Game system, computer program used therefor, and control method

Abstract

To provide a game system capable of preferentially providing a user with other game elements than guidance of each execution time based on an instruction sign and a reference sign.SOLUTION: A game system 1 guides a touch operation execution time and provides a music game for evaluating the timing of actual touch operation through a play guidance screen 50B that displays the movement of an object 51 toward each reaching position index 52A. On the other hand, the game system 1, when a switching conditions is satisfied, switches the display of a monitor 37 to a dance screen 50D for displaying a dance video, on which screen the display of the objects 51 and the like are less visible on the play guidance screen 50B, more specifically with the objects 51 and the like being hidden from the play guidance screen 50B. In such a dance screen 50D, the evaluation of each object 51 to be guided through the play guidance screen 50B is uniformly processed as a predetermined evaluation result instead of the evaluation based on the actual touch operation.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 8

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a game system or the like that is connected to an input device for inputting a user's play action, a display device that displays a guidance screen including a guidance mark corresponding to an execution timing at which the play action is to be executed and a reference mark corresponding to the current time, and causes a relative displacement between the guidance mark and the reference mark so that the positions of the guidance mark and the reference mark coincide at each execution timing based on sequence data in which each execution timing is described, thereby guiding each execution timing through the guidance screen and evaluating the timing of the user's actual play action input via the input device based on each execution timing.

Background Art

[0002] There exists a game system that is connected to an input device for inputting a user's play action, a display device that displays a guidance screen including a guidance mark corresponding to an execution timing at which the play action is to be executed and a reference mark corresponding to the current time, and causes a relative displacement between the guidance mark and the reference mark so that the positions of the guidance mark and the reference mark coincide at each execution timing based on sequence data in which each execution timing is described, thereby guiding each execution timing through the guidance screen and evaluating the timing of the user's actual play action input via the input device based on each execution timing. For example, as such a guidance mark, reference mark, guidance screen, and play action, a music game that uses an object, a determination mark, a normal game screen, and an operation of pressing a rotary button, respectively, is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] In the music game of Patent Document 1, each determination sign moves toward each object, and the timing for pressing the rotation button is guided by the coincidence timing of their positions, and that timing is evaluated. For this reason, the user's consciousness mainly focuses on each determination sign and each object, and they are displayed so as to be the most prominent (catch the eye) even on the normal game screen. On the other hand, in such a music game, there may be elements that should be recognized by the user prior to the play of the music game itself, such as an instruction sign and a reference sign. For example, such a music game may be provided as a part of various games. In such a case, even during the play of the music game, depending on the progress of the entire game and the like, an instruction sign or a reference sign, that is, an element that should be recognized by the user prior to the play of the music game itself, may occur.

[0005] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a game system or the like that can preferentially provide other game elements to the user rather than guiding each execution timing based on the instruction sign and the reference sign.

Means for Solving the Problem

[0006] The game system of the present invention is connected to an input device for inputting a user's play behavior and a display device for displaying a guidance screen including a guidance mark corresponding to an execution time when the play behavior should be executed and a reference mark corresponding to the current time. Based on sequence data in which each execution time is described, a relative displacement is generated between the guidance mark and the reference mark so that the positions of the guidance mark and the reference mark coincide at each execution time, thereby guiding each execution time through the guidance screen and evaluating the time of the actual play behavior of the user input via the input device based on each execution time. A game system that provides a game, comprising: display switching means for switching the display of the display device from the guidance screen to a special screen in which the display of the guidance mark and the reference mark is less conspicuous than the guidance screen when a switching condition is satisfied in the game; and time processing means for processing the evaluation of each execution time to be guided through the guidance screen according to a predetermined rule instead of the evaluation based on the actual play behavior when the display of the display device is switched to the special screen.

[0007] On the other hand, the computer program of the present invention is configured to cause a computer connected to the input device and the display device to function as each means of the above-described game system.

[0008] Further, the control method of the present invention is connected to an input device for inputting a user's play action, and a display device for displaying a guidance screen including an instruction label corresponding to the execution time when the play action is to be executed and a reference label corresponding to the current time. Based on the sequence data in which each execution time is described, a relative displacement is generated between the instruction label and the reference label so that their positions coincide at each execution time, thereby guiding each execution time through the guidance screen. In a game system that provides a game for evaluating the timing of each user's actual play action input via the input device based on each execution time, when a switching condition is satisfied in the game, a display switching procedure for switching the display of the display device from the guidance screen to a special screen where the display of the instruction label and the reference label is less prominent than the guidance screen, and when the display of the display device is switched to the special screen, a timing processing procedure for processing the evaluation of each execution time to be guided through the guidance screen according to a predetermined rule instead of the evaluation based on the actual play action is executed.

Brief Description of the Drawings

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Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0010] Hereinafter, an example of a game system according to an aspect of the present invention will be described. First, referring to FIG. 1, the overall configuration of the game system according to an aspect of the present invention will be described. The game system 1 includes a center server 2 and a plurality of game machines 3 as client devices that can be connected to the center server 2 via a predetermined network NT. The center server 2 is configured as a single logical server device by combining server units 2A, 2B,... as a plurality of computer devices. However, the center server 2 may be configured by a single server unit. Alternatively, the center server 2 may be logically configured using cloud computing.

[0011] The network NT may be appropriately configured as long as each game machine 3 can be connected to the center server 2. As an example, the network NT may include the Internet as a WAN, a LAN that connects each of the center server 2 and the game machines 3 to the Internet, or various connection facilities or devices such as an access point AP.

[0012] In the example of FIG. 1, game machines 3A, 3B, and 3C are shown as the game machine 3. The game machine 3 is an example of a game device that provides games. The game machine 3A is installed in a facility such as an amusement store, and is configured as a commercial game machine that allows a user to play a game within a range corresponding to the play fee in exchange for payment of a predetermined price. This type of game machine is sometimes called an arcade game machine. This type of game machine 3A (hereinafter sometimes referred to as the arcade game machine 3A) is often installed in a predetermined facility such as a store for the main purpose of repeatedly allowing a large number of users to play games to increase profits. On the other hand, the game machines 3B and 3C are home stationary game machines or portable game machines for personal use by the user. Such game machines 3B and 3C (hereinafter sometimes referred to as the stationary game machine 3B or the portable game machine 3C respectively, and sometimes referred to as the game machine 3 of the user terminal device type when not distinguishing them) may function as a mobile phone such as a smartphone or a mobile information terminal (including a tablet terminal and a personal computer). In the example of FIG. 1, a plurality of types of game machines 3 are connected to the center server 2, but the game machine 3 connected to the center server 2 may be of one type.

[0013] The game machine 3 provides a character training game. The character training game is a type of game in which a character in the game is trained. As such a character, various jobs such as monsters, sports players, or warriors, as well as various objects such as cars and animals, may be used. Further, the characters to be trained may be one body or a plurality of bodies. Hereinafter, as an example, the case where the game machine 3 provides a character training game of a type in which a dance unit (a team of a plurality of characters) is trained will be described.

[0014] In such a character cultivation game, each character that forms a dance unit is cultivated through various elements during the game. Such cultivation elements include mini-games. That is, each character is cultivated through playing such mini-games. Such mini-games may include various games, and as an example, they include music games. A music game is a type of timing game. A timing game is a type of game that evaluates the execution timing of appropriate play actions. In the case of a music game, the execution timing at which the appropriate play action should be executed is provided together with the music. Also, in a music game, the timing that matches the rhythm of the music is used as the execution timing. That is, a music game is a type of game that guides the user to match the timing at which the appropriate play action should be executed to the rhythm of the music and evaluates the timing at which the play action is actually executed. Also, for example, a plurality of music pieces are prepared for playing in a music game, and the music piece selected from them is used for actual play. For example, such a music game is provided through a game screen displayed on a display device. Specifically, such a game screen includes an instruction marker corresponding to each execution timing and a reference marker that functions as a reference for the current time. By using these instruction markers and reference markers and causing a relative displacement between the instruction marker and the reference marker so that their positions match at each execution timing, each execution timing is guided.

[0015] The game system 1 may be connected to the user terminal device 4 via the network NT. The user terminal device 4 is a computer device that can be connected to the network and is for personal use by the user. For example, a stationary or book-type personal computer 4A, or a mobile terminal device 4B such as a mobile phone (including a smartphone) may be used as the user terminal device 4. In addition, various computer devices that can be connected to the network and are for personal use by the user, such as a stationary home game console, a portable game console, and a portable tablet terminal device, may be used as the user terminal device 4. The user terminal device 4 can enable the user to enjoy various services provided by the center server 2 by implementing various computer software. Note that such a user terminal device 4 may function as a game console 3 through computer software.

[0016] The center server 2 provides various game console services to the game console 3 or its user. The game console services include a distribution service that distributes and updates the programs or data of the game console 3 via the network 5. The center server 2 appropriately distributes, etc., various programs or data necessary for providing a character training game to each game console 3 through such a distribution service. In addition, the game console services include a matching service that matches users when a plurality of users play a common game via the network 5. The game system 1 may provide a character training game (including cases where it is part of a character training game such as a music game) as a multi-player type game in which the progress is shared among a plurality of users through such a matching service.

[0017] In addition, the game machine service may include other services such as receiving the user's identification information from the game machine 3 and authenticating the user. Further, it may include services of receiving and storing the play data of the authenticated user from the game machine 3, or providing the game machine 3 with play data to be stored. Furthermore, it may include a billing service for collecting fees from the user. Similarly, the center server 2 may provide various Web services to the users of the user terminal device 4 via the network 5. The Web services may include a game information service that provides various information related to the games provided by the game machine 3, a distribution service that distributes various data or software (including updates of data, etc.) to each user terminal device 4, a community service that provides a place for communication such as information transmission, exchange, and sharing by the users, and a service that assigns a user ID for identifying each user, etc.

[0018] Next, with reference to FIG. 2, the main part of the control system of the game system 1 will be described. First, the center server 2 is provided with a control unit 21 and a storage unit 22 as a storage means. The control unit 21 is configured as a computer that combines a CPU as an example of a processor that executes various arithmetic processes and operation controls according to a predetermined computer program, and an internal memory and other peripheral devices necessary for its operation.

[0019] The storage unit 22 is an external storage device realized by a storage unit including a non-volatile storage medium such as a hard disk array (a computer-readable storage medium). The storage unit 22 may be configured to hold all data in one storage unit, or may be configured to distribute and store data in a plurality of storage units. A program PG1 is recorded in the storage unit 22 as an example of a computer program for causing the control unit 21 to execute various processes necessary for providing various services to the user. Also, server data necessary for providing various services is stored in the storage unit 22. Such server data includes various data for a character cultivation game. In the example of FIG. 2, video data MD and sequence data QD are shown as one kind of such various data.

[0020] Both the video data MD and the sequence data QD are data for a music game. Specifically, the video data MD is data for displaying a video during a music game. Such videos include dance videos (including dance animations by each character). The dance (motion) of the character in such a dance video may be realized at any time by the program PG1 based on the video data MD, or may be realized, for example, by recording the trajectory of a person wearing a motion sensor and using the trajectory based on the detection result. In such a case, the video data may be configured as data for reproducing an operation based on the detection result of such a motion sensor. Also, each video may be configured as a shooting result of shooting a virtual three-dimensional space. In this case, each video may be configured as a video based on the shooting result of a virtual camera at a fixed position (the shooting direction and the field of view angle may change appropriately) (including a video in which each character moves around the virtual camera), or may be configured as a video based on the shooting result of a movable virtual camera whose position changes so as to move around an appropriate character (or a plurality of characters). That is, the video data MD may be appropriately configured based on well-known techniques.

[0021] Sequence data QD is data in which each execution timing at which a play action should be executed by a user in a music game is described. The sequence data QD is used to guide the user through each such execution timing. Also, when a play action is actually executed by the user, the play action is evaluated based on the execution timing of the sequence data QD. That is, guidance for each execution timing and its evaluation are executed based on the sequence data QD. For this reason, the sequence data QD is described such that each execution timing and information on appropriate play actions to be executed at that execution timing are associated with each other. Also, in a music game, when a plurality of music pieces or a plurality of difficulty levels are prepared, the sequence data QD is prepared for each music piece or each difficulty level. Details of the sequence data QD will be described later.

[0022] Note that the server data may include various types of data for realizing various other services, for example. For example, such data may include music piece data, play data, or ID management data, etc. Music piece data is data for reproducing music pieces used in a music game. Play data is data in which information regarding each user's past play performance is described. Play data is used, for example, to carry over the previous play results (past performance) to subsequent times or to carry over the setting contents specific to each user. ID management data is data for managing various IDs such as user IDs. However, those illustrations are omitted.

[0023] The control unit 21 is provided with a game machine service management unit 24 as a logical device realized by a combination of the hardware resources of the control unit 21 and the program PG1 as software resources. The game machine service management unit 24 executes various processes for realizing the above-described game machine services for the game machine 3. Note that an input device such as a keyboard and an output device such as a monitor may be connected to the control unit 21 as necessary. However, those illustrations are omitted.

[0024] On one hand, the game machine 3 is provided with a control unit 31 as a computer and a storage unit 32 as a storage means. The control unit 31 is configured as a computer that combines a CPU as an example of a processor that executes various processes according to a predetermined computer program and internal memory and other peripheral devices necessary for its operation. The control unit 31 is configured with various logical devices by a combination of the hardware resources of the control unit 31 and the program PG2 as software resources. Then, various processes necessary for providing the character training game (including processes necessary for enjoying the game machine service provided by the game machine service management unit 24 of the center server 2) are executed through these logical devices. In the example of FIG. 2, as logical devices related to the music game, a guidance control unit 33, a video control unit 34, and an evaluation unit 35 are shown.

[0025] The guidance control unit 33 is a logical device that performs various processes for controlling the guidance at each execution time through the instruction sign and the reference sign. For example, the guidance control unit 33 executes various processes for controlling the display (including relative displacement) of the instruction sign and the reference sign. Such processes include screen switching processing, difficulty switching processing, guidance omission processing, guidance maintenance processing, screen return processing, and difficulty return processing. The video control unit 34 is a logical device that performs various processes for presenting a video on the game screen for the music game. Such processes include video presentation processing. The evaluation unit 35 is a logical device that performs various processes for evaluating each play behavior of the user in the music game. Such processes include special evaluation processing and evaluation exclusion processing. The procedures of these screen switching processing, difficulty switching processing, guidance omission processing, guidance maintenance processing, screen return processing, difficulty return processing, video presentation processing, special evaluation processing, and evaluation exclusion processing will be described later.

[0026] The storage unit 32 is an external storage device realized by a storage unit including a non-volatile storage medium (a computer-readable storage medium) such as a hard disk or a semiconductor storage device. In the storage unit 32, game data necessary for providing the character training game is recorded together with the above-described program PG2. And such game data includes various data for music games. In the example of FIG. 2, video data MD and sequence data QD are shown as a part of such data for music games. The video data MD and the sequence data QD are both provided from the center server 2 through a distribution service. Note that the game data also includes, among other things, image data for displaying various images for the game and BGM data for playing various BGMs. However, these illustrations are omitted.

