JP2014195659A - Game machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To diversify a series of performance contents to be repeated while suppressing the increase of performance data when repeatedly executing a fixed performance in a game machine.SOLUTION: The game machine is provided with a speaker 40, a lamp 30 and an LCD 21, and classification performance instruction data stipulating the performance contents of respective performance devices and integrated performance instruction data stipulating the performance contents for which the performance contents of sound, the lamp and the LCD are integrally used are prepared. A performance controller controls the performance by successively executing processing instructions stored in the integrated performance instruction data and specifying the classification performance instruction data to be executed for the respective performance devices. The integrated performance instruction data is provided with a loop instruction for repeatedly executing the processing of a specified repetition range until an end condition is satisfied. In such a manner, by stipulating various processing instruction within the repetition range, the performance contents to be repeated are easily diversified.

Description

  The present invention relates to control of effect output in gaming machines such as slot machines and pachinko machines.

  In gaming machines such as slot machines and pachinko machines, various effects are performed during the game by outputting sound, lighting / flashing lamps, displaying images, and the like. In order to enhance the interest of the game, productions with various tastes have been tried.

  Patent Document 1 discloses a control technology that realizes various presentation displays using scenario data. The scenario data is data in which symbols to be displayed on the screen are sequentially specified in time series. By preparing a control process for realizing a general-purpose process for sequentially displaying designated symbols in accordance with this scenario data, there is an advantage that various presentation displays can be easily realized by simply switching the scenario data. The scenario data may include BGM designation. In this case, the sound corresponding to the display screen can be output by outputting the BGM designated by the sound source IC.

JP-A-7-313694

In gaming machines, there is a demand for elaborate production. For example, in a pachinko machine, various lotteries may be performed by winning a start winning opening during a game. At the time of lottery, the symbols displayed on the display panel fluctuate in various fluctuation patterns, and then stop and display the lottery result. While the symbols are changing, an effect display with a fancy pattern is displayed, and various jackpot notices are displayed.
In these effect displays, the same processing may be used repeatedly.
However, simply displaying a certain effect display repeatedly makes the effect monotonous and cannot sufficiently enhance the interest. For example, when a moving image A, a moving image B, a moving image C, and the like exist as display images for production, it is monotonous even if only moving image A is repeatedly displayed. In order to enhance interest, it is preferable to enable repeated display in various combinations, such as repeatedly displaying a combination of moving image A → moving image B or repeatedly displaying a combination of moving image C → moving image A. .
In order to solve these problems, a method of preparing various video data such as “video A → video B” and “video C → video A” in advance can be considered. An overlapping part occurs in the data, which causes another problem that the amount of data becomes enormous. If various combinations of video and audio are to be realized, the amount of data may become so large that it cannot be overlooked.
The present invention has been made in view of such problems, and it is an object of the present invention to enable various presentation displays to be realized in a gaming machine by efficiently using presentation data.

Examples of the gaming machine of the present invention include a spinning machine such as a slot machine, a pachinko machine, and the like. The gaming machine according to the present invention includes a plurality of types of effect devices used for audiovisual effects shown to the player during a game, and a payout device for paying out game media to the player under predetermined conditions. Have. Examples of the multiple types of effect devices include an audio output device, an illumination device such as a lamp, an image display device for displaying an image, a segment type display device, and the like. The audio output device may be subdivided for music or announcement. A game medium refers to a medium such as a game ball or medal that is a target of investment or privilege during a game.
The gaming machine also includes a main control device that integrally controls the progress of the game, and an effect control device that controls a plurality of types of effect devices according to the gaming state of the game, based on instruction information output from the main control device. Have. The main control device and the effect control device are connected by a unidirectional signal line that transmits signals in one direction from the main control device to the effect control device.

The main control device is a device that controls the progress of the entire game in the gaming machine. The main control device determines whether or not a predetermined condition relating to the payout of the game medium is successful during the game, and instructs the main board instruction to instruct the contents of the effect to be executed by the effect device based on the game state including the determination result Processing to output information to the production control device is performed. The game state here includes a state in which the player is not playing a game, that is, a standby state or a demo state.
The predetermined condition relating to the payout of game media differs depending on the type of gaming machine. In the case of being configured as a slot machine, whether or not the symbols are arranged in a predetermined role at the time of stopping the rotating cylinder corresponds to the condition mentioned here. When configured as a pachinko machine, payout of game media is likely to occur due to whether or not a game ball has won a prize opening provided on the surface of the game board and a lottery performed after winning the start prize opening Whether or not a specific gaming state, so-called “big hit” has occurred, corresponds to the condition here.
Each function of the main control device may be realized in software by a CPU executing a predetermined computer program, or may be realized in hardware by a circuit such as an ASIC.

The effect control device includes an input unit that inputs main board instruction information from the main control device, an effect command data storage unit, and an effect control execution unit. Each of these units may be configured in software or hardware.
The effect command data storage unit stores a plurality of types of effect command data for defining audiovisual effects according to the type of each effect device.
The production command data may have a data structure in which a plurality of processing commands for instructing a predetermined process to be executed among a plurality of processes required for performing the production control are stored in the order to be executed. A processing instruction corresponds to a command in an interpreter program.
This is not an enumeration of data output to each rendering device, such as audio data reproduced by the audio output device or image data displayed on the display device, but indicates processing contents.
In the case of an enumeration of audio data and image data, the effect control device may be programmed to output these read data to the effect device as they are. On the other hand, in the case of a processing command, the production control device analyzes the content and executes the designated processing. Therefore, the operations performed by the effect control device in response to the processing command are various, and include processing that does not involve output to the effect device.
As an example of processing that is not accompanied by output to the rendering device, this processing command includes a loop command that instructs to repeatedly execute a predetermined processing for controlling the rendering.

  The loop instruction can take a form in which predetermined processing is repeatedly executed within one processing instruction. For example, an instruction for searching for desired data from a predetermined database corresponds to a loop instruction in that a “search” of a database designated in one processing instruction is repeatedly executed until the desired data is found. In addition, processing for polling values from a plurality of predesignated registers such as a plurality of watchdog timers in one processing instruction can be included in the loop instruction.

The address range as the repeat range can be specified by various methods.
For example, a loop end instruction corresponding to the loop instruction may be prepared. In this case, the range from the loop instruction to the loop end instruction is the repeat range.
As another aspect, in the loop instruction, the final address of the repeat range may be specified. This aspect has an advantage that the above loop end instruction can be omitted. The final address may be specified by an absolute address or a relative address based on a loop instruction.

The repetition by the loop instruction can be performed within a range inevitably determined in terms of the contents of processing. In the above-described processing such as database search, since it cannot be executed beyond the entire specified database, the upper limit of repetition is inevitably determined by the size of the entire database.
Thus, the loop instruction is not limited to the repetitive range that is inevitably determined, and the end condition may be specified. That is, the iterative process may be executed until a specified end condition is satisfied. In this case, the end condition may be specified by the number of repetitions, or may be specified in such a manner that a predetermined gaming state is realized.

The effect control execution unit selects one of the effect command data according to the gaming state specified based on the main board instruction information. And according to the selected production command data, the output of each production device is controlled in the following procedure. That is, the effect control execution unit reads a processing command included in the effect command data, analyzes the contents thereof, and executes the process instructed by the processing command. Then, the next stored processing command is read in the rendering command data and executed in the same manner.
In this way, the reading and execution of the processing command are sequentially executed from the head of the production command data.
Further, when executing a loop command in the production command data, the processing within the address range is repeatedly executed until the end condition is satisfied.

This function can be realized by the following processing, for example. First, a pointer for managing the progress of the processing of the production command data is prepared. For example, the address value storing the processing instruction to be processed next is stored in the pointer, and the progress of the processing is managed by sequentially updating the pointer each time the processing instruction is executed.
When the repeat range is specified by the loop instruction and the loop end, the pointer address may be rewritten to the loop instruction address when the loop end instruction is executed. By doing so, after the loop end is completed, the loop instruction is temporarily executed unconditionally.
Then, it is determined whether or not the end condition is satisfied in the loop instruction. If the end condition is satisfied, the next address of the loop end instruction may be set in the pointer. By doing so, it is possible to unconditionally jump to the next process after the loop end instruction, so that iterative processing by the loop instruction can be terminated.
In the loop instruction, when the end condition is not satisfied, the next address of the loop instruction may be set in the pointer. In this way, the processing after the loop instruction is sequentially executed until the loop end is reached.

  In addition, when a repeat range is specified by an address without using a loop end, as a function of the loop instruction, whether or not the end condition is satisfied when the last address of the repeat range is set in the pointer is determined. You may make it determine. When the end condition is not satisfied, if the address of the loop instruction is set in the pointer, processing after the loop instruction is repeatedly executed. If the end condition is satisfied, the loop can be escaped by setting the address next to the last address in the repeat range as the pointer.

  By providing the loop instruction in this way, it is possible to repeatedly execute the processing within the repetition range until the end condition is satisfied. Since a plurality of processing instructions can be set in the repetition range, it is possible to easily give diversity to a series of processes to be repeated. For example, it is possible not only to repeatedly execute a certain image display but also to repeatedly execute a series of processes combining a plurality of image displays, sound output, lamp lighting, and the like.

  In addition, as the end condition, various conditions such as not only the number of repetitions but also the elapse of a predetermined time, the player's operation, and instruction information from the main control board can be designated. Therefore, it is possible not only to repeat a predetermined performance a certain number of times, but also to execute it until a predetermined button operation is performed, and it is possible to easily realize repetition reflecting the gaming state. It becomes.

In the present invention, the production command data can take various structures. As an example, as shown below, a hierarchical structure of type effect command data and integrated effect command data may be taken.
The type effect command data is one of the effect command data, is provided for each effect device, and is data that defines audio-visual effect contents according to the type of the effect device. In order to enable the selection described above, a type effect command data storage unit may be provided in the effect command data storage unit, and a plurality of types of type effect command data may be stored for each effect device. Integrated production command data is one type of production command data, and data representing production contents in which different types of production devices are used together by specifying type production command data for each of a plurality of types of production devices. It is. Similarly, an integrated effect command data storage unit may be provided in the effect command data storage unit, and a plurality of integrated effect command data may be stored.
In order to prepare a plurality of production command data having the same production time, the type production command data includes a plurality of types of data having the same production time by each production device, and the integrated production command data is the same. A plurality of types of data in which any one of the type production command data for the production time is specified for each production device is included.

When there is prepared type effect command data corresponding to lower data for controlling each effect device and integrated effect command data corresponding to higher data for realizing integrated control over different types of effect devices. The production control execution unit can also have a hierarchical structure. That is, a type effect control unit is provided in association with each effect device as a lower layer module for processing type effect command data, and an integrated effect control unit is provided as an upper layer module for processing integrated effect command data It is. The type effect control unit and the integrated effect control unit are modules in the effect control execution unit, and are preferably configured by software by a common CPU or by hardware by a common arithmetic circuit.
The control procedure in the hierarchical structure is as follows. First, the integrated effect control unit selects any of the integrated effect command data according to the gaming state specified based on the main board instruction information. In the integrated effect command data, type effect command data to be executed by each effect device is specified. The integrated effect control unit analyzes the selected integrated effect command data, generates operation information for specifying the type effect command data to be executed by each effect device, and outputs the operation information for each effect device. The operation information is information representing the production contents of each production device by specifying the type production command data to be executed for each production device. For example, an address indicating the storage location of the type effect command data, an identification code attached directly or indirectly to the type effect command data, and the like can be used.
The type effect control unit is individually provided for each effect device. For example, it can be provided in a type effect control unit for a sound output device, a type effect control unit for display control, and a type effect control unit for lamp control. The audio output device may be further subdivided and provided as a type effect control unit for output from the right speaker and a type effect control unit for output from the left speaker. Each of the plurality of type effect control units selects any one of the type effect command data stored in the type effect command data storage unit based on the operation information. And the output of each production | presentation apparatus is controlled based on this classification production command data.

