Game program, recording medium, and game processing method

Abstract

To share player-created game characters with other players.SOLUTION: A game program causes a terminal device 3 communicably connected to a server device 5 to function as an appearance creation processing unit 19, a code acquisition processing unit 21, a multi-play execution processing unit 73 for executing a multi-play by a game character acting on the basis of input of a player and another game character acting on the basis of input of another player, a request reception determination processing unit 75 for determining whether or not a request for an appearance setting code has been received from another player, and a second code transmission processing unit 77 for transmitting the appearance setting code to the terminal device 3 of another player when the request for the appearance setting code is received.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 15

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a game program, a recording medium, and a game processing method. [Background technology]

[0002] 2. Description of the Related Art There are known games that allow a player to customize a character by selecting each part object of the character.

[0003] For example, Patent Document 1 describes a game in which a character is constructed from one base object and at least one part object selected by the player from among multiple base objects that form the basis of the character's hairstyle and multiple part objects that can be attached to the base object. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2010-134798 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] The above-mentioned conventional technology has a problem in that a character created by a player cannot be shared with other players.

[0006] The present invention has been made in consideration of these problems, and has an object to provide a game program, a recording medium, and a game processing method that allow a game character created by a player to be shared with other players. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the game program of the present invention causes an information processing device communicatively connected to a server device to function as an appearance creation processing unit that creates an appearance of a game character based on player input, a code acquisition processing unit that transmits appearance setting information of the created game character to the server device and acquires an appearance setting code issued by encoding information based on the appearance setting information, a multiplay execution processing unit that executes multiplay between the game character that acts based on player input and other game characters that act based on inputs of other players, a request acceptance determination processing unit that determines whether a request for the appearance setting code has been accepted from the other player, and a code transmission processing unit that transmits the appearance setting code to the information processing device of the other player when the request for the appearance setting code has been accepted.

[0008] In order to achieve the above object, a recording medium of the present invention is a recording medium on which the above game program is recorded and which can be read by an information processing device.

[0009] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the game processing method of the present invention is a game processing method executed by an information processing device communicatively connected to a server device, and includes the steps of: creating an appearance of a game character based on a player's input; transmitting appearance setting information of the created game character to the server device and obtaining an appearance setting code issued by encoding information based on the appearance setting information; executing multiplay between the game character that acts based on the player's input and another game character that acts based on the input of another player; determining whether a request for the appearance setting code has been received from the other player; and if the request for the appearance setting code has been received, transmitting the appearance setting code to the information processing device of the other player. Effect of the Invention

[0010] According to the game program of the present invention, a game character created by a player can be shared with other players. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of the overall configuration of a game system. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a peripheral configuration of a terminal device. [Diagram 3] 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of a server device and a terminal device according to the first embodiment. FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of an appearance creation screen. [Diagram 5] FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of registered contents of an appearance setting code database. [Figure 6] 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of an image of a game character to which an appearance setting code has been added. FIG. [Figure 7] 13 is a diagram illustrating another example of an image of a game character to which an appearance setting code has been added. FIG. [Figure 8] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of a message screen. [Figure 9] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of a published profile posting screen. [Figure 10] 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a processing procedure executed by a CPU of the terminal device according to the first embodiment. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of a server device and a terminal device according to a modified example of the first embodiment. [Figure 12] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of a display setting screen for setting whether or not to display an appearance setting code in a video during game play. [Figure 13] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of a game play screen on which an appearance setting code is displayed. [Figure 14] FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram showing how appearance setting information is obtained from a game play video in which an appearance setting code is displayed to reproduce a game character. [Figure 15] FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of a server device and a terminal device according to a second embodiment. [Figure 16]FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of a game play screen in multiplayer mode. [Figure 17] 13 is a diagram showing an example of a game play screen when a request for an appearance setting code is received from another player. FIG. [Figure 18] 13 is a diagram showing an example of a game play screen when a request for an appearance setting code is received from another player. FIG. [Figure 19] 13 is a diagram showing an example of a game play screen when an appearance setting code is transmitted in response to a request from another player. FIG. [Figure 20] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of a game play screen when selecting whether or not to transmit a request for an appearance setting code to another player. [Figure 21] 13 is a diagram showing an example of a game play screen when a request for an appearance setting code is transmitted to another player. FIG. [Figure 22] 13 is a diagram showing an example of a game play screen when an appearance setting code is received from another player who has requested the appearance setting code. FIG. [Figure 23] 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a processing procedure executed by a CPU of a terminal device according to the second embodiment. [Figure 24] FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of a server device and a terminal device according to a modified example of the second embodiment. [Diagram 25] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of a companion recruitment screen. [Figure 26] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of an appearance setting code request screen. [Figure 27] FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of a server device and a terminal device according to a third embodiment. [Figure 28] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of a public screen for an appearance setting code. [Figure 29] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of a reward granting screen. [Diagram 30] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of a selection screen for a player to select a type of ranking. [Diagram 31] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of a search screen. [Diagram 32]13 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a first processing procedure executed by a CPU of a server device according to a third embodiment. [Diagram 33] 13 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a second processing procedure executed by a CPU of the server device according to the third embodiment. [Diagram 34] FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of a terminal device or a server device. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0012] Hereinafter, first to third embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0013] <0. Overall structure of the game system> First, an example of the overall configuration of a game system 1 common to each embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 1 and 2. As shown in Figure 1, the game system 1 has a plurality of terminal devices 3 and a server device 5. The plurality of terminal devices 3 and the server device 5 are communicatively connected via a network NW such as a LAN or the Internet. Note that, although the server device 5 in Figure 1 is configured by one computer, it may be configured by a plurality of computers.

[0014] As shown in FIG. 2, each terminal device 3 is connected to a game controller 7 and a display device 9 so as to be able to communicate with each other via wire or wirelessly.

[0015] The terminal device 3 (an example of an information processing device) is, for example, a stationary game machine. However, it is not limited to this, and may be, for example, a portable game machine that is integrally equipped with an input unit, a display unit, etc. In addition to game machines, it may be, for example, a server computer, a desktop computer, a notebook computer, a tablet computer, etc., which are manufactured and sold as computers, or a mobile phone, a smartphone, a phablet, etc., which are manufactured and sold as telephones.

[0016] A player performs various operation inputs using a game controller 7. In the example shown in Fig. 2, the game controller 7 has, for example, a cross key 11 and a plurality of buttons 13. Note that the game controller 7 may have, for example, a joystick, a touch pad, etc. instead of or in addition to the above.

[0017] The display device 9 is, for example, a display device such as a cathode ray tube, liquid crystal, plasma, organic EL, projector, etc. The display device 9 may include a speaker (not shown) for outputting sound, either integrally or separately.

[0018] The server device 5 (an example of an information processing device) accepts access via the network NW from the terminal device 3 of each player receiving the game service, accumulates and manages the game information of each player in a storage device, and provides each player with a game service (online game) via the network NW.

[0019] The server device 5 may provide a game service in the form of a game program (also called application software) implemented in the server device 5, a game executed by the server device 5 in response to an operation input by a player on each terminal device 3, and a result of the execution transmitted to the terminal device 3 of each player. For example, the server device 5 may provide a so-called browser game in which the game can be played by a web browser installed on the terminal device 3 of each player. The server device 5 may also provide a so-called cloud game in which game images resulting from the execution of the game on the server device 5 are transmitted to the terminal device 3 in, for example, a streaming format. Alternatively, the server device 5 may provide a so-called social game executed by application software created based on an operating environment such as an API (application programming interface) in a social networking service (SNS).

[0020] In addition, a part or all of the game program may be installed in the terminal device 3, and the game processing may be executed partially not only in the server device 5 but also in the terminal device 3, or the game processing may be executed mainly in the terminal device 3.

[0021] The genre of the game executed on the server device 5 or the terminal device 3 is not particularly limited. For example, games of a wide variety of genres, such as simulation games, role-playing games, adventure games, action games, and fighting games, can be executed.

[0022] <1. First embodiment> (1-1. Functional configuration of the server device) Next, an example of a functional configuration of the server device 5 and the terminal device 3 according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 3 to FIG.

[0023] 3, the server device 5 has a code issuing processor 15 and an appearance setting code database 17. The terminal device 3 has an appearance creation processor 19, a code acquisition processor 21, a code addition processor 23, a first code transmission processor 25, a message transmission / reception processor 27, a profile disclosure processor 29, a code decoding processor 31, and a character reproduction processor 33.