[0027] Also, the game machine 3 may be appropriately provided with various output devices and input devices according to the type such as an arcade game machine 3A or a game machine 3 of the user terminal device type. In the example of FIG. 2, a monitor 37 as a display device and a speaker SP are shown as output devices provided in the game machine 3. The monitor 37 and the speaker SP are a well-known display device for displaying a game screen and the like and a well-known audio reproduction device for reproducing sound, respectively. Similarly, in the example of FIG. 2, an input device 36 for inputting a user's play action is shown as an input device provided in the game machine 3. The input device 36 may be appropriately configured according to the type of the game machine 3. For example, in the case of the arcade game machine 3A, a stage with a push button that is pressed by stepping on it with the foot may be used as the input device 36. And on this stage, the user may play a music game. Alternatively, a control panel provided with a plurality of push buttons may be prepared. In such a case, an operation of pressing a push button with the foot or hand is used as a play action. Also, a touch pad or a touch panel display may be used as the input device 36. In this case, an act of touching these with the hand, foot, or a pen for touching (so-called stylus pen) is used as a play action.

[0028] On the other hand, for example, in the case of the stationary game machine 3B, a keyboard including multiple push buttons or a dedicated controller (including a mat controller that is laid on the floor or the like to be operated mainly with the feet) may be used as the input device 36. In this case, the operation of pressing the push buttons is used as the play action. Similarly, for example, in the case of the portable game machine 3C, a touch panel that outputs a signal corresponding to the user's touch operation (operation of touching with a finger) may be used as the input device 36. In this case, the touch operation and its position are used as the play action. Also, a dedicated controller (including the above-mentioned mat controller) may be connected to the portable game machine 3C by wire or wirelessly and used.

[0029] In addition, for example, the arcade game machine 3A may be provided with a value collection device as an input device for collecting a predetermined value required for a game from a user using cash, substitute coins, medals, electronic currency (including points), a credit card function, or the like. Such a device may collect various types of value, such as electronic currency, via a card that records the remaining amount of electronic currency. In addition, for example, in the case of a user terminal type game machine 3, the user terminal type game machine 3 may provide a music game for a fee (including a case where a part of the game is paid for for additional play, etc.) or free of charge (including a case where the software is purchased in advance). When a music game is provided for a fee, the fee may be collected in the user terminal type game machine 3 through various well-known settlement processes.

[0030] Next, game screens for providing a character development game will be described with reference to Figs. 3 to 14. More specifically, game screens related to a music game among game screens for a character development game will be described. Such game screens include a home screen, a character screen, a music game screen, and a lottery result screen. Below, an example of a game screen displayed on a monitor 37 of a portable game machine 3C using a touch panel as an input device 36 will be described.

[0031] FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically showing an example of a home screen. The home screen 40 is a game screen that mainly functions as a starting point to other game screens. Therefore, icons (hereinafter sometimes referred to as transition icons) that function as touch positions (positions where touch operations should be performed) for transitioning to each screen are displayed on the home screen 40. In addition, management functions and information may be provided on the home screen 40. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, the home screen 40 includes a "STORY" icon 41, a "DANCER" icon 42, a "TEAM" icon 43, a "lottery" icon 44, an "errand" icon 45, a "DANCE BATTLE" icon 46, a "MISSION" icon 47, an information area 48, and a character image CA.

[0032] The "STORY" icon 41 is a transition icon for transitioning to a story screen (not shown). The story screen is a game screen for selecting and viewing the individual histories of each character in the game, or story animations (videos) such as conversation scenes of multiple people, which are set for each character. Such stories may include those newly unlocked (viewable) according to the play status such as rewards obtained in the game and the levels of each character.

[0033] The "TEAM" icon 43 is a transition icon for transitioning to a team (unit) formation screen (not shown). The team formation screen is a game screen for selecting each character that forms a dance unit. One dance unit may be formed by an appropriate number of characters. Hereinafter, the case where one dance unit is formed by three characters will be described.

[0034] The "Errand" icon 45 is a transition icon for transitioning to an errand screen (not shown). The errand screen is a game screen for providing errand events. The errand event is an event for acquiring various items, and is provided in accordance with the consumption of a predetermined value set in the game. For example, as such a predetermined value, the physical strength value among the parameters set for the user is used. The physical strength value is a value that recovers to the upper limit value (which may change according to the level, etc.) as time passes, and is a value consumed for using various events. Since the physical strength value is a value that increases (recovers to the upper limit value) as time passes, in many cases, it is more beneficial for the user to actively consume it in terms of effective utilization of time. Therefore, by using such a physical strength value for providing the errand event, it is possible to promote the use of a character (for example, a character that is not used very often) in the errand event. Also, when a period is set for the errand event, the use of the character used in the errand event during that period may be restricted. In such a case, even if an errand can be used without consuming the physical strength value, it is possible to promote the utilization of a character that is not used very often. Also, the value of the item obtained by the event may change so that it becomes higher (or more) as the length of the period is longer. Similarly, the item obtained by the event may be determined randomly, or may be determined according to the play situation, etc., in addition to or regardless of such a period.

[0035] The "MISSION" icon 47 is a transition icon for transitioning to a mission screen (not shown). The mission screen is a game screen for providing information related to missions, such as a list of missions prepared during the game, achievement conditions, rewards associated with achievement, or achievement history. A mission is a type of event for awarding a predetermined reward to the user by satisfying (achieving) the achievement conditions. During the game, such missions may be prepared, ranging from those where it is possible to determine whether they can be achieved for each play to those targeting relatively long-term plays that cannot be achieved in just this one play. For example, if there is a concept corresponding to time during the game, such a time concept may be considered in the mission achievement conditions. Specifically, for example, as a type of long-term mission, there may be missions whose achievement conditions are related to appropriate periods such as daily or weekly in the time concept during the game. Alternatively, similar long-term missions may be realized using the time concept of the real world. Note that the "MISSION" icon 47 may function not as a transition icon but as an icon for newly adding an additional area (so-called pop-up), such as a mission information bar (an area for presenting the same information as the above-mentioned mission screen), to the home screen 40 with a touch operation.

[0036] Similarly, the "DANCER" icon 42 is a transition icon for transitioning to the character screen, the "LOTTERY" icon 44 is a transition icon for transitioning to the lottery result screen, and the "DANCE BATTLE" icon 46 is a transition icon for transitioning to the music game screen. Details of the music game screen, character screen, and lottery result screen will be described later.

[0037] On the one hand, the information area 48 is an area for presenting various types of information related to the game. The information area 48 includes, for example, a name area 48A, a rank area 48B, a health value area 48C, and a currency area 48D. The name area 48A is an area for displaying the name of the user during the game ("Gogo") and various titles prepared for the user in the game (which are given according to the satisfied conditions when the play situation meets various granting conditions, and are often provided to correspond to some of the ranks described later and often function as a type of information indicating the user's rank, but may be granted independently of the rank). Among them, it is an area for displaying the title given to the user during play ("Gold Student of Flamingo Academy").

[0038] The rank area 48B is an area for displaying the rank ("1") obtained by the user during play among the ranks prepared in the game (which are given according to the satisfied conditions when the play situation meets various granting conditions, and many of the ranks at predetermined intervals, etc., have titles). The rank is a value indicating the degree of growth of the user in the game, and generally, the larger this value is, the more games the user has played.

[0039] The currency area 48D is an area that displays information about the currency value that functions as currency within the game (hereinafter sometimes referred to as in-game currency). In-game currency is a value that is consumed to utilize predetermined functions such as purchasing items or granting various lottery opportunities. In-game currency is purchased, for example, in accompaniment with the consumption of real currency (which may be collected in the same way as the price for playing). In the currency area 48D, for example, a currency balance area 48D1 and a currency purchase icon 48D2 are provided. The currency balance area 48D1 is an area for presenting the balance of in-game currency currently owned by the user ("0"). The currency purchase icon 48D2 is an icon that functions as a touch position for purchasing in-game currency (increasing the balance). Specifically, the currency purchase icon 48D2 functions as a position where a touch operation is performed to request the purchase of in-game currency. Along with a touch operation on the currency purchase icon 48D2, for example, an additional area (so-called pop-up) for selecting the purchase amount or confirming the availability of purchase execution may be further presented.

[0040] The stamina value area 48C is an area that displays information about the user's stamina value. In the stamina value area 48C, for example, a stamina value presentation area 48C1 and a recovery icon 48C2 are provided. The stamina value presentation area 48C1 is an area for presenting the current value and upper limit value of the stamina value of each character. In the example of FIG. 3, "30" is presented both as the current stamina value ("the numerator of 30 / 30") and the upper limit value ("the denominator of 30 / 30") of this character. The recovery icon 48C2 is an icon that functions as a touch position for recovering the stamina value. More specifically, the recovery icon 48C2 functions as a position where a touch operation is performed to request the recovery of the stamina value. Along with a touch operation on the recovery icon 48C2, for example, an additional area (so-called pop-up) for selecting an item or confirming the availability of using the item may be further presented. The stamina value is consumed, as described above, for example, by performing errands events or music games.

[0041] The character image CA is an image corresponding to each character. On the home screen 40, character images CA corresponding to each character constituting the dance unit to be trained are appropriately displayed. In the example of FIG. 3, on the home screen 40, three character images CA corresponding to the three (all) characters constituting the dance unit are respectively displayed.

[0042] Note that the physical strength value presentation area 48C1 is not limited to such a user's physical strength value, and information on the physical strength value of a character that meets appropriate conditions, such as a character designated by a predetermined designation means such as a cursor, may be presented. Alternatively, the physical strength values of all characters may be presented in the physical strength value presentation area 48C1. Similarly, the arrangement of each character image CA on the home screen 40 may be appropriate. For example, a character most recommended by the user (so-called favorite member) is determined according to conditions such as prior designation or play status, and the character image CA of such a character may be arranged most in front on the home screen 40. Alternatively, the arrangement of each character image CA may be determined based on the user's designation.

[0043] FIGS. 4 to 11 all schematically show an example of a music game screen. The music game screens are all game screens related to the play of the music game. Specifically, the music game screen includes a team selection screen, a play guidance screen, a partner selection screen, a dance screen, and an auto setting screen. Among these, FIG. 4 is a diagram schematically showing an example of a team selection screen. The team selection screen 50A is a game screen for selecting a dance unit (team) to be used in the play of the music game. That is, the team selection screen 50A is used to select the dance unit to be trained through the play of the music game. As shown in FIG. 4, such a team selection screen 50A includes a team formation icon 50A1, a team presentation area 50A2, a switching instruction icon 50A3, an auto designation area 50A4, and a determination instruction icon 50A5.

[0044] The team formation icon 50A1 is one of the transition icons and has the same function as the "TEAM" icon 43. The team presentation area 50A2 is an area for presenting detailed information on the currently selected team. The team presentation area 50A2 further includes, for example, a character information area 50A6 and a team information area 50A7. The character information area 50A6 is an area for presenting the characteristics of each character constituting the selected team for each character. For this reason, the character information area 50A6 includes a character image CA indicating each character (the character image CA may be either a still image or a moving image, and may differ in posture, number, etc. according to the game screen and situation), and information on the characteristics. Also, various characteristics related to the characteristics of each character may be set for each character, and in the example of FIG. 4, as one of such characteristic information, a part of the information on the parameters defining each character is shown. On the other hand, the team information area 50A7 is an area for presenting the characteristics of each team (dance unit). As such a characteristic, the total value of the parameters of each character presented in the character information area 50A6 is used. That is, in the team information area 50A7, the total value of the parameter values presented in the character information area 50A6 is presented for each parameter.

[0045] The switching instruction icon 50A3 functions as a touch position for executing a request to switch the currently selected team to another candidate team. When there are selectable teams, with a touch operation on the switching instruction icon 50A3, the currently selected team is switched to another candidate team. That is, with a touch operation on the switching instruction icon 50A3, the display content of the team presentation area 50A2 is switched to the content of another team. On the other hand, the determination instruction icon 50A5 functions as a touch position for executing a request to determine the team to be played as the currently selected team. With a touch operation on the determination instruction icon 50A5, the currently selected team (the team presented via the team presentation area 50A2) is determined as the team to be played.

[0046] The auto-designated area 50A4 is an area for presenting information related to auto-play. Auto-play is one of the play forms (modes) prepared for music games, and it is a mode in which the evaluation of the play actions to be performed by each user is automatically processed as a predetermined evaluation result. That is, when the music game is played in auto-play, the user is given a predetermined evaluation result (if the evaluation result is given as a score, a predetermined score) without performing the play actions. Such auto-play can be selected (played) when the auto-play conditions are met. Also, as such auto-play conditions, for example, the use of a specific item (hereinafter sometimes referred to as a ticket) may be utilized. In this case, with the use (consumption) of the ticket, the designation of auto-play becomes possible. In this case, the auto-designated area 50A4 includes, for example, an availability information area 50A8 and a ticket purchase icon 50A9. The availability information area 50A8 is an area for presenting information regarding the availability of selecting auto-play. In the availability information area 50A8, for example, information regarding the number of tickets owned is presented. The ticket purchase icon 50A9 is an icon that functions as a touch position for purchasing (increasing the remaining number) a ticket that enables auto-play. Therefore, along with a touch operation on the ticket purchase icon 50A9, for example, an additional area (so-called popup) for selecting the number of purchases or confirming the availability of purchase execution may be further presented.

[0047] In the example of FIG. 4, "0" is displayed in the availability information area 50A8 as the number of tickets held (owned). That is, the user does not have any tickets. In this case, the ticket purchase icon 50A9 is displayed in the auto-designated area 50A4, and tickets are purchased through a touch operation or the like on this ticket purchase icon 50A9. On the other hand, when the user owns a ticket, in the auto-designated area 50A4, instead of the ticket purchase icon 50A9, an auto-play instruction icon (not shown) for instructing auto-play may be displayed. And such an auto-play instruction icon may function as a transition icon for transitioning to the auto-setting screen.

[0048] FIG. 5 is a diagram schematically showing an example of a play guidance screen. The play guidance screen 50B is a type of game screen for actually allowing a user to play a music game, and is a game screen for actually guiding the timing of play actions to be executed by each user. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5, the play guidance screen 50B includes an object 51, a determination line 52, and a character image CA. The character image CA is an image corresponding to each character as described above. On the play guidance screen 50B, the character images CA of the characters corresponding to the dance unit determined on the team selection screen 50A are displayed. Also, each character image CA functions as a video (animation) that dances in accordance with the rhythm of the music. That is, on the play guidance screen 50B, a character image CA (video) that performs a dance is displayed. The object 51 is an image that functions as an instruction sign, appears on the back side of the play guidance screen 50B at an appropriate time, and moves toward the front side. Also, the size of the object 51 changes so as to gradually increase as it moves from the back side to the front side.

[0049] On the one hand, the determination line 52 is an image that functions as a reference marker and is arranged at a fixed position on the front side of the play guidance screen 50B. A plurality of arrival position indicators 52A are provided on the determination line 52. Each arrival position indicator 52A is an image that functions as an indicator showing the arrival position of each object 51, and is formed in the same form as each object 51, that is, the same size and shape as each object 51 at that position. In other words, each arrival position indicator 52A functions as a passing position of a path (not shown) for each object 51 extending from the back side to the front side of the play guidance screen 50B, and each object 51 moves along such a path so as to coincide with the position of each arrival position indicator 52A at each execution time. Then, each user is required to perform a touch operation on the position of each arrival position indicator 52A that coincides with the position of each object 51 in accordance with the coincidence between each object 51 and each arrival position indicator 52A. Further, such a touch operation is evaluated higher as the deviation time between the arrival time (execution time of the sequence data QD) of each object 51 at each arrival position indicator 52A and the time of the actual touch operation is smaller. That is, the smaller the deviation time, the higher the score given to the user.

