of statements made by each user in a conversation in which the user of the own device participates. The display information may be, for example, image data indicating the image itself to be displayed. In this case, the subject that generates the image data (image data generation unit) is the conversation control unit 231 of the conversation control device 20. The display information may be, for example, data indicating information required to generate the image to be displayed (for example, information indicating character strings or images indicating the contents of statements made in a conversation) or information indicating an icon image of each user). In this case, the conversation control unit 151 generates image data to be displayed on the display unit 13 based on the display information. In this case, the subject that generates the image data (image data generation unit) is the conversation control unit 151. In this case, information indicating character strings or images indicating the contents of statements made by each user may be received directly from another terminal device 10 without going through the conversation control device 20.

[0026] 3 is a schematic block diagram showing a specific example of a functional configuration of the conversation control device 20. The conversation control device 20 is configured using an information processing device such as a personal computer or a server device. The conversation control device 20 includes a communication unit 21, a storage unit 22, and a control unit 23.

[0027] The communication unit 21 is a communication device. The communication unit 21 may be configured as, for example, a network interface. The communication unit 21 performs data communication with other devices via the network 70 in accordance with the control of the control unit 23. The communication unit 21 may be a device that performs wireless communication or a device that performs wired communication.

[0028] The storage unit 22 is configured using a storage device such as a magnetic hard disk device or a semiconductor storage device. The storage unit 22 stores data used by the control unit 23. The storage unit 22 may function as, for example, a statement history information storage unit 221, a reaction history information storage unit 222, and an individual reaction history information storage unit 223.

[0029] The statement history information storage unit 221 stores a statement history information table. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a specific example of the statement history information table. A statement history information table may be provided for each conversation group. That is, a statement history information table having information about statements made in the past in the conversations of the group may be provided for each conversation group. The statement history information table has a plurality of statement history records. The statement history record has information about statements made in the past. The statement history record has, for example, statement identification information, speaker identification information, statement content, and statement date and time. The statement identification information is identification information for uniquely identifying a statement. The speaker identification information is information for identifying a user who made a statement (for example, user identification information). The statement content is the content of the statement. For example, if the statement is made as a character string, the statement content indicates the character string, and if the statement is made as an image such as a stamp, the statement indicates the image. The statement date and time indicates the date and time when the statement was made.

[0030] The reaction history information storage unit 222 stores a reaction history information table. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a specific example of the reaction history information table. The reaction history information table has a plurality of reaction history records. The reaction history record has information on reaction actions performed in the past. The reaction history record has, for example, utterance identification information, reaction identification information, reaction content, attribute information, reacter identification information, reaction date and time, consenter identification information, and the number of consenters. The utterance identification information is identification information for uniquely identifying the target utterance to which the reaction of the reaction history record was performed. The reaction identification information is identification information for uniquely identifying the reaction of the reaction history record. The reaction content indicates the content of the reaction. The reaction content may indicate, for example, a character string used in the reaction action, or may indicate an image (stamp) used in the reaction action. The attribute information indicates attribute information of the image shown in the reaction action when a reaction action using a character string is performed. The attribute information may indicate, for example, the color of the image or the font used in the image. The attribute information may further include other information. For example, the attribute information may indicate the size of the font. The responder identification information is information (e.g., user identification information) for identifying a user who performed a reaction action. The reaction date and time indicates the date and time when the reaction action was performed. The consenter identification information is information (e.g., user identification information) for identifying a user (consenter) who performed an agreement action in response to the reaction action. The number of consenters indicates the number of users (consenters) who performed an agreement action in response to the reaction action.

