JP7590291B2 - PROGRAM, INFORMATION PROCESSING APPARATUS AND INFORMATION PROCESSING METHOD - Google Patents

Description

This disclosure relates to a program, an information processing device, and an information processing method.

Subscription-based services are known in which a fee is paid periodically for use of the service for a certain period of time. For example, by paying a fixed monthly fee, the service can be continuously received over the contract period. Patent Document 1 discloses a service that provides the user with a virtual communication experience with a character that can be considered a support role for automatic purchasing. Patent Document 2 discloses a service in which a character that the user has grown attached to while enjoying communication with the character selects items to be purchased during purchasing behavior.

JP 2021-12421 A JP 2021-12422 A

In the case of a character that can be considered a support role in providing a service in a conventional subscription-based service, the character provides only a uniform communication experience to all users. Therefore, it is difficult for users to become attached to the character, and there is a problem that the service is not interesting for users.
Therefore, the present disclosure has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and has an object to provide a program, an information processing device, and an information processing method that are more interesting to users.

A program for causing a computer having a processor and a storage unit to execute a service in which content can be selected and used by paying a fee for use for a certain period of time, and at least some of the content within the service can be used without paying an additional fee, the program causing the processor to execute a reception step of receiving a selection of a first content from a user, a specification step of specifying an object associated with the user, and a growth step of changing a first growth level of the object based on the first content.

According to the present disclosure, in a service in which content can be selected and used by paying a fee for use for a certain period of time, and at least some of the content within the service can be used without paying an additional fee, a level of growth can be imparted to a character owned by a user based on the content selected by the user. Characters can be grown based on the use of the content, and a more interesting service can be provided to users.

1 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of an information processing system 1. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the server 10. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of a user terminal 20. 10A shows the data structure of a content table 1011, and FIG. 10B shows the data structure of a campaign table 1012. FIG. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing the data structure of a user table 1013. 10A shows the data structure of a character table 1014, and FIG. 10B shows the data structure of a log table 1015. FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the operation of a growth degree calculation process in the server 10. 13 is a flowchart showing the operation of a character selection process in the server 10. 10 is a flowchart showing the operation of a content suggestion process in the server 10; 13 is a flowchart showing the operation of a character suggestion process in the server 10. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen of a user terminal 20. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen of a user terminal 20. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the basic hardware configuration of a computer 90.

Embodiments of the present disclosure will be described below with reference to the drawings. In all figures describing the embodiments, common components are given the same reference numerals, and repeated explanations will be omitted. Note that the following embodiments do not unduly limit the contents of the present disclosure described in the claims. Furthermore, not all components shown in the embodiments are necessarily essential components of the present disclosure. Furthermore, each figure is a schematic diagram, and is not necessarily a precise illustration.

<Overview of Information Processing System 1>
1 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of an information processing system 1. The information processing system 1 in the present disclosure is an information processing system for imparting a growth level to a character of a member user (hereinafter, a user) who uses a service, according to content selected by the user. In this embodiment, the content includes, for example, music, movies (including videos, etc.), games (including virtual items in the game), digital items, etc.

<Basic configuration of information processing system 1>
An information processing system 1 according to the present disclosure is shown in Fig. 1. The information processing system 1 includes a server 10 and a plurality of user terminals 20A, 20B, and 20C, which are connected via a network N. Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the server 10. Fig. 3 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the user terminal 20.

The server 10 is an information processing device that provides a service that gives a growth level to a user's character according to the content selected by the user, and changes the character according to the growth level. The user terminal 20 is an information processing device operated by a user who uses the service.

Each information processing device is configured by a computer equipped with an arithmetic unit and a storage device. The basic hardware configuration of the computer and the basic functional configuration of the computer realized by the hardware configuration will be described later. For each of the server 10 and the user terminal 20, explanations that overlap with the basic hardware configuration and basic functional configuration of the computer described later will be omitted.

The configuration and operation of each device are explained below.

<Functional configuration of server 10>
2 shows a functional configuration realized by the hardware configuration of the server 10. The server 10 includes a storage unit 101 and a control unit 104.

<Configuration of storage unit of server 10>
The memory unit 101 of the server 10 includes a content table 1011 , a campaign table 1012 , a user table 1013 , a character table 1014 , and a log table 1015 .

FIG. 4A is a diagram showing the data structure of the content table 1011.
The content table 1011 is a table that stores content information such as music, movies, etc. The content table 1011 is a table that uses a content ID as a key and has columns of a content name, a characteristic value 1, a characteristic value 2, a characteristic value 3, a license type, a campaign ID, and a content attribute.

The content ID is an item that stores an identifier for uniquely identifying the content. The content name is an item that stores the title of the content. The characteristic value 1 is an item that stores a first characteristic amount calculated from the content. The characteristic value 2 is an item that stores a second characteristic amount calculated from the content. The characteristic value 3 is an item that stores a third characteristic amount calculated from the content. The license type is an item that indicates the type of service to which the user has subscribed, such as free, paid, or premium membership. The content available to the user is restricted depending on the license type. The campaign ID is an item that stores the campaign ID of the campaign linked to the content. Details of the campaign are shown in the campaign table 1012. The content attribute is an item that stores content attributes such as the genre of the content.

Each characteristic value is given by the value of each component of a three-dimensional vector that represents the feature of each content. Features include genre, tempo, title, tone, scale, singer, and era for music, and lines, color tone, color, director, actors, tone, animation, live action, and era for movies. In the case of high-dimensional features, the similarity between contents may be calculated using Euclidean distance or cosine distance, and may be expressed as a vector in three-dimensional space by applying multidimensional scaling methods.
In this embodiment, the characteristic value is expressed by three independent components, characteristic value 1, characteristic value 2, and characteristic value 3, but the characteristic value may be one or any number of vectors or any multidimensional quantity. Also, the characteristic value does not need to be calculated based on the feature amount of the content, and may be given by setting a fixed value for each content in advance.

