JP5043574B2 - Game machine - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention is provided with a display device that informs a player of information with an effect image, fires a game ball on the game board surface, and progresses the game mainly by moving the game ball along the game board surface. The present invention relates to a gaming machine controlled by game control means.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in gaming machines, for example, pachinko machines, there is a model provided with a display device (generally, an LCD (liquid crystal display device) is applied), and information is displayed to a player. . When this information is displayed, various effects are applied and the device is devised to enhance the player's preference.

  For example, on the LCD, three symbol variation columns are scroll-displayed, and the winning or winning of the start winning lottery is notified by the symbol arrangement when each column finally stops. There are many Arabic numerals as symbols, but there are also cases where characters that match the theme of Chinese numerals, alphabets, or pachinko machines are used.

  With regard to the effect at the time of displaying the information, there are a technique for switching an image display area by a switch operation (see Patent Document 1), a technique for switching an image display area size (see Patent Document 2), and a design display area. A technique (see Patent Document 3) for moving by one digit in an image display area has been proposed.

For example, in Patent Document 2, the symbol is composed of a combination of identification information and an identification code, the combined identification information and the identification code are regarded as the same, and for each, for example, a number is assigned to the identification information. On the other hand, an animal is assigned to an identification code, and weighted according to the strength of power according to the type of animal. In addition, only the identification information, only the identification code, and the combination of the identification information and the identification code can be used to visually represent the winning / losing lottery result of the winning combination. It is configured to be recognized through.
JP 11-3192449 A JP 2003-265771 A JP 2003-199933 A

  However, in the prior art, particularly in Patent Document 1, the player needs to perform another operation in addition to performing a steering operation (firing instruction operation), so the work of switching the image area during the game is troublesome. After all, there is a high possibility that the switching operation will not be executed. Therefore, the function cannot be sufficiently exhibited.

  Further, in Patent Document 2, compared with the conventional image display control, the combination of visual information handled by the control system is diversified, the load on the control system tends to be excessive, the storage capacity is reduced in the progress of the original game, There is a risk that the control processing speed will decrease.

  Furthermore, in Patent Document 3, although the symbol moves depending on the correlation with other effect characters and can add a visual change, moving an important symbol for displaying the lottery result within the image display area Therefore, there is a possibility that the player's optic nerve is easily fatigued, which may cause a decrease in game motivation.

  In consideration of the above facts, the present invention is rich in change without causing the player to perform complicated operations and without burdening the control system, and without giving the player a feeling of fatigue, particularly visual system fatigue. An object is to obtain a gaming machine capable of establishing a display form of display information.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the first invention includes a display device that informs a player of information with an effect image, fires a game ball on the game board surface, and plays a game ball along the game board surface. provided with a game control means for controlling the movement game progress mainly composed of, game comprising a table示制control means that displays controls the display device based on the game control signals unilaterally output from the game control unit a machine, before Symbol table示制control means, based on the game control signals output from the game control unit, the display area of the display device, relatively the foreground area and at least two background region Area change means for changing the foreground area and the background area, and notice information for notifying the progress of the game in the background area during the area change execution period by the area change means. Do Both the advance notice information, the display information notification control means for displaying as a starting point region being hidden by the foreground area, the period in which the image is being displayed in the preview information, relatively high image of the advance notice information Display resolution changing means for changing the resolution so that an image other than the notice information is displayed at a relatively low resolution including the background image normally displayed at the high resolution. It is a feature.

  According to the first invention, instead of simply displaying the display information, the area changing unit changes each of the foreground area and the background area, and the display information is displayed during the area change execution period. Since the player perceives the display of the display information indirectly (through the area change), the player can reliably recognize the display information.

In the first invention, the display resolution changing means is provided between the foreground image region and the background image region, and the result of the lottery executed based on the start signal is stopped after the variation of the symbols and the variation. For a display area that displays a symbol variation pattern effect to be notified by symbol, the resolution is changed so that the symbol is displayed at the low resolution during the symbol variation and is displayed at the high resolution after the symbol is stopped. It is a feature.

  The notice information as display information is displayed starting from the area hidden by the foreground area during the area change period by the area changing means. That is, since it is a region that is not normally visible, the player can be interested in the situation where the region that is not visible is visible, and the line of sight can be naturally directed. This makes it easier for the player to check the display information (preliminary information).

  In the first invention, the advance notice information is either an image that stops at the starting point or an image that moves from the starting point to a non-hiding area.

  The notice information may be a still image stopped at the starting point or an image moving from the starting point to a non-hidden area. it can.

Furthermore, in the first invention, the number of holds when the lottery executed based on the start signal output when the detection means provided in the game board detects the game ball is put on hold, In the display information notification control means, the number-of-holds information is displayed in the foreground area so as to be visible to the player at all times, and the display resolution changing means has finished the image production of the notice information. Then, the image of the reservation number information displayed at the low resolution is replaced with the high resolution material .

  The hold information is one of the very important information for the player, and the progress of the game may be changed depending on the number of holds, so this hold information is displayed so as to be always visible. As a result, the image is inevitably displayed in the foreground area.

  In the first invention, the display information is image information composed of at least one of a character image, a still image, and a moving image, or a combination of two or more.

  Due to changes in the display area (for example, changing the foreground area and background area) and changes in the display information itself (at least one character image, still image, moving image, or a combination of two or more) Production can be constructed.