[0031] The individual reaction history information storage unit 223 stores an individual reaction history information table. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a specific example of the individual reaction history information table. The individual reaction history information table has a plurality of individual reaction records. The individual reaction history information table may be provided for each user. That is, an individual reaction history information table having information on reaction actions performed by the user in the past may be provided for each user. The individual reaction record has information on reaction actions performed by the user in the past. The individual reaction record has, for example, reaction identification information, reaction content, attribute information, and reaction date and time. The reaction identification information is identification information for uniquely identifying the reaction of the individual reaction record. The reaction content indicates the content of the reaction. The attribute information indicates the attribute information of the image shown in the reaction action when a reaction action using a character string is performed. The reaction date and time indicates the date and time when the reaction action was performed. The number of responders indicates the number of users who agreed with the reaction action.

[0032] The control unit 23 is configured using a processor such as a CPU and a memory. The control unit 23 functions as a conversation control unit 231 by the processor executing a program. All or part of the functions of the control unit 23 may be realized using hardware such as an ASIC, a PLD, or an FPGA. The above program may be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium. Examples of the computer-readable recording medium include portable media such as a flexible disk, a magneto-optical disk, a ROM, a CD-ROM, and a semiconductor storage device (e.g., an SSD), and storage devices such as a hard disk and a semiconductor storage device built into a computer system. The above program may be transmitted via an electric communication line.

[0033] The conversation control unit 231 controls a conversation held by one or more users. The conversation control unit 231 generates display information for displaying comments in a conversation for each group participating in the conversation, and transmits the display information to the terminal devices 10 of the members (users) of the group participating in the conversation. The display information will be described below based on a specific example of a screen displayed on the terminal device 10.

[0034] 7 to 13 are diagrams showing specific examples of screens displayed on the terminal device 10. Display information for the screens to be displayed is generated by the control unit 23 of the conversation control device 20. A conversation display area 90 is displayed on the screen. The conversation display area 90 may occupy the entire physical screen of the image display device in the display unit 13 of the terminal device 10, or it may be only a part of it.

[0035] A plurality of comment display areas 91 are displayed in the conversation display area 90. A comment display area 91 may be provided for each comment made by a user participating in the conversation. An icon image 911 and comment content 912 are displayed in the comment display area 91. The icon image 911 is an icon image of the user who made the comment. The comment content 912 indicates the content of the comment made by the user corresponding to the icon image 911. If a user makes a comment using a character string, the character string is displayed in the comment content 912. If a user makes a comment using an image such as a stamp, the image is displayed in the comment content 912.

[0036] When a reaction action is performed in response to a comment content 912, a reaction image 913 is displayed in the comment display area 91 for that comment content 912. When multiple reaction actions are performed, a reaction image 913 may be displayed for each reaction action. The reaction image 913 displays the character string used in the reaction action and the number of actions of agreement with the reaction action (the number of people who agree).

[0037] In the conversation control system 100, not only can a reaction action be performed using a prepared image (icon) as in the past, but also a reaction action can be performed using an image showing any character string input by the user. In Fig. 7, the reaction actions "Hello", "Huh?", and "Raise your hand if you were tired last night" are performed. When a character string is input by the user as a reaction action, the conversation control unit 231 generates a reaction image 913 showing the input character string. Then, the conversation control unit 231 displays the generated reaction image 913 in the statement display area 91 of the statement that is the target of the reaction action.

[0038] In FIG. 7, two reaction images 913 are displayed in response to the utterance "Hello." The first reaction image 913 is a reaction image 913 with the character string "Hello," and the number "3" next to the character string indicates the number of people who agree. In other words, it is shown that three users performed the action of agreeing with the reaction action of "Hello." The second reaction image 913 is a reaction image 913 with the character string "Huh?", and the number "1" next to the character string indicates the number of people who agree. In other words, it is shown that one user performed the action of agreeing with the reaction action of "Huh?".