In this way, control of a plurality of types of effect devices is performed by using two types of data hierarchically, ie, integrated effect command data and type effect command data. The integrated effect control unit and the type effect control unit are modules having a general-purpose function for executing processing defined by these command data.
Since each module does not depend on the contents of the production, there is an advantage that it can be shared among different types of gaming machines. In addition, there is an advantage that various effects can be easily realized by changing the integrated effect command data and the type effect command data.

  Furthermore, by using two types of instruction data in a hierarchical manner, various effects can be realized relatively easily. First, by preparing various types of effect instruction data, various effects can be easily realized by each effect device. Further, in the integrated effect command data, it is possible to define the effect contents using a plurality of effect devices in combination by combining various effects prepared for each effect device. By providing programs hierarchically in this way, for example, it is possible to easily output a wide variety of sound effects and easily switch display screens corresponding to a certain sound effect. Also, since the voice production type effect command data and the image display type effect command data are separated, the voice type effect command data can be changed during the execution of the image display type effect command data. It is also possible to change the audio output during image display.

  All of the above-described features are not necessarily provided, and some of them may be omitted or combined as appropriate. The above-described integrated effect control unit, type effect control unit, and the like may be configured in hardware or may be configured as a software module. In addition, the present invention may be configured as a control method for controlling the rendering device by the above-described processing, or a computer program for realizing such control, or a recording medium on which the computer program is recorded, that is, a ROM or a flash memory You may comprise as non-volatile media, such as.

It is explanatory drawing which shows the external appearance of the slot machine 10 in an Example. It is explanatory drawing which shows the structure of a control mechanism. It is explanatory drawing which shows a control software structure. It is explanatory drawing which shows the basic concept of effect control. It is explanatory drawing which shows the production | generation of a system event. FIG. 32 shows the function of the effect module 240. It is explanatory drawing which shows the other usage example (1) of a conditional branch. It is explanatory drawing which shows the other usage example (2) of a conditional branch. It is explanatory drawing which shows the other usage example (3) of a conditional branch. It is explanatory drawing which shows the other usage example (4) of a conditional branch. It is explanatory drawing which shows the usage example of a loop instruction. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing functions of a sound module 250. FIG. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing functions of a lamp module 260. It is a flowchart of a main process. It is a flowchart of an event process. It is a flowchart of effect data processing. It is a flowchart of a sound process. It is a flowchart of a ramp process. It is a front view of the game board 70 used for the pachinko machine as 2nd Example. It is explanatory drawing which shows the control software structure of a pachinko machine.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in the following order.
A. Device configuration:
B. Control mechanism configuration:
C. Control software configuration:
C1. Module configuration:
C2. Basic concept of production control:
C3. Event module features:
C4. Production module features:
C5. Sound module features:
C6. Lamp module features:
D. Production control processing:
D1. Main processing:
D2. Event processing:
D3. Production data processing:
D4. Sound processing:
D5. Ramp processing:
E. effect:
F. Second embodiment:
F1. Game machine configuration:
F2. Game machine control:
G. Variations:

A. Device configuration:
FIG. 1 is an explanatory view showing the appearance of the slot machine 10 in the embodiment. The slot machine 10 can play a game using medals (game medals) that are game media. The “game medium” means an object to be invested or spent for each game in a game hall (hall) and an object to be paid out as a privilege according to the result of the game. Although the present embodiment will be described by taking a slot machine as an example, the present embodiment may be configured as a gaming machine such as a pachinko machine.

  A front view of the slot machine 10 is shown on the left side of the figure, and an AA cross-sectional view is shown on the right side. In order to avoid complication of the drawing, only the door portion of the slot machine 10 is shown in the AA sectional view. The slot machine 10 is provided with a large liquid crystal panel 21 (the screen size is about 19 inches in this embodiment) on the upper side. Three cylindrical reels 22 are arranged below the liquid crystal panel 21. These reels 22 are drawn with game symbols, and can be rotated about the horizontal direction in the drawing as a rotation axis. The front surface of the slot machine 10 is covered with a large transparent cover 11.

  When the player inserts a medal and operates the start lever 15, the reel 22 starts to rotate. When the player operates the three stop buttons 16 respectively, the rotation of the reel 22 corresponding to the position of the button can be stopped. The slot machine 10 pays out medals according to the number of medals inserted and the arrangement of symbols when the rotation stops.

  The slot machine 10 includes a speaker 40 and a lamp 30 for performing various effects during the game. The speakers 40 are provided at four locations on the left and right sides of the upper and lower parts, respectively, but the upper speakers are not shown. The lamps 30 are provided on the left and right sides and the upper part of the slot machine 10. The lamp 30 includes a large number of LEDs and a transparent resin lens that covers the LEDs. The lamp 30 is turned on according to the game situation. For example, when a big hit is made, the lamp 30 is turned on vividly, and an effect of appealing the occurrence of the big win to the surroundings is performed.

B. Control mechanism configuration:
FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of the control mechanism. The slot machine 10 is controlled by distributed processing of the main control board 100 and the sub control board 200. The main control board 100 includes a CPU 101, a ROM 102, and a RAM 103 therein, and controls the overall processing of the slot machine 10. In order to execute this control, various information is inputted to and outputted from the main control board 100. Some of them are shown in the figure.

  The input information includes, for example, sensor outputs such as operating states of the start lever 15 and the stop button 16, a medal full sensor 50, an error release sensor 51, and a door open sensor 52. The medal full sensor 50 outputs an error signal to the main control board 100 when the number of medals stored in the gaming machine exceeds a predetermined number. The error release sensor 51 is an output signal from a switch for resetting an error in accordance with an operation of an attendant when an error occurs in the operation of the slot machine 10. The door opening sensor 52 is a sensor output for notifying that the front door of the slot machine 10 has been opened.

  The reel 22 outputs a signal representing stop position information of each reel. Further, a drive pulse signal for controlling start and stop of a motor that rotates each reel is output from the main control board 100 to the reel 22.

  The power supply unit 18 is a mechanism for supplying power to various boards including the main control board 100. A power failure prediction signal is output to the main control board 100 in order to perform backup processing when an abnormality such as a power failure occurs along with the supply of power.

  The hopper device 19 is a mechanism for paying out medals as a privilege. Depending on the combination established by the reel stop state, medals stored inside can be paid out from the payout port by the stepping motor. A control signal for performing a medal payout operation is output from the main control board 100 to the hopper device 19. The hopper device 19 is provided with a payout sensor that detects the payout medal one by one, and a payout medal signal for each medal is output to the main control board 100.

  The slot machine 10 produces effects such as sound output, lamp lighting, and image display according to the gaming state. These effects are controlled by the sub-control board 200. When the main control board 100 outputs a command representing the gaming state, the sub control board 200 executes an effect corresponding to this. In this sense, it can be said that the sub control board 200 is a subordinate control board that operates in response to a command from the main control board 100. In this embodiment, in order to avoid fraud, the main control board 100 and the sub control board 200 are connected by a unidirectional signal line, and signal transmission from the sub control board 200 to the main control board 100 is not performed.

  The sub-control board 200 is configured as a microcomputer including a CPU 201, a ROM 202, a RAM 203, and the like. The CPU 201 uses the program and data stored in the ROM 202 to execute various effect control processes while utilizing the RAM 203. The CPU 201 can control the lighting state by outputting lamp data representing the lighting pattern to the lamp 30.

The sub control board 200 also has a VDP (Video Display) for controlling the LCD 21.
Processor) 204 is provided. The VDP 204 expands an image into a bitmap in accordance with a command from the CPU 201 and generates display data for displaying the image on the LCD 21. Display data can be generated by various methods. In this embodiment, a method of utilizing character data prepared in advance is adopted.

  Character data is rectangular bitmap data of a prescribed size such as 64 pixels for representing an image (hereinafter referred to as a sprite) displayed as a unit on the LCD 21. There are sprites of various sizes on the screen. A small sprite can be represented by one character data, and in the case of a relatively large sprite such as a person, for example, it can be represented by a total of six character data arranged in a horizontal 2 × vertical 3 or the like. . A larger sprite such as a background image can be expressed using a larger number of character data. The number and arrangement of character data can be arbitrarily specified for each sprite. The size of the sprite and character data can be arbitrarily set. In the present embodiment, the sprite is configured by arranging character data of a standard size, but the character data may have a non-uniform size according to the size of each sprite.

  The CPU 201 instructs the VDP 204 about a plurality of sprites to be displayed on the image and their positions. The VDP 204 reads the character data corresponding to the designated sprite from the ROM 202, expands it to the designated position, and generates display data.

  When a plurality of sprites are arranged on the screen, data for each sprite is sequentially developed on the buffer. Since the data of the sprite developed later is overwritten on the already developed data, when a plurality of sprites are arranged, the sprite developed later is displayed preferentially.

  The VDP 204 has various functions useful for developing an image. One of such functions is a layer function. The VDP 204 can develop sprites for each of a plurality of layers prepared in advance. If this function is used, there is an advantage that the degree of overlap between sprites can be easily controlled by designating whether or not to display an image and the priority of display.

The sub-control board 200 may further include a display control CPU for controlling the above-described processing of the VDP 204 and a character ROM for storing character data.
In this case, the CPU 201 of the sub control board 200 only needs to output an identification code or the like representing an image to be displayed to the display control CPU. The display control CPU analyzes this identification code, specifies the sprite and position to be displayed, and issues an instruction to the VDP 204. In addition, by providing a character ROM dedicated to character data, the character data read speed can be improved, and image display can be performed smoothly.

  The sub-control board 200 is provided with a sound source IC 205 for outputting sound. When the sound source command representing the sound to be reproduced by the CPU 201 is output to the sound source IC 205, the sound source IC 205 can read sound source data corresponding to the sound source command from the ROM 202 and output sound from the speaker 40 via the amplifier 206. A dedicated ROM for storing sound source data may be connected to the sound source IC 205.

  In this embodiment, sound can be output to the speaker 40 with four channels. The four speakers shown here schematically represent channels, and do not correspond to the four physical speakers described in FIG. In the amplifier 206, an amplifier circuit 206a and a volume 206v are prepared for each channel. As will be described later, the CPU 206 can individually adjust the volume 206v. By doing so, for example, during the performance of BGM, it is possible to relatively easily realize an effect such as lowering the volume of the channel and temporarily giving priority to sound effects flowing from other channels.

C. Control software configuration:
C1. Module configuration:
FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a control software configuration. In this embodiment, each module is configured by software by a computer program executed by the CPU 201 of the sub control board, but a part or all of the modules may be configured by hardware.

The main board command buffer 211 in the system module 210 receives the main board command transmitted from the main control board 100 and passes it to the command analysis module 220.
In this embodiment, the main board command is 2-byte information, and is output in 4 bits divided into 4 times. The main board command buffer 211 receives these four signals, reconfigures them into 2-byte commands, and passes them to the command analysis module 220.

