Patent Application
20090061994
1. Field
The present invention relates to a method of gaming, a game controller, and a gaming system which provide a feature game.
2. Background
Gaming machines such as slot machines may have a feature game that is triggered in response to a condition occurring during the normal game. For example, in response to a particular symbol combination occurring or the player reaching a designated level of the game.
Such features are often designed to provide entertainment to the player while awarding one or more prizes. The present invention aims to provide such a feature.
In a first broad aspect, the invention provides a method of gaming comprising:
In an embodiment, the method comprises displaying objects for selection in a selection area and displaying the composite image in a building area at least while the composite image is being formed, the building area displayed concurrently with the selection area.
In an embodiment, the method comprises displaying a plurality of selectable objects as a plurality of subsets of objects and receiving a player selection from at least two subsets.
In an embodiment, the method comprises receiving a player selection of one object from each subset.
In an embodiment, the method comprises displaying the subsets in a series of successive screens.
In an embodiment, the step of forming is performed in accordance with at least one building rule.
In an embodiment, at least one building rule specifies a relative location of an object in said composite image.
In an embodiment, forming said composite image comprises employing at least one base image.
In an embodiment, the method comprises updating the display of the composite image after each object selection.
In an embodiment, the method comprises making an award for each player selection.
In an embodiment, the method comprises making an award based on the composite image.
In an embodiment, the method comprises awarding at least one prize to the player.
In an embodiment, there are a plurality of awards and at least one award modifies another award.
In an embodiment, the awards are selected from a set of awards, one of which may result in a player not receiving a prize.
In an embodiment, the method comprises forming a plurality of composite images.
In a second broad aspect, the invention provides a gaming system comprising:
In an embodiment, the game controller is arranged to control the at least one display to display objects for selection in a selection area and display the composite image in a building area at least while the composite image is being formed, the building area displayed concurrently with the selection area.
In an embodiment, the game controller is arranged to control the at least one display to display a plurality of selectable objects as a plurality of subsets of objects and receive a player selection from at least two subsets.
In an embodiment, the game controller is arranged to receive a player selection of one object from each subset.
In an embodiment, the game controller is arranged to control the at least one display to display the subsets in a series of successive screens.
In an embodiment, the game controller forms the composite image in accordance with at least one building rule.
In an embodiment, at least one building rule specifies a relative location of an object in said composite image.
In an embodiment, the game controller forms the composite image by employing at least one base image.
In an embodiment, the game controller is arranged to update the display of the composite image after each object selection.
In an embodiment, the game controller makes an award for each player selection.
In an embodiment, the game controller makes an award based on the composite image.
In an embodiment, the game controller awards at least one prize to the player.
In an embodiment, there are a plurality of awards and at least one award modifies another award.
In an embodiment, the game controller selects awards from a set of awards, one of which results in a player not receiving a prize.
In an embodiment, the game controller is arranged to form a plurality of composite images.
In an embodiment, the game controller comprises a display module arranged to control the at least one display.
In an embodiment, the game controller comprises a selection processing module arranged to process player selections and make awards to the player.
In an embodiment, the game controller comprises a processor and the display module is constituted by the processor executing display program code.
In an embodiment, the game controller comprises a processor and the selection processing module is constituted by the processor executing selection processing program code.
In an embodiment, the gaming system comprises an object data structure storing data defining the selectable objects.
In an embodiment, the object data structure stores data defining the selectable objects as a plurality of subsets of objects.
In an embodiment, the object data structure stores data defining awards associated with respective ones of the plurality of objects.
In an embodiment, the game controller comprises an outcome generator module.
In an embodiment, the game controller comprises a processor and the outcome generator module is constituted by the processor executing outcome generation code.
In a third broad aspect, the invention provides a game controller for a gaming system, the game controller arranged to:
In an embodiment, the game controller is arranged to control the at least one display to display objects for selection in a selection area and display the composite image in a building area at least while the composite image is being formed, the building area displayed concurrently with the selection area.
In an embodiment, the game controller is arranged to control the at least one display to display a plurality of selectable objects as a plurality of subsets of objects and receive a player selection from at least two subsets.
In an embodiment, the game controller is arranged to receive a player selection of one object from each subset.
In an embodiment, the game controller is arranged to control the at least one display to display the subsets in a series of successive screens.
