Amusement devices: games – Including means for processing electronic data – With communication link
Patent
1996-01-05
1998-10-06
Harrison, Jessica
Amusement devices: games
Including means for processing electronic data
With communication link
A63F 922
Patent
active
058169202
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
TECHNICAL FIELD
This invention relates to a game system in which a plurality of independent game terminals that can mutually transfer data are connected by data transfer lines into a configuration in which they can provide multiplayer games, and also to a method of enabling a game terminal to enter such a game system.
BACKGROUND OF ART
Game systems have been developed and commercialized in the past in which a plurality of independent game terminals are used to provide a multiplayer game. With such a game system, each of the individual game terminals can provide a single-player game, or a plurality of these game terminals can provide a multiplayer game.
One example of such a game system consists of a plurality of independent driving-simulator game terminals connected together by data transfer lines. A player selecting the single-player game can enjoy a simulation in which a racing car driven by the player competes with a racing car operated by a computer, in a game space displayed on a screen. Similarly, a player selecting a multiplayer game against other players at other driving-simulator game terminals can enjoy a simulation in which a racing car operated by the player competes with racing cars operated by the other players within the same game space.
However, with the prior-art game system, the plurality of game terminals that configure this system have to be specified when the system is turned on. This causes a problem in that it is not possible to allow a new game terminal to enter the system without turning off the system, nor is it possible to isolate a specific game terminal from the game system.
Assume, for example, that eight game terminals are connected together by data transfer lines, With such a setup, the operator of the game system might wish to turn on only six of the eight game terminals to operate a multiplayer game system consisting of those six game terminals when there are few customers or when the operator wants to perform maintenance on two game terminals of the eight game terminals.
When the number of customers increases, or the maintenance has been completed, the operator would want the remaining two game terminals to enter the game system and thus increase the number of terminals operating.
With a prior-art game system, since the entry of a game terminal can only be accepted when the system is turned on, the above operation is performed by turning all six of the currently operating game terminals off, adding the two off-line game terminals, then turning the power on to all eight game terminals together to perform the re-entry procedure. However, this re-entry procedure has problems in that it is not desirable from the commercial point of view, and moreover it is laborious. With a multiplayer game system in particular, it is common to find that any of a number of game terminals always have customers playing on them, and it is most likely that a number of game terminals are always in use at busy times. In such a case, the temporary halting of all the game terminals that are operating to allow this re-entry procedure would cause an extremely large problem from the commercial point of view. Moreover, this reentry procedure is a problem in that it puts a large load on the operating staff when the floor is crowded.
This problem occurs not only when a new game terminal enters the prior-art game system while it is operating, but also when some of the game terminals have to be isolated from the currently operating game system. It could happen that a malfunction occurs for some reason in one game terminal while a game system configured of eight game terminals is operating. In such a case, the operation of the entire system has to be temporarily halted to allow the malfunctioning terminal to be removed from the system.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
The present invention has been developed in the light of the above-described concerns with the deficiencies of the prior art and has as its objective the provision of a multiplayer game system that enables the operation of allowing a new game
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Harrison Jessica
Namco Ltd.
O'Neill Michael
LandOfFree
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