[0050] In the example of FIG. 5, the determination line 52 is formed in an arc shape on the front side of the play guidance screen 50B and has four arrival position indicators 52A. Further, these four arrival position indicators 52A are associated with the respective characters of the dance unit. For example, the first arrival position indicator 52A from the left is associated with the character of the leftmost character image CA and the character of the central character image CA adjacent thereto at a ratio of 70% and 30%, respectively. Similarly, for example, the rightmost arrival position indicator 52A is associated with the character of the rightmost character image CA at 70% and the character of the central character image CA at 30%. In this way, each arrival position indicator 52A is associated with each character with an appropriate inclination. And such an association is associated with the growth of each character. Specifically, the evaluation result of the touch operation on each arrival position indicator 52A is assigned to the growth of each character according to such an association. In this example, the play guidance screen 50B functions as the guidance screen of the present invention.

[0051] Note that the association between each arrival position indicator 52A and each character may be set as appropriate. For example, three arrival position indicators 52A may be associated with three characters on a one-to-one basis respectively. In this case, the remaining one arrival position indicator 52A may be associated with the three characters equally so as to be approximately averaged, or may be associated with an appropriate character with an appropriate inclination. Alternatively, an appropriate number of arrival position indicators 52A may be provided on the determination line 52. Therefore, for example, the number of arrival position indicators 52A may be three so as to correspond to the number of characters. Further, the correspondence between each arrival position indicator 52A and each character is not limited to the arrangement of each character image CA. For example, the correspondence between each arrival position indicator 52A and each character may be set under appropriate conditions such as a user's designation. Alternatively, the arrangement itself of each character image CA may be determined under appropriate conditions such as a user's designation. By such an association, it is possible to associate the arrangement position of each character, or the result of a touch operation for each arrival position indicator (in other words, the characteristics of the music), etc. with the growth of each character. That is, the arrangement position of each character, etc. can be used as an element that affects the growth of the character. Thereby, it is possible to give individuality according to the play situation of each user, etc. to the growth of each character. Further, when such an arrangement, etc. is based on a user's designation, the user's intention can be reflected in such growth. And, for example, it is possible to increase the degree of the user's involvement in the growth, such as devising the character arrangement at the time of team formation.

[0052] Furthermore, for each character, a parameter (hereinafter sometimes referred to as a score-related parameter) that affects the magnitude of the score per object 51 is prepared, and the play result (acquired score) of the music game may be affected by such a score-related parameter. In such a case, when there are many objects 51 reaching the leftmost reach position indicator 52A in a piece of music, it is possible to encourage the arrangement of each character image CA such that a character with a high score-related parameter is associated with the reach position indicator 52A. Thereby, since it is possible to make the user consider the character arrangement strategy according to the difference in the number of objects 51 reaching each reach position indicator 52A for each piece of music (or for each difficulty level, etc.), such consideration can be given as a new game element.

[0053] Also, during the play of the music game, in other words, during the play through the play guidance screen 50B, when a predetermined switching condition is satisfied, the music game screen switches from the play guidance screen 50B to the dance screen. The dance screen is a game screen for providing a special video in which a dance unit (in some cases, not all of them) performs a special dance according to the skills (characteristics) of each character. The details of the dance video will be described later together with the dance screen, but an opportunity to select which character of the dance unit will be the main character in the dance video to be displayed on the dance screen before switching to the dance screen is provided.

[0054] FIG. 6 is a diagram schematically showing an example of the play guidance screen 50B that provides such a selection opportunity. As shown in FIG. 6, on the play guidance screen 50B that provides such a selection opportunity, compared with the example of FIG. 5, the display of the character icons 53 corresponding to the respective characters of the dance unit during the dance on the play guidance screen 50B is added. The character icon 53 is an icon that functions as an option for selecting the main character in the dance video. Specifically, with a touch operation on the character icon 53 corresponding to each character, the character corresponding to the character icon 53 is determined as the main character in the dance video. In addition, the character icon 53 also functions as a transition icon for transitioning to the partner selection screen. That is, with a touch operation on the character icon 53, the screen transitions to the partner selection screen. Note that after the touch operation on the character icon 53, a pop-up or the like for confirming whether or not to confirm the selection result may be appropriately presented.

[0055] In the example of FIG. 6, an image corresponding to the head of the character image CA is displayed on each character icon 53, and a dance pattern image 54 is provided. The dance pattern image 54 is an image that shows, as symbols, the features of the dance video when the character corresponding to each character icon 53 becomes the main character. In the case of the example of FIG. 6, the dance pattern image 54 shows a dance by two characters as the features of the dance video. Each user executes the selection of the main character while referring to such a dance pattern image 54.

[0056] FIG. 7 is a diagram schematically showing an example of a partner selection screen. The partner selection screen 50C is a game screen for selecting a character to be the partner (cooperator) of the main character in a dance video. For this reason, the partner selection screen 50C is provided when the dance video corresponds to a dance by some of the characters in the dance unit. The example of FIG. 7 shows the case where the character icon 53 located in the middle is selected in the example of FIG. 6. A dance pattern image 54 showing a dance by two characters is displayed on this character icon 53. In this case, as shown in FIG. 7, the partner selection screen 50C includes a main character area 55 and partner candidate icons 56.

[0057] The main character area 55 is an area showing the main character in the dance video. The partner candidate icon 56 is an area showing each character that is a partner candidate for the main character. The partner candidate icon 56 also functions as a touch position for requesting a decision of the partner in the dance operation. That is, with a touch operation on the partner candidate icon 56, the character corresponding to the touched partner candidate icon 56 is determined as the partner of the main character.

[0058] In the example of FIG. 7, a character image CA (mainly only the head) corresponding to each character is displayed in both the main character area 55 and the partner candidate icon 56. Also, two partner candidate icons 56 corresponding to the other two characters of the main character are displayed. Therefore, with a touch operation on any one of these, the character corresponding to the touched partner candidate icon 56 is determined as the partner in the dance video. The partner selection screen 50C is also provided with a count information area 57. The count information area 57 is an area indicating the remaining time for partner selection through the partner selection screen 50C. When the remaining time (“3”) in the count information area 57 becomes zero, the character of the partner candidate icon 56 located above among the two partner candidate icons 56 is automatically determined as the partner. Note that the selection of the partner by the partner selection screen 50C may end not only within the time limit but also according to appropriate conditions such as an end instruction from the user. Also, when a dance by three characters is selected, the partner selection screen 50C may be displayed, and the main partner may be selected from the two characters other than the main character. On the other hand, when a dance by three characters is selected, the display of the partner selection screen 50C may be omitted. In this example, the two characters (two character images CA) corresponding to the two partner candidate icons 56 respectively function as two or more characters of the present invention.

[0059] FIG. 8 is a diagram schematically showing an example of a dance screen. The dance screen 50D is a game screen for displaying a special video as described above. The special video is a dance video performed by the main character and the partner character. In such a special video (dance video), a dance corresponding to the skill of the main character is performed. Therefore, each character performs an action (dance) that is not executed during normal play, in other words, an action that is not performed on the play guidance screen 50B. Further, the dance screen 50D is a game screen that can be switched from the play guidance screen 50B when a switching condition is satisfied. The switching condition may be satisfied, for example, in accordance with a designation operation for designating switching by the user (for example, a specific operation corresponding to such a designation, which may be an action depending on the type of input device, and an example of the designation act of the present invention including such an action) (for example, a predetermined number of times such as once per character may be provided within a predetermined range such as one play range or a predetermined period). Alternatively, a value indicating the possibility of switching to the dance screen 50D and a gauge indicating the amount thereof may be provided, and the switching condition may be satisfied when the play situation such as when the value becomes equal to or greater than a predetermined amount or when the acquired score becomes equal to or greater than a predetermined value corresponds to a predetermined situation. Further, the switching condition may be satisfied when the user's designation is executed after such a play situation has occurred.

[0060] As shown in FIG. 8, in such a dance screen 50D, compared with the play guidance screen 50B in the example of FIG. 5, the display of both the object 51 and the determination line 52 (including each arrival position indicator 52A) is omitted and not shown so that the dance video is more prominent. That is, in the dance screen 50D, the guidance of the execution timing of the play action (touch operation) is omitted so that the user's consciousness is directed to the viewing of the dance video (the viewing of the dance video is prioritized). In the example of FIG. 8, not only the object 51 and the determination line 52 but also the display of various other information and the like are similarly not shown. That is, all images (including information) other than the character image CA in the play guidance screen 50B are omitted so that the dance video stands out most prominently with the character image CA. On the other hand, a dance video information column DI is added to the dance screen 50D. The dance video information column DI displays information (“overhead”) regarding the type of the dance video (in other words, the type of dance expressed through the dance video). In this example, the dance screen 50D functions as a special screen of the present invention. Also, the two character images CA (or the two characters corresponding thereto) displayed on the dance screen 50D function as further part of the characters of the present invention.

[0061] Note that the dance screen 50D may be configured as appropriate as long as the dance video is prominent compared to the play guidance screen 50B. For example, in the play guidance screen 50B, a guidance image layout (which may be determined as an image area) including the object 51 and the judgment line 52 respectively and a dance image layout for displaying the character image CA (in other words, the dance video) are separated. In the dance image layout, for example, when a gyro sensor, an acceleration sensor, etc. are provided in the portable game machine 3C and the user's operation can be detected (the same applies when a head-mounted display or the like using the same sensors is used in the stationary game machine 3B or the arcade game machine 3A, etc., when the user's operation can be detected), the position of the virtual camera may change according to the user's operation. In such a case, while it is necessary to appropriately change the size, orientation, etc. of the character image CA (display of the dance image layout) according to the user's operation, it is preferable that the display position, etc. of the object 51, etc. (guidance image layout) be fixedly displayed regardless of such changes. For this reason, it is configured as separate layouts like this. And the same applies to the dance screen 50D. In the example of FIG. 8, only the guidance image layout corresponding to the object 51, etc. is made non-display (transmissive layout). That is, the screen that makes only the guidance image layout of the play guidance screen 50B non-display functions as the dance screen 50D. However, the configuration in which the dance video is prominent is not limited to such a configuration. For example, the dance screen 50D may be configured by arranging another image layout so as to hide the object 51, the judgment line 52, etc. on the play guidance screen 50B. Alternatively, all the image layouts including the dance image layout of the play guidance screen 50B may be replaced with another image layout corresponding to the dance video. Furthermore, as long as the dance video is prominent compared to the play guidance screen 50B, the dance screen 50D does not necessarily have to be configured to make the object 51 and the judgment line 52 non-display. For example, the dance screen 50D may make only one of the object 51 and the judgment line 52 non-display, or may display the whole of the play guidance screen 50B, etc. (for example, even a part of the object 51 and the judgment line 52, etc.) in a reduced size.That is, the dance screen 50D may display the entire play guidance screen 50B or the like reduced and in parallel on an image layout for displaying a special video, or in a separate area.

[0062] Also, since the dance screen 50D is also part of the music game screen, the music game continues even while the dance screen 50D is being displayed, and in the normal course, appropriate play actions are required of each user. On the other hand, on the dance screen 50D, both the object 51 and the judgment line 52 are made non-displayed so that the dance video stands out more, and thus the guidance of the play actions themselves is omitted, making it difficult for the user to grasp the appropriate execution timing. For this reason, while the dance screen 50D is being displayed, the evaluation of the play actions that the user should execute in the normal course, in other words, the evaluation of each execution timing that should be guided through the play guidance screen 50B in the normal course, is automatically processed according to a predetermined rule. The predetermined rule may be set in various ways, but for example, a predetermined evaluation result is used as the predetermined rule. In this case, on the dance screen 50D, each execution timing corresponding to the sequence data QD during play through the play guidance screen 50B is processed as a predetermined evaluation result.

[0063] Specifically, for example, when the evaluation result is such that a predetermined range before and after the execution time of the sequence data QD is set as "PERFECT!!", a predetermined range further before and after that is set as "GREAT", a predetermined range further before and after the "GREAT" range is set as "GOOD" based on the "GREAT" range, and the outside of the "GOOD" range is set as "MISS", and when including them in descending order of evaluation, "PERFECT!!" is used as a predetermined evaluation result. That is, on the dance screen 50D, although not displayed, the evaluation results of each object 51 heading towards each arrival position index 52A as the music progresses are uniformly processed as "PERFECT!!". Note that it is not limited to "PERFECT!!", and an appropriate evaluation result such as "GREAT" may be used as a predetermined evaluation result. Alternatively, non-evaluation may be adopted as a predetermined rule. That is, on the dance screen 50D, each execution time may be excluded from the evaluation targets and treated as not existing in the sequence data QD. On the other hand, for example, when the play guidance screen 50B is displayed in a reduced size or when the display of objects 51 etc. can be confirmed, such processing may be omitted. That is, to the user, even during the display of the dance screen 50, a play action (for example, the play action required may change from a touch operation to a button operation etc. as an appropriate measure) may be required as usual (or appropriate measures for reducing the burden may be given. In this case, such measures may function as a predetermined rule.). Also, the requirement for a play action during the display of such a dance screen 50 may be limited to the case where the user expresses a desire to execute a play action, such as when an appropriate play action has been executed on the object 51 etc. by the user.

[0064] The music game may be provided to a single user as a single-player game (simply as an element for cultivating each character), or may be provided to multiple users as a multi-player game. In the case of multi-player, the music game may be provided as a cooperative play type game in which multiple users (which may include computers) cooperate with each other, or may be provided as a competitive battle type game, but in any case, it is often played so that the progress is common among multiple users. At least the display of each character image CA and their actions (dances) may be different so as to correspond to the dance unit for each user, but the guidance at each execution time based on the sequence data QD is often common. Hereinafter, an example of the play guidance screen 50B when the music game is provided as a battle type game will be described. In such a music game, when multiple users (persons) other than the computer play as opponents in battle, etc., each user may be matched, for example, through a matching service. The matching service may be realized by the game machine 3A so that, for example, one game machine 3A matches the surrounding users or the users of other game machines 3A within the same facility. That is, the game machine 3A may function as the center server 2.

[0065] In a battle-type game, there may be a case where the opponent user satisfies the switching condition (when the dance screen 50D is provided to the opponent user). Also, when the music game is provided as a battle-type game, during the display of the dance screen 50D (in other words, during the activation of the main character's skill), the difficulty level of the opponent's music game changes. Specifically, during the display of the dance screen 50D, as an effect accompanying the skill activation, the difficulty level of the opponent's music game switches from the current (before skill activation) difficulty level to another difficulty level that is higher. Such switching may be realized by an appropriate method. For example, in a battle-type game, guidance based on the sequence data QD of the difficulty level selected by the user and guidance based on the sequence data QD of the difficulty level one higher than that while being non-displayed are executed simultaneously in parallel. Then, with the switch to the dance screen 50D, the guidance based on the sequence data QD of the non-displayed difficulty level one higher switches to being displayed, and the guidance based on the sequence data QD of the difficulty level selected by the user switches to being non-displayed. That is, the non-displayed guidance and the displayed guidance are swapped with the switch to the dance screen 50D as an opportunity. Also, in order to prepare for such a difficulty level switch, with the presence of the switching condition, a switching notice is provided to the opponent user who is playing the same game through the play guidance screen 50B. The switching notice is information that indicates in advance that the opponent's game screen will switch from the play guidance screen 50B to the dance screen 50D, in other words, that the difficulty level of the currently playing music game will increase.