In an embodiment, the game controller is arranged to form the composite image in accordance with at least one building rule.
In an embodiment, at least one building rule specifies a relative location of an object in said composite image.
In an embodiment, the game controller is arranged to form the composite image by employing at least one base image.
In an embodiment, the game controller is arranged to update the display of the composite image after each object selection.
In an embodiment, the game controller is arranged to make an award for each player selection.
In an embodiment, the game controller is arranged to make an award based on the composite image.
In an embodiment, the game controller is arranged to award at least one prize to the player.
In an embodiment, there are a plurality of awards and at least one award modifies another award.
In an embodiment, the game controller is arranged to select awards from a set of awards, one of which results in a player not receiving a prize.
In an embodiment, the game controller is arranged to form a plurality of composite images.
In an embodiment, the game controller is constituted at least in part, by a processor executing program code.
In a fourth broad aspect, the invention provides a Program code which when executed implements the above method.
In a fifth broad aspect, the invention provides a computer readable medium comprising the above program code.
In a sixth broad aspect, the invention provides a data signal comprising the program code.
In a seventh broad aspect, the invention extends to transmitting the program code.
Exemplary embodiments of the invention will now be described in relation to the following drawings in which:
Referring to the drawings, there is shown a gaming system arranged to permit a player to form a composite image. In an embodiment, the composite image is formed in a build area on the display by making selections of a plurality of objects displayed in a selection area on the display.
In a first form, a stand alone gaming machine is provided wherein all or most components required for implementing the game are present in a player operable gaming machine.
In a second form, a distributed processing architecture is provided wherein some of the components required for implementing the game are present in a player operable gaming machine and some of the components required for implementing the game are located remotely relative to the gaming machine. For example, a “thick client” architecture may be used wherein part of the game is executed on a player operable gaming machine and part of the game is executed remotely, such as by a gaming server; or a “thin client” architecture may be used wherein most of the game is executed remotely such as by a gaming server and a player operable gaming machine is used only to display audible and/or visible gaming information to the player and receive gaming inputs from the player.
However, it will be understood that other arrangements are envisaged. For example, an architecture may be provided wherein a gaming machine is networked to a gaming server and the respective functions of the gaming machine and the gaming server are selectively modifiable. For example, the gaming system may operate in stand alone gaming machine mode, “thick client” mode or “thin client” mode depending on the game being played, operating conditions, and so on. Other variations will be apparent to persons skilled in the art.
The gaming system has several components. At the broadest level, the components include a player interface 50 and a game controller 60 as illustrated in
Components of the player interface may vary from embodiment to embodiment but will typically include a credit mechanism 52 to enable a player to input credits and receive payouts such as a cash or bill validator, credit or debit card reader or the like. The credit mechanism may also include electronic fund transfer device such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,511,377 the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
The components also includes one or more displays 54 such as an LCD, CRT or other type of electronic video display. Also provided is a player input mechanism 56 such as a button panel or a touch screen device at a display 54 that enables a player to input game play instructions, such as desired play lines, bet amounts and player choices during the play of the game.
The game controller 60 is in data communication with the player interface 50 and typically includes a processor 62 that receives and processes the player inputs, such as game play instructions in accordance with game play rules and outputs game play outcome data and/or graphics to the display 54. Typically, the game play instructions are stored as program code in a memory 64 but can also be hardwired. Herein the term “processor” is used to refer generically to any device that can process game play instructions in accordance with game play rules and may include: a microprocessor, microcontroller, programmable logic device or other computational device, a general purpose computer (e.g. a PC) or a server.
A gaming system in the form of a stand alone gaming machine 10 is illustrated in
A top box 26 may carry artwork 28, including for example pay tables and details of bonus awards and other information or images relating to the game. Further artwork and/or information may be provided on a front panel 29 of the console 12. A coin tray 30 is mounted beneath the front panel 29 for dispensing cash payouts from the gaming machine 10.
The display 14 shown in
The gaming machine 100 includes a game controller 101 having a processor 102. Instructions and data to control operation of the processor 102 are stored in a memory 103, which is in data communication with the processor 102. Typically, the gaming machine 100 will include both volatile and non-volatile memory and more than one of each type of memory, with such memories being collectively represented by the memory 103.
