Game program, recording medium, and game processing method

Abstract

To improve the quality of performance of music in a game in which the composition of musical instruments for playing music can be changed on the basis of player's instructions.SOLUTION: A game program causes a terminal device 3 to function as: a musical instrument composition processing unit 21 for receiving an instruction for composing of musical instruments for playing music from a player to compose of musical instruments; a volume setting processing unit 23 for setting the volume of the musical instruments included in the player composition to a first set volume, and setting the volume of musical instruments not included in the player composition to a second set volume smaller than the first set volume, among the recommended composition set in advance for the music; and a music reproduction processing unit 27 for reproducing music by reproducing sound source data corresponding to the musical instruments included in the player composition at the first set volume and reproducing sound source data corresponding to the musical instruments not included in the player composition among the recommended composition at the second set volume.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

Technical Field

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

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, a game is known that changes the arrangement of musical instruments that play music based on a user's instruction. For example, Patent Document 1 describes a game device that replaces a musical instrument track specified by a user instruction with a musical instrument track set as a reproduction target and sets it as a reproduction target, and reconfigures the arrangement of musical instruments.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] In the above prior art, the arrangement of musical instruments that play music is changed based on a user's instruction. For this reason, for example, there is a possibility that a musical instrument recommended for playing a music piece may be missing, or the thickness of the sound may become insufficient, and in that case, there is a problem that the quality of the performance deteriorates.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of such problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a game program, a recording medium, and a game processing method capable of improving the quality of performance of a music piece in a game in which the arrangement of musical instruments that play a music piece can be changed based on a player's instruction.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] To achieve the above object, the game program of the present invention causes an information processing apparatus to function as an instrument arrangement processing unit that receives an instruction for arranging instruments for playing a music piece from a player and arranges the instruments, a volume setting processing unit that sets the volume of the instruments included in the arrangement according to the instruction of the player to a first set volume, and sets the volume of the instruments included in the preset arrangement of the music piece but not included in the arrangement according to the instruction of the player to a second set volume smaller than the first set volume, and a music piece reproduction processing unit that reproduces the sound source data corresponding to the instruments included in the arrangement according to the instruction of the player at the first set volume and reproduces the sound source data corresponding to the instruments included in the preset arrangement of the music piece but not included in the arrangement according to the instruction of the player at the second set volume, thereby reproducing the music piece.

[0007] To achieve the above object, the recording medium of the present invention is a recording medium readable by an information processing apparatus, which records the above game program.

[0008] Further, to achieve the above object, the game processing method of the present invention is a game processing method executed by an information processing apparatus, which includes steps of receiving an instruction for arranging instruments for playing a music piece from a player and arranging the instruments, setting the volume of the instruments included in the arrangement according to the instruction of the player to a first set volume, and setting the volume of the instruments included in the preset arrangement of the music piece but not included in the arrangement according to the instruction of the player to a second set volume smaller than the first set volume, and reproducing the music piece by reproducing the sound source data corresponding to the instruments included in the arrangement according to the instruction of the player at the first set volume and reproducing the sound source data corresponding to the instruments included in the preset arrangement of the music piece but not included in the arrangement according to the instruction of the player at the second set volume.

Advantages of the Invention

[0009] According to the game program of the present invention, etc., in a game where the instrumentation of an instrument that plays music can be changed based on the instructions of a player, the quality of music performance can be improved.

Brief Description of Drawings

[0010]

Figure 1

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Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0011] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0012] <1. Overall Configuration of the Game System> First, an example of the overall configuration of the game system 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. As shown in FIG. 1, the game system 1 includes a terminal device 3 for a player to play a game and a server device 5. The terminal device 3 and the server device 5 are communicably connected via a network NW such as a LAN or the Internet. Note that the network NW may be either wireless or wired. Also, in FIG. 1, the server device 5 is configured by a single computer, but it may be configured by a plurality of computers.

[0013] As shown in FIG. 2, the terminal device 3 is communicably connected to the game controller 7 and the display device 9 by wire or wirelessly.

[0014] The terminal device 3 (an example of an information processing device) is, for example, a stationary game console. However, it is not limited to this, and for example, a portable game console that integrally includes an input unit, a display unit, etc. may also be used. Further, in addition to game consoles, for example, those manufactured and sold as computers such as server computers, desktop computers, notebook computers, tablet computers, etc., or those manufactured and sold as telephones such as mobile phones, smartphones, phablets, etc. may also be used.

[0015] The player performs various operation inputs using the game controller 7. In the example shown in FIG. 2, the game controller 7 has, for example, a cross key 11, a plurality of buttons 13, a joystick 15, a touch pad 17, etc.

[0016] The display device 9 is, for example, a display device using a cathode ray tube, liquid crystal, plasma, organic EL, projector, etc. The display device 9 may integrally or separately include a speaker (not shown) that outputs sound.

[0017] The server device 5 is a so-called server computer. The server device 5 receives access from the terminal devices 3 of each player who receives the game service via the network NW, accumulates and manages the game information of each player in the recording device, and provides an online game service to each player via the network NW.

[0018] In this embodiment, part or all of the game program is installed in the terminal device 3, and game processing is mainly executed in the terminal device 3. The game program may be downloaded from the server device 5 or installed from other recording media or the like. The terminal device 3 downloads in-game data related to the content of the game to be executed from the server device 5. The in-game data includes, for example, image data including still images and moving images, audio data, music data, and the like. The in-game data may be downloaded from the server device 5 when the game program is installed, or may be downloaded from the server device 5 during the execution of the installed game program (during game play).

