JP2001104630A - Voice control system for game center - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To heighten a player's desire to play a game by enhancing stage effect in informing with voice to the effect that a specific state is generated in a game machine. SOLUTION: An acoustic control device 10 is so constituted as to be able to move the sound image of reproduced sound in three-dimensional space by controlling the reproduced sound by plural sets of speakers 7 provided at a calling lamp unit 2. When a pachinko board 1 is put in a specified game state such as a big prize winning state or a next-to-win state, effect sound for informing a player of this game state is outputted from the speakers 7 through a three-dimensional sound field reproducing device 10, and the sound image of the effect sound is moved in the three-dimensional space. The player of the pachinko board 1 can thereby be impressed with the sound field of three- dimensional effect.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a sound control system for a game arcade in which a game machine notifies a predetermined game state by sound effect.

[0002]

Conventionally, in pachinko halls, BGM and various guide broadcasts have been broadcast during business hours to increase the desire of players to play games. When a jackpot (a special prize state) occurs on a stand, a guide broadcast for notifying the occurrence is played through an automatic sound system throughout the store, thereby increasing the ambition and willingness of other players to compete.

[0003] However, in the conventional configuration, since the BGM and the guide broadcast are simply flown throughout the store, the effect must be monotonous, and the effect of raising the motivation of the player to play the game is sufficient. There was a problem that could not be expected. Further, in general, there is a situation in which a player often shows no interest in information about the same model as the pachinko machine on which the player is playing, but does not show interest in information about other models. For this reason, there are many players who are bothered by the fact that the above-described guide broadcast is scattered throughout the store, and there is a problem that the conventional configuration has an adverse effect on these players. .

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has as its object to enhance the effect of producing a sound when a specific state has occurred in a gaming machine, thereby improving the effect of the player. It is an object of the present invention to provide a game system for a game hall, which is useful for increasing the desire to play a game.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a plurality of sets of speakers provided corresponding to a plurality of gaming machines arranged in a row, respectively, and a plurality of sets of speakers. A three-dimensional sound field reproducing device configured to move a sound image of the reproduced sound in a three-dimensional space by controlling a reproduced sound from a speaker; , The sound effect for notifying the gaming state is output from the speaker through the three-dimensional sound field reproducing device, and the sound image of the sound effect is moved in the three-dimensional space, so that the gaming machine Is controlled so that the player can sense a three-dimensional sound field.

According to this configuration, when the gaming machine enters a predetermined gaming state, sound effects for informing the gaming state are output from a plurality of sets of speakers in a state where the sound image is moved in a three-dimensional space. Accordingly, the player of the gaming machine can sense a three-dimensional sound field. As a result, when notifying by voice that a specific state has occurred in the gaming machine, the effect of the effect can be greatly increased, and the motivation of the gamer to play the game can be enhanced.

In this case, the sound image of the sound effect output when the gaming machine enters a predetermined gaming state may be controlled so as to finally stop moving near the gaming machine. ). According to this configuration, for the player at the gaming machine that has entered the predetermined gaming state, the sound image of the sound effect finally stops near itself, thereby increasing the interest in the game. In addition, for other players, it becomes possible to easily specify the position of a gaming machine that has entered a predetermined gaming state among a plurality of gaming machines, thereby increasing its ambition and willingness to compete. Become.

Further, the plurality of gaming machines arranged in a row can be of the same model. According to this configuration, for the player located in the sound field of the sound effect, the sound effect output as described above is information about the same model, and thus the player may feel troublesome. And the sound effect does not have the opposite effect.

[0009]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In FIG. 1, which schematically shows the entire configuration, a plurality of pachinko machines 1 (corresponding to a gaming machine)
Are configured such that the same model is arranged in a row. Above these pachinko machines 1, call lamp units 2 are provided so as to correspond one to one. Each call lamp unit 2 performs a data transmission / reception operation with a corresponding pachinko machine 1 and a data transmission / reception operation with a host computer 3 installed in a pachinko hall. Corresponding pachinko machine 1
For transmitting operation information to the host computer 3, receiving and displaying data signals from the host computer 3, switching the corresponding pachinko machine 1 to a hitting state based on a command from the host computer 3, etc. It has.

