Wagering Game Pause Mechanism for Community Event Synchronization
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Delays in implementing group games in gaming systems due to lagging gameplay at one or more terminals, which reduces the excitement and attractiveness of bonus games.
Innovation Solution
A gaming system that temporarily pauses an active game-in-progress to allow the gaming machine to participate in a community event, and then reinstates the game after the community event has concluded, enabling seamless integration with ongoing gameplay.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the system waits for all terminals to complete their basic games before initiating a community bonus game, then all terminals can participate in the community event, but delays occur due to lagging gameplay at one or more terminals
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by pausing the basic game early when a pause-triggering outcome occurs, rather than waiting for all terminals to naturally complete their games. This allows the community bonus game to be initiated sooner, reducing delays while ensuring all terminals can still participate through the pause mechanism.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts the timing of community event initiation based on individual terminal states. Instead of using a fixed waiting period for all terminals, the system pauses games at different times at different terminals based on when pause-triggering outcomes occur, allowing flexible synchronization across the network.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the system interrupts basic game play to initiate a community bonus game, then player engagement in community events increases, but disruptions to the basic game experience occur
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies partial interruption by pausing only specific game elements (reels, symbols, outcomes) rather than completely stopping the basic game. The pause is triggered selectively based on specific outcomes, allowing the game to resume naturally after the community event without requiring full game state recovery or complex interruption handling.
Solution Approach 2:
The pause feature acts as an intermediary mechanism that bridges the basic game and community bonus game. When a pause-triggering outcome occurs, the system introduces a pause state that allows community events to be initiated without directly interrupting the basic game flow. The basic game can be resumed after the community event, maintaining a smooth transition between game modes.
Data Source
AI summary
A gaming system includes one or more controllers and one or more memory devices storing instructions that, when executed by at least one of the one or more controllers, cause the gaming system to initiate a wagering game to be played via a gaming machine and in response to a pause event, temporarily pause the wagering game-in-progress, prior to revealing a final outcome of the wagering game. While the game-in-progress is paused, the one or more controllers allow the gaming machine to participate in a community event along with a plurality of other gaming machines and in response to an end-pause event associated with the community event, reinstate the paused game-in-progress at the gaming machine.