FIG. 4B is a diagram showing the data structure of the campaign table 1012.
The campaign table 1012 is a table that stores bonus campaigns for service users. The campaign table 1012 is a table that uses a campaign ID as a key and has columns for a campaign name, a period, and a campaign content.

The campaign ID is an identifier for uniquely identifying a campaign. The campaign name is an item for storing the name of the campaign. The validity period is an item for storing the period during which the campaign applies. The campaign details is an item for storing the bonus details for the content user. For example, the campaign details may store the bonus details such as doubling the characteristic value 1.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the data structure of the user table 1013. As shown in FIG.
The user table 1013 is a table that stores information about member users who use the service. When a user starts a service usage contract, the information about the user is stored in a new record in the user table 1013. The user table 1013 is a table that uses the user ID as a key and has columns for user name, character ID, growth level A, growth level B, growth level C, provisional growth level A, provisional growth level B, provisional growth level C, license type, and whether or not training is possible.

The user ID is an item that stores an identifier for uniquely identifying a user. The user name is an item that stores the name of the user. The character ID is an item that stores the character currently owned by the user. In this embodiment, the user is to develop one owned character, but a deck in which multiple characters to be developed can be registered may be prepared for each user, and the character to be developed may be selected from the deck. In addition, all of the multiple characters registered in the deck may be to be developed. The growth level A is an item that stores the first growth level of the character. The growth level B is an item that stores the second growth level of the character. The growth level C is an item that stores the third growth level of the character. The provisional growth level A is an item that stores the first provisional growth level of the character. The provisional growth level B is an item that stores the second provisional growth level of the character. The provisional growth level C is an item that stores the third provisional growth level of the character. The license type is an item that indicates the type of service to which the user has subscribed. "Whether or not you can train" is an item that records whether or not you can train a character you own. Whether or not you can train a character is determined by conditions such as the license type and the free trial period when the user first uses the service.

FIG. 6A is a diagram showing the data structure of the character table 1014.
The character table 1014 is a table that stores information about characters. The character table 1014 is a table that uses a character ID as a key and has columns for character name, growth condition, and priority.

The character ID is an item that stores an identifier for uniquely identifying a character. The character name is an item that stores the name of the character. The growth conditions are an item that stores the contents of the character application conditions, such as which character is applied depending on the user's growth level, etc. For example, "Growth level A: 500 or higher" is stored. The priority is an item that stores the priority order for selecting a character when the character's growth level meets multiple application conditions.

FIG. 6B is a diagram showing the data structure of the log table 1015.
The log table 1015 is a table that stores a usage log of the content that the user has used, and has columns for user ID, date and time, content ID, and content attribute.

The user ID is an item that stores the ID of the user who used the content. The date and time is an item that stores the date and time when the content was used. The content ID is an item that stores the content ID of the content used. The content attribute is an item that stores the attribute of the content, such as the genre of the content. The content attribute may be included in the content table 1011, or may be automatically identified from the content of the content using techniques such as machine learning and deep learning.

<Configuration of the control unit of the server 10>
The control unit 104 of the server 10 includes a growth degree calculation unit 1041 , a character selection unit 1042 , a content suggestion unit 1043 , a development possibility setting unit 1044 , a campaign setting unit 1045 , and a license monitoring unit 1046 .
Fig. 7 is a flowchart showing the operation of the growth degree calculation process in the server 10. Fig. 8 is a flowchart showing the operation of the character selection process in the server 10. Fig. 9 is a flowchart showing the operation of the content proposal process in the server 10. Fig. 10 is a flowchart showing the operation of the character proposal process in the server 10. Fig. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen by the user terminal 20. Fig. 12 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen by the user terminal 20.

The growth degree calculation unit 1041 performs the growth degree calculation process. Details will be described later.

The character selection unit 1042 performs character selection processing. Details will be described later.

The content suggestion unit 1043 performs content suggestion processing. Details will be described later.

The training permission setting unit 1044 performs processing to set training permission for each user. Specifically, if the license type of the user is a paid license, the training permission is set to TRUE. In addition, for a user newly registered to the service, the training permission is set to TRUE for a certain period of time after the user registration.
The training permission setting unit 1044 may set the training permission based on various conditions such as the user's license type, age, sex, address, etc. For example, if the user's age is below a certain age, the training permission may be set to TRUE even if the license type is free. In addition, for a user with a specific address (for example, a user with an address set in a specific country), the training permission may be set to TRUE for a certain period of time regardless of the license type.

The campaign setting unit 1045 registers a new campaign in the campaign table 1012 and sets a campaign for each content. A campaign refers to a promotional activity to encourage users to use the service, such as "celebrating a movie release,""celebrating a product release,""newcontract," etc. Specifically, it is possible to set what kind of bonus will be given to users for each content.
An operator of the service (not shown) can control the campaign setting unit 1045 and set various campaigns for each content and each user.

The license monitoring unit 1046 monitors changes to the license type of each user in the user table 1013, and when the license type is changed, for example, from free to paid, performs a process of adding the provisional growth degree to the growth degree. Specifically, when the license type of a certain user is changed from free (null value) to paid, the license monitoring unit 1046 performs a process of adding the provisional growth degree A, provisional growth degree B, and provisional growth degree C of the user to the growth degree A, growth degree B, and growth degree C of the user, respectively.

The character suggestion unit 1047 performs character suggestion processing. Details will be described later.

