JP2001239059A - Cooperative play control method, storage medium and game device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a cooperative play control method, a storage medium, and a game device urging the characters in a friendly team to participate in a cooperative play at a battle against an enemy and allowing them to feel a solidarity feeling in the team. SOLUTION: One life point value common to individual characters in a friendly team is calculated. When the physical strength level value of one of the characters becomes 0 after the start of the battle against a hostile team, 1 is subtracted from the life point value, and the physical strength level value of this character is reset to the value immediately before the start of the battle. When the life point value becomes 0, all players in the friendly team are made game over. When the physical strength value of the boss character of the enemy becomes 0 before the life point value becomes 0, a bonus is given to all characters.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to general personal computers (IBM, Apple, etc.), game consoles (PlayStation, Sony Computer Entertainment, Nintendo 64, Nintendo, Sega Enterprises). "Dreamcast", etc.) or portable game devices (Nintendo "Game Boy", Bandai "Wonder Swan" etc.),
Alternatively, a method of controlling a video game device or a computer in which a plurality of characters form a friendly team using an arcade game device or the like (hereinafter collectively referred to as a “game device”) and then compete with the characters of an enemy team. The present invention also relates to a cooperative play control method, a recording medium, and a game device, which encourage participation in cooperative play during a battle with an enemy, so that a sense of solidarity within a team can be enjoyed.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Today, various video games have been developed and sold by game industry companies. As shown in FIG. 3, a connection mode of the most common home-use game device among the game devices is such that a controller pad and a TV monitor 2 as an input device 2 as shown in FIG.
4 are connected. When a player inserts a recording medium 1 such as a CD-ROM in which a game program is recorded into the game apparatus main body, the game program recorded on the recording medium is automatically or by operating a button on a controller pad. Is loaded on the RAM, and the game is started. After that, the game can be enjoyed by operating the buttons on the controller pad. In a communication battle game, for example, a plurality of game devices are directly connected using a relatively short communication cable 30,
A plurality of game devices in different places are connected via communication means such as the Internet, or a game server which centrally manages the game progress of each game device is connected to the game server via the communication means. After connecting, you can start the game and enjoy it.

In a conventional communication battle game, a player character (including a vehicle character such as a car) which can be operated by each game device appears in the same virtual space,
There are those in which the player characters enjoy a battle play in which the player characters compete against each other, and those in which a plurality of player characters form a team and enjoy a cooperative play in which they cooperate with each other to fight a computer character that is a common enemy character. Synchronization is achieved between each game device, and each player is connected to the same screen as another player's screen drawn on his / her TV monitor or another player's screen drawn from the viewpoint of his own player character. Operate your player character while looking at a screen that differs only in viewpoint. Usually, a game in which a player can enjoy cooperative play during a battle can select either a single mode in which a player fights alone with an enemy or a cooperation mode in which a player battles in cooperation with a character of another player.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-30 about cooperative play
In the publication No. 0045, even if the game value of the player character indicates the game over value, if the game value of another character in the same team is not the game over value,
A game apparatus characterized in that the player is not determined to be a game over; even if the game value of the player character indicates a game over value, if another character in the same team has cleared or won the first stage, The game device, wherein the player decides to proceed to the second game stage, and when the game value of the character indicates a game over value, the player There has been disclosed a game device in which a character is restored.
Also, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-300046, after the player character's score becomes 0, if the teammate's score is not 0, the process of transferring the score between the player character and the teammate is performed. Is disclosed.

[0005]

However, players who enjoy cooperative play in a conventional battle do not have a common limit on the number of lives such as life points set for the entire team. If the character loses early, if there are no certain conditions such as event occurrences or possession of items, the situation will be just watching the battle situation until the battle of the team is over, and players who operate strong characters will be Instead, they tended to be careful not to lose their character or to defeat one enemy in front of them. For this reason, it is difficult to say that each player can uniformly feel the sense of solidarity unique to cooperative play, such as "strong characters protect weak characters" or "team play instead of individual play." In addition, in the process of enjoying cooperative play, if a player in the same team wins and the character loses, the player proceeds to the next stage. This is a convenient process for a beginner player who operates a weak character. It can be said, however, that this is not the case for players who have experienced strong characters who can defeat many enemies, so they tended to choose to play on their own rather than participating in cooperative play in the next battle. And, in the case of the process of receiving points from other teammates, a player who operates a strong character can fight at his own expense, and if it is not possible to obtain a sense of solidarity as described above There is no, but it is difficult to see which character's battle situation is disadvantageous by just looking at the screen, and if the battle situation of your character is disadvantageous, it can not be immediately communicated to other players, so especially when you notice Except, in reality, it has been difficult to notice the situation of another character that is about to lose, and to seek the help of another character. Further, also in this case, as described above, the processing is convenient for a weak character and not for a player who operates a strong character, so that interest in cooperative play does not increase.