The gaming machine has hardware meters 104 for purposes including ensuring regulatory compliance and monitoring player credit, an input/output (I/O) interface 105 for communicating with peripheral devices of the gaming machine 100. The input/output interface 105 and/or the peripheral devices may be intelligent devices with their own memory for storing associated instructions and data for use with the input/output interface or the peripheral devices. A random number generator module 113 generates random numbers for use by the processor 102 to ultimately select and display random outcomes for the game at the display 106. Persons skilled in the art will appreciate that the reference to random numbers includes pseudo-random numbers.
In the example shown in
In addition, the gaming machine 100 may include a communications interface, for example a network card 112. The network card may, for example, send status information, accounting information or other information to a central controller, server or database and receive data or commands from the central controller, server or database.
It is also possible for the operative components of the gaming machine 100 to be distributed, for example input/output devices 106,107,108,109,110,111 to be provided remotely from the game controller 101.
One or more displays 204 may also be connected to the network 201. The displays 204 may, for example, be associated with one or more banks 203 of gaming machines. The displays 204 may be used to display representations associated with game play on the gaming machines 202, and/or used to display other representations, for example promotional or informational material.
In a thick client embodiment, game server 205 implements part of the game played by a player using a gaming machine 202 and the gaming machine 202 implements part of the game. With this embodiment, as both the game server and the gaming device implement part of the game, they collectively provide a game controller. A database management server 206 may manage storage of game programs and associated data for downloading or access by the gaming devices 202 in a database 206A. Typically, if the gaming system enables players to participate in a Jackpot game, a Jackpot server 207 will be provided to carry out accounting functions in respect of the Jackpot game and control display 204 to show the jackpot amounts. A player loyalty system server 212 may also be provided.
In a thin client embodiment, game server 205 implements most or all of the game played by a player using a gaming machine 202 and the gaming machine 202 essentially provides only the player interface. With this embodiment, the game server 205 provides the game controller. The gaming machine will receive player instructions, pass these to the game server which will process them and return game play outcomes to the gaming machine for display. In a thin client embodiment, the gaming machines could be computer terminals, e.g. PCs running software that provides a player interface operable using standard computer input and output components.
Servers are also typically provided to assist in the administration of the gaming network 200, including for example a gaming floor management server 208, and a licensing server 209 to monitor the use of licenses relating to particular games. An administrator terminal 210 is provided to allow an administrator to run the network 201 and the devices connected to the network. A loyalty system 212 is also connected to the network.
The gaming network 200 may communicate with other gaming systems, other local networks, for example a corporate network, and/or a wide area network such as the Internet, for example through a firewall 211.
Persons skilled in the art will appreciate that in accordance with known techniques, functionality at the server side of the network may be distributed over a plurality of different computers. For example, elements may be run as a single “engine” on one server or a separate server may be provided. For example, the game server 205 could run a random generator engine. Alternatively, a separate random number generator server could be provided. Further, persons skilled in the art will appreciate that a plurality of games servers could be provided to run different games or a single game server may run a plurality of different games as required by the terminals.
The gaming system of
Selection processing module 622 provides data describing the selected object to the build module 624 which applies build rules 644 to determine what should be added to the composite image. In the case, where the selected objects are images represented in their entirety within the composite image, the build rules may specify a location for the selectable object in a build area of the display and passes relevant data to the display module 621 to control the display 54 to display the selected object at the new location.
In the embodiment, once an object has been selected, the display 54 is updated so that the selection area displays another set of objects from which a selection can be made. In this way a series of selections can be made from a series of subsets of objects displayed on successive screens.
In an alternative embodiment, the objects displayed in the display area do not correspond directly to what is ultimately displayed in the composite object but rather provide an intermediate display is made that is representative of the image that will be displayed. For example the object may be an icon that represents the image. For example, the images used to build the composite image may be three-dimensional but a player may select them by selecting two-dimensional icons associated with the objects. In another example, the object may be a complete image of the component of the composite image but part or all of the image may be obscured once assembled in the composite image. By way of specific example, where the composite image is a car and a player selects an engine to added to the car, the engine itself may not be visible in the composite object but the composite image may be updated to indicate that the car is now “moving” by displaying exhaust smoke. In another example, an object may show an image in a first orientation in the selection area but in a second orientation once added to the composite image or once another object is added. For example, a cowboy may be displayed in a standing position in an initial composite image but displayed in a riding position once a horse is added to the composite image.