In order to achieve the above object, the second invention includes a display device that informs the player of the information with an effect image, fires a game ball on the game board surface, and plays a game ball along the game board surface. provided with a game control means for controlling the movement game progress mainly composed of, game comprising a table示制control means that displays controls the display device based on the game control signals unilaterally output from the game control unit a machine, before Symbol table示制control means, based on the game control signals output from the game control unit, the display area of the display device, detecting means the game provided in the game board Relatively divided into a foreground area and a background area with reference to a symbol variation pattern effect display area for notifying a result of winning / losing a lottery executed based on a start signal output when a ball is detected, The foreground region and An area changing means for changing each of the scene areas and an image displayed in at least two of the design variation pattern effect display area, the foreground area, and the background area, with different display resolutions. both the display as an object the symbol variation pattern effect display area, in the variation of the pattern is displayed at a relatively low resolution, after the stop of the symbol is to change the resolution to display at a relatively high resolution Display resolution changing means.

  According to the second invention, images displayed in at least two of the symbol variation pattern effect display area, the foreground area, and the background area are displayed with different display resolutions.

  By the way, when the player classifies the images displayed on the display device, the images are classified into images that are displayed for a long time, images that are displayed in a short time, or images that are stared at the same line of sight. It is classified as an image with a line of sight. At this time, by making the resolution different for the classified images, it is possible to make a difference in image quality even with the same image memory capacity.

  Using this difference in resolution, for example, a “beautiful image” can be psychologically impressed on the player.

  The means for varying the resolution includes image information that is relatively easy to draw attention, such as drawing materials for so-called reach effects, jackpot / reach indication effects, and character materials (personifications) related to this type of effect. Display material for presentation information that may be advantageous to the player, such as display animals, special characters, symbols, etc.), and store it in a memory such as a ROM with a relatively higher resolution than the others. .

  On the other hand, the background image, the foreground image, the change / stop pattern image, etc. are stored in a memory such as a ROM with a relatively small value for the drawing resolution, and the occupation ratio according to the relative resolution difference at the time of drawing The drawing memory (RAM) is utilized.

  As described above, if the hardware (display control circuit) has a function of drawing with at least one type of resolution (for example, XGA) while changing the drawing resolution of the material, a plurality of types of drawing resolution can be set. It is not necessary to control the display with hardware / software that changes according to the resolution drawing layer, and the configuration can be easily simplified.

  In a second aspect of the invention, the display device is arranged to overlap with a main game ball passage area on the game board surface in the player's line-of-sight direction.

  Since the display area of the display device is overlapped with the game area, the moving real image of the game ball and the image such as the effect can be viewed in the same field of view.

  In the second invention, display materials for images displayed in at least two of the symbol variation pattern effect display area, the foreground area, and the background area are stored at different display resolutions. The image processing apparatus further includes display resolution changing means including a memory and a display control circuit that displays the display material read from the memory so as to be visible.

  As described above, according to the present invention, a variety of displays can be performed without causing the player to perform complicated operations, and without burdening the control system, and without giving the player a feeling of fatigue, particularly a visual system. It has the outstanding effect that the display form of information can be established.

(Configuration of pachinko machine)
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a lower decoration 12 serving as a decorative panel is attached to the lower front portion of the pachinko machine 10.

  Further, a glass frame 16 fitted with a glass plate 14 is arranged on the upper part of the undergarment 12 of the pachinko machine 10, and the glass frame 16 is attached so that it can be opened and closed with its left end portion pivotally supported. On the back side of the glass frame 16, a rectangular opening is provided, and a game board 100 that can be replaced is set. The game board 100 is attached to the glass plate 14 with the glass frame 16 closed. It comes to oppose.

  Around the glass plate 14 in the glass frame 16, an indicator lamp 20 for lighting effect is generated to produce an effect effect by lighting by turning on, turning off and flashing according to the progress of the game. Medium / high sound speakers 22L and 22R for stereo-outputting sound effects, BGM, audio and the like are arranged.

  An integrated dish 24 is disposed below the glass frame 16. A firing handle 26 for adjusting the firing force (flying distance) of the hit ball is attached to the lower right portion of the integrated dish 24. The integrated plate 24 incorporates a speaker 22W (see FIG. 5) for bass that forms a 2.1 surround system together with the speakers 22L and 22R.

(Game board configuration)
FIG. 3 shows a game board 100 according to the present embodiment.

  The game board 100 is hereinafter referred to as a transparent game board 100 because a transparent flat synthetic resin material is applied as a substrate.

  In the transparent gaming board 100, an arc-shaped outer rail 102, a backflow prevention valve 103, and an inner rail 104 are attached in the vicinity of the outer peripheral end portion. A circular region surrounded by the outer rail 102, the backflow prevention valve 103 and the inner rail 104 is fired from a launching device (not shown) and jumps out of the discharge port 105 partitioned by the backflow prevention valve 103. The played game ball PB can be moved by its own weight drop, and this area is a game area 101 in which a game is played.

  On the back side of the transparent gaming board 100, a large liquid crystal display device (LCD) 200 having a display surface facing at least substantially the entire game area 101 is disposed. That is, the game area 101 is the display area 201 of the LCD 200, and almost the entire field of view of the player is covered.

  In the game area 101, a passing gate (through chucker) 118 is arranged on the left side of FIG. In addition, a special symbol start winning opening (start chucker) 108 is disposed at the bottom of FIG. 3, and further below the special symbol starting winning opening 108, it is located near the lower end of the game area 101. Thus, an attacker 112 is arranged.