[0024] The appearance creation processing unit 19 creates the appearance of the game character based on the input of the player, and generates appearance setting information including the settings made by the player. The appearance setting information includes a wide variety of settings, such as the shape of the outline, the shape and color of each part of the face, such as eyebrows, eyes, nose, mouth, etc., and the length, shape and color of hair. In addition to the appearance, information related to the game character's voice (voice pitch, voice actor, etc.) and skills and status related to the appearance (for example, sword stance, etc.) may be set and included in the appearance setting information.

[0025] Fig. 4 shows an example of an appearance creation screen by the appearance creation processing unit 19. Fig. 4 shows a setting screen for the shape of the contour, on which a plurality of setting items 35 and an image 37 of a created game character are displayed. The player operates the game controller 7, for example, to select a setting item 35 with a cursor 39, and sets the desired appearance. In the example shown in Fig. 4, for the contour, for example, the initial set shape (preset), the front-rear position of the forehead, the up-down position, left-right position, and front-rear position of the cheekbones, the left-right position of the cheek muscles, the up-down position and left-right position of the jaw, the up-down position and front-rear position of the chin, etc. can be set.

[0026] Returning to FIG. 3, the code acquisition processing unit 21 transmits the appearance setting information of the game character created by the appearance creation processing unit 19 to the server device 5, and acquires from the server device 5 an appearance setting code that has been issued by the code issuing processing unit 15 of the server device 5 by encoding information based on the appearance setting information. The "information based on the appearance setting information" may be the appearance setting information itself, or may be, for example, information indicating a location where the appearance setting information transmitted (uploaded) to the server device 5 is stored (such as a slot number prepared for each player). The code issuing processing unit 15 converts the information based on the appearance setting information using an encoding method that complies with a predetermined encoding standard, and generates an appearance setting code. The "appearance setting code" may be, for example, a character code consisting of a plurality of characters, a one-dimensional code such as a barcode, or a two-dimensional code such as a QR code (registered trademark) or a color code.

[0027] When generating one-dimensional codes such as the above-mentioned barcodes, or two-dimensional codes such as QR codes (registered trademark) or color codes, the terminal device 3 needs to have a function for reading and decoding these codes. For this reason, it is suitable for the terminal device 3 to be a smartphone, for example.

[0028] The appearance setting code issued by the code issuing processing unit 15 is registered in the appearance setting code database 17 of the server device 5. FIG. 5 shows an example of the registered contents of the appearance setting code database 17. As shown in FIG. 5, in the appearance setting code database 17, a plurality of slots are set for each player, and the appearance setting information uploaded from the terminal device 3 and the issued appearance setting code are registered in association with each slot. In the example shown in FIG. 5, for example, 10 slots are set for each player, and the appearance setting code, which is a character code, is registered together with the appearance setting information. In this example, the player can register up to 10 game characters that he / she created in the appearance setting code database 17. The number of slots for each player may be other than 10.

[0029] Returning to FIG. 3, the code addition processing unit 23 adds the appearance setting code acquired by the code acquisition processing unit 21 to the image of the created game character. That is, the code addition processing unit 23 generates an image of the game character to which the image of the appearance setting code is added. The "image of the game character" may be a still image or a moving image. For example, a screenshot function (also called capture) for saving a still image of the game character may be provided, and the appearance setting code may be added to the still image of the game character when a screenshot is executed. In this case, the player may be able to change the angle of the created game character, enlarge or reduce it, or freely change the pose, and then generate an image to which the appearance setting code is added. Also, for example, a function for saving a moving image of the game character may be provided, and the appearance setting code may be added to the moving image of the game character when recording is executed.

[0030] 6 and 7 show examples of game character images to which appearance setting codes have been added by the code addition processing unit 23. In the example shown in Fig. 6, character code 40 has been added, for example, to the upper right of the still image of the face of the created game character. In the example shown in Fig. 7, a QR code (registered trademark) 67 is displayed, for example, at the lower left of the still image of the face of the created game character.

[0031] Returning to Figure 3, the first code transmission processing unit 25 (an example of a code transmission processing unit) transmits the appearance setting code or an image of the game character with the appearance setting code added to the server device 5 or to the terminal device 3 of the other player via the server device 5 so that the other players can view it.

[0032] The message transmission / reception processing unit 27 transmits and receives messages between the player and other players. The form of the message is not particularly limited, and may be, for example, a chat function or the like, as long as it allows communication between multiple players. When the message transmission / reception processing unit 27 transmits and receives messages between players, the first code transmission processing unit 25 attaches an appearance setting code or an image of a game character to which an appearance setting code has been added to a message and transmits the message to the terminal device 3 of the other player.

[0033] Fig. 8 shows an example of a message screen by the message transmission / reception processing unit 27. In the example shown in Fig. 8, while player A and player B are communicating by transmitting and receiving messages, an image with an appearance setting code added thereto is attached to the message sent by player A to player B. Note that only the appearance setting code may be attached to the message.

[0034] Returning to FIG. 3, the profile disclosure processing unit 29 discloses the profile to other players. For example, when a player is able to belong to a predetermined community or make friends within the game, the profile may be disclosed to other players who belong to the community or to friends. The profile is disclosed, for example, by being transmitted (uploaded) from the terminal device 3 to a profile database (not shown) of the server device 5. When the profile is disclosed by the profile disclosure processing unit 29, the first code transmission processing unit 25 transmits the appearance setting code or an image of a game character to which the appearance setting code has been added to the server device 5 so as to be posted on the profile.

[0035] FIG. 9 shows an example of a published profile posting screen. In the example shown in FIG. 9, an avatar image 41 representing player A and a plurality of profile items 43 including, for example, self-introduction, community, recent activity, and original character are displayed. A player viewing the profile can view the contents of the profile items 43 by, for example, selecting one of the profile items 43 with a cursor 45. In FIG. 9, a created character is selected, and a list of game characters (e.g., a simple display of male or female) created by player A is displayed. In this example, a total of seven game characters, for example, three males and four females, are posted. A player viewing the profile can view an image 49 to which the appearance setting code of the game character is added and a comment 51 by the creator by, for example, selecting one of the game characters with a cursor 47.

[0036] Note that only the appearance setting code may be posted in the profile. In that case, the list of original characters shown in Fig. 9 may be used as the list of appearance setting codes. Also, the appearance setting code or an image of a game character with an appearance setting code added may be posted in the activity area and made viewable by other players such as friends.

[0037] 3, the code decoding processing unit 31 acquires appearance setting information by decrypting the appearance setting code acquired from the server device 5 or the terminal device 3 of another player via the server device 5. The appearance setting code of another game character created by another player can be acquired, for example, by receiving a message from another player to which an appearance setting code or an image of a game character to which an appearance setting code has been added is attached, or by viewing an appearance setting code or an image of a game character to which an appearance setting code has been added that is posted on the profile of another player.

[0038] The character reproduction processing unit 33 reproduces the appearance of the game character based on the appearance setting information acquired by the code decoding processing unit 31. The decoding of the appearance setting code by the code decoding processing unit 31 and the reproduction of the game character by the character reproduction processing unit 33 are performed by the player manually inputting the acquired appearance setting code into a predetermined code input field (not shown). The appearance setting code may be automatically input into the code input field by a predetermined operation by the player (for example, operating an "acquire" button, etc.).

[0039] It should be noted that the player can further modify the appearance setting information of the reproduced game character, thereby further modifying the appearance of the reproduced game character.

[0040] The above-described processes in each processing unit are not limited to these examples of process sharing, and may be processed by a smaller number of processing units (e.g., one processing unit), or may be processed by a further subdivided processing unit. The functions of each processing unit described above are implemented by a game program executed by a CPU 501 (see FIG. 34 described below), but some of them may be implemented by actual devices such as dedicated integrated circuits such as ASICs and FPGAs, or other electric circuits. The above-described processing units are not limited to being implemented in their entirety on the terminal device 3 side, and some or all of them may be implemented on the server device 5 side.

[0041] (1-2. Processing procedure executed by the terminal device) Next, an example of a processing procedure executed by the CPU 501 of the terminal device 3 will be described with reference to FIG.

[0042] In step S1, the terminal device 3 determines whether or not to start creating a game character. If creation is to start, for example, due to an instruction to start creation from the player (step S1: YES), the process proceeds to the next step S5. On the other hand, if creation is not to start (step S1: NO), the process proceeds to step S45 described below.

[0043] In step S5, the terminal device 3 causes the appearance creation processing unit 19 to create the appearance of the game character in accordance with the input contents of the player.