[0006] Therefore, the present invention provides a cooperative play control method that encourages all players, regardless of whether they have experience in the game, to participate in cooperative play during a battle with an enemy, and gives a sense of solidarity within the team. It is an object to provide a recording medium and a game device.

[0007]

FIG. 4 is a schematic flowchart of the present invention to facilitate understanding of the present invention. A first aspect of the present invention is a video game device or a computer control method capable of executing a game program recorded on a recording medium, wherein a plurality of characters in a first team composed of one or more characters are provided. A life point value common to each character representing the total number of characters is calculated (step S001), and after a battle with a character in the second team composed of one or more characters starts (step S003), If any one of the characters in the first team and the second team is damaged (step S005), the physical strength level value of the character is subtracted (step S007), and the physical strength level of the character is reduced. If the value has become 0 (step S009), and if the character is a character in the first team (step S009), Flop S011), the life point value 1
If the life point value is decremented by 1 (step S013), the physical strength level value of the character whose physical strength level value becomes 0 is reset to the value immediately before the start of battle (step S015), and When the life point value becomes 0 (step S017), the battle ends (step S019), and all the players operating the characters in the first team are set to game over (step S021), and the life If the physical strength level value of the specific character (step S025) in the second team (step S023) becomes 0 before the point value becomes 0, the battle ends (step S027).
A step of giving a bonus to all the characters in the first team (step S029).

[0008] Since the number of lives that is common to the entire team is limited to the life point value, each player can keep his / her physical strength as long as the team's life point value remains, even if the physical strength level value of his or her character becomes zero. The level value returns to the original value and the play can be continued. Also, for a player who operates a strong character, if the life point value becomes 0 due to another weak character in the team, it will not be possible to win in that battle, so a character weaker than an individual battle will inevitably be selected. The focus will be on those who help, and this will give every player a unique sense of solidarity.

[0009] The second aspect of the present invention further includes a step in which the bonus obtainable in the first aspect is specified according to the remaining life point value immediately after the end of the battle in the team. Here, the bonus means a convenient process for the player, such as changing a bonus point, a special bonus item assigned to the battle, or an item already possessed by the character to a strong one. Since high bonus points and bonus items that can be obtained only in the battle can be expected, all players can be encouraged to participate in cooperative play.

The third aspect of the present invention is directed to the first aspect or the second aspect.
In the aspect, a step of calculating an average growth level value which is an average of the growth level values of the respective characters in the first team immediately before the start of the battle, a battle level value set in advance in the battle scene immediately after the end of the battle, and The method further includes a step of specifying a bonus such as a bonus point or a bonus item according to a difference from the average growth level value obtained immediately before the start of the battle.

Here, the battle level value is a reference value for specifying the content (degree) of a bonus given when the team wins in the battle scene, and this value and the average growth level of the team The degree of difference from the value determines which bonus item is selected or how many bonus points are added. As an internal process, the growth level value of each character in the team is examined immediately before the start of the battle, an average growth level value is calculated, and the difference between the battle level value and the average growth level value is large. The process is to give a useful bonus if you win the battle.

Here, basically, if the average growth level value is not less than the battle level value, no useful bonus can be obtained. Therefore, even if strong characters form a team, the average growth level value exceeds the battle level value. In this case, you won't get enough bonuses even if you win the battle, so strong characters must team with weaker characters to lower the average growth level in order to get useful bonuses. The player who operates is also willing to participate in cooperative play. Also, for a player who operates a weak character, partnering with a strong character increases the possibility of winning a battle and obtaining a bonus, so that he willingly participate in cooperative play, and the strength of the character operated by the player It is possible to encourage all players to participate in cooperative play regardless of the player's game experience.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first to third aspects, the message data is transmitted to other characters in the first team during the battle, and The method further includes receiving message data from another character in the team. If the battle situation of the character you are operating is disadvantageous, if the physical strength level value is 0 or close to 0 due to damage, or if you repeatedly consume the life point value, operate that character A player can transmit message data to a game device of another player operating another character in his or her team. Similarly, when the battle situation of another character is disadvantageous, message data from the other character can be received.
Through the above transmission / reception, the battle situation of each character in the own team can be transmitted, and the help of another character or the help of another character can be obtained.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a video game apparatus or a readable recording medium in which the control method according to any one of the first to fourth aspects is recorded. The readable recording medium in the present invention is a computer-readable CD-R.
It is a recording medium such as OM. In a sixth aspect of the present invention,
A video game device capable of executing the control method of the first aspect described above. That is, the video game device is a dedicated video game device in which the processing performed in each step in the first mode is realized not by software but by hardware such as a component or a custom chip.