[0066] FIG. 9 is a diagram schematically showing an example of the play guidance screen 50B providing a switching notice. As shown in FIG. 9, when the user of the opponent switches to the dance screen 50D, before such a switch, a switching notice icon 58 is displayed on the play guidance screen 50B. The switching notice icon 58 is an icon that functions as information indicating the above-mentioned switching notice. Also, during the notice period (hereinafter sometimes referred to as the start period) from the display of the switching notice icon 58 until the game screen of the opponent actually switches to the dance screen 50D, start preparations for preparing for a change in difficulty may be executed. Specifically, for example, when the sequence data QD includes information on the execution period corresponding to a continuous operation or a repeated operation such as a play behavior of maintaining (continuing) a touch operation on the reach position indicator 52A for a predetermined period (continuously touching) or a play behavior of repeating a touch operation, such a continuous operation or a repeated operation may span a change in difficulty. The change in difficulty corresponds to a change in the sequence data QD, and since such an execution period spanning a change in difficulty may disappear after the switch, special measures are required. In this case, processing related to such an execution period spanning a change in difficulty is executed as start preparations.

[0067] Similarly, when returning from the dance screen 50D to the play guidance screen 50B, that is, when returning to the original difficulty, a preparation period is also required. For this reason, when returning from the dance screen 50D to the play guidance screen 50B, an end period is set after returning to the play guidance screen 50B. And during the end period, end preparations may be executed. For example, an execution period spanning a change in difficulty as described above may also occur at the end (at the end of the dance screen 50D). Therefore, for example, processing related to such an execution period spanning a change in difficulty is also executed as end preparations at the end. Details of the start preparations and the end preparations will be described later.

[0068] For example, when three difficulty levels, namely "EASY", "NORMAL", and "HARD", are prepared for user selection, a fourth difficulty level, "SUPER" above "HARD", may be prepared specifically for switching to the dance screen 50D. That is, a difficulty level (not selectable) specifically for switching to the dance screen 50D may be provided separately from the user selection. Also, the switching of the difficulty level is not limited to the method of switching between the non-display state and the display state of the two difficulty levels guided in parallel as described above. The switching of the difficulty level may be realized by an appropriate method. For example, upon switching to the dance screen 50D, guidance based on the sequence data QD with a higher difficulty level may be started from there. Alternatively, it may be realized by appropriately adding the execution time (in other words, the object 51) to the guidance based on the current sequence data QD. That is, sequence data QD with another difficulty level may be generated based on the current sequence data QD.

[0069] Furthermore, the difficulty level switching is not limited to an increase in difficulty. For example, the difficulty level switching may be realized in the direction of decreasing difficulty. In this case, as the difficulty level decreases, the number of objects 51 also decreases, which can lead to a decrease in the total score obtained by the opponent. Alternatively, such switching may be used simply to disrupt the pace of the opponent due to the change in rhythm associated with the difficulty level switching. Also, during the difficulty level switching (for example, in the high difficulty level, the number of objects 51 to be operated often increases, and in the low difficulty level, the opposite is often the case), the evaluation results for each object 51 may be appropriately adjusted so that the obtainable score (the denominator of the score obtainable in the game) is the same as when such switching is not performed. Specifically, for example, during the switching, the score per object 51 (the score that should be given to the user when an appropriate play action is performed on one object 51) may be changed (smaller when the number of objects 51 increases and larger when the number of objects 51 decreases). Since the high difficulty level generally has a larger number of objects 51, if the scores are the same uniformly, the high difficulty level may be more advantageous in terms of the obtained score (the opposite is true for the low difficulty level), but this can suppress such an influence, and relatively fair play can be ensured in terms of the effects associated with the activation of skills. Alternatively, conversely, during the difficulty level switching, the evaluation results (the score obtained per object) for each object 51 may increase. In this case, the score obtained with appropriate play actions also increases, but the score lost due to failure also increases, so the user's sense of tension can be increased. Also, when a predetermined parameter is subtracted due to the failure of an appropriate play action, a similar effect can be obtained by increasing the evaluation result (the subtraction amount per object) for each object 51. On the other hand, such difficulty level switching may be omitted.

[0070] FIG. 10 is a diagram schematically showing an example of a play guidance screen 50B when an opponent is providing a dance screen 50D. As shown in FIG. 10, in the play guidance screen 50B when an opponent is providing a dance screen 50D, a situation presentation area 59 is added compared to the example of FIG. 5. The situation presentation area 59 is an area indicating that an opponent is providing a dance screen 50D. In other words, the situation presentation area 59 also functions as an area indicating that the difficulty level currently being played is higher than the original difficulty level (the difficulty level selected by oneself). The situation presentation area 59 includes a main character notification area 59A, a partner character notification area 59B, and a dance skill notification area 59C. The main character notification area 59A and the partner character notification area 59B are areas for notifying information on the main character and the partner character who are performing a dance on the opponent's dance screen 50D, respectively. In these areas, for example, as information on the main character and the partner character, their character images CA (mainly only the heads) are displayed. The dance skill notification area 59C is an area for notifying the type of dance (for example, "overhead") being performed by those main characters and partner characters (the dance accompanying the activation of a skill). And by the presentation of such a situation presentation area 59, it is grasped that the difficulty level is increasing.

[0071] FIG. 11 is a diagram schematically showing an example of an auto - setting screen. The auto - setting screen 50E is a game screen for making settings related to auto - play. The auto - setting screen 50E transitions when the auto - play instruction icon is touched on the team selection screen 50A as described above. As shown in FIG. 11, the auto - setting screen 50E includes an auto - setting area 60 for executing various settings related to auto - play. Further, the auto - setting area 60 includes a "UI display" switch icon 60A, a "rival display" switch icon 60B, and a "skill activation" switch icon 60C. The "UI display" switch icon 60A functions as a switch for determining whether to display the object 51 and the judgment line 52 included in the play guidance screen 50B during auto - play. That is, in the case of auto - play, whether to display or not display the object 51 etc. on the play guidance screen 50B is set by the user through the "UI display" switch icon 60A. Also, the "UI display" switch icon 60A may also function as a switch for determining whether to display various UIs (user interfaces) such as information on acquired points.

[0072] The "rival display" switch icon 60B functions as a switch for determining whether to display each character image CA corresponding to the rival's dance unit during auto - play. On the play guidance screen 50B, the character image CA may be switched at an appropriate timing to the one corresponding to the character of the rival's dance unit from the user's own dance unit (it is preferable that more of the character image CA corresponding to the user's own dance unit is displayed). The "rival display" switch icon 60B functions as a switch for selecting whether to execute such a switch even in auto - play when such a switch is executed.

[0073] The "Skill Activation" switch icon 60C functions as a switch for selecting whether to execute the dance video associated with skill activation, i.e., the switching to the dance screen 50D, even in auto-play. When the "Skill Activation" switch icon 60C is set to "ON", it switches to the dance screen 50D at an appropriate timing based on the activation conditions in auto-play. That is, the skills of each character are activated at an appropriate timing. On the other hand, when the "Skill Activation" switch icon 60C is set to "OFF", the switching to the dance screen 50D is not executed in auto-play. That is, the special video associated with skill activation is not provided.

[0074] Note that the "ON" and "OFF" of the "Skill Activation" switch icon 60C may be set in units of both teams (uniform for both teams) or separately for each team. Also, in auto-play, all play actions required in the music game may be processed according to a predetermined rule based on the sequence data QD. Specifically, similar to the case during the provision of the above-mentioned dance screen 50D, all play actions may be uniformly processed as a predetermined evaluation result such as "PERFECT!!". For this reason, in the case of auto-play, a uniform score may be given to the user in units of the selected music (or difficulty level). Furthermore, a reward may be given to the user based on such obtained score. Also, when the "Skill Activation" switch icon 60C is set to "OFF", a process may be executed such that the skill is activated but the associated video (dance screen 50D) is not displayed. In this case, the "Skill Activation" switch icon 60C can satisfy the desire of users who only want to watch normal dances.

[0075] FIG. 12 is a diagram schematically showing an example of a character screen. The character screen 70 is a game screen for presenting details of each character. Many characters are prepared for the music game, and details of each character are displayed on the character screen 70. The character screen 70 transitions when the "DANCER" icon 42 is touched on the home screen 40 as described above. As shown in FIG. 12, the character screen 70 includes a character image CA and a character details area 71. The character image CA is an image corresponding to each character as described above. The character details area 71 is an area for displaying detailed information of each character. The character details area 71 is provided for each character image CA so as to correspond to each character. Each character details area 71 includes a character name area 72, a parameter area 73, a dance skill area 74, and a clothing area 75.

[0076] The character name area 72 is an area for displaying the name of each character. The parameter area 73 is an area for displaying information on the parameters of each character. The dance skill area 74 is an area for displaying information on skills related to the dance of each character. Specifically, a number of dance-related skills (dance skills) are prepared for the music game and are set for each character at least one by one. Such dance skills may overlap (including cases where they are different among some characters) or be uniquely different among multiple characters. Information on such character-specific dance skills is displayed in the dance skill area 74. The clothing area 75 is an area for displaying information on the clothing worn by each character.

[0077] In the example of FIG. 12, in the parameter area 73, information similar to the character information area 50A6 on the team selection screen 50A is displayed as information on the parameters of each character. Also, in the dance skill area 74 of any character, information on "overhead" is displayed as a skill related to dance. In this case, when any character provides a dance video (special video) on the dance screen 50D as the main character, the character performs a dance corresponding to "overhead". When a plurality of dance skills are set for each character, the dance skill area 74 also functions as an icon for popping up a skill selection bar. Also, in the costume area 75, information on costumes such as "exclusive wear (Reiji)" is displayed. Although there are differences for each character, all of these correspond to the same exclusive wear. For this reason, although there are differences in the way of wearing for each character, they are all wearing the same costume. When there are a plurality of candidate costumes to be worn, the costume area 75 also functions as an icon for popping up a costume selection bar (not shown. It may be on a separate screen). In the costume selection bar, the costume to be worn by each character, in other words, each character image CA, is selected from a plurality of candidate costumes to be worn. Then, by changing this costume, the costume worn by the character image CA is changed. Note that the costume selection bar may be configured to be able to select not wearing a costume, and a character image CA with a bare upper body may be displayed in accordance with such a selection of not wearing a costume.

[0078] FIG. 13 is a diagram schematically showing an example of a character screen 70 while a skill selection bar is being displayed. As shown in FIG. 13, the skill selection bar 76 includes a skill selection icon 78 and a cancel icon 79. The skill selection icon 78 is an icon indicating a dance skill as a selection candidate. For this reason, the skill selection icon 78 is provided for each dance skill as a selection candidate. Further, the skill selection icon 78 also functions as a touch position for setting (changing from the current skill) the dance skill of each selection candidate as the dance at the time of skill activation. That is, with the touch operation on the skill selection icon 78, the dance skill corresponding to the touched skill selection icon 78 is determined as the dance to be performed on the dance screen 50D. On the other hand, the cancel icon 79 functions as a touch position for canceling the change of the dance skill (popup of the skill selection bar 76). That is, with the touch operation on the cancel icon 79, the display of the skill selection bar 76 disappears and returns to the character screen 70 of FIG. 12.

[0079] In the example of FIG. 13, two skill selection icons 78 corresponding to “Overhead” and “Slide Cinderella” are displayed in the skill selection bar 76. In this case, with the touch operation on each skill selection icon 78, “Overhead” and “Slide Cinderella” are determined as the dances to be performed on the dance screen 50D. Further, a dance pattern image 54 is displayed on the skill selection icon 78 in the same manner as the character icon 53 on the play guidance screen 50B for each selection opportunity state. More specifically, a dance pattern image 54 indicating “Overhead” and a dance pattern image 54 indicating “Slide Cinderella” are respectively displayed on the two skill selection icons 78. The dance pattern image 54 of “Overhead” shows a dance by two characters, and the dance pattern image 54 of “Slide Cinderella” shows a dance by three characters.

[0080] FIG. 14 is a diagram schematically showing an example of a lottery result screen. The lottery result screen 80 is a game screen for providing a lottery game for awarding various elements related to a character training game by lottery. The lottery result screen 80 transitions when the “Lottery” icon 44 is touched on the home screen 40 as described above. Specifically, when the “Lottery” icon 44 is selected on the home screen 40, it transitions to a lottery selection screen (not shown) where a plurality of options are displayed, and an arbitrary option among the plurality of lottery-related options displayed here is selected by the user, and in-game currency is consumed as necessary. Then, after a lottery (a dedicated screen for the lottery may be provided separately) is executed as appropriate, it transitions to the lottery result screen 80. The example in FIG. 14 shows a case where a lottery game of a type that draws a card corresponding to each character is provided as an element related to a character training game. In this case, as shown in FIG. 14, the lottery result screen 80 includes, for example, a card image 81 and a lottery icon 82.

[0081] The card image 81 is an image showing the card acquired by this lottery. A character image CA corresponding to each character is displayed on the card image 81. Also, when the same card as a card that has already been acquired as a result of the lottery game is obtained repeatedly, the duplicate card is automatically synthesized with the already acquired card, and information indicating the number of syntheses (for example, a number such as “2”) is displayed on the card image 81 corresponding to that card. Along with the synthesis, while the parameters of the already acquired card or their upper limit values increase by a predetermined amount, the association between the repeatedly acquired card and the user is released. Note that the increase in parameters and the like may be omitted during synthesis.

[0082] On the other hand, the lottery icon 82 is an icon that functions as a touch position for requesting the execution of a lottery game, in other words, the drawing of a card. That is, along with a touch operation on the lottery icon 82, a lottery game is provided and the drawing of a card is actually executed. The lottery game may be provided along with the consumption of an appropriate value. As an example, a predetermined amount of in-game currency is consumed for the lottery game per draw.

[0083] In the example of FIG. 14, ten card images 81 are displayed on the lottery result screen 80. That is, it indicates that the user has obtained ten cards in this lottery. Also, instead of the character image CA, information such as “Item Conversion” is displayed on one of the ten card images 81. This means that the corresponding card (card image 81) has been converted into an item. Each card image 81 is given the right to be converted into an item when a predetermined number of the same type of card images 81 are collected (when the same type of cards are combined a predetermined number of times and reach the preset upper limit of the combination times). When this right is exercised, the card image 81 is converted into an item, and information indicating such a conversion (“Item Conversion”, etc.) is displayed on the card image 81. The item to be converted may be changed (including a change in value) according to the type and rarity (rarity level) of the cards used for the conversion, or may be the same item uniformly. Also, after the right to convert into an item is granted, an item to be granted may be drawn at any timing, and an item corresponding to the lottery result may be granted.

[0084] Also, in the example of FIG. 14, each card image 81 is configured to be of a different type due to differences such as the poses of the characters and the like. On the other hand, the use of such card images 81 themselves in a music game or the like is not assumed. That is, each card image 81 is merely collected in a so-called bromide manner and is mainly displayed for viewing. However, with the acquisition of each card image 81, the clothing worn by the character of each card image 81 can be selected as the clothing of each character during the play of the music game. That is, with the ownership of each card image 81, the clothing of that card image 81 is displayed, for example, in the clothing area 75 of the character screen 70 and is used as the dance clothing or the like when the skill is activated. Therefore, the lottery game is played for the acquisition of bromides for viewing and their collection, as well as for the acquisition of such clothing.

