JP2006334089A - Performance control method of game machine and display control device of game machine - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a performance content of a game machine with attractiveness and facilitate the development. <P>SOLUTION: This display control device of the game machine is provided with a performance symbol display LSI 21 and a hard disk drive 22 connected to the performance symbol display LSI 21. The hard disk drive 22 records performance data created previously. The performance symbol display LSI 21 reads a plurality of pieces of performance data from the hard disk drive 22 according to a command C from a main control device 2 of the game machine, executes it by developing a script and displays it on a display device 12. This constitution can simplify the control program of the main control device 2. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an effect control method and apparatus for gaming machines such as pachinko machines and pachislot machines.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in gaming machines such as pachinko machines and pachislot machines, a configuration in which an image display device such as a liquid crystal display device is provided on the game surface is known. And for images such as images displayed on the image display device and sound linked to the images, so-called content, for the differentiation of gaming machines, it is attractive to use complex stories, high-quality images, and sounds. Content is required. Therefore, today, complex and long control programs are processed by an image processing integrated circuit (LSI) with high processing capability, and contents are realized by computer graphics (CG) (for example, Patent Document 1, Patent). Reference 2).
JP-A-11-333058 JP 2004-254990 A

  As mentioned above, the program for generating game machine symbols is complex and long, and developing attractive content requires a lot of steps similar to game software development, requiring a long development period and development costs. Has a soaring problem. In addition, in order to execute a complicated and long program, a large processing capacity is required for the LSI and CPU of the main controller, and a large-capacity ROM storing the program is required for each content. There is a problem that the manufacturing cost increases.

  The present invention has been made in view of these points, and an object thereof is to provide an effect control method for a gaming machine and an apparatus thereof that can easily realize attractive content.

  When the control means receives the control signal from the external main control device, the control means responds to the control signal from the effect data recorded in the storage means in advance. Selecting and reading out the effect data, and obtaining from the read effect data, audio image data, vector image data, and script data defining time series operations of the audio image data and vector image data, and the script Data is executed, and the sound image data and the vector image data are operated in time series to output sound and images.

  In this configuration, since the audio data and vector image data of the production data recorded in advance is used, the control means selects and executes the script data corresponding to the control signal and outputs the audio and the image. Compared to a configuration in which all image data is generated by graphics, a complex attractive content including images and sounds can be realized with a simple configuration. Production data can be easily created using commercially available authoring software such as Flush (trade name) of Macromedia Co., Ltd., and the time required for content development can be easily reduced. Development costs are easily reduced. In addition, since the control means performs the rendering process, the external main control device only needs to perform conditional branching triggered by a prize, etc., and the external main control device needs to execute a complicated and long program. Therefore, there is no need to prepare a large-capacity fixed recording means for recording the program for each content, the configuration of the external main control device and the control program can be simplified and the versatility can be improved. The manufacturing cost is suppressed, and the manufacturing cost of the gaming machine can be reduced.

  The effect control method for the gaming machine according to claim 2 is the effect control method for the game machine according to claim 1, wherein the storage means is a hard disk drive, and the effect data is compressed and recorded in the hard disk drive, The control means develops the read presentation data to generate script data, audio image data, and vector image data.

  In this configuration, it is possible to easily realize complicated content for a long time by compressing and recording the effect data on the hard disk drive.

  A display control device for a gaming machine according to claim 3, wherein the audio image data and a hard disk drive in which presentation data having a plurality of script data defining a time-series operation of the audio image data are recorded in advance, and an external main control In accordance with a control signal from the apparatus, predetermined audio image data and script data are read from the effect data recorded in the hard disk drive, the read script data is executed, and the audio image data is operated in time series. Control means for outputting a moving image to a display device and outputting sound to a speaker.