<Functional configuration of user terminal 20>
3 shows a functional configuration realized by the hardware configuration of the user terminal 20. The user terminal 20 includes a storage unit 201, a control unit 204, a touch panel 206, a touch-sensitive device 2061, a display 2062, a microphone 2081, a speaker 2082, a position information sensor 2083, a camera 2084, and a motion sensor 2085.

<Configuration of the storage unit of the user terminal 20>
The storage unit 201 of the user terminal 20 stores a user ID 2011 for identifying a user who uses the user terminal 20, and an application program 2012. Specifically, the user ID is an ID of the user's account. The user ID also includes temporary information for identifying the user who uses the user terminal 20, such as a session ID.

<Configuration of the control unit of the user terminal 20>
The control unit 204 of the user terminal 20 includes an operation unit 2041 .
The control unit 204 executes the application program 2012 stored in the storage unit 201 to control various processes.
The user can transmit the operation contents on the touch-sensitive device 2061 of the touch panel 206, voice input to the microphone 2081, and input information from the position information sensor 2083, camera 2084, motion sensor 2085, etc. to the server 10 in accordance with the user's operation of the operation unit 2041.
The control unit 204 of the user terminal 20 can display a character on the display 2062 based on the character information received from the server 10. An example of the display of character information 81 on the display 2062 of the user terminal 20 is shown in Fig. 11 (A).

<Operation of Information Processing System 1>
Hereinafter, each process of the information processing system 1 will be described with reference to FIGS.
First, the content suggestion unit 1043 of the server 10 receives a request including a user ID from the user terminal 20, searches the user table 1031 based on the user ID, and determines the license type of the accessing user and whether the current date and time is within the validity period of the license. The content suggestion unit 1043 of the server 10 searches the content table 1011, and if the license type of the accessing user is a "paid" license, obtains a list of content IDs and content names whose license type is "null value" or "paid", and transmits the list to the user terminal 20.
On the other hand, the content suggestion unit 1043 of the server 10 searches the content table 1011, and if the license type of the accessing user is a non-paid license (for example, a “null value” is stored as the license type), it obtains a list of content IDs and content names for which the license type is “null value” and transmits the list to the user terminal 20.
The control unit 204 of the user terminal 20 that has received the list of content IDs and content names displays the list of content names on the display 2062 of the touch panel 206 .
In this embodiment, the content suggestion unit 1043 of the server 10 transmits to the user terminal 20 the content ID and content name of the content that the user cannot use due to the license type, but the content name may be displayed as unselectable content on the user terminal 20, for example, by graying out the content name.

<Growth degree calculation process>
In step S101, the user selects the icon of the content he or she wishes to use from the list of contents displayed on the display 2062 of the touch panel 206 of the user terminal 20 by touching the icon.
The touch-sensitive device 2061 arranged over the display 2062 identifies the position touched by the user and outputs the position information to the application execution unit 2042 of the user terminal 20. The application execution unit 2042 of the user terminal 20 identifies the icon selected by the user based on the position information and identifies the content ID associated with the icon. The application execution unit 2042 of the user terminal 20 transmits the content ID and the user ID to the server 10.

In step S102, the growth degree calculation unit 1041 of the server 10 searches the content table 1011 based on the content ID received from the user terminal 20 to obtain characteristic value 1, characteristic value 2, characteristic value 3, campaign ID, and content attribute. The growth degree calculation unit 1041 of the server 10 also stores the user ID, content ID, content attribute, and reception date and time received from the user terminal 20 as new records in the user ID, content ID, content attribute, and date and time items of the log table 1015, respectively. As a result, the content selected by the user is stored as a usage history.
When the content is music or a movie, the music and sound played while the content is being viewed can be collected by the microphone 2081 of the user terminal 20. The application execution unit 2042 of the user terminal 20 may transmit the collected sound data to the server 10, and the growth degree calculation unit 1041 of the server 10 may be configured to calculate characteristic value 1, characteristic value 2, and characteristic value 3 based on the received sound data. The growth degree calculation unit 1041 of the server 10 does not necessarily need to refer to the content table 1011 when acquiring characteristic value 1, characteristic value 2, and characteristic value 3.
Predetermined identification data may be embedded in advance in the music and audio by using a frequency band that cannot be recognized by humans, and the growth degree calculation unit 1041 of the server 10 may be configured to calculate characteristic value 1, characteristic value 2, and characteristic value 3 only when the music and audio collected by the microphone 2081 contains the predetermined identification data. This makes it possible to provide the service according to the present disclosure only for music, movies, and the like provided by a specific content providing service.
Alternatively, predetermined identification data equivalent to a content ID may be embedded in advance in the music and audio by using a frequency band that cannot be recognized by humans, and the growth degree calculation unit 1041 of the server 10 may decode the content ID from the predetermined identification data contained in the music and audio collected by the microphone 2081, and execute step S102. This allows the growth degree calculation unit 1041 of the server 10 to omit receiving the content ID from the user terminal 20.

In step S103, the growth degree calculation unit 1041 of the server 10 corrects the acquired characteristic value 1, characteristic value 2, and characteristic value 3. Specifically, the growth degree calculation unit 1041 of the server 10 refers to the user table 1013 based on the user ID received from the user terminal 20, and acquires the growth degree A, growth degree B, and growth degree C associated with the user. For example, the growth degree calculation unit 1041 compares the characteristic value 1, characteristic value 2, and characteristic value 3 with the current growth degree A, growth degree B, and growth degree C, respectively, and if the growth degree is equal to or less than a predetermined value, corrects the characteristic value so that the acquired characteristic value becomes larger. For example, if the growth degree is equal to or less than 10 times the characteristic value, the growth degree calculation unit 1041 performs a process of doubling the characteristic value.
Since the current growth level associated with a user is an accumulation of the user's past trends in content usage, the characteristic value can be corrected according to the user's past trends in content usage by correcting the characteristic value according to the growth level. Note that the characteristic value may be corrected based on various conditions, such as the user's age, sex, address, etc., in addition to the growth level.
By correcting the characteristic value based on the growth degree, for example, by correcting the characteristic value of the content that the user does not usually select more greatly, it is possible to promote a well-balanced growth in the growth degree, and thus it is possible to encourage the user to select content that the user does not usually select.

