Program, information processing device, and game system

Abstract

To provide an electronic game for improving availability of desired game elements.SOLUTION: A first granted game element granted from a second type game element is determined on the basis of a first type game element designated by first designation information according to a first granting request for requesting granting of the second type game element including the first designation information for designating the first type game element that a player possesses, the first granted game element is managed as a player's possession state by relating the first granted game element to information for identifying a player, the second type game element is a game element that can be used for a match game of an electronic game while the first type game element is a game element that cannot be used for the match game, any of multiple classifications is set to the first type game element and the second type game element, and the first granted game element is determined from the second type game element to which a classification corresponding to the classification of the first type game element designated by the first designation information is set.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 8

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a program, an information processing apparatus, and a game system, and more particularly to an electronic game having a function of granting game elements.

Background Art

[0002] There is an electronic game having a function of granting, by lottery, a game element of a different type than a specific type of game element consumed. In the electronic game of Patent Document 1, an item determined by lottery is granted to a player as a souvenir on condition that a ticket is consumed.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] However, in an electronic game such as Patent Document 1, since there are many options for items granted by lottery, there are cases where a player cannot obtain an expected item despite consuming a ticket.

[0005] An object of the present invention is to provide a program, an information processing apparatus, and a game system that provide an electronic game with improved availability of desired game elements.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] It should be noted that in the above translation, the number "८" in "Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2022-090オ18" is likely a misrepresentation in the original text. I translated it as "オ" according to the text you provided. If this is an incorrect or unclear part in the original, please check and correct it for a more accurate translation.A program according to one aspect of the present invention causes a computer that manages game elements owned by a player in an electronic game to execute a receiving process that receives a first grant request requesting the granting of a second type of game element, which includes first designation information specifying a first type of game element owned by the player; a determination process that, upon receiving the first grant request, determines which first grant game element to grant to the player from among the second type of game elements based on the first type of game element specified in the first designation information; and a management process that manages which first grant game element as owned by the player by associating the first grant game element with information that identifies the player, wherein the first type of game element is a game element that cannot be used in competitive play of the electronic game, while the second type of game element is a game element that can be used in competitive play, and the first type of game element and the second type of game element are each assigned one of a plurality of classifications established for each type, and the determination process determines which first grant game element is assigned from among the second type of game elements which are assigned a classification corresponding to the classification of the first type of game element specified in the first designation information. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an electronic game that improves the availability of desired game elements. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0008] [Figure 1] A diagram illustrating the configuration of a game system according to embodiments and modified examples of the present invention. [Figure 2] Block diagram illustrating the hardware configuration of a player terminal 100 according to embodiments and modified examples of the present invention. [Figure 3] Block diagram illustrating the hardware configuration of server 200 according to embodiments and modified examples of the present invention. [Figure 4] A diagram illustrating a shop screen displayed in a client application according to embodiments and modifications of the present invention. [Figure 5]This figure illustrates the result screen of the card lottery function displayed in a client application according to embodiments and modifications of the present invention. [Figure 6] A diagram illustrating the presentation of the card drawing function displayed in a client application according to embodiments and modifications of the present invention. [Figure 7] A flowchart illustrating the lottery function processing performed in the player terminal 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 8] A flowchart illustrating the consumption processing performed in server 200 according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0009] [Embodiment] The embodiments will be described in detail below with reference to the attached drawings. Note that the following embodiments do not limit the invention as defined in the claims, and not all combinations of features described in the embodiments are essential to the invention. Two or more of the features described in the embodiments may be combined in any way. Furthermore, identical or similar configurations will be given the same reference numeral, and redundant descriptions will be omitted.

[0010] The embodiment described below illustrates an example of applying the present invention to a game system in which a server, which communicates with a player terminal (communication terminal or game device) used by each player, matches two players connected at the same time and provides a service (versus service) that enables a competitive game in which both players participate. However, the present invention is applicable to any system implemented with any equipment configuration capable of running an electronic game in which multiple players participate. Furthermore, in this specification, "player" refers to a user who logs in to and uses the versus service provided by the server 200 in this game system.

[0011] 《Game System Structure》 Figure 1 shows the configuration of the game system according to this embodiment. As shown in the figure, the game system is configured so that a server 200 and multiple player terminals 100 can communicate with each other via a network 300. In this embodiment, the server 200 matches two players from connected player terminals 100 as players for a competitive game, establishes a communication session for sending and receiving various information related to the competitive game, and provides a competitive service that enables a competitive game in which the two players participate.

[0012] Each player can log in to the battle service by launching a predetermined client application on the player terminal 100 used by that player. The client application allows players to perform various settings and preparations for the battle game to be played, set up their player profile, and play the battle game (battle, play). As will be described in detail later, the battle game (electronic game) playable in this embodiment of the battle service is a trading card game (TCG) in which game elements such as cards are placed on a predetermined game field. Furthermore, the player terminal 100 can be any communication terminal equipped with communication functions, such as a PC or smartphone.

[0013] <Hardware configuration of the player terminal> Next, we will explain the hardware configuration of the player terminal 100 using Figure 2. Figure 2 is a block diagram illustrating the hardware configuration of the player terminal 100.

[0014] The control unit 101 is a processor such as a CPU and performs various controls, including the operation control of each hardware component of the player terminal 100. Specifically, the control unit 101 performs the relevant control by, for example, reading the necessary program stored in the storage device 102, loading it into the memory 103, and executing it.

[0015] The storage device 102 is a device capable of storing permanent information, such as a non-volatile memory or an HDD. The storage device 102 stores, in addition to the operating system for operating the player terminal 100 and programs related to various applications, information on parameters necessary for realizing various controls and various data used for display and communication functions related to the browser. The memory 103 is a storage device used for temporarily storing data, such as a volatile memory. The memory 103 may be used not only as a deployment area for each program but also as a storage area for temporarily storing data output during the operation of various hardware and various controls.

[0016] The GPU 104 is a rendering device that executes various rendering processes related to the generation of a display screen of the player terminal 100. The GPU 104 also executes the rendering process of the game screen during the execution of the对战 game. The GPU 104 includes a GPU memory (not shown), expands various graphics data read from the storage device 102, and performs predetermined operations to generate various images including the screen. The screen and images generated by the GPU 104 are presented to the player by being displayed on, for example, the display 110 included in the player terminal 100. The display 110 is a device for information display that is included in the player terminal 100 or detachably connected to the player terminal 100, such as a liquid crystal display. The display 110 displays the screen generated by the GPU 104.

[0017] The operation I / F 105 is a user interface that receives operation inputs provided in the player terminal 100. When the operation I / F 105 detects that an operation input has been made, it outputs a control signal corresponding to the operation input to the control unit 101. In one aspect, the operation I / F 105 includes, for example, operation members such as buttons provided on the exterior of the player terminal 100 and various sensors. Also, the display 110 included in the player terminal 100 of the present embodiment is configured to be able to detect touch inputs, and the operation I / F 105 includes a touch input detection sensor provided on the display 110.

[0018] Note: "对战 game" in the original text seems to be a specific game name which might need to be adjusted depending on the actual game it refers to. Here it's directly translated as "对战 game" for the lack of specific context. The communication I / F 106 is a communication interface with an external device included in the player terminal 100. The information communication between the communication I / F 106 and the external device may be performed via a wide area communication network (WAN) such as the Internet, or may be performed via a LAN or the like. Although the information communication performed by the communication I / F 106 is described as being performed wirelessly, it does not exclude the mode of being performed by wire.