[0019] Note that the game executed on the terminal device 3 is not particularly limited in genre. For example, various genres of games such as simulation games, role-playing games, adventure games, action games, and fighting games can be executed.

[0020] Hereinafter, for example, a case where the present invention is applied to a game in which a player forms a performance member (for example, an orchestra, a band, a musical group, a band, etc.) with a plurality of game characters and the formed performance member performs a piece of music will be described.

[0021] <2. Functional Configurations of the Terminal Device and the Server Device> Next, an example of the functional configuration of the terminal device 3 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 8. Note that only the music database of the server device 5 is illustrated, and other functional configurations are omitted.

[0022] The server device 5 has a music database 19. In the music database 19, sound source data of a plurality of music pieces preset according to the game content is stored. The genre of the music is not particularly limited, and may include various genres such as classical, pop, rock, jazz, etc. The sound source data is generated for each musical instrument for each music piece. In addition to the sound quality being different according to the musical instrument, the sound source data also differs in, for example, melody and pitch range, etc., and a plurality of sound source data are combined and reproduced according to the type of music piece. If there is sufficient storage capacity in the terminal device 3, the terminal device 3 may have the music database 19.

[0023] FIG. 4 shows an example of the types of musical instruments used in the sound source data and their pitch ranges. As shown in FIG. 4, for example, stringed instruments, woodwind instruments, and brass instruments are set as the types of musical instruments. The pitch range is divided into, for example, the high pitch range, the middle pitch range, the low pitch range, and the lowest pitch range. As stringed instruments, for example, the violin is set in the high pitch range, the viola in the middle pitch range, the cello in the low pitch range, and the double bass in the lowest pitch range. As woodwind instruments, for example, the flute or oboe is set in the high pitch range, the clarinet in the middle pitch range, and the bassoon in the low pitch range. As brass instruments, for example, the trumpet is set in the high pitch range, the horn in the middle pitch range, the trombone in the low pitch range, and the tuba in the lowest pitch range.

[0024] In this embodiment, for each music piece, an instrument arrangement recommended for playing the music piece (a part or all of the musical instruments shown in FIG. 4. Hereinafter, it is appropriately referred to as the "recommended arrangement") is preset, and the sound source data of each musical instrument constituting the recommended arrangement is set respectively. Also, for example, for the violin, two are set, the 1st violin and the 2nd violin, and the player character (the protagonist) operated by the player is set to the 1st violin.

[0025] Note that the musical instruments and pitch ranges shown in FIG. 4 are examples, and instead of or in addition to these, other musical instruments and pitch ranges may be added. Also, the violin may be one, or the player character may be, for example, a conductor who does not play a musical instrument.

[0026] When the game program is installed or after it is installed, the terminal device 3 may download all the music data from the music database 19 of the server device 5 at once. Also, during the execution of the installed game program, the terminal device 3 may download only the necessary amount of music data from the music database 19 at an appropriate timing according to, for example, the progress of the game.

[0027] Returning to FIG. 3, the terminal device 3 includes an instrument arrangement processing unit 21, a volume setting processing unit 23, a first role setting processing unit 25, and a music playback processing unit 27.

[0028] The instrument arrangement processing unit 21 receives an instruction for arranging instruments for playing a piece of music from the player and arranges the instruments. When a predetermined instrument is associated with each game character as in this embodiment, the instrument arrangement processing unit 21 may receive an instruction for arranging the game character from the player and arrange the instruments. Note that the instruction for arranging the instruments may be executed by the player directly specifying the instruments.

[0029] In this embodiment, as described above, the player character is set with a 1st violin, and each of the other game characters that appear also has a set instrument to play. For example, the player may operate the player character to find a game character that plays a desired instrument and make it a companion, etc., to form a performance group such as an orchestra, a band, a musical troupe, or a band. The method of collecting game characters may be, for example, by having the player character go on an adventure or a journey in the game, or by deepening the friendship in the story. Also, game characters (including character cards) may be collected by a lottery game called so-called "gacha".

[0030] Figure 5 shows an example of an arrangement screen by the instrument arrangement processing unit 21. In the example shown in Figure 5, for example, six arrangement frames 29a to 29f are displayed, and up to six player members can be arranged. The player can add a game character selected from among the player's game characters (or owned character cards, etc.) to the arrangement by operating the arrangement frame 29 where the plus sign 31 is displayed, for example. In the arranged arrangement frame 29, for example, the appearance of the game character, status (such as level, instrument, performance ability, etc.), role 33 in performance, etc. are displayed. In the example shown in Figure 5, game characters are already arranged in, for example, four of the six arrangement frames 29a to 29d.

[0031] Below the arrangement frames 29a to 29f, an "OK" button 35 and a "Cancel" button 37 are displayed. When the player operates the "OK" button 35 after arranging game characters in all or part of the arrangement frames 29a to 29f, the arrangement of the player members is determined. Also, when the player operates the "Cancel" button 37, for example, the arrangement is reset and a new arrangement can be made again.

