Systems and methods for game state retention and continuation at electronic gaming machines

1. An electronic gaming machine comprising:

a display device;

an image capture device; and

a processor configured to execute instructions stored in a memory, which when executed by the processor, cause the processor to at least:

generate a game-state-retention sign based upon a plurality of game variables representing a state of a wagering game, the game-state-retention sign including a first two-dimensional machine-recognisable image that encodes the plurality of game variables; and

display the game-state-retention sign on the display device for image capture by a handheld player device, the handheld player device configured to display a game-continuation sign generated from the game-state-retention sign for resuming play of the wagering game.

2. The electronic gaming machine of claim 1 , wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the processor to at least:

capture, by the image capture device, the game-continuation sign displayed by the handheld player device, the game-continuation sign including a second two-dimensional machine-recognisable image that encodes, at least, the plurality of game variables; and

resume play of the wagering game based upon the captured game-continuation sign in response to capturing the game-continuation sign and based upon the plurality of game variables encoded in the game-continuation sign.

3. The electronic gaming machine of claim 1 , wherein the game-continuation sign is identical to the game-state-retention sign.

4. The electronic gaming machine of claim 1 , wherein the game-continuation sign is different from the game-state-retention sign, at least, in that the game-continuation sign includes at least one validation portion for validating that the game-continuation sign has not been tampered with.

5. The electronic gaming machine of claim 1 , wherein to generate the game-state-retention sign, the instructions, when executed by the processor, further cause the processor to at least:

generate at least one encryption key to define a first portion of the game-sate-retention sign; and

encrypt the plurality of game variables defining the game state to further define a second portion of game-sate-retention sign.

6. The electronic gaming machine of claim 1 , wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the processor to generate the game-state-retention sign based, at least in part, upon a title of the wagering game, whereby at least a portion of the game-state-retention sign identifies the title of the wagering game.

7. The electronic gaming machine of claim 1 , wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the processor to at least:

generate the game-state-retention sign in response to receiving a player input to save the state of the wagering game; and

resume play of the wagering game in response to receiving a player input to load the state of the wagering game from the captured game-continuation sign.

8. A method of game state retention and game continuation in an electronic wagering game, the method comprising:

generating, by a processor of an electronic gaming machine, a game-state-retention sign based upon a plurality of game variables representing a state of a wagering game, the game-state retention sign including a first two-dimensional machine-recognisable image encoding the plurality of game variables;

displaying, by a display device of the electronic gaming machine, the game-state-retention sign on the display device for image capture by a handheld player device;

capturing, by an image capture device of the electronic gaming machine, a game-continuation sign displayed by the handheld player device, the game continuation sign generated by the handheld player device from the game-state-retention sign, the game-continuation sign including a second two-dimensional machine-recognisable image that encodes, at least, the plurality of game variables; and

resuming, by the processor, play of the wagering game based upon the captured game-continuation sign in response to capturing the game-continuation sign and based upon the plurality of game variables encoded in the game-continuation sign.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the game-state-retention sign is a two-dimensional quick response (QR) code, and wherein the game-continuation sign is a two-dimensional QR code.

10. The method of claim 8 , wherein the game-continuation sign is identical to the game-state-retention sign.

11. The method of claim 8 , wherein the game-continuation sign is different from the game-state-retention sign, at least, in that the game-continuation sign includes at least one validation portion for validating that the game-continuation sign has not been tampered with.

12. The method of claim 8 , wherein generating the game-state-retention sign further comprises:

generating, by the processor, at least one encryption key to define a first portion of the game-sate-retention sign; and

encrypting, by the processor, the plurality of game variables defining the game state to further define a second portion of the game-sate-retention sign.

13. The method of claim 8 , wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the processor to generate the game-state-retention sign based, at least in part, upon a title of the wagering game, whereby at least a portion of the game-state-retention sign identifies the title of the wagering game.

14. The method of claim 8 , further comprising:

generating, by the processor, the game-state-retention sign in response to receiving a player input to save the state of the wagering game; and

resuming, by the processor, play of the wagering game in response to receiving a player input to load the state of the wagering game from the captured game-continuation sign.

15. A gaming system for game state retention and game continuation, the gaming system comprising:

a first electronic gaming machine comprising a first processor configured to execute first instructions stored in a first memory, which when executed, cause the first processor to at least:

generate a game-state-retention sign, the game-state-retention sign being machine-recognisable and at least partly containing a state of a wagering game; and

display the game-state-retention sign for image capture by a player device; and

a second electronic gaming machine comprising a second processor configured to execute second instructions stored in a second memory, which when executed, cause the second processor to at least:

receive, from the player device, a game-continuation sign, the game-continuation sign being machine-recognisable and generated by the player device from the game-state-retention sign; and

continue conducting the wagering game based on the captured game-continuation sign.

16. The gaming system of claim 15 , wherein the first instructions, when executed, further cause the first processor to generate, based upon a plurality of game variables representing the state of the wagering game, the game-state-retention sign, the game-state retention sign including a first two-dimensional machine-recognisable image encoding the plurality of game variables.

17. The gaming system of claim 16 , wherein the player device is configured to display the game-continuation sign, and wherein the second instructions, when executed, further cause the second processor to at least:

capture, by an image capture device of the second electronic gaming machine, the game-continuation sign displayed by the player device, the game-continuation sign including a second two-dimensional machine-recognisable image that encodes, at least, the plurality of game variables; and

continue conducting the wagering game in response to capturing the game-continuation sign and based upon the plurality of game variables encoded in the game-continuation sign.

18. The gaming system of claim 15 , wherein the game-state-retention sign is a two-dimensional quick response (QR) code, and wherein the game-continuation sign is a QR code.

19. The gaming system of claim 15 , wherein to generate the game-state-retention sign, the first instructions, when executed, further cause the first processor to at least:

generate at least one encryption key to define a first portion of the game-sate-retention sign; and

encrypt the plurality of game variables defining the game state to further define a second portion of the game-sate-retention sign.

20. The gaming system of claim 15 , wherein to generate the game-state-retention sign, the first instructions, when executed, further cause the first processor to at least generate the game-state-retention sign based, at least in part, upon a title of the wagering game, whereby at least a portion of the game-state-retention sign identifies the title of the wagering game.