[0044] In step S10, the terminal device 3 determines whether or not an instruction to issue an appearance setting code has been issued by the player. If an instruction to issue an appearance setting code has been issued (step S10: YES), the process proceeds to the next step S15. On the other hand, if an instruction to issue an appearance setting code has not been issued (step S10: NO), the process proceeds to step S55, which will be described later.

[0045] In step S15, the terminal device 3 transmits the appearance setting information of the game character created in step S5 above to the server device 5 via the code acquisition processing unit 21, and receives from the server device 5 an appearance setting code that has been issued by the code issuance processing unit 15 of the server device 5 by encoding information based on the appearance setting information.

[0046] In step S20, the terminal device 3 causes the code addition processing unit 23 to add the appearance setting code received in step S15 to the image of the created game character.

[0047] In step S25, the terminal device 3 determines whether or not the player has instructed the terminal device 3 to send a message to which an appearance setting code or an image to which an appearance setting code has been added is attached, by using the message transmission / reception processing unit 27. If an instruction to send a message has been received (step S25: YES), the terminal device 3 proceeds to the next step S30. On the other hand, if an instruction to send a message has not been received (step S25: NO), the terminal device 3 proceeds to step S35, which will be described later.

[0048] In step S30, the terminal device 3 transmits the appearance setting code or an image of the game character to which the appearance setting code has been added to a message via the message transmission / reception processing unit 27 and the first code transmission processing unit 25 to the terminal devices 3 of the other players.

[0049] In step S35, the terminal device 3 determines whether or not the player has instructed the profile publishing processor 29 to publish the appearance setting code or the image to which the appearance setting code has been added on the profile. If there has been an instruction to publish (step S35: YES), the process proceeds to the next step S40. On the other hand, if there has been no instruction to publish (step S35: NO), the process proceeds to step S55, which will be described later.

[0050] In step S40, the terminal device 3 causes the profile publication processing unit 29 and the first code transmission processing unit 25 to transmit the appearance setting code or an image of the game character to which the appearance setting code has been added to the server device 5 so that the image is posted on the profile. Then, the process proceeds to step S55, which will be described later.

[0051] In the above-mentioned step S1, if creation is not started (step S1: NO), the process proceeds to step S45. In step S45, the terminal device 3 judges whether or not it has acquired an appearance setting code of another game character created by another player. For example, it is possible to acquire the appearance setting code of another game character by receiving a message from another player to which an appearance setting code or an image of a game character to which an appearance setting code has been added is attached, or by viewing an appearance setting code or an image of a game character to which an appearance setting code has been added that is posted on the profile of another player. If the appearance setting code of another game character has been acquired (step S45: YES), the process proceeds to the next step S50. On the other hand, if the appearance setting code of another game character has not been acquired (step S45: NO), the process ends this flowchart.

[0052] In step S50, the terminal device 3 acquires appearance setting information from the server device 5 using the acquired appearance setting code by the code decoding processing unit 31, and reproduces the appearance of the game character based on the acquired appearance setting information by the character reproduction processing unit 33. Then, this flowchart ends.

[0053] In step S55, the terminal device 3 determines whether or not to end the creation of the game character. If not (step S55: NO), the terminal device 3 returns to the previous step S5 and repeats the same procedure. If it is to end (step S55: YES), this flowchart ends.

[0054] The above-mentioned processing procedure is an example, and at least some of the above procedures may be deleted or changed, or procedures other than those described above may be added. Furthermore, the order of at least some of the above procedures may be changed, or multiple procedures may be combined into a single procedure.

[0055] (1-3. Effects of the First Embodiment) As described above, the game program of this embodiment causes the terminal device 3 communicatively connected to the server device 5 to function as an appearance creation processing unit 19 that creates an appearance of a game character based on input from the player, a code acquisition processing unit 21 that transmits appearance setting information of the created game character to the server device 5 and acquires an issued appearance setting code by encoding information based on the appearance setting information, a code addition processing unit 23 that adds the acquired appearance setting code to an image of the created game character, and a first code transmission processing unit 25 that transmits the appearance setting code or an image of the game character with the appearance setting code added to the server device 5 or another player's terminal device 3 via the server device 5 so that other players can view it.

[0056] In this embodiment, when a player creates an appearance for a game character, the player can obtain an appearance setting code issued by encoding information based on the appearance setting information by transmitting the appearance setting information of the created game character to the server device 5. The obtained appearance setting code is added to an image of the game character. The image may be, for example, a still image such as a screenshot, or a video captured during game play. Then, the appearance setting code or the image with the appearance setting code added is transmitted to the server device 5 or to the terminal device 3 of another player via the server device 5 so that it can be viewed by other players.

[0057] This allows a player who has viewed the image to reproduce the appearance of a game character created by another player by decoding the appearance setting code displayed in the image. Therefore, game characters created by players can be shared with other players. In addition, since sharing can be done using an in-game function, it is possible to eliminate the trouble of sharing appearance setting codes using external SNS or the like, improving convenience for players.

[0058] In addition, in this embodiment, the game program may cause the terminal device 3 to function as a code decoding processing unit 31 that decodes the appearance setting code to obtain appearance setting information, and a character reproduction processing unit 33 that reproduces the appearance of the game character based on the obtained appearance setting information.

[0059] In this case, a player who views an image with an appearance setting code of a game character created by another player can decode the appearance setting code in the game to obtain the appearance setting information and reproduce the appearance of the game character. This can improve convenience for players by eliminating the need to use a separate device to decode the appearance setting code or to use a website with a decoding function.

[0060] In addition, in this embodiment, the game program may cause the terminal device 3 to function as a message transmission / reception processing unit 27 that transmits and receives messages with other players, and in that case, the first code transmission processing unit 25 may attach an appearance setting code or an image of a game character with an appearance setting code added to a message and transmit it to the other players.

[0061] In this case, the player who receives the message can reproduce the appearance of the game character created by the player who sent the message. This makes it possible to share game characters with specific players, and also makes it possible to include an explanation of the image, how it was created, etc. in the message, improving convenience for players.

[0062] In addition, in this embodiment, the game program may cause the terminal device 3 to function as a profile publication processing unit 29 that publishes the profile to other players, and in that case, the first code transmission processing unit 25 may transmit an appearance setting code or an image of a game character with an appearance setting code added to the server device 5 to be posted on the profile.

[0063] In this case, a player who references the profile can recreate the appearance of a game character created by the player who made the profile public. This allows game characters to be shared among multiple players, and also makes it possible to include an explanation of the image, the method of creation, and the like in the profile, improving convenience for players.

[0064] Also in this embodiment, the code acquisition processing unit 21 acquires a two-dimensional code as an appearance setting code, the code addition processing unit 23 adds the acquired two-dimensional code to an image of the created game character, and the first code transmission processing unit 25 transmits the two-dimensional code or the image of the game character with the two-dimensional code added to the server device 5 or the terminal device 3 of another player.

[0065] In this case, by using a two-dimensional code as the appearance setting code, the amount of information that the appearance setting code can contain can be increased, making it possible to code the appearance setting information itself, for example. Also, since it can be decoded easily and quickly using a camera or the like, it is more convenient for the player than, for example, a character code that requires the player to enter multiple characters to decode. Also, since the display area of ​​the appearance setting code in the image can be made smaller than, for example, a character code, it is possible to enlarge the area of ​​the image portion of the game character and make a stronger impression.

[0066] (1-4. Modifications) It should be noted that the first embodiment of the present invention is not limited to the above, and various modifications are possible without departing from the spirit and technical concept thereof.

[0067] For example, the player may be allowed to select whether or not to display the appearance setting code on the video during game play.. An example of the functional configuration of the server device 5 and the terminal device 3 in this modified example is shown in FIG.

[0068] As shown in Fig. 11, the terminal device 3 according to this modification has a display instruction reception processing unit 53 in addition to the functional configuration shown in Fig. 3 described above. The display instruction reception processing unit 53 receives an instruction from the player as to whether or not to display the appearance setting code on the video during game play. In this modification, when an instruction to display the appearance setting code is received from the display instruction reception processing unit 53, the code addition processing unit 23 displays the appearance setting code on the video during game play. Note that the configuration other than the above is the same as that shown in Fig. 3 described above, and therefore description thereof will be omitted.

[0069] Fig. 12 shows an example of a display setting screen by the display instruction reception processing unit 53. As shown in Fig. 12, the display setting screen displays a confirmation message 55 for confirming with the player whether or not to display the appearance setting code in the video during game play, a "Display" button 57, and a "Do not display" button 59. The player can select and confirm either the "Display" button 57 or the "Do not display" button 59 by operating the game controller 7.