[0019] The speaker 120 is an audio output interface included in the player terminal 100. The speaker 120 outputs various audio information including the audio related to the client application.

[0020] 〈Hardware Configuration of Server〉 FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the server 200 according to the present embodiment. In the following description, for the hardware configuration that realizes the same functions as the player terminal 100, the prefix of "server" shall be added to distinguish it from the configuration of the player terminal 100.

[0021] The server control unit 201 is a processor such as a CPU, and performs control related to the operation control of each hardware included in the server 200, player management related to the对战 service, the matching function between players, and the realization of various functions including information transmission / reception and information sharing regarding the executed对战 game. Specifically, the server control unit 201 reads out the necessary programs stored in the server storage device 202, expands them in the server memory 203, and executes them to perform the corresponding control.

[0022] The server storage device 202 is a device capable of permanent information storage, such as non-volatile memory or an HDD. The server storage device 202 stores the operating system and matching programs necessary to run the server 200, as well as parameter information necessary for realizing various controls and various data necessary for providing the matching function. The server storage device 202 also has a database function to manage information on each player registered as a player of the game system. The server memory 203 is a storage device used for temporary data storage, such as volatile memory. The server memory 203 may be used not only as an area for deploying each program, but also as a storage area for temporarily storing data output during the operation of various hardware and various control processes.

[0023] The server communication interface 204 is a communication interface between the server 200 and external devices. Information communication between the server communication interface 204 and external devices may be conducted via a wide area network (WAN) such as the Internet, or via a LAN such as a LAN. Information communication conducted by the server communication interface 204 may be conducted via wired or wireless connections.

[0024] 《Overview of the competitive game》 The following describes the outline of the competitive game in which the game experience is provided by the game system of this embodiment.

[0025] <Service Login> When the client application is executed on the player terminal 100, a game window related to service use is displayed on the player terminal 100's display 110. The player can perform the service login procedure by entering, for example, a player ID and password in the game window. Through this procedure, a service login request is sent from the player terminal 100 to the server 200 along with the input information. When the server control unit 201 receives the service login request, it checks the authenticity of the input information by referring to, for example, player information registered in association with the player ID, and if authenticity is confirmed, it manages the player as logged in. Once logged in, the player can use various functions provided by the service related to playing the competitive game via the game window.

[0026] In the game system of this embodiment, the competitive service provided to logged-in players mainly consists of two parts: a first part that provides the experience of playing a competitive game, and a second part that provides functions related to various preparations for playing a competitive game. In other words, the first part is the part in which the gameplay related to the competitive game between players takes place, and the second part is the part in which the gameplay related to the competitive game between players does not take place. The parts of the competitive service may be switched depending on, for example, the functions that the player is using in the competitive service. In the competitive service of this embodiment, multiple functions as shown below are made available, and even if the player does not intentionally perform an operation related to switching parts, the server 200 switches parts when the player uses the relevant function. In the following embodiment, the competitive service is set to the first part when a player requests to start playing a competitive game, and the competitive service is set to the second part when the gameplay related to the competitive game executed in response to the start of play request is completed. Note that such part switching does not need to be done explicitly, and the switching may be done in the processing executed on the server 200.

[0027] Below, we will first explain the various functions provided in Part 2.

[0028] <Deck Construction> The features offered by the service include a deck-building function.

[0029] Competitive games are played on a designated field specified within the game. Each player can build a "deck" containing a set of game elements for a competitive game, and then use that deck to play the game.

[0030] To build a deck, players need to obtain game elements, for example, through a lottery function that can be used by paying a price. In other words, the game elements that a player can include in the deck they build are limited to those that the player has already acquired. Furthermore, a player is not limited to building only one deck; they may build multiple decks, each with at least some differences in the registered game elements.

[0031] Information about game elements acquired by a player and decks built by a player is managed by registering it in the server storage device 202 in association with a unique identifier (player ID) that identifies the player. More specifically, the server storage device 202 also functions as a database (DB) that manages various information related to each player as player information, and in the player information, which is one record in the DB, the player ID is associated with and managed the information about game elements acquired by that player and the information about decks built by that player.

[0032] For example, when a player acquires a game element, its unique element ID and the number of that element are included in the player information, allowing the system to manage how many of that game element the player owns. Similarly, when a player builds a deck, its identification information (deck ID) and the element IDs of the game elements included in that deck are included in the player information, allowing the system to manage information about the deck the player has built (deck information).

[0033] As described above, the competitive game for which the play experience is provided in the competitive service of this embodiment is a TCG, and the game elements that are given to players and can be registered in a deck and used are cards (virtual cards that can be owned in the electronic game). In the competitive game of this embodiment, the cards that players can use are classified into two types: leader cards and member cards, which have different roles in the competitive game, and it is a condition that each deck includes one leader card. In other words, a deck is made up of one leader card and (one or more) member cards. Each card has a cost assigned to it, for example, depending on the degree to which it can give an advantage in the competitive game, and players need to register a group of cards to include in their deck so that the total cost of the deck is a predetermined value.

[0034] Here, leader cards and member cards are cards that have different roles in a competitive game, and they have differences such as the following:

[0035] Leader cards have the aspect of restricting the member cards that can be included in a deck, and they determine the direction of the deck (the strategic direction to take in order to win a game). In other words, including one leader card in a deck largely determines how a game played with that deck will unfold. On the other hand, member cards do not basically restrict other cards that can be included in a deck.

[0036] The game is turn-based, with each player sequentially placing cards from their deck onto the field during their turn. Leader cards are placed on the field at the start of the game and remain there throughout the game. Member cards, on the other hand, are randomly added to each player's hand from the deck and can be placed on the field at the player's discretion during each turn. In short, leader cards and member cards differ in whether their placement on the field is mandatory or optional.

[0037] In this game, each player's leader card is assigned a predetermined life value (a parameter indicating the number of times an attack action against the leader card can be withstood) at the start of the game. In this embodiment of the game, to ensure fairness between players, the life value of any leader card is set to a fixed 8. The game ends when either player's leader card's life value becomes 0, or when either player's deck (hand, deck, and field member cards) runs out of cards. In other words, a player can win by reducing the opponent's leader card's life value to 0 or by causing the opponent to run out of cards in their deck first. A player will lose if their own leader card's life value becomes 0 or if they run out of cards in their deck before their opponent.

[0038] Each card also has an effect that occurs when it is placed on the field during a battle game. However, member cards have only one effect that does not change according to the battle game's progress parameters. In contrast, leader cards differ from member cards in that they have multiple effects that change according to the battle game's progress parameters. Here, the battle game's progress parameter may be, for example, the leader card's life, and it may be set so that an effect that makes the battle game more advantageous becomes available when the life is halved.

[0039] Therefore, when a player selects either the "Build New Deck" or "Edit Existing Deck" menu related to the deck building function, the game enters an editing state for a single deck, and a list of cards managed as the player's acquired cards is displayed in the game window. The player can select cards to be registered in the deck being edited by inputting an operation to select the desired cards from the list. Specifically, the identification information (card ID) of the cards selected to be registered in the deck is added to the deck information of the deck being edited. The deck information of the deck being edited is temporarily stored, for example, in the memory 103 of the player terminal 100, and is updated each time a card to be registered is selected.