[0032] Also, a "Recommended Arrangement" button 39 is displayed on the arrangement screen. As described above, the instruments for the recommended arrangement are set for each piece of music. When the player operates the "Recommended Arrangement" button 39, the game characters corresponding to the instruments constituting the recommended arrangement are automatically arranged. Also, in the recommended arrangement, the roles recommended for each instrument are also set, and when the "Recommended Arrangement" button 39 is operated, the roles are also automatically set.

[0033] Note that the number of formation frames 29 is not limited to 6, and it may be even fewer or even more. Also, player characters may be included in the formation frames 29. For example, player characters may be in the positions of conductors or concertmasters and may not necessarily be included in the formation frames 29. Further, a part of the formation frames 29 may be set as guest frames, and for example, it may be possible to borrow game characters of other players in an online game for formation. Also, as the status of each game character, statuses other than playing ability, such as rhythm sense, harmony with members, and pitch accuracy, may be displayed. Furthermore, statuses of all playing members, such as the overall playing ability and balance ability of all playing members, may be displayed.

[0034] FIG. 6 shows an example of a character selection screen. The character selection screen is displayed when the formation frame 29 in which the plus symbol 31 is displayed in the formation screen shown in FIG. 5 is operated. As shown in FIG. 6, a plurality of game characters that can be incorporated into the playing members are displayed on the character selection screen. In the example shown in FIG. 6, for each game character, statuses such as the name of the character, the musical instrument to be played, level, playing ability, harmony ability, rhythm sense, etc. are displayed. Note that an image representing the appearance of each game character and statuses other than the above, such as personality and special skills, may also be displayed. Also, a detail button is provided for each game character, and when the player operates the detail button, detailed information such as status may be displayed. The player can select any game character by moving the cursor 41, for example. Note that game characters that have already been formed are displayed so that it can be seen that they have been formed (displayed by a dashed line in FIG. 6) and cannot be selected.

[0035] Also, a determination button 43 and a return button 45 are displayed on the character selection screen. The player can incorporate the selected game character into the playing members by operating the determination button 43 in a state where any game character is selected with the cursor 41, for example. Also, by operating the return button 45, the player can return to the formation screen shown in FIG. 5.

[0036] Returning to FIG. 3, the volume setting processing unit 23 sets the volume of the musical instruments included in the arrangement by the player's instruction (hereinafter appropriately referred to as "player arrangement") to the first set volume, and among the arrangements of the musical instruments preset for the piece (the aforementioned "recommended arrangement") that are not included in the player arrangement, sets the volume of the musical instruments to a second set volume smaller than the first set volume. The "first set volume" is a relatively large volume and is a set volume that is set to different volumes for each role during performance set by the first role setting processing unit 25 described later. Also, the "second set volume" is a relatively small volume and is a set volume that is set to be even smaller than the smallest volume among the first set volumes. The second set volume may be, for example, the minimum volume of a preset volume range.

[0037] When the first role setting processing unit 25 arranges the musical instruments by the musical instrument arranging processing unit 21, it receives and sets an instruction for the role in the performance from the player. The "role in the performance" may include, for example, "main" which is featured as the main role, "sub" which enhances the main, "support" which becomes the power behind the scenes and stays behind, etc. In addition, roles other than the above, such as "lead" which is an intermediate position between "main" and "sub", may be included. Also, for example, the names of each role, such as "main" being "melody", "sub" being "harmony", "support" being "rhythm", etc., may be other names than the above.

[0038] The aforementioned volume setting processing unit 23 sets the first set volume so that the volume of the musical instruments included in the player arrangement becomes different volumes for each role set by the first role setting processing unit 25. The volume setting processing unit 23 may set, for example, "main" to a large volume, "sub" to a medium volume, and "support" to a small volume.

[0039] FIG. 7 shows an example of a role setting screen by the first role setting processing unit 25. The role setting screen is displayed, for example, when a character is selected and the determination button 43 is operated on the formation screen shown in FIG. 6. FIG. 7 is a role setting screen when, for example, character B is selected. As shown in FIG. 7, an image 47 of character B and various status information 49 are displayed on the role setting screen. Also, the buttons of "main", "sub", and "support" described above as roles in the performance are displayed. The player can select any role by moving the cursor 51, for example.

[0040] In addition, a determination button 53 and a return button 55 are displayed on the role setting screen. The player can set the role selected for character B by operating the determination button 53 in a state where any role is selected with the cursor 51, for example. The set role is displayed as role 33 on the formation screen shown in FIG. 5. Also, by operating the return button 55, the player can return to the character selection screen shown in FIG. 6.

[0041] FIG. 8 shows an example of volume setting by the volume setting processing unit 23. Note that the formation content shown in FIG. 8 corresponds to the formation content shown in FIG. 5 described above. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 8, characters A, D, F, and G are game characters formed by the player, and the roles of the respective characters A, D, F, and G are set to main, sub, sub, and support, respectively. The set volume of the violin of character A, which is the main character, is set to "large", which is a relatively large volume. The set volume of the flute of character D, which is a sub character, is set to "medium", which is a volume smaller than "large". Similarly, the set volume of the trombone of character F, which is a sub character, is set to "medium", which is a volume smaller than "large". The set volume of the cello of character G, which is a support character, is set to "small", which is a volume smaller than "medium". In this way, the first set volume is set so that the volume is different for each role.

