Persistent Symbol Display Zones for Gaming Prize Control

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Solution Overview

Problem

Gaming machines face challenges in maintaining player engagement while ensuring a requisite return-to-player ratio, as high-value prizes accumulate over multiple plays, requiring a balance between increasing player interest and adhering to regulatory randomness and fairness standards.

Innovation Solution

The implementation of a gaming machine with persistent symbol display zones that accumulate prizes, where configurable symbols are retained across plays, and feature games are triggered based on symbol combinations, allowing for increased prize values while controlling the activation frequency to maintain the return-to-player ratio.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If high-value prizes are accumulated over multiple plays to increase player engagement, then player interest and entertainment value improve, but the return-to-player ratio becomes difficult to control and regulatory compliance may be compromised

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveplayer engagementVSAvoidreturn-to-player ratio control

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The gaming system divides the prize accumulation into separate persistent symbol display zones that are independently tracked and controlled. Each zone can accumulate prizes separately, allowing the system to manage the overall return-to-player ratio by controlling which zones are activated and when, thus resolving the contradiction between player engagement and ratio control.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The system pre-accumulates prizes in persistent symbol display zones before triggering feature games. By preparing the prize structure in advance through persistent symbol retention across base games, the system can control the expected value and return-to-player ratio while still presenting accumulating high-value prizes to enhance player engagement.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

2Adaptability or versatility

If persistent symbol display zones accumulate prizes across multiple plays, then player interest increases, but the game complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveprize accumulation mechanismVSAvoidgame structure

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The persistent symbol display zones serve multiple functions: they accumulate prizes, trigger feature games when specific combinations appear, and can be selectively activated or deactivated. This multi-functionality allows the system to implement prize accumulation without proportionally increasing complexity, as the same structural elements perform multiple roles.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

Solution Approach 2:

The system dynamically controls the activation and deactivation of persistent symbol display zones based on game state and return-to-player considerations. By making the zones dynamically activable rather than always active, the system manages complexity through conditional logic rather than permanent structural complexity.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

3Productivity

If configurable symbols are held across base games in persistent display zones, then feature game trigger opportunities increase, but the randomness required for regulatory compliance may be compromised

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvefeature game trigger frequencyVSAvoidRNG fairness

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The persistent symbol display zones act as an intermediary layer between the random number generator outcomes and the feature game triggers. The zones retain symbols across base games but do not themselves generate randomness; instead, they preserve symbols that were originally determined by fair RNG processes, thus maintaining compliance while increasing trigger opportunities.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

Symbols are predetermined by fair RNG processes and then held in persistent display zones for future evaluation. By making the random determination in advance and then preserving the result rather than regenerating it, the system maintains RNG fairness while creating opportunities for feature triggers across multiple base games.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentUS20220415129A1System and method of providing a hold and spin game with base game symbol persistence

Publication Date: 2022.12.29 ARISTOCRAT TECHNOLOGIES INC

AI summary

A gaming machine includes a player interface, a display system, and a control system. For a play of a base game, the control system holds configurable symbols in a persistent symbol display matrix, presents symbols in a base game display matrix, updates display positions of the persistent symbol display matrix that are without configurable symbols, and triggers a feature game based on configurable symbols in the base game display matrix. For each spin of a feature game, the control system holds configurable symbols in the base game display matrix and in the persistent symbol display matrix, selects replacement symbols for each display position in the base game display matrix and the persistent symbol display matrix that is without a held symbol, and presents a feature game award based on configurable symbols in the base game display matrix and the persistent symbol display matrix.