[0040] If the "Build a New Deck" menu is selected, new deck information is generated and stored in memory 103 as the deck information for the deck being edited. Conversely, if the "Edit an Existing Deck" menu is selected, the deck information for the relevant deck is downloaded from server 200 to player terminal 100 and stored in memory 103 as the deck information for the deck being edited.

[0041] Then, upon completion of the deck construction operation, the deck information for the deck being edited is uploaded from the player terminal 100 to the server 200 and managed in the player information associated with the player. At this time, if it is a new deck, the server 200 assigns a new deck ID to the player, and this deck ID is associated with the uploaded deck information and added to the player's player information. If it is a pre-constructed deck, since the deck information for the deck being edited already has a deck ID associated with it, the deck information in the player's player information that has the same deck ID as the uploaded deck information is updated based on the uploaded deck information.

[0042] Furthermore, in order to prevent the storage space related to the database from being occupied by deck information containing no registered cards, the upload of deck information for the deck being edited will be conditional on at least one card being registered at the time the operation to complete the deck construction is entered. In other words, deck construction completion does not necessarily mean that the deck is ready to be used in a game; for example, a player can save the deck information as completed even if they have registered one or more cards that are temporarily under consideration for use.

[0043] <Card drawing> The various cards used to build such decks are awarded to players through a card draw function. In other words, players can obtain cards by using the card draw function in the battle service.

[0044] In the competitive service of this embodiment, players can obtain virtual currency usable in the competitive service (hereinafter referred to as "in-service currency") through means such as gameplay in competitive games, battle results in competitive games played, fulfillment of conditions in the competitive service, and grants by the competitive service operator. In addition, in-service currency can also be obtained by players paying with real currency (so-called billing).

[0045] The card lottery function is basically configured to be available on the condition that a predetermined amount of in-service currency is paid. That is, a player can use the card lottery function to obtain a predetermined number of cards by agreeing to pay a predetermined amount of the in-service currency they possess. The card lottery function is also configured to be available by using a game element related to lottery tickets (card lottery function usage tickets) gifted by other players, without consuming the player's own in-service currency. A lottery ticket is a game element that can be gifted to a designated player by, for example, the donating player consuming a predetermined amount of in-service currency. When a player receives a lottery ticket from another player, they can use that lottery ticket instead of their own in-service currency to obtain a predetermined number of cards, just as when paying with in-service currency.

[0046] In the following explanation, we will assume that, for example, 10 cards can be obtained with each use of the card lottery function. That is, in the battle service of this embodiment, when the card lottery function is used, 10 cards are selected as cards to be awarded (awarded cards) through a lottery process, and basically, the information of these 10 awarded cards is associated with the player's player information, so that player is in a state of having obtained the awarded cards (a state of possessing the cards).

[0047] The card lottery function is configured to be available for use in the shop screen, which is displayed in the client application running on the player terminal 100 used by each player, when a menu related to the card lottery is selected. The shop screen may be in the form shown in Figure 4, for example, and the use of the card lottery function is accepted by the purchase button 401. Here, the shop screen 400 is provided with two types of purchase buttons 401a and 401b, which also serve to accept the player's consent to consume a predetermined amount of in-service currency and the player's consent to consume one lottery ticket, respectively, when using the card lottery function. That is, by inputting an operation to purchase button 401a or purchase button 401b, the player can obtain 10 cards by consuming in-service currency or lottery tickets. Of course, the purchase buttons 401a and 401b are controlled to accept operation input only if the player possesses the corresponding consumption element (in-service currency or lottery tickets) (for example, whether or not they are displayed on the shop screen 400 is controlled). Therefore, when displaying the shop screen 400, the control unit 101 obtains information on the consumption elements held by the player from the server 200 and performs display control.

[0048] When an operation is performed on the purchase button 401a or b, a request for the distribution of a card by lottery is sent from the player terminal 100 to the server 200. This distribution request includes consumption information that identifies the consumption element to which the player has agreed to consume.

[0049] Upon receiving a grant request, the server control unit 201 consumes the element specified by the consumption information among the consumption elements held by the player (changing the corresponding information in the player information to a value obtained by subtracting a predetermined number) and executes a lottery process. The lottery process includes leader cards and member cards, and 10 cards are determined from the target cards as the lottery result. Here, the lottery process does not exclude the inclusion of the same card multiple times in the lottery result. Once the server control unit 201 has determined the 10 cards of the lottery result, it associates the information of those cards with the player information and manages it as the player's possession status.

[0050] The information regarding the lottery results determined by the server control unit 201 is also sent back to the player terminal 100, and the client application displays a results screen showing the cards that the player now possesses as a result of using the card lottery function. The results screen displays a list of the 10 cards included in the lottery result information, as shown in Figure 5(a), using images of the card appearances associated with each card.

[0051] (Card ownership limit) By the way, in a configuration where player information for each player using the battle service is managed in the server storage device 202, it is undesirable to increase the amount of information for each player indefinitely. In other words, in order to allow players to own an unlimited number of cards, it would be necessary to increase the size of the server storage device 202 to store the player information, which could increase the initial cost and running cost of the server 200.

[0052] Accordingly, in the competitive service of this embodiment, each card that can be assigned to a player has a maximum number of copies that can be held. More specifically, a maximum number of copies is set for each card, and for a single card, a player can hold up to the maximum number of copies of that card. That is, a card assigned to a player through the card lottery function is associated with the player's information and becomes part of the player's possession status only if the player's number of copies of that card has not reached the maximum number of copies. On the other hand, if the player's number of copies has reached the maximum number of copies, any cards exceeding the maximum number of copies will not become part of the player's possession status and will be treated as surplus cards.

[0053] Here, the maximum number of cards a player can possess is set for each type of card, and the same maximum number of cards of the same type may be set. In one embodiment, the type of card can be the rarity (rarity in competitive games or services) defined for that card. Hereinafter, in the competitive service of this embodiment, the cards that can be given to players will be described as being classified into one of five different rarities, each with a different rarity. Rarity can also be linked to the probability of winning a card in the lottery process related to the card lottery function, for example, with cards of higher rarity having a lower probability of winning in the lottery process. In other words, in the lottery process, cards of lower rarity are easier to win, and cards of higher rarity are harder to win. For this reason, the maximum number of cards that can be possessed will be set to a larger value for cards of lower rarity than for cards of higher rarity.Hereinafter, in the explanation of rarity, high rarity may simply be referred to as "high rarity," and low rarity may simply be referred to as "low rarity."

[0054] Cards that are treated as surplus cards, that is, cards that were assigned to a player through the card lottery function but did not become part of the player's possession, are displayed on the results screen in a different manner than cards that the player has acquired, clearly indicating to the player that they did not acquire the card. As shown in Figure 5(b), the results screen displays for each assigned card the maximum number of copies that can be held according to its rarity, as well as the number of copies the player currently owns. In the example shown in the figure, the appearance image of the card in question is displayed in a grayed-out manner, for example, so that it is possible to identify which cards have become surplus cards.