  In this configuration, the audio data and the vector image data of the production data recorded in advance on the hard disk drive are used, and the control means selects and executes the script data corresponding to the control signal and outputs the audio and the image. Compared to a configuration in which all image data is generated by so-called computer graphics, a complicated and attractive content including images and sounds can be realized with a simple configuration. Production data can be easily created using commercially available authoring software such as Flush (trade name) of Macromedia Co., Ltd., and the time required for content development can be easily reduced. Development costs are easily reduced. In addition, since the control means performs the rendering process, the external main control device only needs to perform conditional branching triggered by a prize, etc., and the external main control device needs to execute a complicated and long program. Therefore, there is no need to prepare a large-capacity fixed recording means for recording the program for each content, the configuration of the external main control device and the control program can be simplified and the versatility can be improved. The manufacturing cost is suppressed, and the manufacturing cost of the gaming machine can be reduced.

  The display control device for a gaming machine according to claim 4 is the display control device for a gaming machine according to claim 3, wherein the main control device is a fixed storage means for recording a conditional branch program on condition of winning, and the fixed control means. Main control means for generating a control signal according to a condition by executing a program recorded in the storage means.

  In this configuration, since the control program can be simplified, the capacity of the fixed storage means can be reduced, the processing load of the main control means can be reduced, and the manufacturing cost of the gaming machine can be reduced. Reduction is possible.

  The display control device for a gaming machine according to claim 5 is the display control device for a gaming machine according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the effect data is recorded on the hard disk drive in a compressed form, and the control means is the hard disk drive. The read control unit for performing the read control and the decoder unit for developing the read effect data are configured in one chip.

  In this configuration, it is possible to easily realize a long-time content by compressing and recording the effect data. The control means includes a read control unit that performs control for reading out the effect data from the moving image file of the hard disk drive and a decoder unit that expands the read effect data on a single chip, thereby simplifying the configuration of the display control device. Therefore, the manufacturing cost can be easily reduced.

  According to the present invention, since the control means selects and executes script data corresponding to the control signal and outputs the sound and the image by using the sound image data and the vector image data of the effect data recorded in advance, a so-called computer is used. Compared to a configuration in which all image data is generated by graphics, it is possible to realize a complex and attractive content including images and sounds with a simple configuration. Production data can be easily created using commercially available authoring software, etc., and the time required for content development can be easily shortened, and development costs can be easily reduced. In addition, since the control means performs the rendering process, the external main control device only needs to perform conditional branching triggered by a prize, etc., and the external main control device needs to execute a complicated and long program. Therefore, there is no need to prepare a large-capacity fixed recording means for recording the program for each content, the configuration of the external main control device and the control program can be simplified and the versatility can be improved. The manufacturing cost can be suppressed and the manufacturing cost of the gaming machine can be reduced.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of an effect control method and apparatus for a gaming machine according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a gaming machine, and the gaming machine 1 is a pachinko machine, a pachislot machine, or other game machines. In this embodiment, a pachinko machine will be described. As shown schematically in FIG. 1, the gaming machine 1 is directly or indirectly connected to the main control device 2, the display control device 10 connected to the main control device 2, and the display control device 10. It includes a connected image circuit 11, a display device 12, a plurality of light emitting diodes (LEDs) as an auxiliary display device, an audio circuit 14, a speaker 15, and the like. The display control device 10 outputs image data V and audio data A based on a control signal (command) C from the main control device 2 triggered by, for example, winning of a game ball at a winning opening, and an image circuit An image is displayed on the display device 12 via 11, and sound is output from the speaker 15 via the audio circuit 14.

  The main control device 2 includes a CPU 17 as main control means called a microcomputer and a ROM 18 as fixed storage means connected to the CPU 17 on the main control board 16, and the ROM 18 as shown in FIG. In accordance with the conditional branch program recorded in the above, a winning judgment process, a ball exit process, etc. are performed in response to a winning of a game ball at a winning opening, that is, a condition. Command C is output as a control signal indicating the occurrence of.

  Further, the display device 12 is, for example, a liquid crystal display panel or a cathode ray tube, and in the present embodiment, is a liquid crystal display panel provided in the central portion of the game board. The audio circuit 14 is an amplifier circuit.

  The display control device 10 is composed of, for example, one or a plurality of boards arranged on the back side of the game board and components mounted on the boards. A symbol display LSI 21, a hard disk drive (HDD) 22 connected to the effect symbol display LSI 21, a RAM 23, and the like are provided. Here, the hard disk drive (HDD) 22 is a general-purpose product having an IDE standard interface, for example, and the RAM 23 is a standard general-purpose product such as SDRAM (Synchronous DRAM).

