Game providing device and system for providing a game including a moving object along a path

A system according to an embodiment includes a game progress control unit configured to control progress of a game, a screen output unit configured to output a game screen containing a path area in which a path of a puzzle game is formed to a terminal device, a placement unit configured to place a path object that functions as part of the path on the basis of advancement of turns in the path area according to an instruction from the player, a moving unit configured to advance the turns to move the moving object according to a predetermined rule, and a determination unit configured to determine whether the moving object has reached a goal point.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a game providing device, a system, and a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a program. More particularly, the present invention relates to a game providing device, a system, and a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a program that provide a player with a game in which a moving object moving along a path according to a predetermined rule is to be brought to a goal.

2. Description of Related Art

In related art, examples of known games provided by this type of devices include a game in which a player forms a path of water pipes by connecting the pipes to guide water flowing therethrough to an outlet, and a game using a rule for ghost leg lotteries. For example, for a game using the rule for ghost leg lotteries, a configuration allowing a player to set horizontal lines of a ghost leg lottery so that an object moving from a start point will reach a goal point is provided (for example, refer to JP 2001-000739 A).

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Such a game, however, requires quick and appropriate actions on a moving object such as flowing water (for example, actions of connecting pipes or actions of setting horizontal lines of a ghost leg lottery), which allows players to enjoy thrilling game elements but does not provide sufficient game elements of solving puzzles by using their brains that puzzle games originally have. It is desirable to provide a game requiring a player to further use his/her brain among games in which a moving object is to be brought to a goal.

One of the objects of the embodiments of the present invention is to provide a game requiring a player to further use his/her brain among games in which an object moving along a path is to be brought to a goal. Other objects of the present invention will be apparent by referring to the entire specification.

A game providing device according to an embodiment of the present invention is a game providing device that provides a player with a game in which a moving object moving along a path according to a predetermined rule is to be brought to a goal point, including: one or more processors configured to execute a predetermined program, wherein the program includes: a screen output module configured to output a game screen containing a path area in which the path is formed; a placement module configured to place a path object that functions as part of the path on the basis of advancement of a time unit into the path area according to an instruction from the player; a moving module configured to advance the time unit to move the moving object along the path according to the predetermined rule; and a determination module configured to determine whether the moving object has reached the goal point. Note that examples of the “time unit” can include a real unit of time (a second, for example), as well as units indicating temporal stages used in a game (a turn, a step, an action, for example).

A game providing device according to an embodiment of the present invention is a game providing device that provides a player with a game in which a moving object moving along a path according to a predetermined rule is to be brought to a goal point, including: a screen output unit configured to output a game screen containing a path area in which the path is formed; a placement unit configured to place a path object that functions as part of the path on the basis of advancement of a time unit into the path area according to an instruction from the player; a moving unit configured to advance the time unit to move the moving object along the path according to the predetermined rule; and a determination unit configured to determine whether the moving object has reached the goal point.

A system according to an embodiment of the present invention is a system that provides a player operating a terminal device connected via a communication network with a game in which a moving object moving along a path according to a predetermined rule is to be brought to a goal point, including: one or more processors configured to execute a predetermined program, wherein the program includes: a screen output module configured to output a game screen containing a path area in which the path is formed to the terminal device; a placement module configured to place a path object that functions as part of the path on the basis of advancement of a time unit into the path area according to an instruction from the player operating the terminal device; a moving module configured to advance the time unit to move the moving object along the path according to the predetermined rule; and a determination module configured to determine whether the moving object has reached the goal point.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium stores a program causing a computer to function as a game providing device that provides a player with a game in which a moving object moving along a path according to a predetermined rule is to be brought to a goal point, including: a screen output module configured to output a game screen containing a path area in which the path is formed; a placement module configured to place a path object that functions as part of the path on the basis of advancement of a time unit into the path area according to an instruction from the player; a moving module configured to advance the time unit to move the moving object along the path according to the predetermined rule; and a determination module configured to determine whether the moving object has reached the goal point.