[0085] In addition, various characteristics may be set for each character, including dance skills (a type of characteristic). Such characteristics may include characteristics related to growth. For example, a character with a high rarity (so-called rarity level) may be given a characteristic that allows it to grow faster than other characters even when they have accumulated the same experience. Furthermore, the dance skills may include skills that are only granted (unlocked) when various conditions such as the play situation are met. Also, each card image 81 may be used in the game rather than for viewing. For example, each card image 81 may be configured to allow the character corresponding to that card image 81 to appear in the game through selection on a team formation screen or the like. Specifically, card images 81 corresponding to different characters (including cases where the same character has different skills, etc.) such as the various skills and rarity levels as described above may be given according to appropriate conditions such as the play situation or a lottery. And different characters with different skills, etc. may be reproduced in the game based on such card images 81. Furthermore, such card images 81 may be actually generated (issued) as physical cards by an appropriate method.

[0086] Next, the details of the start preparation and the end preparation will be described. The start preparation and the end preparation occur along with the switching between the dance screen 50D and the play guidance screen 50B when the music game is provided as a battle-type game as described above. For this reason, before and after the switching between the dance screen 50D and the play guidance screen 50B, a start period during which the start preparation is executed and an end period during which the end preparation is executed are set. First, in the start period, when the execution period is guided in the music game, the guidance of the execution period across the switch as the start preparation is omitted, and such an execution period is also excluded from the evaluation target. In other words, the period during which such omission and exclusion are executed functions as the start period. For this reason, such a start period is set based on the execution period. Specifically, a period of the same length as the execution period is set as the start period. The start period may be fixed or variable. For example, the length may be fixedly set as the start period based on the longest execution period during the music game. Alternatively, with the fulfillment of the switching condition, the presence or absence of the execution period across the switching time is determined, and the start period corresponding to the execution period may be set according to the presence or absence thereof.

[0087] Also, when it corresponds to the start period (the start period of the opponent) accompanying the fulfillment of the switching condition of the opponent, the start preparation is also executed on the user side. Along with the activation of the dance skill of the opponent, the difficulty level of the music game is switched, and the guidance sequence data QD is also switched. For this reason, when the execution period across the switch is guided by the switched sequence data QD, on the user side, as the start preparation, the process of making such an execution period invisible and excluding it from the evaluation target is executed. Note that the execution period made invisible during the start period may not be excluded from the evaluation target and may be processed as a predetermined evaluation result.

[0088] Also, during the start period, an opportunity to select a partner character who performs a dance in the special video (including the opportunity to select a partner via the partner selection screen 50C) is also provided. Therefore, such an opportunity is restricted to a period corresponding to the start period (even if the start period is variable, a certain period is ensured to secure the user's selection time in the selection opportunity). Similarly, during the start period, a notice of the opponent is also notified. Note that during the start period, various guides such as the execution time and execution period may be appropriately omitted. Specifically, for example, during the start period, the guides for all execution times and all execution periods may be omitted. For example, when the length of the start period is shorter than the length of the execution period, it may be difficult to determine whether there is an execution period that straddles a switch in advance. That is, depending on the length of the start period, it may be preferable to hide the execution period. Also, when a notice is given in anticipation of the activation of the opponent's dance skill, the user may be required to consider whether to activate a dance skill to counter it. For example, in such a case, the guides for the execution time and execution period may be omitted. Alternatively, during the start period, the guides for the execution time and execution period that are not displayed (scheduled to be displayed in the future) may be omitted. Also, only the guide for either the execution time or the execution period may be omitted. And in these cases, the non-displayed execution time, etc. may be processed as a predetermined evaluation result or excluded from the evaluation target. That is, they may be processed as appropriate. Also, in such a case, the start period (similarly for the end period described later) is not limited to the execution period and may be set as appropriate.

[0089] On the other hand, on the dance screen 50D, the display of objects 51, etc. (guides for each execution time) is omitted, and during that time, they are automatically processed as a predetermined evaluation result according to a predetermined rule. Therefore, when the execution period is guided during the end period, the evaluation of the execution period that straddles a switch is automatically processed as end preparation. That is, even after returning from the dance screen 50D to the play guide screen 50B (the display of objects 51, etc. returns and the automatic processing originally ends), only the evaluation of the execution period that straddles a switch is continuously automatically processed for a certain period. Such a certain period functions as the end period.

[0090] Also, when it corresponds to the end period of the opponent, the user side also executes the end preparation. Contrary to when the dance skill is activated, as the opponent's dance skill ends, the difficulty level of the music game returns to the original difficulty level, and the guidance sequence data QD also returns to its original state. Therefore, when the execution period straddling the switch is guided by the sequence data QD after the return, the user side is guided to maintain such an execution period as the end preparation. That is, originally, such guidance of the execution period may disappear with the switching of the sequence data QD, but there is a possibility that the user's play behavior continues. For this reason, during the end period, the display of the object 51 that guides such a period is maintained so that the guidance of the execution period straddling such a switch continues.

[0091] On the other hand, when the execution time comes immediately after the return, since the difficulty level of the guidance of that execution time will increase, the guidance of the execution time is omitted during the end period. That is, during the end period, the display of all objects 51 corresponding to each execution time of the sequence data QD that has returned to its original state is made non-displayed. Further, if there is an execution period straddling the end time at the end of the end period in the sequence data QD that has returned to its original state, the guidance of such an execution period is also omitted. Hereinafter, with reference to FIGS. 15 to 17, an example of the patterns of the start period and the end period that occur when the opponent is a computer (including the case of auto-play) will be described. Note that, similar to the case of the start period, the execution periods that are made non-displayed during the end period are not excluded from the evaluation target and may be processed as a predetermined evaluation result.

[0092] Note that the start preparation and end preparation during the start period and end period are not limited to the above-described form, and various processes in the above-described start preparation and end preparation may be appropriately combined and realized according to the combination of the subject of dance skill activation such as user activation or opponent activation, and the types of play actions required of the user such as the execution time or execution period (in other words, the type of object 51). For example, when only a specific play action is desired to be executed by the user even during the start period, etc., non-display, display, or predetermined evaluation, evaluation exclusion, etc. may be appropriately set according to the type of play action. On the other hand, such start preparation and end preparation, in other words, the start period and end period, may be appropriately omitted (including the case of only one of them). That is, the start period and end period may not be set, and for example, immediately after the end of the dance screen 50, guidance based on the original sequence data QD may be started for the user as usual, and normal touch operations may be similarly required.

[0093] FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram for explaining an example of the personality set for a character regarding dance skills. As shown in FIG. 15, for each character, a personality regarding dance skills is set so as to include tendencies related to three types of classifications: "yes / no", "time", and "when the opponent executes". "Yes / no" is a tendency regarding whether to activate (yes) or not activate a dance skill. Therefore, the classification of "yes / no" includes the categories of "yes" and "no". "Time" is a tendency regarding the time when a dance skill is activated. The classification of "time" includes, for example, the categories of "opening", "mid-game", "end-game", and "advantageous time". "Opening", "mid-game", and "end-game" respectively correspond to the opening, mid-game, and end-game in a music game. "Advantageous time" corresponds to the time that is advantageous for the activation of a dance skill. For example, when an advantageous time may occur in a part of a piece of music according to the characteristics of a character, such a time is used as the advantageous time.

[0094] "When the opponent executes" refers to the tendency regarding whether to activate a dance skill so as to counter when the opponent activates a dance skill. Therefore, the classification of "when the opponent executes" includes the categories of "counter" (activating the skill to counter) and "not counter". Each character is set with a personality so as to include the tendencies based on these combinations (since the following combinations do not occur when the dance skill is not activated, there are 9 combinations of 4×2 + 1). And such a personality of each character is reflected in the dance unit when set as the leader of the dance unit. Note that the leader of the dance unit may be set under appropriate conditions. For example, it may be set based on the user's designation on the team formation screen, or it may be automatically set according to the order at the time of team formation. Also, the personalities such as "yes / no" mentioned above are only tendencies. For example, even if the category of "opening" is set as a personality in the classification of "time period", it is not necessary to activate the dance skill with a 100% probability at the opening of the music game. That is, a probability is set for each character such that the set tendency is more likely to be selected by the computer. Among characters with the same or similar tendencies set, the set probabilities may be different. Also, regarding whether to activate the dance skill or not, the setting of not activating ("no") may also function as a probability setting with a strong tendency not to activate (for example, activation probability 5%). In this case, tendencies regarding "time period" and "when the opponent activates" may also be set for the setting of not activating ("no").

[0095] FIG. 16 is an explanatory diagram for explaining an example of a start period and an end period that occur for an opponent when a user satisfies a switching condition first. The example of FIG. 16 can occur, for example, when the character whose personality of the classification of "opposing" is set in the "when the opponent is executed" classification in the dance unit of the opponent (computer) is the leader (hereinafter sometimes referred to as the leader character). In this case, as shown in FIG. 16, the music game switches to the dance screen 50D (activation of the dance skill) as the switching condition is satisfied, and the switching (activation of the dance skill) ends (returns to the original play guidance screen 50B) as the end condition is satisfied. The end condition is satisfied, for example, when a predetermined period corresponding to the dance skill has elapsed. In this case, this predetermined period functions as the activation period of the dance skill. And the patterns of the start period and the end period that occur for the opponent (computer) when the user satisfies the switching condition first include three patterns: Pattern 1, Pattern 2, and Pattern 3.

[0096] Pattern 1 corresponds to the case where the activation period of the opponent's dance skill (the period during which the dance screen 50D is provided, in other words, the length of the special video) coincides with the activation period of the user's dance skill. In this case, the timing of the opponent's dance skill activation period is adjusted so as to coincide with the timing of the user's skill activation period. Specifically, the timing of the start period that should originally be given to the opponent is adjusted so that the timing of the skill activation period coincides with that of the user. That is, the start period of the opponent is shortened so that the start timing of the skill activation period coincides with that of the user. In the start period, as described above, for example, start preparation, selection opportunity, and notice are executed, but these are not necessary for the computer for the same period as the user. Therefore, the length of this start period is adjusted in order to match the timing of the skill activation period.

[0097] On the one hand, the activation period of the dance skill may be set to be the same uniformly, or may be set to be different according to the skills of the main character. In Pattern 2 and Pattern 3, the activation period of the dance skill is set to be different according to the skills of the main character, and this applies when the activation period of the user's dance skill and the activation period of the opponent's dance skill are different. Specifically, Pattern 2 applies when the activation period of the opponent's dance skill is longer than that of the user, and Pattern 3 applies when the activation period of the opponent's dance skill is shorter than that of the user. In both cases of Pattern 2 and Pattern 3, the start period is adjusted in the same way as in Pattern 1 so that the start time of the opponent's dance skill coincides with the start time of the user's dance skill. As a result, in Pattern 2, the user finishes the activation of the dance skill (provision of the dance screen 50D) earlier than the opponent. For this reason, after the user returns to the play guidance screen 50B (fulfillment of their own end condition), a high-difficulty play associated with the activation of the opponent's dance skill is required until the activation period of the opponent's dance skill ends (fulfillment of the opponent's end condition). On the other hand, in Pattern 3, the opponent finishes the activation of the dance skill earlier than the user. For this reason, after returning to the play guidance screen 50B, the user can require the opponent to perform a high-difficulty play associated with the activation of the skill until the activation period of the user's dance skill ends. Thus, when the opponent is a computer, the start period on the computer side is adjusted so that the start time of the skill activation is made to coincide as much as possible, for example, by adjusting the start period on the opponent side. As a result, the disadvantages suffered by the user, such as the period during which a high-difficulty play is required, are reduced as much as possible. As a result, the user can enjoy the game more comfortably. In this example, the time of fulfillment of the end condition (return time) functions as the return time of the present invention.

[0098] FIG. 17 is an explanatory diagram for explaining an example of the start period and the end period that occur to the opponent when the user satisfies the switching condition after the opponent requests the activation of the dance skill (has the switching condition) and before the dance skill is actually activated. That is, the example in FIG. 17 shows an example of the start period and the like of the opponent when the user requests the activation of the dance skill so as to counter the activation of the opponent's dance skill. Also in such a case, similar to the example in FIG. 16, the activation timing of the dance skill is adjusted for the opponent (computer) according to the start timing of the user's dance skill. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 17, when the user requests the activation of the dance skill so as to counter the activation of the opponent's dance skill, the patterns of the start period and the end period that occur to the opponent (computer) include three patterns: pattern 4, pattern 5, and pattern 6.

[0099] Pattern 4 corresponds to the case where the activation period of the dance skill is the same between the user and the opponent, pattern 5 corresponds to the case where the activation period of the opponent's dance skill is longer than that of the user, and pattern 6 corresponds to the case where the activation period of the user's dance skill is longer than that of the opponent, respectively. That is, although there is a difference in whether the user or the opponent triggers the dance skill first, patterns 4 to 6 respectively correspond to patterns 1 to 3 in the example of FIG. 16. On the other hand, compared with the example in FIG. 16, since there is a difference that the opponent triggers the dance skill first, in patterns 4 to 6, a waiting period is provided between the elapse of the start period and the actual start of the activation of the dance skill compared with patterns 1 to 3. Specifically, in any of patterns 4 to 6, unlike patterns 1 to 3, a predetermined start period is provided in the same way as the user. And when the switching condition is satisfied by the user during this start period, a waiting period is set so as to coincide with the start timing of the activation of the user's dance skill. That is, the start timing of the activation of the dance skill is adjusted by the waiting period so as to coincide with each other. In this way, the start timing of the activation of the dance skill is appropriately adjusted so that the timing of the activation period of the opponent's skill coincides with that of the user as much as possible.

[0100] Note that a plurality of attributes with a relationship of superiority and inferiority are prepared for the music game, and such attributes may be set for each character. Then, when the activation periods of the dance skills of the user and the opponent in the battle match as described above, the scores (evaluation results) obtained there may differ depending on the superiority and inferiority between the attributes of the main character. Specifically, for example, based on the case where the dance skill is activated alone, if the attribute of the user's main character is superior to that of the opponent in the battle, 20% of the score is added to the reference, and conversely, if the attribute of the user's main character is inferior to that of the opponent in the battle, the reference may be subtracted by 20%.

[0101] Next, the details of the sequence data QD will be described. FIG. 18 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the sequence data QD. The sequence data QD is prepared for each piece of music and each difficulty level. That is, the sequence data QD includes a plurality of sequence data QDa, QDb, QDc... corresponding to a plurality of pieces of music with different difficulty levels. Since the difficulty level of each sequence data QD depends on the number of execution times (the same applies to the number of execution periods when the execution period is included), in many cases, the numbers such as the execution times are different from each other among these. The example of FIG. 18 shows an example of the sequence data QD in the case where both the execution time and the execution period are guided in the music game. In this case, as shown in FIG. 18, each sequence data QD includes a sequence record RS that manages information on the time when an appropriate play action should be executed. The sequence record RS includes a first sequence record RS1 and a second sequence record RS2.

