Adventure sequence activities

• US 9,454,872 B2
• Filed: 02/07/2006
• Issued: 09/27/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 09/28/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: IGT (International Game Technology)
• Original Assignee: IGT (International Game Technology)
• Inventors: Muir, David Hugh, Nguyen, Binh T.
• Primary Examiner(s): Thomas, Eric M
• Application Number:
  US11/349,844
• Publication Number:
  US 20060128460A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,885 Days
• Field of Search: 463 16- 20, 463 40- 42, 463/29, 463/33
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/32 for games, toys, sports, or amusements
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3206 Player sensing means, e.g. presence detection, biometrics
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3211 Display means
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3227 Configuring a gaming machine, e.g. downloading personal settings, selecting working parameters
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/323 wherein the player is informed, e.g. advertisements, odds, instructions
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3232 wherein the operator is informed
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3255 Incentive, loyalty and/or promotion schemes, e.g. comps, gaming associated with a purchase, gaming funded by advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3262 Player actions which determine the course of the game, e.g. selecting a prize to be won, outcome to be achieved, game to be played
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3276 wherein the players compete, e.g. tournament
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/329 Regular and instant lottery, e.g. electronic scratch cards
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3293 Card games, e.g. poker, canasta, black jack
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/34 depending on the stopping of moving members in a mechanical slot machine, e.g. "fruit" machines

Abstract

Some implementations of the invention provide methods and devices for various types of adventure sequences that preferably involve, at least in part, wagering games. Such sequences may involve wagering and/or other games at a plurality of gaming devices, tables and/or gaming establishments. Some implementations provide a virtual gaming experience wherein one or more other environments (e.g., environments that include gaming establishments) are simulated at a single location. Accordingly, adventure sequences described herein may comprise stages in one or more virtual environments, stages in one or more real environments or a combination of the two. Virtual players, also referred to herein as player game agents (“PGAs”), may act on behalf of real players. A PGA may be able to play games autonomously, e.g., when the associated player is at a different location and/or is not aware of the PGA'"'"'s current activities. PGAs may be enabled to negotiate on behalf of real players, e.g., for comps, better pay table percentages, etc.

Claims

1. A method of operating a gaming system, said method comprising:

determining, via a processor, gaming characteristics of a player;

configuring, via the processor, a software player gaming agent for autonomous gaming operations according to the gaming characteristics of the player;

transmitting, via a network interface and to a mobile device of the player, an offer to implement the software player gaming agent;

receiving, via the network interface and from the mobile device of the player, a request to implement the software player gaming agent;

determining, via the processor, whether the software player gaming agent is authorized to access and modify a monetary account of the player based on actions performed in association with the software player gaming agent;

if the software player gaming agent is authorized to access and modify the monetary account of the player based on actions performed by the software gaming agent;

(a) performing, via the processor, autonomous gaming operations through the software player gaming agent;

(b) accessing and modifying the monetary account of the player based on said performed autonomous gaming operations, the monetary account being increasable upon receipt, via an acceptor, of a physical item associated with a monetary value;

determining, via the processor, that a predetermined criterion is satisfied;

in response to determining that the predetermined criterion is satisfied, more effectively performing, via the processor, the autonomous gaming operations through the software player gaming agent; and

transmitting, via the network interface and to the mobile device of the player, results of the autonomous gaming operations performed through the software player gaming agent.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the gaming characteristics of the player comprises:

providing a graphical user interface; and

receiving, via at least one input device and the graphical user interface, data regarding gaming characteristics of the player.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the gaming characteristics of the player comprises at least one of (a) recording, via the processor, gaming characteristic information while the player is playing games and (b) analyzing, via the processor, player tracking data.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the software player gaming agent is configured to perform gaming operations that have previously been identified by the player.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the software player gaming agent is configured to perform autonomous gaming operations by applying a set of rules based on the gaming characteristics of the player.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the software player gaming agent is configured to perform gaming operations in a first location when the player is in a second location.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the software player gaming agent is configured to negotiate with super game agents that are configured to act on behalf of gaming establishments.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the autonomous gaming operations are constrained according to at least one predetermined control criterion.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

creating, via the processor, a digital certificate for the software player gaming agent;

storing the digital certificate in a memory; and

authenticating, via the processor, the software player gaming agent according to the stored digital certificate prior to the software player gaming agent'"'"'s autonomous gaming operations.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

saving in a memory first results of a first session of autonomous gaming operations involving a first portion of an activity sequence at a first time;

retrieving, by the processor and from the memory, the first results at a second time; and

performing, by the processor, a second session of autonomous gaming operations involving a second portion of the activity sequence.