  The attacker 112 is provided with an opening / closing door 116, which opens or closes when the opening / closing door 116 is opened or closed. When the open / close door 116 is opened, the game ball dropped on the open / close door 116 is guided by the open / close door 116 and wins the attacker 112.

  In addition, the game area 101 is provided with a windmill 122 and a large number of game nails 123 that guide a game ball that falls by itself in the game area 101 to a predetermined route.

  Further, below the center of the transparent gaming board 100, a stage 124 is provided in which a path for the game ball PB is provided in the back side passage and the front side passage of the transparent gaming board 100. The game ball PB is a windmill 122. It is guided on the stage 124 by the game nail 123 or the like. The game ball PB guided on the stage 124 can easily win the special symbol start winning opening 108.

  In addition, an out port 124 through which the dislodged ball is discharged to the back side of the transparent game board 100 is provided at the lowest position of the transparent game board 100.

(Control system configuration)
Next, the control system of the pachinko machine 10 will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 4, the control system of the pachinko machine 10 according to the present embodiment is configured around a main control unit 150. The main control unit 150 stores a basic program relating to games, and the operation of each unit is controlled based on a command signal from the main control unit 150.

  The main control unit 150 includes a start winning sensor 180 for detecting a winning ball to the special symbol starting winning port 108, a passing gate winning sensor 184 for detecting a winning ball to the passing gate 118 which is a normal symbol starting port, and a special game state. A big winning sensor 186 for detecting a winning ball to the attacker 112 that is opened at the time of the winning is connected to each of the sensors, and each of these sensors outputs a detection signal to the main control unit 150 when the winning ball is detected. If necessary, if there is a V zone in the attacker 112 that triggers the round of big hit processing, a V zone sensor 188 that detects that the V zone has been passed is arranged. Established.

Further, the main control unit 150 is connected to a solenoid 174 provided at the opening of the special symbol start winning opening 108, which opens and closes the electric tulip 109, a solenoid 175 which opens / closes the opening / closing door 116 of the attacker 112, and a holding lamp 176, respectively. Has been. The electric tulip 109 opens and closes to expand / contract the opening width of the opening (expand / reduce the ball winning probability). Here, when the game ball PB passes the passing gate 118, this is detected by the passing gate winning sensor 184. The main control unit 150 executes a lottery for winning / losing a normal symbol (hereinafter referred to as “general drawing lottery”), and notifies the result of the lottery using the LCD 200. It is opened for a predetermined time to make it easy to win a special start winning opening 108.

  Further, when the game ball PB wins the special symbol start winning port 108, the main winning part winning / losing lottery (special symbol lottery) is executed by the main control unit 150 by detecting this with the start winning sensor 180. The special drawing lottery is notified using the LCD 200, and in the case of winning, the main control unit 150 controls the game state to shift from the normal game state to the special game state as a big hit process.

  The special game state is a game state that is repeated for a plurality of rounds (generally 15 rounds) when the attacker 112 opens for a predetermined time (generally 30 seconds) and then closes the operation for one round. Many game balls PB win the attacker 112, and a lot of winnings can be expected. Normally, the maximum number of winnings in one round is limited to 10. During the jackpot process (special gaming state), the LCD 200 is used to execute an image effect having a series of stories that spans a plurality of rounds.

  Information (start winning signal, jackpot signal, symbol determination signal) indicating the progress of the game is transmitted from the main control unit 150 to the hall computer via the board external terminal 190.

  Furthermore, an effect control unit 152 and a payout control unit 154 are connected to the main control unit 150, and these control units are controlled by command transmission from the main control unit 150.

  The LCD 200 is connected to the effect control unit 152 via the symbol control unit 156. Further, the effect control unit 152 controls lighting, extinction, and blinking of the light emitting elements 126 for lighting effects provided in various game components of the game board 100 and the indicator lamp 20 provided in the glass frame 16, Furthermore, the output of a sound effect etc. is controlled by operating the speakers 22L, 22R, 22W provided on the front surface of the glass frame 16.

  On the LCD 200 controlled by the effect control unit 152, an effect video of a symbol variation pattern for informing the result of the special symbol lottery is displayed, and the BGM at the time of the symbol variation pattern effect is displayed from the speakers 22L, 22R, and 22W. Is output. Thereby, the player can enjoy the production | presentation by the design symbol corresponding to the result of special drawing lottery through vision and hearing. The contents displayed by the hold lamp 176 are displayed on the LCD 200.

  Further, the payout control unit 154 is connected to the payout device 160 and the launch control unit 164, and the launch control unit 164 is connected to the launch device 40. The payout control unit 154 operates the payout device 160 provided in the pachinko machine 10 to control the payout and lending ball payout and stop operations and the number of payouts. Further, the launch control unit 164 activates the launch device 40 by operating the launch handle 26 (see FIG. 1) by the player to start launching the game ball PB and launch force according to the operation amount of the launch handle 39. To control.

  Further, the payout control unit 154 transmits payout information to the hall computer installed in the hall via the frame external terminal 191.

  As described above, in this embodiment, in order to effectively and functionally use the display area 201 of the LCD 200 capable of displaying game information over almost the same area as the game area 101, as shown in FIG. The symbol variation pattern effect image 210 for notifying each lottery result, the number-of-holding information image 212 for notifying the number of holds, and the notice information image 214 appearing irregularly according to the progress of the game (see FIG. 6) ) Etc., display control according to the game state at that time is performed.