[0042] On the other hand, an instrument arrangement recommended for playing a piece of music to be played is preset. In the example shown in FIG. 8, for example, a tuba and a clarinet, which are not included in the above player arrangement, are included in the recommended arrangement. For example, character C plays the tuba and character H plays the clarinet. The set volumes of these tuba and clarinet are set to "minimum", which is even smaller than "small". "Minimum" may be the lower limit value of the volume setting range, or may be set to a predetermined volume within a range larger than the lower limit value and smaller than "small". In this way, among the recommended arrangements preset for the piece of music, the volume of the instruments not included in the player arrangement is set to a second set volume smaller than the set volume of the instruments in the player arrangement.

[0043] When the player operates the "recommended arrangement" button 39, since the roles recommended for each instrument constituting the recommended arrangement are set as described above, set volumes corresponding to the roles are set in the same way as the above player arrangement.

[0044] Returning to FIG. 3, the music playback processing unit 27 plays back the sound source data corresponding to the instruments included in the player arrangement at the first set volume, and at the same time, plays back the sound source data corresponding to the instruments not included in the player arrangement among the recommended arrangements preset for the piece of music at the second set volume, thereby playing back the piece of music. For example, in the examples shown in FIGS. 5 and 8, for the violin, flute, trombone, and cello arranged by the player, the sound source data is played back at the set volumes of "large", "medium", "medium", and "small" respectively, and for the tuba and clarinet not arranged by the player but included in the recommended arrangement, the sound source data is played back at the set volume of "minimum" respectively.

[0045] Note that the processing and the like in each processing unit described above are not limited to the example of the division of these processes. For example, the processing may be performed by an even smaller number of processing units (for example, one processing unit), or may be performed by further subdivided processing units. Also, the functions of each of the above-described processing units are implemented by a game program executed by a CPU 501 (see FIG. 19 described later), but for example, a part of them may be implemented by an actual device such as an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), or other electric circuits. Furthermore, each of the processing units described above is not limited to the case where all are implemented on the terminal device 3 side, and a part or all of them may be implemented on the server device 5 side. In that case, the server device 5 also corresponds to an example of an information processing device.

[0046] <3. Processing Procedure Executed by Terminal Device> Next, with reference to FIG. 9, an example of a processing procedure executed by the CPU 501 of the terminal device 3 will be described.

[0047] In step S10, the terminal device 3 determines, by the instrument arrangement processing unit 21, whether or not a game character to be arranged for the performing members has been selected by the player. If the game character has been selected (step S10: YES), the process proceeds to the next step S20. On the other hand, if the game character has not been selected (step S10: NO), the process proceeds to step S40 described later.

[0048] In step S20, the terminal device 3 determines, by the first role setting processing unit 25, whether or not the role during performance of the game character selected in step S10 has been set by the player. If the role has been set (step S20: YES), the process proceeds to the next step S30. On the other hand, if the role has not been set (step S20: NO), the process proceeds to step S40 described later.

[0049] In step S30, the terminal device 3 arranges the performing members by incorporating the game character selected in step S10 and having its role set in step S20, by the instrument arrangement processing unit 21.

[0050] In step S40, the terminal device 3 determines whether the composition of the performing members (instrument composition) has been completed. If the composition of the performing members has not been completed (step S40: NO), it returns to the previous step S10 and repeats the same procedure. If the composition of the performing members has been completed (step S40: YES), it proceeds to the next step S50.

[0051] In step S50, the terminal device 3 sets, by the volume setting processing unit 23, the volumes of the instruments included in the player composition to be different according to the roles set in step S20 above, and sets the volumes of the instruments not included in the player composition among the recommended compositions preset for the music piece to, for example, the minimum volume.

[0052] In step S60, the terminal device 3 plays the music piece by playing, by the music piece playback processing unit 27, the sound source data corresponding to the instruments included in the player composition and the sound source data corresponding to the instruments not included in the player composition among the recommended compositions preset for the music piece at the volumes set in step S50 above. Thus, this flowchart ends.

[0053] Note that the above-described processing procedure is an example, and at least a part of the above procedure may be deleted or changed, or procedures other than the above may be added. Also, the order of at least a part of the above procedure may be changed, or a plurality of procedures may be combined into a single procedure.

[0054] <4. Effects of the Embodiment> The game program of this embodiment causes the terminal device 3 to function as an instrument arrangement processing unit 21 that receives an instruction from a player to arrange instruments for playing a piece of music and arranges the instruments, a volume setting processing unit 23 that sets the volume of the instruments included in the arrangement (player arrangement) according to the player's instruction to a first set volume, and sets the volume of the instruments included in a preset instrument arrangement (recommended arrangement) for the piece of music but not included in the player arrangement to a second set volume smaller than the first set volume, and a music playback processing unit 27 that plays the piece of music by playing the sound source data corresponding to the instruments included in the player arrangement at the first set volume and playing the sound source data corresponding to the instruments not included in the player arrangement among the recommended arrangements at the second set volume.

[0055] In this embodiment, the player can instruct the arrangement of instruments for playing a piece of music. For the instruments included in the arrangement instructed by the player, the sound source data is played back with a relatively large first set volume. On the other hand, a recommended instrument arrangement for the piece of music is preset, and for the instruments not included in the arrangement according to the player's instruction among the recommended arrangements, the sound source data is played back with a relatively small second set volume.

[0056] Thereby, while making the player feel that the piece of music is played according to the instrument arrangement instructed by the player, it is possible to prevent the situation where the recommended instruments for playing the piece of music are missing or the thickness of the sound is insufficient. Therefore, the player can enjoy the music created by their own arrangement or play the same piece of music with various instruments for enjoyment, and can play a rich and flavorful piece of music, improving the quality of the performance. For example, in the case of a classical piece played by an orchestra, since the sound has thickness, the present invention is particularly effective.