  The production symbol display LSI 21 is a one-chip integrated circuit that can be called a graphic LSI or a line drawing engine. The command handler, the CPU 31 for file management, the production data from the hard disk drive 22, the data decoding, and the script An engine unit 33 that controls execution and the like is provided. Further, the effect symbol display LSI 21 includes an SRAM 34, a DMA (direct memory access) controller 35, a timer 36 which is an internal reference timer, and an interrupt controller (INTC) 37 as necessary. The engine unit 33 includes a video decoding unit 41, an audio decoding unit 42, an effect data decoder unit 43, an effect unit 44, an image scaler unit 45, and a layer control unit 46 that constitute a decoder unit. Further, the effect symbol display LSI 21 includes a host interface unit 51 and an IDE interface unit 52 as a read control unit which is a hard disk controller. Further, the effect symbol display LSI 21 includes a general purpose I / O unit (GPIO) 54 and a JTAG unit 55 as necessary. Further, this design display LSI 21 is mainly provided on the engine unit 33 side with an SDRAM interface unit 57 as a RAM interface unit, a video encoder unit 61 as an analog video output unit, and an ITU 656 interface unit 62 as a digital video output unit of a parallel digital component. , An I2S interface unit 63 that is a pulse width modulation (PWM) digital audio output unit, a D / A converter unit (DAC) 64 that is an analog audio output unit, and the like.

  The CPU 31 of the effect symbol display LSI 21 is connected to the main controller 2 via the host interface unit 51, connected to the hard disk drive 22 via the IDE interface unit 52, and connected to the RAM 23 via the SDRAM interface unit 57. The video circuit is connected to the image circuit 11 via the video encoder unit 61 or the ITU 656 interface unit 62, and is connected to the audio circuit 14 via the I2S interface unit 63 or the D / A converter unit 64.

  Next, the basic operation of the effect symbol display LSI 21 will be described with reference to FIGS.

  When a condition is input, the host, that is, the main control device 2 determines a conditional branch, and transmits a command C such as an event for rotating the drum, for example, when a prize is received. When the CPU 31 receives the command C via the host interface unit 51, the CPU 31 decodes the command C and reads out the effect data designated from the main controller 2 side from the hard disk drive 22. Reading calculation of the place where the production data is stored is performed and set in each register. Then, the effect data is read from the position indicated in each register of the hard disk drive 22, stored in the FIFO, and then transmitted to the engine unit 33. The effect data is composed of audio image data, vector image data, and script data that is a program for designating time-series operations of the audio image data and vector image data.

  Here, presentation data such as “Flash” (trade name) of Macromedia Co., Ltd., which is stored after being compressed or encoded by a predetermined method, is developed by the decoder unit 43 of the engine unit 33 by a predetermined method, and the SDRAM interface. The data is expanded in the RAM 23 via the unit 57, and the script data is executed.

  The script data is a so-called simple program that is used in general-purpose authoring software that produces and edits image data and audio data, and instructs the operation according to the time series of the image data and audio data. According to the data, the CPU 31 compresses the script data, image data, and sound from the single data or a plurality of data of the hard disk drive 22 in a predetermined method, in this embodiment, in the Flash (product name) format of Macromedia Corporation. Address calculation for reading data and the like is performed. In addition to reading each data from one or more locations, each data can be read simultaneously from a plurality of locations in a time-sharing manner. For the image data developed in the RAM 23, effects such as rotation, morphing (deformation), enlargement / reduction, brightness, and translucency are added by the effect unit 44, and the image scaler unit 45 appropriately matches the resolution of the display device 12. After the enlargement / reduction, the final image data V can be generated by superimposing the layer control unit 46. Further, if necessary, the final image data V is generated by superimposing the vector image data operated according to the script on the image data. The final image data V is output as analog image data via the video encoder 61 that converts the digital data into analog data, or as digital image data V via the ITU 656 interface 62, The content is displayed as a content on the display device 12 via the image circuit 11. On the other hand, the audio data is decoded by the audio decoding unit 42 to generate final audio data A. The final audio data A is output as digital audio data via the I2S interface unit 63 or as analog audio data A via the D / A converter unit 64 that converts the digital data into analog data. Then, the sound is output from the speaker 15 via the audio circuit 14.