  Further, during the jackpot processing, an image effect during the jackpot processing is performed on the display area 201 of the LCD 200.

  Here, in the display control by the symbol control unit 156 according to the gaming state, the display area 201 of the LCD 200 is classified into a background area 216 and a foreground area 218 (see FIG. 9).

(Layer structure of display screen layer)
Here, in the display control by the symbol control unit 156 according to the gaming state, the display area 201 of the LCD 200 is controlled to have a background image display screen layer 216 and a foreground image display screen layer 218 as shown in FIG. Are classified into a first notification image display screen layer 220, a second notification image display screen layer 222, and an important information display screen layer 224 (hereinafter collectively referred to as “display layer 226”).

  Each display layer 226 is an image in which an image is displayed in a necessary region on a transparent base plate. Of the display layers 226, the important information display screen layer 224 is a peculiar display screen layer, and will be described separately from the other three display layer screen layers.

  The background image display screen layer 216 is positioned on the farthest side when a sense of depth (a feeling of depth) is given to the display image of the display area 201.

  The foreground image display screen layer 218 is positioned in the foreground when a sense of depth (a feeling of depth) is given to the display image in the display area 201.

  In addition, the first notification image display screen layer 220 and the second notification image display screen layer 222 are positioned between the background image display screen layer 216 and the foreground image display screen layer 218, and are images of design variation pattern effects, respectively. A notice information image regarding information to be notified to the player irregularly, such as reach confirmation, is displayed. That is, the symbol variation pattern effect image 210 is displayed so as to overlap the background region 216.

  Therefore, when viewed from the player, the symbol variation pattern effect image 210 is superimposed on the background image and is hidden by the foreground image. In the present embodiment, the first notification image display screen layer 220 is in the relative position on the back side, and the second notification image display screen layer 222 is in the front side.

  Here, the display area of the foreground image is changed (the area of the transparent base plate portion is changed) (see FIGS. 6 and 9). If the foreground image changes, the appearance of the background image changes accordingly.

  Using the foreground image and the background image area variation, it is possible to produce the appearance of the notice information image 214 displayed on the second notification image display screen layer 222 shown in FIG.

  That is, as viewed from the player, the area of the foreground image display screen layer 218 is gradually enlarged (at this time, the area of the background image display screen layer 216 is reduced), and then the area of the foreground image display screen layer 218 is reduced. (At this time, the area of the background image display screen layer 216 is enlarged).

  At this time, the second notification image display screen layer is as if it had existed before on the far side of the foreground image display screen layer 218 that was first enlarged (the laborious side of the reduced background image display screen layer 216). A notice information image 214 is displayed at 222. Thereafter, as the foreground image display screen layer 218 shrinks, the notice information image 214 is gradually exposed (notification effect).

  On the other hand, the important information display screen layer 224 is a display layer arranged on the player side further than the foreground image display screen layer 218 described above as the forefront side of the player's line of sight. The information image 212 is limited.

  The reserved number information image 212 is a part of the foreground image, and is a maximum of four substantially circular images displayed on the upper edge portion of the display area 201 of the LCD 200, and the display number is 0 depending on the reserved number. Change to ~ 4. Basically, it does not affect the display content in the design variation pattern production or the like, but is always displayed in the forefront.

  In the means for varying the resolution, image information that is relatively easy to draw attention, such as drawing materials for so-called reach effects, jackpot / reach indication effects, and character materials related to this kind of effects (personified) (Including animals, special persons, symbols, etc.), that is, display materials for presentation information that seems to be advantageous to the player are stored in a memory such as a ROM with a relatively higher resolution than others.

  On the other hand, the background image, the foreground image, the change / stop pattern image, etc. are stored in a memory such as a ROM with a relatively small value for the drawing resolution, and the occupation ratio according to the relative resolution difference at the time of drawing The drawing memory (RAM) is utilized.

  Although the rendering resolution is classified in units of images classified as described above, if the resolution is determined for each display layer, the resolution can be systematically changed, so that the addition of rendering control can be reduced.

(Notification production)
In the symbol variation pattern effect screen shown in FIG. 5, when reaching the reach state, one reach effect selected from a plurality of types of reach effects is executed. FIG. 6 shows one of the reach effects, and executes the reach effect in which the image displayed on the periphery of the display area 201 of the LCD 200 changes.

  That is, the foreground area 218 displayed at the periphery of the display area 201 is an image in which two warriors 218L and 218R face each other and are in a hand-armed state, and the warrior image 218R on the right is the image shown in FIG. From this state, it gradually protrudes to the center of the display area 201 (see FIG. 6B → FIG. 6C → FIG. 6D).

  At this time, an area (secondary area) where the notice information image 214 can be concealed is formed on the back of the warrior 216 in the state of FIG. 6 (D), as shown in FIGS. 6 (E) to 6 (F). When the projected warrior 218R moves backward, the advance notice information image 214 is displayed in the secondary area of the display area 201.

  FIG. 7 is a block diagram functionally showing image display control on the display area 201 of the LCD 200 in the symbol control unit 156. Note that this block diagram does not limit the hardware configuration but is functionally classified.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the command signal from the effect control unit 152 is input to the command analysis unit 254.