According to various embodiments of the present invention, it is possible to provide a game requiring a player to further use his/her brain among games in which an object moving along a path is to be brought to a goal.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1is a block diagram schematically illustrating a system including a system10according to an embodiment of the present invention. As illustrated inFIG. 1, the system10according to the embodiment is connected to and can communicate with a terminal device30via a communication network20such as the Internet, and provides games to a player that operates the terminal device30. Note that terminal devices, which are not illustrated, other than the terminal device30may also be connected to and capable of communication with the system10.

As illustrated, the system10includes a CPU (processor)11, a main memory12, a user interface (I/F)13, a communication I/F14, an external memory15, and a disk drive16. These components are electrically connected to one another via a bus17. The CPU11loads an operating system and various programs for controlling progress of online games onto the main memory12from the external memory15, and executes instructions contained in the loaded programs. The main memory12is used to store the programs to be executed by the CPU11. The main memory12is a DRAM, for example.

The user I/F13includes an information input device such as a keyboard and a mouse that receives operator input, and an information output device such as a liquid crystal display that outputs computation results from the CPU11, for example. The communication I/F14is implemented in hardware, firmware, or communication software such as a TCP/IP driver and a PPP driver, or a combination thereof, and can communicate with the terminal device30via the communication network20.

The external memory15is a magnetic disk drive, for example, and is configured to store various programs such as control programs for controlling progress of online games. The external memory15may also store various data used in games. The data that can be stored in the external memory15may alternatively be stored in a database server that is connected to and can communicate with the system10but is physically separate from the system10. The disk drive16reads data stored in various storage media such as a CD-ROM, a DVD-ROM, and a DVD-R, and writes data thereinto. For example, data such as game applications and game data stored in storage media are read by the disk drive16and installed on the external memory15.

In one embodiment, the system10is a web server that manages a website including multiple web pages in a hierarchical structure, and can provide the terminal device30with game services. The terminal device30can acquire HTML data for displaying the web pages, analyze the acquired HTML data, and present the web pages to a user (a player of a game) of the terminal device30. Games provided through such web pages are also referred to as browser games. The external memory15also stores the HTML data for displaying the web pages. The HTML data are composed of HTML documents written in a markup language such as the HTML and associated with various images. The HTML documents may also have embedded therein programs written in a scripting language or the like such as ActionScript or JavaScript (registered trademarks).

The external memory15may also store game applications to be executed in an execution environment other than browser software in the terminal device30. The game applications can contain game programs for executing games and various data such as image data referred to during execution of the game programs. The game programs are written in an object-oriented programming language such as Objective-C or Java (registered trademarks). The written game programs are stored together with various data in a form of application software into the external memory15. The application software stored in the external memory15is delivered to the terminal device30in response to a delivery request. At the terminal device30, the application software delivered from the system10is received via a communication I/F34under control of a CPU31, and the received game programs are sent to and stored in an external memory35. The application software is started according to player's operation of the terminal device30, and executed on a platform such as NgCore (trademark) or Android (trademark) on the terminal device30. The system10provides various data necessary for advancing a game to a game application running on the terminal device30. The system10can also store various data transmitted from the terminal device30for each player to manage progress of games for each player.

The system10can thus advance a game by managing a website that provides a game service and delivering web pages constituting the website in response to requests from the terminal device30. The system10can also advance a game on the basis of communication with a game application running on the terminal device30alternatively to or in addition to such a browser game. The system10can store data necessary for advancing a game for each piece of identification information identifying each player in whichever manner the game is provided. Although details will not be described, the system10can also have functions of performing a process of authenticating a player at the start of a game and a billing process caused in the course of a game. The system10provides any games including action games, role playing games, real-time baseball games, card games, and puzzle games. The types of games realized by websites or game applications of the system10are not limited to those stated herein.

In one embodiment, the terminal device30is any information processing device that displays web pages of a website for a game acquired from the system10on a web browser and has an application execution environment for executing game applications.

