Method for developing gaming programs compatible with a computerized gaming operating system and apparatus
First Claim
1. A method of generating a computer based wagering application comprising:
- providing a gaming operating system operable
1) to load a gaming application comprising a plurality of game program objects and to generate a wagering game on a computing system in response to information received from the gaming application,
2) to maintain a set of gaming data variables for reconstructing a state of the wagering game in response to a power loss or other malfunction on the computing system wherein the gaming operating system comprises a plurality of software components, one or more Application Program Interfaces (APIs), associated with the plurality of software components, that define information recognized by the gaming operating system and enable communication between the gaming application and the gaming operating system, and plural gaming callback functions that allow the wagering game to be provided on the computing system, said plurality of software components and gaming callback functions compatible with one or more of a plurality of different computing systems, a plurality of different gaming applications or combinations thereof; and
wherein said plurality of software components and gaming callback functions can be provided by a plurality of different software vendors,
3) to determine a vendor associated with each of the plurality of software components, the one or more APIs associated with the plurality of software components and gaming callback functions;
4) to determine whether each software component associated with the vendor is related to a presentation, a determination or a storage of win-loss information for said wagering game;
5) to determine whether the vendor is license by a gaming regulatory authority to provide software components associated with the presentation, the determination, or the storage of win-loss information for said wagering game based upon said determination of whether each software component associated with the vendor is related to the presentation, the determination or the storage of win-loss information for said wagering game;
providing the one or more APIs that define the information that is recognized by the gaming operating system and enable communication between the gaming application and the gaming operating system wherein the one or more APIs are designed or configured to allow the gaming application to at least
1) access a non-volatile memory (NV-RAM) wherein the NV-RAM is for at least storing the set of gaming data variables,
2) specify storage requirements for the NV-RAM including information related to the set of gaming data variables,
3) provide instructions related to outputting video data or audio data available with the gaming operating system, provide instructions for peripheral devices recognized by the gaming operating system wherein the instructions are translated by the gaming operating system into formats recognized by the peripheral devices,
5) request one or more random number to be generated and
6) provide gaming application specific data used in the wagering game;
determining that a portion of the plurality of software game components and call back functions are required by the gaming application;
providing a configuration file for running the gaming operating system on the computing system; and
compiling a gaming program specific to the gaming application and that is compatible with the gaming operating system wherein the gaming program includes the portion of the plurality of software gaming components and the callback functions.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention in various embodiments provides a computerized wagering game method and apparatus that features an operating system kernel, a system handler application that loads and executes gaming program shared objects and features nonvolatile storage that facilitates sharing of information between gaming program objects. The system handler of some embodiments further provides an API library of functions callable from the gaming program objects, and facilitates the use of callback functions on change of data stored in nonvolatile storage. The nonvolatile storage also provides a nonvolatile record of the state of the computerized wagering game, providing protection against loss of the game state due to power loss. The system handler application in various embodiments includes a plurality of device handlers, providing an interface to selected hardware and the ability to monitor hardware-related events.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method of generating a computer based wagering application comprising:
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providing a gaming operating system operable
1) to load a gaming application comprising a plurality of game program objects and to generate a wagering game on a computing system in response to information received from the gaming application,
2) to maintain a set of gaming data variables for reconstructing a state of the wagering game in response to a power loss or other malfunction on the computing system wherein the gaming operating system comprises a plurality of software components, one or more Application Program Interfaces (APIs), associated with the plurality of software components, that define information recognized by the gaming operating system and enable communication between the gaming application and the gaming operating system, and plural gaming callback functions that allow the wagering game to be provided on the computing system, said plurality of software components and gaming callback functions compatible with one or more of a plurality of different computing systems, a plurality of different gaming applications or combinations thereof; and
wherein said plurality of software components and gaming callback functions can be provided by a plurality of different software vendors,
3) to determine a vendor associated with each of the plurality of software components, the one or more APIs associated with the plurality of software components and gaming callback functions;
4) to determine whether each software component associated with the vendor is related to a presentation, a determination or a storage of win-loss information for said wagering game;
5) to determine whether the vendor is license by a gaming regulatory authority to provide software components associated with the presentation, the determination, or the storage of win-loss information for said wagering game based upon said determination of whether each software component associated with the vendor is related to the presentation, the determination or the storage of win-loss information for said wagering game;providing the one or more APIs that define the information that is recognized by the gaming operating system and enable communication between the gaming application and the gaming operating system wherein the one or more APIs are designed or configured to allow the gaming application to at least
1) access a non-volatile memory (NV-RAM) wherein the NV-RAM is for at least storing the set of gaming data variables,
2) specify storage requirements for the NV-RAM including information related to the set of gaming data variables,
3) provide instructions related to outputting video data or audio data available with the gaming operating system, provide instructions for peripheral devices recognized by the gaming operating system wherein the instructions are translated by the gaming operating system into formats recognized by the peripheral devices,
5) request one or more random number to be generated and
6) provide gaming application specific data used in the wagering game;determining that a portion of the plurality of software game components and call back functions are required by the gaming application; providing a configuration file for running the gaming operating system on the computing system; and compiling a gaming program specific to the gaming application and that is compatible with the gaming operating system wherein the gaming program includes the portion of the plurality of software gaming components and the callback functions. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 20)
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18. A gaming machine comprising:
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a computerized game controller comprising a processor, an executable memory, and a non-volatile memory (NV-RAM); a gaming application executed by the computerized game controller; a gaming operating system executed by the computerized gaming controller operable
1) to load the gaming application and to generate a wagering game on the gaming machine in response to information received from the gaming application and
2) to maintain a set of gaming data variables in the NV-RAM for reconstructing a state of the wagering game in response to a power loss or other malfunction on the computing system wherein the gaming operating system comprises a plurality of software gaming components, one or more Application Program Interfaces (APIs), associated with the plurality of software components, that define information recognized by the gaming operating system and enable communication between the gaming application and the gaming operating system and plural gaming callback functions that allow the wagering game to be provided on the computing system, said plurality of software gaming components and gaming callback functions compatible with one or more of a plurality of different gaming devices, a plurality of different gaming applications or combinations thereof;
wherein said plurality of software gaming components and gaming callback functions can be provided by a plurality of different software vendors; and
3) to determine a vendor associated with each of the plurality of software gaming components, the one or more APIs and gaming callback functions;
4) to determine whether each software component associated with the vendor is related to the presentation, the determination, or the storage of win-loss information for said wagering game;
5) to determine whether the vendor is licensed by a gaming regulatory authority to provide software components associated with the presentation, the determination or the storage of win-loss information for said wagering game based upon said determination of whether each software component associated with the vendor is related to the presentation, the determination or the storage of win-loss information for said wagering game; andthe one or more APIs that define the information that it recognized by the gaming operating system and enable communication between the gaming application and the gaming operating system wherein the one or more APIs are designed or configured to allow the gaming operation to at least
1) access the NV-RAM wherein the NV-RAM is for at least storing the set of game data variables,
2) specify storage requirements for the NV-RAM including information related to the set of gaming data variables,
3) provide instructions related to outputting video data or audio data available with the gaming system,
4) provide instructions for peripheral devices recognized by the gaming operating system into formats recognized by the peripheral devices,
5) request one or more random number to be generated and
6) provide gaming application specific data used in the wagering game to the gaming operating system;one or more value handling devices for inputting, outputting or combinations thereof, credits on the gaming machine wherein the credits are for wagers on the wagering game; one or more input devices for providing input used to play the wagering game; and a display device for displaying the wagering game on the gaming machine. - View Dependent Claims (19)
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Specification