[0055] Here, it would be unfair to prevent surplus cards from being held by a player simply because they have reached their maximum possession limit, even though they have been granted. Therefore, in the battle service of this embodiment, instead of surplus cards being held by the player, they are converted into predetermined points (hereinafter referred to as WC points) and granted to the player. The amount of WC points granted is determined according to the number of cards granted in excess of the possession limit, and in this embodiment, it will be explained that one (equal number) WC points are granted for each surplus card.

[0056] As will be explained in more detail later, WC points, like cards, have assigned rarities, and the WC points awarded to a player for each surplus card will be of the same rarity as that surplus card. Furthermore, since WC points of the same rarity are not identifiable, if multiple cards of the same rarity become surplus cards, each card will have that same rarity, and the player will be awarded the same number of WC points as the number of cards.

[0057] The conversion of surplus cards into WC points will be performed automatically without requiring any input from the player. That is, although the group of cards awarded through the card lottery function will be displayed on the results screen, in the processing of the server control unit 201, once it is confirmed that the number of cards awarded exceeds the maximum number that can be held, the cards will be associated with the player information as WC points and managed as if the player possesses WC points.

[0058] When surplus cards are converted into WC points, the results screen displays a visual representation related to the conversion. This visual representation includes a series of displays, as shown in Figure 6(a), showing the surplus card being subjected to impact and broken, followed by a display showing the surplus card becoming unrecognizable, as shown in Figure 6(b). As illustrated, if there are multiple surplus cards among the 10 cards drawn, the visual representation of these surplus cards being broken is displayed simultaneously.

[0059] In the example shown in Figure 6, along with the visual effects, a notification 601 is displayed indicating that some of the newly awarded cards (surplus cards) have exceeded the maximum number of cards the player can hold, and that these cards will not be held by the player. In the example shown in the figure, notification 601 is described as being displayed together with the visual effects, but it may also be displayed after the surplus cards have been destroyed. Furthermore, the results screen may display a notification (not shown) after the visual effects indicating that WC points have been placed in the player's possession instead of the surplus cards. This notification may, for example, show a breakdown of the WC points that have been placed in possession.

[0060] Furthermore, for cards other than surplus cards among the cards awarded through the card lottery function, an animation may be displayed emphasizing that although an impact similar to that of tearing is applied, the cards remain intact without tearing. This animation may be displayed with a time delay to clearly distinguish between surplus cards and other cards to the player.

[0061] Furthermore, at least a portion of the visual effects displayed on these result screens may be controlled to be canceled in response to an operation input related to skipping effects on the player terminal 100.

[0062] <Using WC Points> WC points, which are held by the player in place of surplus cards, can be accumulated and, once a predetermined number is accumulated, can be exchanged for other game elements. In the competitive service of this embodiment, WC points can be exchanged for wild cards on the condition that a predetermined number, such as 100 points, is consumed.

[0063] Here, wildcards are cards that can be consumed when using the following card generation function in the competitive service, and are different from cards that can be used to play competitive games (leader cards and member cards). In other words, wildcards cannot be included in a deck and used in competitive games. To facilitate the distinction between these cards, cards that can be used to play competitive games may be referred to as "game cards" below.

[0064] Wildcards, like game cards and WC points, have rarity levels. Wildcards awarded to players through exchange for WC points will have the same rarity as the WC points used for the exchange. WC points are exchangeable by rarity, and a certain number of WC points of the same rarity are required to obtain a wildcard of a specific rarity.

[0065] The exchange of WC points for wildcards may be performed in response to an operation input by the player requesting the exchange, or it may be performed without requiring an operation input if the number of WC points exceeds a predetermined amount at the time of awarding. When an exchange is performed, the player information relating to the player will be changed so that the corresponding predetermined number of WC points are not held, and instead the corresponding wildcard will be associated with them and the player will be in a held state.

[0066] <Card Generation> In the competitive service, players can generate and obtain game cards of a specific rarity by using the card generation function. In this embodiment, players can obtain game cards of the same rarity as a wild card by using the card generation function, provided that a wild card is consumed.

[0067] The card generation function is executed, for example, when an operation is performed on a button (GUI) related to granting a card generated based on a wildcard on the generation screen provided for that function. Here, since the card generation function is a function that can be used on the condition that a wildcard is consumed, the button related to the grant request may be configured to accept operation input on the condition that the player possesses one or more wildcards.

[0068] When an operation input is made to the button related to the grant request, an operation input specifying the wildcard to be consumed is received, and a grant request for a game card containing information specifying the wildcard to be consumed is sent from the player terminal 100 to the server 200. When the server control unit 201 receives the grant request, it consumes the specified wildcard associated with the player and grants the player a game card of the same rarity as the specified wildcard. More specifically, the server control unit 201 updates the player information related to the player by unassociating the specified wildcard information and newly associating the information of the game card to be granted.

[0069] The game card granted to a player upon the use of a wildcard may be selected by the server control unit 201, for example, through a lottery process, from among game cards of the same rarity as the wildcard, or it may be selected by the player. In the latter case, information specifying the game card to be granted shall be included in the grant request.

[0070] Thus, in the competitive service of this embodiment, players can obtain game cards by using two types of functions: a card lottery function and a card generation function. Both of these acquisition methods involve sending a request for the granting of game cards from the player terminal 100 to the server 200, but they differ in whether or not the granting request includes information specifying a wildcard.

[0071] Next, we will explain the gameplay features that provide competitive gameplay related to competitive games, which are offered in the first part of the service.

[0072] <matching> Players can play the competitive game by using the deck they have built using the deck-building function. In this embodiment, two players compete against each other, so before starting the game, players need to send a matching request from the player terminal 100 to the server 200. When the server control unit 201 receives a matching request, it performs a process to match two players to compete against each other from among the logged-in players who have also sent matching requests at the same time.

[0073] Therefore, the client application is equipped with a gameplay function and is configured to accept requests from the player to start a competitive game when this function is used. The player can then input the operation to request to start a game by selecting one deck from among the decks they have constructed as their deck for the competitive game. As will be described in detail later, in the game system of this embodiment, in order to enhance the enjoyment of the competitive game, the deck used by the player is also taken into consideration when matching opponents. Therefore, when an operation input related to a request to start a game is made, the control unit 101 sends a matching request including information about the deck to be used for the competitive game to the server 200 via the communication I / F 106.

[0074] A matching request includes, for example, the player's player ID and information indicating the deck used by that player. The information indicating the deck can be, for example, a deck ID, and the server control unit 201 can refer to the deck information related to the deck from the player information based on the player ID and deck ID, and can identify the cards registered in that deck.

[0075] As described above, the way a competitive game unfolds depends on the deck used by the player, and in particular, on the leader card included in that deck. The characteristics of each leader card are primarily determined by the effects that can be activated by that leader card, but in order to enable diverse play styles, there are advantageous and disadvantageous matchups between characteristics. For this reason, if a player is repeatedly matched with other players using decks with unfavorable matchups, there is a risk that the player's interest in the competitive game will decrease. Therefore, in the game system of this embodiment, information about the competitive deck is included in the matchmaking request and is referenced in the matchmaking process performed by the server control unit 201, which will be described later.

