Tournament Gaming System Controller Synchronization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current gaming systems fail to maintain player interest and entertainment, as they lack innovative features that promote competition and shared experiences among multiple gaming machines, leading to boredom and reduced player engagement.
Innovation Solution
A gaming system comprising a controller and multiple gaming machines that participate in a shared secondary game with randomly determined outcomes, allowing each machine to compete for progressive prizes, with indicators displaying progress and varying game elements to enhance excitement and anticipation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If gaming machines operate independently with standard games, then game simplicity is maintained, but player interest and entertainment value deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple independently operating gaming machines into a unified tournament system where machines that were previously isolated now participate in a shared competitive environment. The controller synchronizes game events across all participating machines, creating a collective tournament experience that maintains individual machine operation while adding layers of competition and shared progression that significantly enhance player interest without requiring complex physical modifications to each machine.
Solution Approach 2:
The tournament system provides multi-functionality by enabling gaming machines to serve dual purposes: operating as standalone entertainment devices and participating in synchronized tournament modes. The same hardware infrastructure supports both independent play and coordinated competitive events, allowing the system to adapt between different game structures and player engagement modes without requiring separate dedicated equipment for each function.
2Adaptability or versatility
If a shared bonus game is implemented across multiple gaming machines, then player engagement and competition are improved, but system complexity and coordination requirements worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The controller serves as an intermediary that manages the complexity of coordinating multiple gaming machines in the tournament system. It receives data from all participating machines, synchronizes game events, determines winners based on aggregated results, and distributes prizes. This central coordination layer handles the computational and logistical complexity, allowing individual gaming machines to remain relatively simple while enabling sophisticated multi-machine tournament functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The tournament system is segmented into distinct functional components: individual gaming machines that generate game data, a central controller that processes and coordinates tournament logic, and a prize distribution system. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently while working together as a unified system, reducing the complexity burden on any single element and enabling scalable tournament configurations.
3Reliability
If tournament progress is displayed publicly, then player anticipation and excitement are increased, but information management complexity worsens
Solution Approach 1:
The system extracts and separates the information display function from the core game logic processing. A dedicated public display system presents tournament progress, player positions, and winner announcements to participants and spectators, while the controller focuses on data collection, analysis, and decision-making. This separation allows comprehensive information to be publicly shared without overburdening the control system with display management complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A gaming system (50) has a controller (52) in communication with a plurality of gaming machines (10) that are operable by a player to play at least one base game (16). Each of the plurality of gaming machines (10) can participate in a secondary game that is common to the plurality of gaming machines (1) and which has an outcome resulting in the allocation of an award to a player of at least one of the gaming machine (10). A plurality of common events having a randomly determined component that dictates whether the outcome is achieved in the secondary game are displayed to players of the plurality of gaming machines (10). The outcome is capable of being achieved for any one gaming machine (10) without any other gaming machine (10) also achieving the outcome.