  The main board command includes information representing contents related to the production out of the gaming state and the operation state of the slot machine 10. For example, door opening and other sensor outputs (see FIG. 2), operation of the start lever 15 and stop button 16, rotation and stop of the reel, success / failure of the role at the stop, and the like can be mentioned. The commands listed here are examples, and various commands can be included depending on the model of the gaming machine and the contents of the effects. For example, when this embodiment is applied to a pachinko machine, the main board command can include the presence / absence of winning at the start winning opening, the result of lottery, and the like.

  The command analysis module 220 analyzes the contents of the main board command and determines whether or not it is a valid command. If it is determined that the command is valid, the command is passed to the event module 230.

  The event module 230 generates a system event and a user event based on the received command. The system event refers to a management state for performing various processes in accordance with the operation state of the slot machine 10 regardless of the operation of the user during the game. In this embodiment, the state managed by the system event includes, in order of priority, “during setting change, various abnormality notifications, door open state, reel idle, power save, normal game, demonstration” and the like. These are only examples, and more management states may be targeted.

  The user event is an event related to an effect display during a game, and examples thereof include an operation of the start lever 15, an operation of the stop button 16, and a reel stop state. The event module 230 identifies the production number in accordance with these events, and delivers it to the production module 240. The production number is identification information representing production contents realized by voice output, a lamp, an LCD, and the like.

  The effect module 240 determines a liquid crystal command, a voice operation number, and a lamp operation number based on the effect number. The liquid crystal command, the voice operation number, and the lamp operation number to be output with respect to the effect number are defined in advance by the integrated effect command data and stored in the ROM 202. The contents of the integrated effect command data and the method for determining the liquid crystal command will be described later. The liquid crystal command is transferred to the VDP 204 via the liquid crystal command buffer 212. Of the liquid crystal command, the voice operation number, and the lamp operation number, those resulting from the system event may be specified by the event module 230 regardless of the effect module 240.

  The event module 230 and the rendering module 240 of the present embodiment are different from each other in that the integrated effect command data is selected and the operation information (liquid crystal command, voice operation number, lamp operation number) based on the integrated effect command data is output. It fulfills the function corresponding to the integrated production control unit. In this embodiment, the integrated effect control unit is configured by two modules, but the integrated effect control unit may be configured by a single module in which both are integrated.

  The VDP 204 generates display data based on the liquid crystal command buffer 212 and outputs it to the LCD 21. As described above with reference to FIG. 2, the display data is generated by a method of expanding character data specified by a liquid crystal command at a specified position.

The sound module 250 generates a sound source command based on the voice operation number. A method for generating a sound source command will be described in detail later, and only an outline is shown here.
In the present embodiment, the relationship between the voice operation number and the sound source command to be generated is previously defined as voice type effect command data and stored in the ROM 202. The sound module 250 generates a sound source command with reference to this type effect command data. Although not shown, the sound module 250 is provided with a plurality of layer controllers for generating sound source commands with reference to the type effect command data. The sound module 250 can generate a sound source command corresponding to the output for four channels by integrally controlling the plurality of layer control units. The sound source IC 205 reads the sound source data designated by the sound source command from the ROM 202 and outputs the sound from the speaker 40.

The lamp module 260 generates lamp data for lighting / flashing the lamp based on the lamp operation number. The method of generating the ramp data will be described later in detail, and only an overview is shown here.
In this embodiment, the relationship between the lamp operation number and the lamp data to be generated is defined in advance as type effect command data and stored in the ROM 202. The lamp module 260 generates lamp data with reference to this type effect command data. Although not shown, the lamp module 260 is provided with a plurality of layer controllers for generating lamp data with reference to the type effect command data. The lamp module 260 can generate lamp data by integrally controlling the plurality of layer control units. The lamp data is output to the lamp 30 via the output port image work 213, and each lamp is lit and blinks.

C2. Basic concept of production control:
FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing the basic concept of effect control. The function of the sound module 250 is shown as an example. As described above, the sound module 250 generates a sound source command to be output to the sound source IC based on the voice operation number. The generation of the sound source command is realized by the layer control units 252 [1] to 252 [4] and the like. Each layer control unit generates a sound source command with reference to type effect instruction data 255 for sound output prepared individually in advance. The structure of the type effect command data 255 will be described later. The sound module main 251 controls and controls the activation of each layer control unit according to the type effect command data prepared for the sound module main separately from the type effect command data 255 prepared for the layer control unit. Specify type production command data.

  The illustrated layer control units 252 [1] to [4] are part of the layer control unit provided in the present embodiment. As many layer controllers as the number of sound source commands that need to be generated in parallel are prepared. In this embodiment, the sound output by each layer control unit, that is, each sound to be processed in parallel, may be referred to as a “layer” in correspondence with the layer structure of the image display. One layer control unit is provided for each layer.

The layers provided in this embodiment are as follows in descending order of priority. The layer structure for audio is not limited to the following, a part of which may be omitted, or other layers may be added.
System sound effects (setting changes, etc.) Prohibited;
Normally abnormal sound effects are prohibited;
Door opening sound effect (error notification, door, etc.) is prohibited;
Function sound effect 2 (payout, BET, etc.) permission;
Function sound effect 1 (payout, BET, etc.) permission;
Special sound effects (bonus BGM, etc.) permitted;
Planning production sound effect (voice number setting from production) permitted;

  “Prohibited” and “permitted” are designations for prohibiting or permitting the audio output of other layers when using each layer. For example, when sound is output using the “system sound effect” layer, sound output of other layers is prohibited, so that only the system sound effect is output. When the “plan effect sound effect” layer is used, a sound obtained by synthesizing the sound of this layer and the sound of another layer is output.

  The sound source commands output from the layer control units 252 [1] to 252 [4] are output from any of the four channels Ch1 to Ch4 provided in the present embodiment. The sound of each channel is output from the speakers 40 [1] to [4] via the volumes 260v [1] to [4]. However, the speakers 40 [1] to [4] shown here schematically represent the outputs of the channels Ch1 to Ch4, and any one of the physical speakers provided in the slot machine 10 can be used. It does not mean that it corresponds.

  The correspondence between the layer control unit 252 and the output channel is managed by channel management works 253 [1] to 253 [4] provided in association with the channels Ch1 to Ch4. The data structure of the channel management work 253 is illustrated in the lower right of the figure. In the work 253, a layer number, a phrase number, a stereo reproduction flag, an output volume, and a loop attribute are stored.

The layer number defines the layer that uses each channel. In the example shown in the figure, the channel Ch4 indicates that layer # 3 is using it. By changing the layer number, the correspondence between the channel and the layer control unit can be switched. For example, the layer control unit 252 [4] is assigned to the channel Ch2 in the example in the figure, but if the layer number of the channel management work 253 [4] is changed to “# 4”, the channel Ch4 is assigned. Assigned. Similarly, if the layer number of the channel management work 253 [1], 253 [2] is changed to “# 4”, they are assigned to the channels Ch1 and Ch2, respectively.
The phrase number is information indicating which phrase is currently being reproduced from a series of sounds output from each layer. The stereo reproduction flag indicates whether to output in stereo. The output volume is a volume for each channel. The loop attribute is a designation of whether or not to reproduce repeatedly. These pieces of information are designated by the sound module main 251.

The configuration of the present embodiment can be said to be a configuration in which the function of generating a sound source command regardless of the output volume and the function of adjusting the superiority or the volume between output destinations and outputs and the volume are separated. The former is the function of the layer control unit 252 and the latter is the function of the sound module main 251.
By doing this, it is only necessary to specify the type effect command data to be reproduced without considering the superiority or inferiority between the layer control units for the plurality of layer control units 252, and the operation control is simplified. There are advantages you can do. Also, the processing load on the layer control unit is reduced. Further, there is an advantage that the output channel, priority, and volume can be adjusted flexibly in the audio output process.

  For example, during sound output, the sound module main 251 can easily switch the layer output from each channel by changing the layer number of each channel. In the middle of outputting the layers 1 and 2 from the channels Ch1 and Ch2, respectively, the output destination channels can be switched. As a result, when the channel Ch1 is set to a large volume and the channel Ch2 is set to a small volume, the audio that has been played back to a large level is output to a small level without changing the volume balance between the large and small levels. Can be easily output.

  As another example, by setting the output volume of some layers to 0, the sound of a specific layer can be easily deleted, and only the sound of a specific layer can be temporarily output. . In the meantime, since the layer set to volume 0 continues to reproduce only the sound, there is an advantage that if the volume is restored, the previous sound is output without a sense of incongruity.

In the drawing, the basic concept of effect control is shown for the sound module 250. In the present embodiment, the same configuration is adopted for the lamp module 260. That is, a plurality of layer control units for generating lamp data are also provided in the lamp module, and a layer structure is adopted. The layers for the lamp module are as follows in descending order of priority.
setting change;
Error notification;
Door opening notification;
Function display 2 (notification, etc.);
Function display 1 (payout etc.);
Game production;
The layer structure for the lamp is not limited to this, and a part of the layer structure may be omitted or another layer may be added.

  All lamps are treated as “prohibited”. That is, only the highest priority among the above layers is output. Therefore, unlike the sound module, the function of adjusting the volume between outputs is not provided. Of course, the lamp may also be provided with a function equivalent to a volume that adjusts the output intensity of each layer while “allowing” the output of other layers, as in the case of the sound. For example, if a plurality of production layers are provided and both of them are handled as output permission, there is an advantage that various productions can be easily realized by superimposing both layers and adjusting their output intensity.

  In the foregoing, the module configuration of the control mechanism of the slot machine 10 and the basic concept of effect control have been described. Next, the function of each module will be described in more detail while showing the data structure.

C3. Event module features:
FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing generation of a system event. As described above with reference to FIG. 3, the event module 230 generates and manages system events and user events based on the main board command; according to these events, the production number is specified, and the production module 240 And a function for setting a liquid crystal command, a voice operation number, and a lamp operation number based on a system event.
A state SE managed as a system event in the present embodiment is shown in a broken line frame. The lower the priority, the higher the priority. For convenience of control, “power on” is also treated as a system event.

A work 231 used for event processing by the event module 230 is shown on the left side.
In this work, event information [1] to [n] corresponding to the number of events to be managed is stored. The event information [1] to [n] corresponds to each system event SE except “power on”, and each event is “ON”, “OFF”, “switch from ON to OFF”, “OFF”. It manages which state is “switching to ON”. For example, when it is detected by the main board command and other information that a predetermined time has passed without any operation by the player, the event module 230 determines that the “demo” should be entered, and the corresponding event information Set [1] to “Switching from OFF to ON”.

The “sound effect stop layer” and the “ramp stop layer” in the work 231 store the sound layer number and the ramp layer number whose output should be stopped in response to the occurrence / stop of the above-described event. Although illustration is omitted in order to avoid complication of the figure, the necessary number of works 231 such as “sound effect stop layer” and “ramp stop layer” are provided so as to be specified in parallel.
The “sound activation layer” and “sound activation pattern” in the work 231 respectively specify a layer for outputting a sound and a pattern of a sound to be output by a number according to the occurrence / stop of the event. The sound pattern number means the voice operation number in FIG. Similarly, the “lamp activation layer” and the “lamp activation pattern” in the work 231 specify the lamp layer to be activated and the lighting pattern of the lamp by numbers. The number of the lamp lighting pattern means the lamp operation number in FIG. When the above-mentioned “demo” is activated, the sound effect [1] is activated in the sound layer [1], and the lamp [1] is activated in the ramp layer [1].

  A “power save monitoring timer” in the work 231 is a timer used for monitoring a no-operation period. When the time designated by this timer elapses, it is determined that the normal game has shifted to the demo state. The “reel emptying warning timer” in the work 231 is a timer for monitoring the time during which the reel continues to rotate without the stop button 16 being operated. When the time designated by this timer elapses, an error is displayed on the LCD 21 in response to a “reel emptying warning in progress” event.

