Gaming Machine Pay Line Display Segmentation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Gaming machines face challenges in clearly displaying a high number of pay lines, making it difficult for players and game designers to present games in an attractive and informative manner, while also adhering to regulatory requirements.
Innovation Solution
A gaming machine with a display and user interface that allows players to stake wagers on multiple outcomes, displaying indicia representing the total and selected outcomes, and highlighting winning combinations, while optimizing screen space and user interaction through gauges and touch screen controls, enabling up to 50 or 100 pay lines to be managed effectively.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the number of pay lines is increased to 50, 100 or more, then the gaming machine provides more betting options and higher potential winnings, but it becomes increasingly difficult to clearly display all pay lines on screen
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the display into multiple functional zones: a main game area showing symbol arrays, separate gauge areas showing pay line statistics, and indicator regions showing winning outcomes. This segmentation allows the display to present comprehensive pay line information (50-100+ lines) without overwhelming the player, as each zone serves a specific informational purpose.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses gauges positioned adjacent to the symbol display to represent pay line data in a spatial dimension separate from the main game grid. This dimensional separation allows statistical information about numerous pay lines to be displayed without interfering with the visual clarity of the game symbols themselves.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the number of pay lines is increased, then more betting options are available, but it becomes more difficult to present the game in an attractive and informative way
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts detailed pay line information from the main game display and presents it in dedicated gauge areas. This extraction allows the main game area to remain visually attractive and easy to understand, while still providing comprehensive pay line data in separate, organized displays that do not clutter the primary gaming view.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the display are assigned different visual qualities and information densities. The main symbol array uses large, clear graphics for attractiveness, while the gauge areas use compact, data-dense representations for information efficiency. This local differentiation allows the overall system to handle 50-100+ pay lines while maintaining visual appeal.
3Loss of information
If more pay lines are displayed, then more information is provided to players, but the screen space becomes insufficient and display clarity decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple pieces of pay line information into compact gauge representations that display statistics about multiple pay lines simultaneously. This merging allows comprehensive information about 50-100+ pay lines to be presented in space-efficient formats that fit within the available screen area while maintaining clarity.
Data Source
AI summary
A gaming machine is disclosed that provides a game in which a player of the gaming machine stakes a wager on one or more outcomes of the game that are represented as symbols arranged in an array of symbol display positions. The player controls the number of outcomes on which a wager is staked by operating a user interface. During play of the game the gaming machine causes a display to display indicia representative of the total number of outcomes selected but not display indicia representative of every available outcome and not display indicia of every selected outcome. Indicia representative of an individual outcome is displayed when that outcome defines a winning combination. A method of providing a graphical user interface for a gaming machine is also disclosed.