11. The method of claim 6, wherein the first location is within a first jurisdiction having a first set of gaming regulations and the second location is within a second jurisdiction having a second set of gaming regulations.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the predetermined criterion is at least one of a number of games played, a time of performing gaming operations, an amount of money wagered by the software player gaming agent, an average balance of an account accessible by the software player gaming agent and a minimum balance of an account accessible by the software player gaming agent.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the software player gaming agent performs gaming operations more effectively due to an improved pay table percentage.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the software player gaming agent is part of a team of software player gaming agents and wherein the predetermined criterion is a measure of the team'"'"'s progress.

15. The method of claim 8, wherein one predetermined control criterion is an amount of money that the software player gaming agent is permitted to spend within a predetermined time period.

16. The method of claim 11, wherein the gaming operations are legal according to the first set of gaming regulations but are not legal according to the second set of gaming regulations.

17. The method of claim 14, wherein the software player gaming agent is configured to transmit gaming data to the mobile device of the player, the gaming data comprise gaming result data.

18. The method of claim 14, wherein the software player gaming agent is configured to transmit gaming data to the mobile device of the player, the gaming data comprise a reproduction of at least part of a gaming session.

19. The method of claim 14, further comprising advancing, via the processor, the software player gaming agent'"'"'s team in an activity sequence if the software player gaming agent'"'"'s team meets the predetermined criterion.

20. The method of claim 16, which includes determining the gaming characteristics of the player and configuring the software player gaming agent for autonomous gaming operations according to the gaming characteristics of the player within the first jurisdiction.

21. The method of claim 18, wherein the reproduction is at least one of a video, a still image and an audio clip.

22. The method of claim 18, wherein the reproduction is received at a first time, further comprising:

storing the reproduction in a memory; and

reproducing, via the processor, the reproduction at a second time.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the reproduction comprises a video and wherein the reproducing step comprises playing the video.

24. A method of operating a gaming system, said method comprising:

forming a communication link between a device and a server;

transmitting, via a network interface and to a mobile device of the player, an offer to implement a software player gaming agent;

receiving, via the network interface and from the mobile device of the player, a request to implement the software player gaming agent;

determining, via at least one processor, whether the software player gaming agent is authorized to access and modify a monetary account of the player based on actions performed in association with the software player gaming agent;

if the software player gaming agent is authorized to access and modify the monetary account of the player based on actions performed by the software gaming agent, enabling the software player gaming agent associated with the player to participate in a sequence of activities, the sequence of activities including activities to be performed in more than one location, the sequence of activities including at least one wagering game;

determining, via the processor, that the software player gaming agent is authorized to conduct autonomous gaming operations in a first location;

if the software player gaming agent is authorized to conduct autonomous gaming operations in the first location, performing, via the at least one processor, a first session of autonomous gaming operations at the first location at a first time, the first session relating to a first portion of the sequence of activities;

accessing and modifying the monetary account of the player based on said first session of autonomous gaming operations, the monetary account being increasable upon receipt, via an acceptor, of a physical item associated with a monetary value;

saving first results of the first session of autonomous gaming operations in a memory;

retrieving, via the at least one processor and from the memory, the first results at a second location;

determining, via the processor, that the software player gaming agent is authorized to conduct autonomous gaming operations in the second location;

if the software player gaming agent is authorized to conduct autonomous gaming operations in the first location, performing, via the at least one processor, a second session of autonomous gaming operations at the second location at a second time, the second session relating to a second portion of the activity sequence;

accessing and modifying the monetary account of the player based on said second session of autonomous gaming operations;

determining, via the at least one processor, that the sequence of activities is complete after the second session; and

awarding a prize to the player based on completion of the sequence of activities, the prize being in addition to any prize obtained during the first session and the second session.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein at least one location is a virtual location and wherein the sequence of activities comprises at least one virtual activity in the virtual location.

26. The method of claim 24, wherein enabling the software player gaming agent to participate in the sequence of activities comprises presenting at least a portion of the sequence of activities on a gaming machine.

27. The method of claim 24, wherein enabling the software player gaming agent to participate in the sequence of activities comprises presenting a sequence of games at a single gaming machine.

28. The method of claim 24, wherein enabling the software player gaming agent to participate in the sequence of activities comprises enabling the player to participate in a team that attempts to complete the sequence of activities.

29. The method of claim 24, wherein the sequence of activities further comprises at least one role playing adventure.

30. The method of claim 25, wherein the virtual activity involves a virtual player having an unique ID.

31. The method of claim 26, wherein at least one wagering game comprises generating a random number, further comprising saving the random number in a local storage device accessible by the gaming machine and also in a remote storage device accessible by the server.

32. The method of claim 29, wherein the role playing adventure comprises at least one of a military adventure, a financial district adventure and a daredevil adventure.

