Gaming Machine Dynamic State Transitions for Player Engagement
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional gaming machines, such as slot machines, often lead to player disengagement due to unpredictable payout frequencies, resulting in prolonged periods without wins, which diminish player motivation to continue playing.
Innovation Solution
A gaming machine structure that includes a controller executing processes to shift players through increasingly advantageous game states based on the number of games played, incorporating a skill-requiring game that adjusts the number of games required to reach higher states, enhancing player engagement and entertainment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the occurrence frequency of large payout winnings is determined as a fixed probability (e.g., once every 100 games), then the payout rate can be controlled, but players may experience prolonged periods without wins leading to disengagement
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a dynamic game state system where the game transitions between multiple states (first state, second state, third state) with varying payout probabilities. Instead of a fixed probability, the system dynamically adjusts the likelihood of winning based on the current state, allowing players to experience more frequent wins in certain states while maintaining overall payout rate control.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the parameter of payout probability by introducing different game states with different winning characteristics. The first state offers higher payout probability, the second state offers moderate probability, and the third state offers lower probability but larger payouts. This parameter change allows the system to balance controlled payout rates with enhanced player engagement.
2Ease of operation
If the game provides frequent small wins to maintain player motivation, then player engagement increases, but the overall payout rate becomes difficult to control
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the game into multiple distinct states, each with its own payout characteristics. The first state provides frequent smaller wins to maintain motivation, while the third state provides less frequent but larger wins. This segmentation allows the system to offer varied win experiences while maintaining overall payout rate control through structured transition rules between states.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements periodic action through structured transitions between game states. The system periodically shifts between states with different payout probabilities, creating a rhythm of play that includes both frequent smaller wins and less frequent larger wins. This periodic structure helps maintain player motivation while controlling the overall payout rate.
3Reliability
If the game uses fixed payout structures, then the payout rate is predictable and controllable, but the entertainment value and player engagement decrease
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces dynamics by allowing the game to transition between multiple states with varying payout structures. While the overall system remains predictable and controllable, the individual game experiences become more diverse and entertaining. Players encounter different win frequencies and payout amounts depending on the current state, enhancing entertainment value while maintaining predictability at the system level.
4Reliability
If the game provides large payouts infrequently, then the payout rate is controlled, but players lose interest after prolonged losing streaks
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by providing players with opportunities for smaller wins in the first and second states before they potentially reach the third state with larger payouts. This preliminary action of providing intermediate rewards keeps players engaged and interested during the gameplay process, rather than waiting for infrequent large payouts.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements feedback mechanisms through the state transition system. Players receive feedback in the form of wins at different levels depending on the current state, which maintains their interest and motivation to continue playing. The structured feedback from frequent smaller wins in earlier states prepares players for the potential larger payouts in later states.
Data Source
AI summary
The gaming machine: counts the number of base games having been run; causes shifting to a second state which is more advantageous for a player than the base game, when a first predetermined number of base games is counted without shifting to the first state which is more advantageous for the player than the base game; runs a skill-requiring game after the second state, which game outputs a result according to an operation from outside, and increases or decreases a second predetermined number according to a result of the skill-requiring game; runs the base game after the skill-requiring game; and causes shifting to a third state which is more advantageous for the player than the base game, when the increased or decreased second predetermined number of base games having run are counted after the skill-requiring game.