Controlling gaming event autostereoscopic depth effects

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9619961-B2
Application number	US-201514977223-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 21, 2015
Priority date	Dec 23, 2011
Publication date	Apr 11, 2017
Grant date	Apr 11, 2017

Abstract

A wagering game system and its operations include, for example, detecting, by at least one of one or more electronic processing units of the wagering game system, a first game condition in a wagering game presented via an autostereoscopic display device of the wagering game system. The wagering game includes game symbols used for presentation of wagering game outcomes for the wagering game. The operations can further include determining, based on the first game condition, a first significance level from a plurality of significance levels associated with a first of the game symbols. The operations can further include presenting, via the autostereoscopic display device, the first of the game symbols with a first autostereoscopic depth level that corresponds to the first significance level.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method of operating a wagering game machine, said method comprising:
detecting, by at least one of one or more electronic processing units of the wagering game machine, a first non-winning game condition in a wagering game presented via an autostereoscopic display device of the wagering game machine, wherein the wagering game includes virtual game symbols used for presentation of wagering game outcomes for the wagering game, wherein the wagering game machine includes a value input device configured to receive physical money, and wherein the wagering game machine is further configured to, in response to receiving the physical money via the value input device, increase a credit balance of the wagering game machine for placement of one or more wagers on the wagering game;
automatically determining, a first significance level from a plurality of significance levels associated with a first of the virtual game symbols, wherein the first significance level is associated with the first non-winning game condition;
electronically presenting for the first non-winning game condition, via the autostereoscopic display device, the first of the virtual game symbols with a first non-zero, autostereoscopic depth level that corresponds to the first significance level;
detecting, by at least one of the one or more electronic processing units, a second non-winning game condition in the wagering game different from the first non-winning game condition;
automatically determining a second significance level from the plurality of significance levels associated with the first of the virtual game symbols, wherein the second significance level is associated with the second non-winning game condition, and wherein the second significance level is different from the first significance level; and
electronically presenting, for the second non-winning game condition via the autostereoscopic display device, the first of the virtual game symbols with a second non-zero, autostereoscopic depth level that corresponds to the second significance level, wherein the second non-zero, autostereoscopic depth level is different from the first non-zero, autostereoscopic depth level.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the determining the first significance level comprises determining that the first non-winning game condition corresponds to the first significance level in a table of the plurality of significance levels.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the determining the first significance level comprises evaluating the first non-winning game condition against the plurality of significance levels associated with the first of the virtual game symbols, wherein the plurality of significance levels for the first of the virtual game symbols vary for different non-winning game conditions, and wherein for each of the plurality of significance levels a different level of non-zero, autostereoscopic depth level is assigned.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first non-winning game condition is a first type of event of the wagering game, wherein the first significance level is associated with the first non-zero, autostereoscopic depth level for the first type of event, wherein the second significance level from the plurality of significance levels for the first of the virtual game symbols is for a second type of event of the wagering game, and wherein the second significance level is associated with the second non-zero, autostereoscopic depth level for the second type of event.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the virtual game symbols are associated with a pay table for the wagering game, wherein the first non-winning game condition is related to a game event that uses the pay table, wherein the automatically determining the first significance level comprises selecting a significance level from the pay table associated with a second of the virtual game symbols presented via the autostereoscopic display device in response to determining that the second of the virtual game symbols has a highest potential payout value from the pay table amongst all virtual symbols in a potential pay line presented on the autostereoscopic display device, and further comprising presenting both the first of the virtual game symbols and the second of the virtual game symbols with the first non-zero, autostereoscopic depth level.

6. The method of claim 5 , further comprising selecting the first of the virtual game symbols in response to determining that the first of the virtual game symbols is a wild symbol.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the presenting the first of the virtual game symbols with the first non-zero, autostereoscopic depth level comprises causing an increase to an apparent distance of the first of the virtual game symbols from a virtual center point of a virtual slot reel wheel proportional to the first significance level using a virtual radius vector computed from a position on a surface of the virtual slot reel wheel to which the first of the virtual game symbols is uniquely assigned and a position of the virtual center point.

8. One or more non-transitory, machine-readable storage media having instructions stored thereon which, when executed by a set of one or more processors of a gaming system, cause the gaming system to perform operations comprising:
detecting a first winning game condition from a plurality of game conditions in an electronic wagering game presented via an autostereoscopic display device of the gaming system, wherein the electronic wagering game includes virtual game symbols used for presentation of wagering game outcomes for the electronic wagering game, wherein the gaming system includes a value input device configured to receive physical money, and wherein the gaming system is further configured to, in response to receiving the physical money via the value input device, increase a credit balance of the gaming system for placement of one or more wagers on the electronic wagering game;
automatically determining, based on the first winning game condition, a first significance level from a plurality of significance levels associated with a first of the virtual game symbols;
electronically presenting, for the first winning game condition via the autostereoscopic display device, the first of the virtual game symbols with a first non-zero, autostereoscopic depth level that corresponds to the first significance level;
detecting, by at least one of the one or more electronic processing units, a second winning game condition in the wagering game different from the first winning game condition;
automatically determining a second significance level from the plurality of significance levels associated with the first of the virtual game symbols, wherein the second significance level is associated with the second winning game condition, and wherein the second significance level is different from the first significance level; and
electronically presenting, for the second winning game condition via the autostereoscopic display device, the first of the virtual game symbols with a second non-zero, autostereoscopic depth level that corresponds to the second significance level, wherein the second non-zero, autostereoscopic depth level is different from the first non-zero, autostereoscopic depth level.

9. The one or more non-transitory, machine-readable storage media of claim 8 , wherein the operations for determining the first significance level include operations comprising determining that the first winning game condition corresponds to the first significance level in a table of the plurality of significance levels.

10. The one or more non-transitory, machine-readable storage media of claim 8 , wherein the first winning game condition is a first

Assignees

• Bally Gaming Inc

Inventors

• Collette Shawn C
• Detlefsen David E
• Jaffe Joel R
• Kelly sean p
• Loose Timothy C
• Massing Scott A

Classifications

• G07F17/3244

  Payment aspects of a gaming system, e.g. payment schemes, setting payout ratio, bonus or consolation prizes · CPC title

• G07F17/3213 Primary

  Details of moving display elements, e.g. spinning reels, tumbling members · CPC title

• A63F13/52

  involving aspects of the displayed game scene · CPC title

• G02B30/26

  of the autostereoscopic type · CPC title

• G07F17/34

  depending on the stopping of moving members {in a mechanical slot machine}, e.g. "fruit" machines · CPC title