  “Sound effect stop layer”, “ramp stop layer” and the like in the work 231 are given by the operation number table 232 and the layer information table 233. These tables are defined in advance and stored in the ROM 202. The operation number table 232 stores a sound operation number to be activated (sound effect [0] to [n] in the figure) and a lamp operation number (lamps [0] to [n] in the figure) for each event. doing. The layer information table 233 stores, for each event, a layer (sound layers [0] to [n] in the drawing) to which sound is to be output and ramp layers [0] to [n]. The event module 230 refers to the operation number table 232 and the layer information table 233 according to the event state, and executes a process of reflecting the result on the work 231.

  In addition, as described above with reference to FIG. 3, the system module 210 specifies the production number according to, for example, the operation of the start lever 15, the operation of the stop button 16, the reel stop state, and system event information. . In the present embodiment, a method of specifying an effect number corresponding to the gaming state by referring to an effect lottery table that preliminarily defines the relationship between these various events and the effect numbers is adopted.

  Furthermore, the system module 210 outputs a screen setting command to the VDP 204 at a predetermined timing. This is a command related to screen setting and the like, and by doing so, it is possible to quickly recover even if the effect display is hindered due to the influence of noise or the like.

  In addition to this, the system module 210 outputs a sound operation number and a lamp operation number for performing sound output and lamp display in conjunction with basic operations performed during a game. Examples of the sound to be output include “medal insertion sound”, “waiting sound”, “rotor rotation start sound”, “reel stop sound”, “payout sound”, and the like. Examples of the lamp display include a display at the time of betting, lever ON, and reel stop. In the present embodiment, these voice operation numbers and lamp operation numbers are written in the sound activation layer, sound activation pattern, lamp activation layer, and lamp activation pattern of the work 231 used for system event management. These sound and lamp output are managed as a layer different from the sound and lamp output corresponding to the system event.

C4. Production module features:
FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing functions of the effect module 240. The effect module 240 receives the effect number from the event module 230 and sets a command to be output to the VDP 204, the sound module 250, and the lamp module 260. In the drawing, the structure of the integrated effect command data 241 referred to for setting this command is shown.

In this embodiment, the integrated effect command data 241 is prepared for each effect number specified from the event module 230 and stored in the ROM 202.
The correspondence relationship between the integrated effect command data 241 and the effect number is defined in the effect management table. As shown on the left side of the figure, the effect management table includes an effect management pointer that indicates the storage address of the integrated effect command data. The number of effect management pointers corresponding to the effect number is prepared, but only five are illustrated here.
In the example shown in the figure, for example, the production management pointer [1] initially stores the start address A1 of the integrated production command data 241.
As the processing of the integrated effect command data is executed, the value of the effect management pointer [1] sequentially shifts to A1 and A2. When the production number 01H is designated again after completing the production, the initial value (address A1) of the production management pointer [1] is set in the integrated production command data so that the production started from the address A1 can be resumed. It is necessary to save it while the process is being executed. Various methods can be used to store the initial value.
First, when processing the integrated effect command data, the initial value of the effect management pointer [1] is temporarily saved in the memory for storing the initial value, and then the effect management pointer [1] is set to A1, A2. The initial value is restored when the production is finished.
Second, the initial value of the effect management pointer [1] is stored in the ROM in advance, and the initial value is read into the effect management table configured as a work on the RAM at the time of activation. In this case, the initial value can be restored by reading the initial value from the ROM again at the time when the presentation is finished.
Third, a control pointer for effect control is provided separately from the effect management table, and the value of the effect management pointer [1] is stored in the control pointer when executing the integrated effect command data. In this method, when the control process is executed, the control pointer shifts to A1 and A2, and the value of the effect management pointer [1] remains the initial value.
Similarly, not only the effect management pointer [1], but also other effect management pointers, it is necessary to store initial values when executing control. Any one of the first to third methods described above may be used. In this embodiment, the second method, that is, the initial value from the table separately prepared in the ROM to the effect management pointer on the RAM is set. It is assumed that is read.

  In the present embodiment, the effect number uses the address value of the effect management pointer. In the example shown in the figure, production numbers 01H, 02H, etc. represent storage addresses of production management pointers [1], [2], etc., respectively. However, the production number is not limited to the address value, and any identification information can be used. In this case, the effect management table may be configured to associate the effect number and the effect management pointer, and the effect module 240 searches for the effect management pointer using the effect number as a key, and then the integrated effect command data. It is sufficient to perform the process. However, if the address value of the production management pointer is used as the production number, the amount of data in the production management table can be reduced, and the above-described search is not necessary, so that the load required for processing the integrated production command data can be reduced. .

In the integrated effect command data 241, as shown in the drawing, each command is composed of processing commands and parameters in principle. The processing instruction is a function that the rendering module 240 should execute. Examples of processing instructions used in this embodiment are shown below. The parameter is a variable that specifically indicates the processing content of the processing instruction. Processing instructions that do not require parameter specification may be provided.
(1) Main board command reception check: Checks whether a predetermined main board command has been received. The main board command to be checked is specified by a parameter.
(2) Jump: The address specified by the parameter is set in the effect management pointer.
The effect module 240 jumps to the designated address and continues the processing of the integrated effect command data.
(3) Call: The pointer value of the next processing instruction is saved and the address specified by the parameter is set in the effect management pointer. The effect module 240 can temporarily move to the address designated by the parameter and process the integrated effect command data, and then return to the previous process based on the saved pointer value.
(4) Return: An instruction for returning from the call destination. It has a function of setting the pointer value saved by the call in the effect management table.
(5) Timer set: Sets the timer value for the waiting time. This timer value is sequentially subtracted during processing. This indicates that the specified waiting time has elapsed when the timer value becomes zero.
(6) Timer wait: Wait until the set timer reaches 0, and continue the processing of the integrated effect command data.
(7) Memory reference: It is determined whether or not the occurrence of a predetermined event satisfies a set condition, and the next processing is branched depending on whether or not the condition is satisfied. This corresponds to a so-called conditional branch.
Whether or not an event has occurred is monitored by referring to the value of the event memory indicated by the parameter.
(8) Loop: The processing instruction from the loop to the loop end is repeatedly executed as many times as specified by the parameter.
(9) Loop end: represents the end of the loop.
(10) Production end ... The production number is cleared and the execution ends. At this time, it is reset by writing the head address of the integrated production command data in the production management pointer.
(11) Liquid crystal command set: Sets a command to be transmitted to the liquid crystal.
(12) Voice action number set: A voice action number to be output to the sound module 250 is set.
(13) Lamp operation number set: A lamp operation number to be output to the lamp schedule 260 is set.

  In the example in the figure, a “call” instruction is designated at the address A2. The rendering module 240 next executes the processing instruction at the address A31 specified by this parameter. In the illustrated example, a liquid crystal command is set at address A31, a voice operation number is set at A32, a lamp operation number is set at A33, and the process returns at A3n. When the effect command ends these processes, it returns to the address A2 where “call” is designated, and proceeds to the process of the next address A3.

  In this way, by utilizing the call command, it is possible to incorporate the contents of a series of blocks BL3 designated by the addresses A31 to A3n into various parts of the integrated effect command data. By doing so, it is possible to reduce the capacity of the integrated effect command data and to reduce its creation load. In addition, by doing this, there is an effect peculiar to the slot machine 10 as shown below. In the slot machine 10, various lotteries and the like are performed during the game, and the development of the game changes according to the result. Some players can find a subtle difference in the contents of the presentation during the lottery and guess the lottery result. On the other hand, in the present invention, since the general-purpose production contents can be utilized in various scenes by calling, such a subtle difference can be eliminated and the lottery result or the like can be difficult to predict. It is possible to prevent the entertainment of the game from being impaired.

  In the example in the figure, a timer wait is then executed at address A3. Here, the processing of the integrated effect command data is awaited until the time specified by the parameter Prm [031] has elapsed. As will be described later, in this embodiment, processing is repeatedly executed by a timer interrupt. Therefore, if the value of the parameter Prm [031] is not 0 in the timer wait processing command, the rendering module 240 once ends the processing of the integrated rendering command data without performing the subsequent processing, and if this value is 0. For example, a process of shifting to a processing instruction at the next address is performed.

  In the example in the figure, memory reference, that is, conditional branching is executed at address A11. Here, the case where the condition is whether or not a predetermined button has been pressed is illustrated. When the occurrence of an event that a button is pressed is detected based on a command delivered from the main board, the effect module 240 proceeds to processing of the address next to the address A11. Until this event occurs, the process moves to the address specified by the parameter Prm [112].

  In the present embodiment, the configuration is such that the processing does not proceed until the button is pressed by specifying its own address A11 in the parameter Prm [112]. As a result, the integrated effect command data 241 of the present embodiment can grasp the start address A1 to the conditional branch A11 as a series of blocks BL1. Although not shown, in the integrated effect command data 241, the liquid crystal command, the voice operation number, and the lamp operation number are designated so as not to conflict with each other within the processing of the block BL1.

  In the present embodiment, the voice operation number and the like are designated using a work in the same format as the work 231 shown in FIG. The work 231 used by the system event and the work used by the effect module 240 are prepared separately, and the effect module 240 stores the voice operation number and the like in the work in accordance with the designation of the integrated effect command data. Further, the layer designated by the rendering module 240 is also provided separately from the system module layer (see FIG. 5). Also in the work for the effect module, a plurality of voice operation numbers and lamp operation numbers can be specified in parallel from these layers.

  Similarly, after the conditional branch address A11, the integrated effect command data is defined by the processing command and parameters. In the example in the figure, an example is shown in which no conditional branch is provided from the conditional branch address A11 to the end of presentation (address An). The process of block BL1 is a process executed until the conditional branch is determined, whereas the range after the conditional branch is different from the above-described block BL1 in the sense that it is not executed unless the condition of the conditional branch is satisfied. Therefore, the liquid crystal command (address A22), the voice operation number (address A21), and the like can be designated without considering the conflict with the block BL1. Instead of these settings, the block BL3 or the like may be fetched by a call instruction.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing another usage example (1) of conditional branching. The contents of the integrated effect command data shown in FIG. 6 are shown on the left side, and a flowchart showing the contents of this processing is shown in comparison with the right side.
For example, as shown in the flowchart on the right side, the call instruction at address A2 is a process of executing a subroutine at address A31 (step S2). The timer wait instruction at address A3 repeats the determination process in step S3 until the waiting time represented by Pm [031] has elapsed.

Even in the conditional branch of the address A11, if the address A11 itself is designated as the branch destination address (Prm [112]), this determination is repeatedly executed until the condition “Is the button pressed?” Is satisfied. (Step S11).
When the condition is satisfied, processing of addresses A21 and A22, that is, voice operation number output (step S21) and liquid crystal command output (step S22) are executed.

In the conditional branch (step S11), the branch destination address (Prm [112]) can be specified in various ways.
For example, if the address A2 is designated as the branch destination address (Prm [112]), as indicated by the broken line arrow in the figure, the condition “whether the button has been pressed?” Is not satisfied. The processing for executing the subroutine at the address A31 (step S2) and subsequent steps can be performed again. Such an embodiment can be used, for example, when a demo screen is displayed in the subroutine of address A31 until the start button is pressed.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing another usage example (2) of conditional branching. The contents of the integrated production command data are shown on the left side, and the flowchart showing the contents of the processing is shown in comparison with the right side.
The usage example (2) shows an example in which the process is divided into two depending on whether or not the condition “whether the button has been pressed” is satisfied at the address A11a.

