JP7887397B2 - Gaming machine - Google Patents

Description

This invention relates to amusement machines such as pachinko machines.

In gaming machines such as pachinko machines, various effects, primarily image displays on image display devices such as LCD screens, can be executed depending on the game state.

Japanese Patent Publication No. 2022-030912

In this type of gaming machine, not only are arbitrary animations and other images displayed on the image display means, but the effects are enhanced and the presentation diversified by combining them with LED illumination and sound output. However, there is room for improvement in both the image display effects themselves and their combination with other presentation means in order to further enhance the presentation effects.
This invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and aims to provide a gaming machine that can perform more effective effects by improving the control of effects, mainly image display effects.

The present invention enables the execution of a specific performance that outputs reliability suggestion information indicating the reliability of the occurrence of a predetermined event, and in a gaming machine having text information for the reliability suggestion information, the specific performance includes a first specific performance capable of displaying special reliability suggestion information having special text information relating to the reliability, and a second specific performance that displays non-special reliability suggestion information that does not have the special text information relating to the reliability , wherein the first specific performance displays the text information in the special reliability suggestion information in a first dynamic mode, and the second specific performance displays the text information in the non-special reliability suggestion information in a second dynamic mode different from the first dynamic mode, wherein the reliability is higher in the first specific performance than in the second specific performance, the display time of the text information in the first specific performance is set to a predetermined first text information display time, and the display time of the text information in the second specific performance is set to a predetermined second text information display time, and the first text information display time is set to be longer than the second text information display time.

According to this invention, the control of effects, particularly those related to image display, is improved, making it possible to execute more effective effects.

This is a perspective view showing a pachinko machine according to the first embodiment. Figure 1 is a front view showing the game area of the gaming machine. This is a block diagram showing the overall circuit configuration of the gaming machine in Figure 1. This diagram illustrates the internal configuration of the performance interface board, the performance control board, and the liquid crystal interface board. This is a circuit block diagram illustrating a composite chip, including its related circuit elements. This is a diagram illustrating the index space and the virtual drawing space. This is a diagram illustrating the display circuit. This is a diagram illustrating the internal configuration of a data transfer circuit. This diagram illustrates the transfer operation of display lists and voice command lists. This is a diagram illustrating filtering based on a display list. This is a diagram illustrating the playback procedure for IPB streamed video. This diagram illustrates the internal configuration and control procedure of the audio processing unit. This is a diagram illustrating the drawing pipeline process of a drawing circuit. This is a process diagram illustrating various drawing modes that utilize all or part of the drawing pipeline process. This flowchart explains the control operation of the performance control CPU, excluding preload operations. This is a flowchart that explains a part of Figure 15. This is a flowchart explaining the control operations of the performance control CPU, including the preload operation. This figure shows an example of a visual display using a display device. This is an explanatory diagram showing the changes in the miniature symbols. This diagram shows the types of pre-announcement effects and the settings for the probability of winning a jackpot. This diagram shows the overall structure of the step-up予告演出 (preview/announcement) sequence. This diagram shows the types of the third and fifth second-half sequences in the step-up予告演出 (preview sequence). This diagram shows an overview of a specific example of a step-up予告演出 (preview/announcement) effect. This is a diagram (part 1) that shows the details of the image changes during the period from the start of the high-brightness effect WO11 to the end of the high-brightness effect WO12 and the transition to the screen showing the changing decorative symbols, which is a specific example of a step-up予告演出 (preview effect). This is a diagram (part 2) that shows the details of the image changes during the period from the start of the high-brightness effect WO11 to the end of the high-brightness effect WO12 and the transition to the screen showing the changing decorative symbols, which is a specific example of a step-up予告演出 (preview effect). This is a diagram (part 3) that shows the details of the image changes during the period from the start of the high-brightness effect WO11 to the end of the high-brightness effect WO12 and the transition to the screen showing the changing decorative symbols, which is a specific example of a step-up予告演出 (preview effect). This diagram shows the different types of presentation patterns for the reach予告演出 (reach notification) effect. This diagram shows an overview of specific examples of reach予告演出 (reach notification effects). This is a diagram (part 1) showing the details of the image changes during the period from the start of the high-brightness effect WO21, one of the specific examples of reach予告演出 (reach notification effect), until the screen transitions to the changing decorative symbols. This is a diagram (part 2) showing the details of the image changes during the period from the start of the high-brightness effect WO21, one of the specific examples of reach予告演出 (reach notification effect), until the screen transitions to the changing decorative symbols. This is a diagram (part 3) that shows the details of the image changes during the period from the start of the high-brightness effect WO21, one of the specific examples of reach予告演出 (reach notification effect), until the screen transitions to the changing decorative symbols. This diagram shows an overview of a specific example of button notification effect 1. This figure shows the details of the image change in button introduction animation BA0, which is a specific example of button notification animation 1. This figure shows the details of the image change in the high-brightness effect WO31, which is a specific example of button notification effect 1. This figure shows the details of the image changes from high-brightness effect WO32 to high-brightness effect WO33, which are specific examples of button notification effect 1. This diagram shows the types of dialogue preview effects 1, their content, dialogue content and display color, and character types. This diagram shows an overview of a specific example of dialogue preview effect 1. This is a diagram (part 1) showing the details of the image changes during the period from the start of high-brightness effect WO41 to the end of high-brightness effect WO42, which is a specific example of dialogue preview effect 1. This is a diagram (part 2) showing the details of the image changes during the period from the start of high-brightness effect WO41 to the end of high-brightness effect WO42, which is a specific example of dialogue preview effect 1. This is a diagram (part 3) showing the details of the image changes during the period from the start of high-brightness effect WO41 to the end of high-brightness effect WO42, which is a specific example of dialogue preview effect 1. This diagram shows an overview of a specific example of a pseudo-consecutive win notification effect. This figure shows the details of the image changes during the period from the first pseudo-consecutive win animation PF1A through the high-brightness animation WO51 to the start of the second half of the first pseudo-consecutive win animation PF1B, which is a specific example of a pseudo-consecutive win animation. This figure shows the details of the image changes during the period from the first half of the second pseudo-consecutive win animation PF2A, through the high-brightness animation WO52, to the start of the second half of the second pseudo-consecutive win animation PF2B, which is a specific example of a pseudo-consecutive win animation. This diagram shows an overview of a specific example of button notification effect 2. This is a diagram (part 1) showing the details of the image changes in the button prompting animation BB1, which is one of the specific examples of button notification animation 2. This is a diagram (part 2) showing the details of the image changes in the button prompting animation BB1, which is one of the specific examples of button notification animation 2. This is a diagram (part 3) showing the details of the image changes in the button prompting animation BB1, which is one of the specific examples of button notification animation 2. This diagram shows the different types of presentation methods for interruption-type announcement effects. This diagram shows an overview of a specific example of an interruption予告演出 (preview/announcement effect). This is a diagram (part 1) showing the details of the image changes during the period from the start of high-brightness effect WO71 to the end of high-brightness effect WO73, which is a specific example of an interruption予告演出 (preview effect). This is a diagram (part 2) showing the details of the image changes during the period from the start of high-brightness effect WO71 to the end of high-brightness effect WO73, which is a specific example of an interruption予告演出 (preview effect). This is a diagram (part 3) showing the details of the image changes during the period from the start of the high-brightness effect WO71 to the end of the high-brightness effect WO73, which is a specific example of an interruption予告演出 (preview effect). This diagram shows an overview of a specific example of the dialogue preview effect 2. This is a diagram (part 1) showing the details of the image changes during the period from the character appearance animation SB1 to the dialogue output animation SB3, which is a specific example of the dialogue preview animation 2. This is a diagram (part 2) showing the details of the image changes during the period from the character appearance animation SB1 to the dialogue output animation SB3, which is a specific example of the dialogue preview animation 2. This diagram shows the different types of presentation methods for the dialogue preview effect 3. This diagram shows an overview of a specific example of the dialogue preview effect 3. This is a diagram (part 1) showing the details of the image changes during the period from the end of the introductory sequence SC1 through the dialogue sequence SC2 to the symbol change screen, which is a specific example of the dialogue予告演出3. This is a diagram (part 2) showing the details of the image changes during the period from the end of the introductory sequence SC1 through the dialogue sequence SC2 to the symbol change screen, which is a specific example of the dialogue予告演出3. This diagram shows the types of presentation methods for the dialogue preview presentation 4. This diagram shows an overview of a specific example of dialogue preview effect 4. This is a diagram (part 1) showing the details of the image changes during the period from the end of the introductory animation SD1 through the dialogue animation SD2 to the symbol variation screen, which is a specific example of the dialogue予告演出4. This is a diagram (part 2) showing the details of the image changes during the period from the end of the introductory animation SD1 through the dialogue animation SD2 to the symbol variation screen, which is a specific example of the dialogue予告演出4. This diagram shows the different types of presentation methods used for announcements and previews. This diagram shows an overview of specific examples of announcement and preview effects. This diagram shows the details of the image changes during the period of notification display effect AN2, one of the specific examples of notification and preview effects (when executed during normal gameplay). This diagram shows the details of the image changes during the period of notification display effect AN2, one of the specific examples of notification and preview effects (when it is performed during a special game state (high probability state, etc.)). This diagram shows the different types of level display images used in the level-up予告演出 (level-up notification effect). This diagram shows the patterns of appearance of the level display image in the level-up予告演出 (level-up notification effect). This diagram shows an overview of specific examples of level-up notification effects. This is a diagram (part 1) showing the details of the image changes during the period from Level 1 (first level production) to Level 3 (third level production), which are specific examples of notification and preview productions. This is a diagram (part 2) showing the details of the image changes during the period from Level 1 (first level production) to Level 3 (third level production), which are specific examples of notification and preview productions. This diagram shows an overview of specific examples of presentations that suggest reliability. This is a diagram (part 1) showing the details of the image changes during the period from the first string start animation PR1 to the second dialogue output animation PR4, which are specific examples of the reliability indication animation. This is a diagram (part 2) showing the details of the image changes during the period from the first string start animation PR1 to the second dialogue output animation PR4, which are specific examples of the reliability indication animation. This diagram shows an overview of specific examples of reach title display effects. This diagram shows the details of the image changes during the period from the title display start animation TS1 to the title notification animation TS, which is a specific example of a reach title display animation. This diagram shows an overview of specific examples of operation and presentation. This figure shows the details of the image changes during the period from the operation display start animation BC1 to the operation promotion animation BC2, which are specific examples of operation animations. This diagram shows an overview of specific examples of reach development sequences. This is a diagram (part 1) showing the details of the image changes during the high-brightness effect WOB1, which is one of the specific examples of reach development effects. This is a diagram (part 2) showing the details of the image changes during the high-brightness effect WOB1, which is one of the specific examples of reach development effects. This is a diagram (part 3) showing the details of the image changes during the high-brightness effect WOB1, which is one of the specific examples of reach development effects. This is a diagram (first half) comparing the time charts for dialogue preview sequence 3, dialogue preview sequence 4, and announcement preview sequence. This is a diagram (second half) comparing the time charts for dialogue preview sequence 3, dialogue preview sequence 4, and announcement preview sequence. This diagram shows the relationship between the appearance rate of each display image corresponding to red and the appearance rate of each display image corresponding to gold, in a comparison between the dialogue予告演出4 and the announcement予告演出. This diagram shows the relationship between the probability of winning each jackpot in a comparison of the dialogue notification effects 1 and Announcement effects performed before a reach, and the dialogue notification effects 4 and Dialogue notification effects 3 performed after a reach, with the display images corresponding to gold being shown. This figure compares the variations corresponding to blue and red in the dialogue予告演出1 (pre-reach dialogue予告演出1) and the dialogue予告演出4 (post-reach dialogue予告演出4) in the second embodiment. This figure compares the types of variations that can appear between all pre-announcement effects that can be performed before a reach and all pre-announcement effects that can be performed after a reach in the third embodiment. This figure shows the number of variations for each reliability color in all possible preview effects in the fourth embodiment. This is an explanatory diagram showing other examples of high-brightness images.