[0102] The first sequence record RS1 is a sequence record RS that manages the execution time information as the information on the time when an appropriate play action should be executed. The first sequence record RS1 includes information on "execution time", "route", and "type". "Execution time" is information indicating the execution time to be guided to each user. For example, in the "execution time", information in which values indicating the measure number, the number of beats, and the time within the beat in a piece of music are separated by commas is described as the execution time information. "Route" is information indicating each route. As the information on "route", information for identifying each route is described. Specifically, for example, when each route is distinguished by numbers such as 1 to 4 in order from the left so as to correspond to the arrival position indicator 52A, such numbers are described as the information on the route. Also, each arrival position indicator 52A also functions as information on the position to be touched as an appropriate play action. Therefore, the information on "route" indicating the route corresponding to each arrival position indicator 52A also functions as information indicating an appropriate play action. "Type" is information indicating the type of the object 51. For example, each execution time and each execution period are guided by different types of objects 51. Therefore, information for distinguishing these types is described as the type information.

[0103] The second sequence record RS2 is a sequence record RS that manages information on the execution period as information on the timing when an appropriate play action should be executed. The second sequence record RS2 includes information on "execution period", "route", and "type". The information on "route" and "type" is the same as the information on "route" and "type" of the first sequence record RS1. On the other hand, the "execution period" is information indicating the period during which an appropriate play action such as continuing an appropriate play action should be performed as an appropriate play action. The information on the "execution period" includes, for example, information on the start time and end time of execution (in this case, the start time and end time of execution may be regarded as the execution time respectively). Also, as information on these start time and end time of execution, similar to the execution time, information in which values indicating the measure number, beat number, and time within the beat in the music are separated by commas is used. In the sequence record RS, various types of information as described above are recorded so as to be associated with each other. Note that the information on "route" may be replaced by various types of information. For example, information on the appearance position and arrival position of the object 51 may be used as the information on "route". Similarly, when the information on the "execution period" functions as information on the type of the object 51, the information on "type" may be omitted.

[0104] Next, with reference to FIGS. 19 to 27, screen switching processing, difficulty switching processing, guidance omission processing, guidance maintenance processing, video presentation processing, special evaluation processing, screen return processing, difficulty return processing, and evaluation exclusion processing will be described. The screen switching processing is processing for switching the game screen from the play guidance screen 50B to the dance screen 50D. When the switching condition is satisfied during the provision of the play guidance screen 50B, the guidance control unit 33 starts the screen switching processing in FIG. 19 and first provides a selection opportunity (step S101). The selection of each character is realized, for example, by a touch operation on the character icon 53. Therefore, the guidance control unit 33 provides a selection opportunity by displaying the character icon 53 corresponding to each character on the play guidance screen 50B.

[0105] Subsequently, the guidance control unit 33 sets the start timing of the switch to the dance screen 50D (step S102). When the start period is fixed for a predetermined period from the fulfillment of the switching conditions, the guidance control unit 33 sets the start timing at the end timing of the start period so that such a start period is formed before the switch. Next, the guidance control unit 33 determines whether the start condition for starting the switch to the dance screen 50D is satisfied (step S103). As an example, the start condition is satisfied with the end of the start period. That is, the guidance control unit 33 determines whether the end timing of the start period has arrived as the start condition. If the end timing has not arrived, the guidance control unit 33 returns to step S103 again and repeatedly executes the process of step S103 until the end timing arrives. That is, the guidance control unit 33 repeatedly determines whether the end timing of the start period has arrived until the end timing arrives.

[0106] On the other hand, when the start condition is satisfied, that is, when the end timing of the start period has arrived, the guidance control unit 33 switches the game screen from the play guidance screen 50B to the dance screen 50D (step S104). More specifically, the guidance control unit 33 switches the play guidance screen 50B to the dance screen 50D by making the objects 51 and the judgment line 52 (including the arrival position indicator 52A) of the play guidance screen 50B invisible. Then, after this switch, the guidance control unit 33 ends the current screen switching process. Thereby, the switching of the game screen accompanying the fulfillment of the switching conditions is realized. More specifically, when the switching conditions are satisfied, the start period is set, and after the elapse of the start period, the play guidance screen 50B is switched to the dance screen 50D. Also, a selection opportunity is provided during the start period. Note that the selection opportunity may include a partner selection opportunity (such as presenting the partner selection screen 50C), or the provision of such an opportunity may be realized by another process.

[0107] The difficulty switching process is a process for switching (changing) the difficulty level of the music game in accordance with the activation of the opponent's dance skill during the provision of the dance screen 50D (during the activation of the dance skill) as one of the effects of the dance skill. When the switching condition is satisfied by the opponent during the provision of the play guidance screen 50B, the guidance control unit 33 starts the difficulty switching process of FIG. 20, and first identifies the current difficulty level and the difficulty level after switching (step S201). The difficulty level of the music game depends on the content of the sequence data QD. Therefore, the guidance control unit 33 identifies the current sequence data QD and the switching sequence data QD as the current difficulty level and the difficulty level after switching. Also, in the music game, for such a switch, guidance based on the switching sequence data QD is executed in parallel while the guidance (display) based on the current sequence data QD is also made non-display. Therefore, the guidance control unit 33 identifies these sequence data QD as the current sequence data QD and the switching sequence data QD. In this case, these current sequence data QD and the switching sequence data QD function as the current sequence data of the present invention and another sequence data, respectively. Similarly, the corresponding current difficulty level and the difficulty level after switching function as the current difficulty level of the present invention and another difficulty level.

[0108] Subsequently, the guidance control unit 33 sets the start time of the difficulty level switching (step S202). When the start period is fixed within a predetermined period from the fulfillment of the switching condition, the guidance control unit 33 sets the start time at the end time of the start period so that such a start period is formed before the switching. Alternatively, if the guidance control unit 33 has set the start time in step S102 of the screen switching process in FIG. 19, it may obtain the processing result and set the same start time. Next, the guidance control unit 33 determines whether the start condition for starting the difficulty level switching is satisfied (step S203). As an example, the start condition is satisfied with the end of the start period. That is, the guidance control unit 33 determines whether the end time of the start period has arrived as the start condition. If the end time has not arrived, the guidance control unit 33 returns to step S203 again and repeatedly executes the process of step S203 until the end time arrives. That is, the guidance control unit 33 repeatedly determines whether the end time of the start period has arrived until the end time arrives.

[0109] On the other hand, when the start condition is satisfied, that is, when the end time of the start period has arrived, the guidance control unit 33 switches the difficulty level of the music game (step S204). Specifically, the guidance control unit 33 switches the guidance sequence data QD for guidance from the current sequence data QD to the switching sequence data QD that has been used for guidance in parallel while being non-displayed. That is, the guidance based on the current sequence data QD is made non-displayed, and the guidance based on the switching sequence data QD is made displayed, respectively. After this switching, the guidance control unit 33 ends the current difficulty level switching process. Thereby, the switching of the difficulty level accompanying the activation of the dance skill of the opponent is realized.

[0110] The guidance omission process is a process for realizing start preparation or end preparation during the start period (the start period associated with the activation of the opponent's skill, that is, including the opponent's start period) or the end period (the end period associated with the activation of the opponent's skill, that is, including the opponent's end period). More specifically, the guidance omission process is a process for omitting (hiding) the guidance for such an execution period when the execution period straddles a switch during the start period, or when the execution period straddles the end of the end period. Alternatively, the guidance omission process is also a process for omitting the guidance on the execution timing based on the sequence data QD during the end period. The guidance control unit 33 repeatedly starts the guidance omission process of FIG. 21 at a predetermined cycle during the start period or the end time, and first determines whether the omission condition is satisfied (step S301). The omission condition is satisfied, for example, when there is an execution period straddling a switch at the start time. Also, the omission condition is satisfied, for example, during the end period when the execution timing is included in this end period, or when there is an execution period straddling the end of the end period. That is, the guidance control unit 33 determines whether there is an execution period straddling a switch during the start period, whether the execution timing is included in the end period during the end period, and whether there is an execution period straddling the end time, respectively.

[0111] Subsequently, the guidance control unit 33 identifies the omission target (step S302). Specifically, it identifies the execution period or execution timing that satisfies the omission condition during the start period and the end period. Next, the guidance control unit 33 omits the guidance for the identified omission target (step S303). Specifically, the guidance control unit 33 realizes this guidance by making the display of the object 51 corresponding to the execution period, etc. of the identified omission target non-display (including transparent display). Then, after omitting the guidance for the omission target, the guidance control unit 33 ends the current guidance omission process. Thereby, start preparation and end preparation during the start period (including that of the opponent) and the end period are realized. More specifically, the guidance for the execution period straddling a switch during the start period is omitted. Also, during the end period, the guidance for each execution timing and the guidance for the execution period straddling the end of the end period are omitted.

[0112] The guidance maintenance process is a process for realizing end preparation in the end period when the execution period is guided based on the sequence data QD. More specifically, it is a process for maintaining the display of the execution period that straddles the return from the dance screen 50D to the play guidance screen 50B in the end period. The guidance control unit 33 repeatedly starts the guidance maintenance process of FIG. 22 at a predetermined cycle at the end time, and first determines whether or not the maintenance condition is satisfied (step S401). The maintenance condition is satisfied, for example, when there is an execution period that straddles the return time. Also, in the case of the end period of the opponent, the presence or absence of such an execution period is determined based on the sequence data QD before the return. That is, the guidance control unit 33 determines whether or not there is an execution period that straddles the return time in the end period.

[0113] Subsequently, the guidance control unit 33 identifies the maintenance target (step S402). Specifically, the guidance control unit 33 identifies the execution period that satisfies the maintenance condition, that is, the execution period that straddles the return time, as the maintenance target. Next, the guidance control unit 33 maintains the guidance of the identified maintenance target (step S403). Specifically, the guidance control unit 33 realizes this guidance by continuing the display of the object 51 corresponding to the execution period of the identified maintenance target until the execution period ends. Then, after maintaining the guidance of the maintenance target, the guidance control unit 33 ends the current guidance maintenance process. As a result, end preparation is realized in the end period when the execution period is guided based on the sequence data QD. More specifically, the guidance of the execution period that straddles the return time is maintained in the end period. Note that the guidance maintenance process of FIG. 22 may guide the execution period even in the end period by normal guidance in the case of the end period of the user. Therefore, in such a case, the guidance maintenance process of FIG. 22 may be omitted. That is, the guidance maintenance process of FIG. 22 may be executed only in the case of the end period of the opponent (when the difficulty level is switched).

[0114] The video presentation process is a process for presenting a special video on the dance screen 50D. That is, the video presentation process is a process for displaying a dance video associated with the activation of a dance skill on the dance screen 50D. When the switch to the dance screen 50D is executed, the video control unit 34 starts the video presentation process shown in FIG. 23, and first obtains the selection result of the selection opportunity and, if a partner selection opportunity is given, the selection result thereof (step S501). More specifically, the video control unit 34 obtains, as the selection result, information on the dance skill to be activated, the main character who activates the skill, and the partner character thereof.

[0115] Subsequently, the video control unit 34 determines the music being played (step S502). Next, the video control unit 34 identifies the video to be presented on the dance screen 50D (step S503). The video data MD is configured to be able to play a plurality of special videos, for example, for each piece of music, for each dance skill, and for each combination of characters (which may be distinguished for each difference between the main character and the partner character). Therefore, the video control unit 34 executes this identification, for example, based on the information on the dance skill, the main character, and the partner character obtained in step S501, and the music determined in step S502. That is, the video control unit 34 identifies, from a plurality of videos, the video corresponding to this combination as the special video to be presented on the dance screen 50D based on the dance skill, the main character, and the partner character to be activated.

[0116] Subsequently, the video control unit 34 presents the identified video on the dance screen 50D (step S504). That is, the video control unit 34 displays a video (dance animation by each character) on the dance screen 50D based on the video data MD corresponding to the identified video. Then, after this presentation, the video control unit 34 ends the current video presentation process. As a result, a special video (dance video corresponding to the activation of the dance skill) by the dance skill, the main character, and the partner character selected by the user is displayed on the dance screen 50. That is, the display (activation of the dance skill) on the dance screen 50 is realized.

[0117] The special evaluation process is a process for processing the evaluation of each execution time according to a predetermined rule during the display of the dance screen 50D (during the activation of the dance skill). The example of FIG. 24 shows a case where a predetermined evaluation result is used as the predetermined rule and each execution time is processed as the predetermined evaluation result. In this case, the evaluation unit 35 repeatedly starts the special evaluation process of FIG. 24 at a predetermined cycle during the display of the dance screen 50D, and first determines whether there is an evaluation target (step S601). The evaluation target is the execution time corresponding to the object 51 that should reach each arrival position index 52A during the display of the dance screen 50D while being non-displayed, that is, each execution time when the time arrives during the display of the dance screen 50D. Therefore, the evaluation unit 35 determines whether each object 51 has reached the arrival position index 52A while being non-displayed during the display of the dance screen 50D, or whether there is an execution time corresponding to the current time. Also, when the execution period straddling the switch or the execution period straddling the return is evaluated, these may also be specified as evaluation targets. The same applies when the execution times included in the start period or the end period are processed according to a predetermined rule (in other processes, the target may be set appropriately according to the content of the start preparation or the end preparation). And when there is no object 51 that has reached the arrival position index 52A or there is no execution time corresponding to the current time, the evaluation unit 35 determines that there is no evaluation target. Then, the evaluation unit 35 skips the subsequent processing and ends the current special evaluation process.

[0118] On the one hand, when there is an object to be evaluated, that is, when each object 51 that has reached the reach position index 52A exists, or when there is an execution time corresponding to the current time, the evaluation unit 35 determines the evaluation of the object to be evaluated (step S602). That is, the evaluation unit 35 determines the evaluation of the execution time (such as the execution period) corresponding to such an object 51 as a predetermined evaluation result. More specifically, the evaluation unit 35 uses, for example, "PERFECT" as the predetermined evaluation result and determines the evaluation of each such execution time to be "PERFECT". Also, when there is an execution period that straddles a switch or a return as the object to be evaluated, even if the end of the execution period has not been reached, the evaluation is similarly determined to be "PERFECT".

[0119] Subsequently, the evaluation unit 35 actually assigns the evaluation determined in step S602 to the user (step S603). This assignment is achieved by assigning a score. That is, the evaluation unit 35 actually assigns the score corresponding to "PERFECT" determined in step S602 to the user. Then, after assigning such an evaluation, the evaluation unit 35 ends the current special evaluation process. As a result, during the provision of the dance screen 50D, the evaluation of each execution time is processed as a predetermined evaluation result. That is, in addition to the provision of the special video, the effect of activating the dance skill that a predetermined evaluation result can be obtained over a certain period without performing the play behavior is given.

[0120] The screen return process is a process for returning the game screen from the dance screen 50D to the play guidance screen 50B. When the provision of the dance screen 50D starts, the guidance control unit 33 repeatedly starts the screen return process of FIG. 25 at a predetermined cycle, and first determines whether or not the end condition is satisfied (step S701). The end condition is satisfied, for example, after a predetermined period has elapsed since the start of switching to the dance screen 50D (start of activation of the dance skill). Also, the predetermined period is set according to the dance skill being activated. For this reason, the guidance control unit 33 determines whether or not the predetermined period corresponding to the dance skill being activated has elapsed since the start of the provision of the dance screen 50D in order to determine the satisfaction of the end condition. And when the end condition is not satisfied, that is, when the predetermined period has not elapsed since the start of the provision of the dance screen 50D, the guidance control unit 33 skips the subsequent processing and ends the current screen return process.