  If this condition is not satisfied, the program jumps to the address A31a specified by the conditional branch parameter. The address A31a is a head address (address illustrated in a frame) of the block BL3a in the integrated effect command data format. Therefore, in the example shown in the figure, when the button is not pressed, processing such as output of the voice action number (2) (address A31a and step S31a) and output of the liquid crystal command (2) (address A32a, step S32a) is performed. After that, the effect is finished (address A33a and step S33a).

  In the address A11a and the step S11a, when the condition “whether the button has been pressed” is satisfied, the next address is processed as it is without jumping. Accordingly, in the example shown in the figure, after the processing such as the output of the voice operation number (1) (address A21a and step S21a) and the output of the liquid crystal command (1) (address A22a, step S22a) are performed, the presentation is ended ( Address A23a and step S23a).

In the example of FIG. 8, the presentation ends (address A23a and step S23a) are performed in the process when the condition is satisfied (address A21a to A23a). It is an example of branching.
On the other hand, the address A23a and “end of effect” in step S23a can be omitted. In this case, when the “button is pressed” condition is satisfied, the voice action number output (1) (address A21a, step S21a), liquid crystal command output (address A22a, step S22a), etc. are performed, Without finishing, the processing after the voice operation number output (2) of the next address A31a is executed.
That is, as indicated by the broken-line arrow in the flowchart on the right side, when a button is pressed, after performing processing such as voice action number output (1) (step S21a), liquid crystal command output (step S22a), Again, it is possible to realize a process that merges with the process such as voice action number output (2) (step S31a).

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing another usage example (3) of conditional branching. The contents of the integrated production command data are shown on the left side, and a flowchart showing the contents of this processing is shown in comparison with the right side.
Usage example (3) shows an example in which the same processing is executed after branching into two types of processing depending on whether or not the condition is satisfied and then joining again.

In the conditional branch of the address A11b, when the condition “whether the button has been pressed” is satisfied, the jump to the branch address A31b specified by the parameter is not performed, and the processing of the block BL2b, that is, the voice operation number output (1b) (address A21b, step S21b), liquid crystal command output (1b) (address A22b, step S22b), etc. are performed.
Thereafter, the jump instruction at address A23b jumps unconditionally to address A41b specified by the parameter. The address A41b is the head address of the block BL4b in the figure (indicated by a frame in the figure). Therefore, when the button is pressed, after the processing of the block BL2b is performed, the voice operation number output (3b) (address A41b, step S41b) and the liquid crystal command output (3b) (address A42b, step S42b) are performed. Processing will be performed.

On the other hand, if the condition “the button was pressed” is not satisfied in the address A11b and step S11b, the process branches to the branch destination address A31b specified by the parameter. The address A31b is the head address of the block BL3b (indicated by a frame in the drawing). Therefore, when the button is not pressed, the voice operation number output (2b) (address A31b, step S31b) and the liquid crystal command output (2b) (address A32b, step S32b) are performed.
Thereafter, the processing shifts to the next address, that is, address A41b, and the processing of block BL4b such as voice operation number output (3b) and liquid crystal command output (3b) is performed.

  As described above, in FIG. 9, by adding an unconditional jump instruction (address S23b) at the end of the processing (block BL2b) when the “button is pressed” condition is satisfied, the block BL2b, After branching to BL3b2 processing, a flowchart is realized in which the processing is performed by joining the blocks BL4b.

  FIGS. 6 to 9 show an example of jumping to a specified address when the condition indicated by the conditional branch processing instruction is “not satisfied”. The conditional branch is not limited to such a mode, and may be configured to jump to an address designated as “when satisfied”. In addition, if the condition is satisfied or not satisfied, the branch destination address may be designated.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing another usage example (4) of conditional branching. The contents of the integrated production command data are shown on the left side, and a flowchart showing the contents of this processing is shown in comparison with the right side.
Usage example (4) shows an example of specifying three branch destinations for a condition.
In the conditional branch instruction (address A11c, step S11c), as illustrated, the branch destination address A21c when the “left” stop switch is pressed, and the branch destination address when the “middle” stop switch is pressed. When the A31c, “right” stop switch is pressed, three branch destinations are designated: branch destination address A41c.

Accordingly, when the “left” stop switch is pressed, the address A21c and the voice operation number output (1c) in step S21c are executed, and then the unconditional jump instruction at the address A22c is set to the designated address A51c. Jump.
When the “medium” stop switch is pressed, address A31c and voice operation number output (2c) in step S31c are executed, and then jump to the designated address A51c by the unconditional jump instruction of address A32c. .
When the “right” stop switch is pressed, the address A41c and the voice operation number output (3c) in step S41c are executed, and then the process proceeds to the next address A51c.

As described above, since the unconditional jump instruction is input to the addresses A22c and A32c, in FIG. 10, after branching to three processes according to the condition of step S11c, the processes are merged again, and the addresses A51c and S51c. A flowchart for executing liquid crystal command output is realized. For convenience of illustration, here, a case where a single process of outputting a voice action number (steps S21c, S31c, S41c) is performed in each of the blocks BL2c, BL3c, BL4c in the process branched in three ways is illustrated. However, it is possible to perform more processing in each block.
Also, an effect end command may be provided in place of the unconditional jump command at addresses A22c and A32c in FIG. By doing so, it is possible to realize a flowchart that branches completely to three processes according to the condition of step S11c.

  7 to 10 show usage examples of conditional branch instructions. When the conditional branch instruction is used in this manner, whether or not the condition is satisfied changes depending on the gaming state, so that various effects reflecting the gaming state can be realized relatively easily.

As processing instructions useful in the integrated performance instruction data, there are a loop instruction in addition to the call instruction shown in FIG. 6 and the conditional branch shown in FIGS. Next, a usage example of the loop instruction will be described.
FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of using a loop instruction. The contents of the integrated production command data are shown.
A loop instruction is set at the address A101, and “insert coin” is specified as a loop end condition in the parameter. In this processing instruction, the processing up to the loop end (address A105) is repeatedly executed until the end condition is satisfied. In the example shown in the figure, the voice output by the demo operation number at the address A102 and the liquid crystal output of the demonstration display command at the address A103 are repeatedly executed.
On the right side of the figure, the process flow is indicated by arrows. First, as indicated by the arrow P1, the processes of the addresses A101 to A105 are executed in the order of addresses. When the loop end at address A105 is reached, the process returns to the loop instruction at address A101 as indicated by arrow P2.
At address A101, it is determined whether or not an end condition “coin insertion” is satisfied. If the end condition is not satisfied, the process proceeds again along the arrows P1 and P2.
When the end condition is satisfied, the processing shifts unconditionally to the processing of the address A106 next to the loop end (address A105) as indicated by the arrow P3.

The above iterative process can also be realized by using conditional branches instead of loops and loop ends. In addition to deleting the loop instruction at address A101, as shown on the left side of the figure, a conditional branch of “insert coin” may be set instead of the loop end at address A105. The conditional branch destination designates address A101 or A102.
When the conditional branch instruction is used, if the condition “coin insertion” is not satisfied at the address A105, the processing after the address A101 is executed. Therefore, since the processing after address A101 is repeated until this condition is satisfied, processing substantially similar to the loop is realized.
However, when iterative processing is realized by a loop and a loop end, there is an advantage that it is not necessary to specify a branch destination address unlike a conditional branch instruction. Therefore, there is an advantage that the position of the loop and the loop end can be moved without considering the address when creating the integrated effect data.

As described above, the range of the iterative process may be specified by an address in addition to the method specified by the loop end.
In the loop instruction at the address A110 in the figure, an example is shown in which the range of repeated processing is specified by an address. In this example, the process up to the address A112 specified by the parameter is repeated until the end condition of three repetitions is satisfied.
Therefore, as shown by the arrow P11 on the right side, after performing the voice operation number output (address A111) and the liquid crystal display command output (address A112), if the number of repetitions is less than three, the arrow P12 Thus, returning to the loop instruction, the process along the arrow P11 is executed again. When the number of repetitions reaches 3, the process proceeds to the processing of the next address A113 in the repetition range as indicated by an arrow P13.

In this process, as a function of the loop instruction, a function of rewriting the production management pointer, that is, the pointer indicating the storage location of the processing instruction to be executed next in the integrated production data, is “rewritten to address A110 next to address A112”. It can be realized by providing.
In order to realize the repetition of 3 times, “repetition number—1 time”, that is, rewriting may be performed twice. Thus, when the first process is performed along the arrow P11 and the effect management pointer becomes the address A112, the effect management pointer is set to the address A110 by the first rewriting. As a result, as indicated by the arrow P12, the process returns to the address A110, and the second repetition process is performed. Similarly, the third repetition process is executed by the second rewriting of the effect management pointer. Thereafter, the production management pointer is not rewritten, and when the third repetition process is completed, the production management pointer becomes address A113, and the process can move to the next process in the repetition range as indicated by an arrow P13.

In the loop instruction at the address A110, an example is shown in which the repeat range is designated by an absolute address of the address A112. On the other hand, the repetition range may be designated by a relative address with respect to the loop instruction. In the example shown in the figure, the address A112 in the repeat range is an address that is two addresses after the loop instruction, so “2” is designated by the parameter.
According to the designation by the relative address, there is an advantage that the position of the loop instruction can be moved relatively easily without being aware of the absolute address of the repetition range, as in the case of using the loop end.

The above-described call instruction, conditional branch, loop, and the like can be used in various combinations.
In the integrated effect command data, a conditional branch and a call command may be used in combination. For example, a random number for switching the production contents may be generated, and a different address may be called according to the value of the random number. In the example of FIG. 6, if the condition “random number ≦ Th1?” Is added to the address A2, the effects of the addresses A31 to A3n are executed when this condition is satisfied. If the address A41 (not shown) is called after the address A2 (address A2 + 1) with the condition “Th1 <random value ≦ Th2?”, The address A31 and the subsequent addresses are called. Different performances are performed. In this way, if different addresses are called in a conditional branch according to a random number, the contents of the presentation can be switched randomly according to the random number, and the fun of the game can be enhanced. Hereinafter, switching the contents of effects in this way is referred to as “effect lottery” in this specification.

As an application example of the effect lottery, for example, the following modes can be cited.
(1) Notification of child roles (sound, display, lamp drawing lottery);
(2) Switch the sound effect for the time around the inside (sound production lottery);
(3) Switch the display background according to the time zone (display effect lottery);
(4) Change the sound effect at the time of the tempering according to the reach (sound production lottery);
(5) Delay the output timing of the fluctuation start sound (sound production lottery);
(6) Display assist time lottery (display lottery for display);
(7) Display sub-characters other than the main displayed character (display rendering lottery);
(8) Notification sound output (sound production lottery);
(9) Announcement of internal hits over several games (display lottery)
(10) Change the backlight when the reels stop depending on the winning combination (ramp production lottery)

  In the above example, all of the display, sound, and lamp may be switched by the effect lottery, or only a part may be switched. When switching all of them, all the contents of the display, sound, and lamp may be specified in the integrated effect command data called by the call command. When switching only a part, specify only the part to be switched in the integrated performance command data called by the call command, and specify the other parts after returning from the call command. Good.

  As described above, the effect lottery is to switch the content of the effect by the control process of the sub-control board 200, and does not affect the game itself. However, by enabling the effect lottery in this way, it is possible to realize more various effects than the types of commands output from the main control board 100, and it is possible to further enhance the interest.