[0057] Also, in this embodiment, the game program may further function to cause the terminal device 3 to function as a first role setting processing unit 25 that receives and sets instructions on roles in performance from the player when arranging musical instruments. In this case, the volume setting processing unit 23 may set a first set volume so that the volumes of the musical instruments included in the player arrangement are different volumes for each role.

[0058] In this case, when arranging musical instruments, the player can set the role in performance for each musical instrument (for each game character). The musical instruments included in the player arrangement are set to different volumes for each set role, such as, for example, the main being at a high volume, the sub being at a medium volume, and the support being at a low volume, and the sound source data is reproduced. Thereby, it becomes possible to perform a piece of music in accordance with the player's intention corresponding to the role set by the player.

[0059] <5. Modifications, etc.> Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications are possible without departing from the spirit and technical idea thereof. Hereinafter, such modifications will be described.

[0060] (5-1. When Automatically Setting Performance Roles) In the above-described embodiment, the case where the player manually sets the role in performance for each character (each musical instrument) has been described. However, for example, the role in performance may be automatically set according to the status of the game character.

[0061] An example of the functional configuration of the terminal device 3 in this modification will be described with reference to FIG. 10. In FIG. 10, the same components as those in FIG. 3 described above are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted as appropriate.

[0062] As shown in FIG. 10, in addition to the same configuration as that of the foregoing embodiment, the terminal device 3 has a second role setting processing unit 57. The second role setting processing unit 57 sets a role in performance based on the status of the game character compiled by the instrument compilation processing unit 21. The "status" is, for example, a parameter representing the relationship among a plurality of characters, and includes, for example, intimacy, good relationship, etc. The second role setting processing unit 57 may set, for example, a second character whose intimacy with the first character is equal to or greater than a predetermined value to a role of assisting the role of the first character. The "role of assisting" is, for example, a sub role for assisting the main, a support role for assisting the sub, etc. Further, the second role setting processing unit 57 may set, for example, a second character whose intimacy with the first character is less than a predetermined value to the same role as the first character so as to compete with the first character.

[0063] Note that the "status" is not limited to a parameter representing a relationship, and may be, for example, a parameter representing ability values such as level, performance ability, harmony ability, sense of rhythm, etc. In this case, for example, for a character with a higher ability value, the role of the character with a lower ability value may be set to a role of assisting.

[0064] FIG. 11 shows an example of a role setting screen for explaining the status of the game character in this modified example. FIG. 11 is a role setting screen when, for example, character A is selected. As shown in FIG. 11, an image 59 of character A and various status information 61 are displayed on the role setting screen. The status information 61 includes the instrument to be played, level, performance ability, harmony ability, sense of rhythm, in addition to the intimacy between character A and other characters. In the example shown in FIG. 11, for example, the intimacy with character C is 54, the intimacy with character D is 77, the intimacy with character E is 52, and the intimacy with character F is 82. Note that the point of setting a role for character A by operating the determination button 53 in a state where any role is selected with the cursor 51 is the same as that of the foregoing embodiment (FIG. 8).

[0065] Fig. 12 shows an example of role setting by the second role setting processing unit 57. Fig. 12 shows an example in which the role of character A is set to "main" by the player. In this case, characters D and F, whose intimacy with character A is, for example, 70 or more, are automatically set to "sub" roles that assist character A by the second role setting processing unit 57. The roles of the other characters G, C, and H and the set volumes of the instruments of each character are set in the same manner as in the above-mentioned embodiment (Fig. 8).

[0066] In the above example, the player manually sets the role of one (character A) of the multiple characters with high intimacy, but the roles of all of the multiple characters with high intimacy may be set automatically. For example, the second role setting processing unit 57 may automatically set the player character (protagonist) operated by the player to "main" and set game characters with an intimacy with the player character of a predetermined value or more to "sub" that assists the player character.

[0067] In this modified example, when a status (e.g., intimacy) indicating the relationship between multiple game characters organized by a player is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, one character can be automatically assigned a role to assist the other character. This makes it possible, for example, for a "main" game character and a game character with a high degree of intimacy to automatically play as a "sub" to highlight the "main" game character. In this way, it becomes possible to play music in roles corresponding to the relationships between the organized game characters, thereby improving the entertainment value of the game.

[0068] (5-2. Automatic melody switching according to status) For example, sound source data corresponding to an instrument played by a game character may be switched to other sound source data having a different melody depending on the status of the game character.

[0069] Using FIG. 13, an example of the functional configuration of the terminal device 3 in this modified example will be described. In FIG. 13, the same components as those in the aforementioned FIG. 10 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted as appropriate.

