Distributed game services

• US 8,287,379 B2
• Filed: 09/12/2005
• Issued: 10/16/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 09/12/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: IGT (International Game Technology)
• Original Assignee: IGT (International Game Technology)
• Inventors: Nguyen, Binh T., Benbrahim, Jamal, Bansemer, Mark
• Primary Examiner(s): Laneau, Ronald
• Assistant Examiner(s): MYHR, JUSTIN L
• Application Number:
  US11/225,337
• Publication Number:
  US 20070060363A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,591 Days
• Field of Search: 463 40- 42
• 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. A method for providing games of chance on gaming machines over a data network, the method comprising the steps of:

receiving a player input at an input terminal of a local gaming machine, the player input requesting a first game application, the local gaming machine including a gaming controller including a processor configured to independently execute game applications, the game applications including executable game code, wherein execution of the game applications includes the generation of output data, and wherein the local gaming machine is configured to store a plurality of game applications including a second game application;

determining a location of the first game application as being at a remote gaming machine, the remote gaming machine including a gaming controller including a processor configured to independently execute game applications, wherein the determining includes identifying the remote gaming machine as one of a plurality of gaming machines having the first game application and accessing a location record showing the gaming machines having the first game application, and wherein the remote gaming machine is configured to store a plurality of game applications including the first game application;

determining, by the gaming controller of the machine, whether one of a plurality of instances of the first game application is available for execution on the remote gaming machine;

reserving, by the gaming controller of the local gaming machine, an instance of the first game application on the remote gaming machine when it is determined that the first game application is available for execution by the remote gaming machine;

receiving, at the local gaming machine, a game application request message for the second game application from the remote gaming machine over the data network;

determining whether one of a plurality of instances of the second game application is available for execution on the local gaming machine; and

reserving an instance of the second game application on the local gaming machine when it is determined that the second game application is available for execution by the local gaming machine.

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

releasing the reserved instance of the first game application on the remote machine 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 first game application on the remote gaming machine, output data of the executing first 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 first game application on the remote gaming machine, output data of the executing first 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 identifying the remote gaming machine as one of the plurality of gaming machines having the first 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.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein 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.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein 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.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein 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.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the sequence of gaming machines is arranged according to most often accessed gaming machines.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the sequence of gaming machines is arranged according to most often accessed game applications.

20. 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.

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

identifying interface requirements of the first game application;

determining whether the identified interface requirements are compatible with an interface of the local gaming machine, wherein the interface requirements of the first 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.

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

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

23. The method of claim 22, further comprising the step of:

sending the game configuration input to the remote gaming machine.

24. The method of claim 22, wherein the parameters include one selected from the group consisting of payline information, a wager amount, and a jackpot.

25. The method of claim 1, wherein determining whether one of a plurality of instances of the first game application is available for execution on the remote gaming machine includes:

determining compliance of the first game application with interface requirements.

26. The method of claim 1, wherein determining whether one of a plurality of instances of the first game application is available for execution on the remote gaming machine includes:

determining compliance of the first game application with licensing requirements.

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

determining compliance of the first game application with jurisdictional requirements.

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

executing the instance of the second game application on the processor of the local gaming machine; and

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

29. The method of claim 28, further comprising the steps of:

retrieving a generic output data component from a storage medium at the local gaming machine; and

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

30. The method of claim 28, further comprising the steps of:

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

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

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

32. The method of claim 31, wherein the memory is a non-volatile memory.

33. The method of claim 28, further comprising the step of:

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

34. The method of claim 33, wherein the component of the output data is selected from the group consisting of audio data, video data, and paytable data.

35. The method of claim 28 further comprising the step of:

providing authentication information in a frame of the output data.

36. The method of claim 35, wherein the authentication information is embedded in the frame as a digital signature.

37. The method of claim 35, wherein the authentication information is provided in a channel associated with a stream of video data.

38. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of determining whether one of a plurality of instances of the second game application is available for execution on the local gaming machine includes:

determining availability of the processor on the local gaming machine to execute the instance of the second game application.

39. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of determining whether one of a plurality of instances of the second game application is available for execution on the local gaming machine includes:

determining compliance of the second game application with jurisdictional requirements.

40. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of determining whether one of a plurality of instances of the second game application is available for execution on the local gaming machine includes:

determining compliance of the second game application with licensing requirements.

41. The method of claim 40, wherein the step of determining availability of the processor on the local gaming machine to execute the instance of the second game application includes:

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

42. The method of claim 40, wherein the step of determining availability of the processor on the local gaming machine to execute the instance of the second game application includes:

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

43. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of determining whether one of a plurality of instances of the second game application is available for execution on the local gaming machine includes:

determining availability of a memory on the local gaming machine to execute the instance of the second game application.