[0070] Fig. 13 shows an example of a game play screen when the "display" button 57 is selected. In the example shown in Fig. 13, a QR code (registered trademark) 67, which is an appearance setting code of the game character 63, is displayed in a corner of the screen in a battle screen in which a game character 63 operated by a player fights an enemy character 65 automatically controlled by, for example, a game program in a game field 61. By distributing, for example, a live video of a game play with the QR code (registered trademark) 67 displayed in this way, other players who have viewed the video can obtain appearance setting information of the game character 63 in the video using a camera 71 of a smartphone 69 or the like as shown in Fig. 14, and reproduce the appearance.

[0071] In this modified example, the player can select whether or not to display the appearance setting code in the video of the game being played. For example, by distributing a live video of the gameplay with the appearance setting code displayed, other players who view the video can reproduce the appearance of the game character in the video. In this way, it becomes possible to share the game character with an unspecified number of players via the live video.

[0072] <2. Second embodiment> (2-1. Functional configuration of the server device) Next, an example of a functional configuration of the server device 5 and the terminal device 3 according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Figs.

[0073] 15, the terminal device 3 has, in addition to the above-mentioned appearance creation processing unit 19, code acquisition processing unit 21, code decoding processing unit 31, and character reproduction processing unit 33, a multiplay execution processing unit 73, a request acceptance judgment processing unit 75, a second code transmission processing unit 77, a transmission permission acceptance processing unit 79, and a request transmission processing unit 81. Note that the server device 5 has a code issue processing unit 15 and an appearance setting code database 17, similar to the first embodiment described above.

[0074] The multiplay execution processing unit 73 executes a multiplay between a game character that acts based on the input of the player and another game character that acts based on the input of another player. The number of players in a multiplay is not particularly limited as long as it is more than one, and may be two, three or more. In a multiplay, for example, a plurality of game characters cooperate to fight an enemy character, or act together to clear a predetermined mission, for example. Also, a player may normally play with only his / her own game character, and may recruit companions as necessary to fight a strong enemy or clear a mission, etc., and temporarily perform a multiplay.

[0075] An example of a game play screen in multiplayer is shown in Fig. 16. In the example shown in Fig. 16, a game character 63A operated by a player A and a game character 63B operated by a player B cooperate to fight an enemy character 65 in a game field 61.

[0076] Returning to Fig. 15, the request reception determination processing unit 75 determines whether or not a request for an appearance setting code has been received from another player. The determination of whether or not a request has been received may be made according to the form of the request. For example, the request reception determination processing unit 75 determines whether or not a request in the form of a message has been received from another player, whether or not a request has been received via friend information such as the above-mentioned profile, whether or not an image expressing a request such as a stamp has been received, etc.

[0077] When a request for an appearance setting code is accepted by the request acceptance determination processing unit 75, the second code transmission processing unit 77 (an example of a code transmission processing unit) transmits the appearance setting code to the terminal devices 3 of the other players.

[0078] When a request for an appearance setting code is received from another player, the transmission permission reception processing unit 79 receives an instruction from the player as to whether or not to transmit the appearance setting code. When the transmission permission reception processing unit 79 receives an instruction from a player to transmit an appearance setting code, the second code transmission processing unit 77 transmits the appearance setting code to the terminal device 3 of the other player. On the other hand, when the transmission permission reception processing unit 79 receives an instruction from a player that the appearance setting code cannot be transmitted, the second code transmission processing unit 77 does not transmit the appearance setting code to the terminal device 3 of the other player. This allows a player to select whether or not to transmit a request for an appearance setting code from another player during execution of a multiplay game.

[0079] The request transmission processing unit 81 transmits a request for the appearance setting code of another game character to the terminal device 3 of the other player based on the input of the player. The manner of requesting the appearance setting code is not particularly limited, but the player may request, for example, in the form of a message, or by pressing, for example, a "Request" button (not shown) in the friend information such as the profile described above. The request transmission processing unit 81 may also transmit an image representing the request for the appearance setting code to the terminal device 3 of the other player. The "image representing the request for the appearance setting code" may be any image that can be used for communication instead of text, such as a stamp, symbol, mark, etc. The image may be selected by the player from among preset images, or may be an original image created by the player.

[0080] 17 to 19 show an example of a game play screen when a request for an appearance setting code is received from another player. Note that FIGS. 17 to 19 correspond to the battle screen shown in FIG. 16 described above. In the example shown in FIG. 17, for example, during multiplay, player B transmits to player A a stamp 83 (an example of an image representing a request for an appearance setting code) representing a request for an appearance setting code for game character 63A. Request reception determination processing unit 75 determines that a request for an appearance setting code from player B has been received, and displays stamp 83 on the game play screen next to game character 63B operated by player B.

[0081] 18, the transmission permission reception processing unit 79 displays a message window 85 for receiving an instruction from player A as to whether or not to transmit the appearance setting code of the game character 63A. Note that the message window 85 is displayed only on the game play screen of player A, and is not displayed on the game play screen of player B. Player A can select "YES" by operating, for example, the L button (not shown) of the game controller 7, or "NO" by operating the R button (not shown).

[0082] FIG. 19 shows an example of a game screen when "YES" is selected. As shown in FIG. 19, the second code transmission processing unit 77 transmits the appearance setting code of the game character 63A to the terminal device 3 of the player B in response to a request from the player B, and displays a message window 87 indicating that the code has been transmitted. Note that the message window 87 is displayed only on the game play screen of the player A, and is not displayed on the game play screen of the player B. Also, as shown in FIG. 19, the second code transmission processing unit 77 may display a stamp 89 indicating that the appearance setting code has been transmitted on the side of the game character 63A operated by the player A. The stamp 83 and stamp 89 are displayed on the game play screens of both the player A and the player B.

[0083] 20 to 22 show examples of game play screens when a request for an appearance setting code is transmitted to another player. Note that FIG. 20 to FIG. 22 correspond to the battle screen shown in FIG. 16 described above. In the example shown in FIG. 20, for example, when player A performs an appropriate operation during multiplay, the request transmission processing unit 81 displays a message window 91 for asking player A whether or not to transmit a request for an appearance setting code of the game character 63B operated by player B. Note that the message window 91 is displayed only on the game play screen of player A, and is not displayed on the game play screen of player B. Player A can select "YES" by operating, for example, the L button (not shown) of the game controller 7, or "NO" by operating the R button (not shown).

[0084] Fig. 21 shows an example of a game screen when "YES" is selected. As shown in Fig. 21, the request transmission processing unit 81 transmits a request for an appearance setting code for game character 63B to the terminal device 3 of player B, and displays a message window 93 indicating that the request has been transmitted. Note that the message window 93 is displayed only on the game play screen of player A, and is not displayed on the game play screen of player B. Also, as shown in Fig. 21, the request transmission processing unit 81 displays a stamp 83 indicating a request for an appearance setting code on the side of game character 63A operated by player A.

[0085] In the terminal device 3 of the player B, the same processes as those shown in Figs. 17 to 19 are executed. When the player B selects to send the appearance setting code (corresponding to "YES" in Fig. 18), a message window 95 indicating that the appearance setting code has been received from the player B is displayed as shown in Fig. 22. At this time, as shown in Fig. 22, a stamp 89 indicating that the appearance setting code has been sent may be displayed on the side of the game character 63B operated by the player B. In addition, the message window 95 may include a message for confirming whether or not to automatically obtain the appearance setting code. The player A can select "YES" by operating, for example, the L button (not shown) of the game controller 7, or "NO" by operating the R button (not shown). When "YES" is selected, the appearance setting code is automatically obtained and stored in the terminal device 3.

[0086] In this manner, appearance setting codes can be transmitted and received while communicating between player A and player B during a multiplay session. Since all operations are associated with appropriate buttons on the game controller 7 and can be performed with a single button operation, communication between players and transmission and reception of appearance setting codes are possible even during a multiplay session when players are busy operating game characters. Furthermore, communication can be achieved with simple displays using images such as stamps, so that players can communicate with other players on the gameplay screen without switching from the gameplay screen to, for example, a message screen or a chat screen.

[0087] 17 to 22, the case where a stamp is used to communicate between players to request an appearance setting code, etc., is described, but the form of communication is not limited to stamps. For example, a message screen or chat screen may be displayed as part of the game play screen, or the game play screen may be switched to a message screen or chat screen, and a request may be made in the form of a message by inputting characters.