  The command analysis unit 254 analyzes the input command signal. In FIG. 7, display commands such as a background image and a foreground image that are simultaneously displayed before and after the symbol variation pattern image, the announcement effect image, the number-of-holds image, and especially the symbol variation pattern image are input.

  The analysis result of the command is sent to the image data reading unit 256. In the image data reading unit 256, the background image data reading unit 258, the foreground image data reading unit 260, the variation pattern image data reading unit 262, the notification image data reading unit 264, the reserved number image data, respectively, according to the type of image to be read. A reading unit 266 is provided, and each accesses the image data memory 268 to read out desired image data.

  The image data reading unit 256 is connected to the initial display area setting unit 270 and the display execution unit 272.

  When each read image data is input, the initial display area setting unit 270 sets the area of each image in the initial display state. That is, since there is a context in relation to the player's line of sight, the context is set and the setting result is sent to the overlapping area context determination unit 274.

  When two or more pieces of image data overlap in the same region, the overlapping region front-rear relationship determination unit 274 determines which image data is the foremost with reference to the player's line of sight. Is sent out. The front positioning data selection unit 276 is connected to the display execution unit 272. The front positioning data selection unit 276 sends the front positioning data at that time to the display execution unit 272 in synchronization with the display time axis in the display execution unit 272.

  The display execution unit 272 displays an image on the LCD 200 via the LCD driver 278 based on the image data input from the image data reading unit 256. At this time, a plurality of image data may exist in the same region. In such a case, based on the front positioning data from the front positioning data selection unit 276, the foremost image data based on the player's line of sight is selected and sent to the LCD driver 278.

  The operation of this embodiment will be described below.

(Game flow of pachinko machine 10)
In the game using the pachinko machine 10, when the player operates the launch handle 26, the ball is supplied to the launch device 40 (see FIG. 4) one by one and is launched upward by the launch device 40. The launched game ball PB is driven into the game area 101 of the game board 100 along the outer rail 102 and falls in the game area 101 while changing the direction by hitting the game nail 123. Then, the game ball PB that has reached the lower end of the game area 101 without winning a prize is collected into the pachinko machine 10 from the out port 124.

  Here, when the special symbol start winning slot 108 is won, the main control unit 150 executes the special symbol lottery winning / losing lottery (special symbol lottery processing), and the special symbol lottery result is displayed on the LCD 200 for production. The special symbol 250 is changed in a predetermined pattern, and is stopped and displayed through the changed pattern.

(Big jackpot processing)
In the special symbol lottery, as a notification of the lottery result, a predetermined combination of predetermined jackpot symbols such as “444” and “777”, for example, is displayed in the display area of the LCD 200, and an indicator lamp for lighting effects The player is notified that the jackpot has occurred by adding effects such as blinking 20 and sound effect output from the speakers 22L, 22R, and 22W, and executes predetermined jackpot processing.

  As the jackpot processing, the attacker 112 is opened by, for example, 10 counts (winning number) or a maximum of 30 seconds (one open time) / a maximum of 15 or 16 rounds by the opening / closing operation of the door 116.

  In the case of a game specification in which a V zone is provided in the attacker 112, an operation of continuing the next round by performing winning in the V zone when the attacker 112 is released once is performed.

  Accordingly, the player can easily win a lot of prize balls by, for example, receiving 15 payouts per winning prize, for example, by making the released gaming balls PB win the attacker 112 easily.

  Here, during the above-described symbol variation pattern production, there is a case where a notice production is performed in order to give a sense of expectation that the result of the special drawing lottery is winning, that is, a big win has occurred. The notice effect has various forms. Among them, in the image area where the symbol variation pattern effect is executed, the background area 216 and the foreground area 218 change, and the change notification image is obtained by multiplying this change. There is a notice effect that “appears”. In this case, since the occupied area of the display area 201 of the LCD 200 changes (changes) along the time axis, the arbitration work of the image display area becomes complicated.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, the mediation work efficiency of the image display area is increased by setting the front-rear relationship based on the player's line of sight of each image data in advance.

  FIG. 8 shows the flow of image display control in the symbol control unit 156.

  In step 300, it is determined whether or not a command is input from the effect control unit 152. If the determination is negative, the routine ends. If an affirmative determination is made in step 300, the process proceeds to step 302 to analyze the command.

  In the next step 304, the background image data is read from the image data memory 268 based on the result of command analysis (designated command), and the process proceeds to step 306.

  In the next step 306, foreground image data is read from the image data memory 268 based on the result of command analysis (designated command), and the process proceeds to step 308.

  In the next step 308, the fluctuation pattern image data is read from the image data memory 268 based on the result of command analysis (designated command), and the process proceeds to step 310.

  In the next step 310, the notification image data is read from the image data memory 268 based on the result of command analysis (designated command), and the process proceeds to step 312.

  In the next step 312, the pending number image data is read from the image data memory 268 based on the result of command analysis (designated command), and the process proceeds to step 314.

  In step 314, the data is sent to the display execution unit 272 and the initial display area setting unit 270, and then the initial display area is set in step 316 and the process proceeds to step 318. In step 318, the front-rear relationship of the overlapping image areas (based on the player's line of sight) is determined, the foremost (front) image data is selected based on the determination result, and display is started (steps 320 and 322). Note that the reserved number image is always in the forefront position with respect to the player's line of sight. That is, the number-of-holds information is information that has a great influence on the progress of the player's future game, and is set so that it is displayed at the front and is not hidden by other images at any time.

