Dynamic Symbol Stacking in Gaming Reels for Large Award Probability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional gaming machines offer numerous small awards but have a low probability of providing large awards, such as the jackpot, leading to decreased player excitement and enjoyment.
Innovation Solution
A gaming system that includes a processor-programmed gaming machine with multiple reels, where at least two designated symbols on one reel lock the position for additional symbol generations on other reels, enhancing the chances of obtaining larger awards.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If conventional gaming machines provide more winning symbol combinations, then players have more opportunities to receive awards, but the awards are generally relatively small and the probability of obtaining the largest award (jackpot) remains much lower
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by locking positions on reels before the final spin completes. When a designated symbol appears on one reel, the system locks corresponding positions on other reels in advance, ensuring that these locked positions will display designated symbols in subsequent spins. This preliminary locking action increases the probability of forming winning combinations and obtaining large awards.
Solution Approach 2:
The system introduces an intermediary mechanism - the symbol locking feature - that mediates between the random spin outcome and the final award determination. The locked symbols act as a bridge, guaranteeing the presence of designated symbols in specific positions, thereby increasing the reliability of obtaining large awards while maintaining the randomness of the game.
2Reliability
If the gaming machine locks reel positions for additional symbol generations, then the likelihood of obtaining larger awards increases, but the game complexity and number of operations increase
Solution Approach 1:
The gaming machine divides the reel set into independent controllable units. Each reel can be locked independently at specific positions, allowing the system to apply complexity only where needed rather than across the entire system. This segmentation enables the locking mechanism to increase award probability without proportionally increasing overall system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The locking mechanism is dynamic rather than static - it activates selectively based on game conditions (when designated symbols appear) and automatically deactivates after serving its purpose. This dynamic behavior allows the system to increase complexity only when beneficial for obtaining large awards, rather than maintaining constant high complexity throughout the game.
Data Source
AI summary
A gaming machine that includes a game of chance operable upon a wager by a player, a display, and a plurality of reels associated with the game of chance, wherein each of the plurality of reels include a defined plurality of positions to generate a symbol on the display. The gaming machine further including a processor programmed to provide the game of chance on the gaming machine, determine that at least two symbols generated on one of the plurality of reels are a designated symbol, and based on the determining, lock a position of the one of the plurality of reels for at least one additional generation of symbols on the other of the plurality of reels.