C5. Sound module features:
FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram showing functions of the sound module 250. The sound module 250 performs audio output while referring to the type effect command data 255 stored in the ROM 202. As described above with reference to FIG. 4, the sound module 250 performs these processes using a plurality of layer control units 252 in combination. Each layer control unit 252 is provided in association with a sound layer for voice. Each layer control unit 252 is provided with a work 252W for operation management. The contents of the work 252W will be described later.

  When the sound operation number is received from the effect module 240, the sound module 250 refers to the sound operation number table and specifies the type effect command data 255 to be executed. The voice action number table is a table in which an initial sound pointer and a sound layer are associated with a voice action number. In this embodiment, the voice operation number uses the storage address of the voice operation number table. Therefore, the sound module 250 can read the voice action number table corresponding to the gaming state by accessing the address designated by the voice action number. Although any identification information can be used for the voice operation number, the capacity of the voice operation number table is reduced and the table using the storage address is the same as described in the production number (see FIG. 6). There is an advantage of reducing the processing load at the time of reference.

The initial sound pointer designates the storage address of the type effect command data 255.
In the present embodiment, the address SA1 is stored in the initial sound pointer [1]. From the first sound layer, sound reproduced using the type effect command data 255 stored at the address SA1 is output. Similarly, the second sound layer outputs a sound based on the type effect command data 255 stored at the address specified by the initial sound pointer [2]. Thus, by referring to the sound pointer of the voice action number table, it is possible to specify the type effect command data used in each layer.

The type effect command data 255 is composed of processing commands and parameters, like the integrated effect command data (see FIG. 6). The processing commands used in the type effect command data 255 are as follows.
(1) Timer set: The time set by the parameter is set to the timer of the workpiece 252W.
(2) Phrase playback: Phrase data indicated by the phrase number set in the parameter is played back. The contents of the phrase data will be described later.
(3) Phrase mute: Stops playback of the channel that is playing the phrase data set by the parameter.
(4) Channel mute: Stops playback of the channel set by the parameter.
(5) Stop layer output: Stops processing and releases the channel used.
(6) Call: The pointer value of the next processing instruction is saved, and the address specified by the parameter is set in the sound pointer.
(7) Return: Returns from the call destination.
(8) Jump: The address specified by the parameter is set in the sound pointer.
(9) Loop: The processing instruction from the loop to the loop end is repeatedly executed as many times as specified by the parameter.
(10) Loop end: represents the end of the loop.
Further, it may be determined whether or not “memory reference”, that is, whether or not a predetermined event occurs, satisfies a set condition, and a processing instruction for branching the next process depending on whether or not the condition is satisfied may be provided. This corresponds to a so-called conditional branch. Whether or not an event has occurred can be monitored by referring to the value of the event memory indicated by the parameter.

  In the example in the figure, a call command is defined at the address SA2. The sound module 250 executes a series of blocks after the address SA31 (not shown), as shown in the integrated effect command data (FIG. 6), and then processes the address SA3 next to the address SA2. .

  At address SA3, phrase playback is defined. The sound module 250 reads the phrase data 255F corresponding to the phrase number 00H specified by the parameter and reproduces it.

  An example of the structure of the phrase data 255F is shown on the right side of the figure. The phrase number is identification information attached to each phrase data. In this embodiment, arbitrary identification information can be used, but the storage address of the phrase data 255F may be used as the phrase number. In this case, the phrase number can be omitted from the phrase data 255F.

  The channel is an output channel designation for phrase playback. The left and right panpots and the upper and lower panpots are the left / right / upper / lower output balances of the four speakers provided in the slot machine 10. The volume is an output volume. The song number is an identification number of the sound to be reproduced. When this number is delivered to the sound source IC 205, the sound source IC 205 reads the sound source data corresponding to the number from the ROM 202 and reproduces the sound. The loop is a designation as to whether or not to reproduce the sound repeatedly. Stereo is a designation of whether or not to output in stereo.

Each layer control unit 252 is associated with an operation management work 252W. Various pieces of information shown in the figure are stored in the work 252W.
The operation state indicates whether each layer is operating.
The voice number represents the number of the type effect command data 255 in operation. In this embodiment, the head address of the type effect command data 255 is used.
The sound pointer stores the address of the type effect command data 255 being executed by the layer control unit 252. Its initial value is specified by the initial sound pointer. In the example in the figure, as the processing proceeds, the value of the sound pointer sequentially shifts to SA2 and SA3.
The layer control timer represents a waiting time until the next processing instruction is executed. It is set when a waiting time is specified in the type effect command data 255, and is subtracted sequentially as time passes. The sound module 250 executes the next processing instruction when this value becomes zero.

  The number of call nests and the number of loop nests represent the number of call and loop nests specified in a multiple manner by the type effect command data 255 and the phrase number. In other words, for example, in the processing after address SA31 called by the call instruction (first call) at address SA2, when the type effect instruction data 255 of another address is called by the call instruction (second call), the number of call nests becomes 2. When the second call is finished and returned to the first call, the number of call nests is reduced to one. The same applies to the loop. The call return address is a return address from the call destination and is provided according to the number of call nesting. The loop start address is the start address of the loop range, and the loop count is the number of loop iterations. The loop head address or the like is provided according to the number of loop nests.

C6. Lamp module features:
FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram showing functions of the lamp module 260. The lamp module 260 performs lamp output, that is, lighting / flashing control of the lamp while referring to the type effect command data 265 stored in the ROM 202. The lamp module 260 also performs these processes using a plurality of layer control units 262 in combination. Each layer control unit 262 is provided in association with a lamp layer for a lamp. Each layer control unit 262 is provided with a work 262W for operation management. The contents of the work 262W will be described later.

When the lamp operation number is received from the effect module 240, the lamp module 260 refers to the lamp operation number table and specifies the type effect command data 265 to be executed.
The lamp operation number table is a table in which an initial lamp pointer and a lamp layer are associated with a lamp operation number. In the present embodiment, the lamp operation number uses the storage address of the lamp operation number table. As the lamp operation number, arbitrary identification information can be used. However, as described above with reference to the production number (see FIG. 6), the storage address is used to reduce the capacity of the lamp operation number table. There is an advantage of reducing the processing load at the time of reference.

  The initial lamp pointer designates the storage address of the type effect command data 265 to be executed corresponding to the lamp operation number. In the present embodiment, the address LA1 is stored in the initial ramp pointer [1].

The type effect command data 265 is composed of processing commands and parameters, like the integrated effect command data (see FIG. 6). The processing instructions used in the type effect instruction data 265 are as follows.
(1) Timer set: The time set by the parameter is set to the timer of the workpiece 252W.
(2) Tone pattern setting: The tone pattern data address set by the parameter is set, and the tone data timer in the work 262W is cleared to instruct the execution of the tone data.
(3) Jump: Sets the address specified by the parameter to the ramp pointer.
(4) Stop layer output: Stop processing.
(5) Loop: The processing instruction from the loop to the loop end is repeatedly executed as many times as specified by the parameter.
(6) Loop end: represents the end of the loop.
Further, it may be determined whether or not “memory reference”, that is, whether or not a predetermined event occurs, satisfies a set condition, and a processing instruction for branching the next process depending on whether or not the condition is satisfied may be provided. This corresponds to a so-called conditional branch. Whether or not an event has occurred can be monitored by referring to the value of the event memory indicated by the parameter.

  In the example in the figure, a call instruction is defined at the address LA2. The lamp module 260 executes a series of blocks after the address LA31 (not shown) and then processes the address LA3 next to the address LA2 in the same manner as shown in the integrated effect command data (FIG. 6). .

  In the address LA3, gradation pattern setting is defined. The lamp module 260 sets the gradation pattern data 266 stored at the address LA11 specified by the parameter. The run player control unit 262 is provided with a gradation control unit 263 in association with each other. The lamp is turned on with the designated gradation data 1, and when the time designated by the timer value elapses, the gradation data 2. Turn on the lamp. Here, an example in which two kinds of gradation data are designated is shown, but even when three or more kinds of gradation data are designated, the lamp is turned on while sequentially switching the gradation data at the time interval of the timer value. By preparing a plurality of gradation pattern settings after address LA12, it is possible to light the lamp with various gradation patterns while changing the timer value for switching between gradation data. It is also possible to provide a loop in the gradation pattern data. When the gradation control unit 263 executes a series of processes of the addresses LA11 to LA1n, the lighting of the lamp is finished. The run player control unit 262 returns to the process of the address LA3 of the type effect command data 265, and executes the process of the next address until it stops (address LAn).

Each layer control unit 262 is associated with an operation management work 262W. Various pieces of information shown in the drawing are stored in the work 262W.
The control status indicates whether or not the layer control unit is being activated.
The operation pattern number represents the number of the type effect command data 265 in operation. In this embodiment, the head address of the type effect command data 265 is used.
The layer control timer represents a waiting time until the next processing instruction is executed. It is set when the waiting time is specified by the type effect command data, and is subtracted sequentially as time passes. The lamp 260 executes the next processing instruction when this value becomes zero.
The gradation data timer represents a waiting time until the next gradation data is executed when the gradation pattern data 266 is executed. In the example shown in the figure, when the gradation data defined in the address LA11 is executed, when the timer value set in the gradation data timer becomes 0, the gradation data 1 is shifted to the gradation data 2. When the timer value becomes 0 again, the processing at the address LA11 is terminated and the processing proceeds to the processing at the address LA12.

The lamp pointer stores the address of the type effect command data 265 being executed by the layer control unit 262. The initial value is specified by the initial ramp pointer. In the example in the figure, as the processing proceeds, the value of the ramp pointer sequentially shifts to LA1, LA2, and LA3.
The gradation data pointer stores the address of gradation pattern data 266 being executed by the gradation control unit 263. In the example in the figure, as the processing proceeds, the value of the gradation data pointer sequentially shifts to LA11 and LA12.
The loop count is the loop repeat count, and the loop head address is the head address of the loop range. As with sound, you may allow loops to be nested.

D. Production control processing:
In the present embodiment, the effect control is executed by the function of each module described above.
Below, the processing content of production control is shown. Each process is realized in cooperation with the modules described above in software, and is executed by the CPU 201 of the sub-control board 200 in hardware.

D1. Main processing:
FIG. 14 is a flowchart of the main process. The left side shows steady processing and the right side shows timer update processing. The steady process is repeatedly executed at a cycle of 16 msec, and the timer update process is repeatedly executed at a cycle of 2 msec. Each period can be set arbitrarily.

  In the steady processing, a series of processing after power-on is shown. When the power is turned on, the CPU 201 prohibits interruption (step S10), and performs various register settings and the like as start processing (step S11). When the startup process is completed, an interrupt is permitted (step S12), and the main process routine is entered.

  In the main processing routine, event processing (step S30), effect data processing (step S40), sound processing (step S50), ramp processing (step S60), and command output to the liquid crystal (step S70) are repeatedly executed at a cycle of 16 msec. To do. These processes are processes corresponding to the functions of the event module 230, the sound module 250, the effect module 240, and the lamp module 260, respectively.

  During the execution of the main processing routine, various timers are used as described above. The timer table TW shown in the center of the figure is a table that stores various timer values used in the main processing routine in association with timers [1] to [n]. In the main processing routine, each module can update a timer value necessary for processing by referring to the timer table TW.