[0076] By the way, building a competitive deck that allows for a favorable gameplay experience requires considering the effects and costs set for each leader card and member card, which takes time. Also, the matching process, which provides an engaging competitive gameplay experience and matches players who have requested a match with suitable opponents, can take time depending on the time of day. In other words, if the system is designed to accept requests to start a competitive game only if the competitive deck has been completed, the time it takes for a logged-in player to actually start playing a competitive game could become prolonged.

[0077] Therefore, the game system of this embodiment is configured to accept a request to start playing with a deck as the battle deck, provided that at least one leader card is registered in the deck. That is, the matching request sent from the player terminal 100 to the server 200 is sent on the condition that the deck selected as the battle deck contains at least one leader card.

[0078] Therefore, in the game window of the client application, the player can view and confirm the contents of the battle deck even after inputting the operation input related to the request to start playing, and the battle deck is configured to be editable. Here, the deck that can be edited is limited to the battle deck. As will be described in detail later, since the server 200 performs matching processing based on the information of the leader card of the battle deck in response to the matching request, after the request to start playing, only the member cards, i.e., all other parts of the battle deck, will be controlled to be editable. Such editing of the battle deck will be controlled to be possible only during the period until the matchmaking of the opponent is completed.

[0079] (Matching process) The following is an overview of the matching process performed on server 200 in relation to matching.

[0080] In the game system of this embodiment, the competitive game provided is a TCG (Trading Card Game) in which two players compete. Therefore, when the server control unit 201 receives a matching request for one player from the player terminal 100, it executes a matching process to determine the other player (opponent) to compete against that player. The matching process matches players who are logged in and have made matching requests at the same time. In order to provide a highly engaging gameplay experience, the matching process of this embodiment sets up multiple types of matching criteria and extracts players to be opponents based on these criteria. Each of the matching criteria defines the conditions for the player to be extracted as an opponent. The server control unit 201 extracts players who meet the conditions from among the players who have received matching requests at the same time and determines one of them to be the opponent. Each of the multiple types of matching criteria has a set priority order. The server control unit 201 basically extracts players who meet the conditions of all matching criteria and selects one player as an opponent from among them. However, if there are no players who meet all the conditions, it repeats the process of extracting players by excluding the matching criteria with the lowest priority in order.

[0081] Once player matching is complete, the server control unit 201 establishes a communication session for sending and receiving various information related to the competitive game in which the two matched players are participating. This communication session information, along with information such as the matchmaking results, is sent to the player terminals 100 used by each of the two players. When the control unit 101 of the player terminal 100 receives the communication session information, it starts processing to connect to the communication session.

[0082] <Gameplay> When each player's terminal 100 connects to the communication session, gameplay of the competitive game involving the two matched players can begin. In the client application running on each player's terminal 100, once both players' terminals 100 connect to the communication session, processing related to playing the competitive game begins and the game screen is displayed.

[0083] Here, the versus game is played on the condition that the player's deck contains one leader card and one or more member cards. Once the processing related to playing the versus game begins, the player's deck is controlled to be uneditable to ensure fairness. Therefore, if the player's deck does not contain any member cards before the processing related to playing the versus game begins, the system should accept an input request for the selection of at least one member card, and only execute the processing related to playing the versus game once a member card has been added and the deck information has been updated.

[0084] In the gameplay process of the competitive game executed on each player terminal 100, various information for game progression is generated based on the inputs made by the player in relation to the competitive game, and transmitted to the server 200. The server 200 manages various information for game progression for each communication session and transmits (shares) the information received from the player terminal 100 to other player terminals 100 participating in the communication session. In the gameplay process of the competitive game, when the server 200 receives information for game progression related to the opponent, the display of the game screen is controlled based on that information. In this way, the game system can provide a gameplay experience in which players in remote locations compete against each other via the server 200.

[0085] 《Lottery function processing》 The following describes the lottery function processing performed in the player terminal 100 of this embodiment in relation to the use of the card lottery function, using the flowchart in Figure 7 as a reference. The processing corresponding to the flowchart can be realized by the control unit 101 reading the corresponding processing program stored in the storage device 102, for example, loading it into memory 103 and executing it. This lottery function processing will be described as starting, for example, when a client application is executed in the player terminal 100 and an operation input is made for the purchase button 401a or b on the shop screen. Furthermore, in order to facilitate understanding of the invention, in the following description, the player will be described as having a consumption element related to the purchase button for which an operation input has been made.

[0086] In S701, the control unit 101 sends a request to the server 200 via the communication interface 106 for the provision of game cards related to the card lottery function.

[0087] In S702, the control unit 101 determines whether or not it has received information regarding the lottery result for the grant request transmitted in S701. If the control unit 101 determines that it has received the information regarding the lottery result, it moves the process to S703; otherwise, it repeats the process in this step.

[0088] In S703, the control unit 101 refers to the received lottery result information and determines whether or not the newly assigned game cards to the player include any surplus cards. Here, the lottery result information received from the server 200 in relation to the card lottery function includes, for each of the 10 game cards that have been decided to be assigned to the player by the lottery process, information such as a card ID that uniquely identifies the game card, the number of the game card held by the player (after assignment), and information indicating whether or not the game card has been classified as a surplus card. That is, the control unit 101 makes the decision in this step based on whether or not the information of game cards classified as surplus cards is included in the lottery result information. If the control unit 101 determines that the newly assigned game cards to the player include any surplus cards, it moves the process to S704; if it determines that they do not, it moves the process to S707.

[0089] In S704, the control unit 101 displays a results screen on the display 110 that includes an image of the appearance of the newly assigned game card. Here, the control unit 101 controls the game cards that are classified as surplus cards among the newly assigned game cards to be displayed in a different display manner, for example, by graying out the image of the appearance.

[0090] In S705, the control unit 101 displays a visual effect related to the conversion of WC points on the display 110. This visual effect includes, as described above, distorting the appearance image of the game card classified as a surplus card, and then changing the appearance image of the game card to an unrecognizable state.

[0091] In S706, the control unit 101 further displays a notification regarding the handling of surplus cards on the display 110 to complete the lottery function processing. The notification regarding the handling of surplus cards may include information such as the number of game cards held exceeds the maximum number of cards that can be held, that the surplus cards will not be held by the player, that each surplus card has been converted into WC points of the same rarity and awarded, and the number of points awarded.

[0092] On the other hand, if in S703 the control unit 101 determines that there are no surplus cards among the game cards newly assigned to the player, in S707 the control unit 101 displays a result screen on the display 110 that includes the appearance images of the newly assigned game cards, and completes the lottery function process. In this result screen, since there are no surplus cards, all of the newly assigned game cards are controlled to be displayed with their appearance images in their normal form.

[0093] 《Consumption Processing》 Next, the processing of wildcard consumption performed in relation to the card generation function in the server 200 of this embodiment will be explained using the flowchart in Figure 8. The processing corresponding to the flowchart can be realized by the server control unit 201 reading the corresponding processing program stored in, for example, the server storage device 202, loading it into the server memory 203, and executing it. This consumption processing will be explained as starting, for example, when a request for granting a game card related to the card generation function is received from the player terminal 100.

[0094] In S801, the server control unit 201 identifies the rarity of the wildcard to be consumed when granting the game card (hereinafter referred to as the target rarity). Specifically, the server control unit 201 identifies the target rarity based on the information specifying the rarity of the wildcard to be consumed included in the received grant request.