As illustrated, the terminal device30includes the CPU (processor)31, a main memory32, a user I/F33, the communication I/F34, and the external memory35. These components are electrically connected to one another via a bus36.

The CPU31loads various programs such as an operating system from the external memory35onto the main memory32, and executes instructions contained in the loaded programs. The main memory32is used to store the programs to be executed by the CPU31. The main memory32is a DRAM, for example.

The user I/F33includes an information input device that receives user input, and an information output device that outputs computation results from the CPU31, for example, including a display device such as a liquid crystal display with a touch panel.

The communication I/F34is implemented in hardware, firmware, or communication software such as a TCP/IP driver and a PPP driver, or a combination thereof, and can communicate with the system10via the communication network20.

The external memory35is a magnetic disk drive or flash memory, for example, and stores various programs such as an operating system. In receipt of a game application from the system10via the communication I/F34, the external memory35also stores the received game application.

The terminal device30having such architecture includes browser software for interpreting files in the HTML format (HTML data) for screen display. The functions of the browser software allow interpretation of HTML data acquired from the system10and display of web pages corresponding to the received HTML data. The terminal device30also includes plug-in software (such as Flash Player provided by Adobe Systems Incorporated) embedded in the browser software, capable of acquiring files in the SWF format embedded in HTML data from the system10and executing the files in the SWF format by using the browser software and the plug-in software.

When a game is executed in the terminal device30, an animation or an icon for operation, for example, instructed by a program is displayed on a screen of the terminal device30. The player can input instructions for advancing the game by using an input interface of the terminal device30. Instructions input by the player are transferred to the system10through the functions of a browser and a platform such as NgCore (trademark).

Next, functions of the system10implemented by the components illustrated inFIG. 1will be described. While the system10can provide various games as described above, the description will be made focusing on functions relating to a puzzle game in which a game's goal is to make a moving object moving along a path reach a goal point as an example suitable for describing an embodiment of the present invention.FIG. 2is a block diagram illustrating functions of the system10according to an embodiment of the present invention. As illustrated, the system10includes a game progress control unit51configured to control progress of a game, a screen output unit52configured to output a game screen containing a path area in which a path of the puzzle game is generated to the terminal device30, a placement unit53configured to place a path object that functions as a part of the path into the path area according to an instruction from the player on the basis of advancement of turns (units of time), a moving unit54configured to advance the turns and move the moving object along the path according to a predetermined rule, and a determination unit55configured to determine whether the moving object has reached the goal point. The functions are implemented by operation of the CPU11and various programs and tables stored in the main memory12and the external memory15of the system10in cooperation, and implemented by executing programs including at least part of modules corresponding to the functions of the game progress control unit51, the screen output unit52, the placement unit53, the moving unit54, and the determination unit55by the CPU11that is a processor. Furthermore, the functions can be implemented by making the CPU31execute at least part of the modules corresponding to the functions of the game progress control unit51, the screen output unit52, the placement unit53, the moving unit54, and the determination unit55on a browser or a game application of the terminal device30.

The game progress control unit51can control progress of a game by transmitting/receiving various data necessary for advancing the game to/from the terminal device30, and managing the data for each player. For example, the game progress control unit51sequentially displays web pages constituting a website providing a game service on the terminal device30in response to requests from the terminal device30. When a hyperlink on a displayed web page is selected by the player, the game progress control unit51transmits new HTML data associated with the hyperlink to the terminal device30. At the terminal device30, a web page based on the new HTML data is displayed. Since web pages stored in the system10are sequentially provided to the terminal device30by the game progress control unit51in response to player operation in this manner, the player can advance the game on the basis of his/her operation through the functions of the game progress control unit51. The game progress for each player managed by the game progress control unit51can include information on the number of cleared stages, scores and the like in a puzzle game, which can be used to display the number of cleared stages, a ranking of scores, and the like on the terminal device30. Furthermore, the game progress control unit51can also allow communication (such as informing other players that a certain stage is cleared) between players using SNS functions.

