Gaming Machine Symbol Replacement for Player Engagement
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional wager games, such as slot machines, lack features that enhance player engagement and opportunities to win, leading to reduced player interest and excitement.
Innovation Solution
A gaming machine and method that select and display symbol sets, allowing for symbol replacement based on trigger events, where replaceable symbols are replaced with new ones from a global symbol group, increasing potential payouts and player engagement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If traditional wager games are used, then the game structure is simple, but player engagement and winning opportunities are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The system pre-identifies replaceable symbols in the initial symbol set before the player completes the spin. This preliminary identification of which symbols can be replaced creates additional winning opportunities without requiring complex real-time decision-making during the spin, thus enhancing player engagement while maintaining manageable game structure complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The game structure dynamically adapts by allowing certain symbols to be replaced after the initial spin result is determined. This dynamic modification of the symbol set based on trigger events adds versatility and player engagement while the replacement rules maintain sufficient structural simplicity
2Reliability
If symbol replacement feature is added, then winning opportunities increase, but game complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The replacement feature applies selectively to specific symbols identified as replaceable in the symbol set, rather than applying uniformly to all symbols. This localized application increases winning opportunities through targeted replacements while keeping the overall game mechanics relatively simple by affecting only specific elements
Solution Approach 2:
The symbol set is segmented into replaceable and non-replaceable symbols, allowing the system to apply different rules to different segments. This segmentation enables increased winning opportunities through selective replacement while maintaining simple game mechanics by clearly defining which symbols are subject to replacement
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple replaceable symbols are allowed, then player excitement increases, but processing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system allows for the replacement of one or more symbols from the replaceable symbols in the set, providing flexibility in the number of replacements without requiring complex processing for each possible scenario. This partial action approach enhances player excitement by allowing multiple replacements when triggered while keeping processing logic manageable
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed herein are wager game machines and methods. In one example, a method involves: selecting a first symbol set from a global symbol group; displaying the first symbol set, wherein the first symbol set includes at least two symbols; determining that a trigger event has occurred; responsive to determining that the trigger event has occurred, identifying at least one symbol in the first symbol set that is in a replaceable symbol group which is a subset of the global symbol group; for the or each symbol in the first symbol set which is in the replaceable symbol group, selecting a replacement symbol that is in the global symbol group; and displaying a second symbol set consisting of (i) the symbols in the first symbol set which are not in the replaceable symbol group, and (ii) the or each replacement symbol.