Community game that adapts communal game appearance
View Patent ↗A community game that adapts a scene on a community display based on the number of participating players and/or player locations from one session of the community game to another or in any given session and/or number of the gaming terminals. Selectable elements are displayed on the community display for selection by the participating players. When additional players are eligible to participate in the community game, a field of view or a virtual camera angle of a scene is changed to reveal additional selectable elements or a greater variety of selectable elements than were available for selection with fewer participating players. Any of the selectable elements can be cooperatively selectable elements which multiple players can select to reveal an enhanced award. Based on the players' locations, the scene can be adapted to portray selectable elements or previously hidden or obscured areas of the scene closest to the newly participating player(s).
1. A method of adapting an appearance of a community game based on the number of participating players, comprising:
receiving at a controller a first indication that a first player is eligible to participate in a first session of a community game that has a theme and a first selectable element and configured to be played by multiple participating players;
displaying on one or more community video displays at least a portion of the first session of the community game, the portion including a scene portraying images related to the theme and representative of the first selectable element;
receiving at the controller a second indication that a second set of players are eligible to participate in a second session of the community game; and
responsive to receiving the second indication, changing a field of view or a virtual camera angle of the scene to produce an altered scene and to cause a second selectable element that was not previously selectable or not previously displayed in the first session to be displayed and selectable in the scene displayed in the second session on the one or more community video displays; and
displaying on the one or more community video displays the altered scene of the second session of the community game.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the second selectable element is hidden or obscured from view on the one or more community video displays in the first session, wherein the changing the field of view or the virtual camera angle causes the second selectable element to appear in the field of view of at least the second player.
3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the changing the field of view or the virtual camera angle includes changing the view of the scene by zooming out or panning the scene to expand or shift the field of view such that the second selectable element is brought into the field of view of at least the second player.
4. The method of claim 3 , wherein, responsive to the zooming out or panning, a selectable area corresponding to the first selectable element does not diminish in size.
5. The method of claim 2 , wherein the changing the field of view or the virtual camera angle includes changing the virtual camera angle about an object portrayed in the scene to reveal the second selectable element that was previously obscured in the first session by the object in the field of view during the displaying.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the number of selectable elements displayed on the one or more video displays is proportional to the number of players participating in a session of the community game.
7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first indication includes a first indication that the first player has satisfied an eligibility criterion to participate in the first session of the community game, the method further comprising:
causing an individual wagering game to be displayed on a video display of the first gaming terminal; and
during play of the individual wagering game by the first player at the first gaming terminal, indicating that the eligibility criterion has been satisfied by the first player to participate in the first session of the community game.
8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the second indication includes a second indication that the second player has satisfied an eligibility criterion to participate in the second session of the community game, the method further comprising:
causing an individual wagering game to be displayed on a video display of the second gaming terminal; and
during play of the individual wagering game by the second player at the second gaming terminal, indicating that the eligibility criterion has been satisfied by the second player to participate in the second session of the community game.
9. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
associating with the first selectable element a first award having a first type; and
associating with the second selectable element a second award having a second type different from the first type.
10. The method of claim 9 , further comprising, responsive to the first player or the second player selecting the second selectable element, awarding the second award.
11. A method of adapting an appearance of a community game based on the number of participating players, comprising:
receiving at a controller a first indication that a first player is eligible to participate in a first session of a community game that has a theme and configured to be played by multiple participating players;
displaying on one or more community video displays at least a portion of the first session of the community game that includes a scene portraying images related to the theme;
establishing a communication link with respective ones of a plurality of gaming terminals communicatively linked together, each of the gaming terminals including a video display;
receiving first location information indicative of a location of a first of the gaming terminals at which the first player is participating in the community game;
receiving at the controller a second indication that a plurality of players are eligible to participate in a second session of the community game;
receiving second location information indicative of a location of each of the gaming terminals at which the plurality of players are participating in the second session;
responsive to receiving the second indication and the second location information, making a determination whether to alter the scene of the second session based on at least the number of the plurality of players participating in the second session of the community game and the first and second location information by:
introducing a second selectable element on the community video display in the second session such that the second selectable element is displayed proximate to the gaming terminal at which one of the plurality of players is participating in the community game and distal from a gaming terminal of a non-participating player, or
changing a field of view or a virtual camera angle of the scene to cause a previously obscured or hidden part of the scene of the first session to be displayed in the second session proximate to the gaming terminal at which one of the plurality of players is participating in the second session and distal from a gaming terminal of a non-participating player; and
altering the scene based on the determination.
12. The method of claim 11 , further comprising:
receiving location information from a handheld input device held by one of the plurality of players, in the second session the location information indicating a location in three-dimensional coordinate space and an orientation of the handheld input device in the three-dimensional coordinate space, and selection information indicating that the player has indicated that a selection has been made of the second selectable element; and
responsive to receiving the location information, awarding to at least the player who has made the selection of the second selectable element an award associated with the second selectable element.
13. The method of claim 11 , wherein the second selectable element is hidden or obscured from view on the one or more community video displays in the first session, wherein the changing the field of view or the virtual camera angle causes the second selectable element to appear in the field of view of the scene of the second session.
14. The method of claim 13 , wherein the changing the field of view or the virtual camera angle includes changing the view of the scene by zooming out or panning the scene to expand or shift the field of view such that the second selectable element is brought into a field of view of one of the plurality of players participating in the second session.
15. A method of adapting an appearance of a community game based on the number of participating players, comprising:
determining, by a controller, that a first plurality of players are eligible to participate in the community game;
in response to determining that the first plurality of players are eligible to participate in the community game, displaying on at least one community video display device a thematic scene including a first selectable element;
determining, by the controller, that a second plurality of players are eligible to participate in the community game, the second plurality of players being different than the first plurality of players; and
in response to determining that the second plurality of players are eligible to participate in the community game, changing a field of view or a virtual camera angle of the scene to cause a second selectable element that was not previously selectable or not previously displayed to be displayed and selectable in the scene displayed on the community video display device.
16. The method of claim 15 , wherein the number of players in the second plurality of players is different than the number of players in the first plurality of players.
17. The method of claim 15 , wherein the number of players in the second plurality of players is the same as the number of players in the first plurality of players, wherein the second plurality of players includes at least one player that is not in the first plurality of players.