[0088] The above-described processes in each processing unit are not limited to these examples of process sharing, and may be processed by a smaller number of processing units (e.g., one processing unit), or may be processed by a further subdivided processing unit. The functions of each processing unit described above are implemented by a game program executed by a CPU 501 (see FIG. 34 described below), but some of them may be implemented by actual devices such as dedicated integrated circuits such as ASICs and FPGAs, or other electric circuits. The above-described processing units are not limited to being implemented in their entirety on the terminal device 3 side, and some or all of them may be implemented on the server device 5 side.

[0089] (2-2. Processing procedure executed by terminal device) Next, an example of a processing procedure executed by the CPU 501 of the terminal device 3 will be described with reference to FIG.

[0090] In step S110, the terminal device 3 causes the multiplay execution processing unit 73 to execute a multiplay between a game character acting based on an input from the player and another game character acting based on an input from another player.

[0091] In step S120, the terminal device 3 determines whether or not a request for an appearance setting code has been received from another player through the request reception determination processing unit 75. If a request has been received (step S120: YES), the process proceeds to the next step S130. On the other hand, if a request has not been received (step S120: NO), the process proceeds to step S150, which will be described later.

[0092] In step S130, the terminal device 3 determines whether or not an instruction to transmit an appearance setting code has been received from the player via the transmission permission reception processing unit 79. If a transmission instruction has been received (step S130: YES), the process proceeds to the next step S140. On the other hand, if an instruction not to transmit an appearance setting code has been received from the player (step S130: NO), the process proceeds to step S150, which will be described later.

[0093] In step S140, the terminal device 3 transmits, via the second code transmission processing unit 77, the appearance setting code to the terminal device 3 of the other player who has transmitted the request.

[0094] In step S150, the terminal device 3 determines whether or not a request for an appearance setting code has been issued from a player by the request transmission processing unit 81. If a request has been issued (step S150: YES), the process proceeds to the next step S160. On the other hand, if no request has been issued (step S150: NO), the process proceeds to step S170, which will be described later.

[0095] In step S160, the terminal device 3 causes the request transmission processing unit 81 to transmit a request for the appearance setting code of the other game character to the terminal devices 3 of the other players.

[0096] In step S170, the terminal device 3 determines whether or not an appearance setting code has been received from another player. If an appearance setting code has been received from another player (step S170: YES), the process proceeds to the next step S180. On the other hand, if an appearance setting code has not been received from another player (step S170: NO), the process proceeds to step S190, which will be described later.

[0097] In step S180, the terminal device 3 adds the received appearance setting code to the player's own library via the code decoding processor 31. Thereby, it becomes possible to reproduce the appearance by using the appearance setting code in the appearance setting menu thereafter.

[0098] In step S190, the terminal device 3 determines whether or not to end the multiplay. If the multiplay is not to be ended (step S190: NO), the process returns to the previous step S110 and repeats the same procedure. If the multiplay is to be ended (step S190: YES), the process ends this flowchart.

[0099] The above-mentioned processing procedure is an example, and at least a part of the above procedure may be deleted or changed, or a procedure other than the above may be added. For example, in the above steps S120 and S150, the appearance setting code is requested, but if each player makes the appearance setting code available to other players, the procedure of requesting as in the above steps S120 and S150 may be omitted. Also, the order of at least a part of the above procedures may be changed, or multiple procedures may be combined into a single procedure.

[0100] (2-3. Effects of the second embodiment) As described above, the game program of this embodiment causes the terminal device 3 communicatively connected to the server device 5 to function as the above-mentioned appearance creation processing unit 19 and code acquisition processing unit 21, a multiplay execution processing unit 73 that executes multiplay between a game character that acts based on the player's input and other game characters that act based on the input of other players, a request acceptance determination processing unit 75 that determines whether a request for an appearance setting code has been accepted from another player, and a second code transmission processing unit 77 that transmits the appearance setting code to the terminal device 3 of the other player when a request for an appearance setting code has been accepted.

[0101] In this embodiment, when a player creates an appearance for a game character, the player can obtain an appearance setting code issued by encoding information based on the appearance setting information by transmitting appearance setting information for the created game character to the server device 5. Then, when a multiplay is being performed between the player's game character and another player's game character, if a request for an appearance setting code is received from the other player, the appearance setting code is transmitted to the other player.

[0102] As a result, a player who receives the appearance setting code can reproduce the appearance of a game character created by another player by decoding the code. In this way, a game character created by one of a plurality of players performing multiplayer can be shared with the other players. In addition, since sharing can be achieved using a function within the game, it is possible to eliminate the need to share the appearance setting code using an external SNS or the like, improving convenience for players.

[0103] In addition, in this embodiment, the game program may cause the terminal device 3 to function as a transmission permission receiving processing unit 79 that receives an instruction from a player as to whether or not to send an appearance setting code when a request for an appearance setting code is received from another player, and in this case, the second code transmission processing unit 77 may transmit the appearance setting code to the terminal device 3 of the other player when an instruction to send an appearance setting code is received from the player.

[0104] In this case, when a player receives a request for an appearance setting code from another player during a multiplayer game, the player can select whether or not to send the code. For example, if a player wants to enjoy a multiplayer game with game characters of the same appearance (e.g., twins), the player can instruct the code to be sent to enjoy the multiplayer game even more. Also, if a player wants to use a game character that he or she created only for himself or herself, the player can instruct not to send the code to enjoy the game with a game character with his or her own original appearance.

[0105] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the game program may cause the terminal device 3 to function as a request transmission processing unit 81 that transmits requests for appearance setting codes of other game characters to the terminal devices 3 of other players based on input by the player.

[0106] In this case, when a player wants to reproduce the appearance of a game character of another player who is playing a multiplayer game, the player can transmit a request for an appearance setting code. For example, when a player wants to enjoy a multiplayer game with game characters of the same appearance (e.g., twins), the player can further enjoy the multiplayer game by requesting and having the appearance setting code transmitted. In addition, for example, the player can further edit the appearance of the reproduced game character by decoding the appearance setting code transmitted by the other player, and further process it based on the appearance of the game character of the other player. In this case, for example, it becomes possible to enjoy a multiplayer game with game characters of similar appearance (e.g., family, brothers, sisters, parent and child settings), which can further increase the interest of the game.

[0107] In this embodiment, the request transmission processing unit 81 may transmit an image representing a request for an appearance setting code to the terminal device 3 of another player.

[0108] Usually, during a multiplayer game, players are busy operating game characters (e.g., moving, fighting, etc.). For this reason, when sending a request for an appearance setting code to another player, it is inconvenient to input text such as a message. In this embodiment, an image representing a request for an appearance setting code is sent to the other player. By making it possible to send such an image, it becomes possible to request an appearance setting code with a simple operation (e.g., a single button operation) even during a multiplayer game when players are busy operating game characters, improving convenience for players.

[0109] (2-4. Modifications) It should be noted that the second embodiment of the present invention is not limited to the above, and various modifications are possible without departing from the spirit and technical concept thereof.

[0110] For example, an image of a game character created while recruiting friends for a multiplayer game may be made public, and an appearance setting code for the game character may be transmitted to a player who applies. Fig. 24 shows an example of the functional configuration of the server device 5 and the terminal device 3 in this modified example.

[0111] As shown in Fig. 24, the terminal device 3 according to this modification has an application reception processing unit 97 and a character posting processing unit 99 in addition to the functional configuration shown in Fig. 15 described above. The application reception processing unit 97 recruits friends to play multi-play games with and accepts applications from other players. The character posting processing unit 99 posts an image of a game character created by the player on a display indicating that friends are being recruited. Note that the configuration other than the above is the same as that shown in Fig. 15 described above, and therefore a description thereof will be omitted.

[0112] Fig. 25 shows an example of a companion recruitment screen by the application reception processing unit 97 and the character publication processing unit 99. The companion recruitment screen shown in Fig. 25 is a screen on which, for example, player A recruits companions for multiplay, and can be viewed by other players.

[0113] As shown in FIG. 25, the friend recruitment screen (one example of a display showing that friends are being recruited) displays an image 101 of a game character a1 who acts based on an input from player A, and status 103 such as character name, level, ability, skill, item, etc. Also displayed is a list of game characters (e.g., simple display of male or female) that can be used by other players among the game characters created by player A. In this example, a total of seven game characters, for example, three males and four females, are listed. The player can view an image 107 of a game character by selecting one of the game characters with cursor 105, for example.

