Embodiments present a game in which an ordered plurality of characters is presented for entry by a user with a touch screen, a physical keyboard, or other key input layout. The game advances to each successive character when the user presses the intended character or a character adjacent thereto. Contact areas are determined for each press, and in some embodiments the contact areas are overlaid on the keyboard. The contact areas are used to adjust user-specific touch models to improve text entry by the user. In some embodiments, the contact areas indicate areas for improvement by the user. Game completion statistics are calculated including speed and accuracy.

A game control device includes a direction obtaining unit, a motion data selection unit, and a user character control unit. In a case where a direction designating operation is performed by a user, the direction obtaining unit obtains a relative direction of the direction designated through the direction designating operation relative to the forward direction of a user character. The motion data selection unit selects any of motion data correlated to a type to which the relative direction obtained by the direction obtaining unit belongs from among the motion data stored in a unit that stores a type of a relative direction relative to the forward direction of the user character and a plurality of kinds of motion data so as to be correlated to each other. The user character control unit causes the user character to perform a motion in accordance with the selected motion data.

A forward direction line is set on a course, in a virtual game world, on which a player object is allowed to move. An advancing direction at a current position of the player object is determined based on the forward direction line. The advancing direction is determined as a direction in which the player object advances so as to control a movement of a player character in accordance with an acceleration instruction, and a leftward-rightward movement instruction from a player. Consequently, it is possible to assist the player in controlling a direction in which an object operated by the player moves.

A forward direction line is set on a course, in a virtual game world, on which a player object is allowed to move. An advancing direction at a current position of the player object is determined based on the forward direction line. The advancing direction is determined as a direction in which the player object advances so as to control a movement of a player character in accordance with an acceleration instruction, and a leftward-rightward movement instruction from a player. Consequently, it is possible to assist the player in controlling a direction in which an object operated by the player moves.

In a communication system including a server and a plurality of communication terminals capable of communication with the server, based on a variety of parameters indicating the status of a space formed within a game playable by the user of each communication terminal over the communication system, the server transmits advisory information, which suggests the next action for the space, to the communication terminal. The communication terminal displays a screen including the received advisory information.

When, on the basis of an operation input by a user, due to a predetermined action by an operation character of a first team, the operation character has collided with a teammate character of the first team, the teammate character is moved in a collision direction. When the teammate character having been moved in the collision direction has collided with an opponent character, the opponent character is stopped or moved in a collision direction.

A method for providing a single user multiple presence implementation may include providing access for a user identified by a user account to a virtual environment hosted by a computer. The method may further include generating multiple avatars for the user account to concurrently coexist and be operative within the virtual environment. The method may further include controlling the multiple avatars at least partly in response to input from the user. The method may further include communicating virtual environment data regarding more than one of the multiple avatars to at least one client operated by the user. An apparatus for performing the method may include a processor coupled to a memory holding encoded instructions for performing operations of the method on a computer configured as a network entity.

Artificial intelligence (AI) models are disclosed to provide in-game AI assistants that can execute in-game tasks for human players in conformance with audible prompts from the human players during single-player gameplay instances. The AI assistants can therefore report in-game events to help the human players and even act as additional players within the video game, controlling their own video game characters to establish virtual teammates to help the human players advance within the video game.