[0015]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a video game device will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the embodiment of the present invention, two general consumer game devices are connected using a communication cable, and players operating player characters appearing in the game of each game device cooperate with each other in the same team. while doing,
It is assumed that a player battles a plurality of characters of an enemy team automatically operated by a computer.

As shown in FIG. 3, two recording media 1 on which the embodiment of the present invention is recorded are inserted into both the general home game apparatus 10 and another game apparatus 27, and the communication cable 30 is used. After connecting each game device, each power is turned on. After the programs and data are automatically read in both, the game is started by pressing the start button 35 of the external input device 2 having a plurality of keys as shown in FIG. In addition, various buttons for operating a game character and the like are arranged on the input device.

As shown in FIG. 1, the game apparatus 10 has an SCU 7 which mainly controls data transfer with each unit in the game apparatus.
(System Control Unit), a CPU that operates as a high-speed clock as a central processing unit
6. ROM in which basic control operation of game device 10 is stored
5. A storage memory 3, such as a RAM, which serves as a work area for the CPU 6 and temporarily stores a game program and various data recorded on the recording medium 1, and is connected to a bus 28. The storage memory 3 includes a control unit 4 which is a program body of the present invention. Also SC
U7 includes an I / O controller (not shown) and includes an input device 2 such as a controller pad, a lever, and a keyboard.
Receiving unit 20 for receiving input from the CPU and transferring input information to the CPU block 8, a CD-ROM drive having an I / O controller (not shown) for reading a game program recorded on the recording medium 1 and transferring the game program to the CPU block 8 And the like, an I / O controller and a video RAM (not shown), an image processing unit 22 for drawing an image in accordance with information transferred from the CPU block 8, and an I / O controller (not shown). Sound processing unit 2 that processes sounds such as footsteps
3, and a communication processing unit 26 that includes an I / O controller and a buffer memory (not shown) and processes data transmission / reception with another game device 27, and is connected to each processing unit via a bus 28. Also, the input receiving unit 20 is connected to the input device 2, the image processing unit 22 is connected to the TV monitor 24, and the sound processing unit 23 is connected to the T
Each speaker is connected to a speaker 25 built in the V monitor 24.

The following is a description of the battle processing routine of the present invention, with reference to FIGS. 5 to 8, which are flowcharts. After the game is started (step S101), a communication mode is entered in which a communication battle is enabled automatically or by operating a button on the input device. Similarly, the other game devices 27 enter the communication mode. The communication processing unit 26 synchronizes with another game device 27, transmits game data such as coordinates of a player character operating on the game device 10 on the own side, and transmits game data of a player character operating on another game device 27. Is received, both game devices are set to share the same virtual space. As a result, a player character operated by another player appears on the screen of the TV monitor 24. Then, when the game progress on one game device or the game progress on both game devices enters a battle scene (step S103), the process shifts to a pre-battle process (step S105).

First, in the case of a single battle, a single mode,
When a battle is played in the cooperative play, the cooperative mode is selected (step S201). Since this selection needs to be the same for both game devices, only the selection of a player operating the host using one of the game devices as the host is enabled, or both can be selected, and either one of the game devices can be selected. When the single mode is selected, processing such as treating both as the single mode is required. In any case, the selected information is communicated by the communication processing unit, and both game devices match and operate in either the single mode or the cooperation mode. When the cooperation mode is selected here, each player next displays a selection screen of another member in the team and selects a member in the game using his or her own game device (step S203). On this selection screen, the growth level values of all the computer characters selectable by the player as shown in FIG. 9A and the growth levels of the player characters of all the players who can participate in the team as shown in FIG. The value is displayed. The computer character referred to here is a character that is automatically operated by a computer prepared in advance in both game devices and is a character that supports the player character. The player character is a character operated by the player himself or another player, and is a character operating on a currently connected and communicable game device. The information such as the identification number of the member selected here is transmitted to the other game device 27 and stored in the storage memory 3. The information such as the identification number of the member selected by the other game device 27 is Are received by the game device 10 of the user and stored in the storage memory 3. The selection of the members here also needs to be the same for both game devices, so that only the selection of the player operating the host with one game device as the host is valid, or both can be selected, and When the player of the game device newly selects a character, a process of automatically transmitting the identification number or the like of the character to the other game device and obtaining the consent of the other player is required. In any case, the selected information is communicated by the communication processing unit, and both game devices are processed so as to operate with the same member.

Next, a life point value indicating the total number of members of the team is calculated (step S205). In the embodiment of the present invention, a team is formed by selecting one player and one other player and a total of three computer characters. As described above, the initial value of the life point value is set to 5 and stored in the storage memory 3. Here, description of the case of fighting alone is omitted. Also, in the embodiment of the present invention, an example will be described in which the same team is formed by two player characters and three computer characters, but only the participating player characters are members of the team, and computer characters are not prepared in advance. Alternatively, the player may not be able to select. In this case, the display as shown in FIG. 9A in the member selection in step S203 is not performed. FIG. 13 shows a display screen when two player characters are members. Here, a player operating one of the game devices as a host may determine a game rule common to all players including selection of members.