[0039] A user who wishes to give consent to a reaction action performs a predetermined operation on the reaction image 913 of the reaction action to be consented to by operating the operation unit 12 of his / her terminal device 10. For example, the operation may be a touch operation on a touch panel, or a click operation with a pointing device such as a mouse. For example, as shown in FIG. 7, the consent action may be performed by moving the cursor 92 to the reaction image 913 of the reaction action to be consented to and clicking it. In this case, consent is given to the reaction image 913 of the character string "Huh?". In response to this operation, the conversation control unit 231 searches for the reaction history record of the reaction image 913 for which consent has been given, adds the user identification information of the user who has given consent to the consenter identification information, and increments the number of consenters. The conversation control unit 231 updates the display of the operated reaction image 913 based on the updated reaction history record. Specifically, the conversation control unit 231 updates the number of consenters of the reaction image 913 from "1" to "2" and displays it. FIG. 8 shows a specific example of the screen after such an update.

[0040] Operation buttons 914 are displayed in a predetermined area within comment display area 91. Operation buttons 914 are not displayed until a predetermined operation (such as touching or moving cursor 92) is performed on the display area, and may be displayed in response to the predetermined operation being performed. In the example of Fig. 9, cursor 92 is located in the area where operation button 914 is displayed, so operation button 914 is displayed.

[0041] By operating the operation button 914, one process can be instructed from one or a plurality of types of processes. Specific examples of such processes include a process for canceling a reaction action, a process for canceling an agreement action, and a process for performing a reaction action. When an instruction to cancel a reaction action is given, the instructed reaction action can be canceled. The reaction image 913 of the canceled reaction action may be controlled so as not to be displayed. A configuration may be made such that cancellation is not accepted for a reaction action for which an agreement action has already been performed by another user. When an instruction to cancel an agreement action is given, the agreement action for the instructed reaction image 913 can be canceled. In the reaction image 913 of the canceled agreement action, the number of agreements may be decremented. The conversation control unit 231 updates the reaction history table and the individual reaction history table in response to these instructions.

[0042] When a reaction action is instructed using operation button 914, a reaction operation area 93 is displayed. It is desirable that the reaction operation area 93 be displayed near the comment display area 91 of the comment to be reacted to. However, the reaction operation area 93 may be displayed protruding from the comment display area 91 of the comment to be reacted to. A plurality of operation areas may be displayed in the reaction operation area 93. In the example of FIG. 10, a default reaction operation area 931, a history reaction operation area 932, and a new reaction operation area 933 are displayed.

[0043] In the default reaction operation area 931, images (stamps) prepared in advance in the conversation control system 100 are displayed as options. In the example of Fig. 10, four types of images are displayed as images prepared in advance in the conversation control system 100. When the user operates one of the images, a reaction action using the operated image is executed.

[0044] The history reaction operation area 932 displays the contents of reaction actions previously performed by the operating user as options. A predetermined number of the options may be selected from the most recent ones. The options displayed in the history reaction operation area 932 may be determined, for example, based on information recorded in the individual reaction history information storage unit 223. In the example of FIG. 10, the contents of three types of reactions are displayed as reaction actions previously performed by the user. When the user operates one of them, a reaction action using the operated reaction content is executed.

[0045] In the new reaction operation area 933, an input field is displayed for the user to input a character string for generating a new reaction image. As shown in FIG. 11, a character string can be input in the new reaction operation area 933. In the example of FIG. 11, the character string "I'm so sunburned that it stings" is input. The input character string is displayed in the new reaction operation area 933. When the confirm button 934 is operated with a character string input in the new reaction operation area 933, the conversation control unit 231 generates a reaction image using the character string input in the new reaction operation area 933 at that time. Then, the conversation control unit 231 generates a reaction history record for the generated reaction image, and registers the reaction history record in the reaction history table of the reaction history information storage unit 222. The conversation control unit 231 newly displays the generated reaction image 913 in the comment display area 91 of the comment to be reacted to. In FIG. 12, a new reaction image 913 using the character string "I'm so sunburned that it stings" is displayed. At this point, the consent action has not been performed, so the number of consenters is zero. When the number of consenters is zero, the number indicating the number of consenters may be controlled so as not to be displayed, as shown in FIG.