[0114] The companion recruitment screen displays a confirmation message 109 for confirming with the player whether or not to apply to become a companion, an "Apply" button 111, and a "Do not apply" button 113. The player can select either the "Apply" button 111 or the "Do not apply" button 113 by operating the game controller 7.

[0115] Fig. 26 shows an example of the appearance setting code request screen when the "Apply" button 111 is selected. As shown in Fig. 26, a list of game characters created by player A that can be used by other players is displayed, along with a "Request" button 115 and a "Do not request" button 117. The player can select any game character with cursor 105 to view image 107 of that game character, and can request an appearance setting code for the selected game character from player A by operating "Request" button 115.

[0116] In this modified example, the player can simultaneously recruit friends for multiplayer play and post (disclose) images of the game characters he or she created. This allows, for example, if a player creates the appearances of multiple game characters, he or she can enjoy multiplayer play using the multiple game characters he or she created by posting images of the characters and recruiting friends for multiplayer play.

[0117] In this modified example, when another player who applied for a multiplayer game requests an appearance setting code, the appearance setting code is transmitted. This allows, for example, multiple game characters resembling the appearance of each member of a group of celebrities, such as an idol group, a sports team, or a comedy duo, to be created in advance, and when another player who is playing a multiplayer game wants to use them, the appearance setting code is transmitted, allowing the player to enjoy a multiplayer game by recreating the group of celebrities. It is also possible, for example, to form a virtual group by combining celebrities who would not exist in reality, and to enjoy a multiplayer game with that group. This further increases the entertainment value of the game.

[0118] <3. Third embodiment> (3-1. Functional configuration of the server device) Next, an example of a functional configuration of the server device 5 and the terminal device 3 according to the third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Figs.

[0119] 27, the server device 5 has, in addition to the above-mentioned code issuance processing unit 15 and appearance setting code database 17, a code publication processing unit 119, an evaluation reception processing unit 121, a reward granting processing unit 123, a ranking compilation processing unit 125, a code search processing unit 127, and a code extraction processing unit 129. Note that the terminal device 3 has an appearance creation processing unit 19, a code acquisition processing unit 21, a code decoding processing unit 31, and a character reproduction processing unit 33, similar to the first and second embodiments described above.

[0120] The code issuing processor 15 receives from the terminal device 3 appearance setting information of a game character created on the terminal device 3 based on an input by a player, encodes information based on the appearance setting information, and issues an appearance setting code. As described above, the "information based on the appearance setting information" may be the appearance setting information itself, or may be information indicating a location where the appearance setting information received by the server device 5 is stored (such as a slot number prepared for each player). As described above, the "appearance setting code" may be, for example, a character code consisting of a plurality of characters, a one-dimensional code such as a barcode, or a two-dimensional code such as a QR code (registered trademark) or a color code. The appearance setting code issued by the code issuing processor 15 is registered in the appearance setting code database 17.

[0121] A code publishing processor 119 publishes the appearance setting code issued by the code issuing processor 15 so that it can be viewed by players other than the player who created the game character associated with the appearance setting code.

[0122] The evaluation reception processing unit 121 receives evaluations of the appearance setting code published by the code publishing processing unit 119 from other players. The manner of receiving the evaluations is not particularly limited. For example, a "Like!" button may be pressed for each appearance setting code, and the number of times the "Like!" button is pressed may be counted. Also, for example, a score may be input for each appearance setting code, and the average of the input scores may be calculated. Also, for example, a fixed phrase expressing an evaluation, such as "cool" or "cute," may be prepared, and the number of times the fixed phrase is received may be counted. Also, for example, virtual currency or points that can be used in the game may be invested in each appearance setting code, and the amount of invested virtual currency or number of points may be counted. In this case, a reward may be given to the player who invested according to the amount of investment, for example, depending on the number of times the appearance setting code is downloaded. The code publishing processing unit 119 publishes the appearance setting code together with the evaluations received by the evaluation reception processing unit 121.

[0123] Fig. 28 shows an example of an appearance setting code disclosure screen by the code disclosure processing unit 119. In the example shown in Fig. 28, the appearance setting codes sent from each terminal device 3 are disclosed in order of, for example, the most recent creation date and time (issue date and time). Each appearance setting code has a description field for, for example, gender, characteristics, etc., and also displays the received evaluation (in this example, the number of "Likes").

[0124] The public screen also displays a "View Image" button 131, a "Like" button 133, a "Reorder" button 135, a "Search" button 137, and a "Get" button 139. The player can view an image of a game character corresponding to the selected appearance setting code, for example, by selecting one of the appearance setting codes with the cursor 141 and operating the "View Image" button 131. The player can also give a good rating to the selected appearance setting code, for example, by selecting one of the appearance setting codes with the cursor 141 and operating the "Like" button 133. The player can also rearrange the display of the appearance setting codes on the public screen by operating the "Reorder" button 135 (details will be described later). The player can also search for the appearance setting codes published on the public screen by operating the "Search" button 137 (details will be described later). The player can also download the selected appearance setting code and save it in the terminal device 3, for example, by selecting one of the appearance setting codes with the cursor 141 and operating the "Get" button 139.

[0125] Returning to FIG. 27, the reward granting processing unit 123 grants a reward to the player who created the game character related to the appearance setting code based on the evaluation of the appearance setting code received by the evaluation receiving processing unit 121. The type of "reward" is not particularly limited, and includes a wide variety of things. For example, it may be a rare item, virtual currency, a title, a game character, a skill, an increase in status (level up, etc.), a gacha ticket, etc. The timing of granting the reward may be set based on the aspect of the evaluation. For example, in the case of tallying up the number of times the "Like!" button is pressed, it is when the number of times reaches a set value, and in the case of calculating the average of the input points, it is when the points reach a set value. Note that multiple set values ​​may be set in stages, and a reward of higher value may be granted as the evaluation increases.

[0126] Fig. 29 shows an example of a reward granting screen by the reward granting processing unit 123. In the example shown in Fig. 29, for example, the number of times the "Like!" button has been pressed has reached 1000, and as a result, the player has been granted the title of "Character Creation Master." The title acquired by the player may be displayed, for example, on a profile screen, or may be displayed near the game character on a game play screen.

[0127] Returning to FIG. 27, the ranking compilation processing unit 125 compiles the rankings of the appearance setting codes published by the code publication processing unit 119. The type of ranking is not particularly limited, and a wide variety of types are included. For example, rankings may be sorted in order of the most or least number of downloads, the most or least number of "Likes," the most or least number of image views, or the most or least value of the reward given. The player may be allowed to select the type of ranking. The code publication processing unit 119 publishes the appearance setting codes together with the compiled rankings. For example, the code publication processing unit 119 rearranges and publishes the appearance setting codes in order of ranking.

[0128] FIG. 30 shows an example of a selection screen for a player to select a ranking type. The selection screen shown in FIG. 30 is displayed when the "reorder" button 135 is operated on the public screen shown in FIG. 28. As shown in FIG. 30, the selection screen displays, for example, a selection section 143 for selecting a sorting method (ranking type), a "reorder" button 145, and a "cancel" button 147. A plurality of items are displayed on the selection section 143, and the player selects one of the items with, for example, the cursor 149 and operates the "reorder" button 145. As a result, the ranking tallying processing section 125 tallys up the rankings based on the selected items, and the appearance setting codes are rearranged in order of ranking. In the example shown in FIG. 30, for example, the most recent creation date and time, the most viewed images, the most Likes, the most downloaded, and the like are displayed as the items on the selection section 143. Note that many other items may be prepared, and for example, when the cursor 149 reaches the top or bottom end of the selection section 143, the items may be scrolled downward or upward.

[0129] Returning to FIG. 27, the code search processor 127 searches for the published appearance setting code based on the player's input. For example, the player may perform a search by inputting a keyword. In this case, the code search processor 127 may perform a search based on whether or not the input keyword is included in the description field of the appearance setting code (see FIG. 28). For example, as shown in FIG. 28, if the description field contains the content "Like ***" based on the name of a celebrity, etc., a search can be performed based on the celebrity's name, etc.

[0130] The code extraction processing unit 129 extracts appearance setting codes belonging to a predetermined category from among the revealed appearance setting codes based on the player's input. The "predetermined category" may be any category related to characteristics related to appearance, such as gender (male, female), hairstyle (long hair, short hair, bob, etc.), eye color (black, brown, blue, red, etc.), etc. When extraction is performed by the code extraction processing unit 129, the code search processing unit 127 searches among the extracted appearance setting codes based on the player's input.