Next, after calculating the average growth level value (step S207), it is displayed on the screen of the TV monitor 24.
5 selected as the team in step S203
The growth level value of one character is displayed as shown in FIG. 10A, and the average growth level value as shown in FIG. 10B is displayed. A growth level value as data indicating the current degree of growth in the game is stored in the storage memory 3 for each character. In this example, the average value of the growth level values of all the members in the team is obtained and averaged. It is stored in the storage memory 3 as a growth level value. As shown in FIG. 11, a battle level value is set in advance in each battle scene and stored in the storage memory 3, and if the battle is won, the average growth level value previously obtained is equal to or less than the battle level value and The greater the difference, the more valuable bonuses can be obtained. Then, along with the calculation and display of the average growth level value,
The battle level value for that battle scene is also displayed. Here, as shown in FIG. 12, bonus items or bonus points that can be further obtained by the difference between the battle level value and the average growth level value may be displayed in advance at this point before the battle. good. In the embodiment of the present invention, the calculation of the difference between the two is performed in post-combat processing in step S117. Also, the obtainable bonus items or bonus points are determined not only according to the difference between the battle level value and the average growth level value but also according to the remaining life point values, so that the display as shown in FIG. Do not. And
After the calculation of the average growth level value, the pre-combat processing (step S1)
05). Next, it is determined whether or not to fight (step S107). The calculation and display of the average growth level value of the current team and the battle level value in the battle scene are displayed, so that the player can compare the two levels before the battle to determine the possibility of obtaining the bonus item. I do. If the average growth level value is larger than the battle level value, the cooperative mode can be canceled once, and the player can fight in the single mode or select the cooperative mode again to reassemble the team.
It should be noted that the battle may be started immediately after the pre-combat processing without asking whether or not to fight in step S107 for the purpose of reorganizing the team. When the user does not select the battle, the process returns to the step S103 where the battle scene is entered. If battle is selected, the battle starts (step S109).

When the battle starts, the battle process (step S1)
The process proceeds to 11), and each character starts attacking. FIG. 14 shows a screen during the battle. The battle process here is 1 /
There is a method of checking periodically in a vertical blanking interrupt process with a period of 60 seconds, a timer interrupt process, or a main loop process. Then, various processes (step S301)
Is performed. Here, processing for input information transferred from the input receiving unit 20 due to an attack, updating of coordinate values of each character, an image to be displayed on a video RAM (not shown) and drawn by the image processing unit 22 Various main processes such as a process and a sound process for causing the sound processing unit 23 to synthesize the game sound effect are executed.

Next, a chat process starts (step S3).
02). The chat process referred to here is a process of transmitting message data to another character in the team and receiving message data from another character in the team. If the battle situation of the character you are operating is disadvantageous, if the physical strength level value is 0 or close to 0 due to damage, or if you repeatedly consume the life point value, operate that character The player can transmit message data to a game device of another player who operates another character in the team. Similarly, when the battle situation of another character is disadvantageous, message data from the other character can be received. The player displays the chat input screen as necessary, inputs a message such as asking for help, issues a transmission command and transmits it to another game device, and the other game device receives this, and receives A message is displayed on the screen of both the player and the other player. Transmission and reception of message data with other game devices are processed by the communication processing unit 26 via the communication cable 30 and a buffer memory (not shown). Through the above transmission / reception, the battle situation of each character in the team can be transmitted, and the help of another character can be requested or the other character can be assisted. An example of the screen at the time of chat is shown in FIGS. When the character displayed in the center of FIG. 15 operated by one player is attacked by the enemy character and transmits a message “I'm there” in a chat, the other player transmits the message displayed on his screen. Look, Figure 15
When a chat window is displayed at the bottom of the screen by operating the input device as shown in FIG. 16 and a message "Go now!" Is input and transmitted by operating the input device, the left side operated by the other player as shown in FIG. The message is displayed above the character.

