Superstitious gesture influenced gameplay

• US 8,888,596 B2
• Filed: 08/10/2011
• Issued: 11/18/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 11/16/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LNW Gaming Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Bally Gaming Incorporated (Scientific Games Corporation)
• Inventors: Kelly, Bryan M., Lyons, Martin S., Patton, Stephen E., Savage, Daniel
• Primary Examiner(s): Suhol, Dmitry
• Assistant Examiner(s): YEN, JASON TAHAI
• Application Number:
  US13/207,265
• Publication Number:
  US 20110306416A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,196 Days
• Field of Search: 463/13, 463/20, 463/25, 463/27, 463/30, 463/31, 463/37
• US Class Current: 463/37
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/235 using a wireless connection, e.g. infrared or piconet
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/24 Constructional details thereof, e.g. game controllers with detachable joystick handles
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/32 for games, toys, sports, or amusements
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3209 Input means, e.g. buttons, touch screen

Abstract

Various embodiments disclosed herein are directed to a gesture enhanced game play system that includes a display system, a sensor system, a feedback system, and one or more computing systems. The sensor system is configured to detect at least one touch gesture when the touch gesture is at least proximate the virtual game layout. During play of the base game, when a player makes a touch gesture the touch gesture is evaluated as either a direct gameplay touch gesture or an indirect gameplay touch gesture. Each direct gameplay touch gesture relates directly to reaching an outcome of a current game. Each indirect gameplay touch gesture may be associated with a feedback system that responds to the indirect gameplay touch gestures by the player with visual, audio, and/or tactile feedback. The feedback system enables indirect gameplay touch gestures by the player to altered game parameters by modifying a hit frequency and corresponding prize pay range, enabling the player to indirectly modify the hit frequency and prize pay range by making indirect gameplay touch gestures. The sensor system is configured to detect multiple touch gestures, wherein gestures include simultaneous touches by multiple fingers, consecutive touches by a single finger, touching and sliding of a finger, touching and sliding of multiple fingers, and combinations thereof.

Claims

1. A gesture enhanced game play system, comprising:

a display system configured to display images related to one or more games to be played on at least a first game playing surface, the images including a virtual game layout including at least one area associated with the play of the one or more games;

a sensor system configured to detect at least one touch gesture when the touch gesture is at least proximate the virtual game layout;

wherein during play of the base game, when a player makes a touch gesture the touch gesture is evaluated by the sensor system as either a direct gameplay touch gesture or an indirect gameplay touch gesture, wherein if the touch gesture is an indirect gameplay touch gesture, then a gesture table of known indirect gameplay touch gestures is accessed and an associated value in the gesture table is incremented, wherein the indirect gameplay touch gesture with the highest associated value is designated as a lucky gesture, and wherein if the lucky gesture is made by a player during gameplay of a winning game, then the player receives an additional award or enhanced award presentation;

wherein the feedback system enables indirect gameplay touch gestures by the player to altered game parameters by modifying a hit frequency and corresponding prize pay range, enabling the player to indirectly modify the hit frequency and prize pay range by making indirect gameplay touch gesture; and

a computing system, the computing system communicatively coupled to the display system to control the images displayed by the display system, the computing system communicatively coupled to the sensor system to receive information indicative of the touch gesture sensed by the sensor system.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the indirect gameplay touch gestures are associated with a feedback system that responds to the indirect gameplay touch gestures by the player with visual, audio, or tactile feedback.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein indirect gameplay touch gestures may activate the feedback system when a symbol touched, a general area of the display system is touched, a graphic is touched, or an area within a proximity of a symbol or graphic is touched.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein a game that has a higher bonus hit frequency has a lower prize pay range and a game that has a lower hit frequency has a higher prize pay range, and wherein making gesture motions does not change an overall return to the player of the game.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the indirect gameplay touch gestures correlate to a database of predetermined indirect gameplay touch gestures in the feedback system that associate each indirect gameplay touch gesture with a predetermined feedback to the player.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein an indirect gameplay touch gesture is identified by the feedback system a set number of times before the feedback system associates the indirect gameplay touch gesture with a predetermined feedback to the player.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein an indirect gameplay touch gesture is identified by the feedback system that associates the indirect gameplay touch gesture with a predetermined feedback to the player, and wherein the feedback to the player is personalized for each specific player in response to receiving player identification information.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the system includes a virtual button having an available state which demonstrates that sufficient credits are available to enable selection of the button in its available state.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the system includes a virtual button having an inactive button state which demonstrates that sufficient credits are not available to enable selection of the button in its inactive state.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the system includes a virtual button having a mouse/finger over button state, wherein if a player touches and slides from one button location to another button location, a potential button/selection is activated, but a selection is not committed by the player without a secondary player action.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the system further includes a sound effects package that synchronizes sound effects with use of a physical button or virtual button.

12. The system of claim 6, wherein lower frequency tones are associated with lower bet amounts and higher frequency tones are associated with higher bet amounts.

13. The system of claim 1, wherein the display subsystem includes at least one display device selected from the group consisting of a cathode ray tube display, a liquid crystal (LCD) display, a liquid crystal on silicon (LCOS) display, a plasma display, a digital light processing (DLP) display or a projector.