[0095] In S802, the server control unit 201 consumes a wildcard of the target rarity from among the wildcards held by the player. At this time, the server control unit 201 updates the player information related to the player to a value obtained by subtracting 1 from the number of wildcards of the target rarity held.

[0096] In step S803, the server control unit 201 determines which game card to assign to the player from among the game cards of the target rarity. This determination can be made, for example, based on a lottery process, as described above.

[0097] In S804, the server control unit 201 sets the game card determined in S803 as the player's possession status. Specifically, the server control unit 201 updates the player information related to the player by adding 1 to the information regarding the number of game cards the player possesses.

[0098] In S805, the server control unit 201 sends the grant result information, including the card ID of the game card determined in S803, back to the player terminal 100 as a response to the received grant request.

[0099] As described above, the game device of this embodiment can provide an electronic game with an improved play experience. Furthermore, the information processing device of this embodiment can provide an electronic game with improved accessibility of desired game elements.

[0100] [Example 1] In the embodiments described above, the exchange for wildcards was explained as being accepted separately on the condition that a predetermined number of WC points awarded by converting surplus cards have been accumulated. However, the implementation of the present invention is not limited to this. The conversion of WC points to wildcards may be configured, for example, when there are surplus cards among the cards awarded when using the card lottery function, and if the number of WC points held by the player exceeds the number that can be exchanged by converting the surplus cards to WC points, the result screen may be configured to ask the player whether they wish to exchange the WC points for wildcards instead of notifying them that WC points will be awarded instead.

[0101] At this time, if the player terminal 100 receives an operation input related to an exchange instruction, the server control unit 201 receives information indicating this, executes a process to exchange the WC points for a wildcard of the same rarity, and sends information related to the exchange result back to the player terminal 100. That is, the server control unit 201 changes the number of WC points held in the player information related to the player to the value after the exchange, and also changes the number of wildcards held to an increased value. When the player terminal 100 receives the information related to the exchange result, it is sufficient to display, for example, that the accumulated WC points have been exchanged for a wildcard and that the wildcard is now in the player's possession.

[0102] Furthermore, if there are surplus cards, the exchange of WC points for wildcards may be carried out without inquiring with the player about whether or not they wish to exchange them.

[0103] We have previously described a scenario where, if a player is awarded more game cards than the maximum number allowed (surplus cards), they can be converted into WC points and then exchanged for wildcards. However, there is also a scenario where the concept of WC points does not exist, and surplus cards can be directly converted into wildcards.

[0104] [Differentiation 2] In the embodiments and modifications described above, wildcards are granted to players on the condition that WC points are consumed, but the implementation of the present invention is not limited thereto. Wildcards may be granted, for example, in the case of playing a competitive game or using a competitive service, on the condition that predetermined conditions are met, without requiring payment of a price. In such cases, the granted wildcard may be of a predetermined rarity, or it may be of a rarity selected from among several rarities by, for example, a lottery process.

[0105] [Difference 3] In the embodiments described above, the game cards granted to the player in the card generation function were assumed to be of the same rarity as the consumed wildcard, but the implementation of the present invention is not limited to this. For example, some wildcards may be provided that allow the player to select the rarity of the game card granted upon consumption from all rarities. Such wildcards are controlled to accept the player's further specification of the desired rarity when the player specifies consumption. In this case, the server control unit 201 receives information specifying the rarity along with the grant request and determines which game card to grant from among the game cards of the corresponding rarity.

[0106] [Differentiation Example 4] In the embodiments described above, a configuration was described in which the player can specify the game card to be awarded by selecting the rarity of the wildcard to be consumed in the card generation function. However, the implementation of the present invention is not limited to this, and the wildcard may also be configured to allow the player to specify whether the awarded game card will be a leader card or a member card. For example, if a wildcard specifically for leader cards is specified as the target for consumption, the server control unit 201 selects one leader card from among all rarities of leader cards in response to the award request and determines it to be the game card to be awarded to the player.

[0107] [Difference 5] By the way, since TCGs progress by adding game cards drawn from a shuffled deck to your hand, it's not always possible to draw a desired game card from the deck during gameplay. For this reason, some players construct decks that include multiple copies of the desired game card to increase the probability of drawing it.

[0108] In the embodiments described above, we also mentioned a configuration in which the player can specify the game cards to be provided in the card generation function. In such a configuration, since the player can specify any game card to be provided, it may also be possible to specify the number of such game cards to be provided. That is, with this configuration, the player can obtain the desired number of game cards, making it easier to build a suitable deck.

[0109] [Modification 6] In the above-described modification, 5 was explained as having no restrictions on the game cards that can be designated as recipients in the card generation function, but the implementation of the present invention is not limited to this.

[0110] For example, some game cards may be excluded from being granted by the card generation function. In such a configuration, if a game card that has been excluded from being granted is specified, the control unit 101 may notify the player terminal 100 that the game card is not eligible for granting and control the player terminal 100 not to send a granting request to the server 200.

[0111] Furthermore, players may be ranked based on their match results, for example, to match players with similar skill levels. In this configuration, some game cards, such as those that give a high degree of advantage in the game, may be set to be unusable in lower-ranked matches. Therefore, when using the card generation function, the player's rank may be determined, and if a game card that is unusable in matches of that player's rank is specified, the control unit 101 may display a warning that the card cannot be used in a match at this time, even if it is owned, and instruct the player whether or not to use a wild card.

[0112] [Difference 7] In the embodiment described above, when converting surplus cards to WC points, an effect is displayed in which the image of the surplus card is torn. However, it will be easily understood that the effect of indicating that the surplus card will not be in the player's possession as a result of using the card lottery function is not limited to this.

[0113] Furthermore, although the above-described embodiment explained that the surplus cards are converted into the same number of WC points and awarded to the player, the implementation of the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a conversion rate other than 1 may be provided between the surplus cards and the WC points, and the number of WC points awarded may be determined based on this conversion rate.

[0114] Furthermore, while the embodiments and modifications described above describe a configuration in which game cards, WC points, and wild cards are classified by rarity, it goes without saying that the implementation of the present invention is not limited to this, and other classifications may also be used.

[0115] [Summary of Embodiments] The above embodiments disclose at least the following program, information processing device, and game system.

[0116] (1) Regarding electronic games, a computer that manages the game elements owned by the player, A receiving process that receives a first grant request requesting the granting of a second type of game element, which includes first designation information specifying a first type of game element that is in the possession of the player, In response to receiving the first grant request, a decision process is performed to determine which first grant game element to grant to the player from among the second type of game elements, based on the first type of game element specified in the first designation information. A management process that associates the first assigned game element with information identifying the player, thereby managing the first assigned game element as the player's possession status. A program that executes, The first type of game element is a game element that cannot be used in competitive play of the electronic game, while the second type of game element is a game element that can be used in competitive play. The first type of game element and the second type of game element are each assigned one of several classifications established for each type. The determination process is a program that determines the first assigned game element from among the second type of game elements, each of which is classified according to the classification of the first type of game element specified in the first designated information.

[0117] (2) The program according to (1) wherein the management process associates the first assigned game element with the player identification information, on the condition that the association of the first type of game element specified in the first designated information with the player identification information is released.