  In the next step 324, it is determined whether or not there has been a region change in accordance with the time axis of the display that has been started. If a negative determination is made in step 324, the process proceeds to step 326 to determine whether or not the image display is completed. If a negative determination is made in step 326, the routine returns to step 324, and if a positive determination is made, this routine ends.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, an area for determining and displaying a front-rear relationship based on the player's line of sight for each of several images displayed in the display area 201 of the LCD 200. When the images overlap, the image data to be positioned on the front side is displayed while being selected, so that an image with a sense of perspective can be formed on a flat display screen with simple control. In addition, the resolution can be easily changed for each image area. Therefore, in the display area 201 of the 20-inch size LCD 200 as in the present embodiment, the resolution of the peripheral edge (foreground area 218), which is a relatively unimportant image area, is lowered and the image area is a relatively important image area. It is possible to easily increase the resolution of the screen center (background area 216). Therefore, it is possible to obtain a clear image (clean image) by spending a lot of memory capacity in an area that is displayed for a long time and is easily watched by the player, and the image is proportional to the “cleanness”. The feeling of eye fatigue can be reduced.

(Resolution of the image displayed in the display area 201 of the LCD 200)
Hereinafter, the resolution of an image (hereinafter collectively referred to as “material”) including a background image, a foreground image, a symbol variation pattern image, a notification image, and a reserved number image will be described.

  In this embodiment, the material is for VGA display (640 × 480 pixel resolution), SVGA display (800 × 600 pixel resolution), and XGA display (1024 × 768 pixel resolution). It is created separately from those. The number of display colors for VGA display, SVGA display, XGA display, and the like is 16 colors, 256 colors, 65536 colors, etc., as will be described later.

  Note that the display performance of the LCD 200 is 16777216 colors, but 65536 colors are used as the upper limit. The reason is to save the memory capacity of the pachinko machine 10. The image memory in the pachinko machine 10 is a ROM with an upper limit of 4 Gbit, and the color of the image is limited because the image material (moving image / still image) and the image control program are stored. Yes.

  Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the LCD 200 of the pachinko machine 10 has a display resolution (that is, a beautiful display resolution) for a material (display image) that may be displayed for a relatively long time during business hours (that is, a display resolution). XGA) is applied and others are saving memory capacity based on the idea of applying a lower resolution (ie, VGA or medium resolution SVGA) than XGA.

  As a result, even if the preview image is displayed with a relatively low resolution image (hereinafter simply referred to as “low resolution”) with a low display frequency, the resolution of the pattern variation pattern image displayed for a long time is higher. The overall impression of the image 10 can be made psychologically strong as a “beautiful image”.

  For example, a notice image for a notice effect has a lower display frequency, and can create an image that can withstand pure viewing with 256 depiction colors. Therefore, when drawing with 6536 colors is considered to be a waste of memory capacity, it is possible to save memory by adopting 256 colors.

  On the other hand, in the case where a subtle hue is expressed, such as a symbol variation pattern image that is frequently displayed during normal games, it is preferable to draw with 65536 colors.

(About video)
Usually, means for reducing the memory capacity by subtracting colors is used for image compression. That is, the memory capacity is reduced by using the same number of dots with slightly different gradations for the same color. For example, 256 colors can be expressed in 1 byte, 65536 colors in 2 bytes, and the memory capacity can be halved by compression.

  However, human vision has a difference in sensibility, and depending on the color reduction procedure (dedicated color reduction application program), a color (color development) different from the original movie image may be felt when visually observed.

  For this reason, movie data having 65536 colors is applied to a moving image.

  By the way, when the moving image is displayed on the display area 201 of the LCD 200 for production, a long material is created in advance, and “in point” to “out point” suitable for the moving image production are extracted. Or edit and create material.

  In this embodiment, a relatively short next loop moving image material is created, and a moving image loop is displayed as a part of the background image to reduce the storage memory capacity of the material.

  When the moving image material (loop) is adopted as the background image, once the moving image is reproduced, the control system only loops the reproduction of the moving image, so that the program capacity is reduced.

  Based on the above, in the pachinko machine 10 to which the 20-inch size LCD 200 is applied as in the present embodiment, the resolution and the number of colors of the background image, foreground image, symbol variation pattern image, preview image, and reserved number image are set. By doing so, it is possible to give a strong psychological impression of “beautiful images”.

  As an example, in the display area 201 of the LCD 200 shown in FIG. 5, the background area 216 has a high resolution, the foreground area 218 has a low resolution, the symbol variation pattern image 210 has a low resolution during variation, and has a high resolution after stopping. By setting 214 to a low resolution and the reserved number image 212 to a high resolution, a “beautiful image” can be impressed as a whole. Not only materials of low resolution (VGA) and high resolution (XGA) are compared, but materials of medium resolution (SVGA) may be combined. This reduces the visual drop associated with the difference in material resolution.

  The areas 216 and 218 and the pattern variation pattern image 210 defined in the above “beautiful image” may have different configurations from those described above depending on the image production intended by the developer, such as memory capacity reduction and work load reduction. From the point of view, there is no problem.

  That is, if only the notice information image 214 that is the effect image to be noticed is defined as a “beautiful image”, and the other background area 216, foreground area 218, and reserved number image 212 are drawn at low resolution (stored in memory), In addition to saving the memory capacity, the contrast is clarified due to the difference in resolution, so that only the preview information image 214 is visually recognized clearly from the other background area 216, foreground area 218, and reserved number image 212. Can do.