When a game application is executed on the terminal device30, the game progress control unit51can transmit various data used in the game to the game application. For example, upon receiving a control signal indicating that a given stage is cleared from the game application on the terminal device30, the game progress control unit51provides various parameters relating to a stage next to the cleared stage to the game application. The game application can load the data provided from the system10to advance the game.

The terminal device30can transmit information relating to progress of a game such as information indicating various parameters used in the game (information on the number of acquired game points, acquired items, etc.) and information indicating the status (information identifying cleared stages, etc.) to the system10where necessary by using the functions of browser software and game applications. The game progress control unit51can control progress of a game for each player by storing the information relating to the game received by multiple terminal devices30for each player. As a result, when a player logs in the system10by using his/her ID, the system can resume the game from a stage according to the player's progress on the basis of the information on the game progress held in association with the player by the system10. Information necessary for advancing a game may also be managed by various functions of the system10in addition to the game progress control unit51.

Next, operation of the system10thus configured according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described.FIG. 3is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a game screen60that is a screen for a puzzle game output (transmitted) by the screen output unit52to the terminal device30and displayed on the terminal device30. The game screen60exemplifies one of multiple stages included in the puzzle game according to the embodiment, and is a screen resulting from transition from a main screen of the puzzle game according to selection of a stage by the player operating the terminal device30, for example. Note that the main screen of the puzzle game is displayed on the terminal device30when the player operating the terminal device30requests the system10to display a web page for playing the puzzle game or when an application of the puzzle game is executed on the terminal device30.

As illustrated inFIG. 3, the game screen60(a stage of the puzzle game) in the embodiment includes a path area62in the center of the screen, a path object display area64in the upper-left corner of the screen, and a start button66for the player to instruct to start advancement of a turn in the center at the bottom of the screen. The path area62is constituted by multiple squares and, in one embodiment, includes a path constituted by squares represented by white squares inFIG. 3and a path object placement areas62aconstituted by squares represented by vertical stripes inFIG. 3in which a path object72, which will be described later, can be placed. In the example ofFIG. 3, the path formed in the path area62is formed in three vertical lines (first path elements) each of which is constituted by vertically successive squares (seven squares in this example) and between which two path object placement areas62alie. The central vertical line of the three vertical lines extends longer upward than the other two vertical lines (by three squares in this example), and then extends rightward and then downward (by four squares rightward and nine squares downward). The extended part forms a shape of the number “7”. The three vertical lines connect an upper starting point (in the central vertical line, an end point from which the shape of “7” extends) and a lower ending point. The ending point is set to the goal point for the moving object. In one embodiment, the goal point for the moving object is set depending on the type of the moving object. In the example ofFIG. 3, the ending points of the three vertical lines are set to the goal point when the type of the moving object is “A”, the goal point when the type of the moving object is “B”, and the goal point when the type of the moving object is “C”, respectively, in this order from left to right. In addition, a moving object70is placed in advance on a square that is the start point for the moving object70on the path in the path area62. Note that the start point for the moving object70placed in advance can be any position (square) on the path in the path area62depending on the stage.

In the path object display area64of the game screen60, one or more path objects72that can be placed by the player are displayed. A path object72functions as part of the path based on the advancement of turns (units of time). In one embodiment, a path object72functions as part of the path when the required number (predetermined number) of turns set for the path object have advanced. The required number of turns is displayed on the path object72in the path object display are64so that the player can recognize the number. The player can select a path object72displayed in the path object display area64, and then select a desired square from the squares constituting the path object placement areas62ain the path area62so as to place the path object72at a desired position in the path object placement areas62a. Note that the process of placing the path object72in the path object placement areas62ain response to a player's instruction is realized by the functions of the placement unit53of the system10.

