JP5622984B1 - Information processing apparatus, drawing system, control method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

The information processing apparatus determines an amount of calculation resources to be allocated to processing related to each client device in an apparatus that transmits a drawn screen to a plurality of client devices. When the information processing apparatus acquires the calculation resource provision instruction from the first client device, based on the acquired provision instruction, the processing related to the first client device differs from the first client device. The amount of computing resources newly allocated for processing related to the client device is determined.

Description

  The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, a drawing system, a control method, and a program, and more particularly to an apparatus for drawing a screen to be provided to a plurality of external devices.

  A home game console or the like can draw a game screen whose drawing content has been changed in accordance with an operation input made by a user on a predetermined user interface, and can output and display the game screen on a connected display device. Such a screen drawing mechanism is not limited to a game console, and is generally performed in a normal information processing apparatus such as a PC.

  On the other hand, with recent advances in communication technology, the communication rate of data that can be transmitted and received by such devices has also been improved, and devices such as servers provided on the network perform screen drawing, and the drawn screen is displayed. There are also so-called cloud-type drawing systems that transmit. Patent Document 1 discloses a technique in which an operation input made in an information processing apparatus used by a user is transmitted to a server, the server draws a game screen, and is transmitted as streaming video data to the information processing apparatus. Yes.

  In particular, the progress of graphics drawing technology in recent electronic games has been remarkable, and in order to experience an electronic game in which a game screen is drawn using such technology, a user needs to introduce a high-performance PC or game device. Therefore, a technique such as Patent Document 1 has been attracting attention. In other words, when the server draws the game screen as in Patent Document 1, it is not necessary for the user to install equipment necessary for drawing the game screen on the PC or the like used by the server. If only the video decoding function is provided, an electronic game in which a game screen is rendered by the server can be experienced.

International Publication No. 2009/138878

  By the way, in such a cloud-type drawing system, it is assumed that screens are drawn and provided in parallel to a plurality of client devices. Therefore, it is assumed that the finite computing resources for calculation and drawing prepared in the server are allocated in connection with screen generation to each client device. For example, as one aspect, the amount of resources related to screen generation to each client device is defined and the server specifications are designed so that computing resources are evenly distributed to the number of client devices connected to the server at the time of access peak. It can be considered.

  However, if the amount of computing resources to be allocated for screen generation to each client device is defined in consideration of the number of client device connections at peak times, it is for client devices that are not connected during non-peak time periods. A surplus occurs in the calculation resource by the amount provided. Even when the total amount of computing resources is defined regardless of the number of client devices connected, surplus computing resources may occur depending on, for example, the content used by the user of each client device and the intended use.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and provides an information processing apparatus, a drawing system, a control method, and a program for suitably setting the amount of computation resources allocated to processing related to each client device. With the goal.

  In order to achieve the above object, an information processing apparatus according to at least one embodiment of the present invention provides an amount of computing resources allocated to processing related to each client device in an apparatus that transmits a drawn screen to a plurality of client devices. An acquisition unit that acquires a calculation resource provision instruction from the first client device, and a process related to the first client device based on the provision instruction acquired by the acquisition unit; Determining means for determining the amount of computing resources to be newly allocated to processing related to a second client device different from the first client device.

  In order to achieve the above-described object, a drawing system according to at least one embodiment of the present invention includes an acquisition unit that acquires an input related to an operation from each of a plurality of client devices to be connected, and a first acquisition unit. When a computation resource provision instruction is acquired from a client device, based on the provision instruction, a process related to the first client device and a process related to a second client device different from the first client device A determining unit that determines the amount of the computing resource to be newly allocated, an allocation unit that allocates the amount of the computing resource determined by the determining unit to processing related to each of the plurality of client devices, and an input related to the operation acquired by the acquiring unit Based on the result of the arithmetic processing by the execution means and the execution means for executing the processing relating to the predetermined content A drawing unit that draws a screen to be transmitted to each of the plurality of client devices, and a transmission unit that transmits each of the screens drawn by the drawing unit to the corresponding client device. The calculation resource allocated by the allocation unit is used to perform calculations related to each of the plurality of client devices.

  With such a configuration, according to the present invention, it is possible to suitably set the amount of computing resources allocated to processing related to each client device.

  Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the accompanying drawings, the same or similar components are denoted by the same reference numerals.

The accompanying drawings are included in the specification, constitute a part thereof, show an embodiment of the present invention, and are used to explain the principle of the present invention together with the description.
, The figure which showed the system configuration | structure of the drawing system which concerns on embodiment of this invention. The block diagram which showed the function structure of the server 100 which concerns on embodiment of this invention. The flowchart which illustrated the resource movement process performed with the server 100 which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. , , The figure which showed the data structure of the data used by the resource movement process which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention The flowchart which illustrated the resource return process performed with the server 100 which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. The flowchart which illustrated the resource allocation process performed with the server 100 which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention. The figure which illustrated the display for performing the notification of the provision request of the computing resource which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention , The figure which illustrated the screen composition provided for spectators concerning Embodiment 3 of the present invention The flowchart which illustrated the resource allocation process performed with the server 100 which concerns on Embodiment 3 of this invention.

