Presenting wagering game content in multiple windows

• US 8,430,741 B2
• Filed: 03/03/2009
• Issued: 04/30/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 03/04/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LNW Gaming Incorporated (Light & Wonder Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: WMS Gaming Incorporated (Light & Wonder Incorporated)
• Inventors: Agarwal, Vijay K., Buchholz, Dale R., Burke, Mary M., Dinovo, Timothy F., Gangadharan, Magesh, Grabiec, Jacek A., Halprin, James S., Pace, Mark C., Parra, Jacqueline F., Pryor, David M., Ward, Matthew J.
• Primary Examiner(s): D'AGOSTINO, PAUL ANTHONY
• Application Number:
  US12/918,160
• Publication Number:
  US 20110028203A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,519 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 463/20
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3211 Display means
• 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 17/3286 Type of games

Abstract

Described herein are processes and devices that present wagering game content in multiple windows. One of the devices described is a wagering game system. The wagering game system can receive wagering game content and control information from more than one content provider. The wagering game system can present the content from the various content providers in one or more windows, such as by presenting content from one provider in a main window while presenting content from a second provider in one or more auxiliary windows. The wagering game system can also determine priority information for content displayed in the windows and control the appearance and actions of the windows, or content displayed within the windows, based on the priority information.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving, from a first content source, a first wagering game content for a first wagering game;

receiving, from a second content source, a second wagering game content for a second wagering game , wherein the first wagering game and the second wagering game are a same type of wagering game;

presenting, on a display of a wagering game machine, the first wagering game content in a first window;

presenting the second wagering game content in a second window on the display, wherein the first wagering game content occupies the first window during at least a duration of time that the second wagering game content occupies the second window;

determining a priority value that indicates a relative importance of the first wagering game content over the second wagering game content; and

preventing, based on the priority value, certain actions of the first window, wherein the certain actions are not disabled for different priority values.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first content source is a first wagering game store of a first wagering game manufacturer and the second content source is a second wagering game store of a second wagering game manufacturer different from the first wagering game manufacturer.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the same type of wagering game requires a wager for each play of the wagering game and further comprising:

receiving wagers for each of the first wagering game and the second wagering game;

detecting user input that selects a single control that activates play on both the first wagering game and the second wagering game; and

processing the wagers for each of the first wagering game and the second wagering game in response to the user input.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining the priority value comprises:

detecting a first wagering game outcome for the first wagering game content; and

determining that presentation of the first wagering game outcome for the first wagering game is not complete.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

detecting that the first wagering game content includes a first winning outcome for a first wager;

detecting that the second wagering game content includes a second winning outcome for a second wager;

determining that a first award value for the first winning outcome is greater than a second award value for the second winning outcome; and

presenting a first congratulatory message for the first wagering game before presenting a second congratulatory message for the second wagering game based on the first award value being greater than the second reward value.

6. One or more non-transitory 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:

receiving a first control statement to present a first wagering game content in a first window on a display of a wagering game machine, wherein the first wagering game content originates from a first wagering game manufacturer;

receiving a second control statement to present a second wagering game content in a second window on the same display of the wagering game machine, wherein the second wagering game content originates from a second wagering game manufacturer, and wherein the first wagering game and the second wagering game are of a type of wagering game;

determining a priority for the first control statement and the second control statement based on a set of priority rules, wherein the priority indicates that the first wagering game content associated with the first control statement is more important than the second wagering game content associated with the second control statement;

processing the first control statement and the second control statement in order of the priority; and

preventing certain actions of the second window based on the priority;

presenting, in order of the priority, the first wagering game content and the second wagering game content, wherein the first wagering game content appears in the first window with greater significance than the second wagering game content in the second window.

7. The machine-readable media of claim 6, wherein said operation for determining a priority includes determining that the first control statement is more important than the second control statement based on a value for a first wager for the first wagering game compared to another value for a second wager for the second wagering game.

8. The machine-readable media of claim 6, wherein the operation of determining a priority for the first control statement and the second control statement based on a set of priority rules comprises:

generating a third control statement to change the size of the first window to cover a portion of the second window with the first window.

9. The machine-readable media of claim 6, said operations further comprising:

receiving a wagering game player request;

determining a respective priority of the wagering game player request in relation to any one or more of the first control statement and the second control statement; and

processing the wagering game player request according to the respective priority.

10. The machine-readable media of claim 6, wherein the operation for processing the first control statement and the second control statement according to the priority comprises deactivating one or more wagering game player request controls while processing any one or more of the first wagering game content and the second wagering game content.

11. A system, comprising:

a first wagering game server configured to provide first wagering game content for a first wagering game;

a second wagering game server configured to provide second wagering game content for a second wagering game, wherein the first wagering game and the second wagering game are a same type of wagering game; and

a wagering game machine configured to

receive one or more user inputs that indicate a placement of a first wager for the first wagering game and a placement of a second wager for the second wagering game, wherein the placement of the first wager and the placement of the second wager overlap in time,

receive the first wagering game content in response to the first wager and receive the second wagering game content in response to the second wager,

determine a priority that indicates a relative importance of the second wagering game content over the first wagering game content,

present the first wagering game content in a first window on a display of the wagering game machine, and

present the second wagering game content in a second window on the same display of the wagering game machine with greater prominence than the first wagering game content in the first window based on the priority; and

prevent certain actions of the second window based on the priority.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the first wagering game server is configured to serve wagering games created by a first wagering game manufacturer and the second wagering game server is configured to serve wagering games created by a second wagering game manufacturer.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein any one or more of the first window and the second window includes one or more wagering controls for a wagering game player to interact with, wherein the one or more wagering controls are configured to simultaneously control a similar wagering function for both the first wagering game and the second wagering game.

14. The system of claim 11, further comprising:

a coordination unit configured to

determine from the first control instructions and the second control instructions respective priorities for the first wagering game content and the second wagering game content, and

control any one or more of the first window and the second window according to the respective priorities of the first wagering game content and the second wagering game content.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the first window is configured to present a first wagering game and the second window comprise a first auxiliary window configured to present a second wagering game and a second auxiliary window configured to present a third wagering game, and wherein the coordination unit is configured to

determine from the first control instructions and the second control instructions that the second wagering game has a higher priority than both the first wagering game and the third wagering game, and

raise the first auxiliary window above both the second auxiliary window and the first window.

16. The system of claim 11, wherein the wagering game machine comprises any one or more of meters and controls to control wagering activity for both the first wagering game content and the second wagering game content.

17. An apparatus, comprising:

a first content controller configured to provide control information for a first wagering game content;

a second content controller configured to provide control information for a second wagering game content;

a windows controller configured to control the presentation of the first wagering game content and the second wagering game content on a plurality of content windows on a display of a wagering game machine; and

a coordination unit configured to coordinate the presentation of the first wagering game content and the second wagering game content in the plurality of content windows according to a priority indicating a relative importance of the first wagering game content compared to the second wagering game content, and wherein the first window and the second window include playing controls for a wagering game player to interact with, wherein the playing controls are configured to control playing functions for the first wagering game and the second wagering game, and wherein at least one of the playing controls is disabled based on the priority.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the windows controller is configured to control any one or more of a position, a layering, a size, a movement, a reaction, a control, a special effect, and a characteristic of the plurality of content windows.

19. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the coordination unit is configured to reconcile conflicting priority control statements from any one or more of the first content controller and the second content controller.

20. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein windows controller is configured to present the second wagering game content with greater significance than the first wagering game content when the second wagering game content is presenting a high priority event.