The present invention will now be described in detail based on the first embodiment. Figure 1 is a perspective view showing the pachinko machine GM of this embodiment. This pachinko machine GM consists of a rectangular wooden outer frame 1 that is detachably attached to an island structure, and an inner frame 3 that is pivotally attached to the outer frame 1 via a hinge 2 so as to be openable and closable. The game board 5 is detachably attached to the inner frame 3 from the front side, not the back side, and a glass door 6 and a front panel 7 are pivotally attached to the front side so as to be openable and closable. In this specification, the glass door 6 and the front panel 7 are collectively referred to as the front door member. The inner frame 3 with the front door member (glass door 6 and front panel 7) pivotally attached may be referred to as the game frame.

The outer perimeter of the glass door 6 is illuminated with LED lamps and other decorative lights. Meanwhile, three speakers are positioned at the top left and right of the glass door 6, and at the bottom. The two speakers at the top output left and right channel (R and L) audio, respectively, while the lower speaker outputs bass frequencies.

The front panel 7 is fitted with an upper tray 8 for storing game balls to be launched. The lower part of the inner frame 3 is equipped with a lower tray 9 for storing game balls that overflow from the upper tray 8 or are removed, and a launching handle 10. The launching handle 10 is linked to a launching motor, and game balls are launched by a striking hammer that operates according to the rotation angle of the launching handle 10.

A chance button 11 is provided on the outer surface of the upper tray 8. This chance button 11 is positioned so that it can be operated with the player's left hand, allowing the player to operate it without taking their right hand off the launch handle 10. This chance button 11 is normally inactive, but when the game state becomes a "button chance" state, its built-in lamp lights up, making it operable. The "button chance" state is a game state that is implemented as needed.

Furthermore, a rotary-type volume switch (VLSW) is located below the chance button 11. By operating the VLSW, the player can adjust the speaker volume in eight steps, from silent (=0) to the maximum level (=7). The speaker volume is initially set by a setting switch (not shown) that can only be operated by an attendant, and this initial volume is maintained unless the player operates the VLSW. Additionally, an abnormal alert sound, indicating an abnormal situation, is emitted at the maximum volume regardless of the attendant's initial setting or the player's setting.

On the right side of the upper tray 8, there is an operation panel 12 for dispensing balls to the card-type ball dispenser. This panel includes a frequency display unit that shows the remaining card balance as a three-digit number, a ball dispensing switch that instructs the dispenser to dispense a predetermined amount of game balls, and a return switch that commands the return of the card at the end of the game.

As shown in Figure 2, a guide rail 13, consisting of an outer and inner metal rail, is provided in an annular shape on the surface of the game board 5, with a central opening HO located approximately in the center. Below the central opening HO, a movable performance element (not shown) is concealed. During a movable pre-announcement, this element rises and becomes exposed, realizing a pre-announcement with a predetermined reliability. Here, a pre-announcement is a performance that uncertainly informs the player that a favorable jackpot state is about to occur, and the reliability of the pre-announcement refers to the probability of the jackpot state occurring.

A display device (image display means) DS, consisting of a large (for example, 1280 pixels wide x 1024 pixels high) liquid crystal color display, is positioned in the central opening HO. The display device DS consists of a main liquid crystal display unit MONI and an LED backlight unit BL. It displays specific symbols related to the jackpot state (decorative symbols 164, described later) in a variable manner, and also displays background images and various characters in an animated manner. This display device DS has special symbol display units Da to Dc in the center and a normal symbol display unit 19 in the upper right. In the special symbol display units Da to Dc, a reach-out animation that suggests the arrival of a jackpot state may be executed, and appropriate pre-announcement animations are executed in and around the special symbol display units Da to Dc.

By the way, the game area where the game balls fall and move is equipped with a first symbol start opening 15a, a second symbol start opening 15b, a first large prize opening 16a, a second large prize opening 16b, a regular prize opening 17, and a gate 18. Each of these prize openings 15-18 has an internal detection switch that can detect the passage of the game balls.

Above the first symbol start opening 15a, there is a performance stage 14 configured to allow game balls entering from the IN entry opening to move in a seesaw or roulette-like manner before entering the first symbol start opening 15. When a game ball enters the first symbol start opening 15a, the special symbol display sections Da to Dc begin their variable operation.

