Gaming system and method with a persistent element feature including a sliding range component

A gaming machine comprising:

• a presentation assembly;
• one or more electronic input devices configured to receive a game initiation input;
• and
• game-logic circuitry including a processor and a memory, the game-logic circuitry configured to perform the operations of:
• conducting, responsive to the game initiation input, a base game including:
• presenting, by the presentation assembly, a plurality of symbol-bearing base reels, a base array, and a plurality of persistent elements, each persistent element having an associated game feature and an associated accumulation symbol;
• spinning and stopping the plurality of symbol-bearing base reels to land symbols from the base reels in the base array;
• and
• in response to the landed symbols including at least one accumulation symbol:
• animating, by the presentation assembly, an addition of the at least one accumulation symbol to its associated persistent element;
• randomly determining, using a random number generator, whether or not to award the game feature associated with the persistent element associated with the at least one accumulation symbol;
• and
• in response to awarding the game feature associated with the persistent element associated with the at least one accumulation symbol, implementing the game feature wherein the implementing comprises:
• dynamically adjusting, in response to game outcomes over a plurality of base game plays, a data structure in the memory that stores a floor value and a ceiling value for a persistent sliding range component of the game feature, the data structure being maintained in the memory between the plurality of base game plays;
• and application of a randomly determined variable attribute derived from the floor value and the ceiling value stored in the maintained data structure.