In addition, in step S103, the growth degree calculation unit 1041 of the server 10 searches the log table 1015 based on the user ID received from the user terminal 20, and acquires the content ID used in the past. If the user ID received from the user terminal 20 is included in the content IDs used in the past, a correction is made to reduce the characteristic values, such as by dividing the characteristic values A, B, and C by 2. Note that the configuration may also be such that correction of the characteristic values is not made.

In step S104, if a campaign ID is linked to the content selected by the user, the growth degree calculation unit 1041 of the server 10 applies a bonus campaign to the acquired characteristic value 1, characteristic value 2, and characteristic value 3.
Specifically, the growth degree calculation unit 1041 of the server 10 searches the campaign table 1012 based on the campaign ID, and acquires the validity period and the campaign details. The growth degree calculation unit 1041 of the server 10 compares the current date and time with the validity period, and if the current date and time are within the validity period, applies the bonuses stipulated in the campaign details to the characteristic value 1, the characteristic value 2, and the characteristic value 3.
In this embodiment, a campaign is set for each content, but a campaign may be set for each user. For example, a campaign may be set for a new contract user or a user who has extended the contract. In such a case, the campaign content to be applied to the user may be specified and applied based on the user ID received from the user terminal 20.
In addition to the campaign aspect, a bonus may be applied to viewing conditions, such as when content is viewed to the end, or when a questionnaire or the like is answered after viewing the content.

Furthermore, a campaign may be set for a specific user's use of a specific content.
For example, if a user who has changed the license type from "paid" to "free" changes the license type back to "paid", a bonus campaign can be set for the user's use of paid content that was added to the service during the period when the license type was "free".The user is likely to consider changing the license type to "paid" in order to use paid content that was newly added to the service during the period when the license type was "free".
Similarly, when a user who once canceled a service resumes use of the service (re-contracts), a bonus campaign may be set for the user's use of content added to the service during the cancellation period.The user may consider re-contracting for the service in order to use new content added to the service during the cancellation period.
At this time, in order to identify a user who has started using the service as a user who previously canceled the service, it is necessary to leave the user's information after the cancellation in the user table 1013. Thus, in this embodiment, the user can select whether or not to hold his/her own information in the user table 1013 at the time of cancellation.
Specifically, at the time of cancellation, the user applies for cancellation procedures by accessing a specific web page (hereinafter, cancellation page) provided by the server 10 from a web browser or application on the user terminal 20. At this time, the control unit 104 of the server 10 transmits a cancellation page containing two options, such as "keep my information" and "do not retain my information," to the user terminal 20. The user selects either the option "keep my information" or "do not retain my information" displayed on the user terminal 20 and transmits a request for cancellation (hereinafter, cancellation request) to the server 10.
When the control unit 104 of the server 10 receives a cancellation request, if the cancellation request includes information to the effect that "own information is to be retained," the control unit 104 changes the contract status of the user to a cancellation status while retaining the contents stored in the user table 1013. For example, a value corresponding to "cancellation" is stored in the license type of the user in the user table 1013. At this time, a configuration may be adopted in which only information related to the personal information of the user, such as the user name, is erased while information related to the character, such as the user ID, character ID, growth degree, provisional growth degree, and log table 1015, is retained. In addition, a configuration may be adopted in which personal information of the user, such as the user name and the contents stored in the log table 1015 of the user, and the content viewing history, are erased while information related to the character, such as the user ID, character ID, growth degree, provisional growth degree, and the like, is retained. The personal information of the user to be erased may include personal information such as the user's address, age, and sex (not shown).
When the control unit 104 of the server 10 receives a cancellation request, if the cancellation request includes information to the effect that "own information will not be retained," the control unit 104 deletes the record of the user from the user table 1013 and the log table 1015. This erases all history of the user's use of the service. Note that, in consideration of the possibility that a request may be sent by mistake by the user, the deletion may be performed a certain period of time (e.g., several weeks to several months) after the cancellation request is received.
In addition, in the growth degree calculation process disclosed herein, the process is executed in response to the content selection by the user (step S101), but instead of the content selection by the user, when new content is added to the service, the growth degree calculation process may be executed for the added content. In particular, the growth degree calculation process may be executed only for users whose license type is "cancelled" when new content is added to the service. In this case, an additional bonus may be set according to the elapsed time since the license type became "cancelled". This allows the growth degree and provisional growth degree to be given to users who have canceled the service and are unable to select content.

If the campaign ID is not linked (if the campaign ID field is null or has a value indicating no link), characteristic value 1, characteristic value 2, and characteristic value 3 received from step S103 are output as is.

In step S105, the growth degree calculation unit 1041 of the server 10 converts the acquired characteristic value 1, characteristic value 2, and characteristic value 3 into growth degrees. Specifically, an additional value 1, additional value 2, and additional value 3 are calculated by applying a 3-row, 3-column matrix to an input vector having characteristic value 1, characteristic value 2, and characteristic value 3 as components.
In this embodiment, the matrix is a unit matrix. In this case, the values of characteristic value 1, characteristic value 2, and characteristic value 3 become the values of added value 1, added value 2, and added value 3, respectively. Note that a neural network that has undergone predetermined learning may be used instead of the matrix.

In step S106, the growth degree calculation unit 1041 of the server 10 searches the user table 1013 based on the user ID received from the user terminal 20, and obtains the growth degree A, growth degree B, growth degree C, provisional growth degree A, provisional growth degree B, provisional growth degree C, and growth possibility associated with the user.