The second symbol starting opening 15b is configured to be opened and closed by an electrically operated tulip with a pair of left and right opening/closing claws. When the stopping symbol after the change in the normal symbol display unit 19 displays a winning symbol, the opening/closing claws are opened for a predetermined time, or until a predetermined number of game balls are detected.

The standard symbol display unit 19 displays standard symbols. When a game ball that has passed through gate 18 is detected, the standard symbols change for a predetermined time, and then stop displaying a stopping symbol determined by a random value for the lottery extracted at the time the game ball passed through gate 18.

The first large prize opening 16a is configured with a sliding plate that moves back and forth in the front-to-back direction, and the second large prize opening 16b is configured with an opening/closing plate whose lower end is pivotally supported and opens forward. The operation of the first large prize opening 16a and the second large prize opening 16b is not particularly limited, but in this embodiment, the first large prize opening 16a corresponds to the first symbol start opening 15a, and the second large prize opening 16b corresponds to the second symbol start opening 15b.

In other words, when a game ball enters the first symbol starting opening 15a, the special symbol display section Da to Dc begins to move. Then, when the predetermined winning symbols align in the special symbol display section Da to Dc, the first jackpot special game (special bonus state) begins, and the sliding disc of the first jackpot opening 16a opens forward, making it easier for game balls to enter.

On the other hand, as a result of the fluctuation operation initiated by the entry of a game ball into the second symbol starting opening 15b, when the predetermined jackpot symbols align in the special symbol display sections Da to Dc, a special game (special benefit state) which is a second jackpot is initiated, and the opening/closing plate of the second large prize entry opening 16b is opened, making it easier for game balls to enter. The game value of the special game (jackpot state, special benefit state) varies depending on the aligning jackpot symbols, etc., but which game value is assigned is predetermined based on the result of a lottery conducted by a lottery mechanism according to the timing of the game ball's entry.

In a typical jackpot state, after the opening and closing plate of the large prize winning slot 16 opens, the plate closes after a predetermined time has elapsed or after a predetermined number of game balls (e.g., 10) have entered. This operation continues for up to, for example, 15 times, and is controlled to be advantageous to the player. Furthermore, if the stopping symbols after the special symbol display units Da to Dc change are specific special symbols (a predetermined start condition is met), the game after the special game (special benefit state) ends will enter a high-probability state (probability change state), which is a bonus. This high-probability state is an example of a special game state that is more advantageous to the player than the normal game state, and its occurrence is controlled by the special game state generation means. This special game state continues until a predetermined termination condition is met, such as the occurrence of the next special game (special benefit state) or a predetermined number of symbol changes.

Figure 3(a) is a block diagram showing the overall circuit configuration of the pachinko machine GM that realizes each of the operations described above. Figure 3(b) is a circuit diagram showing the circuit configuration of the power supply monitor unit MNT located on the payout control board 25. As shown in Figure 3(a), this pachinko machine GM is primarily composed of a power supply board 20 that receives AC24V and outputs various DC voltages (35V, 12V, 5V) along with AC24V; a main control board 21 that centrally manages game control operations; an effects interface board 22 equipped with a digital amplifier 29 for sound effects; an effects control board 23 that uniformly executes lamp effects, sound effects, and image effects based on control commands CMD received from the main control board 21; a liquid crystal interface board 24 located between the effects control board 23 and the display device DS; a payout control board 25 that controls the payout motor M to dispense game balls based on control commands CMD' received from the main control board 21; and a launch control board 26 that launches game balls in response to player input.

Figure 4 is a slightly more detailed illustration of a portion of Figure 3(a), schematically showing the internal configurations of the performance interface board 22, the performance control board 23, and the liquid crystal interface board 24. As shown in Figures 4 and 3(a), the performance interface board 22, the performance control board 23, and the liquid crystal interface board 24 are directly connected via male and female connectors, without the need for wiring cables. Therefore, even with complex and sophisticated circuit configurations for each electronic circuit, the overall space required for the board can be minimized, and noise immunity can be improved by minimizing the connection lines.

As shown in Figure 3(a), the control command CMD' output from the main control board 21 is transmitted to the payout control board 25. Meanwhile, the control command CMD output from the main control board 21 is transmitted to the performance control board 23 via the performance interface board 22. Here, both control commands CMD and CMD' are 16 bits long, but they are transmitted in parallel in two separate 8-bit segments.

The main control board 21 and the payout control board 25 are equipped with computer circuits, including a single-chip microcontroller. The performance control board 23 is equipped with a composite chip 50 that incorporates computer circuits such as an integrated performance circuit (image generation means) 52 and an internal CPU circuit (image control means) 51. Therefore, these control boards 21, 25, and 23, along with the circuits mounted on the performance interface board 22 and the liquid crystal interface board 24, and the operations realized by these circuits, are functionally referred to collectively as the main control unit 21, the performance control unit 23, and the payout control unit 25 in this specification. The performance control unit 23 and the payout control unit 25 are sub-control units relative to the main control unit 21.

Furthermore, this pachinko machine GM is broadly divided into the frame-side member GM1, enclosed by the dashed line in Figure 3(a), and the board-side member GM2, which is fixed to the back of the game board 5. The frame-side member GM1 includes the inner frame 3 to which the glass door 6 and front panel 7 are pivotally attached, and the outer wooden frame 1. It is permanently installed in the gaming hall for a long period of time, regardless of changes in the machine model. On the other hand, the board-side member GM2 is replaced in response to changes in the machine model, and a new board-side member GM2 is attached to the frame-side member GM1 in place of the original board-side member. Note that everything except the frame-side member GM1 is the board-side member GM2.

As shown in the dashed box in Figure 3(a), the frame-side member GM1 includes a power supply board 20, a backup power supply board 33, a payout control board 25, a launch control board 26, a frame relay board 36, and a motor/lamp drive board 37. These circuit boards are fixed to the appropriate locations on the inner frame 3. Meanwhile, the main control board 21 and the performance control board 23 are fixed to the back of the game board 5 along with the display device DS and other circuit boards. The frame-side member GM1 and the game board-side member GM2 are electrically connected by centralized connection connectors C1 to C3, which are located in one centralized area.

The power supply board 20 generates three types of DC voltages (35V, 12V, and 5V) based on the AC voltage (24V) distributed from the gaming hall, and distributes each DC voltage to the performance interface board 22 via the central connection connector C2. The three DC voltages (35V, 12V, and 5V), along with the AC voltage (24V), are also distributed to the payout control board 25. The DC voltages (35V, 12V, and 5V) distributed to the payout control board 25, along with the backup power supply BAK, are then distributed to the main control board 21 via the central connection connector C1.

35V DC is used as the power supply for the ball-feeding solenoid and launching solenoid in relation to the launching operation of the game balls, and as the power supply for the electromagnetic solenoid that drives the opening and closing of the electric tulip (variable prize device) and the large prize opening 16. 12V DC is used as the power supply for the LED lamps and motors controlled by each control board, and as the power supply voltage for the digital amplifier. Meanwhile, 5V DC is used as the power supply voltage for the one-chip microcontroller on the payout control board 25 and the main control board 21, and as the power supply voltage for the logic elements mounted on each control board. Furthermore, after the 5V DC voltage is reduced in level by the DC/DC converter on the performance interface board 22 and the performance control board 23, the reduced voltage levels are used as the power supply voltage for various computer circuits (such as the composite chip 50).

The backup power supply BAK is a DC 5V DC power supply used to retain data in the built-in RAM of the one-chip microcontrollers of the main control unit 21 and the payout control unit 25 after power is cut off. It is implemented, for example, using an electric double-layer capacitor. In this embodiment, a dedicated backup power supply board 33 is provided, and the electric double-layer capacitor on the backup power supply board 33 is configured to be charged during game operation by the DC voltage of 5V received from the payout control board 25.

On the other hand, after a power outage, the backup power supply BAK retains the data from the built-in RAM of the one-chip microcontrollers in the main control unit 21 and the payout control unit 25. Therefore, the main control unit 21 and the payout control unit 25 can resume game operation from before the power outage after power is restored. The backup power supply board 33 is equipped with electric double-layer capacitors capable of retaining the contents of the built-in RAM of each one-chip microcontroller for at least several days.

