Gaming machine and methods of providing games to players having dice with expandable images

A computer-implemented method of providing a game to a player via a gaming machine including a display device and a gaming controller, including the steps of:

• receiving, by a gaming controller, a signal indicating a wager being placed by a player and responsively displaying a primary game on a display device, the primary game including a plurality of reels and a plurality of symbols being displayed with the plurality of reels;
• randomly generating, by the gaming controller, an outcome of the primary game and displaying the outcome on the display device;
• detecting a triggering condition occurring with the primary game and responsively display a secondary game on the display device, the secondary game including a player character and an enemy character being displayed on an animated game field;
• displaying a plurality of dice on the animated game field including a player die being displayed with a player strength value and an enemy die being displayed with an enemy strength value;
• displaying an expandable image of the player strength value at a first size and increase the size of the expandable image to a larger second size over a predefined period of time;
• and
• determining an outcome of the secondary game as a function of the player strength value and the enemy strength value and responsively provide an award to the player.

One or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media, having computer-executable instructions embodied thereon, wherein when executed by at least one processor, the computer-executable instructions cause the processor to:

• display a primary game on a display device, the primary game including a plurality of reels and a plurality of symbols being displayed with the plurality of reels;
• randomly generate an outcome of the primary game and display the outcome on the display device;
• detect a triggering condition occurring with the primary game and responsively display a secondary game on the display device, the secondary game including a player character and an enemy character being displayed on an animated game field;
• display a plurality of dice on the animated game field including a player die being displayed with a player strength value and an enemy die being displayed with an enemy strength value;
• display an expandable image of the player strength value at a first size and increase the size of the expandable image to a larger second size over a predefined period of time;
• and
• determine an outcome of the secondary game as a function of the player strength value and the enemy strength value and responsively provide an award to the player.