In step S107, if the training possibility is TRUE, the growth degree calculation unit 1041 of the server 10 adds the additional value 1, additional value 2, and additional value 3 converted from the characteristic value in step S105 to the growth degree A, growth degree B, and growth degree C associated with the user, respectively.

In step S108, if the training possibility is other than TRUE, the growth degree calculation unit 1041 of the server 10 adds the additional value 1, additional value 2, and additional value 3 converted from the characteristic value in step S105 to the provisional growth degree A, provisional growth degree B, and provisional growth degree C associated with the user, respectively.

<Character selection process>
After the growth degree calculation process is completed, the character selection process is performed. The character selection process does not have to be performed in response to access from an individual user. For example, it may be performed once a day for all users, or it may be performed collectively for some or all users.
Furthermore, the character selection process may be executed after the license monitoring unit 1046 adds the provisional growth levels A, B, and C to the growth levels A, B, and C, respectively.

In step S201, the character selection unit 1042 of the server 10 refers to the user table 1013 and obtains the user ID, growth level A, growth level B, and growth level C. The information obtained may be for a specific user, or for some or all users.

In step S202, the character selection unit 1042 of the server 10 refers to the growth conditions for each character stored in the character table 1014 and determines whether the growth level A, growth level B, and growth level C of the target user satisfy the growth conditions. The character selection unit 1042 of the server 10 selects one or more characters that satisfy the growth conditions for each target user.

In step S203, if there are multiple characters that satisfy the growth conditions, the character selection unit 1042 of the server 10 refers to the character table 1014 and obtains the character ID with the smaller priority value (higher priority). Note that if there is only one selected character, the character ID of that character is obtained.

In step S204, the character selection unit 1042 of the server 10 stores the acquired character ID in the character ID field of the target user in the user table 1013. This sets the character type of the target user to a character that corresponds to the growth level. An example of the display of character information 81 on the display 2062 of the user terminal 20 is shown in FIG. 12 (A).

In this embodiment, the character selection unit 1042 of the server 10 is configured to refer to the character table 1014 and allow the user to select a character that satisfies the growth conditions. Similarly, content such as effects and actions that the character can execute may be given to the character according to the level of growth. The application execution unit 2042 of the user terminal 20 may be configured to perform display control processing on the display 2062 for content such as effects and actions given to the character.

Specifically, the effects and actions that a character can execute are stored in an action table having a table structure similar to that of the character table 1014. The character selection unit 1042 of the server 10 refers to the action table, selects effects and actions that satisfy the growth conditions for each user and character, and stores them in the user table 1013 in association with the user ID and character ID.

In this embodiment, the character selection unit 1042 of the server 10 refers to the character table 1014 and selects a character based only on the growth conditions, but a character may be selected based on other conditions. For example, when the current character is a specific character, only another specific range of characters may be selected. For example, when the current character ID is M2, selectable character IDs may be M3 and M6, and when the current character ID is M3, selectable character IDs may be M8 and M12. Character selection may be performed along a specific path like the evolution of a living organism.
In the growth degree calculation process, the configuration may be such that points other than the growth degree and provisional growth degree can be acquired depending on the content selection by the user (step S101), and the user can exchange the acquired points for a specific character (hereinafter, "seed character"). Also, a different character ID may be selected depending on the seed character and growth degree owned by the user. In this way, the user can acquire various seed characters by exchanging points for seed characters, and a variety of characters can be selected based on different growth conditions for each seed character, thereby realizing a more interesting service.

<Content Proposal Processing>
A user can request the server 10 to propose content that matches the user's preferences by operating the touch-sensitive device 2061 of the user terminal 20. The content suggestion unit 1043 of the server 10 refers to the user table 1013 and the log table 1015, and proposes recommended content to the user based on the user's level of growth and the content attributes of content that the user has used so far.

In step S301, the content suggestion unit 1043 of the server 10 searches the user table 1013 based on the user ID received from the user terminal 20, and obtains the growth level A, growth level B, and growth level C.

In step S302, the content suggesting unit 1043 of the server 10 refers to the content table 1011 and selects as recommended content A the content that will have the greatest impact on the growth level if selected by the accessing user.
Specifically, the content suggesting unit 1043 of the server 10 acquires the characteristic values of each piece of content stored in the content table 1011, and performs the processes of steps S102 to S105 of the growth degree calculating unit 1041 to calculate the addition value 1, the addition value 2, and the addition value 3. Next, the sum or the sum of squares of the addition value 1, the addition value 2, and the addition value 3 is calculated, and one or more pieces of content are selected as recommended content A in descending order of the magnitude of the sum or the sum of squares of the growth degree.
The selection of the recommended content A is not limited to this. The content suggesting unit 1043 may refer to the user table 1013 and the character table 1014 and select as the recommended content A a content that contains a character that satisfies the growth condition when selected by the accessing user.

In step S303, the content suggestion unit 1043 of the server 10 searches the log table 1015 based on the user ID and obtains the content ID and content attributes as the accessing user's past content usage history.

In step S304, the content suggesting unit 1043 of the server 10 refers to the content table 1011 and selects, as recommended content B, a content that is closest to the content attribute included in the past content usage history of the accessing user.
Specifically, the content suggestion unit 1043 of the server 10 acquires the content attributes of each piece of content stored in the content table 1011, selects one or more pieces of content in order of the content attributes that are frequently included in the user's past content usage history, and selects them as recommended content B.
The selection of recommended content B is not limited to this. The content suggestion unit 1043 may select recommended content B based on content selected by another user who has similar tastes to the user. Furthermore, the content suggestion unit 1043 may select, as recommended content B, content with similar characteristic values, without being limited to content attributes.