[0070] As shown in FIG. 13, in addition to the same configuration as that in the aforementioned FIG. 10, the terminal device 3 includes a first sound source switching processing unit 63. The first sound source switching processing unit 63 switches the sound source data corresponding to the musical instrument of the game character to other sound source data with different melodies based on the status of the game character arranged by the musical instrument arrangement processing unit 21. The "status" is, as in the aforementioned modified example (5-1), for example, a parameter representing the relationship between a plurality of characters, and includes, for example, intimacy and closeness. The "other sound source data with different melodies" is, for example, when the melody played by the character set in the "main" role is taken as the "main melody", in order to highlight the main melody or effectively supplement the main melody, etc., it is the sound source data of the "counter melody" set as an independent melody from the main melody. The counter melody includes, for example, the melody of the harmony that forms a harmony with the main melody. In the music database 19 of the server device 5, the sound source data of the main melody and the counter melody for each musical instrument are recorded for each piece of music. The first sound source switching processing unit 63 downloads the sound source data of the counter melody for the main melody to be assisted from the music database 19 and switches from the specified melody.

[0071] The first sound source switching processing unit 63 may switch the specified melody of the musical instrument of the "sub" character to the counter melody for the main melody played by the "main" character when the intimacy between the character set in the "main" role and the character set in the "sub" role is equal to or greater than a predetermined value. Further, the first sound source switching processing unit 63 may switch the specified melody of the musical instrument of the "sub" character to the same melody as the melody of the "main" character so as to compete with the "main" character when the intimacy between the character set in the "main" role and the character set in the "sub" role is less than a predetermined value.

[0072] Fig. 14 shows an example of melody switching by the first sound source switching processing unit 63. In the example shown in Fig. 14, similarly to Fig. 12 described above, for characters D and F whose intimacy with character A is, for example, 70 or more, the second role setting processing unit 57 automatically sets them to "sub". Then, among characters D and F set to "sub", for character F whose intimacy with character A is, for example, 80 or more, the first sound source switching processing unit 63 automatically switches the prescribed melody of the trombone to a counter melody to the main melody of character A. The roles of the other characters G, C, and H and the set volumes of the instruments of each character are set similarly to the embodiment described above (Fig. 8).

[0073] In this modified example, for example, a game character who has a high degree of intimacy with a "main" game character becomes a "sub" to highlight the "main" game character, and can play a melody to highlight the "main" melody. In this way, it is possible to change and play a melody that corresponds to the relationship between the organized game characters, further increasing the interest of the game.

[0074] Furthermore, by setting a difference between the intimacy threshold for automatically setting roles (e.g., 70 or more) and the intimacy threshold for automatically switching melodies (e.g., 80 or more) as described above, the degree of musical performance assistance can be increased as the intimacy between characters increases. This makes it possible to play a piece of music that further emphasizes the relationship between the organized game characters. Note that the above thresholds may be set to the same value, and the specified melody may be switched to a counter melody to the main melody of character A for both characters D and F, who are set as "sub."

[0075] (5-3. Switching from single note to chord depending on status) For example, the performance of a game character may be switched from single note performance to chord performance depending on the status of the game character.

[0076] An example of the functional configuration of the terminal device 3 in this modified example will be described with reference to Fig. 15. Note that in Fig. 15, the same components as those in Fig. 3 described above are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted as appropriate.

[0077] As shown in FIG. 15, the terminal device 3 has a second sound source switching processor 65 in addition to the same configuration as the embodiment described above (FIG. 3). The second sound source switching processor 65 switches the sound source data corresponding to the instrument of the game character from single-note performance to chord performance based on the status of the game character organized by the instrument organization processor 21. The "status" is a parameter that indicates the ability value of the game character, and includes, for example, level, performance ability, harmony, rhythmic sense, etc. The second sound source switching processor 65 switches the sound source data of the instrument played by the game character from single-note sound source data to chord sound source data when, for example, the above parameter is equal to or greater than a predetermined value. The music database 19 of the server device 5 records single-note sound source data and chord sound source data for each instrument for each music piece. The second sound source switching processor 65 downloads the chord sound source data from the music database 19 and switches.

[0078] FIG. 16 shows an example of melody switching by the second sound source switching processing unit 65. The composition shown in FIG. 16 corresponds to the composition shown in FIG. 8 described above. In the example shown in FIG. 16, for example, for character D whose level is 20 or higher, the performance is automatically switched from single note performance to chord performance. Note that the performance may be switched by setting a threshold value for a status other than the level. The set volume of the instrument of each character is set in the same manner as in the embodiment described above (FIG. 8). The role in the performance may be set by the player as in the embodiment described above, or may be automatically set as in the modified example (5-1) described above.

[0079] In this modified example, when the status (level, etc.) of the game character reaches a certain value or more, the game can automatically switch from playing single notes to playing chords. This makes it possible to express that the game character has grown and improved its playing technique, further increasing the interest of the game.

[0080] (When changing the status according to the performance role) For example, the status of the game character may be changed according to the role in the performance set for the game character.

[0081] Using FIG. 17, an example of the functional configuration of the terminal device 3 in this modification will be described. In FIG. 17, the same components as those in the aforementioned FIG. 3 are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted as appropriate.

[0082] As shown in FIG. 17, in addition to the same configuration as that of the aforementioned embodiment (FIG. 3), the terminal device 3 includes a status change processing unit 67. The status change processing unit 67 changes the status of the game character compiled by the instrument arrangement processing unit 21 based on the role set for the game character. The "status" to be changed is, for example, a parameter representing the relationship between a plurality of characters, and includes, for example, intimacy and closeness. When, for example, a role of assisting the role of the first character is set for the second character and a performance is executed, the status change processing unit 67 may increase the parameter representing the intimacy or closeness of the first character with respect to the second character.