[0131] FIG. 31 shows an example of a search screen by the code search processing unit 127 and the code extraction processing unit 129. The search screen shown in FIG. 31 is displayed when the "Search" button 137 is operated on the public screen shown in FIG. 28. As shown in FIG. 31, the search screen displays a selection unit 151 for selecting, for example, a genre (an example of a predetermined classification), a keyword input field 153, a "Search" button 155, and a "Cancel" button 157. A plurality of items are displayed in the selection unit 151, and when the player selects one or more items with, for example, the cursor 159, the code extraction processing unit 129 extracts appearance setting codes belonging to the genre from among the published appearance setting codes. In addition, the player inputs a search keyword in the keyword input field 153 and then operates the "Search" button 155, whereby the extracted appearance setting codes are searched for that keyword. When the genre is not limited, "All genres" may be selected. In the example shown in FIG. 31, two genres, "Women" and "Long Hair", are selected in the selection unit 151. Note that there are many other genre items available in addition to those shown in FIG. 31, and for example, when cursor 159 reaches the top or bottom end of selection section 151, the items may be scrolled downward or upward to be displayed.

[0132] The above-described processes in each processing unit are not limited to these examples of process sharing, and may be processed by a smaller number of processing units (e.g., one processing unit), or may be processed by a further subdivided processing unit. The functions of each processing unit described above are implemented by a game program executed by a CPU 501 (see FIG. 34 described below), but some of them may be implemented by actual devices such as dedicated integrated circuits such as ASICs and FPGAs, or other electric circuits. The above-described processing units are not limited to being implemented in their entirety on the server device 5 side, and some or all of them may be implemented on the terminal device 3 side.

[0133] (3-2. Processing procedure executed by the server device) Next, an example of a first processing procedure executed by CPU 501 of server device 5 will be described with reference to FIG.

[0134] In step S205, the server device 5 receives, from the terminal device 3, appearance setting information of the game character created on the terminal device 3 based on input by the player, and encodes information based on the appearance setting information to issue an appearance setting code, via the code issuance processing unit 15.

[0135] In step S210, server device 5, via code publication processing unit 119, publishes the appearance setting code issued in step S205 above so that it can be viewed by players other than the player who issued the appearance setting code within the game.

[0136] In step S215, the server device 5, through the evaluation receiving processor 121, receives evaluations on the appearance setting code made public in step S210 from players other than the player who issued the appearance setting code.

[0137] In step S220, the server device 5 causes the reward granting processing unit 123 to grant a reward to the player who created the game character associated with the appearance setting code received in step S215 above, in accordance with the evaluation of the appearance setting code.

[0138] In step S223, the server device 5 judges whether or not to end the game. If the game is not to be ended (step S223: NO), the process returns to the previous step S205 and repeats the same procedure. On the other hand, if the game is to be ended (step S223: YES), this flowchart ends.

[0139] In the above flow, the evaluation is not only accepted once immediately after the appearance setting code is published. Once the code is in a state where evaluations can be accepted, evaluations can be accepted continuously thereafter unless the issuer of the appearance setting code invalidates the code, and players can receive rewards according to the evaluations.

[0140] Next, an example of the second processing procedure executed by CPU 501 of server device 5 will be described with reference to FIG.

[0141] In step S225, the server device 5 judges whether or not an instruction to rearrange the rankings has been given by the player. If an instruction to rearrange the rankings has been given (step S225: YES), the process proceeds to the next step S230. On the other hand, if an instruction to rearrange the rankings has not been given (step S225: NO), the process proceeds to step S235, which will be described later.

[0142] In step S230, the server device 5 causes the ranking tallying unit 125 to tally the rankings of the appearance setting codes according to the item selected by the rearrangement instruction, and rearranges the appearance setting codes according to the order of the tally.

[0143] In step S235, the server device 5 determines whether or not a search instruction for an appearance setting code has been issued by the player. If a search instruction has been issued (step S235: YES), the process proceeds to the next step S240. On the other hand, if no search instruction has been issued (step S235: NO), the process proceeds to step S250, which will be described later.

[0144] In step S240, server device 5 causes code extraction processing unit 129 to extract, from the published appearance setting codes, appearance setting codes that belong to a predetermined category in accordance with the player's input.

[0145] In step S245, the server device 5 searches for an appearance setting code in accordance with the player's input from among the appearance setting codes extracted in step S240 above, by the code search processing unit 127. The search results are displayed to the player who performed the search.

[0146] In step S248, the server device 5 transmits one appearance setting code selected by the player from the narrowed-down appearance setting codes based on the result of sorting in step S230 and the result of the search in step S245 to the terminal device 3 of that player. The terminal device 3 adds the received appearance setting code to the player's own library.

[0147] In step S250, the server device 5 judges whether or not to end the game. If the game is not to be ended (step S250: NO), the process returns to the previous step S205 and repeats the same procedure. On the other hand, if the game is to be ended (step S250: YES), this flow chart is ended.

[0148] The processing procedures shown in Figs. 32 and 33 are merely examples, and at least some of the procedures may be deleted or changed, or other procedures may be added. For example, in step S248, the player receives an appearance setting code and adds it to his / her library. Since the operation of "adding to his / her library" itself means a positive evaluation of the appearance setting code, this fact may be used to accept a positive evaluation. Also, for example, the appearance may be made available for viewing on the screen on which the player decides to add the appearance setting code to his / her library, and an evaluation of the appearance setting code may be accepted on that screen. Also, the order of at least some of the procedures may be changed, or multiple procedures may be combined into a single procedure.

[0149] (3-3. Effects of the Third Embodiment) As described above, the game program of this embodiment causes the server device 5, which is communicatively connected to a plurality of terminal devices 3, to function as a code issuance processing unit 15 that receives, from the terminal device 3, appearance setting information of a game character created on the terminal device 3 based on input by the player, and encodes information based on the appearance setting information to issue an appearance setting code, and a code publication processing unit 119 that publishes the issued appearance setting code so that it can be viewed by players other than the player who created the game character related to the appearance setting code.

[0150] In this embodiment, when a player creates an appearance for a game character on a terminal device 3, the server device 5 receives appearance setting information for the created game character from the terminal device 3, encodes information based on the appearance setting information, and issues an appearance setting code. The server device 5 then makes the issued appearance setting code public so that it can be viewed by other players.

[0151] As a result, other players who have viewed the published appearance setting code can reproduce the appearance of the game character created by the player by decrypting the appearance setting code. In this way, the game character created by the player can be shared with other players. In addition, since sharing can be done using a function within the game, it is possible to eliminate the trouble of sharing the appearance setting code using an external SNS or the like, improving convenience for the player.

[0152] In addition, in this embodiment, the game program may cause the server device 5 to function as an evaluation reception processing unit 121 that receives evaluations from other players on the published appearance setting code, and in that case, the code publication processing unit 119 may publish the appearance setting code together with the received evaluation.

[0153] In this case, each player can know the rating when viewing the published appearance setting codes, and can use this as an indicator when selecting and acquiring an appearance setting code. Also, for example, the desire to be highly rated by other players can motivate players, which can increase their desire to create game characters.

[0154] In addition, in this embodiment, the game program may cause the server device 5 to function as a reward granting processing unit 123 that grants a reward to a player who has created a game character related to an appearance setting code, based on an evaluation of the appearance setting code.

[0155] In this case, for example, the higher the evaluation of the game character that the player has created, the more valuable the reward that can be obtained, which can further increase the player's motivation to create game characters.

[0156] In addition, in this embodiment, the game program may cause the server device 5 to function as a ranking compilation processing unit 125 that compiles rankings of the published appearance setting codes, and in that case, the code publication processing unit 119 may publish the appearance setting codes together with the compiled rankings.

[0157] In this case, each player can view the published appearance setting codes together with the rankings, and so can use the ranking position, for example, as an indicator when selecting and acquiring an appearance setting code. Also, for example, the desire to be ranked high can be motivated, enhancing the desire of players to create game characters.

[0158] In this embodiment, the game program may cause the server device 5 to function as a code search processing unit 127 that searches for a published appearance setting code based on an input by a player.

[0159] In this case, even if a large number of appearance setting codes are made public, the player can search for them using, for example, keywords, making it easy to find the desired appearance setting code from among the large number of appearance setting codes, thus improving convenience for the player.