In step S305, the content suggestion unit 1043 of the server 10 transmits the content IDs and content names of the recommended content A and the recommended content B selected in steps S302 and S304 to the user terminal 20. The control unit 204 of the user terminal 20 that has received the content IDs and content names displays a list of the content names on the display 2062 of the touch panel 206.
11B shows an example of a list of content names 82 displayed on the display 2062 of the user terminal 20. In the list of content names 82, recommended content A and recommended content B may be displayed so as to be distinguishable from each other.

The user can select the icon of the content he or she wishes to use from the list of recommended contents displayed on the display 2062 of the touch panel 206 of the user terminal 20 by touching the icon, and use the content.
Instead of displaying the recommended contents in a list, the control unit 204 of the user terminal 20 may automatically use the recommended contents in order. For example, if the content is music or a movie, the control unit 204 of the user terminal 20 automatically plays the recommended content. By automatically using the content, the user can automatically increase the character's growth level through the growth level calculation process without any special operation.
Furthermore, the control unit 204 of the user terminal 20 may perform control so as to transition to a mode in which the recommended contents are automatically used in order after a certain period of time has elapsed without any operation from the user following the display of the list.

In addition, when the user selects the recommended content A selected and proposed in step S302, it is desirable not to store the usage history of that content in log table 1015. In addition, when the user selects the proposed recommended content A and finishes using the content, the user may be allowed to select whether or not to store the usage history of that content in log table 1015. There are cases where the content selected by the user for character growth is not in line with the user's preferences. By not storing the content in log table 1015, or leaving storage in log table 1015 to the user's choice, it is possible to prevent content similar to the content in question that does not match the user's preferences from being selected in step S304.

In addition, when the user selects the recommended content A selected and proposed in step S302, the usage history may be stored in the log table 1015, but may not be taken into consideration when calculating the similarity based on the content attributes of the content in step S304.
For example, a column for an exclusion flag may be provided in the log table 1015, and when the user selects the content selected and proposed in step S302, a record with the flag set to TRUE may be stored as a content usage log. Thereafter, when acquiring the content usage history in step S303, the content ID and content attributes may be acquired by excluding records with the exclusion flag set to TRUE. In this manner, the content usage history selected by the user for character growth may be excluded from the content recommended to the user.

<Character proposal processing>
When the character suggestion unit 1047 of the server 10 receives a request including a user ID from a user terminal 20 in which the license type is free or the like other than "TRUE" for whether or not training is possible, the character suggestion unit 1047 transmits to the user terminal 20 characters that the accessing user can acquire by changing the license type to a paid membership or the like in which the license type is "TRUE" for whether or not training is possible. This makes it possible to motivate the user to switch to a paid membership.

In step S401, the character suggestion unit 1047 of the server 10 refers to the user table 1013 and obtains the user ID, growth level A, growth level B, growth level C, provisional growth level A, provisional growth level B, and provisional growth level C.

In step S402, the character suggestion unit 1047 of the server 10 refers to the growth conditions for each character stored in the character table 1014 and determines whether the growth conditions are met when the provisional growth degree A, provisional growth degree B, and provisional growth degree C are added to the growth degree A, growth degree B, and growth degree C, respectively. The character suggestion unit 1047 of the server 10 selects, for each target user, a single character or multiple characters that meet the growth conditions when the provisional growth degree is added to the growth degree.

In step S403, if there are multiple characters that satisfy the growth conditions, the character suggestion unit 1047 of the server 10 refers to the character table 1014 and obtains the character ID of the character with the smaller priority value (higher priority). Note that if there is only one selected character, the character ID of that character is obtained.

In step S404, the character suggestion unit 1047 of the server 10 transmits the acquired character's character ID, character name, character image, etc. to the user terminal 20. The user terminal 20 displays the received character ID, character name, and character image on the display 2062. An example of the display of the character image 83 on the display 2062 of the user terminal 20 is shown in FIG. 12(A).

<Modification 1>
In this embodiment, a character is selected from the character table 1014 according to the growth degree of the user table 1013, but instead of a character, an in-game item such as a weapon, armor, or accessory may be selected. Specifically, a character associated with each user has equipment such as a weapon and armor, and the equipment of the character is selected from different in-game items according to the growth degree. This allows the user to enjoy the service by combining various in-game items with the character. In addition, the present disclosure is applicable to any service in which object information is selected according to the growth degree, not limited to characters and in-game items. In addition, in this embodiment, the term "growth degree" is used on the premise of a system in which a user's character is trained or evolved, but the "growth degree" may be another parameter. For example, instead of the "growth degree", the present disclosure is applicable to parameters that affect the appearance change of a character or an in-game item, or the effect of an in-game item.

<Basic computer hardware configuration>
13 is a block diagram showing the basic hardware configuration of a computer 90. The computer 90 includes at least a processor 901, a main storage device 902, an auxiliary storage device 903, and a communication IF 991 (interface). These are electrically connected to each other by a communication bus 921.

The processor 901 is hardware for executing a set of instructions written in a program. The processor 901 is composed of an arithmetic unit, registers, peripheral circuits, etc.

The main memory device 902 is used to temporarily store programs and data processed by the programs. For example, it is a volatile memory such as a DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory).

The auxiliary storage device 903 is a storage device for saving data and programs. For example, it is a flash memory, a hard disk drive (HDD), a magneto-optical disk, a CD-ROM, a DVD-ROM, a semiconductor memory, etc.