Next, it is checked whether all the characters in the team of the team and the characters of the enemy team have been damaged for each character (step S303). The determination of the presence / absence of damage is made, for example, assuming that there is damage when a part of the weapon of the enemy character contacts a part of the body of the character, and the degree of damage is determined by the type of the weapon. You may do it. More specifically, the current display coordinate area of the character and the display coordinate area of the weapon stored in the storage memory 3 are sequentially compared, and the display coordinate area of the weapon is displayed in the current display coordinate area of the character. It can be realized by determining whether or not the specified coordinates are included, and treating it as a contact if the specified coordinates are included. If the character to be examined is not damaged, the next character is examined (step S30).
5) If the character to be examined is damaged, the physical strength level value of the character corresponding to the damage is subtracted (step S307).
The physical strength level value is data indicating the current physical strength of the character in the game, and is stored in the storage memory 3 for each character. Each character suffers a decrease in physical strength level value each time the character suffers damage from the opponent's attack.
Then, it is checked whether the physical strength level value of each character has become 0 (step S309). Here, the character's physical strength level value of 0 means that in the case of a normal battle game, the character should be treated as having died or lost. If the physical strength level value is not 0, the process proceeds to the next character (step S305).
If the physical strength level value is 0, it is next checked whether the character is a character of a team (step S311). An identification number indicating either the team team or the enemy team is stored in the storage memory 3 for each character, and it may be determined based on this. If the character is a friend team, the team's storage memory 3
The above life point value is reduced by 1 (step S3
13). Since the initial value of the life point value is set to 5 in step S205, even if the physical strength value of any character in the ally team becomes 0, or even if the physical strength value of the same character repeatedly becomes 0, as a team, Up to 5 battles in total.

Then, the physical strength level value of the character is reset again to the value before the battle (step S315).
In the embodiment of the present invention, the timing of the process of resetting the physical fitness level value is immediately after the life point value is reduced by 1. For example, a specific area on the game map displayed on the screen is restored in advance. Set as a point,
The movement of a character whose physical strength level value is 0 is temporarily disabled, and when the character moves to the resurrection point and issues a resurrection command, the life point value is decremented by 1 and the physical strength of the character is reduced. The level value may be reset. If the physical strength level value is reset on the spot where the player has been damaged, the player may be attacked again immediately after that, and the above process is considered to be effective to prevent this. Even if the physical character's physical strength level value becomes zero many times, the physical strength level value is reset as long as the remaining life point value exists. The player can request the help of another player character by displaying the chat input screen and transmitting the message data to the other player as shown in FIG. This chat process is effective because even during a battle, it is possible to confirm which character is in a disadvantageous situation by using characters displayed on the screen.

Next, it is checked whether or not the current life point value of the team is 0 (step S317). If it is not 0, the process proceeds to the next character (step S305).
When it becomes 0, a process of setting the game over for all players is performed as a so-called defeat process (step S329). A death flag may be provided on the storage memory 3 for each character, and the death state may be determined by setting this flag to 1 for the character.

In step S311, if the character whose physical strength level value has become 0 is not a character of the team, it is checked whether it is a character of the enemy team (step S319). If the character is not the enemy team character, the process proceeds to the next character (step S305). If it is an enemy team character, it is next checked whether the character is a boss character (step S321). Here, the boss character is a central character of the characters of the enemy team appearing in the battle scene,
Usually, in other game software, when the character is defeated, the game proceeds to the next stage. In other words, defeating the boss character is a victory condition in the battle scene.
Also, here, the stage refers to a scene that has been divided in advance in the game progress. If the character is not the boss character, the enemy character whose physical strength level value has become 0 is subjected to death processing (step S323). The death process refers to, for example, a reproduction start instruction of a moving image or a sound effect indicating a death, or a process of initializing or deleting internal data of the character. If a death flag is provided on the storage memory 3 for each character, this flag is set to 1 for that character. If the character is the boss character, it is checked whether the stage in the battle scene is the final stage (step S3).
25). If it is not the last stage, the process goes out of the battle process (step S111). If it is the final stage, the game ending process is performed (step S327), the game over process is performed (step S329), and the battle process (step S111) is exited.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the victory condition of the battle is when the boss character is defeated. However, when all the enemy characters are defeated because there is no boss character, even if the boss character is defeated, If the condition is that all enemy characters are defeated, if all the enemy characters escape and abandon the battle, or if the enemy characters are defeated, the specific area on the game map displayed on the screen Various conditions are conceivable, such as a case where the installed switch is pressed and the answer is a quiz, for example, or a condition where the number of times the switch is pressed is a condition. Further, as another battle ending condition, when all the ally characters have escaped after starting the battle and abandoned the battle, the battle is ended and step S10 is performed again.
It may be possible to return to the place where the battle scene 3 starts. In this case, since the battle has not been won, the bonus cannot be obtained and the player cannot proceed to the next stage. However, if the battle situation is extremely bad, the player can abandon the battle and start again by reassembling the team. Also, a battle time is set in advance, and if the battle does not end within the time, the battle ends in the same manner as described above, and step S1 is performed again.
It is also possible to return to the place where the battle scene 03 enters.

