Integrating social contact identifiers into wagering games

• US 8,360,862 B2
• Filed: 09/23/2008
• Issued: 01/29/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 09/24/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LNW Gaming Incorporated
• Original Assignee: WMS Gaming Incorporated (Scientific Games Corporation)
• Inventors: Allen, Jeffrey L., Gura, Damon E., Hornik, Jeremy M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Hall, Arthur O.
• Application Number:
  US12/678,206
• Publication Number:
  US 20100203963A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,589 Days
• Field of Search: 463 16- 23, 463 25- 33, 463 39- 43, 273/138.1, 273/139, 273/138.2, 273/141.A, 273454-456, 273/460, 705 56- 57, 705/64, 705/67, 705/72, 705 74- 75, 705 78- 79, 709203-207, 709/FOR.113, 713/1, 713/100, 713/150, 713/155, 713/170, 713/176, 713182-184, 713186-189, 713/300, 713/375, 713/400, 713/500, 713/600, 902 2- 5, 902/23, 902/38, 902/40
• US Class Current: 463/25
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/32 for games, toys, sports, or amusements
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3218 wherein at least part of the system is portable
• 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 17/3244 Payment aspects of a gaming system, e.g. payment schemes, setting payout ratio, bonus or consolation prizes
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3281 wherein game attributes are transferred between players, e.g. points, weapons, avatars

Abstract

Described herein are processes and devices that integrate social contact identifiers into wagering games. One of the devices described is a social contact identifier integrator. The social contact identifier integrator can display one or more elements of a wagering game, such as graphics that are part of, or connected to, the wagering game. A player of the wagering game can have a social network account that has one or more related social network accounts, such as friends or acquaintances. The social contact identifier integrator selects a social contact identifier from one of the related social network accounts and integrates the social contact identifier into the wagering game. The social contact identifier integrator can also determine and assign rewards to the player or to the related social network account whose social contact identifier appeared in the wagering game.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method comprising:

providing for presentation on a computer display, game play elements of a wagering game, wherein the wagering game is associated with a first player account stored on an account server;

selecting a second player account, from the account server, wherein the second player account is listed in the first player account as a social contact of a player associated with the first player account;

determining a result that causes a social contact identifier of the second player account to be displayed on the computer display, as one of the game play elements of the wagering game;

determining, via at least one of the one or more processors, a reward based on the result that causes the social contact identifier to be displayed, wherein the reward is to be assigned to one of the first player account and the second player account; and

assigning, via at least one of the one or more processors, the reward to any one of the first player account and the second player account.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the result causes the social contact identifier to replace a graphical image in the wagering game with an avatar associated with the second player account.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the result causes the social contact identifier to replace any of the game play elements of the wagering game with the social contact identifier, and wherein placement of the social contact identifier affects a pay-out calculation of the wagering game.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein one or more of the selecting the second player account and causing the social contact identifier to be displayed are done randomly.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein assigning the reward further comprises:

determining that one or more additional activities must be performed before assigning the reward; and

determining that the one or more additional activities have been completed.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

sending a notification message about the reward to any one of the first player account and the second player account.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

associating the second player account to the first account by

sending an invitation from the first player account to the second player account, and

receiving from the second player account an indication of acceptance to the invitation.

8. A system comprising:

a machine configured to present game play elements for a wagering game wherein the wagering game is associated with a first player account; and

a social contact identifier integrator including

a social network manager configured to select a social contact identifier of a second player account, wherein the second player account is listed in the first player account as a social contact of the first player account,

a wagering game integration controller configured to determine a result that integrates the social contact identifier into the wagering game as one of the game play elements of the wagering game, and

a rewards controller configured to assign a reward to any one of the first player account and the second player account based on the result that integrates the social contact identifier into the wagering game as the one of the game play elements.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the wagering game integration controller is configured to replace a graphical image in the wagering game with an avatar of the second player account.

10. The system of claim 8, wherein the social contact identifier integrator is configured to replace an additional one of the game play elements in the wagering game with the social contact identifier, wherein placement of the social contact identifier affects a pay-out calculation of the wagering game.

11. The system of claim 8, wherein the wagering game integration controller is configured to integrate the social contact identifier randomly as the one of the game play elements.

12. The system of claim 8 further comprising:

a server to store the rewards in any one of the first player account and the second player account.

13. The system of claim 8 wherein the social contact identifier integrator is further configured to

store rules regarding integration of the social contact identifier into the wagering game.

14. The system of claim 8, wherein the rewards controller is configured to send a notification message to one or more of the first player account and the second player account about the rewards in real-time, wherein the one or more of the first player account and the second player account have account settings that identify a device to receive the notification message.

15. The system of claim 8, wherein the social contact identifier integrator resides in one or more of a wagering game server, a community server, a reward server, and the machine.

16. One or more non-transitory, tangible, machine-readable storage 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:

determining, for presentation on a display of a wagering game machine, game play elements of a wagering game, wherein the wagering game is associated with a first player account;

selecting a second player account, wherein the second player account is listed in the first player account as a social contact of a player associated with the first player account;

determining a result that causes replacement of one of the game play elements of the wagering game with a social contact identifier of the second player account, wherein the social contact identifier represents the one of the game play elements during game play of the wagering game; and

assigning a reward to one or more of the first player account and the second player account, wherein the reward is based on the result that causes the replacement of the one of the game play elements of the wagering game with the social contact identifier.

17. The one or more non-transitory, tangible, machine-readable storage media of claim 16, wherein said operation of assigning the reward includes an operation for associating a third player account to the first account.

18. The one or more non-transitory, tangible, machine-readable storage media of claim 16, said operations further comprising sending a notification message about the reward to one or more of the first player account and the second player account.

19. The one or more non-transitory, tangible, machine-readable storage media of claim 16, said operation of determining the result that causes replacement of the one of the game play elements of the wagering game includes operations further comprising placing the social contact identifier into the wagering game to affect a pay-out calculation of the wagering game.

20. The one or more non-transitory, tangible, machine-readable storage media of claim 16, said operation of determining the result that causes replacement of the one of the game play elements includes an operation comprising inserting the social contact identifier into a location of the display of the wagering game machine, wherein the location corresponds to the one of the game play elements.