CONTROLLING AND PRESENTING VIRTUAL WAGERING GAME ENVIRONMENTS

• US 20110190066A1
• Filed: 10/09/2009
• Published: 08/04/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 10/09/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sg Gaming, Inc. (Scientific Games Corporation)
• Original Assignee: WMS Gaming Incorporated (Scientific Games Corporation)
• Inventors: Schwartz, Richard T., Guinn, Andrew C., Barclay, Brian J., Louie, Daniel P.
• Granted Patent: US 8,460,107 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 463/42
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3227 Configuring a gaming machine, e.g. downloading personal settings, selecting working parameters
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3288 Betting, e.g. on live events, bookmaking

Abstract

A wagering game system and its operations are described herein. In embodiments, the operations can include determining a player avatar population in a location of a virtual wagering game environment and determining a wagering game machine object supply in the location of the virtual wagering game environment. The wagering game machine object supply is an amount of available wagering game machine objects within a boundary of the location. The operations can further include determining a supply availability ratio, where the supply availability ratio indicates a restriction on the amount of the available wagering game machine objects in the location compared to the player avatar population. The operations can further include determining that the wagering game machine object supply is not compliant with the supply availability ratio and modifying the wagering game machine object supply to comply with the supply availability ratio.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

determining a player avatar population in a location of a virtual wagering game environment;

determining a wagering game machine object supply in the location of the virtual wagering game environment, wherein the wagering game machine object supply is an amount of available wagering game machine objects within a boundary of the location;

determining a supply availability ratio, wherein the supply availability ratio indicates a restriction on the amount of the available wagering game machine objects compared to the player avatar population for the location;

determining that the wagering game machine object supply is not compliant with the supply availability ratio; and

modifying the wagering game machine object supply to comply with the supply availability ratio.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising referring to a rule set to determine the supply availability ratio, wherein the rule set includes supply rules that govern the amount of the available wagering game machine objects in the location.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein modifying the wagering game machine object supply comprises positioning one or more player bots at one or more of the available wagering game machine objects making the one or more of the available wagering game machine objects unavailable.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein modifying the wagering game machine object supply comprises removing one or more of the one or more of the available wagering game machine objects from the location.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein removing the one or more of the available wagering game machine objects according to performance statistics.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising presenting a secret wagering game machine object to a wagering game player account.

7. One or more machine-readable media having instructions stored thereon, which when executed by a set of one or more processors causes the set of one or more processors to perform operations comprising:

presenting a virtual wagering game machine object in a virtual wagering game environment;

presenting a purchase control to purchase rights to access one or more control abilities of the virtual wagering game machine object, wherein the one or more control abilities control access to one or more functions of the virtual wagering game machine object;

determining a selection of the purchase control by a user account;

presenting purchase terms for the rights to access the one or more control abilities of the virtual wagering game machine object;

receiving a purchase value from the user account; and

presenting the user account with access to the one or more control abilities to the virtual wagering game machine object.

8. The machine-readable media of claim 7, wherein the purchase value is one or more virtual currency, credits, points, and money.

9. The machine-readable media of claim 7, the operations further comprising:

setting a time limit for access to the one or more control abilities;

determining that the time limit expires; and

revoking access to the one or more control abilities.

10. The machine-readable media of claim 7, wherein the one or more control abilities include abilities to perform one or more of controlling access to the virtual wagering game machine object, controlling a waiting list for the virtual wagering game machine object, controlling customizations for the virtual wagering game machine object, and controlling sponsorship rights to the virtual wagering game machine object.

11. The machine-readable media of claim 7, the operations further comprising:

providing a sponsor item as a gift from the user account for accessing the virtual wagering game machine object, and providing a reward to the user account for providing the sponsor item.

12. The machine-readable media of claim 7, the operations further comprising:

requiring the user account to accomplish an objective before presenting the purchase control.

