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AssigneeBally Gaming, Inc.
InventorsDion K. Aoki, Mark B. Gagner, Sean P. Kelly, Scott A. Massing, Jamie W. Vann
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Some embodiments of the inventive subject matter are directed to presenting wagering game content in stereoscopic 3D according to an optimal autostereoscopic view for an autostereoscopic display based on a viewing perspective of a player when the player views the wagering game content. Some embodiments are also directed to determining that the player looks away from the wagering game content and maintaining, or freezing, presentation of wagering game content in 3D according to the optimal autostereoscopic view. Some embodiments are directed to updating the optimal autostereoscopic view based on changes to the viewing perspective while the player looks away from the wagering game content. Some embodiment are also directed to changing the presentation of the wagering game content to 2D, and restoring the one or more portions to 3D based on a degree of player attentiveness after the player looks at the wagering game content again.
A method of operating a gaming system, said method comprising:
One or more non-transitory, machine-readable storage media having instructions stored thereon, which when executed by a set of one or more processors of a gaming system cause the set of one or more processors to perform operations comprising:
A gaming system comprising:
A gaming apparatus comprising:
A gaming apparatus comprising:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.
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From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.
About the players, e.g. profiling, responsible gaming, strategy/behavior of players, location of players: tracking of individual players
Player-machine interfaces: player sensing means, e.g. presence detection, biometrics
Player-machine interfaces: display means
Stereoscopic video systems; Multi-view video systems; Details thereof: image signal generators
About 7 years 2 months of term left · ends 23 Dec 2033 (estimated)
A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material that is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent files or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever. Copyright 2013, WMS Gaming, Inc.
Embodiments of the inventive subject matter relate generally to wagering game systems and networks that, more particularly, control three-dimensional presentation of wagering game content.
Wagering game machines, such as slot machines, video poker machines and the like, have been a cornerstone of the gaming industry for several years. Generally, the popularity of such machines depends on the likelihood (or perceived likelihood) of winning money at the machine and the intrinsic entertainment value of the machine relative to other available gaming options. Where the available gaming options include a number of competing wagering game machines and the expectation of winning at each machine is roughly the same (or believed to be the same), players are likely to be attracted to the most entertaining and exciting machines. Shrewd operators consequently strive to employ the most entertaining and exciting machines, features, and enhancements available because such machines attract frequent play and hence increase profitability to the operator. Therefore, there is a continuing need for wagering game machine manufacturers to continuously develop new games and gaming enhancements that will attract frequent play.
Embodiments are illustrated in the Figures of the accompanying drawings in which:
FIG. 1 is an illustration of autostereoscopic wagering game presentation, according to some embodiments;
FIGS. 2A-2D are illustrations of presenting autostereoscopic wagering game content according to a last known viewing perspective of a player, according to some embodiments;
This description of the embodiments is divided into four sections. The first section provides an introduction to embodiments. The second section describes example operations performed by some embodiments while the third section describes example operating environments. The fourth section presents some general comments.
This section provides an introduction to some embodiments.
FIG. 1 is an illustration of autostereoscopic wagering game presentation, according to some embodiments. In FIG. 1, a wagering game system (“system”) 100 according to some embodiments includes a wagering game machine 160 connected to a communications network 122. In some embodiments, the system 100 also includes a wagering game server 150 and an account server 170 that, in conjunction with the wagering game machine 160, provides account-based wagering game services to a wagering game player (“player”). The wagering game machine 160 includes a 3D display that can present wagering game content in with a binocular, or stereoscopic, 3D effect (“3D wagering game content”). In some embodiments, the 3D display is an autostereoscopic display 103, with one or more cameras, such as camera 110. The autostereoscopic display 103 is configured to present wagering game content 104 in stereoscopic 3D using various techniques that do not require the use of 3D glasses, viewers, or headgear. Stereoscopic 3D presented via an autostereoscopic display may be referred to herein as “autostereoscopic” 3D. In some embodiments, the wagering game content 104 includes wagering game playing elements, such as slot reels 105 and slot reel symbols. In some embodiments, some of the slot reel symbols are presented in 2D, such as symbols 107. In some embodiments, some of the slot reel symbols are presented in 3D, such as symbols 108, where two separate, nearly identical, images of the slot reel symbols 108 are presented to the left and right eyes of a player so that the player perceives the images as having binocular depth. Autostereoscopic displays can do this in various ways, many of which are known and do not need to be discussed in detail herein. In some embodiments, the system 100 uses the camera 110 to track movement of a player's eyes and a position of a player's head. FIGS. 2A-2D are illustrations of presenting autostereoscopic wagering game content according to a last known viewing perspective of a player, according to some embodiments. In FIG. 2A, the camera 110 senses when a player 215 changes the field of view of his gaze, or in other words, when the player's viewing perspective changes. The player's viewing perspective refers to the particular portion of a player's field of view that pertains to binocular vision or stereopsis. In FIG. 2A, the player's viewing perspective 206 is depicted as a single line to indicate the direction, or orientation, of the perspective. In some embodiments, the viewing perspective 206 represents a far edge of the player's binocular vision. The viewing perspective 206 can be determined by analyzing images of the player's eyes as recorded by the camera 110 to determine a location of the center of a player's eyes in relation to one or more features of the autostereoscopic display 103 (e.g., in relation to a surface, border, etc. of the autostereoscopic display 103). The system 100 adjusts and optimizes an autostereoscopic view 207 to the viewing perspective 206. For instance, the system 100 adjusts and optimizes the directions of presentation of the two binocular images of the 3D content such as by adjusting autostereoscopic presentation parameters of the 3D content. For instance, in some embodiments, the system 100 modifies a position or orientation of lenticular optics, parallax barriers, etc. within the autostereoscopic display 103, so that the appearance of the two binocular images appear clear and aligned with the player's viewing perspective 206. In some embodiments, the system 100 organizes data within a graphical buffer to appropriately present binocular images of the 3D content. By doing this, at least one of the views of the 3D content remains aligned with the viewer's gaze, preventing overlapped or offset views that look blurred, doubled, or grainy.