  The values of timer [1] to timer [n] in the timer table are updated by timer update processing executed at a cycle of 2 msec. A flowchart of timer update processing is shown on the right side. In this process, if the timer [i] to be processed is not 0 (step S21), the CPU 201 subtracts 1 from the timer value (step S22), otherwise skips the subtraction process. The CPU 201 repeatedly executes the timer [i] to be processed while switching sequentially from timer [1] to timer [n] until all timers are completed (step S23). By executing the timer update process, the values of timer [1] to timer [n] stored in the timer table TW are sequentially subtracted until the value becomes 0 at a cycle of 2 msec. Each module of the main processing routine can determine whether or not the specified time has elapsed by monitoring whether or not the value of the timer table TW is zero.

  In this embodiment, a configuration is adopted in which each module of the main processing routine polls the value of the timer table as necessary. The time monitoring is not limited to such a method, and when any value of timer [1] to timer [n] in the timer table becomes 0 in the timer update process, the module corresponding to the timer A configuration may be adopted in which a notification that indicates the passage of time is issued.

D2. Event processing:
FIG. 15 is a flowchart of event processing. This process is executed by the event module 230, and corresponds to step S30 of the main process routine.

  In this process, the CPU 201 first reads a main board command (step S41) and analyzes the contents (step S42). Then, a system event is created according to the main board command (step S43). That is, by setting each event information for the work 231 shown in FIG. 5, the state of the slot machine 10 is represented, and a sound effect stop layer or the like is set according to the result. Various operations other than the effect display are set.

  The CPU 201 executes this process in order from the event with the highest priority. When an event that is switched from “ON → OFF” or “OFF ← ON” occurs in the middle, the process for the subsequent events is skipped. (Step S44). If there is no event to be switched, the above process is executed for all events (step S45).

When these processes are completed, the CPU 201 sequentially executes the setting of the production number (step S46), the liquid crystal command setting (step S47), the sound pattern activation (step S48), and the ramp layer activation (step S49).
The setting of the production number (step S46) refers to the production number according to, for example, the operation of the start lever 15, the operation of the stop button 16, the reel stop state, and the system event information as described in FIG. Is the process of identifying
The liquid crystal command setting (step S47) is a process of outputting a screen setting command related to the screen setting or the like to the VDP 204 as a countermeasure when the effect display is hindered due to the influence of noise or the like.
Sound pattern activation (step S48) and ramp layer activation (step S49) are a voice operation number for outputting a sound and a lamp operation linked to a basic operation performed during a game, and an output of a lamp operation number. Do. Examples of the sound to be output include “medal insertion sound”, “waiting sound”, “rotor rotation start sound”, “reel stop sound”, “payout sound”, and the like. Examples of the lamp display include a display at the time of betting, lever ON, and reel stop.

D3. Production data processing:
FIG. 16 is a flowchart of effect data processing. This is a process executed by the effect module 240, and corresponds to step S40 of the main process routine.

  The CPU 201 reads the effect number (step S41) and determines whether the effect number is normal (step S42). When an effect number that is not normal is specified due to the influence of noise or the like (step S42), the CPU 201 ends the effect data process. At this time, the read effect number is discarded.

  When the production number is normal (step S42), the CPU 201 refers to the production management table (see FIG. 6) (step S43) and obtains the production management pointer value corresponding to the production number. If the effect management pointer value is abnormal (step S44), the CPU 201 stops the layer control unit (step S46) and ends the process.

  If the effect management pointer value is normal (step S44), the integrated effect command data designated by the pointer is read and the processing command defined therein is executed (step S45). The structure of the integrated effect command data and the types of processing commands are as described in FIG. Through this processing, a liquid crystal command, a voice operation number, and a lamp operation number for realizing an effect corresponding to the gaming state are set and stored in the work 231 (see FIG. 5). The CPU 201 continues this process when an instruction to interrupt the process of the integrated effect command data is given by a process such as conditional branching or time wait, or until an effect end is instructed (step S47).

  When the above processing is completed, as shown in FIG. 14, the voice operation number and the lamp operation number designated according to the integrated effect command data are transferred to the following sound processing and ramp processing. The liquid crystal command is output to the VDP 204 in the main processing routine (step S70 in FIG. 14).

D4. Sound processing:
FIG. 17 is a flowchart of sound processing. This process is executed by the sound module 250 and corresponds to step S50 of the main process routine.

  The CPU 201 executes the processes of steps S51 to S54 while sequentially switching the layer control units to be processed for the plurality of layer control units 252. First, the CPU 201 determines whether or not the layer control unit is being activated or newly activated depending on the voice operation number to be processed (step S51). If the layer control unit is not activated and does not need to be activated again, the processing target is switched to the next layer control unit and processing is performed sequentially. Whether the activation is necessary can be determined by referring to the work 231 set in the effect data processing (FIG. 16). Further, whether or not the layer control unit is already activated can be determined by referring to the operation state of the workpiece 252W (see FIG. 12) used by the layer control unit 252.

  If it is determined that the layer control unit 252 is being activated or is newly activated (step S51), the work 252W associated with the layer control unit 252 is referenced to determine whether the timer value is 0 or not. (Step S52). If the timer value is not 0, it means that the processing is waiting. Therefore, the CPU 201 does not perform any processing on the layer control unit 252 and sets the processing target to the next layer control. Switch to section.

  When the timer value is 0, it means that the layer control unit is at a timing to execute the next processing instruction. Therefore, the CPU 201 performs the process of updating the layer control unit (step S53), that is, the sound pointer is advanced by one. Then, the type effect command data designated by the new pointer is read, and the processing according to the processing command is executed. In this process, as described above with reference to FIG. 12, when phrase reproduction is designated, a music number according to the phrase data 255F is output as a sound source command, and the sound source IC 205 reproduces sound. CPU201 performs the above process sequentially about all the layer control parts (step S54).

  Next, the CPU 201 selects the highest priority layer control unit among the active layer control units (step S55). The sound layer structure 254 in the present embodiment is shown on the right side of the figure. As described above with reference to FIG. 4, this embodiment has eight sound layers # 1 to # 8. The lower the layer, the higher the priority level. Assume that layers # 1, # 2, and # 5 marked with a circle in the figure are being activated. At this time, in the process of step S55, layer # 5 having the highest priority among the active layers is selected.

  The CPU 201 determines whether or not the sound of another layer control unit is prohibited for the layer thus selected (step S56). If it is prohibited, the CPU 201 turns off the volume of the other layer control unit (step S57). If it is permitted, the volume of all the layer control units is the volume value specified by the phrase data 255F. (Step S58).

  In the example shown in the figure, layer # 5 is prohibited from sounding other layers. Therefore, the output volumes of layers # 1 and # 2 are set to 0. This volume adjustment can be realized by setting the output volume of the channel management work 253 (see FIG. 4) corresponding to the channel specified by the phrase data 255F to zero. In layers # 1 and # 2, although the output volume is set to 0, the operation is not stopped, so that the audio output is continued as it is. Accordingly, as long as the output volume is restored, the continuation of the previous output can be output without a sense of incongruity.

  In this embodiment, the permission / inhibition of audio output of other layers is controlled by referring only to the prohibition / permission of the highest priority layer. However, the prohibition / permission of a plurality of layers may be referred to. For example, the highest priority layer and the second layer may be referred to, and when one of them is prohibited, the other layer may be silenced. In this way, even when the higher priority layer is “permitted” and the second layer is “prohibited”, the third and subsequent layers can be muted. In the layer structure shown in FIG. 17, layers # 1 to # 4 with low priority are permitted, and layers # 5 to # 8 with high priority are prohibited. However, by referring to the prohibition / permission of a plurality of layers, the prohibition / permission of each layer can be set flexibly. For example, it is preferable to always output, but if there is audio that is not information that prohibits the sound of other layers, set it to “Allow” while setting it as the highest priority layer. Good.

  Through the above processing, audio output can be performed while using a plurality of layer control units in parallel. Also, depending on the setting of priority and prohibition / permission, it is possible to output only the sound of some layers while continuing to play other layers. By activating multiple layer control units, it is possible to easily realize various effects such as temporarily mixing and playing sound effects such as operation of the start lever while playing BGM. It becomes.

D5. Ramp processing:
FIG. 18 is a flowchart of the ramp process. This process is executed by the lamp module 260 and corresponds to step S60 of the main process routine.

  Similar to the sound processing (FIG. 17), the CPU 201 activates the layer control unit (step S61) and determines a timer value (step S62). When the layer control unit is being activated or is newly activated and the timer value is 0, the CPU 201 updates the layer control unit (step S63), and a new ramp pointer (newly generated work in FIG. 13). 262W), the processing instruction of the type effect instruction data specified in (262W) is executed. In this process, when the gradation pattern setting (FIG. 13) is set, the gradation pattern is output to the lamp 30 based on the designated gradation pattern data 266. The CPU 201 executes the above processing for all layer control units 262 and gradation control units 263 included in each layer (step S64), and further executes for all layers (step S65).

  Next, the CPU 201 selects the highest priority layer control unit among the active layer control units (step S66). The lamp layer structure 264 in the present embodiment is shown on the right side of the figure. As described above with reference to FIG. 13, this embodiment has six layers # 1 to # 6. The lower the layer, the higher the priority level. Assume that layers # 1, # 2, and # 5 marked with a circle in the figure are being activated. At this time, in the process of step S66, layer # 5 having the highest priority among the active layers is selected.

  The CPU 201 outputs the ramp data only for the layer thus selected (step S67). For the other layers, the layer control unit reproduces the gradation data, but the output is cut off without being transmitted to the lamp. Since the layer control units of other layers do not stop the processing, if the processing of the highest priority layer stops, the gradation data of the next highest priority layer is output without any sense of incongruity. The

  The reason why only the top-priority layer is output is that, when a plurality of layers are superimposed on a lamp, the lighting pattern generally has no regularity and tends to have a sense of incongruity. Depending on the gradation data of the lamp, layers other than the highest priority layer may be output together. Further, the gradation data may be superimposed with strength depending on the priority. In the case of permitting the superimposed output in this way, prohibition or permission of superimposition may be set for each layer as in the case of audio output.

E. effect:
According to the slot machine 10 of the present embodiment described above, there is an advantage that various effects can be realized relatively easily in the effect control on the sub-control board 200.
First, in the present embodiment, the control content of the effect device is defined using the integrated effect command data and the type effect command data. These effect command data have a data structure in which a plurality of processing commands for instructing the contents of control processing to be executed by various modules at the time of rendering are stored in the order to be executed. Therefore, in this embodiment, various effects can be realized only by preparing these effect command data without changing the effect control program.
In addition, in this embodiment, since this processing instruction can include a loop instruction, a series of processing can be repeatedly executed as a group. Since various contents can be set for the repetition contents in the loop command, it is possible to efficiently realize various effect displays with one effect command data by providing various types of loops.
Further, in this embodiment, by using a plurality of layer control units in parallel for each of the sound and the lamp, it is possible to realize a wide variety of effects with each of the sound and the lamp.
In addition, since the integrated effect command data for integrated control of the LCD, the sound, and the lamp and the type effect command data for controlling the output of each of the sound and the lamp are used hierarchically, various kinds of functions realized by the sound and the lamp are used. Various combinations of effects can be easily realized.

F. Second embodiment:
F1. Game machine configuration:
FIG. 19 is a front view of a game board 70 used in a pachinko machine as a second embodiment. The game board 70 is attached to an outer frame (not shown) of the pachinko machine, and has a game area 71 in the center. The player can perform a game by operating a handle (not shown) and driving a game ball into the game area 71 to win a winning opening.