Next, the battle ends (step S113).
Check whether the game is over (step S11)
5). If the game is over, the game is ended (step S121). If the game is not over, the flow shifts to post-combat processing (step S117). In the post-combat process, a bonus is obtained according to the remaining life point value and is determined according to a value obtained by subtracting the character average growth level value from the battle level value. Here, the case where the bonus can be acquired is a case where the battle is won, such as when the enemy boss character is defeated as described above. First, after acquiring the battle level value and the average growth level value from the storage memory 3, the difference between them is calculated (step S401). Further, the remaining life point value is obtained from the storage memory 3 (step S403). A bonus is specified according to these values and given to all the characters in the team (step S405). The bonus is a bonus item or a bonus point, and FIG. 12 shows a corresponding table. Data corresponding to this correspondence table is stored in the storage memory 3 in advance. The bonus level referred to here is a value obtained by multiplying the value obtained by subtracting the average character growth level value from the battle level value and the life point value.
It is a value obtained by dividing into stages. There are various other methods for calculating the method of dividing the bonus level, but it is needless to say that the calculation is not a feature of the present invention. The data may not be stored in advance and may be randomly selected when specifying the bonus. Further, in the embodiment of the present invention, an example is shown in which a team is composed of two player characters and three other computer characters. However, the bonus is given only to the player character, or the bonus is given to the computer character. May also be given. Then, the process exits the post-combat process (step S117) and enters the next stage (step S119). When proceeding to the next stage, the physical strength level value and the like of each character are reset to the values before the battle. Then, the process enters the battle scene of the next stage and repeats the processing.

The present invention is configured as described above.
When the game progresses into a battle scene, each player operates a button on the input device to select a cooperation mode and recruit participants. In the embodiment of the present invention, step S10
After entering the battle scene of No. 3, the player selects the cooperation mode and the members of the team, which are the pre-combat processing in step S105, but displays the initial setting screen immediately after the game program starts, and prompts the player to select a member. After the input, the actual game may proceed to enter the battle scene. When the team members are determined, the life point value of the team is calculated and displayed. Further, the average character growth level value of the team is calculated and displayed, and further, the battle level value in the battle scene is displayed.
Before the battle, the player can compare the two levels to determine the possibility of obtaining the bonus item. If the average growth level value is larger than the battle level value, the cooperative mode can be canceled once, and the player can fight in the single mode or select the cooperative mode again to form a team.

After the battle starts, each player operates his own player character and fights against the enemy character. However, since there is a limit of the number of lives, which is a life point, which is set in common for the entire team, each player is required Even if the character's strength level value becomes 0 as soon as the character's own character suffers strong damage that would normally be treated as a loss, play can continue as long as the life points of the team remain. A player who controls a strong character that defeats many opponents in a battle can win the battle if the life point value of the other character in the team becomes 0 due to repeated damage. Because it is gone, the player will naturally turn his attention to helping a weaker character than individual fighting, and all players will have a unique sense of solidarity.

Here, in the embodiment of the present invention, the life point value is the total number of characters in the team, but when the number of participants is small, the total number becomes small. Therefore, a value related to the value, for example, simply double. , Three times the value, and FIG.
As shown in the above, the life point value may be increased as the number of participants increases, so that it is more advantageous to fight with as many players as possible. In addition, since the participation of 5 or 6 people is desirable to realize the cooperative play, if the number of participants is less than a predetermined number, the computer-based character is automatically added as a friend, and the life point value is fixed. It may be set to a value. In this case, the set life point value may be a fixed value at all times, or may be changed depending on the battle scene. Also,
Without such consideration, a value obtained by a random number before the battle may be used as the life point value. Further, the character of the enemy team may be one or more. The enemy character may be operated by another player or automatically operated by a computer. Further, other characters of the same team as the player may be operated by another player or automatically operated by a computer.

A battle level value is determined in advance for each battle scene. The battle level value is used to specify the content (degree) of a bonus given when a team wins in the battle scene. The number of bonus points to be selected or the number of bonus points to be added is determined by the degree of difference between this value and the average growth level value of the team. As an internal process, the growth level value of each character in the team is examined immediately before the start of the battle, an average growth level value is calculated, and the difference between the battle level value and the average growth level value is large. The more valuable the bonus, the better the average growth level value, even if you win the battle.

Here, basically, a profitable bonus cannot be obtained unless the average growth level value is equal to or lower than the battle level value. If the level value is exceeded,
Strong characters team up with weak characters to gain special or useful items that would only be available in the battle, as winning the battle would not give you enough bonuses. Therefore, the player who operates a strong character is willing to participate in cooperative play. Also, for a player who operates a weak character, partnering with a strong character increases the possibility of winning a battle and obtaining a bonus, so he willingly participate in cooperative play, and the strength of the character operated by the player Irrespective of, all players can be encouraged to participate in cooperative play. In the embodiment of the present invention, even if the average growth level value is not lower than the battle level value, some bonus is given if the battle is won, but if the average growth level value is not lower than the battle level value, the battle is won. However, no special bonus may be given, and a strong character may form a team with a weak character. In addition, the bonus given here means not only bonus points or special bonus items but also all convenient processing for the player, such as changing items already possessed by the character to strong ones. Does not wait.