  In this production symbol display LSI 21, a maximum of 255 video files are managed in this embodiment via the IDE interface unit 52, which is a hard disk controller, and a maximum of 8 images (layers) at 60 frames per second. It can be processed simultaneously. The audio data A is output in two lines, that is, so-called stereo sound.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the screen of the display device 12 displayed by the effect design display LSI 21 has a background image B located on the backmost surface and three fluctuations called a drum located on the front surface of the background image B. The symbols D1, D2, D3 and the other first to third display images C1, C2, C3, etc. are composed of 13 layers. The background image B is displayed on almost the entire screen of the display device 12, and in addition to the normal background (normal background), the display at the start of the game (opening) and the display at the end of the game (ending) are selected. Displayed. In addition, the variation symbols D1, D2, and D3 are smaller than the screen of the display device 12 and are arranged side by side in a substantially central portion of the background image B, and are displayed superimposed on the front surface of the background image B. Displays numbers that change while rotating. The other first to third display images C1, C2, and C3 are characters, frames, or characters, and are positioned between the background image B and the changing symbols D1, D2, and D3, and are displayed in an overlapping manner. Is done. The first display image C1 is smaller than the screen of the display device 12 and is displayed around the changing symbols D1, D2, and D3. The reach notice indicating the possibility of a big hit, the reach action that is a big hit, and the like. Event display. The second display image C2 is smaller than the screen of the display device 12 and is displayed below the changing symbols D1, D2, and D3, and displays a jackpot count that displays the so-called jackpot count. The third display image C3 is smaller than the screen of the display device 12 and is displayed below the variable symbols D1, D2, and D3, and displays a counter for counting the number of winnings.

  Further, as described above, the hard disk drive 22 is recorded with one or a plurality of presentation data F constituting the content by vector compression by a predetermined method. As the effect data F, one effect data in which the opening background image B is recorded, one effect data in which the normal background background image B is recorded, and 1 in which the ending background image B is recorded. Data for production, three production data for recording normal variation symbols D1, D2, and D3, three production data for recording irregular variation symbols D1, D2, and D3, respectively Or one effect data in which the third display image C1 is recorded, one effect data in which the second display image C2 is recorded, and one effect data in which the third display image C3 is recorded. A total of eight production data are used.

  Except for the opening and ending background images B, each effect data is composed of a plurality of scenes continuously, and the start position of each scene is set to be located in a predetermined frame. For example, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the production data, which is a drum design file in which normal variation symbols D1, D2, and D3 are recorded, includes, for example, 13 scenes whose symbols vary at predetermined positions. It is configured as one piece of effect data recorded continuously. Then, three address pointers I, II, and III corresponding to each variation symbol D1, D2, and D3, that is, each drum are prepared inside, and assigned to the frame number while adding or subtracting these address pointers I, II, and III. The effect data at the position of the frame number is simultaneously read out in a time-sharing manner, and the read image data are combined and displayed on the RAM so as to be arranged at predetermined positions on the VRAM. A display in which one drum rotates with the effect data F is realized. More specifically, with the winning as a trigger, for each of the variation symbols D1, D2, and D3, after reproducing the performance data at a constant speed for a certain period of time, the data is played back at a reduced speed, and the position (address) where the pause is stopped. Pointer I, II, III) is recorded, and the operation of reproducing the production data again at a constant speed from the stopped position is repeated by the next winning. The correspondence between each of the variation symbols D1, D2, D3 and the address pointers I, II, III is provided by providing a column table that defines the correspondence between each of the variation symbols D1, D2, D3 and the address pointers I, II, III. Can be set freely.

  That is, when the display control device 10 receives the command C from the main control device 2, the display control device 10 may perform control to read and display predetermined presentation data from a predetermined frame. For the opening background image B that does not require designation of the frame or position to be reproduced, it is only necessary to instruct the reproduction of the predetermined effect data F. Further, when a script is set, when a command C is received from the main control device 2, a plurality of predetermined production data are read from a predetermined frame in an appropriate order according to the script, and further required. For example, control such as effect processing is performed.