During subsequent selections the build module 624 determines in accordance with the build rules specified by the build rule data 644 the subsequent composition of the composite image displayed in a build area of the display 54. In one example, once the composite image is completed it may be animated or animated if a condition is met such as sufficient objects being selected. In one example, once the image is completed the building and selection areas disappear and the composite image is displayed over the entirety of the display. In another example, the selection and building areas are on separate displays.
In addition to the composite image being built on the display under control of the build module 624 and the display module 621, awards are made to the player outcome generator module. Typically, the game is implemented as a feature where awards are made to the player for each selection. Awards may be in any of the forms known in the art for example, a credit amount, a fixed prize, a multiplier, a combination of a prize and multiplier, free games, a combination of prizes and free games, etc. In some embodiments, awards will have an effect on other awards, for example a multiplier. In some examples, an award made for selecting one object will cancel out other awards, for example if the last award is a “zero times” multiplier or a feature game terminating symbol. At the end of the object selections, the outcome generator module 623 determines based on the awards what prize to be awarded to the player and the prize is output by display module 621 to display 54. Credit meters and /or free game meters are updated to reflect the award(s).
As indicated above, this game will typically be implemented as a feature game. Accordingly, outcome generator module 623 is also arranged to conduct a base game and to trigger the game feature based on a trigger condition 645. The trigger condition may be any known trigger event in the art, for example, a symbol combination, a series of related winning instances, an amount spent, an ante-bet, a randomly selected event, a trigger from an intervening feature game or the like.
The process of the embodiment is shown in
Further aspects of the method will be apparent from the above description of the gaming system. Persons skilled in the art will also appreciate that the method could be embodied in program code. The program code could be supplied in a number of ways, for example on a computer readable medium, such as a disc or a memory (for example, that could replace part of memory 103) or as a data signal (for example, by downloading it from a server).
A person skilled in the art will appreciate that a number of variations may be made to the above invention. For example, it is described above that the objects selected by the player are combined to form a composite object. In some embodiments, one or more base objects may be provided to which the user selected objects are added or assembled. Persons skilled in the art will appreciate that where the objects are referred to, these will actually be images of objects displayed on the display.
In other embodiments, all of the objects may be placed in a single selection area concurrently and the player makes plural selections from the selection area. In other embodiments, some of the objects subsets of objects the same. The objects may be themed for example, geometric objects, car parts, parts of anatomy, tools, toys or the like.
In a further variation, the player may be able to select where they place the objects when assembling the object in order to have further control over the object that is built. In these embodiments, the selection processing module 622 is arranged to receive data from the player input mechanism 56 specifying both the object that is selected and the position at which the object is to be located.
As but an example, the composite image being assembled may be an image of a building, an automobile, a landscape or portrait, or other image which is consistent with the theme of the game such that the individual objects selected by the player are components the building, an automobile, a landscape or portrait, or other image.
The game may offer one or more levels of object assembling. For example, if the player selects all of the objects at a first level to assemble an image or representation of a car without selecting a feature terminating symbol, the player may be awarded to advance to a next selection level where he/she picks objects to assemble, for example, a yacht. The player may progress through several levels until a feature terminating object is selected. Alternatively, the player may be awarded in advance a number of selections and the awarded number of selections may determine how many selection levels the player is able to complete. For example, if each selection level includes five object selections, a player awarded twelve selections is able to complete two levels and partly complete a third level.
The feature game may be an offering unique to the underlying game from which it is triggered. Alternatively the feature game may be arranged as a community game offered in a bank of a number of gaming machines. For example, and with reference to
The building of the composite image, as depicted in
Referring to
While we have shown and described certain embodiments of the present invention it is to be understood that it is subject to many variations without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claims.
In particular it will be apparent that certain features of embodiments of the invention can be employed to form further embodiments.
It is to be understood that, if any prior art is referred to herein, such reference does not constitute an admission that the prior art forms a part of the common general knowledge in the art in any country.
In the claims which follow and in the preceding description of the invention, except where the context requires otherwise due to express language or necessary implication, the word “comprise” or variations such as “comprises” or “comprising” is used in an inclusive sense, i.e. to specify the presence of the stated features but not to preclude the presence or addition of further features in various embodiments of the invention.
The present application is a non-provisional application, which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/968,769 filed Aug. 29, 2007, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60968769 | Aug 2007 | US |