In this case, the pachinko machine 1 operates when a pachinko ball is awarded on the board surface 1a in addition to the well-known out hole 1b and a safe hole (not shown), a start hole 1c, and the start hole 1c. The roulette 1d is provided with an electric character 1e having an extremely high winning rate in the operating state. When the roulette 1d stops at the big hit symbol, the electric character 1e is operated in a predetermined mode. It has a configuration to present. The pachinko machine 1 has a function of generating a jackpot signal when the special prize state is set, and generating a reach signal during a period in which the operating roulette 1d exhibits a predetermined reach pattern. The jackpot signal and the reach signal are transmitted to the call lamp unit 2.

As shown in FIG. 2, the call lamp unit 2 includes a call button 4 for calling an employee, lamp units 5 and 5 including a call lamp, and a display unit 6 capable of displaying data and the like. In addition, a pair of speakers 7, 7 are provided particularly at positions near both right and left ends.

FIG. 3 shows an electric configuration of the call lamp unit 2 by a combination of functional blocks together with peripheral components. In FIG. 2, a control unit 8 including a microcomputer is configured to perform transmission and reception between the pachinko machine 1 and the host computer 3 through a transmission / reception unit 9, and receives the received data and a program stored in advance. , The operation of the lamp unit 5, the display unit 6, and the speaker 7 are controlled, and the operation of the lamp unit 5 is controlled based on the operation signal from the call button 4.

Referring back to FIG. 1, a plurality of sound control devices 10 (corresponding to a three-dimensional sound field reproducing device) are provided so as to correspond to a plurality of (for example, four) call lamp units 2. Each of the sound control devices 10 is configured to transfer the jackpot signal and the reach signal from the pachinko machine 1 through the transmission / reception unit 9 (see FIG. 2) in the corresponding call lamp unit 2. The acoustic control device 10
Adopts a three-dimensional sound reproduction technique described in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H10-51898. Is capable of reproducing a three-dimensional sound field in which the sound image can be moved at an arbitrary speed in a three-dimensional space. Note that the sound control device 10 is configured to obtain various sound effects from a sound source (not shown).
In addition to various sound effects (including music) for notifying the state of the pachinko machine 1 such as a reach state, a detached state (a state in which the state has not changed from the reach state to the big hit state), a BG
A music for M, a sound effect for raising the excitement during the game (for example, a flying sound of an airplane or a helicopter, a running sound of a motorcycle, etc.) are prepared.

Thus, when reproducing a three-dimensional sound field through the loudspeaker 7, the acoustic control device 10 can move a sound image of a reproduced sound in a three-dimensional space in a pre-stored pattern (that is, a movement of the sound image). The configuration is such that the trajectory can be set), and the movement trajectory can be set in advance in accordance with the gaming state of the pachinko machine 1 or the like. Specifically, for example, the movement trajectory of the sound image as described above is set as shown in FIG. 4 (the movement speed is appropriately set). FIG. 4 shows a plurality of pachinko machines 1.
A planar positional relationship between the player and the player H is schematically shown. In FIG. 4, “” indicates a movement start position of the sound image, and “” indicates a movement end position of the sound image.

FIGS. 4A to 4G show sound effects (when a jackpot signal or a reach signal is input) when a jackpot state or a reach state occurs in the pachinko machine 1 (of course,
In each state, the type of sound effect is different), and the moving locus of the sound image starts from the vicinity of the pachinko machine 1 where the big hit state or the reach state occurs and finally ends. It ends near the pachinko machine 1. In the movement locus shown in FIG.
In the middle of the movement of the sound image, in the vicinity of the pachinko machine 1 where the jackpot state or the reach state has occurred (the position indicated by the broken line)
Is stopped for a predetermined time.

FIG. 4H shows an example of the locus of movement of the sound image of the sound effect when the pachinko machine 1 is out of the reach state (when the jackpot signal is not input when the input of the reach signal is stopped). This movement trajectory is
The pachinko machine 1 in the above-mentioned detached state rotates around the player H.