[0046] When generating the reaction image 913 based on the input character string, the conversation control unit 231 may perform the following process. The conversation control unit 231 may select a specific color from one or more color options to represent the character string in the reaction image 913. When the conversation control unit 231 selects a color, the conversation control unit 231 may select the color according to the number of characters in the input character string. In this case, the correspondence between the number of characters and the color is predetermined. When the conversation control unit 231 selects a color, the conversation control unit 231 may select the color according to the number of bytes in the input character string. In this case, the correspondence between the number of bytes and the color is predetermined. When the conversation control unit 231 selects a color, the conversation control unit 231 may select the color according to the character code of the input character string. In this case, the correspondence between the character code and the color is predetermined. When the conversation control unit 231 selects a color, the conversation control unit 231 may select the color according to a numerical value indicating the order of the reaction action performed in response to the utterance. In this case, the correspondence between the numerical value indicating the order and the color is predetermined. The conversation control unit 231 may use a criterion different from the above-mentioned criterion for selecting a color. For example, the conversation control unit 231 may select a color randomly.

[0047] The conversation control unit 231 may select a specific font from one or more font options to display the character string in the reaction image 913. When the conversation control unit 231 selects a font, it may select the font according to the number of characters of the input character string. In this case, the correspondence between the number of characters and the font is predetermined. When the conversation control unit 231 selects a font, it may select the font according to the number of bytes of the input character string. In this case, the correspondence between the number of bytes and the font is predetermined. When the conversation control unit 231 selects a font, it may select the font according to the character code of the input character string. In this case, the correspondence between the character code and the font is predetermined. When the conversation control unit 231 selects a font, it may select the font according to a numerical value indicating the order of the reaction action performed in response to the utterance. In this case, the correspondence between the numerical value indicating the order and the font is predetermined. The conversation control unit 231 may use a different criterion from the above-mentioned one for selecting a font. For example, the conversation control unit 231 may select a font randomly.

[0048] The conversation control unit 231 may insert a line break into the input character string to generate a multi-line character string reaction image 913. The position at which to insert the line break may be determined, for example, as a position of a predetermined number of bytes of the character string, or as a position of a predetermined number of characters.

[0049] The conversation control unit 231 may select the font size of the characters in the reaction image 913 from among a plurality of candidates. For example, the conversation control unit 231 may select the font size according to the number of lines. More specifically, when the font size used for one line is set to 1, a smaller font size (e.g., 0.7) may be selected for two lines.

[0050] When the length of the input character string or the number of lines of the character string exceeds the maximum value, the conversation control unit 231 may instruct the user to reduce the number of characters without generating a reaction image 913. For example, 10 characters may be set as the maximum value. For example, the maximum number of lines may be set as 2 lines.

[0051] A maximum number of reaction actions that can be performed for one comment may be set. Reaction images 913 may be displayed across multiple lines. When reaction images 913 are displayed across multiple lines, the vertical width of comment display area 91 may be expanded. In the example of FIG. 13, three lines of reaction images 913 are displayed. Comment display area 91 in FIG. 13 is expanded vertically more than comment display area 91 shown in FIGS. 7 to 12.

[0052] FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an outline of a hardware configuration example of an information processing device 80 applied to this embodiment. The information processing device 80 includes a processor 81, a main storage device 82, a communication interface 83, an auxiliary storage device 84, an input / output interface 85, and an internal bus 86. The processor 81, the main storage device 82, the communication interface 83, the auxiliary storage device 84, and the input / output interface 85 are communicably connected to each other via the internal bus 86. The information processing device 80 may be applied to, for example, a terminal device 10 and a conversation control device 20. In this case, for example, the communication unit 11 and the communication unit 21 may be configured using the communication interface 83. For example, the memory unit 14 and the memory unit 22 may be configured using the auxiliary storage device 84. In addition, the control unit 15 and the control unit 23 may be configured using the processor 81 and the main storage device 82.