33. The method of claim 31, wherein the unique ID and virtual player parameters are stored in a remote storage device accessible by the server.

34. The method of claim 33, wherein the virtual player parameters comprise at least one of information regarding the virtual player'"'"'s progress in the sequence of activities, virtual player abilities, an upgrade cost for upgrading virtual player abilities, types of activities in which a virtual player can participate, a cost of participation in such activities and virtual player experience level.

35. A gaming device, comprising:

means for determining gaming characteristics of a player;

means for configuring a software player gaming agent for autonomous gaming operations according to the gaming characteristics of the player;

means for transmitting an offer to implement the software player gaming agent to a mobile device of the player;

means for receiving a request to implement the software player gaming agent from the mobile device of the player;

means for determining whether the software player gaming agent is authorized to access and modify a monetary account of the player based on actions performed in association with the software player gaming agent;

means for performing autonomous gaming operations through the software player gaming agent if the software player gaming agent is authorized to access and modify the monetary account of the player based on actions performed by the software gaming agent;

means for accessing and modifying the monetary account of the player based on said performed autonomous gaming operations, the monetary account being increasable upon receipt, via an acceptor, of a physical item associated with a monetary value and identification, via a validator, of the received physical item;

means for determining that a predetermined criterion is satisfied; and

means for more effectively performing the autonomous gaming operations through the software player gaming agent upon determining that the predetermined criterion is satisfied; and

means for transmitting results of the autonomous gaming operations performed through the software player gaming agent to the mobile device of the player.

36. The gaming device of claim 35, wherein the determining means comprises:

means for providing a graphical user interface; and

means for receiving data regarding gaming characteristics of the player that is input via the graphical user interface.

37. The gaming device of claim 35, wherein the determining means comprises means for recording gaming characteristic information while the player is playing games.

38. The gaming device of claim 35, wherein the determining means comprises means for determining gaming characteristics of a player from player tracking data.

39. A non-transitory computer-readable medium with computer-executable instructions stored thereon that when executed by a processor of a gaming system cause the gaming system to:

transmit, via a network interface and to a mobile device of a player, an offer to implement a software player gaming agent;

receive, via a network interface and from the mobile device of the player, acceptance of a request to implement the software player gaming agent;

determine whether the software player gaming agent is authorized to access and modify a monetary account of the player based on actions performed in association with the software player gaming agent;

if the software player gaming agent is authorized to access and modify the monetary account of the player based on actions performed by the software gaming agent;

(a) perform gaming operations by applying a set of rules based on gaming characteristics of the player;

(b) access and modify a monetary account of the player based on said performed gaming operations, the monetary account being increasable upon receipt, via an acceptor, of a physical item associated with a monetary value;

determine that a predetermined criterion is satisfied; and

more effectively perform the gaming operations in response to determining that the predetermined criterion is satisfied; and

transmit, via the network interface and to the mobile device of the player, results of the autonomous gaming operations performed through the software player gaming agent.

40. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 39, wherein the instructions, when executed by the processor of the gaming system, cause the gaming system to obtain funds from the monetary account of the player.

41. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 39, wherein the instructions, when executed by the processor of the gaming system, cause the gaming system to obtain funds from the monetary account of the player based on rules for controlling the obtaining of funds.

42. A method of operating a gaming system, said method comprising:

receiving, via a processor, first registration data regarding a plurality of software player gaming agents configured for autonomous gaming operations;

storing the first registration data in a memory;

transmitting, via a network interface and to a mobile device of a player, an offer to implement the software player gaming agent;

receiving, via the network interface and from the mobile device of the player, a first request to implement a particular software player gaming agent, said software player gaming agent being associated with a monetary account, the monetary account being increasable upon receipt, by an acceptor, of a physical item associated with a monetary value;

authenticating, via the processor, a first requester that transmitted the first request;

receiving from the memory second registration data regarding a plurality of super gaming agents, the plurality of super gaming agents being automated representatives of gaming establishments and configured for interaction with the software player gaming agents; and

determining, via the processor, whether the first registration data include particular first registration data corresponding to the particular software player gaming agent responsive to the first request.

43. The method of claim 42, further comprising providing, via the processor, requested particular first registration data to the requester when it is determined that the first registration data include particular first registration data responsive to the first request.

44. The method of claim 42, further comprising:

storing the second registration data in the memory;

receiving, via the processor, a second request regarding a particular super gaming agent;

authenticating, via the processor, a second requester that transmitted the second request; and

determining, via the processor, whether the second registration data include particular second registration data corresponding to the particular super gaming agent responsive to the second request.

45. The method of claim 44, further comprising the step of providing particular second registration data to the second requester when it is determined that the second registration data include particular second registration data responsive to the second request.