FIGS. 4 (i) to 4 (k) show the locus of movement of sound images of sound effects (flights of airplanes and helicopters, running sounds of motorcycles, etc.) which are output at appropriate timing to enhance the excitement of the game. This is a configuration in which each movement trajectory is moved in a direction parallel to one row of pachinko machines. It should be noted that the movement trajectory shown in FIG. 4 (i) (a trajectory that makes a plurality of rotations around a specific player H) can also be used as a movement trajectory when a big hit state or a reach state occurs on the pachinko machine 1.

In short, according to the above-described embodiment, when the pachinko machine 1 is in a predetermined gaming state (big hit state, reach state, off state), a plurality of sets of speakers 7 are set.
From, a sound effect for notifying the gaming state is output in a state in which the sound image is moved in the three-dimensional space, and at a suitable timing, a sound effect for raising the excitement during the game is output in the three-dimensional space. The sound is output in a state of being moved, and accordingly, the player at the pachinko machine 1 can sense a three-dimensional sound field. As a result, when notifying by voice that a specific state has occurred on the pachinko machine 1, the effect of the effect can be greatly enhanced, and the effect sound for raising the excitement during the game can be produced at an appropriate timing. The effect can also be enhanced, and as a result, it is possible to increase the motivation of the player to play the game.

In this case, since the sound image of the sound effect output when the pachinko machine 1 enters a predetermined game state is controlled so as to finally stop near the pachinko machine 1,
For the player on the pachinko machine 1, the sound image of the sound effect finally goes to the vicinity of the player, and the interest in the game is improved, and for other players, a plurality of It is possible to easily specify the position of the pachinko machine 1 in the predetermined game state from among the pachinko machines 1, and it is possible to increase the gambling spirit and willingness to compete.

Further, since the plurality of pachinko machines 1 arranged in a row are of the same model, the same sound effect is provided to the player located in the sound field of the sound effect output as described above. Since the information about the model is displayed, the player does not have to worry about it, and the sound effect does not adversely affect the player.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, but can be modified or expanded as follows. Although the jackpot state and the reach state are set as the gaming state of the pachinko machine 1 when outputting the sound effect, other states (for example, a so-called lucky state, a hitting state, and the like) can also be targeted. The present invention can be applied not only to pachinko machines but also to gaming machines such as slot machines.

[0022]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, there is provided a three-dimensional sound field reproducing apparatus configured to move a sound image of a sound reproduced by a plurality of sets of speakers in a three-dimensional space. When the gaming machine enters a predetermined gaming state, the sound image of the sound effect output from the speaker is moved in a three-dimensional space so that the player at the gaming machine can sense a three-dimensional sound field. Control effect, it is possible to enhance the effect of notifying the fact that a specific state has occurred in the gaming machine by voice, which is useful in raising the motivation of the player to play the game. is there.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view of a call lamp unit.

FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram showing an electrical configuration.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a movement locus of a sound image of a sound effect.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 is a pachinko machine (game machine), 2 is a calling lamp unit,
Reference numeral 7 denotes a speaker, and reference numeral 10 denotes an acoustic control device (a three-dimensional sound field reproducing device).

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of sets of speakers provided for each of a plurality of gaming machines arranged in a row, and a sound image of the reproduced sound by controlling a reproduced sound from the plurality of sets of speakers. A three-dimensional sound field reproduction device configured to be able to move in a three-dimensional space, when the gaming machine is in a predetermined gaming state, the sound effect for notifying the gaming state, Controlling the player of the gaming machine to be able to sense a sound field with a three-dimensional effect by moving the sound image of the sound effect in a three-dimensional space by outputting from the speaker through the three-dimensional sound field reproducing device. A voice control system for a game arcade. 2. The game machine according to claim 1, wherein the sound image of the sound effect output when the game machine enters a predetermined game state is controlled so as to finally stop moving near the game machine. Voice control system. 3. The audio control system for a game arcade according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of gaming machines arranged in a row are of the same model.