In this embodiment, the power supply abnormality signal ABN, which indicates an abnormal drop in the AC voltage of 24V, is generated not by the power supply board 20, but by the power supply monitor unit MNT of the payout control board 25. As shown in Figure 3(b), the power supply monitor unit MNT comprises a full-wave rectifier circuit that rectifies the 24V AC received from the power supply board 20, a photodiode D that receives the output of the full-wave rectifier circuit and emits light, a phototransistor TR that uses the 5V DC voltage received from the power supply board 20 as its power source and turns ON based on the light emitted by the photodiode D, and an output unit that outputs a high-level detection signal ABN (power supply abnormality signal) based on the ON operation of the phototransistor TR. The photodiode D and phototransistor TR constitute a photocoupler PH.

In the above configuration, after power-on, the photocoupler PH quickly turns ON, causing the power abnormality signal ABN to reach a normal level (H). However, if the AC power then abnormally drops for any reason (normally a power outage), the photocoupler PH changes to the OFF state, causing the power abnormality signal ABN to change to an abnormal level (L). This power abnormality signal ABN is transmitted to the one-chip microcontroller on the payout control board 25, and is also transmitted to the one-chip microcontroller on the main control board 21 via the central connection connector C1. Therefore, each one-chip microcontroller that receives the abnormal level power abnormality signal ABN performs a backup process to store the necessary information in its respective built-in RAM. As explained earlier, the information in the built-in RAM is maintained by the backup power supply BAK, so game operation before the power outage can be resumed after power-on.

As shown in Figures 3(a) and 4, the performance interface board 22 is equipped with a reset circuit RST3 and a digital amplifier 29 (AMP). The performance control board 23 is equipped with a composite chip 50 that incorporates computer circuits such as the integrated performance circuit 52 and the built-in CPU circuit 51. The liquid crystal interface board 24 is equipped with a clock circuit 38 (RTC), a performance data memory 39 (SRAM) for storing performance data, and a power supply control circuit SPY.

In this embodiment, the integrated performance circuit 52 built into the composite chip 50 includes a video display processor (VDP), an audio processor (SND), a motor control unit (MT_CTL), and a lamp control unit (L_CTL). Based on control from the built-in CPU circuit 51, the integrated performance circuit 52 operates intermittently with an operating cycle δ (= 1/30 second) to execute image effects using the display device DS, sound effects driving speakers via the digital amplifier 29, motor effects rotating the performance motors M1 to Mn to move the props, and lamp effects flashing LED lamps, etc. In the following description, the built-in CPU circuit 51 may be abbreviated as CPU circuit 51.

The reset circuit RST3 generates a power reset signal based on the rise in the power supply voltage of 5V received from the power supply circuit 20 when the power is turned on, thereby resetting the internal circuits of the composite chip 50 and other electronic components. As explained earlier, the internal circuits of the composite chip 50 include the video display processor (VDP) and the audio processor (SND). The power reset signal is none other than the system reset signal SYS of the composite chip 50, which synchronously resets the CPU circuit 51 and the integrated production circuit 52.

In this embodiment, during the low assertion period of the system reset signal SYS, all internal circuits are uniformly initialized, and the default value is set in the performance control register RGij of the composite chip 50. Subsequently, when the system reset signal SYS transitions to a high level, the boot program is started, and the necessary initial setup operations are performed on the performance control register RGij. On the other hand, if the DC voltage of 5V drops (usually during power outage), the system reset signal SYS drops to a low level, causing the CPU circuit 51 and the integrated performance circuit 52 of the performance control board 23 to stop operating.

As described later, in this embodiment, the system reset signal SYS does not change even when the WDT (Watch Dog Timer) circuit 58 is activated. Therefore, even in the event of an abnormality where the WDT 58 is activated, not all internal circuits are uniformly initialized. In other words, in this embodiment, a predetermined internal circuit, arbitrarily selected, is initialized.

Next, the clock circuit 38 and the performance data memory 39 mounted on the LCD interface board 24 are powered by a secondary battery (not shown). This secondary battery is appropriately charged by the power supply voltage from the power supply board 20 during gameplay. Therefore, even after the power is cut off, the clock circuit 38 continues to operate, and the game performance information stored in the performance data memory 39 is permanently retained (non-volatile).

The clock circuit 38 is configured to output an interrupt signal to the CPU circuit 51 (RTC interrupt). This RTC interrupt includes an alarm interrupt that specifies the day, day of the week, hour, minute, and second, and a timer interrupt that is activated after a predetermined time has elapsed. In this embodiment, the alarm interrupt IRQ_RTC, which updates the daily game performance information at the end of each business day, is used.

As shown in Figure 3(a), the main control unit 21 and the payout control board 25 are equipped with reset circuits RST1 and RST2, respectively. A power reset signal is generated when the power is turned on, and each computer circuit is power-reset. In this embodiment, reset circuits RST1 to RST3 are arranged on the main control unit 21, the payout control unit 25, and the display interface board 22, respectively. For example, the system reset signal generated by the power supply board 20 is not transmitted between circuit boards. That is, since there is no wiring cable to transmit the system reset signal, the risk of the computer circuit being abnormally reset due to noise superimposed on the wiring cable is eliminated.

However, the reset circuits RST1 and RST2, provided in the main control unit 21 and the payout control unit 25, each have a built-in watchdog timer. If they do not receive a regular clear pulse from the CPU of each control unit 21 or 25, the CPU is forcibly reset. Furthermore, the main control unit 21 has an initialization switch SW that can be operated by an operator. When the power is turned on, a RAM clear signal CLR is output to indicate whether the initialization switch SW has been turned ON or not. This RAM clear signal CLR is transmitted to the one-chip microcontrollers of the main control unit 21 and the payout control unit 25, determining whether or not to initialize the entire area of the built-in RAM of the one-chip microcontrollers in each control unit 21 or 25.

As shown in Figure 3(a), the main control unit 21 receives from the payout control unit 25 the prize ball counting signal indicating the payout operation of game balls, the status signal CON related to abnormalities in the payout operation, and the operation start signal BGN. The status signal CON includes, for example, a supply depletion signal, a payout shortage error signal, and a lower tray full signal. The operation start signal BGN is a signal that notifies the main control unit 21 that the initial operation of the payout control unit 25 has been completed after power-on.

Furthermore, the main control unit 21 receives switch signals from detection switches built into each of the prize entry slots 16-18 on the game board, while simultaneously driving solenoids such as the electric tulips. The solenoids and detection switches are configured to operate on the power supply voltage VB (12V) distributed from the main control unit 21. Additionally, the switch signals indicating the entry status into the symbol entry slot 15 are converted to TTL level or CMOS level switch signals by an interface IC that operates on power supply voltages VB (12V) and Vcc (5V), before being transmitted to the main control unit 21.

As explained earlier, the performance interface board 22 receives DC voltages (5V, 12V, 35V) at various levels from the power supply board 20 via the central connection connector C2 (see Figures 3(a) and 4). The 12V DC voltage is used as the power supply voltage for the digital amplifier 29 and also as the driving voltage for LED lamps, etc. The 35V DC voltage is distributed to appropriate locations on the game frame and used as the driving voltage for solenoids that move movable parts back and forth.

Meanwhile, the 5V DC voltage is supplied as the power supply voltage to the circuit elements at various locations on the performance interface board 22, and is also supplied to the DC/DC converter DC to generate 3.3V (see Figure 4). This generated 3.3V DC voltage then becomes the base voltage for the power reset signal (system reset signal) SYS generated by the reset circuit RST3. Furthermore, the 5V DC voltage distributed to the performance interface board 22, along with the 3.3V generated by the DC/DC converter DC, is distributed to the performance control board 23. The 3.3V DC voltage distributed to the performance control board 23 is then supplied as the power supply voltage to the composite chip 50 and the external ROM 55.

As shown in Figure 4, the performance control board 23 is equipped with two DC/DC converters, DC1 and DC2. Based on the 5V DC voltage supplied to each, they generate 1.5V and 1.05V, respectively. Here, the 1.05V DC voltage is the power supply voltage for the chip core of the composite chip 50, while the 1.5V DC voltage is the power supply voltage for I/O (input/output) with the VRAM 53 and expansion RAM 54. Therefore, the 1.5V DC voltage is also supplied to the VRAM 53 and expansion RAM 54 as a power supply voltage.