[Embodiment 1]
Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that in the embodiment described below, the present invention is applied to a server capable of rendering a game screen corresponding to an operation input from a client device as an example of an information processing apparatus and providing the game screen to the client device. An example will be described. However, the present invention can be applied to any device capable of allocating a calculation resource amount in a drawing system that can be provided to a plurality of client devices that connect drawn screens.

  Further, in this specification, the “computation resource” is explained as a concept that comprehensively includes computation power used for execution of processing performed by the server, a work area such as a memory, a development area, and drawing power. . In this embodiment, in particular, the computing resource is used for drawing processing of a screen transmitted to each of a plurality of client devices, and used for parameter changing processing based on an input transmitted from each of a plurality of client devices. , And at least one of those used for executing the processing related to the provided content. However, in the implementation of the present invention, the “computation resource” does not need to generally indicate the hardware configuration or machine power used for execution of the process, and may indicate at least a part thereof. Good.

<Drawing system configuration>
1A and 1B are diagrams showing a system configuration of a drawing system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  In the drawing system shown in FIG. 1A, players of a plurality of client devices 200 can experience (game play) the game content provided by the server 100 simultaneously. In the content providing stage, the server 100 and the client device 200 are connected via the network 300 to transmit and receive data. In this embodiment, the operation input made by the player in the client device 200 is transmitted to the server 100 via the network 300, and the operation related to the game content is performed in the server 100 reflecting the operation input. In addition, the server 100 performs processing related to game content for each client device, generates a game screen of the content, and transmits the game screen to the corresponding client device 200 via the network 300.

  In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1A, the server 100 is described as performing both various arithmetic processing related to game content and drawing processing related to game screen generation. However, the present invention is not limited to this. It is not something that can be done. For example, as shown in FIG. 1B, a drawing server 400 that performs drawing processing of the game screen may be provided separately. In this case, the server 100 may be configured to perform a calculation process related to the game content and provide a command related to the drawing process to the drawing server 400 to generate a game screen. The generated game screen is transmitted from the drawing server 400 to the corresponding client device 200 via the network 300. In the example of FIG. 1B, one drawing server 400 is connected to the server 100, but a plurality of drawing servers 400 may be connected to the server 100. The server 100 and the drawing server 400 may be connected via a public network such as the Internet, or may be connected via a LAN, direct connection, or the like without going through a public network.

<Configuration of Server 100>
Here, the functional configuration of the server 100 of the present embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the block diagram of FIG.

  The CPU 101 controls the operation of each block included in the server 100. The CPU 101 controls the operation of each block by reading out the operation program of each block stored in the ROM 102 or the recording medium 104, for example, and expanding and executing it in the RAM 103.

  The ROM 102 is, for example, an electrically rewritable nonvolatile memory. The ROM 102 stores parameters necessary for the operation of each block in addition to the operation program for each block of the server 100. The RAM 103 is a nonvolatile memory. The RAM 103 is used not only as a development area for the operation program of each block, but also as a storage area for temporarily storing intermediate data output in the operation of each block.

  The recording medium 104 is a recording device that is detachably connected to the server 100 such as an HDD. The recording medium 104 records an operation program for each block of the server 100 and a processing program or application related to game content that can be provided. The recording medium 104 records data (model data, texture data, drawing program, etc.) related to drawing objects necessary for drawing on the game screen.

  The drawing unit 105 is a drawing device such as a GPU. The drawing unit 105 performs a drawing process according to a drawing command output from the CPU 101 by executing a processing program related to game content, and generates a corresponding game screen.

  The assignment unit 106 determines the amount of computation resources to be assigned to the processing related to one client device 200 or the processing related to the player using the device among the computation resources of the server 100, and performs resource allocation. In the present embodiment, a description will be given assuming that it is responsible for determining the amount of computation resources allocated by an independent module called the assignment unit 106 and assigning computation resources. However, in the implementation of the present invention, determination and allocation of the amount of computing resources may not be performed by an independent module such as the allocation unit 106, and it can be easily understood that, for example, the CPU 101 may perform it. .

  The communication unit 107 is a communication interface with an external device included in the server 100. The communication unit 107 receives information related to the operation input made in the client device 200 and stores the information in the RAM 103. In addition, the communication unit 107 transmits the game screen generated by the drawing unit 105 to the corresponding client device 200.

《Game content overview》
Next, an outline of one game content provided by the server 100 of this embodiment having such a configuration will be described.

  The server 100 according to the present embodiment provides a so-called real-time strategy game (hereinafter, RTS game) to the client device 200 connected via the network 300. In the RTS game, the game progresses while each player of the client device 200 participating in the game places a unit such as a character on the game field or issues an action command to the placed unit.