[0118] (3) The program described in (1) or (2) for determining the first assigned game element from among the second type of game elements which have the same classification as the first type of game element specified in the first designation information.

[0119] (4) The program described in (3) for determining the first assigned game element from among the second type of game elements of all classifications, provided that the first type of game element of a predetermined classification is specified in the first designation information.

[0120] (5) The second type of game element includes a first game element and a second game element that have different roles in the competitive game, The aforementioned decision process is, When the first type of game element of the predetermined classification is specified in the first designation information, the first assigned game element is determined from among the first game elements of all classifications. The program according to (4), which, when a game element of the first type in a classification other than the predetermined classification is specified in the first designation information, determines the first assigned game element from among the second game elements in a classification corresponding to the classification of the first type of game element.

[0121] (6) The first grant request further includes second designation information that specifies the second type of game element, The program according to (1) or (2), wherein the decision process determines the first grant game element based on the second designated information in response to receiving the first grant request.

[0122] (7) The second designated information further includes information on the number of game elements of the second type designated by the second designated information, The program according to (6) wherein the management process associates the number of first assigned game elements with information identifying the player, thereby managing the number of first assigned game elements as the player's possession status.

[0123] (8) The receiving process is a program according to any one of (1) to (7) that receives the first grant request, provided that the first type of game element is in the possession of the player.

[0124] (9) The receiving process further receives a second grant request requesting the granting of the second type of game element, which does not include the first designation information, The decision process, upon receiving the second grant request, determines which second grant game element to grant to the player from among the second type of game elements. The aforementioned management process is: If the number of the second granted game elements held by a player has not reached the maximum number, the second granted game elements are associated with the player's identifying information, thereby managing the player's ownership status of the second granted game elements. A program according to any one of (1) to (8), which, when the number of the second assigned game elements held by a player reaches the maximum number of players they can hold, associates the first type of game element with the information that identifies the player in place of the second assigned game element, thereby managing the first type of game element as the player's possession status.

[0125] (10) The second grant request requests the granting of a predetermined number of the second type of game elements, The decision process determines a predetermined number of the second grant game elements in response to receiving the second grant request. The management process is the program according to (9), which associates a corresponding number of the first type of game elements with information identifying the player in place of the surplus game elements that would result in a player possessing more than the maximum number of game elements when the predetermined number of the second assigned game elements are in the player's possession state.

[0126] (11) The program according to (10) wherein the management process associates the same number of game elements of the first type as the surplus game elements with the information that identifies the player.

[0127] (12) The management process is a program according to any one of (9) to (11) that, when the number of the second assigned game elements held reaches the maximum number held, associates the first type of game element with the information identifying the player in place of the second assigned game element, without requiring any input from the player.

[0128] (13) The program described in any one of (9) to (12) wherein the program causes the computer to further perform an output process that outputs information indicating when the first type of game element is acquired by the player in place of the second assigned game element.

[0129] (14) The receiving process is a program according to any one of (9) to (13) that receives the second grant request on the condition that payment of the price has been made.

[0130] (15) The determination process further determines a third assigned game element to be assigned to the player from among the first type of game elements, provided that a predetermined condition is met in the electronic game. The program according to any one of (1) to (14) above manages the third granting game element as being owned by the player by associating the third granting game element with information identifying the player, without requiring payment of a price.

[0131] (16) An information processing device for managing game elements owned by a player in an electronic game, A receiving means for receiving a grant request that requests the granting of a second type of game element, which includes designation information that specifies a first type of game element that is in the possession of the player, A determination means that, upon receiving the aforementioned grant request, determines which grant game element to grant to the player from among the second type of game elements based on the first type of game element specified in the designated information, A management means that associates the assigned game element with information identifying the player, thereby managing the assigned game element as the player's possession status. Equipped with, The first type of game element is a game element that cannot be used in competitive play of the electronic game, while the second type of game element is a game element that can be used in competitive play. The first type of game element and the second type of game element are each assigned one of several classifications established for each type. The determination means is an information processing device that determines the assigned game element from among the second type of game elements, each of which is classified according to the classification of the first type of game element specified in the designated information.

[0132] (17) A game system including a communication terminal that executes an electronic game having a function for adding game elements, and an information processing device that manages game elements owned by the player for the electronic game, The aforementioned communication terminal is A transmission means transmits to the information processing device a grant request that requests the granting of a second type of game element, which includes first designation information specifying the selected first type of game element, in response to an operation input by the player to select a first type of game element that is in the player's possession. An acquisition means for acquiring information from the information processing device about game elements that have newly become owned by the player in response to the aforementioned acquisition request, A display control means for displaying game elements that have newly come into the possession of the player on a display device, Equipped with, The aforementioned information processing device is A receiving means for receiving the grant request from the communication terminal, In response to receiving the grant request, a determination means determines which grant game element to grant to the player from among the second type of game elements, based on the first type of game element specified in the first designated information. A management means that associates the assigned game element with information identifying the player, thereby managing the assigned game element as the player's possession status. An output means that outputs information about the assigned game element as information about the game element that has newly become owned by the player, Equipped with, The first type of game element is a game element that cannot be used in competitive play of the electronic game, while the second type of game element is a game element that can be used in competitive play. The first type of game element and the second type of game element are each assigned one of several classifications established for each type. The determination means is a game system that determines the assigned game element from among the second type of game elements, each of which is classified according to the classification of the first type of game element specified in the first designated information.

[0133] (18) The transmitting means transmits, in response to an operation input for selecting the second type of game element, the granting request further includes a second designation information specifying the selected second type of game element, The aforementioned second type of game element includes game elements that have been excluded from the scope of assignment based on the aforementioned first type of game element. If the selected second type of game element is a game element that has been excluded from being assigned, The transmission means does not transmit the grant request. The game system according to (17), wherein the display control means causes the display device to display that the selected second type of game element is not eligible for assignment.

[0134] (19) The information identifying the player is associated with rank information indicating the rank of the player which changes as a result of playing the electronic game, In the aforementioned competitive game, the second type of game element that can be used is determined according to the rank of the player. The game system according to (18), wherein the display control means causes the display device to show that the selected second type of game element is a game element that cannot be used in the competitive game of the player's rank, even if it is possessed, it cannot be used in the competitive game at that time.

[0135] [Other embodiments] The invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and various modifications and changes are possible within the scope of the gist of the invention. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0136] 100: Player terminal, 101: Control unit, 102: Storage device, 103: Memory, 104: GPU, 105: Operation interface, 106: Communication interface, 110: Display, 120: Speaker, 200: Server, 201: Server control unit, 202: Server storage device, 203: Server memory, 204: Server communication interface, 300: Network

Claims

1. Regarding electronic games, the computer that manages the game elements owned by the player, A receiving process that receives a first grant request requesting the granting of a second type of game element, which includes first designation information specifying a first type of game element that is in the possession of the player, In response to receiving the first grant request, a decision process is performed to determine which first grant game element to grant to the player from among the second type of game elements, based on the first type of game element specified in the first designation information. A management process that associates the first assigned game element with information identifying the player, thereby managing the first assigned game element as the player's possession status. A program that executes, The first type of game element is a game element that cannot be used in competitive play of the electronic game, while the second type of game element is a game element that can be used in competitive play. The first type of game element and the second type of game element are each assigned one of several classifications provided for each type. The second type of game element includes a first game element and a second game element that have different roles in the competitive game, The aforementioned electronic game is played using a deck containing the first game element and the second game element, The deck must contain only one of the first game element, while it may contain one or more of the second game element. The first game element included in the deck determines the direction of development of the electronic game using the deck and limits the second game element that can be included in the deck. The aforementioned decision process is, When a game element of the first type in a predetermined classification is specified in the first designation information, the first assigned game element is determined from among the first game elements of all classifications. A program that, when a game element of the first type in a classification other than the predetermined classification is specified in the first designation information, determines the first assigned game element from among the second game elements of the classification corresponding to the classification of the first type of game element, rather than from all the classifications.

