Electronic Gaming Reels with Persistent Counters and Wild Substitution
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing electronic gaming machines face challenges in efficiently controlling game volatility and maintaining designated return-to-player (RTP) while incorporating features like expanding symbol positions, wild symbols, and multipliers, which can lead to inefficient processing and complex game presentations due to the random nature of game outcomes and confined screen sizes.
Innovation Solution
A game controller executes a series of base and feature game rounds, where special symbols are counted throughout the base game, and their occurrences determine wild reel substitutions and reel height increases, with eligibility criteria based on wager amounts, to control volatility and enhance player engagement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the game incorporates expanding symbol positions, wild symbols, and multipliers to enhance player engagement, then player engagement and entertainment value are improved, but processing efficiency deteriorates and game presentation becomes complex
Solution Approach 1:
The system pre-determines game outcomes using RNG before the player initiates the game. All expanding symbol positions, wild symbol placements, and multiplier values are calculated in advance based on the predetermined outcome, allowing the game to simply display pre-calculated results rather than computing complex probabilities during real-time play.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses visual copies and representations of game elements (symbol images, reel displays, multiplier graphics) that are pre-rendered and stored. During gameplay, the system displays these pre-prepared visual copies corresponding to the predetermined outcome, avoiding the need to generate complex graphics and calculations in real-time.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the game incorporates expanding symbol positions, wild symbols, and multipliers to enhance player engagement, then player engagement and entertainment value are improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system pre-determines game outcomes using RNG before the player initiates the game. All expanding symbol positions, wild symbol placements, and multiplier values are calculated in advance based on the predetermined outcome, allowing the game to simply display pre-calculated results rather than computing complex probabilities during real-time play.
3Reliability
If the game uses random number generator to determine outcomes with multiple game rounds and changing reel sizes, then game volatility control and RTP compliance are improved, but processing time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system pre-determines game outcomes using RNG before the player initiates the game. All expanding symbol positions, wild symbol placements, and multiplier values are calculated in advance based on the predetermined outcome, allowing the game to simply display pre-calculated results rather than computing complex probabilities during real-time play.
Data Source
AI summary
An electronic gaming device comprises a display and a game controller. The game controller sets a count limit for each reel bearing special symbols, the special symbols being borne by up to m−1 reels of a first set of reels. For each base game round, the game controller selects a plurality of symbols. For each occurrence of the special symbol within the displayed symbols, for the reel on which the special symbol appears, control the display to display an increment of a counter up to the count limit for the reel, wherein the count persists for the base game rounds. For a feature game round, the game controller further performs a wild reel substitution for each reel where the reel count satisfies an eligibility criterion to provide a second set of reels. A visual indicator of increased opportunities to win may be displayed for each established extended wild reel eligibility.