[0121] On the other hand, when the end condition is satisfied, that is, when the predetermined period has elapsed since the start of the provision of the dance screen 50D, the guidance control unit 33 sets the end period (step S703). Specifically, the guidance control unit 33 uses, for example, a uniform period as the end period, and sets the uniform period as the end period from when the predetermined period has elapsed. Subsequently, the guidance control unit 33 returns the game screen to its original state (step S703). That is, the guidance control unit 33 switches the game screen from the dance screen 50D to the play guidance screen 50B. And the guidance control unit 33 ends the current screen return process after returning the game screen to the play guidance screen 50B in this way. Thereby, after the dance screen 50D (in other words, a special dance video) is provided for a predetermined period according to the dance skill, the game screen is returned to the original play guidance screen 50B. Also, an end period during which end preparation should be executed is set after such a return.

[0122] The difficulty reset process is a process for resetting the difficulty of the opponent to the original difficulty (resetting to the original difficulty) when the dance screen 50D ends (the activation of the dance skill ends). When the provision of the dance screen 50D starts, the guidance control unit 33 repeatedly starts the difficulty reset process in FIG. 26 at a predetermined cycle, and first determines whether or not the end condition is satisfied (step S801). The end condition is satisfied, for example, after a predetermined period has elapsed since the start of switching to the dance screen 50D (the start of activation of the dance skill). Also, the predetermined period is set according to the dance skill being activated. For this reason, the guidance control unit 33 determines whether or not the predetermined period corresponding to the dance skill being activated has elapsed since the start of the provision of the dance screen 50D in order to determine whether the end condition is met. And when the end condition is not satisfied, that is, when the predetermined period has not elapsed since the start of the provision of the dance screen 50D, the guidance control unit 33 skips the subsequent processing and ends the current screen return process.

[0123] On the other hand, when the end condition is satisfied, that is, when the predetermined period has elapsed since the start of the provision of the dance screen 50D, the guidance control unit 33 resets the difficulty of the music game (step S802). As described above, the difficulty of the music game mainly depends on the content of the sequence data QD, and the switching is realized by changing the guidance sequence data QD so as to use the switching sequence data QD for guidance also in the difficulty switching process. For this reason, the guidance control unit 33 realizes this reset by returning the guidance sequence data QD to the original sequence data QD. Specifically, the guidance control unit 33 makes the guidance (object 51) based on the switching sequence data QD invisible and displays the guidance (object 51) based on the original sequence data QD (the current sequence data QD in the difficulty switching process in FIG. 20, in other words, the sequence data QD selected for play by the user), thereby realizing this reset. Thereby, with the end of the dance screen 50D of the opponent (the end of the activation of the dance skill), the difficulty of the music game is reset.

[0124] The evaluation exclusion process is a process for excluding from the evaluation the execution timing and the like included in the sequence data QD to be evaluated during the start period or the end period. More specifically, the evaluation exclusion process is executed to exclude, during the start period, the execution period that straddles the switch, and during the end period, each execution timing included in the end period and the execution period that straddles the end time. When the start period or the end period starts, the evaluation unit 35 repeatedly starts the evaluation exclusion process of FIG. 27 at a predetermined cycle and first determines whether or not there is an object to be excluded (step S901). Specifically, the evaluation unit 35 determines whether or not there is an execution period that straddles the switch in the sequence data QD to be evaluated (the current sequence data QD, in other words, the sequence data QD selected by the user for play) during the start period. Further, during the end period, the evaluation unit 35 determines whether or not there is an execution timing belonging to the end period in the sequence data QD to be evaluated (the original sequence data QD, in other words, the sequence data QD selected by the user for play), and whether or not there is an execution period that straddles the end time. Then, when there is no such object to be excluded, that is, when there is no execution period that straddles the switch during the start period, when there is no execution timing belonging to the end period during the end period, and when there is no execution period that straddles the end time, the evaluation unit 35 skips the subsequent processing and ends the current evaluation exclusion process.

[0125] On the other hand, when there is an object to be excluded, that is, when there is an execution period that straddles a switch during the start period, when there is an execution time belonging to the end period during the end period, and when there is an execution period that straddles the end time, the evaluation unit 35 identifies these execution periods and the like as objects to be excluded (step S902). Subsequently, the evaluation unit 35 excludes the identified execution periods and the like to be excluded from the evaluation targets (step S903). Specifically, the evaluation unit 35 realizes such exclusion by excluding the scores to be given by these objects to be excluded from the total score to be given as the play result of the music game. That is, the scores obtained by these objects to be excluded are excluded from the denominator of the scores obtained as the evaluation result. Then, after performing such exclusion, the evaluation unit 35 ends the current evaluation exclusion process. As a result, the execution periods and the like to be excluded are excluded from the evaluation targets during the start period or the end period. More specifically, during the start period, the execution period that straddles the switch, during the end period, all the execution times belonging to the end period, and the execution period that straddles the end time are excluded from the evaluation targets respectively. That is, part of the start preparation and the end preparation is realized. Note that when the execution times and the like that straddle the switching time (start time) are processed by either the evaluation target (special evaluation process) or the object to be excluded process, they do not have to be the target of the other process. For example, if all of these execution times and the like are evaluation targets and there is no object to be excluded, the process of FIG. 27 may be omitted.

[0126] As described above, according to this embodiment, when the switching condition is satisfied in the music game, the display is switched from the play guidance screen 50B including the display of the object 51 etc. to the dance screen 50D not including the display of the object 51 etc. Then, on the dance screen 50, instead of the guidance such as each execution timing etc. based on the object 51 etc., a special video, that is, a dance video accompanying the activation of the dance skill is displayed. For this reason, it is possible to prioritize the display of such a special video visually through the dance screen 50D over the guidance of each execution timing etc. based on the object 51 etc. Also, on such a dance screen 50D, the evaluation of each execution timing etc. that should originally be guided through the play guidance screen 50B is processed according to a predetermined rule, more specifically, as a predetermined evaluation result, instead of the evaluation based on the actual touch operation of each user. That is, on the dance screen 50D, each execution timing etc. is processed as a predetermined evaluation result according to a predetermined rule without the user being aware of it. For this reason, it is possible to prioritize the special video over the guidance of each execution timing etc. based on the object 51 etc. even consciously by the user. As a result, it is possible to preferentially provide the user with the special video over the guidance of each execution timing etc. based on the object 51 etc. through such a dance screen 50D. Thereby, the degree of freedom in game development can be improved compared to the case where the guidance of each execution timing etc. is essential.

[0127] Also, when the switching to the dance screen 50D is executed based on the designated operation of the user (when the switching condition is satisfied with the execution of such a designated operation), the intention of the user can be reflected at the time of switching. Thereby, such switching can be utilized as a game property. On the other hand, the dance screen 50D ends with the fulfillment of the end condition. For this reason, the provision period of the dance screen 50D can be limited to a part of the music game. Thereby, it is possible to give the strategic nature such as where to switch in the music game to the switching to the dance screen 50D.

[0128] Furthermore, when switching to the dance screen 50D or returning from the dance screen 50D to the play guidance screen 50B, various effects may occur, such as when the execution period spanning such switching is guided. On the other hand, the guidance of the execution period spanning such switching, etc. is made non-displayed (guidance is omitted) through, for example, start preparation or end preparation. Therefore, such effects can be suppressed by setting the start period during which such start preparation is executed or the end period during which end preparation is executed.

[0129] On the other hand, when such a music game is provided as a competitive game, when the user switches to the dance screen 50D, the difficulty level of the opponent's game is switched from the current difficulty level to a higher difficulty level. That is, from the perspective of the opponent, the difficulty level of the game changes independently of one's own play. Therefore, compared with the case where the difficulty level is switched based on one's own play, it can be made difficult for the opponent to predict the timing of the difficulty level switch, etc. As a result, it is possible to relatively suppress the user's boredom. Furthermore, when such a difficulty level switch is executed based on the user's designated operation, such a switch can be utilized as an element of a game of wits, such as where to switch the difficulty level in the music game. As a result, the interestingness of the game can be improved by these means.

[0130] In the above-described embodiment, the guidance control unit 33 of the game machine 3 functions as the display switching means of the present invention by executing the process of step S104 in FIG. 19. Further, the guidance control unit 33 of the game machine 3 functions as the guidance control means of the present invention by executing the process of step S303 in FIG. 21. Similarly, the guidance control unit 33 of the game machine 3 functions as the screen return means of the present invention by executing step S703 in FIG. 25. On the other hand, the evaluation unit 35 of the game machine 3 functions as the timing processing means and the period processing means of the present invention by executing the process of step S602 in FIG. 24. Further, the video control unit 34 of the game machine 3 functions as the image presenting means of the present invention by executing step S504 in FIG. 23. Furthermore, the guidance control unit 33 of the game machine 3 functions as the timing setting means and the difficulty switching means by executing the process of FIG. 20. Specifically, the guidance control unit 33 functions as the timing setting means of the present invention by executing step S202 in FIG. 20, and functions as the difficulty switching means of the present invention by executing the process of step S204 in FIG. 20. Similarly, the guidance control unit 33 of the game machine 3 functions as the difficulty return means of the present invention by executing step S803 in FIG. 26.

[0131] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and may be implemented in a form with appropriate modifications or changes. For example, in the above-described embodiment, as an effect of activating the dance skill, a special video (special dance video) is displayed on the dance screen 50D. However, the image displayed on the dance screen 50D is not limited to such a video. For example, various still images related to the dance skills of each character may be displayed on the dance screen 50D. Further, the screen switched from the play guidance screen 50B is not limited to the dance screen 50D that displays such a dance video. For example, appropriate game elements such as another mini-game or a story about each character may be prioritized for guidance at each execution timing on the screen switched from the play guidance screen 50B.

[0132] Further, the center server 2 may execute all or part of the roles (various processes, etc.) of the game machine 3 in the above-described form. That is, the game system of the present invention may be configured such that the center server 2 and the game machine 3 cooperate appropriately to realize the respective functions of the game machine 3 and the center server 2 in the present embodiment. On the other hand, the center server 2 may be omitted. In this case, a single game machine 3 may function as the game system of the present invention.

[0133] Various aspects of the present invention derived from each of the above-described embodiments and modifications will be described below. In the following description, corresponding members illustrated in the accompanying drawings are appended in parentheses in order to facilitate understanding of each aspect of the present invention, but the present invention is not limited to the illustrated forms by this.

[0134] The game system of the present invention is connected to an input device (36) for inputting a user's play action, and a display device (37) for displaying a guidance screen (50B) including an instruction marker (51) corresponding to an execution time when the play action is to be executed and a reference marker (52A) corresponding to the current time. Based on sequence data (QD) in which each execution time is described, a relative displacement is generated between the instruction marker and the reference marker so that the positions of the instruction marker and the reference marker match at each execution time, thereby guiding each execution time through the guidance screen. A game system (1) that provides a game for evaluating the time of the actual play action of the user input via the input device based on each execution time, and when a switching condition is satisfied in the game, the display is switched from the guidance screen to a special screen (50D) in which the display of the instruction marker and the reference marker is less prominent than the guidance screen. A display switching means (33), and when the display of the display device is switched to the special screen, a time processing means (35) for processing the evaluation of each execution time to be guided through the guidance screen according to a predetermined rule instead of the evaluation based on the actual play action.

[0135] According to the present invention, when the switching condition is satisfied in the game, the display of the display device is switched from the guidance screen to a special screen where the display of the instruction sign and the reference sign is less prominent than that of the guidance screen. For this reason, other game elements can be visually prioritized over the guidance for each execution timing based on the instruction sign and the reference sign through the special screen. Also, in such a special screen, the evaluation for each execution timing that should be guided through the guidance screen is processed according to a predetermined rule instead of the evaluation based on the actual play behavior. That is, in the special screen, the evaluation for each execution timing is processed according to a predetermined rule without the user's awareness. For this reason, the user can also prioritize other game elements over the guidance for each execution timing based on the instruction sign and the reference sign consciously. As a result, other game elements can be preferentially provided to the user through such a special screen over the guidance for each execution timing based on the instruction sign and the reference sign. Thereby, the degree of freedom in game development can be improved, and ultimately, the interestingness of the game can also be enhanced.

[0136] Appropriate elements may be preferentially provided to the user according to the type of the game or the like over the guidance for each execution timing based on the instruction sign and the reference sign. For example, the game story explanation, background display, other mini - games, or communication with other users (such as mail or chat) may be used as such game elements (even if not an element constituting the game itself as long as it is provided as part of the game, such as chat with other users). Alternatively, when a character appears in the game, for example, various elements related to the character such as the introduction of the character and various actions may be preferentially provided to the user over the guidance for each execution timing. For example, as an aspect of the game system of the present invention, when the game includes a plurality of characters having different characteristics and progresses through some of the plurality of characters, an image presenting means (34) for presenting an image (CA) related to the characteristics of the some characters on the special screen so as to be more prominent than the instruction sign and the reference sign may be further provided. Note that the character may include not only anthropomorphic things such as people but also things such as cars and animals.

[0137] The characteristics of the characters may be appropriately set according to the type of game. For example, in the case of a game where multiple characters battle, characteristics related to such battles may be set for each character. Alternatively, in the case of a game where characters are nurtured, characteristics related to the nurturing elements may be set for each character. For example, when the nurturing target is a baseball player, characteristics related to batting and pitching are set, when it is a soccer player, characteristics related to dribbling, passing, various kicks such as shooting, or characteristics related to a goalkeeper are set, and when it is an idol, characteristics related to singing and dancing are set, respectively. Various images (including videos) related to batting and the like may be presented on the special screen so as to be more prominent than the indication mark and the reference mark. Similarly, for example, in the manner in which an image related to the characteristics of a character is presented on the special screen, when the game is configured as a music game that guides each execution period in accordance with the rhythm of a piece of music, a character image corresponding to a part of the characters may be presented as an image related to the characteristics of the part of the characters, which is a video of the character performing a dance in accordance with the rhythm of the piece of music corresponding to the characteristics of the part of the characters.

[0138] The dance video may be provided by an appropriate number of characters. For example, such a video may be provided by a single character or by a plurality of characters. Also, when provided by a plurality of characters, those plurality of characters may be determined randomly or may be determined according to the play situation. Alternatively, such a plurality of characters may be determined according to the user's selection. Specifically, for example, in the manner in which a dance video is presented on the special screen, when the part of the characters includes two or more characters, the display switching means may provide an opportunity to select, as the target of the dance, a further part of the two or more characters before switching from the guidance screen to the special screen.

[0139] The switching from the guidance screen to the special screen may be switched immediately upon the fulfillment of the switching conditions, or may be switched after the elapse of a predetermined period. When it is switched after the elapse of a predetermined period, the switching timing may be fixed or variable. Also, such a switching period may be set to an appropriate period. For example, when a predetermined period such as a continuous period for which the play action should be continued is guided, it may be determined based on such a period (including both the case where such a period is determined in advance in consideration of such a period and the case where it is determined based on appropriate processing). Specifically, for example, in one aspect of the game system of the present invention, the display switching means has information on the execution period indicating the period for which the play action should be continuously executed or the period for which it should be repeatedly executed described in the sequence data, and when such an execution period is also guided via the guidance screen, the switching timing may be adjusted based on the execution period so that a start period based on the execution period is formed before the switching from the guidance screen to the special screen. In this case, a start period based on the execution period is set before the switching from the guidance screen to the special screen. Therefore, for example, it is possible to realize the switching so that an execution period straddling such a switching does not occur. Alternatively, such an execution period can also be excluded from the guidance target or the evaluation target. That is, it is possible to suppress the influence associated with the execution period straddling the switching through the start period.

