Program, information processing apparatus, and control method for providing a strategic battle game

1. A computer program product embodied on a non-transitory computer-readable medium and containing instructions that, when executed, cause an information processing apparatus configured to communicate with a plurality of terminal devices used by a plurality of respective users to execute steps of:

starting a battle among a plurality of groups in a game field;

arranging a first object on the field according to a progress situation of the battle, the first object being associated with a plurality of parameters, at least one parameter in the plurality of parameters corresponding to one of the plurality of groups;

executing a first change process of changing a parameter among the plurality of parameters of the first object, the parameter corresponding to a group, according to a control process of a game medium of said group and present on the field;

determining if any one of the plurality of parameters of the first object has reached a predetermined value, and when said any one of the plurality of parameters of the first object has reached said predetermined value, stopping the executing of the first change process of the plurality of parameters for the first object until a predetermined time in the game, and continuing the battle with the first change process in a stopped state;

determining a group associated with the one parameter that has reached the predetermined value, and increasing a point value of that group; and

determining the result of the battle based on a comparison of point values of each of the plurality of groups.

2. The computer program product according to claim 1 , wherein the step of arranging of the first object is executed when an elapsed time of the battle has reached a predetermined value.

3. The computer program product according to claim 1 , wherein the step of arranging the first object on the field comprises, after the step of starting the battle, determining if a progress situation of the battle satisfies one or more predetermined conditions, and, when the progress situation of the battle satisfies the one or more predetermined conditions, automatically arranging the first object on the field.

4. The computer program product according to claim 3 , wherein the one or more predetermined conditions comprise one or more of: a condition that a user won an in-game lottery, a condition that a number of in-use game media on the field is less than, equal to, or greater than a predetermined value, and a condition that a number of in-use game media on the field have reached a predetermined strength score.

5. The computer program product according to claim 1 , wherein, when the first object is arranged, the information processing apparatus further executes a step of generating a first game effect for one or more game media on the field.

6. The computer program product according to claim 5 , wherein the step of generating the first game effect comprises determining when the one or more game media are in a predetermined positional relationship with the first object, and, when the one or more game media are in the predetermined positional relationship with the first object, generating the first game effect for those one or more game media.

7. The computer program product according to claim 5 , wherein the first game effect comprises augmenting a statistic of the one or more game media used in the control process.

8. The computer program product according to claim 5 , wherein, when the first object is arranged, the information processing apparatus further executes a step of generating a second game effect for the one or more game media on the field.

9. The computer program product according to claim 8 , wherein the step of generating the first game effect comprises determining when the one or more game media are in a first predetermined positional relationship with the first object, and, when the one or more game media are in the first predetermined positional relationship with the first object, generating the first game effect for the one or more game media; and

wherein the step of generating the second game effect comprises determining when the one or more game media are in a second predetermined positional relationship with the first object, and, when the one or more game media are in the second predetermined positional relationship with the first object, generating the second game effect for the one or more game media.

10. The computer program product according to claim 8 , wherein the first game effect and second game effect are applied cumulatively to the one or more game media.

11. The computer program product according to claim 8 , wherein the first game effect and second game effect are applied at different times to the one or more game media.

12. The computer program product according to claim 5 , wherein, when the first object is arranged, the information processing apparatus further executes a step of generating a second game effect for one or more game media on the field not subject to the first game effect.

13. The computer program product according to claim 1 , wherein a plurality of game media are arranged on the field, the plurality of game media having a plurality of predetermined types.

14. The computer program product according to claim 13 , wherein a first game medium in the plurality of game media has a first predetermined type and a second game medium in the plurality of game media has a second predetermined type; and

wherein a control process associated with the first game medium changes the parameter, in the first change process, based on an attack value of the first game medium, and wherein a control process associated with the second game medium changes the parameter, in the first change process, based on an attack value of the second game medium and based on the second predetermined type of the second game medium.

15. The computer program product according to claim 1 ,

wherein one or more second objects are arranged on the field, the one or more second objects being associated with the plurality of parameters, at least one parameter in the plurality of parameters corresponding to one of the plurality of groups, and

wherein the information processing apparatus further executes steps of:

executing a second change process of changing a second object parameter among the plurality of parameters of the second object, the second object parameter corresponding to a group, according to the control process;

determining if any one of the plurality of parameters of the second object has reached a second predetermined value, and when a first parameter in the plurality of parameters of the second object has reached said second predetermined value, stopping the executing of the second change process of the first parameter that has reached said second predetermined value for the second object until a second predetermined time in the game;

determining a first group associated with the first parameter that has reached the second predetermined value, and increasing the point value of the first group;

when a second parameter in the plurality of parameters of the second object reaches the second predetermined value after the first parameter has reached the second predetermined value, resuming execution of the second change process for the first parameter; and

decreasing the point value of the first group.

16. The computer program product according to claim 15 , wherein the information processing apparatus further executes a step of arranging the one or more second objects prior to a step of starting a battle among the plurality of groups.

17. The computer program product according to claim 15 , wherein the information processing apparatus further executes a step of randomly arranging the one or more second objects on the field.

18. The computer program product according to claim 1 , wherein the field is partitioned into a plurality of regions, the plurality of regions comprising a plurality of candidate regions, and wherein arranging the first object on the field comprises:

excluding a candidate region next to an in-use game medium from the plurality of candidate regions; and

arranging the first object in a remaining candidate region.

19. An information processing apparatus comprising:

a communication unit configured to communicate with a plurality of terminal devices used by a plurality of respective users; and

a control unit,

wherein the control unit executes steps of:

starting a battle among a plurality of groups in a game field;

arranging a first object on the field according to a progress situation of the battle, the first object being associated with a plurality of parameters, at least one parameter in the plurality of parameters corresponding to one of the plurality of groups;

executing a first change process of changing a parameter among the plurality of parameters of the first object, the parameter corresponding to a group, according to a control process of a game medium of said group and present on the field;

determining if any one of the plurality of parameters of the first object has reached a predetermined value, and when said any one of the plurality of parameters of the first object has reached said predetermined value, stopping the executing of the first change process of the plurality of parameters for the first object until a predetermined time in the game, and continuing the battle with the first change process in a stopped state;

determining a group associated with the one parameter that has reached the predetermined value, and increasing a point value of that group; and

determining the result of the battle based on a comparison of point values of each of the plurality of groups.

20. A method for controlling an information processing apparatus including a communication unit capable of communicating with a plurality of terminal devices used by a plurality of respective users and a control unit, the method comprising performing, with the control unit, the steps of:

starting a battle among a plurality of groups in a game field;

arranging a first object on the field according to a progress situation of the battle, the first object being associated with a plurality of parameters, at least one parameter in the plurality of parameters corresponding to one of the plurality of groups;

executing a first change process of changing a parameter among the plurality of parameters of the first object, the parameter corresponding to a group, according to a control process of a game medium of said group and present on the field;

determining if any one of the plurality of parameters of the first object has reached a predetermined value, and when said any one of the plurality of parameters of the first object has reached said predetermined value, stopping the executing of the first change process of the plurality of parameters for the first object until a predetermined time in the game, and continuing the battle with the first change process in a stopped state;

determining a group associated with the one parameter that has reached the predetermined value, and increasing a point value of that group; and

determining the result of the battle based on a comparison of point values of each of the plurality of groups.