Here, a rule under which the moving object70moves along the path in a puzzle game according to one embodiment will be described. In the puzzle game according to the embodiment, the moving object70moves toward the ending point of the three vertical lines according to the rule of the “ghost leg lottery. Thus, when a path object72placed in the path object placement areas62afunctions as part of the path as a result of advancement of the required number of turns, the path object72functions as a horizontal line (second path element) of a ghost leg lottery connecting two of the three vertical lines. The moving object70moves by one square each time one turn advances. Thus, the player needs to place a path object72that functions as a horizontal line of the ghost leg lottery according to advancement of turns at an appropriate position so that the moving object70moving also according to advancement of turns will reach the goal point. For example, in the example ofFIG. 3, since the type of the moving object70is “C”, the moving object70needs to be made to reach the ending point of the right vertical line set as the goal point when the type of moving object is “C”. The moving object70, however, will reach the ending point of the central vertical line (the goal point when the type of the moving object is “B”) if the moving object70goes on. The path object72thus needs to be placed at an appropriate position in the path object placement areas62aso as to make the moving object70reach the ending point of the right vertical line.

FIGS. 4A to 4Eare explanatory diagrams illustrating states in which a path object72is placed in the path object placement area62aby the player and in which turns advance thereafter in the game screen exemplified inFIG. 3. In this example, as illustrated inFIG. 4A, the path object72is placed on a square in the path object placement area62abetween the second squares from the top of the central and right vertical lines. Subsequently, when the player selects the start button66, advancement of turns is started. In one embodiment, once advancement of turns is started, the player cannot place path objects72in the path object placement areas62aany more even if there remain path objects72that can be placed. Note that, configuration may alternatively such that the path object72can be placed in the path object placement areas62aeven after advancement of turns is started. Still alternatively, configuration may be such that a path object72that is once placed can be cancelled or replaced at another position after advancement of turns is started.

FIG. 4Billustrates the game screen60in a state in which one turn has advanced from the state ofFIG. 4A. As illustrated, when one turn advances, the moving object70moves downward by one square and the displayed required number of turns of the path object72is decremented by one (3→2). Note that the decreasing required number of turns for a path object72placed in the path object placement areas62aneed not necessarily be displayed. As illustrated inFIG. 4C, when another one turn advances, the moving object70further moves downward by one square and the displayed required number of turns for the path object72is further decremented by one (2→1). As illustrated inFIG. 4D, when another one turn advances, the moving object70further moves downward by one square, and the required number of turns for the path object72is decremented by one and becomes “0” (the total number of turns after advancement of turns is started reaches the required number of turns (three turns) set in advance for the path object72). Then, the path object72functions as part of the path, more specifically, as a horizontal line of the ghost leg lottery. Thus, as illustrated inFIG. 4E, when another one turn advances, the moving object70moves toward the right vertical line along the path object72functioning as the horizontal line. Although not illustrated, the moving object70then moves downward along the right vertical line until it reaches the goal point. Since the ending point of the right vertical line is set to the goal point for the type of the moving object “C” and the type of the moving object70in this example is “C”, the player has achieved the game goal (cleared the stage). Note that the process of advancing turns to move the moving object70is realized by the functions of the moving unit54of the system10. The process of determining whether or not the moving object70has reached the goal point is realized by the determination unit55of the system10. In response to the determination result, an image or an animation indicating that the game goal is achieved (or that the game goal could not be achieved) is displayed on the game screen60or another screen. When the game goal is achieved, the player can move to a next stage.