[0140] As described above, the switching from the guidance screen to the special screen may be realized so that an execution period straddling the switching does not occur. Alternatively, when such an execution period occurs, such an execution period may be excluded from the guidance target. In this case, such an execution period may also be excluded from the evaluation target, or may be evaluated according to appropriate rules. Specifically, for example, as an aspect in which a start period is formed, an aspect may be adopted in which a guidance control means (33) for omitting the guidance of the execution period included in the start period from the guidance screen when the start period is formed for the switching is further provided.

[0141] Various conditions may be used as switching conditions. For example, as the switching condition, a condition that is randomly satisfied or a condition that is satisfied according to the play situation may be used. Alternatively, in one aspect of the game system of the present invention, the switching condition may be satisfied when the input device allows input of a designation act for switching to the special screen and the designation act is input on the guidance screen via the input device. In this case, such switching can be utilized as a game property.

[0142] The special screen may be configured such that the display of the indication mark and the reference mark becomes less conspicuous than that of the guidance screen by various methods. For example, on the special screen, the display of the indication mark and the reference mark may be displayed smaller than on the guidance screen. Alternatively, the display of the indication mark and the reference mark itself may be made non-displayed. In this case, the non-display of the indication mark and the reference mark may be realized by various methods. For example, a special screen that does not include the display of the indication mark or the like may be displayed so as to cover the guidance screen, or the guidance screen in which the image of the indication mark or the like is non-displayed may function as the special screen. For example, in one aspect of the game system of the present invention, when the switching condition is satisfied, the display switching means may use, as the special screen, a screen that makes the indication mark and the reference mark non-displayed, and switch the guidance screen to the special screen.

[0143] As predetermined rules, various rules may be used. For example, as a predetermined rule, a rule for excluding each execution time from the evaluation target may be adopted. That is, on the special screen, the evaluation of each execution time may be processed so as to be excluded from the evaluation target. Alternatively, as a predetermined rule, a predetermined evaluation result may be used. That is, on the special screen, the evaluation of each execution time may be processed as a predetermined evaluation result. In this case, the predetermined evaluation result may differ among several execution times according to various conditions such as the play status, or may be the same during all execution times. Specifically, for example, in one aspect of the game system of the present invention, the timing processing means may use a predetermined evaluation result as the predetermined rule and uniformly process the evaluation of each execution time as the predetermined evaluation result.

[0144] The special screen may be switched back to the guidance screen again, or may be switched to another screen. Alternatively, the special screen as it is may be maintained. Specifically, for example, as one aspect of the game system of the present invention, an aspect may be adopted that further includes a screen return means (33) for returning the display of the display device from the special screen to the guidance screen when an end condition is satisfied on the special screen. In this case, the switching to the special screen can be limited to a part of the music game. Thereby, strategicity can be given to the switching to the special screen.

[0145] Various conditions may be adopted as the end condition. For example, as the end condition, a condition that is irregularly satisfied (a period of the special screen is set randomly) may be adopted, or a condition that is satisfied according to the play status may be adopted. Further, such play status may include the elapsed time (play time). Alternatively, a condition based on the user's selection result may be adopted. Specifically, for example, in an aspect of using the end condition of the present invention, the end condition may be satisfied when a predetermined period has elapsed since the start of the display of the special screen.

[0146] When returning from the special screen to the guidance screen, the guidance and evaluation at each execution time may be executed at an appropriate time in the same manner as the switching from the guidance screen to the special screen. For example, the guidance and evaluation at each execution time may return immediately after the end condition is satisfied, or a predetermined period may be provided until the return of the guidance and evaluation at each execution time. For example, in the mode of returning from the special screen to the guidance screen, when the period processing means describes information on the execution period indicating the period for continuously executing the play action or the period for repeatedly executing the play action in the sequence data, and the execution period is also guided via the guidance screen, an end period based on the execution period is formed after the switching from the special screen to the guidance screen. In the end period, the evaluation of the execution period may be processed as a predetermined evaluation result instead of the evaluation based on the actual play action.

[0147] On the other hand, the computer program (PG2) of the present invention is configured to cause a computer (31) connected to the input device and the display device to function as each means of the game system described above.

[0148] Further, the control method of the present invention is connected to an input device (36) for inputting a user's play action, a display device (37) for displaying a guidance screen (50B) including an instruction label (51) corresponding to an execution timing at which the play action is to be executed and a reference label (52A) corresponding to the current time, and based on sequence data (QD) in which each execution timing is described, a relative displacement is generated between the instruction label and the reference label so that the positions of the instruction label and the reference label match at each execution timing, thereby guiding each execution timing through the guidance screen, and evaluating the timing of each user's actual play action input via the input device based on each execution timing. A game system (1) that provides a game. When a switching condition is satisfied in the game, a display switching procedure for switching the display of the display device from the guidance screen to a special screen in which the display of the instruction label and the reference label is less prominent than the guidance screen, and when the display of the display device is switched to the special screen, a timing processing procedure for processing the evaluation of each execution timing to be guided through the guidance screen according to a predetermined rule instead of the evaluation based on the actual play action. It is configured to execute. By executing the computer program or control method of the present invention, the game system of the present invention can be realized.

[0149] (Reference Example) There exists a game system that is connected to an input device for inputting a user's play behavior and a display device for displaying a guidance screen for guiding each execution timing based on sequence data in which each execution timing for executing the play behavior is described. The game guides each execution timing through the guidance screen and evaluates the timing of the user's actual play behavior input via the input device based on each execution timing, and provides it as a competitive game for competing with an opponent through the evaluation result. For example, as such guiding signs, reference signs, guidance screens, and play behaviors, music score display, judgment display, game screen, and operations on the buttons of the controller are respectively used, and a music game that changes the difficulty level of a piece according to the level-up conditions, etc. is known (see, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-246156). In addition, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-218046 also exists as a prior art document related to the present invention.

[0150] In the music game of Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-246156, the judgment display moves toward each music score display, and the operation timing to the button is guided by the coincidence timing of their positions, and that timing is evaluated. Further, when the level-up condition is satisfied based on the evaluation result, the difficulty level of the piece is increased, while when the level-down condition is satisfied, the difficulty level of the piece is decreased. However, such a change in the difficulty level of the piece is based solely on the evaluation result (skillfulness) of one's own play. For this reason, such a change may be predicted in advance from one's own play situation and is often within the scope of the user's prediction. Also, the timing of such a change in the difficulty level is often fixed, and there is a high possibility that the timing of such a change will be easily memorized. As a result, it may cause the user to get bored early.

[0151] In addition, in the music game disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-218046, the operation timing of the operation buttons is guided by the arrival of the timing mark at the lower end of the track, and the time deviation between the arrival time and the pressing time of the operation button is evaluated. Such timing marks include event timing marks, and events may occur according to the evaluation results for such event timing marks. In addition, such events include those in which the timing mark is masked by a masking area, and such a masking area may be displayed so as to interfere with the other player according to the operation result of one player when two players compete for scores. In the music game disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-218046, a change in difficulty is achieved by displaying such a masking area. However, such a masking area only hides the current display of the timing mark, and does not change the number of timing marks or the like, in other words, the sequence data. Therefore, although such a change in difficulty may be used as a factor in the game, for example, by measures such as memorizing and storing the display of the timing mark before the display of the masking area, there is still a possibility that it will still fall within the scope of the user's prediction, and there is room for improvement in the interestingness.

[0152] Therefore, the aspects exemplified below aim to provide a game system or the like that can suppress the user's boredom.

[0153] The game system of this reference example is connected to an input device (36) for inputting a user's play behavior and a display device (37) for displaying a guidance screen (50B) for guiding each execution timing based on sequence data (QD) in which each execution timing at which the play behavior should be executed is described. The game system (1) provides a game that guides each execution timing through the guidance screen and evaluates the timing of the actual play behavior of the user input via the input device based on each execution timing, as a battle-type game in which the user battles against an opponent through the evaluation result. In the battle-type game, when the user satisfies a switching condition, a timing setting means (33) for setting a start timing as the timing at which the difficulty level of the battle-type game played by the opponent of the user should be switched, and a difficulty level switching means (33) for switching the difficulty level of the battle-type game played by the opponent at the start timing from the current difficulty level corresponding to the current sequence data to another difficulty level corresponding to another sequence data different from the current sequence data are provided.

[0154] According to this reference example, when the switching condition is satisfied, the start timing is specified in the game of the opponent of the user who satisfies the switching condition, and the difficulty level of the game is switched from the current difficulty level to another difficulty level at that start timing. That is, from the perspective of the opponent, the difficulty level of the game changes independently of one's own play. Therefore, compared with the case where the difficulty level is switched based on one's own play, it is possible to make it difficult for the opponent user to predict the switching timing of the difficulty level and the like. As a result, it is possible to relatively suppress the boredom of the user, and thus improve the interestingness of the game.

[0155] The start time (the time of difficulty switching) may be set immediately upon the fulfillment of the switching conditions, or may be set after a predetermined period has elapsed. When the start time is set after a predetermined period has elapsed, the predetermined period may be fixed or variable. Also, such a predetermined period may be set to an appropriate period. For example, when a predetermined period such as a continuous period for which play behavior should be continued is guided, it may be determined based on such a period (including both cases where such a period is determined in advance taking such a period into consideration and cases where it is determined based on appropriate processing). Specifically, for example, as one aspect of the game system of this reference example, information on the execution period indicating the period for which the play behavior should be continuously executed or the period for which it should be repeatedly executed is described in the current sequence data. When the execution period is guided via the guidance screen, a guidance control means (33) is further provided to omit the guidance of the execution period that straddles the start time at the start time so that the start time based on the execution period is formed before the start time. In this case, the start time based on the execution period is set before the difficulty level is switched. Therefore, for example, the switching can be realized so that an execution period that straddles such a switch does not occur. Alternatively, such an execution period can also be excluded from the guidance target or the evaluation target. That is, the influence associated with the execution period that straddles the switch can be suppressed through the start time.

[0156] As described above, the difficulty level switching may be realized so that an execution period that straddles the switch does not occur. Alternatively, when such an execution period occurs, such an execution period may be excluded from the guidance target. In this case, such an execution period may also be excluded from the evaluation target, or may be evaluated according to appropriate rules. Specifically, for example, as an aspect in which the start time is formed, when the guidance is omitted by the guidance control means, a period processing means (35) may be further provided to process the evaluation of the execution period that straddles the start time according to a predetermined rule.

[0157] The difficulty level may be switched so as to return to the original difficulty level from another difficulty level, or may be switched to yet another difficulty level. Alternatively, another difficulty level may be maintained as it is. Specifically, for example, as one aspect of the game system of this reference example, in the case where the end condition is satisfied in the competitive game of the other difficulty level, the difficulty level of the game is changed from the other difficulty level corresponding to the other sequence data to the current difficulty level corresponding to the current sequence data. A mode further including a difficulty level return means (33) for returning may be adopted. In this case, the switching of the difficulty level can be limited to a part of the music game. Thereby, strategicity can be given to the switching of the difficulty level.

[0158] Various conditions may be adopted as the end condition. For example, as the end condition, a condition that is irregularly satisfied (a special screen period is set randomly) may be adopted, or a condition that is satisfied according to the play situation may be adopted. Further, such a play situation may include the elapsed time (play time). Alternatively, a condition based on the user's selection result may be adopted. Specifically, for example, in the mode using the end condition of this reference example, the end condition may be satisfied when a predetermined period has elapsed from the start time.

[0159] When the difficulty level returns from another difficulty level to the original difficulty level, the guidance and evaluation at each execution time may return to normal immediately as in the case of switching to another difficulty level, or may return to normal after a special process has been executed for a predetermined period. And as such a special process, for example, a process of excluding an appropriate target included in the predetermined period from the display target or the evaluation target, or treating it as a predetermined evaluation result may be used. For example, in the aspect of returning from another difficulty level to the original difficulty level, the guidance control means includes an execution period that straddles the return timing when the difficulty level of the game returns from the other difficulty level to the current difficulty level in the other sequence data, and when guided in the other difficulty level, the guidance of the execution period that straddles the return timing may be further omitted so that an end period based on the execution period is formed after the return timing. Also, in this aspect, the guidance control means may further omit the guidance of all execution times included in the current sequence data in the end period. Furthermore, in this aspect, the period processing means may further process at least one of the execution period that straddles the return timing and the evaluation of all execution times in the end period according to the predetermined rules.

[0160] Various conditions may be used as switching conditions. For example, as a switching condition, a condition that is randomly satisfied or a condition that is satisfied according to the play situation may be used. Or, in one aspect of the game system of this reference example, the switching condition may be satisfied when the input device allows an input of a designation act for designating the switching of the difficulty level of the game, and the designation act is input by the user via the input device at the current difficulty level. In this case, such a switch can be used as an element of a game of wits with an opponent.

[0161] On the other hand, the computer program (PG2) of this reference example is configured to cause a computer (31) connected to the input device and the display device to function as each means of the game system described above.

[0162] In addition, the control method of this reference example is connected to an input device (36) for inputting a user's play action and a display device (37) for displaying a guidance screen (50B) for guiding each execution timing based on sequence data (QD) in which each execution timing for executing the play action is described. A game that guides each execution timing through the guidance screen and evaluates the timing of the actual play action of the user input via the input device based on each execution timing is incorporated into a game system (1) that provides a competitive game in which the user competes with an opponent through the evaluation result. When the user satisfies the switching condition in the competitive game, a timing setting procedure for setting a start timing as the timing at which the difficulty level of the competitive game played by the opponent of the user should be switched, and a difficulty level switching procedure for switching the difficulty level of the competitive game played by the opponent at the start timing from the current difficulty level corresponding to the current sequence data to another difficulty level corresponding to another sequence data different from the current sequence data are executed. By executing the computer program or control method of this reference example, the game system of this reference example can be realized.

Explanation of Signs

[0163] 1 Game system 3 Game machine 31 Control unit (computer) 33 Guidance control unit (display switching means, guidance control means, screen return means, timing setting means, difficulty level switching means, difficulty level return means) 34 Video control unit (image presentation means) 35 Evaluation unit (timing processing means, period processing means) 36 Input device 37 Monitor (display device) 51 Object (indicator) 52A Arrival position indicator (reference indicator) 50B Play guidance screen (guidance screen) 50D Dance screen (special screen) CA Character image (character, image) QD sequence data PG2 program (computer program)

Claims

A game system that guides a user through a guidance screen that displays an instruction sign corresponding to an execution time when the user should perform a play action, and evaluates the play action based on the execution time, comprising: display switching means for switching, in response to an operation by the user, from the guidance screen to a special screen in the game where the instruction sign is less prominent than on the guidance screen; time processing means for, when switched to the special screen, processing evaluations of respective execution times to be guided through the guidance screen according to a predetermined rule instead of evaluations based on the play action; a game system. A computer program configured to cause a computer to function as the game system according to claim 1. In a computer incorporated in a game system that guides a user through a guidance screen that displays an instruction sign corresponding to an execution time when the user should perform a play action, and evaluates the play action based on the execution time, a display switching procedure for switching, in response to an operation by the user, from the guidance screen to a special screen in the game where the instruction sign is less prominent than on the guidance screen; a control method for executing a time processing procedure for, when switched to the special screen, processing evaluations of respective execution times to be guided through the guidance screen according to a predetermined rule instead of evaluations based on the play action.

Images