As shown in Figure 3(a), the performance interface board 22 receives the control command CMD and the strobe signal STB from the main control unit 21 and transfers them to the performance control board 23. More specifically, as shown in Figure 4, the control command CMD and the strobe signal STB are transferred via the input buffer 40 to the composite chip 50 (CPU circuit 51) of the performance control board 23. Here, the strobe signal STB is the received interrupt signal IRQ_CMD, and the performance control CPU 57 acquires the control command CMD based on the interrupt processing program (interrupt handler) that is activated upon receiving the received interrupt signal IRQ_CMD.

As shown in Figure 4, the input buffer 44 of the performance interface board 22 receives switch signals from the frame relay board 36 for the chance button 11 and the volume switch VLSW, and transmits each switch signal to the CPU circuit 51 of the performance control board 23. Specifically, it transmits a 3-bit length of the encoder output indicating the contact position (0-7) of the volume switch VLSW and a 1-bit length indicating the ON/OFF state of the chance button 11 to the CPU circuit 51.

Furthermore, the performance interface board 22 is connected to the lamp drive board 30 and the motor lamp drive board 31, and is also connected to the lamp drive board 37 via the frame relay board 36. As shown in the figure, an output buffer 42 is arranged corresponding to the lamp drive board 30, and an input buffer 43a and an output buffer 43b are arranged corresponding to the motor lamp drive board 31. In Figure 4, for convenience, the input buffer 43a and the output buffer 43b are collectively referred to as the input/output buffer 43. The input buffer 43a receives the output SN0 to SNn of the origin sensor, which determines the current position of the movable performance element (the rotational position of the performance motors M1 to Mn), and transmits this to the motor control unit MT_CTL of the performance control board 23.

The lamp drive board 30, motor lamp drive board 31, and lamp drive board 37 are equipped with the same type of driver IC. The performance interface board 22 forwards the serial signals received from the lamp control unit L_CTL and motor control unit MT_CTL of the performance control board 23 to each driver IC. Specifically, the serial signals are the lamp (motor) drive signal SDATA and the clock signal CK. The drive signal SDATA is transmitted to each driver IC in a clock-synchronous manner, executing lamp effects using numerous LED lamps and illuminated lamps, as well as mechanical effects using performance motors M1 to Mn.

In this embodiment, the lamp effects are performed by three lamp groups CH0 to CH2. The driver IC on the lamp drive board 37 receives the lamp drive signal SDATA0 for CH0, output by the lamp control unit L_CTL, via the frame relay board 36, synchronized with the clock signal CK0. The series of lamp drive signals SDATA0, transmitted as serial signals, are output from the driver IC to lamp group CH0 when the operation control signal ENABLE0, output from the CPU circuit 51 (PIO 62), changes to an active level, thereby simultaneously updating the lighting status of lamp group CH0.

The same applies to the lamp drive board 30. The driver IC on the lamp drive board 30 receives the lamp drive signal SDATA1 for lamp group CH1, output by the lamp control unit L_CTL, in synchronization with the clock signal CK1. Then, when the operation control signal ENABLE1 output from the CPU circuit 51 (actually PIO 62) changes to the active level, the lighting status of lamp group CH1 is updated simultaneously.

Meanwhile, the driver IC mounted on the motor lamp drive board 31 receives a lamp drive signal transmitted clock-synchronously from the motor control unit MT_CTL to drive the lamp group CH2, and also receives a motor drive signal transmitted clock-synchronously to drive the performance motor group M1 to Mn, which consists of multiple stepping motors. Since the lamp drive signal and the motor drive signal are the same type of serial signal, a series of composite serial signals SDATA2 are output from the motor control unit MT_CTL in synchronization with the clock signal CK2. The driver IC, upon receiving this signal, updates the drive status of the lamp group CH2 and the motor groups M1 to Mn at the timing when the operation control signal ENABLE2 changes to the active level.

Thus, in this embodiment, for convenience, the motor control unit MT_CTL is responsible for both the motor and lamp effects on the motor lamp drive board 31. Therefore, the operation control signal ENABLE2 is also output from the motor control unit MT_CTL. Alternatively, the lamp drive signals SDATA0 and SDATA1 for the lamp drive boards 37 and 30 may also be output from the motor control unit MT_CTL.

As shown in Figure 4, the data bus and address bus of the CPU circuit 51 of the performance control unit 23 extend to the clock circuit (Real Time Clock) 38 and performance data memory 39 mounted on the liquid crystal interface board 24. The clock circuit 38 is connected to the lower 4 bits of the address bus and the lower 4 bits of the data bus of the CPU circuit 51. When the clock circuit 38 is selected by the chip select signal, the CPU circuit 51 is configured to arbitrarily access internal registers (which have 4-bit address values).

Furthermore, the performance data memory 39 is a high-speed accessible memory element, SRAM (Static Random Access Memory), connected to 16 bits of the CPU circuit 51's address bus and the lower 16 bits of the data bus. When the chip is selected, game performance information and other data stored in the SRAM (performance data memory) 39 are accessed by the CPU circuit 51 as needed (read/write).

Furthermore, the LCD interface board 24 is equipped with a power supply control circuit SPY that controls the power supply to the display device DS and the backlight board BL. Specifically, the power supply control circuit SPY uses the control signal STBY to control the start timing of supplying power voltages of 12V and 5V to the display device DS and the backlight board BL, and the control signal PWM to control the brightness and start timing of the backlight light.

As shown on the right side of Figure 4, the performance control board 23 is equipped with a composite chip 50 that incorporates a CPU circuit 51 and an integrated performance circuit 52, a VRAM 53 that is accessed at high speed via R/W from the CPU circuit 51 and integrated performance circuit 52, an expansion RAM 54 capable of storing a large amount of data, and an external ROM 55 that non-volatilely stores CG data and other data.

The VRAM 53 is capable of high-speed access with a theoretical transfer speed of approximately 102 GB/second and has a storage capacity of approximately 48 MB. The VRAM 53 is primarily used for (1) storing reference data for the display circuit 71, drawing circuit 74, and GDEC circuit 73 (see Figure 5(a)). It can also be used for (2) storing copies of data from the external ROM 55, and (3) as a work area for the CPU circuit 51.

The extended RAM 54 can operate at a theoretical transfer speed of approximately 17.0 GB/second and has a storage capacity of approximately 1 GB, allowing for the same type of use as the VRAM 53. Specifically, the extended RAM 54 can be used for (1) storing reference data for the display circuit 71, drawing circuit 74, and GDEC circuit 73, (2) storing copies of data from the external ROM 55, and (3) as a work area for the CPU circuit 51.

The external ROM 55 in this embodiment is a non-volatile storage device that stores a boot program that starts when the power is turned on, control data including the control program and lamp drive data for the CPU circuit 51 that implements the performance control, CG compressed data for image performance, and audio compressed data for sound performance. The storage capacity of the external ROM 55 is approximately 256 GB at most, but because high-speed access is not possible, in this embodiment, a portion of the data in the external ROM 55 is transferred to the expansion RAM 54 when the power is turned on. Specifically, the control program and control data that enable the CPU circuit 51 are transferred and copied from the external ROM 55 to the expansion RAM 54 by the boot program stored in the external ROM 55 when the power is turned on.

Figure 5(a) is a circuit block diagram illustrating the composite chip 50 constituting the performance control unit 23, including related circuit elements. As shown in the figure, the composite chip 50 of this embodiment incorporates a CPU circuit 51 that issues a display list DL and an audio command list VC, and an integrated performance circuit 52 that executes image performances based on the display list DL, audio performances based on the audio command list VC, and also performs lamp and motor performances. The CPU circuit 51 and the integrated performance circuit 52 are connected via a CPU bus 56 that relays data between them.

First, let's describe the CPU bus section 56, which is located between the CPU circuit 51 and the integrated production circuit 52. As shown in Figure 5(a), the CPU bus section 56 is connected to the VRAM 53, the expanded RAM 54, and the external ROM 55 via the VRAM IF section 53a, the expanded RAM IF section 54a, and the CG bus IF section 55a. Therefore, in this embodiment, the VRAM 53, the expanded RAM 54, and the external ROM 55 can be accessed not only from the integrated production circuit 52 but also from the CPU circuit 51.