[0083] Note that the "status" is not limited to a parameter representing a relationship, and may be, for example, a parameter representing an ability value such as level, performance ability, harmony ability, and sense of rhythm. In this case, for example, when a role of assisting the role of the second character is set for the first character and a performance is executed, the ability value of the first character may be increased.

[0084] Fig. 18 shows an example of a status change by the status change processing unit 67. Fig. 18 shows a role setting screen when, for example, character A is selected. Here, as shown in Fig. 5 above, it is assumed that, for example, characters A, D, F, and G are arranged by the player as playing members, and the roles of each of characters A, D, F, and G are set to main, sub, sub, and support, respectively. As a result of performing a song with this arrangement, the intimacy levels of character A with characters D and F, whose roles are set to "sub," increase from 77 and 82 (see Fig. 11) to 82 and 87, respectively.

[0085] In this modified example, for example, when it is desired to increase the intimacy between the player character and another specific game character, the role of the player character is set as "main" and the role of the other character as "sub", thereby making it possible to increase the intimacy between the player character and the other character. In this way, it is possible to change the relationship between the game characters by specifying the roles in the performance, thereby further increasing the interest of the game.

[0086] In addition to the above, the methods according to the above-mentioned embodiments and each modified example may be appropriately combined and used. Although not illustrated individually, the above-mentioned embodiments and each modified example may be implemented with various modifications without departing from the spirit thereof.

[0087] <6. Server hardware configuration> Next, an example of a hardware configuration of the terminal device 3 that realizes each processing unit implemented by the program executed by the CPU 501 described above will be described with reference to Fig. 19. Note that the server device 5 may have a similar hardware configuration.

[0088] As shown in FIG. 19, the terminal device 3 includes, for example, a CPU 501, a ROM 503, a RAM 505, a GPU 506, a dedicated integrated circuit 507 constructed for specific applications such as an ASIC or an FPGA, an input device 513, an output device 515, a recording device 517, a drive 519, a connection port 521, and a communication device 523. These components are connected to each other via a bus 509, an input / output interface 511, etc. so as to be able to transmit signals to each other.

[0089] The game program can be recorded, for example, in the ROM 503, the RAM 505, a recording device 517 such as a hard disk, etc.

[0090] Also, the game program can be temporarily or permanently (non-temporarily) recorded on a removable recording medium 525 such as a magnetic disk such as a flexible disk, various CDs, an MO disk, an optical disk such as a DVD, a semiconductor memory, etc. Such a recording medium 525 can also be provided as so-called packaged software. In this case, the game program recorded on these recording media 525 may be read by the drive 519 and recorded on the recording device 517 via the input / output interface 511, the bus 509, etc.

[0091] Also, the game program can be recorded, for example, on a download site, another computer, another recording device, etc. (not shown). In this case, the game program is transferred via a network NW such as a LAN or the Internet, and the communication device 523 receives this program. Then, the program received by the communication device 523 may be recorded on the recording device 517 via the input / output interface 511, the bus 509, etc.

[0092] Also, the game program can be recorded, for example, on an appropriate external connection device 527. In this case, the game program may be transferred via an appropriate connection port 521 and recorded on the recording device 517 via the input / output interface 511, the bus 509, etc.

[0093] Then, the CPU 501 executes various processes according to the program recorded in the recording device 517, whereby the processes by the aforementioned instrument arrangement processing unit 21, volume setting processing unit 23, first role setting processing unit 25, music piece reproduction processing unit 27, etc. are realized. At this time, the CPU 501 may, for example, directly read and execute the program from the recording device 517, or may execute it after once loading it into the RAM 505. Further, when the CPU 501 receives a program via the communication device 523, the drive 519, or the connection port 521, for example, it may directly execute the received program without recording it in the recording device 517.

[0094] Also, the CPU 501 may perform various processes based on signals and information input from the input device 513, which includes the aforementioned game controller 7 and, for example, a mouse, keyboard, microphone, etc.

[0095] The GPU 506 performs processes for image display, such as rendering processing, in response to instructions from the CPU 501.

[0096] Then, the CPU 501 and the GPU 506 output the results of the above processes from the output device 515, which includes the aforementioned display device 9 and, for example, a voice output unit (not shown) such as a speaker or headphones. Further, the CPU 501 and the GPU 506 may transmit this processing result via the communication device 523 or the connection port 521 as necessary, or may record it in the recording device 517 or the recording medium 525.

Explanation of Signs

[0097] 3 Terminal device (information processing device) 5 Server device 19 Music piece database 21 Instrument arrangement processing unit 23 Volume setting processing unit 25 First role setting processing unit 27 Music piece reproduction processing unit 57 Second role setting processing unit 63 First sound source switching processing unit 65 Second sound source switching processing unit 67 Status change processing unit 525 Recording medium

Claims

1. An information processing apparatus, a musical instrument arrangement processing unit that receives an instruction for arranging musical instruments for playing a piece of music from a player and arranges the musical instruments; a volume setting processing unit that sets the volume of the musical instruments included in the arrangement according to the instruction of the player to a first set volume, and sets the volume of the musical instruments that are not included in the arrangement according to the instruction of the player among the pre-set arrangements of the musical instruments for the piece of music to a second set volume smaller than the first set volume; a music playback processing unit that plays back the sound source data corresponding to the musical instruments included in the arrangement according to the instruction of the player at the first set volume, and plays back the sound source data corresponding to the musical instruments that are not included in the arrangement according to the instruction of the player among the pre-set arrangements of the musical instruments for the piece of music at the second set volume, thereby playing back the piece of music; a first role setting processing unit that receives and sets an instruction for a role in performance from a player when arranging the musical instruments; functioning as The volume setting processing unit sets the first set volume such that the volume of the musical instruments included in the arrangement according to the instruction of the player becomes different volumes for each role; The role in the performance includes a role of playing the main melody and a role of playing the counter melody, and is set for each musical instrument. A game program.