  In an RTS game, a large number of units are arranged on the field, and it is not realistic for each player to make one unit follow his or her own operation in real time, so an action command to a unit is usually the final goal of action. And by defining intermediate goals. That is, when an action command is given, the action that the target unit takes until the target is reached is generated by a predetermined calculation according to the command or according to information on a predetermined action pattern provided as an AI program. It is not generated instantaneously according to the operation. In other words, when a predetermined action command is issued, an operation is required for each unit to sequentially determine actions to be taken until reaching the set goal. Accordingly, a calculation resource is assigned to each unit, and processing related to action determination is performed using the resource.

  In the server 100 of this embodiment, in order to guarantee the game play of a predetermined number of players, each player is assigned a fixed amount of calculation resources for calculation related to the unit to be arranged. When the RTS game of this embodiment is played, the number of units that each player can place in the field is the amount of computation resources required for computation related to the action determination of the placed units and the fixed number assigned to each player. It is determined based on the calculation resource amount (usable resource amount). In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the calculation resource amount (unit unit resource amount) required for calculation related to the action determination of one unit is constant regardless of the type of unit. In this case, the number of units that can be placed on the field by each player is a value (integer value) obtained by dividing the available resource amount by the unit unit resource amount.

  In the present embodiment, the unit unit resource amount is described as being constant regardless of the type of unit for simplicity, but it will be easily understood that the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to this. In the present embodiment, the amount of available resources allocated to each player is described as being fixed, but the amount of resources may be configured to be increased or decreased by, for example, billing or a content usage plan.

  By the way, in the RTS game, how many units are arranged and how quickly an action command is given to the unit according to the change in the battle situation determines whether the game is won or lost. However, sequentially giving action commands to a large number of units requires the experience and ability of the player. In a conventional RTS game in which a team battle is performed, each of a plurality of players belonging to one team is in charge of operations of units arranged on the field, and performs a role assigned to each in the strategy, for example. In addition, the total number of units that can be placed by a player of one team is determined by the values of parameters necessary for unit generation such as the amount of material held by the entire team. In other words, the distribution of the units operated by each player of the team is made so that the distribution to the players having the experience and ability in the team (capable players) becomes large, that is, the generation and operation of the units are assigned to the capable players. By concentrating, the battle situation can also be gained.

  However, such a configuration in which the total number of units of a team is determined by the amount of materials that can be increased by game play is not realistic in a so-called cloud-type game service such as this embodiment. That is, in the case where the entire processing related to the game is performed including the drawing processing of the game screen provided to the plurality of client devices 200 by the server 100 as in the present embodiment, the amount of calculation resources for the client device 200 is set to It is not realistic to increase it according to the parameter value that can be increased. Therefore, in the RTS game executed by the drawing system of the present embodiment, as described above, the number of units that can be placed on the field by each player is determined based on the amount of available resources. This makes it possible to let other players operate the arranged units.

《Resource move processing》
Hereinafter, a specific process of the resource movement process related to the allocation of the calculation resource amount executed in the server 100 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The processing corresponding to the flowchart can be realized by the CPU 101 reading, for example, a corresponding processing program recorded in the recording medium 104, developing it in the RAM 103, and executing it. This resource movement process is started when the process related to the RTS game described above is executed, for example, when an input related to an instruction to provide the operation authority of the unit arranged from the client device 200 related to one player is received. Will be described.

  In step S <b> 301, the CPU 101 acquires the player ID of the player who has given the provision instruction (providing player) and the unit ID of the unit to be provided (target unit) from the information related to the received provision instruction. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4A, the information related to the provision instruction indicates the provision player ID 401 in the rendering system of the provision player who uses the client device 200 that transmitted the information, and the instruction indicates provision of the unit. It is assumed that the command ID 402, the number of target units 403, and the target unit ID 404 of the target unit are configured. Further, while each client device 200 is connected, it is assumed that the RAM 103 stores information indicating the relationship between the device identification information such as the MAC address and the player ID of the player using the device.

  In S <b> 302, the CPU 101 notifies a player other than the provided player of the team to which the provided player belongs in the RTS game that there has been an instruction to provide unit operation authority. The notification that there is a provision instruction may be performed, for example, by displaying a predetermined message on the game screen related to the RTS game, or the unit that is the provision target on the unit generation GUI button It may be performed by a method such as superimposing and displaying the number of.

  In step S <b> 303, the CPU 101 determines whether information requesting operation authority for the target unit has been received from the client device 200 used by a player other than the providing player. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4B, the information requesting the operation authority of the target unit is the requested player ID 411 of the player (requesting player) who uses the client device 200 that transmitted the information, and the request is an operation of the target unit. A command ID 412 for identifying acquisition of authority and a number 413 of target units for requesting operation authority are configured. If the CPU 101 determines that the information requesting the operation authority of the target unit has been received, the CPU 101 moves the process to S304, and if it determines that the information is not received, repeats the process of this step.