Furthermore, the VRAM IF unit 53a, the extended RAM IF unit 54a, and the CG bus IF unit 55a are connected to the VRAM 53, the extended RAM 54, and the external ROM 55 via an arbitration circuit ICM (Inter Connect Module) (not shown). The arbitration circuit ICM is located between each functional block of the integrated production circuit 52 and the VRAM IF unit 53a, the extended RAM IF unit 54a, and the CG bus IF unit 55a, arbitrating the data requests issued by each functional block to establish the necessary connection relationships.

In any case, the CPU circuit 51 in this embodiment can access the VRAM 53, the expansion RAM 54, and the external ROM 55. However, after the CPU circuit 51 transfers and copies the control program and control data from the external ROM 55 to the expansion RAM 54 when the power is turned on, it does not access the external ROM 55 again. That is, after the copy operation, the CPU circuit 51 executes control operations based on the control program and control data copied to the expansion RAM 54.

The CPU circuit 51 can access various performance control registers RGij via read/write (R/W) to control the internal operation of the integrated performance circuit 52. The data transfer circuit 70 can also transmit and receive data between the CPU circuit 51 and the integrated performance circuit 52 via the CPU bus 56. Data transmission from the CPU circuit 51 to the integrated performance circuit 52 includes issuing display list DLs and voice command list VCs.

As shown on the right side of Figure 5(a), the integrated production circuit 52 includes (1) a data transfer circuit 70, (2) a display circuit 71, (3) a preloader 72, (4) a GDEC (Graphic Decoder) circuit 73, (5) a drawing circuit 74, (6) an image filter circuit 75, (7) an index table IDXTBL, (8) a motor control unit MT_CTL, (9) a lamp control unit L_CTL, and (10) an audio processing unit SND. The production control register RGij is used by the CPU circuit 51 to appropriately control the internal circuits of this integrated production circuit 52.

Therefore, the performance control register RGij is broadly divided into (1) data transfer register, (2) display register, (3) preload register, (4) GDEC register, (5) drawing register, (6) image filter register, (7) index table register, (8) MT_CTL register, (9) L_CTL register, and (10) sound register, corresponding to each of the circuits (1) to (10) described above. A system control register is provided for overall system control (see Figure 5(b)). Note that the system control register and each of the individual circuit registers (1) to (10) are actually composed of multiple subdivided register groups.

Based on the above, the CPU circuit 51 will now be described. The CPU circuit 51 is a circuit with performance equivalent to a general-purpose single-chip microcontroller. As shown on the left side of Figure 5(a), it comprises a performance control CPU 57 that comprehensively controls image/sound/lamp/motor effects based on a control program, a watchdog timer (WDT) 58 that forcibly resets the CPU if the program malfunctions, an internal RAM 59 with a memory capacity of approximately 2 MB used as a working area for the performance control CPU 57, a DMAC (Direct Memory Access Controller) 60 that enables data transfer without going through the performance control CPU 57, a serial input/output port (SIO) 61 with multiple input ports Si and output port So, a parallel input/output port (PIO) 62 with multiple input ports Pi and output port Po, and an operation control register REG, which sets setting values to control the internal configuration of the CPU circuit 51.

For convenience, this specification uses the term "input/output port," but in the performance control unit 23, the input/output port includes an input port and an output port that operate independently. This also applies to the input/output circuit 64p corresponding to the parallel input/output port 62 and the input/output circuit 63s corresponding to the serial input/output port 63, which are described below.

The parallel input/output port (PIO) 62 is connected to an external device (performance interface board 22) via the input/output circuit 64p. The performance control CPU 57 receives the encoder output (3 bits) of the volume switch VLSW, the switch signal of the chance button 11, the control command CMD, and the interrupt signal STB via the input circuit 64p. The encoder output (3 bits) and the switch signal (1 bit) are supplied to the parallel input/output port 62 via the input/output circuit 64p.

Similarly, the received control command CMD is supplied to the parallel input/output port 62 via the input/output circuit 64p. The strobe signal STB is supplied to the interrupt terminal of the performance control CPU 57 via the input/output circuit 64p, thereby activating the receive interrupt processing. Therefore, based on the receive interrupt processing, the performance control CPU 57, having grasped the control command CMD, performs performance lottery and other processes to uniformly control the corresponding sound effects, lamp effects, motor effects, and image effects. The parallel input/output port 62 outputs the operation control signals ENABLE0 to ENABLE1 for the lamp effects via the input/output circuit 64p.

Furthermore, the serial input/output port (SIO) 61 is configured to transmit and receive serial signals via the input/output circuit 63s. Therefore, as shown by the dashed line in Figure 5(a), it is also possible to output a clock signal CK for synchronous serial transmission and a drive serial signal SDATA via the input/output circuit 63s internally connected to the serial input/output port SIO 61. However, in this embodiment, the lamp/motor effects are realized using the lamp control unit L_CTL and motor control unit MT_CTL of the integrated effects circuit 52, without using the serial input/output port 61.

Incidentally, the CPU circuit 51's built-in RAM 59 contains a DL buffer BUF that sequentially updates and stores a display list DL, which is a list of instruction commands that identify a frame of the display device DS. Furthermore, this DL buffer BUF is configured with partitioned areas, and a voice command list VC, which identifies the content of the sound effects, is also sequentially updated and stored within it.

In this embodiment, the instruction commands for the display list DL, which defines one frame of the display screen, include: (1) an index table control system command (first command) relating to the index table IDXTBL that manages the index space; (2) a texture loading system command (first command), such as the LOADTX command, for reading image materials (textures) from the external ROM 55 and decoding (decompressing/unpacking); (3) a filter execution system command (second command) that specifies the filtering process for the decompressed image data; (4) a drawing system command, such as the SPRITE command, for placing the decoded (unpacked) image materials at a predetermined position in the virtual drawing space; (5) a pipeline system command relating to the drawing pipeline operation; and (6) an overall control system command that defines the overall operation of the integrated production circuit 52. All of these commands are composed of integer multiples of 32 bits (>0). The display list DL is configured to list an appropriate number of instruction commands and then terminate with a predetermined termination command EODL (32-bit length).

Furthermore, the audio command list VC, which defines the operation of the audio processing unit SND that executes the audio effects, lists an appropriate number of audio commands and then concludes with a predetermined termination command EOSC (32-bit length). Here, the audio commands are broadly classified into track-related commands that define the operation of the pre-processing unit FT shown in Figure 12(a), master effect-related commands that define the operation of the post-processing unit BK shown in Figure 12(a), and other system-related commands. However, all audio commands are composed of integer multiples of 32 bits (>0).

As described later, the drawing pipeline operation of this embodiment is performed using the vertex buffer VB built into the drawing circuit 74, the frame buffer FB reserved as the index space, and the depth/stencil buffer. It consists of an input assembler process IA, a geometry engine process TL, a rasterizer process RS, a texture sampler process TX, a texture process PS, a pixel drawing process PX, and a render process RO. The (5) pipeline commands described above function as setting commands that specify the specific operation of each process (IA, TL, RS, TX, PS, PX, RO) and the R/W position of the vertex buffer VB.

Incidentally, while "texture" generally refers to the feel or texture of an object's surface, in this specification, the term "texture" is used collectively to refer to image data before and after decoding. For example, sprite image data that makes up a still image, frame image data that makes up a single frame of a video, and pasted image data applied to drawing primitives such as triangular and quadrilateral polygons are all referred to as textures.

Then, (2) the LOADTX command of the texture loading system reads the texture from the external ROM 55 and decodes it. (5) The SETTXINDEX command, a texture sampler process command included in the pipeline system commands, sets the source image data as a texture. (4) The SPRITE command of the drawing system commands then virtually draws the texture in the virtual drawing space shown in Figure 6(c). The content drawn in the virtual drawing space is output to the display device DS via the frame buffer FB, which will be described later.

Furthermore, the index space managed by the index table control system command (1) mentioned above refers to the one-dimensional or two-dimensional memory work area (logical address space) used by the integrated display circuit 52 during drawing operations, etc. This index space is identified as a one-dimensional or two-dimensional logical address space by the index number specified in the instruction command of the display list DL.