2. An information processing apparatus, a musical instrument arrangement processing unit that receives an instruction for arranging musical instruments for playing a piece of music from a player and arranges the musical instruments; a volume setting processing unit that sets the volume of the musical instruments included in the arrangement according to the instruction of the player to a first set volume, and sets the volume of the musical instruments that are not included in the arrangement according to the instruction of the player among the pre-set arrangements of the musical instruments for the piece of music to a second set volume smaller than the first set volume; a music playback processing unit that plays back the sound source data corresponding to the musical instruments included in the arrangement according to the instruction of the player at the first set volume, and plays back the sound source data corresponding to the musical instruments that are not included in the arrangement according to the instruction of the player among the pre-set arrangements of the musical instruments for the piece of music at the second set volume, thereby playing back the piece of music; functioning as The musical instrument arrangement processing unit receives an instruction for arranging the musical instruments from the player for the arrangement of a game character associated with a predetermined musical instrument and arranges the musical instruments; The information processing apparatus a second role setting processing unit that sets a role in performance based on the status of the arranged game character. further function as the volume setting processing unit sets the first set volume so that the volume of the musical instrument included in the arrangement according to the instruction of the player becomes different volumes for each role the roles in the performance include the role of playing the main melody and the role of playing the counter melody, and are set for each musical instrument a game program

3. An information processing apparatus an instrument arrangement processing unit that receives an instruction for arranging musical instruments for playing a piece from a player and arranges the musical instruments a volume setting processing unit that sets the volume of the musical instrument included in the arrangement according to the instruction of the player to a first set volume, and sets the volume of the musical instrument that is not included in the arrangement according to the instruction of the player among the preset arrangements of the musical instrument for the piece to a second set volume smaller than the first set volume a music playback processing unit that plays back the sound source data corresponding to the musical instrument included in the arrangement according to the instruction of the player at the first set volume, and plays back the sound source data corresponding to the musical instrument that is not included in the arrangement according to the instruction of the player among the preset arrangements of the musical instrument for the piece at the second set volume, thereby playing back the piece function as the instrument arrangement processing unit receives an instruction for arranging the musical instrument from the player for the arrangement of the game character associated with the predetermined musical instrument and arranges the musical instrument the information processing apparatus a first sound source switching processing unit that switches the sound source data corresponding to the musical instrument of the game character to other sound source data with different melodies based on the status of the arranged game character a game program for functioning as

4. An information processing apparatus an instrument arrangement processing unit that receives an instruction for arranging musical instruments for playing a piece from a player and arranges the musical instruments a volume setting processing unit that sets the volume of the musical instrument included in the arrangement according to the instruction of the player to a first set volume, and sets the volume of the musical instrument that is not included in the arrangement according to the instruction of the player among the preset arrangements of the musical instrument for the piece to a second set volume smaller than the first set volume Reproduce the sound source data corresponding to the musical instrument included in the arrangement according to the instruction of the player at the first set volume, and reproduce the sound source data corresponding to the musical instrument not included in the arrangement according to the instruction of the player among the pre-set arrangements of the musical instruments for the music at the second set volume, thereby a music reproduction processing unit for reproducing the music, function as, The musical instrument arrangement processing unit, Receives an instruction for arranging a game character associated with a predetermined musical instrument from the player and arranges the musical instrument, The information processing device, Based on the status of the arranged game character, a second sound source switching processing unit that switches the sound source data corresponding to the musical instrument of the game character from single-note performance to chord performance, A game program for functioning as.

5. The musical instrument arrangement processing unit, Receives an instruction for arranging a game character associated with a predetermined musical instrument from the player and arranges the musical instrument, The information processing device, Based on the role set for the musical instrument of the arranged game character, a status change processing unit that changes the status of the arranged game character, The game program according to claim 1 for functioning as.

6. A recording medium readable by an information processing device, on which the game program according to any one of claims 1 to 5 is recorded.

7. A game processing method executed by an information processing device, comprising: Receiving an instruction for arranging a musical instrument for playing music from a player and arranging the musical instrument; Setting the volume of the musical instrument included in the arrangement according to the instruction of the player to a first set volume, and setting the volume of the musical instrument not included in the arrangement according to the instruction of the player among the pre-set arrangements of the musical instruments for the music to a second set volume smaller than the first set volume; Reproducing the sound source data corresponding to the musical instrument included in the arrangement according to the instruction of the player at the first set volume, and reproducing the sound source data corresponding to the musical instrument not included in the arrangement according to the instruction of the player among the pre-set arrangements of the musical instruments for the music at the second set volume, thereby reproducing the music; When arranging the musical instrument, receiving and setting an instruction for a role in the performance from the player; having, The step of setting to the second set volume, Set the first set volume so that the volume of the musical instrument included in the formation according to the instruction of the player becomes a different volume for each role. The roles in the performance are A game processing method including a role of playing a main melody and a role of playing a counter melody, and set for each musical instrument.

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