FIG. 5is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of the game screen60presenting a stage different from that in the exampleFIG. 3of the puzzle game according to an embodiment. The stage illustrated inFIG. 5is higher in difficulty than the stage illustrated inFIG. 5. Specifically, as illustrated, three moving objects70are first placed in advance on a path in the path area62, in which different types (“A” and “C”) of moving objects70are mixed. As a result of placing multiple moving objects70of different types, the moving objects70need to be made to reach different goal points, which makes the puzzle game more difficult and requires further use of the user's brain. Furthermore, in the example ofFIG. 5, three path objects72are displayed in the path object display area64, for which different required number of turns (“1”, “2” and “7”) are set. As a result of allowing placement of multiple path object72for which different required number of turns are set in this manner, variation in the placement into the path object placement area62ais increased, which makes the puzzle game more difficult and requires further use of the user's brain. Furthermore, a stage may be configured such that a game goal can be achieved by using only some of multiple path objects72that can be placed. As illustrated inFIG. 5, note that a path (a horizontal line of a ghost leg lottery) may be set in advance in the path object placement area62a(in the example ofFIG. 5, a path is set in advance in the path object placement area62abetween the second squares from the bottom of the left and the central vertical lines). Needless to say, stages of a puzzle game provided by the system10according to the embodiment are not limited to those illustrated inFIGS. 3 and 5. For example, the number of vertical lines may be increased and the lengths of the vertical lines may be shorter or longer according to the difficulty of a stage. Furthermore, the units by which the moving object70moves and the units by which the path is formed (the units of the path objects) may be smaller than the squares illustrated inFIGS. 3 and 5, and a turn may correspond to the unit of real time (one second, for example) so that advancement of turns is equated to the lapse of real time.

The puzzle game provided by the system10according to the embodiment illustrated inFIGS. 3 and 5can be realized with dramatic effects using various images and animations. For example, a dramatic effect that various types of automobiles (moving objects70) move along a road (path) to reach a garage (goal point) can be produced. In this case, a path object placement area62acan be displayed as a river and a path (horizontal line of a ghost leg lottery) formed by a path object72can be displayed as a bridge for crossing the river, for example. Furthermore, in this case, a dramatic effect that the path object72is displayed as an image or an animation indicating that the bridge is under construction until the required number of turns have advanced and as a bridge after the number of turns advanced can be produced.

Furthermore, the puzzle game provided by the system10according to the embodiment illustrated inFIGS. 3 and 5can be realized with operability of various terminal devices30. For example, in a case where a terminal device30includes an acceleration sensor, placement of a path object72into a path object placement area62acan be cancelled when the acceleration sensor detects a swing of the terminal device30made by the player. Furthermore, the number of turns until a path object72placed in a path object placement area62afunctions as part of the path can be increased or decreased when predetermined touch operation on the path object72is made by the player (that is, advancement of turns is delayed or accelerated for the path object72on which the predetermined touch operation is made).

In a game in which a moving object70moving along a path is brought to a goal point, the system10according to the embodiments of the present invention described above places a path object72that functions as part of the path on the basis of advancement of turns (units of time) in a path object placement area62ain the path area62according to an instruction from the player, advances the turns to move the moving object70along the path according to the rule of the ghost leg lottery (predetermined rule), and determines whether the moving object70reached the goal point. Thus, since the player needs to place the path object72that function as part of the path on the basis of advancement of turns at an appropriate position so that the moving object70also moving according to advancement of turns will reach the goal point, further use of brain is required. As a result, the player can enjoy the game elements (game elements of solving a puzzle) that cannot be enjoyed in similar games of the related art.

With the system10according to the embodiments, the player selects a path object72for which the required number of turns is set in advance and places the selected path object72in a path object placement area62a. The required number of turns set for a path object72, however, may be specified by the player. For example, the upper limit of the sum of the required numbers of turns for one or more path objects72to be placed in path object placement areas62may be defined in advance, and values specified by the player within the upper limit may be set as the required number of turns for placement of the path objects72. In this case, the upper limit of the sum of the required numbers of turns (or information that can identify the upper limit) may be displayed on the game screen60so as to be recognized by the player.

The system10according to the embodiments is configured to start advancement of turns when the player selects the start button66on the game screen60. The manner in which advancement of turns is started, however, is not limited thereto. For example, advancement of turns may be started whether or not the player has instructed to start. Specifically, advancement of turns may be started immediately after displaying the game screen60(a stage of a puzzle game), or a predetermined period (10 seconds, for example) after the game screen60is displayed. In this case, it is preferable that a path object72can be placed in a path object placement area62aaccording to a player's instruction even after advancement of turns is started. In this manner, the player can also enjoy thrilling game elements.

