Enhanced gaming machine with interactive three dimensional game environment

• US 9,886,818 B2
• Filed: 12/15/2014
• Issued: 02/06/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 12/15/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Igt Canada Solutions Ulc (GTECH SpA)
• Original Assignee: Igt Canada Solutions Ulc (GTECH SpA)
• Inventors: Leblanc, Vicky, Dupuis, Reuben
• Primary Examiner(s): D'Agostino, Paul A
• Application Number:
  US14/570,606
• Publication Number:
  US 20160171816A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,149 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3223 Architectural aspects of a gaming system, e.g. internal configuration, master/slave, wireless communication
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/326 Game play aspects of gaming systems
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3265 Influencing the position of stopped moving members to achieve a winning arrangement, e.g. nudging, shuffling, holding

Abstract

An electronic gaming machine that includes a three-dimensional (3D) graphics processor to generate a 3D game environment for a game. A display controller defines a view window of the three-dimensional game environment. The view window defines a portion of the three-dimensional game environment. An electronic display device displays, via a display interface, the portion of the three-dimensional game environment defined by the view window using the 3D graphics processor. A player input device detects a player request interaction input to update the view window to navigate within the three dimensional game environment. In response to detection by the player input device, the display controller updates the view window based on the update action to define another portion of the three-dimensional game environment. The player can navigate throughout the 3D game environment using player request interaction input.

Claims

1. An electronic gaming machine comprising:

at least one data storage device to store game data for a game;

a game controller for detecting game activation and controlling the game in accordance with a set of game rules using the game data;

a three-dimensional graphics processor to generate an interactive three-dimensional (3D) game environment, wherein the interactive environment provides a prize selection game zone comprising a plurality of prize selector game symbols visible at a plurality of prize locations;

an electronic 3D enabled touch sensitive gaming display device;

a display controller to control the electronic 3D enabled touch sensitive gaming display device using the 3D graphics processor to display a view window defining a first portion of the interactive 3D game environment;

a player input device to continuously detect, at the electronic 3D enabled touch sensitive gaming display device, player request interaction input to update the view window, wherein each player request interaction input comprises an update action to navigate to a second portion of the interactive 3D game environment comprising a prize selector game symbol at a prize location;

wherein, in response to detection by the player input device of a player request interaction input, the display controller controls the electronic gaming display device using the three-dimensional graphics processor to update the view window to navigate to the second portion of the interactive 3D game environment to render visible the prize selector game symbol at the prize location, wherein the update comprises a graphical navigation animation effect displayed on the electronic gaming display representative of navigating to the second portion of the interactive 3D game environment based on the update action;

wherein, the player input device detects, at the electronic 3D enabled touch sensitive gaming display device, player selection interaction input of the prize selector at the prize location to trigger a winning outcome of the game, and

wherein the display controller controls the display device to display a plurality of view update indicia which indicate that the view window for three-dimensional game environment may be updated by at least one of a rotation movement, an upward movement, a downward movement, a left movement, and a right movement.

2. The electronic gaming machine of claim 1, wherein the update action of the player request interaction input defines a rotation of the portion of the three-dimensional game environment defined by the view window, and wherein the updated view window defines a rotated portion of the three-dimensional game environment.

3. The electronic gaming machine of claim 1, wherein the update action of the player request interaction input defines a request to move the view window to the second portion of the three-dimensional game environment, wherein the request to move is in at least one direction of up, down, left, right, and diagonal.

4. The electronic gaming machine of claim 1, wherein the update action of the player request interaction input defines a request to increase the view window to the different portion of the three-dimensional game environment, wherein the second portion of the three-dimensional game environment is larger than the first portion of the three-dimensional game environment.

5. The electronic gaming machine of claim 1, wherein the update action of the player request interaction input defines a request to decrease the view window to the second portion of the three-dimensional game environment, wherein the second portion of the three-dimensional game environment is smaller than the first portion of the three-dimensional game environment.

6. The electronic gaming machine of claim 1, wherein the player input device comprises a touch-screen display configured to detect a plurality of player touch interaction inputs, wherein plurality of touch interaction inputs comprise at least one of swipe up, swipe down, swipe left, swipe right, swipe diagonal, and swipe rotate.

7. The electronic gaming machine of claim 1, wherein the player input device comprises a tracking device configured to detect a plurality of player interaction inputs, wherein plurality of player interaction inputs comprise at least one of movement up, movement down, movement left, movement right, movement diagonal, and movement rotate.