44. A local gaming machine for providing games of chance to and 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 first game application, the first game application including executable game code;

a communications interface coupled to receive a request from the remote gaming machine over the data network for a second game application, the second game application including executable game code;

a gaming controller including a processor configured to;

i) determine a location of the first game application as being at the remote gaming machine, wherein the determination includes identifying the remote gaming machine as one of a plurality of gaming machines having the first game application and accessing a location record showing the gaming machines having the first game application, wherein the remote gaming machine is configured to store and independently execute with a gaming controller including a processor a plurality of game applications including the first game application, and wherein execution of the game applications includes the generation of output data,

ii) determine whether one of a plurality of instances of the first game application is available for execution on the remote gaming machine,

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

the gaming controller including the processor of the local gaming machine further configured to;

iv) reserve an instance of the second game application on the local gaming machine when it is determined that the second game application is available for execution on the local gaming machine, wherein the local gaming machine is configured to store and independently execute a plurality of game applications including the second game application, and

v) independently execute the instance of the second game application; and

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

45. The gaming machine of claim 44, further comprising a receiving module coupled to receive, responsive to execution of the instance of the first game application on the remote gaming machine, output data of the executing first game application from the remote gaming machine over the data network.

46. The gaming machine of claim 45, wherein the gaming controller including the processor is further configured to:

vi) store the received output data in a memory.

47. The gaming machine of claim 45, wherein the gaming controller including the processor is further configured to:

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

48. The gaming machine of claim 45, wherein the receiving module is further coupled to receive a generic output data component from a storage medium.

49. The gaming machine of claim 45, 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.

50. The gaming machine of claim 49, 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.

51. The gaming machine of claim 45, further comprising:

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

52. The gaming machine of claim 44, 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 remote gaming machine.

53. The gaming machine of claim 44, wherein the streaming module is further coupled to:

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

54. The gaming machine of claim 44, wherein the streaming module is further coupled to:

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

55. The gaming machine of claim 44, wherein the streaming module is further coupled to:

provide authentication information in a frame of the output data.

56. 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 first game application, the first gaming machine including a gaming controller including a processor configured to independently execute the game applications, the game applications including executable game code, wherein execution of the game applications includes the generation of output data, and wherein the first gaming machine is configured to store a plurality of game applications including a second game application;

determining a location of the first game application as being at the second gaming machine, the second gaming machine including a gaming controller including a processor configured to independently execute game applications, wherein the determining includes identifying the second gaming machine as one of a plurality of remote gaming machines coupled to the data network having the first game application and accessing a location record showing the remote gaming machines having the first game application, and wherein the second gaming machine is configured to store a plurality of game applications including the first game application;

determining, by the gaming controller of the local gaming machine, that one of a plurality of instances of the first game application is available for execution on the second gaming machine;

reserving an instance of the first game application on the second gaming machine when it is determined that the first game application is available for execution;

executing the instance of the first game application on the processor of the second gaming machine, wherein execution of the game application includes the generation of output data;

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

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

receiving a game application request message for the second game application from the second gaming machine over the data network after the second gaming machine determines that the second game application is not located at the second gaming machine and after the second gaming machine determines that the second game application is located at the first gaming machine, wherein the determination includes identifying the first gaming machine as one of a plurality of gaming machines having the second game application and accessing a location record showing the gaming machines having the second game application;

determining, by the gaming controller of the second gaming machine, whether one of a plurality of instances of the second game application is available for execution on the first gaming machine; and

reserving, by the gaming controller of the second gaming machine, an instance of the second game application on the first gaming machine when it is determined that the second game application is available for execution by the first gaming machine.

57. The method of claim 56, wherein the interface requirements of the first game application are stored in an interface record.

58. The method of claim 56, wherein the first gaming machine is a local gaming machine.

59. The method of claim 58, further comprising the step of:

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

60. The method of claim 56, wherein the first gaming machine is a slot machine.

61. The method of claim 56, wherein the first gaming machine is a personal digital assistant (“

PDA”

).

62. The method of claim 56, wherein the first gaming machine is a cell phone.

63. The method of claim 56, wherein the first gaming machine is an interactive television enabled device.

64. The method of claim 56, further comprising the steps of:

detecting a network error condition;

executing, responsive to detecting the network error condition, a further instance of the first 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.

65. The method of claim 64, wherein the step of transferring game play includes:

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

66. The method of claim 64, wherein the step of transferring game play includes:

providing game parameters to the third gaming machine.

67. The method of claim 64, wherein the step of transferring game play includes:

providing game play history information to the third gaming machine.

68. A local gaming machine for providing games of chance to and 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 first game application, the first game application including executable game code;

a communications interface coupled to receive a request from the remote gaming machine over the data network for a second game application after the remote gaming machine determines that the second game application is located at the local gaming machine, the second game application including executable game code;

gaming controller including a processor configured to;

i) determine a location of the first game application as being at the remote gaming machine, wherein the determination includes identifying the remote gaming machine as one of a plurality of gaming machines having the first game application and accessing a location record showing the gaming machines having the first game application, the remote gaming machine including a gaming controller including a processor configured to independently execute the first game application without interrupting other game applications executing at the remote gaming machine;

iv) determine whether one of a plurality of instances of the first game application is available for execution on the remote gaming machine, wherein the remote gaming machine is configured to store and independently execute with a gaming controller including a processor a plurality of game applications including the first game application, and wherein execution of the game application includes the generation of output data,

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

the gaming controller including the processor of the local gaming machine further configured to;

v) reserve an instance of the second game application on the local gaming machine when it is determined that the second game application is available for execution wherein the local gaming machine is configured to store and independently execute a plurality of game applications including the second game application, and

vi) independently execute the instance of the second game application without interrupting other game applications executing at the local gaming machine; and

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

a main display configured to display the first game application; and

a value input device configured to accept an indication of a wager for playing the first game application.