14. The system of claim 1, further comprising at least a first game playing surface on which at least a portion of the one or more games is playable, the first game playing surface forming a portion of a table top or a bar top.

15. The system of claim 1, further comprising at least a first game playing surface on which at least a portion of the one or more games is playable, and wherein the first game playing surface is part of a slant top or vertical gaming machine.

16. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

at least a first game playing surface on which at least a portion of the one or more games is playable; and

at least a second game playing surface on which at least a portion of the one or more games is playable, where the sensor subsystem is configured to detect at least one physical aspect of the at least one game-related piece when the game-related piece is located on the first game playing surface and when the game-related piece is located on the second game playing surface.

17. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

at least a first game playing surface on which at least a portion of the one or more games is playable; and

at least a second game playing surface on which at least a portion of the one or more games is playable, wherein the display subsystem includes a first display device and at least a second display device, the first display device positioned to display the images on or under the first game playing surface and the second display device positioned to display the images on or under the second game playing surface.

18. The system of claim 1, wherein the computing subsystem is configured to cause the display subsystem to display the virtual game layout at a different orientation than previously displayed between portions of the games.

19. The system of claim 1, wherein the display subsystem and the sensor subsystem are remotely located from the computing subsystem.

20. The system of claim 1, wherein the display subsystem and the sensor subsystem are located in a wireless communications device.

21. The system of claim 1, wherein the display subsystem and the sensor subsystem are co-located remotely from a gaming floor of a gaming premises.

22. The system of claim 1, wherein the virtual game layout comprises a casino table game.

23. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one computing subsystem controls the display subsystem to display images of a menu including icons representing a number of items that may be ordered.

24. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one computing subsystem controls the display subsystem to display images indicative of participant account information for at least one participant in the at least one game.

25. A gesture enhanced game play system, comprising:

a display system configured to display images related to one or more games to be played on at least a first game playing surface, the images including a virtual game layout including at least one area associated with the play of the one or more games;

a sensor system configured to detect at least one touch gesture when the touch gesture is at least proximate the virtual game layout;

wherein during play of the base game, when a player makes a touch gesture the touch gesture is evaluated by the sensor system as either a direct gameplay touch gesture or an indirect gameplay touch gesture, and if the touch gesture is an indirect gameplay touch gesture, then an associated value in a gesture table is incremented, wherein the indirect gameplay touch gesture with the highest associated value is designated as a lucky gesture, and wherein if the lucky gesture is made by a player during gameplay of a winning game, then the player receives an additional award or enhanced award presentation; and

a computing system, the computing system communicatively coupled to the display system to control the images displayed by the display system, the computing system communicatively coupled to the sensor system to receive information indicative of the touch gesture sensed by the sensor system.

26. A gesture enhanced game play system, comprising:

a display system configured to display images related to one or more games to be played on at least a first game playing surface, the images including a virtual game layout including at least one area associated with the play of the one or more games;

a sensor system configured to detect at least one touch gesture when the touch gesture is at least proximate the virtual game layout;

wherein during play of the base game, when a player makes a touch gesture the touch gesture is evaluated by the sensor system as either a functional gesture or an arbitrary non-functional gesture, if the touch gesture is an arbitrary non-functional touch gesture, then a gesture table of known non-functional touch gestures is checked to see if the non-functional gesture has been used before, wherein if the non-functional touch gesture has been used before, an associated value in the gesture table is incremented, while if the non-functional touch gesture has not been used before, a new entry is made in the gesture table,

wherein the gesture table is checked to determine a highest-valued non-functional touch gesture, wherein the highest-valued non-functional touch gesture is designated as a lucky gesture, and wherein if the lucky gesture is made by a player during gameplay of a winning game, the player receives an additional award or enhanced award presentation; and

a computing system, the computing system communicatively coupled to the display system to control the images displayed by the display system, the computing system communicatively coupled to the sensor system to receive information indicative of the touch gesture sensed by the sensor system.

27. The system of claim 26, wherein the non-functional touch gestures are classified according to how much pressure was applied by the player.

28. The system of claim 26, wherein the non-functional touch gestures are classified according to how much finger movement was used by the player.

29. The system of claim 26, wherein the non-functional touch gestures are associated with a feedback system that responds to the non-functional touch gestures by the player with visual, audio, or tactile feedback.

30. The system of claim 26, wherein non-functional touch gestures may activate the feedback system when a symbol is touched, a general area of the display system is touched, a graphic is touched, or an area within a proximity of a symbol or graphic is touched.

31. The system of claim 26, wherein a game that has a higher bonus hit frequency has a lower prize pay range and a game that has a lower hit frequency has a higher prize pay range, and wherein making gesture motions does not change an overall return to the player of the game.

32. The system of claim 26, wherein the non-functional touch gestures correlate to a database of predetermined non-functional touch gestures in the feedback system that associate each non-functional touch gesture with a predetermined feedback to the player.

33. The system of claim 26, wherein a non-functional touch gesture is identified by the feedback system a set number of times before the feedback system associates the non-functional touch gesture with a predetermined feedback to the player.

34. The system of claim 26, wherein a non-functional touch gesture is identified by the feedback system that associates the non-functional touch gesture with a predetermined feedback to the player, and wherein the feedback to the player is personalized for each specific player in response to receiving player identification information.