  In S304, the CPU 101 changes the operation authority of the target unit for which the operation authority is requested from the providing player to the requesting player. For example, the CPU 101 adds the unit IDs of the target units for which the operation authority is requested to the list of operation target units (operation target list) associated with the player ID of the request player held in the RAM 103. Further, the CPU 101 deletes the unit ID of the target unit from the operation target list associated with the player ID of the providing player. In this embodiment, it is assumed that each record (one unit) included in the operation target list has a data structure as shown in FIG. 4C. In the operation target list, a unit ID 421 in the game, a generated player ID 422 indicating the player who generated (initially arranged) the unit, and various parameters 423 such as a unit type are managed for one unit.

  In step S <b> 305, the assignment unit 106 changes the computation resource amount assigned to the player ID of the request player and the computation resource amount assigned to the player ID of the providing player under the control of the CPU 101. That is, after the change of the operation authority of the target unit, the operation authority is changed in accordance with the change so that the calculation related to the action determination of all the units included in the operation target list can be executed using the calculation resource allocated for each player. Change the amount of computation resources allocated for the target unit. In this step, the allocation unit 106 releases the allocation of the calculation resources corresponding to the number of target units whose operation authority has been changed from the calculation resources allocated to the player ID of the providing player. The assigning unit 106 additionally assigns the computation resource released for the player ID of the providing player to the computation resource assigned to the player ID of the requesting player. As a result of such a change in the allocation of the computational resource amount, the requested player who newly acquires the operation authority of the target unit is allocated a larger computational resource amount than the normal usable resource amount. In addition, for a providing player whose operation authority for the target unit has been lost, a situation is created in which a calculation resource amount that is smaller than the normal usable resource amount is allocated.

  In step S <b> 306, the CPU 101 changes the value of the maximum number of units that can be arranged for the requested player and the providing player, for example, without changing the value of the number of units that can be arranged for the requested player and the providing player stored in the RAM 103. Here, the maximum number of units that can be placed is the total number of units that can be placed in the field with one player having the operating authority. As described above, in this embodiment, the unit unit resource amount and the usable resource amount for each unit are fixed, so the maximum number of units that can be arranged also has a fixed initial value. The number of remaining arrangeable units is the number of remaining units that can be placed in the field with one player having the operation authority, and the number of units included in the operation target list from the current maximum number of arrangeable units of each player. The value obtained by subtracting. Accordingly, in this step, the CPU 101 adds the value obtained by adding the number of target units whose operation authority has been changed to the maximum number of arrangement units before the change of the operation authority of the request player to the new maximum number of units that can be arranged by the request player. Set to. Further, the CPU 101 sets a value obtained by subtracting the number of target units for which the operation authority has been changed from the maximum number of units that can be arranged before the change of the operation authority of the providing player as the new maximum arrangementable unit number of the providing player.

  As described above, according to the resource movement process of the present embodiment, the amount of computing resources allocated to each player can be dynamically changed in accordance with the movement of the unit operating authority between the players. In this process, the maximum number of units that can be arranged is changed so that the calculation related to the action determination can be performed with the total amount of the calculation resources allocated to each player for one game in accordance with the change in the calculation resource allocation. It is possible to provide a suitable game play by avoiding a situation where it cannot be performed or calculation is delayed.

《Resource return processing》
Next, a specific process will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 5 for the resource return process in which the computing resource whose assignment is changed from the providing player to the requesting player by the resource moving process is reassigned to the providing player. The processing corresponding to the flowchart can be realized by the CPU 101 reading, for example, a corresponding processing program recorded in the recording medium 104, developing it in the RAM 103, and executing it. This resource return process will be described as being started when the above-described RTS game process is being executed, for example, when a unit placed in the field is in an end state due to the disappearance of a battle or the like, or the completion of an action.

  In step S <b> 501, the CPU 101 determines whether or not a player (operation player) who has the authority to operate the unit in the end state is different from a player (generation player) who arranged the unit in the field. In the present embodiment, the CPU 101 refers to the operation target list including the unit ID of the unit in the end state, and compares the player ID associated with the list with the generation player ID 422 of the unit in the end state in the list. . If the CPU 101 determines that the operation player is different from the generation player, the process proceeds to S502. If the CPU 101 determines that they are the same, in step S505, the CPU 101 deletes information related to the unit that has ended in the operation target list associated with the player ID of the operation player, and the remaining number of units that can be placed by the operation player. Increase the value by 1 and complete this resource return process.

  In step S <b> 502, the CPU 101 deletes information related to the unit that has ended in the operation target list associated with the player ID of the operation player.

  In S <b> 503, the assignment unit 106 releases the assignment of the computation resources for the computation processing related to the action determination of the unit in the end state among the computation resources assigned to the player ID of the operation player. In addition, the assigning unit 106 additionally assigns a computation resource for computation processing related to the action determination of the unit to the computation resource assigned to the player ID of the generation player.