  As a result, noticeable image effects are clearly seen, and fatigue in the player's visual system is reduced.

  Further, after the image effect by the notice information image 214 is finished, an image that is likely to be noticed, for example, the reserved number image 212 may be replaced with a relatively high-resolution material and drawn.

  Thereby, the effect is maintained in the correlation between the effect image that is likely to be noticed and the image that is not so, in other words, the clarification of the relative visual contrast and the memory reduction.

  Although not described in detail in the present embodiment, the pachinko machine 10 according to the present embodiment has the following characteristics (there is some overlap with the present embodiment).

  (1-1) Demonstration symbol displayed so as to move outside the symbol display region by providing a partition image (foreground region 218) for visually clearly partitioning the symbol display region and the background region (background region 216). In an image display of a gaming machine in which display control is performed such that (special symbol 250) disappears while being displayed so as to pass behind the partition image (foreground region 218) at the display position of the partition image (foreground region 218). The position or shape of the (foreground region 218) changes according to the effect, and the demo image (special symbol) in which a part of the partition image (foreground region 218) is deformed and changed while the demo symbol (special symbol 250) changes. 250) is partially blocked.

  A more varied image display effect can be realized.

  (1-2) In (1-1), at least a part of the images of the opposing partition images (foreground regions 218) is deformed and contacts within the variation region of the demo symbol (special symbol 250). To do.

  (1-3) In (1-1) or (1-2), the partition image (foreground region 218) is drawn in the vertical direction on the display screen, and a pair of partitions that partition the symbol display region in the vertical direction with respect to the entire screen. A vertical partition image (foreground region 218) and a pair of horizontal partition images (foreground region 218) drawn in the horizontal direction and partitioning the symbol display region horizontally with respect to the entire screen are provided. When a part of the demo symbol (special symbol 250) that is fluctuating in the symbol display region is blocked by deformation, or when the opposing vertical partition image (foreground region 218) comes into contact with the demo symbol (special symbol 250), It is characterized by contacting with.

  (2) A partition image (foreground region 218) for visually clearly partitioning the symbol display region and the background region (background region 216) is provided, and a demo symbol (special) displayed so as to move outside the symbol display region In an image display of a gaming machine in which display control is performed such that the symbol 250) is displayed so as to pass behind the partition image (foreground region 218) at the display position of the partition image (foreground region 218), the partition image (foreground) is displayed. The position or shape of the area 218) changes according to the effect, and part of the partition image (foreground area 218) is deformed while the demo pattern (special pattern 250) changes, and part of the partition image (foreground area 218). Or it changes so that the whole may vibrate with a predetermined period.

  (3-1) The notice image is displayed by blocking almost the entire display area of the changing demo symbol (special symbol 250).

  It is possible to produce an effect that gives the player a strong expectation with respect to the result of the symbol variation.

  (3-2) In (3-1), the preview image is also displayed by blocking at least a part of the vertical partition image (foreground region 218) that partitions the symbol display region in the vertical direction with respect to the entire screen.

(3-3) In (3-1) or (3-2), the notice image includes a region where a board surface component such as a nail of the transparent game board (transparent game board 100) is disposed. And
(4-1) Each time a multi-row demo symbol (special symbol 250) stops changing, the demo symbol (special symbol 250) irrelevant to the winning / losing confirmation of the lottery in relation to other symbol columns is It is displayed lighter than the demo symbol (special symbol 250) that can be related to the drop confirmation, and the symbol related to the winning / losing confirmation of the lottery is made conspicuous.

  It becomes easier for the player to check the symbols related to the winning / failing.

  (4-2) In (4-1), when all the demo symbols (special symbol 250) in a plurality of columns are stopped, it is irrelevant to the winning / losing confirmation of each symbol row remaining in the symbol display area. The demo symbol (special symbol 250) is displayed lighter than the demo symbol (special symbol 250) related to the winning / losing confirmation, and the symbols and symbol strings relating to the winning / losing confirmation of the lottery are conspicuous.

  (5) The notice image is displayed between the partition image (foreground area 218) and the display area of the changing demo symbol (special symbol 250).

  It is possible to produce an effect that gives the player a sense of expectation for the result of the symbol variation.

  (6) The preview image is displayed between the vertical partition image (foreground region 218) displayed in the vertical (vertical) direction and the horizontal partition image (foreground region 218) displayed in the horizontal (horizontal) direction. Features.

  It is possible to produce an effect that gives the player a sense of expectation for the result of the symbol variation.

  (7-1) The vertical partition image (foreground region 218) displayed in the vertical (vertical) direction and the horizontal partition image (foreground region 218) displayed in the horizontal (horizontal) direction move separately. .

  It is possible to change the image production.

  (7-2) In (7-1), each partition image (foreground area 218) moves in the flow of the notice effect.

  (8-1) In the image effect, the vertical partition image (foreground area 218) displayed in the vertical (vertical) direction disappears, and the horizontal partition image (foreground area 218) displayed in the horizontal (horizontal) direction disappears. Is displayed.

  It is possible to produce an effect that gives the player a sense of expectation for the result of the symbol variation.

  (8-2) In (8-1), the image display appears in a super reach production.

  (9-1) A feature in which a demonstration ball (a special symbol 250) temporarily stopped at the time of reach production is displayed by providing an area through which a game ball does not pass in the lower right of the stage of the transparent game board (transparent game board 100). To do.