8. The electronic gaming machine of claim 1, wherein the player input device comprises a gesture recognition device for detecting player gestures as player request interaction inputs and processing the detected player gestures to generate the update action, wherein the gesture recognition device comprises at least one of a sensor and camera.

9. The electronic gaming machine of claim 1, wherein the game controller is configured to:

receive, via an input device, one or more wagers for one or more gaming outcomes, determine one or more gaming outcomes, wherein each gaming outcome comprises a selection of game symbols, determine that the one or gaming outcomes results in one or more winning game outcomes, and generate signals for distributing an award based on the one or more winning game outcomes.

10. An electronic gaming machine comprising:

at least one data storage device to store game data for a game;

a game controller for detecting game activation and controlling the game in accordance with a set of game rules using the game data;

a three-dimensional (3D) graphics processor to generate an interactive 3D game environment, wherein the interactive 3D environment provides a prize selection game zone comprising a plurality of prize selector game symbols visible at a plurality of prize locations, wherein the interactive 3D environment defines a game matrix of cells, wherein each prize location corresponds to a cell of the game matrix;

an electronic 3D enabled gaming display device;

a display controller to control the electronic 3D enabled touch sensitive gaming display device using the 3D graphics processor to display a view window defining a first portion of the interactive 3D game environment, wherein the first portion is defined by a first set of cells of the game matrix;

a player input device to continuously detect player request interaction input to update the view window, wherein each player request interaction input comprises an update action to navigate to a second portion of the interactive 3D game environment comprising a prize selector game symbol at a prize location, wherein the second portion is defined by a second set of cells of the game matrix;

wherein, in response to detection by the player input device of a player request interaction input, the display controller controls the electronic gaming display device using the 3D graphics processor to update the view window to navigate to the second portion of the interactive 3D game environment to render visible the prize selector game symbol at the prize location, wherein the update comprises a graphical navigation animation effect displayed on the electronic gaming display representative of navigating to the second portion of the interactive 3D game environment based on the update action;

wherein, the player input device detects, at the electronic 3D enabled gaming display device, player selection interaction input of the prize selector at the prize location to trigger a winning outcome of the game, and

wherein the display controller controls the display device to display a plurality of view update indicia which indicate that the view window for 3D game environment may be updated by at least one of a rotation movement, an upward movement, a downward movement, a left movement, and a right movement.

11. The electronic gaming machine of claim 10, wherein the update action of the player request interaction input defines a rotation of the portion of the 3D game environment defined by the view window, and wherein the updated view window defines a rotated portion of the 3D game environment.

12. The electronic gaming machine of claim 10, wherein the update action of the player request interaction input defines a request to move the view window to the second portion of the 3D game environment, wherein the request to move is in at least one direction of up, down, left, right, and diagonal.

13. The electronic gaming machine of claim 10, wherein the update action of the player request interaction input defines a request to increase the view window to the different portion of the 3D game environment, wherein the second portion of the 3D game environment is larger than the first portion of the 3D game environment.

14. The electronic gaming machine of claim 10, wherein the update action of the player request interaction input defines a request to decrease the view window to the second portion of the 3D game environment, wherein the second portion of the 3D game environment is smaller than the first portion of the 3D game environment.

15. The electronic gaming machine of claim 10, wherein the player input device comprises a touch-screen display configured to detect a plurality of player touch interaction inputs, wherein plurality of touch interaction inputs comprise at least one of swipe up, swipe down, swipe left, swipe right, swipe diagonal, and swipe rotate.

16. The electronic gaming machine of claim 10, wherein the player input device comprises a tracking device configured to detect a plurality of player interaction inputs, wherein plurality of player interaction inputs comprise at least one of movement up, movement down, movement left, movement right, movement diagonal, and movement rotate.

17. The electronic gaming machine of claim 10, wherein the player input device comprises a gesture recognition device for detecting player gestures as player request interaction inputs and processing the detected player gestures to generate the update action, wherein the gesture recognition device comprises at least one of a sensor and camera.

18. The electronic gaming machine of claim 10, wherein the game controller is configured to:

receive, via an input device, one or more wagers for one or more gaming outcomes, determine one or more gaming outcomes, wherein each gaming outcome comprises a selection of game symbols, determine that the one or gaming outcomes results in one or more winning game outcomes, and generate signals for distributing an award based on the one or more winning game outcomes.