  In step S504, the CPU 101 decreases the value of the maximum number of arrangeable units by 1 without changing the value of the number of remaining arrangeable units for the operation player. Further, the CPU 101 increments the value of the number of remaining arrangeable units and the value of the maximum number of arrangeable units by 1 for the generated player, and completes the resource return process.

  In this way, in accordance with the transition from the generation player to the end state of the unit in which the operation authority has moved from the generation player to the operation player, a correspondingly changed amount of computation resources is returned from the operation player to the generation player (returned). )be able to.

  As described above, the information processing apparatus according to the present embodiment suitably sets the amount of computing resources allocated to processing related to each client device. The information processing apparatus according to the present embodiment determines the amount of computing resources to be allocated to processing related to each client device in an apparatus that transmits a drawn screen to a plurality of client devices. When the information processing apparatus acquires the calculation resource provision instruction from the first client device, the information processing apparatus performs processing related to the first client device based on the acquired provision instruction and a second different from the first client device. The amount of computing resources newly allocated for processing related to the client device is determined.

[Embodiment 2]
In the first embodiment described above, a method has been described in which transfer of used units between players is realized without failing by transferring calculation resources necessary for calculation processing related to the used units in the game assigned to each player. . In the present embodiment, a mode in which calculation resources are exchanged without depending on the units used in the game will be described. Note that the configuration of the drawing system and the configuration of the server 100 of the present embodiment are the same as those of the first embodiment, and a description thereof will be omitted.

《Allocating computational resources》
In the drawing system of the present embodiment, the amount of computing resources allocated to the processing related to each client device 200 is determined according to the maximum number of client devices 200 connected to the server 100. That is, in this embodiment, the maximum number of client devices that can be connected to the server 100 simultaneously (the maximum number of connections) is determined in advance, and all the computing resources allocated to the processing related to the client device are divided by the maximum number. The amount obtained is the amount of computing resources allocated to one client device 200. Therefore, in the drawing system according to the present embodiment, when the number of client devices 200 connected to the server 100 is less than the maximum number of connections, there is a surplus in the amount of computation resources allocated to the processing related to the client device 200. Become.

  In the present embodiment, a method will be described in which, when a number of client devices 200 that are less than the maximum number of connections are connected to the server 100, surplus computing resources are allocated to the computation processing related to the connected client device 200.

<< Resource allocation process >>
Hereinafter, specific processing will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 6 regarding resource allocation processing for allocation of surplus computing resources executed by the server 100 of the present embodiment. The processing corresponding to the flowchart can be realized by the CPU 101 reading, for example, a corresponding processing program recorded in the recording medium 104, developing it in the RAM 103, and executing it. This resource movement process is started for the player ID of the client device 200 when, for example, a request to start using one game content provided by the server 100 is received from the client device 200 connected to the server 100. explain. That is, in this embodiment, the resource allocation process is executed for each player who is using the service provided by the server 100.

  In addition, in the resource movement process of this embodiment, a player who can request the provision of surplus computing resources has a contact point with a player who makes a request such as a friend relationship in the drawing system. The description will be made assuming that the player is limited. However, the implementation of the present invention is not limited to this, and any calculation resource allocated to any user who uses the service may be allocated to other users who use the service.

  In step S <b> 601, the CPU 101 determines whether there is a friend player who has a friend relationship with the player (target player) who is using the game content. For example, the CPU 101 refers to the information in the friend list associated with the player ID of the target player stored in the recording medium 104, and determines whether or not this step is based on whether or not the player ID of any player is included in the list. I do. If the CPU 101 determines that there is a friend player as the target player, it moves the process to S602, and if it does not exist, completes this resource allocation process.

  In step S <b> 602, the CPU 101 determines whether there is a player who is not currently using the service (pause player) among the friend players of the target player. The CPU 101 refers to the information of the player ID currently using the service stored in the RAM 103, for example, and determines whether the player ID of any one of the target player's friend players is not included in this step. Make a decision. If the CPU 101 determines that there is a pause player, it moves the process to S603, and if it does not exist, completes this resource allocation process.

  In S603, the CPU 101 notifies the target player that there is a pause player among the friend players. The notification may be included in a game screen provided from the server 100 to the client device 200 used by the target player, for example. In the present embodiment, the notification will be described as a notification capable of transmitting a calculation resource provision request related to a pause player as shown in FIG.

  In step S <b> 604, the CPU 101 determines whether a calculation resource provision request related to a pause player has been received from the client device 200 used by the target player. When there are a plurality of pause players, the provision request includes the player ID of the pause player in order to specify any pause player. If the CPU 101 determines that the provision request has been received, the process proceeds to step S605. If the CPU 101 determines that the provision request has not been received, the CPU 101 repeats the process of this step.

  In step S <b> 605, the CPU 101 refers to the contact information of the pause player, transmits information for inquiring whether the provision request is accepted to the contact information of the pause player, and whether the provision of the computation resource related to the pause player is accepted. Determine if it was rejected. The information to be transmitted is, for example, to a pause player using an email including a link to accepting or rejecting a provision request or a link to a site making the decision, a message service of a predetermined social networking site, etc. May be sent. If the CPU 101 determines that the provision of the computing resource has been accepted, the CPU 101 determines that there has been an instruction to provide the computing resource, and moves the process to S606.