  It is possible to effectively use the image area for reaching the demonstration symbol (special symbol 250).

  (9-2) In (9-1), displaying the special figure that is changing in the area where the game ball provided at the lower right of the stage does not pass during the reach performance together with the design temporarily stopped in the reach state. Features.

  (10-1) When the reach state is reached due to normal fluctuations, the symbol in the reach state of the symbol row is displayed brightly, and the other symbols are displayed relatively darkly.

  Reach symbols are displayed in a particularly conspicuous way so that players can expect a big hit.

  (10-2) In (10-1), the image of the changing symbol sequence is displayed brighter than the temporary stop symbol irrelevant to the reach of the symbol sequence having the reach symbol and varies.

It is a front view which shows the pachinko machine which concerns on this Embodiment. It is a perspective view which shows the pachinko machine concerning this Embodiment. It is a front view which shows the game board which concerns on this Embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows schematic structure of the control system of the pachinko machine concerning this Embodiment. It is a front view (symbol variation pattern effect screen) of the display area of LCD. It is a front view of the display area of LCD (appearance screen of notification effect). It is the block diagram which showed the image display functionally in the symbol control part. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the image display control which concerns on this Embodiment. It is the perspective view which modeled the layer structure on control of the display area of LCD.

Explanation of symbols

PB game ball 10 Pachinko machine (game machine)
100 game board 200 LCD (display device)
108 Start prize opening 112 Attacker 150 Main control unit (game control means)
152 Effect Control Unit 156 Symbol Control Unit 180 Start Prize Sensor 201 Display Area 254 Command Analysis Unit 256 Image Data Reading Unit 258 Background Image Data Reading Unit 260 Foreground Image Data Reading Unit 262 Fluctuation Pattern Image Data Reading Unit 264 Notification Image Data Reading Unit 266 Reservation number image data reading unit 268 Image data memory 270 Initial display area setting unit 272 Display execution unit (display information notification control means)
274 Overlapping area front-rear relationship determination unit (area changing means)
276 Front positioning data selection section (region changing means)
278 LCD driver

Claims (8)

Game control that includes a display device that informs the player of the information with an effect image, fires a game ball on the game board surface, and controls the progress of the game mainly by the movement of the game ball along the game board surface provided with a means, a gaming machine having a table示制control means that displays controls the display device based on the game control signals unilaterally output from the game controller,
Before Symbol Table示制your means,
Based on a game control signal output from the game control means, each of the foreground area and the background area is divided into at least two of a foreground area and a background area relative to the display area of the display device. Area changing means for changing the area,
During the area change execution period by the area changing means, notice information for notifying the progress of the game is displayed in the background area, and the notice information is displayed starting from the area hidden by the foreground area. Display information notification control means;
During the period in which the image of the advance notice information is displayed, the image of the advance notice information is displayed at a relatively high resolution, and the image other than the advance notice information including the background image normally displayed at the high resolution is relatively Display resolution changing means for changing the resolution to display at a low resolution on
A gaming machine characterized by comprising: The display resolution changing means is provided between the foreground image region and the background image region, and notifies the result of the lottery executed based on the start signal by the change of the symbol and the symbol stopped after the variation. 2. A display area for displaying a pattern effect, wherein the resolution is changed so that the display is performed at the low resolution during the variation of the symbol, and the high resolution is displayed after the symbol is stopped. The gaming machine described.   3. The gaming machine according to claim 2, wherein the advance notice information is either an image stopped at the starting point or an image moving from the starting point to a non-hiding area. The display information is information on the number of holds when the lottery executed based on a start signal output when the detecting means provided on the game board detects the game ball is put on hold, and the display information notification In the control means, the hold number information is displayed in the foreground area so as to be visible to the player at all times ,
The display resolution changing means replaces the image of the hold number information displayed at the low resolution with the high resolution material after the image effect of the notice information is finished . Gaming machine.   5. The display information according to claim 1, wherein the display information is image information composed of at least one of a character image, a still image, and a moving image, or a combination of two or more. The gaming machine described in the section. Game control that includes a display device that informs the player of the information with an effect image, fires a game ball on the game board surface, and controls the progress of the game mainly by the movement of the game ball along the game board surface provided with a means, a gaming machine having a table示制control means that displays controls the display device based on the game control signals unilaterally output from the game controller,
Before Symbol Table示制control means, based on the game control signals output from the game control unit, the display area of the display device, when the detecting means provided on said game board detects said game balls The foreground area and the background are divided into a foreground area and a background area relative to the symbol variation pattern effect display area for informing the winning / losing result of the lottery executed based on the start signal output to Area changing means for changing each of the areas;
The symbol variable pattern effect display area, the foreground area, among the background area, as a target image to be displayed at least 2 regions, displaying with different display resolution each other together, subject to the symbol variation pattern effect display area Display resolution changing means for changing the resolution to display at a relatively low resolution during the variation of the symbol, and to display at a relatively high resolution after the symbol stops ,
A gaming machine characterized by comprising:   The game according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the display device is arranged so as to overlap with a main game ball passage area on the game board surface in the direction of the player's line of sight. Machine.   A memory in which display materials for images displayed in at least two of the symbol variation pattern effect display area, the foreground area, and the background area are stored at different display resolutions, and read from this memory 8. The gaming machine according to claim 6, further comprising display resolution changing means including a display control circuit for displaying the displayed display material so as to be visible.