[0053] The conversation control system 100 configured in this way allows for the presentation of reaction images with a higher degree of freedom. Specifically, this is as follows. The conversation control system 100 generates and displays reaction images 913 using not only images (stamps) prepared in advance in the conversation control system 100, but also any character string input by the user. This allows the user to freely input a character string to generate and display an original reaction image.

[0054] Furthermore, in the conversation control system 100, the color and font of a reaction image using a character string are selected from a plurality of options according to a predetermined criterion, which makes it possible to improve the visibility of each reaction image.

[0055] (Modification) The above-mentioned processes of the conversation control unit 151 of the terminal device 10 and the conversation control unit 231 of the conversation control device 20 may be implemented so as to be executed by either of the conversation control units.

[0056] The conversation control device 20 may be implemented using a plurality of information processing devices. For example, the conversation control device 20 may be implemented using a device such as a cloud. For example, in the conversation control device 20, the storage unit 22 and the control unit 23 may be implemented in different information processing devices. For example, the storage unit 22 of the conversation control device 20 may be distributed and implemented in a plurality of information processing devices.

[0057] Although an embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail above with reference to the drawings, the specific configuration is not limited to this embodiment, and designs that do not deviate from the gist of the present invention are also included. [Explanation of symbols]

[0058] 100...conversation control system, 10...terminal device, 11...communication unit, 12...operation unit, 13...display unit, 14...storage unit, 141...user information storage unit, 15...control unit, 151...conversation control unit, 20...conversation control device, 21...communication unit, 22...storage unit, 221...statement history information storage unit, 222...reaction history information storage unit, 223...individual reaction history information storage unit, 23...control unit, 231...conversation control unit, 90...conversation display area, 91...statement display area, 911...icon image, 912...statement content, 913...reaction image, 914...operation button, 92...cursor, 93...reaction operation area, 931...default reaction operation area, 932...history reaction operation area, 933...new reaction operation area, 934...decision button

Claims

1. a control unit that generates an image showing an input character string and generates display information to be displayed as a reaction image showing a reaction to a utterance made in a conversation; the control unit generates display information for displaying the character string in a comment display area provided for each comment when a comment using the character string is made; The control unit, when a reaction action is performed using an image showing an input character string, generates a reaction image showing the input character string, and generates display information for displaying the generated reaction image in a statement display area for the statement that is the target of the reaction.

2. The conversation control system according to claim 1 , wherein the control unit generates the reaction image by selecting a color of the reaction image from a plurality of options based on a predetermined criterion.

3. The conversation control system according to claim 1 , wherein the control unit generates the reaction image by selecting a font to be used for the reaction image from a plurality of options based on a predetermined criterion.

4. The conversation control system according to claim 1 , wherein the control unit generates the reaction image by selecting a position of a line break in the character string shown in the reaction image based on an input character string.

5. The conversation control system according to claim 1 , wherein the control unit generates the reaction image by selecting a size of the character string shown in the reaction image based on an input character string.

6. An image generating step in which a computer generates an image showing an input character string; a first display information generating step of generating display information to be displayed as a reaction image showing a reaction to a utterance made in a conversation by a computer; a second display information generating step of generating display information for displaying the character string in a comment display area provided for each comment when a comment using the character string is made, A conversation control method in which, when a reaction action is performed using an image showing an input character string, a reaction image showing the input character string is generated in the image generation step, and display information is generated in the first display information step for displaying the generated reaction image in the statement display area of ​​the statement that was the target of the reaction.

7. a control unit that generates an image showing an input character string and generates display information to be displayed as a reaction image showing a reaction to a utterance made in a conversation; the control unit generates display information for displaying the character string in a comment display area provided for each comment when a comment using the character string is made; The control unit is a computer program for causing a computer to function as an information processing device that generates a reaction image showing the input character string when a reaction action is performed using an image showing the input character string, and generates display information that displays the generated reaction image in the comment display area of ​​the comment that was the target of the reaction.

Images