  In S606, the assigning unit 106 assigns the amount of computation resources related to the paused player who accepted the provision request to the processing related to the target player from the surplus computation resources, and completes the resource assignment processing. That is, the assigning unit 106 additionally assigns an amount of calculation resources to be assigned when the pause player is using the service for execution of the process related to the target player. By doing so, the target player is not limited to an increase in the number of units that can be arranged as in the first embodiment, and can receive various benefits due to an increase in parallel computing ability. For example, improving the quality such as increasing the display resolution of the game screen provided to the client device 200 of the target player, the number of display objects in the screen, the number of arranged light sources, the texture resolution, the frame rate, the encoding bit rate, the communication rate, etc. Can do. In addition, the user experience can be improved by adding an amount of computing resources allocated to one player, such as adding effects and the number of drawing viewpoints.

  On the other hand, if the provision of the computation resource is rejected in S605, the CPU 101 notifies the target player that the request is rejected in S607, and the resource allocation process is completed.

  As described above, in the resource allocation processing according to the present embodiment, it is possible to provide a computing resource reserved for processing related to a user who is not using the service, based on a provision request from a user who is using the service. . Although omitted in the description of this process, for a paused player who has accepted the provision of computing resources, the player ID is managed in, for example, the RAM 103, and when there is a service usage request related to the player ID, the CPU 101 uses the paused player. You may refuse. Alternatively, the allocation unit 106 may cancel the allocation of the computation resource for the pause player to the process related to the target player, and the pause player may use the service. Or it is good also as a structure which a pause player can designate the period which allocates a calculation resource. In this case, the information indicating that the provision request has been accepted only needs to include information indicating the period during which computing resources are allocated.

  Note that, in the resource allocation processing of the present embodiment, a mode in which the pause player is asked to accept / reject the request based on the provision request from the target player, and the calculation resource allocation is changed in response to the acceptance. However, implementation of the present invention is not limited to this. For example, in a configuration in which a player that provides computing resources during a period when the service is not used is determined in advance, or in a configuration in which computing resources are provided unconditionally when requested by a friend player during the period, The allocation unit 106 may perform the allocation process by regarding that the provision instruction has been given without confirming acceptance or rejection of the provision request.

  In addition, in the resource allocation process of the present embodiment, when there is a provision request from the target player, the amount of the computation resource reserved for the process related to the pause player is allocated and changed for the process related to the target player. As explained. However, the implementation of the present invention is not limited to this, and a smaller amount of computing resources may be allocated than the amount reserved for processing related to the pause player. For example, the amount of computing resources reserved for processing related to the pause player may be allocated evenly distributed to all the players who have made a provision request to the pause player.

  Further, in the present embodiment, when there is a pause player that does not use the service, the computation resource reserved for the process related to the pause player is allocated to the process related to another player who has made the provision request. Although described, the implementation of the present invention is not limited to this. For example, even if a player is using a service, the amount of calculation resources required depending on the service being used is smaller than the value obtained by dividing the total calculation resources by the maximum number of client devices that can be connected simultaneously. There is. In such a case, a surplus is generated in the allocated computing resource even while the service is being used. Therefore, the resource may be allocated to a process related to another player.

[Embodiment 3]
In the first and second embodiments described above, an example has been described in which a resource is allocated in response to a request to provide a computing resource for processing related to another player from any player. In the present embodiment, an aspect of changing the allocation of computing resources without requiring a provision request from the player will be described below. As in the second embodiment, the configuration of the drawing system and the configuration of the server 100 according to the present embodiment are the same as those in the first embodiment, and a description thereof is omitted.

<< Aspects of provided services >>
The service provided by the server 100 in the drawing system of this embodiment is different from that of the first and second embodiments in the following points. In the drawing system of the present embodiment, each user of the client device 200 uses a service as a player who plays a game provided by the server 100 or services as a spectator who watches a game played by another player. Can be selected. When the user uses the service as a spectator, the game screen transmitted to the client device 200 of the spectated player (FIG. 8A) or a screen (FIG. 8B) partially including the game screen is spectated. To the client device 200 of the user. That is, the process related to providing the screen to the spectator does not perform various arithmetic processes related to the game or drawing process of a new three-dimensional scene in accordance with the operation input made. The calculation amount is smaller than that of the processing.