The communication IF 991 is an interface for inputting and outputting signals for communicating with other computers via a network using a wired or wireless communication standard.
The network is composed of the Internet, a LAN, various mobile communication systems constructed by wireless base stations, etc. For example, the network includes 3G, 4G, 5G mobile communication systems, LTE (Long Term Evolution), wireless networks that can connect to the Internet through a predetermined access point (e.g., Wi-Fi (registered trademark)), etc. In the case of wireless connection, communication protocols include, for example, Z-Wave (registered trademark), ZigBee (registered trademark), Bluetooth (registered trademark), etc. In the case of wired connection, the network also includes a network that is directly connected by a USB (Universal Serial Bus) cable, etc.

The computer 90 can be realized virtually by distributing all or part of each hardware configuration across multiple computers 90 and connecting them together via a network. In this way, the concept of computer 90 includes not only a computer 90 housed in a single housing or case, but also a virtualized computer system.

<Basic Functional Configuration of Computer 90>
A description will now be given of the functional configuration of a computer realized by the basic hardware configuration (FIG. 13) of a computer 90. The computer includes at least the functional units of a control unit, a storage unit, and a communication unit.

The functional units of the computer 90 can also be realized by distributing all or part of each functional unit across multiple computers 90 that are connected to each other via a network. The concept of computer 90 includes not only a single computer 90 but also a virtualized computer system.

The control unit is realized by the processor 901 reading out various programs stored in the auxiliary storage device 903, expanding them in the main storage device 902, and executing processing in accordance with the programs. The control unit can realize functional units that perform various information processing depending on the type of program. In this way, the computer is realized as an information processing device that performs information processing.

The storage unit is realized by a main storage device 902 and an auxiliary storage device 903. The storage unit stores data, various programs, and various databases. Furthermore, the processor 901 can secure a storage area corresponding to the storage unit in the main storage device 902 or the auxiliary storage device 903 in accordance with a program. Furthermore, the control unit can cause the processor 901 to execute processes for adding, updating, and deleting data stored in the storage unit in accordance with various programs.

A database refers to a relational database, which is used to manage data sets called tables, which are structured according to rows and columns, by relating them to each other. In a database, a table is called a table, a column in a table is called a column, and a row in a table is called a record. In a relational database, it is possible to set relationships between tables and associate them.
Usually, a column is set in each table as a key for uniquely identifying a record, but setting a key in the column is not essential. The control unit can cause the processor 901 to add, delete, or update a record in a specific table stored in the storage unit according to various programs.

The communication unit is realized by the communication IF 991. The communication unit realizes the function of communicating with other computers 90 via a network. The communication unit can receive information transmitted from other computers 90 and input the information to the control unit. The control unit can cause the processor 901 to execute information processing on the received information in accordance with various programs. In addition, the communication unit can transmit information output from the control unit to other computers 90.

<Additional Notes>
The matters described in the above embodiments will be supplemented below.

(Appendix 1)
A program for causing a computer having a processor and a memory unit to execute a service in which content can be selected and used by paying a fee for use for a certain period of time, and at least some of the content within the service can be used without paying an additional fee, the program causing the processor to execute a reception step (S101) of receiving a selection of a first content from a user, an identification step (S107) of identifying an object linked to the user, and a growth step (S102-S105) of changing a first growth degree of the object based on the first content.
This allows a character owned by the user to be given a growth level based on the content selected by the user. The character can be grown based on the use of the content, and a more interesting service can be provided to the user.

(Appendix 2)
A selection step (S201 to S204) of selecting a type of object based on the first growth degree.
This allows the user to own different types of characters according to the accumulated growth levels depending on the user's use of the content.

(Appendix 3)
3. The program according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising: a recommendation presentation step (S301, S302) of presenting recommended content to the user based on the first growth degree of the object.
This makes it possible to propose suitable content to the user according to the character's growth level. By providing the user with an opportunity to use unfamiliar content, it is possible to provide the user with a more interesting service.

(Appendix 4)
The program according to claim 3, wherein the recommendation presentation step is a step (S302) of presenting, as recommended content, a content that causes a greater change in the first growth degree in the growth step.
This makes it possible to propose to the user content that will cause a greater change in the character's growth, allowing the user to enjoy the growth of the character and providing the user with a more entertaining service.

(Appendix 5)
A program as described in Appendix 3 or 4, which executes a history presentation step of presenting recommended content to a user based on content included in the user's usage history, and when the user selects content presented in the recommendation presentation step, the selected content is not considered as content included in the usage history in the history presentation step (S303, S304).
There are cases where the content selected to develop a character does not match the user's preferences. In a service that proposes content that matches the user's preferences based on the user's past usage history, if the content selected to develop a character is treated as part of the usage history, the user may be inconvenienced by the content that does not match his or her preferences.
Therefore, by not using the usage history of the content selected to grow the character as the usage history for suggesting recommended content, the user can enjoy growing the character without compromising the user's convenience in the content provision service.

(Appendix 6)
A program described in any of Appendices 1 to 5, which executes a development acquisition step (S106) of acquiring whether the user can develop, and the growth step includes a step (S108) of changing a first provisional growth degree of the object based on a first content without changing the first growth degree of the object when the user's development capability is in a first state, and a step of reflecting the first provisional growth degree of the object in the first growth degree of the object when the user's development capability is changed from the first state to a second state.
This allows a usage record of content usage to be accumulated as a provisional growth degree even for free/low-rank members who do not provide character development services.Then, by reflecting the provisional growth degree in the growth degree when a free/low-rank member changes to a paid/high-rank member, the usage record of content during the free/low-rank membership period can be reflected in the growth degree, allowing users to enjoy the service regardless of whether character development is possible or not.

(Appendix 7)
The program described in Appendix 6 executes a type presentation step (S402 to S404) for presenting, when the user's ability to raise is in a first state, the type of object to be selected based on the first growth degree after reflecting the first provisional growth degree of the object in the first growth degree of the object.
This allows a suggestion to be made to the user about what kind of character the character will grow into by changing from a free/low-ranked member with an accumulated provisional growth level to a paid/high-ranked member, thereby motivating the user to change to a paid/high-ranked member.

