Namco Limited

Yutaka Konoe

Masamichi Abe

Hajime Nakatani

Yoshihito Saito

Yosuke Kuroda

Tatsuhiko Mochizuki

The objective of the present invention is to provide a game machine and information storage medium that make it possible to encourage players who have selected multi-player mode to continue playing. The maximum number of game stages that can be cleared by players in multi-player mode is set to be greater than the maximum number of game stages that can be cleared by a player in single-player mode. In single-player mode, the game is over at the point at which each course is cleared. In multi-player mode, a continuation privilege in the next course (a course that is more difficult) is granted when the current course is cleared. The privilege to continue playing the next course is granted to the player with the higher score, and is also given at a certain probability to the player with the lower score. The player who was not granted the play continuation privilege is allowed to continue playing on condition that a coin is paid, and also an encouragement screen is displayed to induce this payment for play continuation.

Game machine and information storage medium

The objective of this invention is to provide a game machine and information storage medium that make it possible for players to perceive which player has succeeded in attacking which target, in a simple manner. When players have launched attacks against a target, attacking player identification information, which is information for identifying which player has succeeded in attacking that target, is associated with that target and is kept and saved. Targets,-,and,-,that have been hit by shots,-,and,-,from players,and,turn red and blue, which are symbolic colors for players,and,, or change shape to symbolic shapes for players,and,. If player,, whose symbolic color is red, succeeds in attacking a target then player,, whose symbolic color is blue, succeeds in attacking the same target, the color of the target first changes from a neutral color to red, then to blue. A target which a player has succeeded in attacking is made to fragment and the attacking player identification information is associated with a target created by fragmentation. The attacking player identification information is associated with the target and is kept and saved until the game stage ends.

An information storage device stores number-of-times-played information, total-playing-time information, and game-setting information, so that this information is retained after a games machine has been switched off. A game computation section performs game computations on the basis of manipulation information from the manipulation section, game-setting information that is stored in the information storage device, and a given program. An image synthesis section synthesizes a game image on the basis of results of these game computations. When a power detection section detects that power has been turned on, a read section reads information from the information storage device, then an information updating section updates the number-of-times-played information and total-playing-time information each time the game is played and also updates the game-setting information when the number of times played or the like exceeds a given number. After a given period of time has elapsed, a new game character appears for the player to select.

Growing community of inventors

Yokohama, Japan

Yutaka Konoe