2. The program according to claim 1, wherein the management process associates the first assigned game element with the player identification information, on the condition that the association of the first type of game element specified in the first designated information with the player identification information.

3. The program according to claim 1, wherein the determination process determines the first assigned game element from among the second type of game elements which have the same classification as the first type of game element specified in the first designated information.

4. The first grant request further includes second designation information that specifies the second type of game element, The decision process determines the first granting game element based on the second designated information in response to receiving the first granting request. The program according to claim 1.

5. The second designated information further includes information on the number of game elements of the second type designated by the second designated information, The management process associates the number of first assigned game elements with the information identifying the player, thereby managing the number of first assigned game elements as the player's possession status. The program according to claim 4.

6. The program according to claim 1, wherein the receiving process receives the first grant request on the condition that the first type of game element is in the player's possession.

7. The receiving process further receives a second grant request requesting the granting of the second type of game element, which does not include the first designated information, The decision process, upon receiving the second grant request, determines which second grant game element to grant to the player from among the second type of game elements. The aforementioned management process is: If the number of the second granted game elements held by a player has not reached the maximum number of players they can hold, the second granted game elements are associated with the player's identifying information, thereby managing the player's ownership status of the second granted game elements. When a player's possession of the second assigned game element reaches the maximum number of possessions, the first type of game element is associated with the player's identifying information in place of the second assigned game element, thereby managing the first type of game element as the player's possession status. The program according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

8. The second granting request requests the granting of a predetermined number of the second type of game elements. The decision process determines a predetermined number of the second granting game elements in response to receiving the second granting request. The management process associates a corresponding number of the first type of game elements with the player identification information, based on the number of surplus game elements that would exceed the maximum number of game elements held if the predetermined number of the second assigned game elements were to be held by the player. The program according to claim 7.

9. The program according to claim 8, wherein the management process associates the same number of game elements of the first type as the surplus game elements with the information identifying the player.

10. The program according to claim 7, wherein the management process, when the number of the second assigned game elements held reaches the maximum number held, associates the first type of game element with the information identifying the player in place of the second assigned game element, without requiring any input from the player.

11. The program according to claim 7, wherein the program causes the computer to further perform an output process that outputs information indicating when the first type of game element is acquired by the player in place of the second assigned game element.

12. The program according to claim 7, wherein the receiving process receives the second grant request on the condition that payment of the price has been made.

13. The aforementioned determination process, on the condition that predetermined conditions are met in the electronic game, further determines a third assigned game element to be assigned to the player from among the first type of game elements, The management process manages the third granted game element as the player's possession status by associating it with information that identifies the player, without requiring payment of a price. The program according to claim 1.

14. An information processing device for managing game elements owned by a player in an electronic game, Receiving means for receiving a grant request requesting the granting of a second type of game element, which includes designation information specifying a first type of game element that is in the possession of the player, In response to receiving the grant request, a determination means determines which grant game element to grant to the player from among the second type of game elements, based on the first type of game element specified in the designated information. A management means that associates the assigned game element with information identifying the player, thereby managing the assigned game element as the player's possession status. Equipped with, The first type of game element is a game element that cannot be used in competitive play of the electronic game, while the second type of game element is a game element that can be used in competitive play. The first type of game element and the second type of game element are each assigned one of several classifications provided for each type. The second type of game element includes a first game element and a second game element that have different roles in the competitive game, The aforementioned electronic game is played using a deck containing the first game element and the second game element, The deck must contain only one of the first game element, while it may contain one or more of the second game element. The first game element included in the deck determines the direction of development of the electronic game using the deck and limits the second game element that can be included in the deck. The aforementioned determination means is When a game element of the first type in a predetermined classification is specified in the designation information, the assigned game element is determined from among the first game elements of all classifications. An information processing device that, when a game element of the first type in a classification other than the predetermined classification is specified in the designation information, determines the assigned game element from among the second game elements of the classification corresponding to the classification of the first type of game element, rather than from all the classifications.

15. A game system comprising a communication terminal that executes an electronic game having a function for adding game elements, and an information processing device that manages game elements possessed by the player for the electronic game, The aforementioned communication terminal is A transmission means transmits to the information processing device a grant request that requests the granting of a second type of game element, which includes first designation information specifying the selected first type of game element, in response to an operation input by the player to select a first type of game element that is in the player's possession. An acquisition means for acquiring information from the information processing device about game elements that have newly become owned by the player in response to the aforementioned acquisition request, A display control means for displaying game elements that have newly come into the possession of the player on a display device, Equipped with, The aforementioned information processing device is A receiving means for receiving the grant request from the communication terminal, In response to receiving the grant request, a determination means determines which grant game element to grant to the player from among the second type of game elements, based on the first type of game element specified in the first designated information. A management means that associates the assigned game element with information identifying the player, thereby managing the assigned game element as the player's possession status. An output means that outputs information about the assigned game element as information about the game element that has newly become owned by the player, Equipped with, The first type of game element is a game element that cannot be used in competitive play of the electronic game, while the second type of game element is a game element that can be used in competitive play. The first type of game element and the second type of game element are each assigned one of several classifications provided for each type. The second type of game element includes a first game element and a second game element that have different roles in the competitive game, The aforementioned electronic game is played using a deck containing the first game element and the second game element, The deck must contain only one of the first game element, while it may contain one or more of the second game element. The first game element included in the deck determines the direction of development of the electronic game using the deck and limits the second game element that can be included in the deck. The aforementioned determination means is When a game element of the first type in a predetermined classification is specified in the first designation information, the assigned game element is determined from among the first game elements of all classifications. A game system that, when a game element of the first type in a classification other than the predetermined classification is specified in the first designation information, determines the assigned game element from among the second game elements in the classification corresponding to the classification of the first type of game element, rather than from all the classifications.

16. The transmission means, in response to an operation input for selecting the second type of game element, further includes in the assignment request second designation information specifying the selected second type of game element and transmits it. The second type of game element includes game elements that have been excluded from the scope of assignment based on the first type of game element. If the selected second type of game element is a game element that has been excluded from being assigned, The transmission means does not transmit the grant request. The display control means causes the display device to indicate that the selected second type of game element is not eligible for assignment. The game system according to claim 15.

17. The information identifying the player is associated with rank information indicating the player's rank, which changes as a result of playing the electronic game. The aforementioned competitive game has a set of two types of game elements that can be used according to the rank of the player. The display control means causes the display device to indicate that, if the selected second type of game element is a game element that cannot be used in the competitive game at the player's rank, it cannot be used in the competitive game at that time, even if it is possessed. The game system according to claim 16.

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