  For example, in the case of presentation data that does not include a script, when the command C for rotating the drum, that is, an event is instructed from the main control device 2 as a trigger, the design symbol display LSI 21 of the display control device 10 Specifically, control for reading out and displaying predetermined presentation data from a predetermined frame is performed. For example, the contents of a command passed to the main control device 2 presentation symbol display LSI 21 include predetermined presentation data, mode, The starting frame number of the address pointer I of the changing symbol D1, the display coordinates of the changing symbol D1, the starting frame number of the address pointer II of the changing symbol D2, the display coordinates of the changing symbol D2, the starting frame number of the address pointer III of the changing symbol D3, It can also be realized by a command sequence that indicates the display coordinates of the variation symbol D3, and the like.

  In this way, since the main controller 2 only needs to specify an event, the control program recorded in the ROM 18 of the main controller 2, as shown in FIG. An event is instructed by conditional branching according to several tens of conditions such as detachment (no reach).

  If the above control program is created, the production process, that is, the content creation process, as shown in FIG. 7, after creating a storyboard from the plan and creating a more detailed design, together with the control program Instead of creating a program to be written in the ROM 18, a commercially available authoring software, such as a movie editing software or a homepage creation software, is used to create production data that is compressed and recorded on the hard disk drive 22. Become.

  In this way, the CPU 17 of the main control device performs conditional branching by the control program recorded in the ROM 18 and sends the command C indicating the event to the effect symbol display LSI 21. Then, in accordance with the command C, the effect symbol display LSI 21 calculates internal data and sets a value in a predetermined register in order to read out necessary effect data. Then, the IDE interface unit 52 reads predetermined presentation data from the hard disk controller 32, decodes the image data and the audio data by the engine unit 33 via the RAM 23 functioning as a FIFO memory, and develops it in the area of the RAM 23. Then, production symbols are generated while being processed, and the generated image data and sound data are converted into analog data by the video encoder unit 61 and the D / A converter unit 64 as necessary, and converted into final image data V and sound data A. Each data is output to the image circuit 11 and the audio circuit 14. Then, the display circuit 12 generates various signals for display in the image circuit 11, and displays a moving image on the display device 12 and outputs sound from the speaker 15, thereby realizing an effect, that is, content.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the effect design of the gaming machine realized by the conventional program, that is, the content is basically recorded in advance on the hard disk drive 22 of the effect data F previously recorded in the hard disk drive 22. Since it is realized by executing script data, it is possible to output images and sound in real time, while reducing the number of programs, reducing development man-hours and development time, and reducing manufacturing costs.

  That is, the main control device 2 does not directly generate the symbol by directly controlling the LSI that displays the symbol, but the control program recorded in the ROM 18 of the main control device 2 simply performs conditional branching and specifies an event. Since it has a simple configuration, it can be simplified, the development of the control program can be facilitated, stable operation with the so-called bugs suppressed can be easily realized, the capacity of the ROM 18 can be suppressed, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced. it can.

  Further, the control program recorded in the ROM 18 of the main control device 2 can be created separately from the specific contents of the content. Basically, when developing different contents, the control program can be changed or modified. It is not necessary, and it is possible to use a part or divert the whole, improving versatility and reducing development costs. As for the ROM 18, an inexpensive mask ROM that cannot be rewritten can be used, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced. In addition, the display control device 10 can be reused only by rewriting the production data and the like, and the generation of waste can be suppressed and the burden on the environment can be reduced.

  In addition, program development can be replaced with image and sound, that is, so-called content production work that is easier than program development. Utilizing human resources such as designers, tools and equipment, it is possible to easily create high-impact content with complex stories and various reach actions, and to differentiate gaming machines. That is, the production data F and the script data recorded in the hard disk drive 22 can be used as they are, for example, as they are created by a general authoring software that is commercially available instead of a program in C language. This makes it easy to create complex content that can be expressed by voice and can easily reduce the development cost of content.

