US 7,575,518 B2
Video game control system and a video game control server
Hajime Tabata, Tokyo (Japan)
Assigned to Kabushiki Kaisha Square Enix, Tokyo (Japan)
Filed on Sep. 17, 2007, as Appl. No. 11/856,156.
Claims priority of application No. 2006-256532 (JP), filed on Sep. 21, 2006.
Prior Publication US 2008/0076579 A1, Mar. 27, 2008
Int. Cl. A63F 13/00 (2006.01); H04M 3/00 (2006.01)
U.S. Cl. 463—40  [463/42; 455/418] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A video game control system comprising:
a plurality of player terminals respectively operated by a plurality of players, a video game being played in each of the plurality of player terminals; and
a video game control server for controlling at least part of progress of the video game via a communication network,
each of the player terminals comprises:
a game map display device for displaying a game map on an image display screen on the basis of a request to obtain the game map, the request being transmitted to the video game control server in accordance with a map obtaining specification operation by the player, the game map being delivered from the video game control server;
a position measurer that measures a current position of the player terminal when an event generation request operation by the player is received;
an event generation request information transmitter that transmits event generation request information to the video game control server via the communication network, the event generation request information including current position information indicating the current position of the player terminal measured by the position measurer, player identification information for uniquely identifying the player and event generation request reception information indicating that the event generation request operation is received; and
an event executor that executes an event on the basis of event generation allowance information which shows that the generation of the event is allowed by the video game control server when the event generation request information is received, and
the video game control server comprises:
a game map deliverer that delivers the game map to the player terminal on the basis of the request to obtain the game map from the player terminal;
an event executing situation information storage that stores event execution situation information, which includes the player identification information, event identification information which can specify each event, and an event executed flag which is set at a time when a corresponding event has been executed;
a game map creator configured to create a game map on which an event icon image is displayed using a different image for each type of event and recognizing an event generation area in accordance with the request to obtain the game map from the player terminal, and on which an event executed mark for causing the player to visually recognize that the event corresponding to the event icon image has already been executed with reference to the event execution situation information;
a game map transmitter that transmits the game map created by the game map creator to the player terminal;
an event generation allowance determiner that determines, when the event generation request information is received from the player terminal, whether or not generation of an event is allowed by determining whether or not the current position of the player terminal indicated by the current position information included in the event generation request information is positioned within an event generation area on the game map;
an event generation allowance information transmitter that transmits the event generation allowance information to the player terminal when the event generation allowance determiner determines that the generation of the event is allowed; and
an event executed setter that sets the event executed flag associated with the event which allows generation of event execution situation information according to the transmission of the event generation allowance information.