During the battle, the character being controlled by the player is disadvantageous, the physical strength level value is 0 or close to 0 due to damage, or the life point value is repeatedly consumed. In such a case, the player operating the character transmits message data to the game device of the player operating another character in the team. Similarly, when the battle situation of another character is disadvantageous, message data from the other character is received. Through the above transmission / reception, the battle situation of each character in the team can be transmitted, and the help of another character can be requested or the other character can be assisted.

The above-described embodiment of the present invention utilizes the control method according to the fifth aspect including the features of the control method according to the first to fourth aspects. A readable recording medium according to a sixth aspect records a video game program constituted by the above-described embodiment and the like using the control method according to any one of the first to fifth aspects. The embodiment of the present invention exemplifies a CD-ROM as shown in FIG. However, hard disk, ROM cartridge, large capacity FD, MO,
It goes without saying that the present invention can be applied to a DVD or the like as long as the medium reading unit 21 is provided. For example, when the player
Download a game using the control method to a hard disk connected to your personal computer,
An embodiment in which the game can be enjoyed alone or with another player at a remote place if the game is a network game can be considered, but the hard disk mentioned here is also included in the readable recording medium according to the present invention. And these are
All media that can be read by a computer and record programs and data that can be loaded into a storage memory.

As shown in FIG. 1, the control section 4 is a game program and data read from the recording medium 1 and stored in a storage area such as a RAM.
The execution of the game is the execution of these programs.
It should be noted that there is no substantial difference in the concept even if the storage area here is a part of the storage memory 3 in FIG. 1 or is separately prepared. The storage area where programs and data are stored is stored in ROM
To record the game program and data,
An embodiment in which the ROM is connected to the CPU by a bus,
Alternatively, an embodiment is conceivable in which the ROM is integrally formed with the CPU and the entire CPU is used. In this case, the video game device described in claim 6 can be a dedicated game device, so that the recording medium 1 in FIG. 1 may not be necessary. Further, an embodiment in which the processing performed in each step in the control unit 4 is configured as separate hardware such as a component or a custom chip instead of software is also conceivable.
In this case, the video game device described in claim 7 can be used as a dedicated game device, so that the recording medium 1 in FIG. 1 may not be necessary.

In the embodiment of the present invention, two general home-use game devices are directly connected by using a communication cable. However, communication means using the Internet, a telephone line, or wireless communication is used. A plurality of game devices may be connected to one game server using the game device, and a plurality of players may be able to participate by connecting each game device indirectly. The mode itself does not matter. When the Internet or the like is used, one game server connected to the game device of each player manages each game device in a unified manner, and the game progresses by transmitting and receiving commands. Lobby type that exists on the device,
Alternatively, there is a server type or the like in which one game program exists only in the server and the game proceeds by transmitting / receiving a command to / from each game device.

A plurality of players may participate using a plurality of input means connected to one game device without using communication means (so-called multi-play). One player may form a team with a character automatically operated by a computer using one connected input means (so-called single play). In the normal multi-play mode, the screen displayed on the TV monitor 24 is divided by the number of players, and each player operates the character while watching the screen assigned to him / her. The game device is not limited to a home game device, and may be a general personal computer, a portable game device, or an arcade game device. Any type of device can be used as long as the specific effects of the present invention can be obtained. . In the embodiment of the present invention, the case where the team is divided into the team of the ally team and the enemy team has been described as an example. It may be realized in a form such as a simultaneous mixed battle. In this case, each team has a life point value, and in addition to the calculation of the initial value of the life point value, calculation of the average growth level value, reduction of the life point value, resetting of the physical strength level value, bonus payment, etc. A series of processing to be performed on the team is performed in parallel with each team.

[0040]

Since the life point value is common to the entire team, a weak character may cause the life point value to be subtracted many times, and in this case, the strong character wins without receiving any damage. In order to do so, the weak character must necessarily be helped, and this allows the player to enjoy a sense of solidarity in cooperative play.
Further, since messages can be transmitted / received to / from other characters in the team, the battle situation of each character in the team can be transmitted, whereby the help of other characters can be obtained or the other characters can be assisted. Furthermore,
The bonus given when a battle is won is a bonus according to the difference between the battle level value set in advance in each battle scene and the average growth level value of the characters in the team, so the growth level value higher than the battle level value A strong character who has a strong character cannot gain a special bonus or a more useful bonus in the battle scene unless the average character's growth level value is reduced in combination with the weak character. But he willingly participate in cooperative play. Also, for a player who operates a weak character, partnering with a strong character increases the possibility of winning a battle and obtaining a bonus. Therefore, regardless of the strength of the character operated by the player and the player's game experience, all players The player is encouraged to participate in the cooperative play, and a unique sense of solidarity that can be enjoyed uniformly by all the participants of the cooperative play can be enjoyed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of a game device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the input device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an external perspective view showing the overall configuration of the consumer game device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic flowchart of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic flowchart of a battle processing routine executed by a control unit of the game device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

6 is a step S10 of a battle processing routine shown in FIG. 5;
5 is a schematic flowchart of a pre-battle processing subroutine of FIG.

