Distributed game services

• US 20070060363A1
• Filed: 09/12/2005
• Published: 03/15/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 09/12/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: IGT (International Game Technology)
• Original Assignee: IGT (International Game Technology)
• Inventors: Benbrahim, Jamal, Bansemer, Mark, Nguyen, Binh
• Granted Patent: US 8,287,379 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 463/42
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/34 using peer-to-peer connections
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/355 Performing operations on behalf of clients with restricted processing capabilities, e.g. servers transform changing game scene into an encoded video stream for transmitting to a mobile phone or a thin client
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/32 for games, toys, sports, or amusements
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3213 Details of moving display elements, e.g. spinning reels, tumbling members
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3223 Architectural aspects of a gaming system, e.g. internal configuration, master/slave, wireless communication
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3225 Data transfer within a gaming system, e.g. data sent between gaming machines and users
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/323 wherein the player is informed, e.g. advertisements, odds, instructions
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3234 about the performance of a gaming system, e.g. revenue, diagnosis of the gaming system
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3239 Tracking of individual players
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/34 depending on the stopping of moving members in a mechanical slot machine, e.g. "fruit" machines

Abstract

Disclosed are methods, apparatus, and systems, including computer program products, implementing and using techniques for providing a game of chance. A local gaming machine is in communication with a remote gaming machine over a data network. A player input is received at an input terminal of the local gaming machine. The player input requests a game application. The requested game application is located at the remote gamine machine. It is determined whether interface requirements of the requested game application are compatible with an interface of the local gaming machine. It is also determined whether the requested game application is available for execution on the remote gaming machine. In some embodiments, determining availability of the requested game application includes determining compliance with interface requirements, licensing requirements and/or jurisdictional requirements. When the requirements are compatible and the requested game application is available for execution, an instance of the requested game application is reserved on the remote gaming machine. When the instance is executed on the remote gaming machine, output data is sent to the local gaming machine over the data network. One or more game parameters can be captured from the received output data.

Claims

1. At a local gaming machine, a method for providing a game of chance on a remote gaming machine in communication with the local gaming machine over a data network, the method comprising the steps of:

receiving a player input at an input terminal of the local gaming machine, the player input requesting a game application;

determining a location of the requested game application as being at the remote gaming machine;

identifying interface requirements of the requested game application;

determining whether the identified interface requirements are compatible with an interface of the local gaming machine;

determining whether the requested game application is available for execution on the remote gaming machine; and

reserving an instance of the requested game application on the remote gaming machine when it is determined that the interface requirements are compatible and that the requested game application is available for execution.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of:

releasing the reserved instance of the requested game application after passing of a predetermined time period.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the step of releasing the reserved instance includes:

erasing data associated with the reserved instance from a memory.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

receiving, responsive to execution of the instance of the requested game application on the remote gaming machine, output data of the executing game application from the remote gaming machine over the data network; and

storing the received output data in a memory.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

receiving, responsive to execution of the instance of the requested game application on the remote gaming machine, output data of the executing game application from the remote gaming machine over the data network; and

providing the received output data on the interface of the local gaming machine.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising the steps of:

receiving a generic output data component from a storage medium; and

providing the generic output data component on the interface of the local gaming machine.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the storage medium is situated at the local gaming machine.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the storage medium is situated at the remote gaming machine.

9. The method of claim 5, further comprising the steps of:

capturing one or more game parameters from one or more frames of the received output data; and

storing the captured game parameters in a memory.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the memory is a non-volatile memory.

11. The method of claim 5, further comprising the step of:

capturing one or more game parameters from the output data on a communications channel.

12. The method of claim 5, further comprising the step of:

storing, before providing, the received output data in a memory.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the memory is a cache memory.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of determining the location of the requested game application includes:

identifying the remote gaming machine as one of a plurality of gaming machines having the game application.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the step of identifying the remote gaming machine as one of the plurality of gaming machines having the game application includes:

accessing a location record showing the gaming machines having the game application.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein the step of identifying the remote gaming machine as one of the plurality of gaming machines having the game application includes:

identifying the remote gaming machine as the one of the gaming machines having a closest network distance to the local gaming machine.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the step of identifying the remote gaming machine as the one of the gaming machines having a closest network distance to the local gaming machine includes accessing a routing table.

18. The method of claim 14, wherein the step of identifying the remote gaming machine as one of the plurality of gaming machines having the game application includes:

identifying the remote gaming machine as having an available instance of the game application.

19. The method of claim 14, wherein the step of identifying the remote gaming machine as one of the plurality of gaming machines having the game application includes:

accessing a routing table listing a sequence of gaming machines.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the sequence of gaming machines is arranged according to most often accessed gaming machines.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the sequence of gaming machines is arranged according to most often accessed game applications.

22. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

receiving user interaction signals from the input terminal of the local gaming machine;

sending the user interaction signals from the local gaming machine to the remote gaming machine over a control channel of the data network.