In other words, in this embodiment, an index space is allocated in an appropriate location within the memory accessible as a memory work area (VRAM 53 and extended RAM 54), and this space is identified by an index number. Furthermore, VRAM 53 and extended RAM 54 are divided into virtual work areas (AAC area, page area, and arbitrary area), and an index space is allocated for each (see Figures 6(a) and 6(b)). Therefore, the index number becomes a unique value for each virtual work area, simplifying texture loading commands, filter execution commands, drawing commands, pipeline commands, etc.

Furthermore, it enables unique operation for each virtual work area (AAC area, page area, and arbitrary area). For example, in the AAC area, the index space is automatically allocated and released as the area for expanding decoded data. Therefore, the index number is not required in the ACC area.

In terms of specific control operations, the virtual work area (AAC area, page area, arbitrary area) is defined during the initial processing after power-on. Subsequently, the necessary index space is allocated to the required virtual work area at the required timing. This allocated index space is then managed by the index table IDXTBL, linked to the index number, thereby enabling subsequent operations based on the index number.

The following explains the relationship between the virtual work area and the actual work area, which consists of VRAM 53 and extended RAM 54. First, VRAM 53 is divided into a shared area usable as both an AAC area and a page area, and other arbitrary areas. Specifically, during the initial processing after power-on, the shared area of VRAM 53 is secured by setting an appropriate starting address and area data size in the corresponding performance control register RGij. Then, the area of VRAM 53 other than the shared area secured automatically becomes an arbitrary area of VRAM 53 (Figure 6(a)).

The shared area allocated in VRAM 53 can be used as both an ACC area, which does not require index number management, and a page area, which requires index space management using index numbers. Therefore, when using the shared area, by specifying the allocation of index space in the AAC area with the SETTXINDEX command, and then specifying the texture (image material) size and storage address with the LOADTX command, the expanded texture data can be automatically deployed into the index space allocated in the ACC area.

Therefore, in this embodiment, considering the above-mentioned simplicity, the decoded data for still images and I-stream videos (S-stream videos composed only of I-pictures, as described later) is expanded into the AAC area of VRAM 53. In other words, in this embodiment, the shared area of VRAM 53 is used exclusively as the AAC area.

Next, in the initial processing after power-on, the starting address and area data size of the extended RAM 54 are set using the corresponding performance control register RGij. This reserves the page area of the extended RAM 54, and the remaining area becomes an arbitrary area of the extended RAM 54 (Figure 6(b)). Here, the arbitrary area refers to an area in the extended RAM 54 and VRAM 53 that is permitted for arbitrary use, allowing not only the allocation of an index space but also other uses. Therefore, in this embodiment, a preload area for pre-transferring (pre-loading) CG data acquired from the external ROM 55 is reserved in the arbitrary area of the extended RAM 54 (see Figure 6(b)), and a preload buffer for storing the rewritten list DL' (created by the preloader 72 rewriting the display list DL) is reserved in the arbitrary area of the VRAM 53 (see Figure 6(a)).

Furthermore, in this embodiment, the control program and control data stored in the external ROM 55 are transferred and copied to an arbitrary area of the expanded RAM 54 when the power is turned on (see Figure 6(b)). Of course, instead of the expanded RAM 54, all or part of the control program and control data may be transferred and copied to the VRAM 53. Moreover, not limited to the control program and control data, a configuration may also be adopted in which all or part of the CG compressed data and audio compressed data are transferred and copied to RAM 53 and 54.

In any case, the index space can be appropriately allocated in the (1) ACC area, (2) VRAM page area, (3) VRAM arbitrary area, (4) extended RAM page area, and (5) extended RAM arbitrary area with respect to the extended RAM 54 and VRAM 53. However, in this embodiment, the shared area of VRAM 53 is used exclusively as the AAC area. However, since the area allocated as a shared area in VRAM 53 can be used as both a page area and an AAC area, the following explanation will continue with this point in mind.

When allocating an index space in the page area of VRAM 53, it is necessary to set the index number and space size in the predetermined VRAM performance control register RGij. Similarly, the index space in the page area of the extended RAM 54 is allocated by setting the index number and space size in the predetermined extended RAM performance control register RGij. In this embodiment, the page area of extended RAM 54 is used for expanding video frames. Furthermore, in the page area, the starting address of the index space is determined appropriately based on internal processing, eliminating the need to manage the starting address. In other words, in the page area, there is no need to worry about overlap with existing index spaces when allocating index space.

On the other hand, when allocating a two-dimensional index space in an arbitrary area of VRAM 53 or an arbitrary area of extended RAM 54, it is necessary to set the index number, the starting address of the index space, and the horizontal and vertical sizes of the index space in the corresponding predetermined performance control register RGij. Note that the vertical size is not necessary for a one-dimensional index space.

Thus, allocating an index space in an arbitrary region offers the advantage of allowing precise setting of the starting address and size, thus enabling efficient memory usage. Therefore, in this embodiment, the frame buffer FB, which completes the image data for one frame of the display device DS, is allocated as a two-dimensional index space in an arbitrary region of the VRAM 53 (see Figure 6(a)). Of course, the frame buffer FB could also be allocated in an arbitrary region of the extended RAM 54.

The frame buffer FB, allocated in an arbitrary area of VRAM 53, corresponds to the drawing area of the virtual drawing space targeted by drawing commands such as the SPRITE command. Figure 6(c) illustrates the relationship between the virtual drawing space (horizontal X direction ±8192: vertical Y direction ±8192), the arbitrarily configurable drawing area within the virtual drawing space, and the frame buffer FB, which stores the image data to be output to the display device DS.

Furthermore, the frame buffer FB receives image data for one display frame by the drawing circuit 74, while the display circuit 71 reads out image data for one display frame. This frame buffer FB has a double buffer structure composed of a pair of index spaces, consisting of a first buffer with index number N1 and a second buffer with index number N2.

For the display circuit 71, the first buffer and the second buffer are image data readout areas. Based on the information embedded in a predetermined display register RGij, the index numbers N1/N2 are toggled, and the image data from the first and second buffers is read sequentially at each operation cycle δ.

On the other hand, for the drawing circuit 74, the first buffer and the second buffer are areas for writing image data. Based on instruction commands on the display list DL, the index numbers N1/N2 are toggled at each operation cycle δ, thereby alternately writing image data to the first buffer and the second buffer.

The writing operation of the drawing circuit 74 and the reading operation of the display circuit 71 correspond to each other. Image data written to the first buffer in one operation cycle is read by the display circuit 71 in the next operation cycle. During the operation cycle in which the image data from the first buffer is read, the drawing circuit 74 writes image data to the second buffer. Subsequent operations are the same, with the first and second buffers being used alternately as either a "writing area" or a "reading area."

In this embodiment, as a general workspace excluding the frame buffer FB and the space for decompressing compressed data, an index space allocated in an arbitrary area of VRAM 53 or extended RAM 54 is used. These various index spaces can be allocated when needed and released when not needed. When an index space is allocated or released, the contents of the index table IDXTBL, which stores the index space and index number in association, are updated, enabling consistent operation thereafter.

Having explained the index space and the CPU circuit 51, we will now explain the integrated production circuit 52.

The integrated production circuit 52 includes (1) various production control registers RGij whose internal operation setting values are set by the production control CPU 57, (2) a data transfer circuit 70 that performs data transmission and reception between internal chip circuits and between circuits inside and outside the chip, (3) an index table IDXTBL that manages the index space, which is a work area reserved in the VRAM 53 and the extended RAM 54, (4) a preloader 72 that can perform a preload operation that reads the external ROM 55 prior to the drawing operation, and (5) a GDEC circuit (Graphic Decoder) that decodes the compressed data for image production read from the external ROM 55. (1) The system comprises (2) a drawing circuit 74 that appropriately combines decoded still image data and video data to generate image data for one frame of the display device DS in the frame buffer FB, (3) multiple display circuits 71 that read the image data from the frame buffer FB generated by the drawing circuit 74, perform appropriate image processing, and output it, (4) an output selection unit 76 that appropriately selects and outputs the outputs of the multiple display circuits 71, (5) an output unit 77 that converts the image data output by the output selection unit 76 into an LVDS signal or the like and outputs it, (6) an audio processing unit SND that executes audio effects based on the audio command list VC, (7) a motor control unit MT_CTL that executes motor effects, and (8) a lamp control unit L_CTL that executes lamp effects (see Figure 5(a)). The audio processing unit SND includes an audio decoder that decodes compressed data for audio effects read from the external ROM 55.