[0160] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the game program may cause server device 5 to function as a code extraction processing unit 129 that extracts appearance setting codes belonging to a predetermined classification from among the revealed appearance setting codes based on the player's input, and in this case, code search processing unit 127 may search from among the extracted appearance setting codes based on the player's input.

[0161] In this case, even if a large number of appearance setting codes are made public, a player can, for example, select a specific category to extract those that belong to that category and then search for the appearance setting code. This makes it easier to find a desired appearance setting code from among a large number of appearance setting codes, further improving convenience for players.

[0162] In addition to the above, the methods according to the above-mentioned embodiments and modifications may be appropriately combined and used. Although not illustrated individually, the above-mentioned embodiments and modifications may be implemented with various modifications without departing from the spirit of the invention.

[0163] <4. Hardware configuration of terminal device and server device> Next, an example of a hardware configuration of the terminal device 3 that realizes each processing unit implemented by the program executed by the CPU 501 described in each of the above embodiments will be described with reference to Fig. 34. The server device 5 may have a similar hardware configuration.

[0164] 34, the terminal device 3 (or the server device 5) includes, for example, a CPU 501, a ROM 503, a RAM 505, a GPU 506, a dedicated integrated circuit 507 constructed for a specific purpose such as an ASIC or an FPGA, an input device 513, an output device 515, a recording device 517, a drive 519, a connection port 521, and a communication device 523. These components are connected to each other via a bus 509, an input / output interface 511, etc. so as to be able to transmit signals to each other.

[0165] The game program can be recorded, for example, in the ROM 503, the RAM 505, or the recording device 517 such as a hard disk.

[0166] The game program may also be temporarily or permanently (non-temporarily) recorded on a removable recording medium 525 such as a magnetic disk such as a flexible disk, various types of CDs, MO disks, DVDs, and other optical disks, or a semiconductor memory. Such recording medium 525 may also be provided as so-called package software. In this case, the game program recorded on the recording medium 525 may be read by the drive 519 and recorded on the recording device 517 via the input / output interface 511, the bus 509, and the like.

[0167] The game program may also be recorded, for example, on a download site, another computer, or another recording device (not shown). In this case, the game program is transferred via a network NW such as a LAN or the Internet, and the communication device 523 receives this program. The program received by the communication device 523 may then be recorded in the recording device 517 via the input / output interface 511, the bus 509, etc.

[0168] The game program may also be recorded in, for example, an appropriate external connection device 527. In this case, the game program may be transferred via an appropriate connection port 521 and recorded in the recording device 517 via the input / output interface 511, the bus 509, etc.

[0169] Then, the CPU 501 executes various processes in accordance with the programs recorded in the recording device 517, thereby realizing processes by the code issuing processing unit 15, appearance creation processing unit 19, code acquisition processing unit 21, code addition processing unit 23, first code transmission processing unit 25, message transmission / reception processing unit 27, profile disclosure processing unit 29, code decoding processing unit 31, character reproduction processing unit 33, multiplay execution processing unit 73, request acceptance judgment processing unit 75, second code transmission processing unit 77, transmission permission acceptance processing unit 79, request transmission processing unit 81, code disclosure processing unit 119, evaluation acceptance processing unit 121, reward granting processing unit 123, ranking compilation processing unit 125, code search processing unit 127, code extraction processing unit 129, etc. In this case, the CPU 501 may directly read out the programs from the recording device 517 and execute them, or may load them into the RAM 505 and execute them. Furthermore, when the CPU 501 receives a program via the communication device 523, the drive 519, or the connection port 521, for example, the CPU 501 may directly execute the received program without recording it in the recording device 517.

[0170] Furthermore, the CPU 501 may perform various processes based on signals and information input from the game controller 7 or an input device 513 including, for example, a mouse, a keyboard, a microphone, and the like.

[0171] The GPU 506 performs processing for image display, such as rendering processing, in response to instructions from the CPU 501 .

[0172] Then, the CPU 501 and the GPU 506 output the results of the above-mentioned processing from an output device 515 including a display device 9 and an audio output unit (not shown) such as a speaker or headphones. Furthermore, the CPU 501 and the GPU 506 may transmit the results of the processing via a communication device 523 or a connection port 521 as necessary, or may record the results in the recording device 517 or the recording medium 525. [Explanation of symbols]

[0173] 3. Terminal device (information processing device) 5. Server device (information processing device) 15 Code issuing processing unit 17 Appearance setting code database 19 Appearance Creation Processing Department 21 Code acquisition processing unit 23 Code addition processing section 25 First code transmission processing unit (code transmission processing unit) 27 Message transmission / reception processing unit 29 Profile Publication Processing Unit 31 Code decoding processing unit 33 Character Reproduction Processing Section 49 images 63 Game Characters 63A Game Characters 63B Game Characters 67 QR Code (registered trademark) (appearance setting code, two-dimensional code) 73 Multiplay execution processing unit 75 Request acceptance determination processing unit 77 Second code transmission processing unit 79 Transmission permission reception processing unit 81 Request transmission processing unit 83 Stamp (image showing appearance setting code request) 97 Application Reception Processing Unit 99 Character Publication Processing Department 119 Code Public Processing Unit 121 Evaluation reception processing unit 123 Reward Granting Processing Unit 125 Ranking calculation processing unit 127 Code search processing unit 129 Code extraction processing section 525 Recording Media

Claims

1. An information processing device connected to a server device so as to be able to communicate with the server device, an appearance creation processing section that creates an appearance of the game character based on input from a player; a code acquisition processing unit that transmits appearance setting information of the created game character to the server device, and acquires an appearance setting code issued by encoding information based on the appearance setting information; a multiplay execution processing unit for executing a multiplay between the game character acting based on an input from a player and another game character acting based on an input from another player; a request acceptance determination processing unit that determines whether or not a request for the appearance setting code has been accepted from the other player during the execution of the multiplay; a code transmission processing unit that transmits the appearance setting code to the information processing device of the other player when a request for the appearance setting code is received during execution of the multiplay; a request transmission processing unit that transmits a request for the appearance setting code of the other game character to the information processing device of the other player based on an input by the other player during execution of the multiplay; a code decoding processing unit that decodes the appearance setting code received from the other player during execution of the multiplay to obtain the appearance setting information; a character reproduction processing unit that reproduces the appearance of the other game character based on the acquired appearance setting information during execution of the multiplay; A game program to function as a.

2. The information processing device, a transmission permission / non-permission reception processing unit that, when a request for the appearance setting code is received from the other player, receives an instruction from the other player as to whether or not to transmit the appearance setting code; It also functions as The code transmission processing unit includes: when receiving an instruction to transmit the appearance setting code from the player, transmitting the appearance setting code to the information processing device of the other player; The game program according to claim 1 .

3. The request transmission processing unit: transmitting an image representing a request for the appearance setting code to the information processing device of the other player; The game program according to claim 1 .

4. The information processing device, an application reception processing unit that recruits players to play the multiplay and receives applications from the other players; a character posting processing unit that posts an image of the game character created by the player on the display indicating that friends are being recruited; Further functioning as The game program according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

5. The request acceptance determination processing unit, determining whether a request for the appearance setting code for the image of the game character being posted has been received from the other player who applied to play the multiplayer game; The code transmission processing unit includes: when the request for the appearance setting code is received, transmitting the appearance setting code to the information processing device of the other player who has applied to play in the multiplay; The game program according to claim 4.

6. The request acceptance determination processing unit: when it is determined that a request for the appearance setting code has been received from the other player, displaying an image representing that the appearance setting code has been requested at a position corresponding to the other game character on a game play screen during execution of the multiplay; The game program according to claim 1 .

7. 7. A recording medium readable by an information processing device, on which the game program according to claim 1 is recorded.

8. A game processing method executed by an information processing device communicatively connected to a server device, creating an appearance for the game character based on player input; transmitting appearance setting information of the created game character to the server device, and obtaining an appearance setting code issued by encoding information based on the appearance setting information; executing a multiplay between the game character that acts based on an input from a player and another game character that acts based on an input from another player; determining whether or not a request for the appearance setting code has been received from the other player during execution of the multiplay; transmitting the appearance setting code to the information processing device of the other player when a request for the appearance setting code is received during the execution of the multiplay; transmitting a request for the appearance setting code of the other game character to the information processing device of the other player based on an input by the player during execution of the multiplay; a step of decoding the appearance setting code received from the other player during execution of the multiplay to obtain the appearance setting information; a step of reproducing the appearance of the other game character based on the acquired appearance setting information during execution of the multiplay; The game processing method includes:

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