The pachinko machine of this embodiment corresponds to a so-called second type. In the center of the game board 70, there is provided a variable winning device 80 for executing a mechanical lottery, that is, a lottery method for determining whether or not a big hit is made based on the movement of a game ball. As shown in the drawing, a first movable piece 81 and a second movable piece 82 are provided in a pair on the left and right sides of the variable winning device 80, respectively. The state shown in the figure shows a state in which the first movable piece 81 and the second movable piece 82 are opened so that the game ball can enter the variable winning device 80. Usually, the first movable piece 81 is closed so as to slide and close the opening as shown by the arrow B. At this time, the second movable piece 82 is hidden inside as indicated by an arrow C.
When the game ball wins the start winning opening 72 at the lower part of the game area 71, the first movable piece 81 and the second movable piece 82 are opened as shown in the figure.

  As shown by the arrow D, the game ball that has entered the variable winning device 80 in the opening rolls down in the flow path 83 provided in the arc shape on the left and right toward the arm 84 extending from the left and right to the center. Since the variable winning device 80 swings left and right as shown by the arrow A as a whole, the game ball rolls unstable on the left and right on the arm 84, and then drives the driving device 85 driving device 85 driving device 85 driving device 85. Device 85 falls at an appropriate timing. Depending on the fall timing, the game ball enters the general winning opening 86 and enters the V winning opening 87. The arm 84 and the drive device 85 function as a sorting mechanism that determines whether or not the big hit. When winning the V winning opening 87, it becomes “big hit”, and “big hit game” in which the first movable piece 81 and the second movable piece 82 repeat opening and closing in a predetermined pattern is started.

  The variable winning device 80 is provided as a driving device 85 for producing a UFO at a position shifted to the front so as not to interfere with the falling game ball. The drive device 85 imitates the movement of the UFO and moves in a curved manner so as to draw a figure 8 in the front-rear and left-right directions as indicated by an arrow E, and also performs a roll motion as indicated by an arrow F. The player feels as if the driving device 85 interferes with the falling game ball, and at the same time, the real thing moves, thereby obtaining a realistic presentation effect that cannot be obtained with a display or a lamp. it can.

  An LCD 73 is provided at the center of the game area 71, and various effect screens (sometimes referred to as decorative symbols) are displayed during the game. An effect screen corresponding to the gaming state is also displayed when winning at the start winning opening or when a big hit occurs. The LCD 73 is installed behind the driving device 85 as viewed from the player. The driving device 85 may be driven in conjunction with the display on the LCD 73.

F2. Game machine control:
The configuration of the control mechanism of the pachinko machine is the same as that of the slot machine 10. As described above with reference to FIG. 2, the main control board 100 and the sub control board 200 control the game and effects for the game. In the slot machine 10, display control is also performed by the sub-control board 200, but in the pachinko machine, a display control board may be separately provided. In this case, the display-related functions in the effect module 240 shown in FIG. 3 and the functions of the liquid crystal command buffer 212 and the VDP 204 are realized by a liquid crystal display control board.

  FIG. 20 is an explanatory diagram showing a control software configuration of the pachinko machine. The same modules as those in the slot machine 10 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted. The pachinko machine of this embodiment is different from the embodiment (FIG. 3) in that a module for controlling the operation of the driving device 85 shown in FIG. 19 is added.

The driving device 85 is connected to the driving device module 270 via the output port image work 214 like the lamp and the like, and is controlled by the event module 230A and the driving device module 270. The driving device 85 is provided with a plurality of stepping motors for driving, and the operations of these stepping motors are controlled. Specific control items are as follows.
(1) Travel amount: Stepping motor rotation step angle;
(2) Movement time: Time for moving from the current position to the next position;
(3) Movement speed: Motor rotation speed;
(4) Excitation method: 1-1 phase excitation, 1-2 phase excitation, 2-2 phase excitation distinction;
(5) Trapezoidal drive: Instead of changing the speed in a step function at the start and stop of rotation, the rotational speed is changed at a predetermined angular acceleration;
(6) Rotation direction: Rotation direction of the motor;
(7) Execution instruction for return operation to return to the origin position;
(8) Instruction to stop mechanical end;
Here, the mechanical end stop means stopping when the movable range of the driving device 85 is mechanically limited and biased to the limit position of the movable range.

  The control method of the driving device 85 is the same as that of the lamp or the like. The effect module 240A analyzes the command to determine the operation mode of the drive device 85, and outputs a drive device operation number representing the operation mode to the drive device module 270. The driving device module 270 refers to the type effect command data corresponding to the driving device operation number. In the type effect command data for the driving device 85, processing commands and parameters for specifying the control items (1) to (8) described above are prepared. Calls, conditional branching, and effect lotteries are also provided.

  As for the drive device 85, as shown in FIG. 4, a plurality of layer control units can operate in parallel. The signal output from each layer control unit to the stepping motor is adjusted by the output strength of a plurality of channels, as shown in FIG.

Thus, by providing a control mechanism similar to the lamp and sound, it is possible to cause the drive device 85 to perform various movements.
For example, when determining hit / displace mechanically, in order to produce an effect that looks like it interferes with the game ball, in addition to moving in the shape of 8 figure, you can fly fancy at the time of hitting, or crash at the time of falling off Thus, you may make it move considering various production effects. While operating in parallel the layer control unit that moves in the shape of figure 8, the layer control unit that realizes the effect operation at the time of hitting, the layer control unit that realizes the effect operation at the time of losing, each according to the lottery result Adjust the output. The integrated production command data may be defined so that the production operation of the drive device 85 and the display, lamp, and sound are linked. By doing so, it is possible to realize a production with a sense of unity.

  Also in the second embodiment, it is possible to perform an effect lottery for display, sound, lamp, and driving device 85. As in the embodiment, the effect lottery can also be performed by properly using the call command of the integrated effect command data based on random numbers (see FIG. 6). On the other hand, in this embodiment, the method of performing the effect lottery with the type effect command data instead of the integrated effect command data is adopted.

The effect lottery with the type effect command data can be realized by the same method as the integrated effect command data. That is, it is only necessary to specify that different type effect command data is called according to a random number for effect lottery using a conditional branch and a call command in the type effect command data. In this method, the display, sound, lamp, and driving device 85 independently perform the effect lottery, and as a result, the effect modes realized by the combination become very diverse, and there is an advantage that it can be more interesting.
However, regardless of the result of the lottery of the display, sound, lamp, and driving device 85, it is preferable that these effects end at the same time in order to realize an effect without a sense of incongruity. Therefore, in this embodiment, the type effect command data to be selected for effect lottery has the content that the effect ends in the same time. However, it is not an essential requirement that the production ends at the same time, and these production times may vary.

The effect lottery based on the type effect command data has the advantage that the lottery contents can be varied and the lottery mode can be switched in accordance with the display, sound, lamp, and output status of the driving device 85.
For example, when an effect lottery is instructed, the drive device 85 is performing an 8-shaped sorting operation, and when other operations are restricted, the drive device module 270 performs an effect lottery regarding the drive device 85. It may be prohibited.
Similarly, for the display, sound, and lamp, the effect lottery may be prohibited depending on the situation when the effect lottery is instructed. Further, in the effect lottery prohibition, the effect lottery may be partially prohibited by prohibiting selection of some type effect instruction data.

  In the gaming machine of the second embodiment described above, various effects can be realized as in the first embodiment. Further, by adopting the same control method for the drive device 85, the drive device 85 can be handled as a kind of effect device, and it is possible to realize a more interesting effect by the operation. .

G. Variations:
In the above embodiments, the LCD is configured such that the sub-control board 200 outputs a liquid crystal command, but a module for processing effect command data may be provided for the liquid crystal command as well as a sound module or the like. . Further, the production control may be realized with a data structure of three or more layers. For example, in the embodiment, when the ramp layer control unit 262 (see FIG. 13) is activated, the gradation control unit 263 is used to output gradation data. The gradation control unit 263 is a module that operates by referring to gradation pattern data 266 different from the type effect command data 265 used by the lamp layer control unit 262. In this sense, it can be said that the lamp is controlled in three layers of integrated effect command data, type effect command data, and gradation pattern data. As described above, the production control may be controlled by data having three or more hierarchical structures.

As mentioned above, although the various Example of this invention was described, it cannot be overemphasized that this invention is not limited to these Examples, and can take a various structure in the range which does not deviate from the meaning.
(1) In this embodiment, part or all of the processing realized by software may be realized by hardware, and vice versa.
(2) In the present embodiment, the application example to the slot machine 10 is shown, but the present invention can also be applied to a pachinko machine or other gaming machines. Further, the configuration applied to the pachinko machine in the second embodiment can be applied to the slot machine 10.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Slot machine 11 ... Transparent cover 15 ... Start lever 16 ... Stop button 18 ... Power supply unit 19 ... Hopper device 21 ... Liquid crystal panel (LCD)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 22 ... Reel 30 ... Lamp 40 ... Speaker 50 ... Medal full sensor 51 ... Error release sensor 52 ... Door open sensor 70 ... Game board 71 ... Game area 72 ... Start winning port 80 ... Variable winning device 81 ... First movable piece 82 ... Second movable piece 83 ... Flow path 84 ... Arm 85 ... Drive device 86 ... General prize opening 100 ... Main control board 101 ... CPU
102 ... ROM
103 ... RAM
200 ... Sub-control board 201 ... CPU
202 ... ROM
203 ... RAM
204 ... VDP
205 ... Sound source IC
206 ... Amplifier 206a ... Amplifier circuit 206v ... Volume 210 ... System module 211 ... Main board command buffer 212 ... Liquid crystal command buffer 213, 214 ... Output port image work 220 ... Command analysis module 230, 230A ... Event module 231 ... Work 232 ... Operation Number table 233 ... Layer information table 240, 240A ... Production module 241 ... Integrated production command data 250 ... Sound module 251 ... Sound module main 252 ... Layer controller 252W ... Work 253 ... Channel management work 254 ... Sound layer structure 255 ... Type Production command data 255F ... phrase data 260 ... lamp module 262W ... work 262 ... layer control unit 263 ... tone control unit 264 Lamp layered 265 ... classification effect instruction data 266 ... gradation pattern data 270 ... driving module

Claims (1)

A gaming machine that performs a game using a predetermined game medium,
During the game, a plurality of types of effect devices used for audio-visual effects shown to the player,
A payout device for paying out the game medium to a player under predetermined conditions;
A main control device for integrated control of the progress of the game;
An effect control device that controls the plurality of types of effect devices according to the gaming state of the game, based on instruction information output from the main control device;
The main control device and the production control device are connected, and has a unidirectional signal line for transmitting signals in a single direction from the main control device to the production control device,
The main controller is
A determination unit for determining success or failure of a predetermined condition related to payout of the game medium during the game;
An instruction information output unit that outputs main board instruction information for instructing the contents of the effect to be executed by the effect device based on the gaming state including the determination result;
The production control device
An input unit for inputting the main board instruction information from the main controller;
Production command data storage unit for storing a plurality of types of production command data for defining audiovisual production content according to the type of each production device;
An effect control execution unit that selects any one of the effect command data according to the gaming state specified based on the main board instruction information, and controls the effect of each effect device according to the selected effect command data And
The production command data has a data structure in which a plurality of processing commands for instructing a predetermined process to be executed among a plurality of processes required for performing production control are stored in an order to be executed.
The processing command can include a loop command that instructs to repeatedly execute a predetermined process for controlling the production,
The effect control execution unit sequentially reads the processing instructions included in the effect instruction data, executes the process specified by the process instruction, and repeatedly executes the predetermined process when the loop instruction is executed. Machine.

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