(Appendix 8)
A program described in any of Appendices 1 to 7, which executes a characteristic value acquisition step (S102) of acquiring a first characteristic value of a first content, and a calculation step (S105) of calculating a first additional value based on the first characteristic value, and the growth step is a step of changing the first growth degree by adding the first additional value to the first growth degree.

(Appendix 9)
The program according to claim 8, wherein the characteristic value acquisition step includes a step (S103) of correcting the first characteristic value according to the magnitude of the first growth degree.
As a result, when the current first growth level of the character is large, the degree of growth of the first growth level due to the use of the content can be suppressed, and the character's growth level can be changed in a well-balanced manner.

(Appendix 10)
A program as described in Appendix 8 or 9, which executes a step of acquiring a user's content usage history, and the characteristic value acquisition step includes a step (S103) of decreasing the first characteristic value if the first content is included in the usage history.
This makes it possible to motivate users to use content that they would not normally select, since the effect on their growth rate of selecting content that they have used in the past is smaller than that of using that content for the first time.

(Appendix 11)
A program described in any of Appendices 8 to 10, wherein the characteristic value acquisition step acquires a second characteristic value of the first content (S102), the calculation step calculates a first additional value and a second additional value based on the first characteristic value and the second characteristic value (S105), and the growth step is a step (S107) of changing the first growth degree and the second growth degree to the first growth degree and the second growth degree by adding the first additional value and the second additional value to the first growth degree and the second growth degree, respectively.
This allows a character owned by the user to be given multiple growth levels according to multiple characteristic values of the content selected by the user. The character can be grown according to multiple growth levels, and a more interesting service can be provided to the user.

(Appendix 12)
12. The program according to claim 11, wherein the first characteristic value and the second characteristic value are vectors set according to the similarity between the contents.
This allows a value according to the similarity of the contents to be used as the characteristic value, and users who use similar contents can obtain characters of similar types. The types of characters can be said to better reflect the preferences of the users, so the users can feel more attached to the characters.

1 Information processing system, 10 Server, 101 Storage unit, 104 Control unit, 20 User terminal, 201 Storage unit, 204 Control unit, 206 Touch panel

Claims (14)

A program for causing a computer having a processor and a storage unit to execute a service in which content can be selected and used by paying a fee for use for a certain period of time, and at least some of the content in the service can be used without paying an additional fee,
The program causes the processor to:
a receiving step of receiving a selection of a first content from a user;
An identification step of identifying an object associated with the user;
a growing step of varying a first growth degree of the object based on a first content;
Execute the
program. a selection step of selecting a type of the object based on a first growth degree;
The program according to claim 1, a recommendation presentation step of presenting recommended content to the user based on a first growth degree of the object;
3. The program according to claim 1 or 2, which executes the steps of: the recommendation presentation step is a step of presenting, as recommended content, a content that causes a greater change in the first growth degree in the growth step;
The program according to claim 3. a history presenting step of presenting recommended content to the user based on content included in the user's usage history;
Run the command,
When the user selects a piece of content presented in the recommendation presentation step, the selected piece of content is not considered as a piece of content included in the usage history in the history presentation step.
5. The program according to claim 3 or 4. A training acquisition step of acquiring whether or not the user is trained;
Run the command,
The growing step comprises:
When the user's ability to raise is in a first state, changing a first provisional growth degree of the object based on a first content without changing a first growth degree of the object;
When the user's ability to raise is changed from a first state to a second state, a first provisional growth degree of the object is reflected in a first growth degree of the object;
Including,
The program according to any one of claims 1 to 5. When the user's training possibility is in a first state,
a type presenting step of presenting a type of the object to be selected based on a first growth degree after reflecting a first tentative growth degree of the object in the first growth degree of the object;
Execute the
The program according to claim 6. A characteristic value acquisition step of acquiring a first characteristic value of the first content;
a calculation step of calculating a first additional value based on the first characteristic value;
Run the command,
The growth step is a step of changing the first growth degree by adding a first additional value to the first growth degree.
The program according to any one of claims 1 to 7. The characteristic value acquisition step includes a step of correcting the first characteristic value in accordance with a magnitude of the first growth degree.
The program according to claim 8. acquiring a content usage history of the user;
Run the command,
the characteristic value acquisition step includes a step of decreasing the first characteristic value when the first content is included in the usage history;
10. The program according to claim 8 or 9. The characteristic value acquiring step includes acquiring a second characteristic value of the first content;
the calculating step calculates a first sum and a second sum based on the first characteristic value and the second characteristic value;
the growth step is a step of changing the first growth degree and the second growth degree to the first growth degree and the second growth degree by adding a first additional value and a second additional value to the first growth degree and the second growth degree, respectively;
The program according to any one of claims 8 to 10. the first characteristic value and the second characteristic value are vectors set according to the similarity between the contents;
The program according to claim 11. An information processing device for executing a service that includes a processor and a storage unit, and allows users to select and use content by paying a fee for use for a certain period of time, and at least some of the content within the service is available without paying an additional fee,
The processor,
a receiving step of receiving a selection of a first content from a user;
An identification step of identifying an object associated with the user;
a growing step of varying a first growth degree of the object based on a first content;
An information processing device that executes the above. An information processing method for causing a computer having a processor and a storage unit to execute a service in which content can be selected and used by paying a fee for use for a certain period of time, and at least a portion of the content in the service can be used without paying an additional fee, comprising:
The processor,
a receiving step of receiving a selection of a first content from a user;
An identification step of identifying an object associated with the user;
a growing step of varying a first growth degree of the object based on a first content;
An information processing method for executing the above.