  On the other hand, when the screen drawn by the server 100 is transmitted to the client device 200 via the network 300, the communication band is used according to the number of client devices 200 to be transmitted. In other words, the user who uses the service as a spectator does not need various arithmetic processes related to the game, but when providing the same content as the spectated player as a screen with the same resolution, the same communication as providing the screen to the player Bandwidth is used for screen transmission. Especially in content such as games where the screen contents change from time to time in response to operation input made by the user, delays in screen transmission can hinder a suitable user experience, and therefore it relates to screen transmission to players and spectators. It is necessary to maintain a predetermined communication rate. In other words, the number of client devices that can provide services as players and spectators in the drawing system is fixed based on the communication bandwidth that the server 100 can use and the communication rate that should be maintained in connection with screen transmission to each client device 200. Become. In other words, the service provision as a spectator occupies the communication band, but does not require the computational resources required to execute various arithmetic processes and drawing processes related to the game. Surplus can occur.

  Therefore, in the drawing system according to the present embodiment, various calculation processes related to a game that is not used by using the service as a spectator and calculation resources provided for the drawing process are processed for a player who plays the game to be watched. Assign to additional. That is, as the number of spectators increases, the player can play a game while viewing a high-quality game screen. Also, it is preferable for spectators to be able to watch a game with a higher-quality game screen, so it is preferable to provide the computational resources for watching the game when they play the game at the same time. Conceivable. That is, in the configuration of the drawing system of this embodiment, the player can improve the user experience in game play, and the spectator can also watch the game on a high-quality game screen. Further, the merit of the drawing system according to the present embodiment is not limited to this, and even a game content publisher can evaluate content on a high-quality game screen, or promote a high-quality game screen that is easy to attract attention. It is also useful as it leads to an increase in revenue related to content use. Also, for service providers who provide the system, high-quality game screens are easy to attract attention and can attract more spectators, so that it is possible to increase profits by displaying advertisements at the same time.

<< Resource allocation process >>
Hereinafter, specific processing will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 9 for resource allocation processing for performing calculation resource allocation executed by the server 100 according to the present embodiment having such a configuration. The processing corresponding to the flowchart can be realized by the CPU 101 reading, for example, a corresponding processing program recorded in the recording medium 104, developing it in the RAM 103, and executing it. This resource movement process is executed for each player ID that has received a service use request as a player, for example. Further, this resource movement process will be described as being started when a start request for starting a game play in a mode in which a game play can be watched is received from the client device 200 of the player, for example.

  In step S <b> 901, the CPU 101 determines whether there is a spectator who has newly made a game play watching request for a player (target player) who is using the game content. In the present embodiment, the watching request made is determined as a calculation resource provision instruction to the process related to the target player, and the calculation resource is additionally allocated in the subsequent process. If the CPU 101 determines that there is a spectator who has newly made a watching request, the CPU 101 moves the process to S902, and if it does not exist, repeats the processing of this step.

  In step S <b> 902, the CPU 101 acquires the number of spectators who have newly made a watching request.

  In S903, the assigning unit 106 assigns an amount of computing resources proportional to the number of spectators who have newly requested a watching game to the process related to the target player, and returns the process to S901. In the resource allocation process according to the present embodiment, the allocation unit 106 is a computing resource that is reserved for various processes when the spectator plays a game as a player at the same time for one spectator who has requested a spectator. A smaller amount of computing resources is additionally allocated to the processing related to the target player. This is because it is necessary to leave, for the spectator, processing resources for processing executed when using the service as the spectator.

  As described above, in the resource allocation process according to the present embodiment, when there is a watching request for the game play of the player, it is determined that there is an instruction to provide the calculation resource to the process related to the player, and the calculation resource Allocation changes can be made.

  In the present specification, the contents related to the screen provided from the server 100 to the client device 200 in the first to third embodiments are described as game contents. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Will be easily understood. Moreover, although the example which applied this invention about the aspect which the server 100 draws a screen as a drawing system and provides to the client apparatus 200 was demonstrated, implementation of this invention is not restricted to such an aspect. That is, in the embodiment of the present invention, a configuration in which one information processing apparatus performs drawing processing of a screen and transmits the information is not essential, and an arithmetic resource for arithmetic processing related to a client device performed in one information processing apparatus is assigned to another client. What is necessary is just to allocate for the arithmetic processing which concerns on an apparatus.

[Other Embodiments]
The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. The information processing apparatus according to the present invention can also be realized by a program that causes one or more computers to function as the information processing apparatus. The program can be provided / distributed by being recorded on a computer-readable recording medium or through a telecommunication line.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Therefore, in order to make the scope of the present invention public, the following claims are attached.

Claims (15)