23. The method of claim 1, wherein the interface requirements of the requested game application include ones selected from the group consisting of input button information, payline information, denominations, paytable information, processor speed, memory availability, and hard disk space.

24. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of:

receiving, at the input terminal, a game configuration input setting parameters for the requested game application.

25. The method of claim 24, further comprising the step of:

sending the game configuration input to the remote gaming machine.

26. The method of claim 24, wherein the parameters include one selected from the group consisting of payline information, a wager amount, and a jackpot.

27. The method of claim 1, wherein determining whether the requested game application is available for execution on the remote gaming machine includes:

determining compliance of the requested game application with interface requirements.

28. The method of claim 1, wherein determining whether the requested game application is available for execution on the remote gaming machine includes:

determining compliance of the requested game application with licensing requirements.

29. The method of claim 1, wherein determining whether the requested game application is available for execution on the remote gaming machine includes:

determining compliance of the requested game application with jurisdictional requirements.

30. At a remote gaming machine, a method for providing a game of chance to a local gaming machine in communication with the remote gaming machine over a data network, the method comprising the steps of:

receiving a game application request message from the local gaming machine over the data network, the request message requesting a game application;

providing interface requirements of the requested game application;

determining whether the requested game application is available for execution on the remote gaming machine; and

reserving an instance of the requested game application on the remote gaming machine when it is determined that the requested game application is available for execution.

31. The method of claim 30, further comprising the steps of:

executing the instance of the requested game application on a processor of the remote gaming machine;

sending output data of the executing game application from the remote gaming machine to the local gaming machine over the data network.

32. The method of claim 31, further comprising the steps of:

retrieving a generic output data component from a storage medium; and

providing the generic output data component to the local gaming machine.

33. The method of claim 31, further comprising the steps of:

providing one or more game parameters in one or more frames of the sent output data.

34. The method of claim 33, further comprising the steps of:

storing the game parameters in a memory situated at the remote gaming machine.

35. The method of claim 34, wherein the memory is a non-volatile memory.

36. The method of claim 31, further comprising the step of:

retrieving, before sending the output data, a component of the output data from a storage medium.

37. The method of claim 36, wherein the component of the output data is selected from the group consisting of audio data, video data, and paytable data.

38. The method of claim 30 further comprising the step of:

providing authentication information in a frame of the output data.

39. The method of claim 38, wherein the authentication information is embedded in the frame as a digital signature.

40. The method of claim 38, wherein the authentication information is provided in a channel associated with a stream of video data.

41. The method of claim 30, wherein the step of determining whether the requested game application is available for execution on the remote gaming machine includes:

determining availability of a processor on the remote gaming machine to execute the instance of the requested game application.

42. The method of claim 30, wherein the step of determining whether the requested game application is available for execution on the remote gaming machine includes:

determining compliance of the requested game application with jurisdictional requirements.

43. The method of claim 30, wherein the step of determining whether the requested game application is available for execution on the remote gaming machine includes:

determining compliance of the requested game application with licensing requirements.

44. The method of claim 43, wherein the step of determining availability of the processor on the remote gaming machine to execute the instance of the requested game application includes:

identifying a further instance of the requested game application executing on the processor.

45. The method of claim 43, wherein the step of determining availability of the processor on the remote gaming machine to execute the instance of the requested game application includes:

identifying an instance of a further game application executing on the processor.

46. The method of claim 30, wherein the step of determining whether the requested game application is available for execution on the remote gaming machine includes:

determining availability of a memory on the remote gaming machine to execute the instance of the requested game application.

47. A local gaming machine for providing a game of chance from a remote gaming machine in communication with the local gaming machine over a data network, the gaming machine comprising:

a user interface coupled to receive a player input, the player input requesting a game application; and

a gaming controller including a processor configured to;

i) determine a location of the requested game application as being at the remote gaming machine,

ii) identify interface requirements of the requested game application,

iii) determine whether the identified interface requirements are compatible with an interface of the local gaming machine,

iv) determine whether the requested game application is available for execution on the remote gaming machine, and

v) reserve an instance of the requested game application on the remote gaming machine when it is determined that the interface requirements are compatible and that the requested game application is available for execution.

48. The gaming machine of claim 47, further comprising a receiving module coupled to receive, responsive to execution of the instance of the requested game application on the remote gaming machine, output data of the executing game application from the remote gaming machine over the data network.

49. The gaming machine of claim 48, wherein the gaming controller including the processor is further configured to:

vi) store the received output data in a memory.

50. The gaming machine of claim 48, wherein the gaming controller including the processor is further configured to:

vi) provide the received output data to the user interface.

51. The gaming machine of claim 48, wherein the receiving module is further coupled to receive a generic output data component from a storage medium.

52. The gaming machine of claim 48, further comprising:

a data capture module coupled to;

i) capture one or more game parameters from one or more frames of the received output data, and

ii) store the captured game parameters in a memory.