  In addition, for the effect symbol display LSI 21 of the display control device 10, it is not necessary to perform real-time processing of line drawings, that is, two-dimensional and three-dimensional high-definition image processing. There is no need for a sound processing LSI or sound source board, and there is no need to use a large-capacity ROM or RAM, thereby reducing the manufacturing cost of the gaming machine.

  In addition, since high-quality content can be easily realized, it can be easily applied to a game machine equipped with a display device using a color liquid crystal display, such as a 15-inch to 20-inch color liquid crystal display, which is larger than the conventional one.

  Furthermore, since image data and audio data are recorded on the hard disk drive 22, simply using the large capacity hard disk drive 22 can easily cope with an increase in the capacity of content for realizing an impact story.

  In the above embodiment, the single presentation data F is used for the display of the variation symbols D1, D2, and D3. However, the present invention is not limited to this configuration, and a plurality of presentation data can be used.

  In addition, the production symbol display LSI 21 is compatible with various compression formats (CODEC) for images and sounds including moving images and still images, and further, by making the frame rate adjustable (variable), versatility is achieved. It can be improved.

  In addition, the logical and physical file system of the hard disk drive 22 can be prerecorded in the hard disk drive 22 by installing a general method used in a personal computer. Thus, the contents of the hard disk drive 22 can be updated.

  Further, the present invention can be applied to a configuration in which the gaming machine includes a plurality of display devices, for example, a second liquid crystal display device (sub LCD) in addition to the first liquid crystal display device (main LCD). In this case, two independent outputs for image data V can be provided, and a display device can be designated by a command.

  Also, the audio data A is not limited to two systems, and may be one system, three systems, four systems or more. Furthermore, it is also possible to provide a synthesis output function for synthesizing signals from sound sources provided separately for audio.

  The present invention can be applied to a gaming machine such as a pachinko machine, for example.

It is a block diagram which shows one Embodiment of the gaming machine provided with the display control apparatus of the gaming machine of the present invention. It is a block diagram of a display control apparatus same as the above. It is explanatory drawing which shows the control program of a display control apparatus same as the above. It is explanatory drawing which shows the display by a display control apparatus same as the above. It is explanatory drawing which shows the moving image file recorded on the hard-disk drive of the display control apparatus same as the above. It is explanatory drawing which shows the display method of a display control apparatus same as the above. It is explanatory drawing which shows the production method of the content of a display control apparatus same as the above.

Explanation of symbols

1 gaming machine 2 main controller
10 Display controller
12 Display device
17 CPU as main control means
18 ROM as fixed storage
21 Design symbol display LSI constituting control means
22 Hard disk drive
41 Video decoding part of the decoder part
52 IDE interface part as read control part C Command as control signal

Claims (5)

When the control means receives a control signal from the external main controller,
This control means selects and reads the production data corresponding to the control signal from the production data recorded in advance in the storage means,
Acquire audio data, vector image data, and script data that defines time-series operations of these audio image data and vector image data from the read data for presentation,
An effect control method for a gaming machine, wherein the script data is executed, and the sound image data and the vector image data are operated in time series to output sound and images. The storage means is a hard disk drive, and the production data is compressed and recorded in this hard disk drive,
2. The effect control method for a gaming machine according to claim 1, wherein the control means expands the read effect data to generate script data, audio image data, and vector image data. A hard disk drive on which audio data and presentation data having a plurality of script data defining a time-series operation of the audio image data are recorded in advance;
In accordance with a control signal from an external main controller, predetermined audio image data and script data are read from the effect data recorded in the hard disk drive, the read script data is executed, and the audio image data is time-sequentially And a control means for outputting a moving image to a display device and outputting a sound to a speaker. The main control device includes a fixed storage unit that records a conditional branching program on the condition of winning, and a main control unit that generates a control signal according to the condition by executing the program recorded in the fixed storage unit. The display control apparatus for a gaming machine according to claim 3. Production data is recorded on the hard disk drive in a compressed format,
The display of a gaming machine according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the control means comprises a read control unit for performing read control of the hard disk drive and a decoder unit for developing the read presentation data on one chip. Control device.

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