While the system10according to the embodiments is configured to move the moving object70by one square each time one turn advances, the number of squares by which a moving object moves each time one turn advances may be different depending on the type of the moving object (that is, the moving speed may be different depending on the type of the moving object). In this manner, the difficulty of the puzzle game increases, and the player is required to further use his/her brain.

While a path object72functions as a horizontal line of a ghost leg lottery on the basis of advancement of turns in the system10according to the embodiments, the manner in which a path object72functions as part of the path is not limited thereto. For example, when a path object72functions as part of the path, a moving object70(for example, a standard-sized vehicle) that can pass therethrough and a moving object70(for example, a heavy vehicle) that cannot pass therethrough may be set. Furthermore, a path object72that functions as part of the path as a result of advancement of turns may cease to function as part of the path thereafter. For example, a path made by a path object72may cease to function as part of the path after a moving object70passes therethrough (a path object72may cease to function as part of the path only after a specific type of moving object70passes therethrough). Alternatively, the number of turns during which a path object72functions as part of the path may be determined in advance so that the path object72ceases to function as part of the path when the predetermined number of turns advance.

While a goal of a game is to make a moving object70reach a goal point in the system10according to the embodiments, an additional game goal that the moving object70passes through a predetermined point may further be provided. In this case, the point to pass through may be displayed in the path area62on the game screen60, and after advancing turns by the functions of the moving unit54of the system10, whether the moving object70has passed through the predetermined point may be determined by the functions of the determination unit55in addition to whether the moving object70has reached the goal point.

With the system10according to the embodiments, a path is formed by vertical lines and horizontal lines and a moving object70is moved according to the rule of the ghost leg lottery. The manner in which a moving object70moving along a path to according to a predetermined rule is brought to a goal point, however, is not limited thereto. For example, a game, which may be referred to as a water pipe game, of making a moving object70reach a goal point while forming a path by the player can be provided according to an embodiment of the present invention. In this case, for example only the moving object70and the goal point may be displayed in the path area62on the game screen60without forming the path before starting advancement of turns, and the player may place an object that functions as part of the path on the basis of advancement of turns corresponding to the path object72displayed in an area corresponding to the path object display area64into the path area62after starting advancement of turns, so as to make the moving object70reach the goal point.

While the system10that provides a game to the player operating the terminal device30connected thereto and capable of communication therewith via the communication network20is described in the embodiments, a terminal device alone like the terminal device30(including a smart phone, a tablet terminal, a game terminal, etc.), for example, can also function as a game providing device according to an embodiment of the present invention. Specifically, a terminal device configured to implement the functions exemplified inFIG. 2by cooperation of a CPU and various programs, tables, and the like stored in a main memory and an external memory can function alone as a game providing device according to an embodiment of the present invention. Operation of the thus configured terminal device that functions as the game providing device is the same as that of the system10according to the embodiments described above, and detailed description thereof will not be repeated.

The processes and procedures described herein are realized by software, hardware, or a combination thereof in addition to those explicitly described in the embodiments. More specifically, the processes and procedures described herein are realized by implementing logic corresponding to the processes in media such as an integrated circuit, a volatile memory, a nonvolatile memory, a magnetic disk, and an optical storage. Furthermore, the processes and procedures described herein can be implemented in the form of computer programs that are executed by various computers.

Even if processes and procedures described herein are explained to be implemented by a single device, software element, component, or module, such processes and procedures can be implemented by multiple devices, software elements, components, and/or modules. Furthermore, even if data, tables, and databases described herein are explained to be stored in a single memory, such data, tables, and databases can be distributed and stored in multiple memories included in a single device or distributed in multiple devices. Moreover, software and hardware elements described herein may be integrated into a smaller number of elements or divided into a larger number of elements.

Even if a component of the invention is described in either of a singular form and a plural form or in a form not defined whether it is singular or plural, the component may be either in a singular form or in a plural form unless the context requires otherwise.