FIG. 7 is a step S11 of the battle processing routine shown in FIG. 5;
It is a general | schematic flowchart of a 1 battle process subroutine.

8 is a step S11 of the battle processing routine shown in FIG.
7 is a schematic flowchart of a post-combat processing subroutine of FIG.

FIG. 9A is an explanatory diagram showing the growth level values of all the computer characters that can be selected by the player, and FIG. 9B is an explanatory diagram showing the growth level values of the player characters of all the players that can participate.

FIG. 10A is an explanatory diagram showing the growth level values of all the characters in the team, and FIG. 10B is an explanatory diagram showing the average growth level value of each growth level value shown in a).

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing battle level values set for each battle scene.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of bonus points and types of bonus items that can be acquired corresponding to bonus levels.

FIG. 13 is an example of a display screen before the start of a battle when two player characters are members.

FIG. 14 is an example of a display screen during a battle.

FIG. 15 is an example of a display screen of a chat window.

FIG. 16 is an example of a display screen at the time of chat.

FIG. 17 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a life point value set for the number of participants.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1. . . Recording medium 2. . . Input device 3. . . 3. Storage memory (RAM) . . Control unit 5. . . ROM 6. . . CPU 7. . . SCU 8. . . CPU block 10. . . Game device 20. . . Input receiving unit 21. . . Medium reading unit 22. . . Image processing unit 23. . . Sound processing unit 24. . . TV monitor 25. . . Speaker 26. . . Communication processing unit 27. . . Other game device 28. . . Bus 30. . . Communication cable 35. . . Start button

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A method for controlling a video game apparatus or a computer capable of executing a game program recorded on a recording medium, wherein the method is common to each character in a first team composed of one or more characters. After calculating the life point value of one of the characters in the first team and the characters in the second team after starting the battle with the character in the second team composed of one or more characters. If the character is damaged, the physical strength level value of the character is subtracted. If the physical strength level value of the character is 0, and if the character is a character in the first team, the life If the point value is decremented by one and the life point value is decremented by one, the physical strength level value of the character whose physical strength level value has become 0 starts fighting. If the life point value is reset to the previous value and the life point value becomes 0, the battle ends and all players operating the characters in the first team are set to game over, and the life point value is If the physical strength level value of a specific character or all the characters in the second team becomes 0 before it becomes 0, the battle is ended and all the characters in the first team are A cooperative play control method, which includes a step of giving a bonus. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the life point value calculated before the start of the battle is a numerical value indicating a total number of the plurality of characters in the first team or a numerical value obtained in relation to the total number. The cooperative play control method according to claim 1. 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the bonus is a bonus point or a bonus item, and further comprising the step of specifying the bonus according to the remaining life point value immediately after the end of a battle. Item 3. The cooperative play control method according to any one of items 2. 4. The bonus is a bonus point or a bonus item. Immediately before the start of the battle, an average growth level value, which is an average of the growth level values of the characters in the first team, is calculated. 4. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of: specifying the bonus in accordance with a difference between a battle level value set in advance in the battle scene and the average growth level value. 2. The cooperative play control method according to claim 1. 5. The method of claim 1, further comprising: transmitting message data to other characters in the first team and receiving message data from other characters in the first team during the battle. The cooperative play control method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein: 6. A video game device and / or a readable recording medium in which the control method according to claim 1 is recorded. 7. A video game apparatus capable of executing a game program stored in a storage unit by operating an input unit, wherein a total number of a plurality of characters in a first team including one or a plurality of characters is determined. A life point setting unit for calculating one life point value common to each of the represented characters; and after starting a battle with a character in a second team composed of one or more characters, the first team and the first team If any one of the characters in the second team is damaged, a physical fitness level subtracting unit that subtracts the physical fitness level value of the character, and subtraction of the physical fitness level value of the character in the physical fitness level subtracting unit By this, when the physical strength level value becomes 0,
If the character is a character in the first team, a life point subtraction unit for subtracting 1 from the life point value; A physical strength level resetting unit for resetting the physical strength level value of the character whose level value has become 0 to a value immediately before the start of battle, and, if the life point value becomes 0, ending the battle and A defeat processing unit that makes all players operating characters in the first team a game over, and a physical strength level of a specific character or all characters in the second team before the life point value becomes zero. If the value becomes 0, a victory processing unit that ends the battle and gives a bonus to all the characters in the first team. Video game apparatus according to claim.