An information processing apparatus that determines an amount of computing resources to be allocated to processing related to each client device in an apparatus that transmits a drawn screen to a plurality of client devices,
An acquisition means for acquiring a calculation resource provision instruction from the first client device;
Based on the provision instruction acquired by the acquisition unit, a calculation resource to be newly allocated to a process related to the first client device and a process related to a second client device different from the first client device A determining means for determining the amount;
An information processing apparatus.   The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising request means for requesting the first client device to provide a computing resource based on a request from the second client device.   3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising notification means for notifying the second client device that a surplus has occurred in an amount of computing resources allocated to processing related to the first client device.   The determination unit allocates at least a part of the amount of computing resources allocated to the process related to the first client device to the process related to the second client device based on the provision instruction. 4. The information processing apparatus according to any one of 3.   5. The information according to claim 1, wherein, when the provision instruction is given, the determination unit increases an amount of a calculation resource allocated to a predetermined process related to the second client device. 6. Processing equipment.   The information for designating a period for allocating the computing resource allocated to the process related to the first client device to the process related to the second client device is included in the provision instruction. The information processing apparatus according to item 1.   The computing resource is used for drawing processing of a screen transmitted to each of the plurality of client devices, used for parameter changing processing based on an input transmitted from each of the plurality of client devices, and predetermined The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the information processing apparatus is at least one of those used for executing processing relating to content.   8. The acquisition unit according to claim 1, wherein the acquisition unit determines that the provision instruction has been acquired when a screen transmission request related to a screen transmitted to the second client device is acquired from the first client device. The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims. Obtaining means for obtaining an input related to an operation from each of a plurality of client devices to be connected;
When a calculation resource provision instruction is acquired from the first client device by the acquisition means, the processing related to the first client device is different from the first client device based on the provision instruction. Determining means for determining the amount of computing resources to be newly allocated to the processing related to the second client device;
Allocating means for allocating the amount of computing resources determined by the determining means to processing related to each of the plurality of client devices;
Execution means for executing processing related to predetermined content based on the input related to the operation acquired by the acquisition means;
Drawing means for drawing a screen to be transmitted to each of the plurality of client devices based on the result of the arithmetic processing by the execution means;
Transmission means for transmitting each of the screens drawn by the drawing means to a corresponding client device,
The drawing system, wherein the execution unit and the drawing unit perform a calculation related to each of the plurality of client devices using the calculation resource allocated by the allocation unit. The predetermined content is game content that proceeds while operating a unit that performs an action according to a calculation,
The acquisition unit is instructed to use the unit generated by the process related to the first client device executed by the execution unit in the process related to the second client device executed by the execution unit. The drawing system according to claim 9, wherein it is determined that the provision instruction has been acquired. The acquisition means determines that the provision instruction has been acquired when a screen transmission request relating to a screen transmitted to the second client device is acquired from the first client device;
The drawing unit obtains at least a part of a screen transmitted to the second client device when a screen transmission request relating to the screen transmitted to the second client device is acquired from the first client device. The drawing system according to claim 9 or 10, wherein a drawing using a drawing is drawn as a screen transmitted to the first client device. A method of controlling an information processing apparatus that determines an amount of computing resources to be allocated to processing related to each client device in an apparatus that transmits a drawn screen to a plurality of client devices,
An acquisition step of acquiring a calculation resource provision instruction from the first client device;
Based on the provision instruction acquired in the acquisition step, a computation resource to be newly allocated to a process related to the first client device and a process related to a second client device different from the first client device A decision step to determine the amount;
Control method of information processing apparatus having An acquisition step of acquiring an input related to an operation from each of a plurality of client devices to be connected;
When a calculation resource provision instruction is acquired from the first client device in the acquisition step, a process related to the first client device is different from the first client device based on the provision instruction. A determining step for determining a new amount of computing resources to be allocated to the processing related to the second client device;
An assigning step of allocating the amount of computing resources determined in the determining step to processing related to each of the plurality of client devices;
An execution step of executing processing related to predetermined content based on the input related to the operation acquired in the acquisition step;
A drawing step of drawing a screen to be transmitted to each of the plurality of client devices based on a result of the arithmetic processing in the execution step;
A transmission step of transmitting each of the screens drawn in the drawing step to a corresponding client device,
In the execution step and the drawing step, a drawing system control method in which a calculation related to each of the plurality of client devices is performed using the calculation resource allocated in the allocation step. In a device for transmitting a drawn screen to a plurality of client devices, a program for determining an amount of computing resources to be allocated to processing related to each client device,
On one or more computers,
An acquisition step of acquiring a calculation resource provision instruction from the first client device;
Based on the provision instruction acquired in the acquisition step, a computation resource to be newly allocated to a process related to the first client device and a process related to a second client device different from the first client device A decision step to determine the amount;
A program for running On one or more computers,
An acquisition step of acquiring an input related to an operation from each of a plurality of client devices to be connected;
When a calculation resource provision instruction is acquired from the first client device in the acquisition step, a process related to the first client device is different from the first client device based on the provision instruction. A determining step for determining a new amount of computing resources to be allocated to the processing related to the second client device;
An assigning step of allocating the amount of computing resources determined in the determining step to processing related to each of the plurality of client devices;
An execution step of executing processing related to predetermined content based on the input related to the operation acquired in the acquisition step;
A drawing step of drawing a screen to be transmitted to each of the plurality of client devices based on a result of the arithmetic processing in the execution step;
A program for causing each of the screens drawn in the drawing step to be transmitted to a corresponding client device;
A program in which, in the execution step and the drawing step, the calculation related to each of the plurality of client devices is performed using the calculation resource allocated in the allocation step.

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