13. The machine-readable media of claim 7, the operations further comprising:

determining a social network status for the user account; and

presenting the purchase control based on the social network status.

14. The machine-readable media of claim 7, the operations further comprising:

providing a referral award to the user account for referring one or more additional user accounts to the virtual wagering game machine object.

15. A system comprising:

an account server configured to store a wagering game player account, wherein the wagering game player account includes financial information for placing wagers on wagering game activity;

a computer system comprising

a machine object controller configured to

present a control configured to obtain a wager amount from the wagering game player account, during a first wagering game session, wherein the wager amount applies to a second wagering game session, by a wagering agent player account, on a wagering game machine object in a virtual wagering game environment, and

store the wager amount; and

a wagering game server comprising

a machine abilities controller configured to

determine a wagering game win value from the wagering game play of the wagering agent player account on the wagering game machine object during the second wagering game session, and

provide, to the wagering game player account, an amount equivalent to a portion of the wagering game win value.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the machine abilities controller is further configured to determine that the wagering game win occurs within one or more of a time limit and number of game plays of the second wagering game session.

17. The system of claim 15, wherein the machine abilities controller is further configured to control abilities of the wagering game machine object based on social status points for one or more of the wagering game player account and the wagering agent player account.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the machine object controller is configured to control the abilities by performing one or more of modifying denomination values for the wagering game machine object based on the social status points, presenting abilities to move up on a wait list based on the social status points, present controls to control the machine based on the social status points, and present secret machines based on the social status points.

19. An apparatus comprising:

a wagering game module configured to

present a virtual wagering game machine object in a virtual wagering game environment,

present a personalization control to personalize a portion of the virtual wagering game machine object,

determine a selection of the personalization control by a player account which indicates a request to make the portion of the virtual wagering game machine object personalized to the player account, and

personalize the portion of the virtual wagering game machine object according to the request.

20. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the wagering game module is further configured to determine that the player account has access rights to personalize the virtual wagering game machine object.

21. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the wagering game module is configured to personalize the portion of the virtual wagering game machine object by placing on the virtual wagering game machine object one or more of a player'"'"'s signature, a player'"'"'s symbol, a player'"'"'s initials, a player'"'"'s avatar image, and a player'"'"'s note.

22. An apparatus comprising:

means for determining a payout value for a wagering game machine object in an virtual wagering game environment, wherein the payout value indicates an amount of winnings that the wagering game machine object has paid out over a period of time;

means for determining a threshold setting set by a player account where the threshold setting indicates a threshold limit for the payout value which the player account desires to monitor;

means for determining that the payout value reaches the threshold limit; and

means for automatically activating functions within the virtual wagering game environment after the payout value reaches the threshold limit.

23. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the means for automatically activating functions within the virtual wagering game environment further comprises means for performing one or more of notifying the player account that the payout value has reached the threshold limit, placing the player account on a waiting list to play the wagering game machine object, sending a player bot to occupy the wagering game machine object until a player avatar can arrive, transporting a player account'"'"'s avatar to the wagering game machine object, notifying a wagering game agent to play the wagering game machine object, triggering an agent investment for the wagering game machine object, and placing side-bets on activity on the wagering game machine object.

24. The apparatus of claim 22 further comprising:

means for calculating an expected payout value for the wagering game machine object, wherein the expected payout value equates to a composite score of factors comprising one or more of a number of bonus awards awarded over time, a number of jackpots awarded over time, a number of player winnings over time, a record of wins since the player has last played on that machine, and a number of wins over a number of spins; and

means for presenting the expected payout value to the player account.

25. The apparatus of claim 22 further comprising:

means for receiving a payout search parameter, wherein the payout search parameter includes a search value that correlates to a payout value possessed by the wagering game machine object and one or more additional wagering game machine objects in the virtual wagering game environment; and

means for searching the virtual wagering game environment using the payout search parameter to find one or more of the wagering game machine object and the one or more additional wagering game machine objects with individual payout values that match the search value.