53. The gaming machine of claim 48, further comprising:

a data capture module coupled to capture one or more game parameters from the output data on a video communications channel.

54. The gaming machine of claim 52, wherein the game parameters include a setting selected from the group consisting of a credit meter, a bet meter, a bet history, lines bet, number of credits, side bets, and an outcome history.

55. A remote gaming machine for providing a game of chance to a local gaming machine in communication with the remote gaming machine over a data network, the remote gaming machine comprising:

a communications interface coupled to receive a game application request message from the local gaming machine over the data network, the request message requesting a game application;

a gaming controller including a processor configured to;

i) provide interface requirements of the requested game application,

ii) determine whether the requested game application is available for execution on the remote gaming machine,

iii) reserve an instance of the requested game application on the remote gaming machine when it is determined that the requested game application is available for execution, and

iv) execute the instance of the requested game application; and

a streaming module coupled to send output data of the executing game application from the remote gaming machine to the local gaming machine over the data network.

56. The gaming machine of claim 55, wherein the streaming module is further coupled to:

retrieve a generic output data component from a storage medium; and

provide the generic output data component to the local gaming machine.

57. The gaming machine of claim 55, wherein the streaming module is further coupled to:

provide one or more game parameters in one or more frames of the sent output data.

58. The gaming machine of claim 55, wherein the streaming module is further coupled to:

retrieve, before sending the output data, a component of the output data from a storage medium.

59. The gaming machine of claim 55, wherein the streaming module is further coupled to:

provide authentication information in a frame of the output data.

60. In a gaming system including a first gaming machine and a second gaming machine coupled to a data network, a method for providing a game of chance comprising the steps of:

receiving a player input at an input terminal of the first gaming machine, the player input requesting a game application;

determining a location of the requested game application as being at the second gaming machine;

identifying interface requirements of the requested game application;

determining that the identified interface requirements are compatible with an interface of the first gaming machine;

determining that the requested game application is available for execution on the second gaming machine;

reserving an instance of the requested game application on the remote gaming machine when it is determined that the interface requirements are compatible and that the requested game application is available for execution;

executing the instance of the requested game application on a processor of the second gaming machine;

sending output data of the executing game application from the second gaming machine to the first gaming machine over the data network; and

providing the output data on the interface of the first gaming machine.

61. The method of claim 60, wherein the interface requirements of the requested game application are stored in an interface record.

62. The method of claim 60, wherein the first gaming machine is a local gaming machine, and the second gaming machine is one of a plurality of remote gaming machines coupled to the data network.

63. The method of claim 62, further comprising the step of:

accessing a routing table which identifies the second gaming machine as one of the remote gaming machines.

64. The method of claim 60, wherein the first gaming machine is a slot machine.

65. The method of claim 60, wherein the first gaming machine is a personal digital assistant (“

PDA”

).

66. The method of claim 60, wherein the first gaming machine is a cell phone.

67. The method of claim 60, wherein the first gaming machine is an interactive television (“

iTV”

) enabled device.

68. The method of claim 60, further comprising the steps of:

detecting a network error condition;

executing, responsive to detecting the network error condition, a further instance of the requested game application on a processor of a third gaming machine in the gaming system; and

transferring game play from the second gaming machine to the third gaming machine, including maintaining a status of the game play.

69. The method of claim 68, wherein the step of transferring game play includes:

sending output data of the executing game application from the third gaming machine to the first gaming machine over the data network.

70. The method of claim 68, wherein the step of transferring game play includes:

providing game parameters to the third gaming machine.

71. The method of claim 68, wherein the step of transferring game play includes:

providing game play history information to the third gaming machine.

72. A local gaming machine for providing a game of chance from a remote gaming machine in communication with the local gaming machine over a data network, the gaming machine comprising:

interface means for receiving a player input at an input terminal of the local gaming machine, the player input requesting a game application; and

gaming controller means for;

i) determining a location of the requested game application as being at the remote gaming machine,

ii) identifying interface requirements of the requested game application,

iii) determining whether the identified interface requirements are compatible with an interface of the local gaming machine,

iv) determining whether the requested game application is available for execution on the remote gaming machine, and

v) reserving an instance of the requested game application on the remote gaming machine when it is determined that the interface requirements are compatible and that the requested game application is available for execution.

73. A remote gaming machine for providing a game of chance to a local gaming machine in communication with the remote gaming machine over a data network, the gaming machine comprising:

communications interface means for receiving a game application request message from the local gaming machine over the data network, the request message requesting a game application;

gaming controller means for;

i) providing interface requirements of the requested game application,

ii) determining whether the requested game application is available for execution on the remote gaming machine,

iii) reserving an instance of the requested game application on the remote gaming machine when it is determined that the requested game application is available for execution, and

iv) executing the instance of the requested game application; and

streaming means for sending output data of the executing game application from the remote gaming machine to the local gaming machine over the data network.