The motor effect is executed based on the control operations of the effect control CPU 57, specifically based on the setting value of a predetermined effect control register RGij for the motor effect and the control data (motor drive data) copied to the extended RAM 54. The lamp effect is executed similarly, based on the control operations of the effect control CPU 57, specifically based on the setting value of a predetermined effect control register RGij for the lamp effect and the control data (lamp drive data) copied to the extended RAM 54.

Figure 5(b) illustrates the relationship between the CPU bus section 56, CG bus IF section 55a, extended RAM IF section 54a, and VRAM IF section 53a, and the performance control register RGij, external ROM 55, extended RAM 54, and VRAM 53. As shown in the figure, the CG compressed data acquired from the external ROM 55 is supplied to the GDEC circuit 73 via the CG bus IF section 55a and the data transfer circuit 70. The decompressed (decoded) data is then expanded into a predetermined index space reserved in the extended RAM 54 or VRAM 53.

As explained earlier, in this embodiment, an ACC area for decompressing still images is reserved in VRAM 53, and a page area for decompressing video frames is reserved in extended RAM 54. The decoded data of still images and videos is then decompressed into a predetermined index space within the ACC area/page area. Note that the decompressed data of compressed CG data acquired from the external ROM 55 may also be transferred as preload data to the preload area of extended RAM 54.

Next, the display circuit 71 will be described based on Figure 7. The display circuit 71 reads the image data from the frame buffer FB in synchronization with the dot clock DCK, performs final image processing, and then outputs the image. This final image processing includes, for example, scaling by a scaler to enlarge/reduce the image to a similar shape, subtle color correction, and dithering to minimize the overall quantization error of the image. These image processing steps are performed uniformly based on the settings in the display control register RGij (display register). The digital RGB signal, after uniform image processing, is then output along with horizontal and vertical synchronization signals.

As shown in Figure 7, three display circuits A/B/C are provided to execute the above operations in parallel. However, in this embodiment, since there is only one display device, only the frame buffer FB (=FBa) for display circuit A is reserved. However, if frame buffers FBa to FBc are reserved, it is also possible to drive the other two display devices capable of performing independent image effects.

Next, we will return to Figure 5(a) and explain the data transfer circuit 70. The data transfer circuit 70 is a circuit that performs DMA (Direct Memory Access) data transfer operations between the internal resources of the integrated production circuit 52 and the external storage medium, using them as the source or destination. Figure 8 is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of this data transfer circuit 70, along with related circuit configurations.

In this embodiment, the data transfer source for the data transfer circuit 70 includes the CPU address space via the CPU bus 56, the external ROM 55, the extended RAM 54, and the VRAM 53, as well as the CPU register port PORT. On the other hand, the data transfer destinations for the data transfer circuit 70 include the CPU register port PORT, the CPU address space, the extended RAM 54, the VRAM 53, the checksum circuit, the drawing circuit 74, the preloader 72, and the audio processing unit SND.

Here, the CPU address space refers to the memory area accessible by the performance control CPU 57. The CPU register port PORT is a 32-bit register connected to the CPU bus 56, and the performance control CPU 57 can access it arbitrarily (read/write).

Furthermore, virtual work areas such as page areas and arbitrary areas are defined in the extended RAM 54 and VRAM 53. Within these virtual work areas, an index space identified by an index number is allocated/deallocated. Therefore, the operation of the data transfer circuit 70 is performed by referring to the index table IDXTBL, which stores the relationship between the index space and the actual address space. The data transfer source or destination of the data transfer circuit 70 can also be set to the index space allocated in the extended RAM 54 or VRAM 53. Consequently, data from the frame buffer FB allocated in an arbitrary area of VRAM 53 can also be transferred to the extended RAM 54.

In the circuit configuration shown in Figure 8, the transfer size that the data transfer circuit 70 can transfer is 32 bits × (01h to 4000_0000h) when passing through data relay sections CH0 to CH1, and 32 bits × (01h to 100_0000h) when passing through data relay sections CH2 to CH4. That is, the data transfer circuit 70 in this embodiment can transfer data of any size that is an integer multiple of 32 bits, although there is a predetermined upper limit. Here, h represents a hexadecimal number, and the upper limit of the transfer size is specifically 32 × 1,073,741,824 bits when passing through data relay sections CH0 to CH1, and 32 × 16,777,216 bits when passing through data relay sections CH2 to CH4.

As shown in Figure 8, the data transfer circuit 70 receives necessary data from the external ROM 55 via the arbitration circuit ICM, which has router functionality and arbitrates access paths. It is also configured to send and receive necessary data to and from the VRAM 53 and the extended RAM 54. The external ROM 55, VRAM 53, and extended RAM 54 are accessed via the CG bus IF unit 55a, the VRAM IF unit 53a, and the extended RAM IF unit 54a.

This data transfer circuit 70 consists of a 32-bit x 130-stage CPU data FIFO (First In First Out) circuit connected to a 32-bit CPU register port PORT, and five data relay sections CH0 to CH4. As explained earlier, the CPU register port PORT is configured to be read-write accessible from the performance control CPU 57.

The data relay section CH0 consists of a 1024-bit x 18-stage CH0 data FIFO circuit and a checksum circuit. Data relay sections CH1 to CH4 each consist of a 1024-bit x 18-stage CH0 data FIFO circuit. Furthermore, data relay sections CH2 to CH4 are unidirectionally connected to the drawing circuit 74, preloader 72, and audio processing unit SND.

On the other hand, the CPU data FIFO circuit and data relay units CH0 to CH1 are configured to communicate bidirectionally. Therefore, data of a predetermined amount set in the data transfer register is transmitted and received from a predetermined source set in the data transfer register to a predetermined destination set in the data transfer register, via the CPU data FIFO circuit or data relay units CH0 to CH1.

Regardless of which path (CH0 to CH4) is used for data relay, the amount of data to be transferred (data size) must be set in 32-bit units, as described above. Furthermore, there are predetermined restrictions on the starting addresses of the source and destination. Specifically, the starting addresses of the source and destination must be set in 8-bit units in the CPU address space, and in 32-bit units in VRAM 53 and extended RAM 54. The starting address of the source in external ROM 55 is also set in 32-bit units.

When data is routed through data relay sections CH0 to CH1, the source and/or destination are the external ROM 55, VRAM 53, or extended RAM 54. When data is routed through the CPU data FIFO circuit connected to the CPU register port PORT, the source or destination is the CPU address space. The CPU address space naturally includes the built-in RAM 59.

The above describes the bidirectional data relay units CH0 to CH1, but the data relay units CH2 to CH4 form a unidirectional communication path. The performance control CPU 57 can transmit the display list DL and audio command list VC from the DL buffer BUF of the built-in RAM 59 to the data relay units CH2 to CH4 in one direction by writing to the CPU register port PORT in 32-bit units via the CPU bus 56.

Furthermore, since the built-in RAM 59 can be selected as the data transfer source, it is also possible to transfer data via the data relay units CH2 to CH4 (without going through the CPU register port PORT) using the DL buffer BUF as the data transfer source and the drawing circuit 74, preloader 72, or audio processing unit SND as the data transfer destination.

In this case, since the starting address of the built-in RAM 59, the source of the data transfer, is defined in 8-bit units, the lower 7 bits of the starting address of the DL buffer BUF must be zero. Furthermore, regardless of whether or not the data is transferred via the CPU register port PORT, the amount of data to be transferred (data transfer size) must be set in 32-bit units.

In any case, data relay units CH2, CH3, and CH4 are each unidirectionally connected to the drawing circuit 74, preloader 72, and audio processing unit SND, respectively. Therefore, a display list DL of a predetermined data transfer size is transferred to the drawing circuit 74 via data relay unit CH2, and then to the preloader 72 via data relay unit CH3. Similarly, an audio command list VC of a predetermined data transfer size is transferred to the audio processing unit SND via data relay unit CH4.

As described above, in this embodiment, the transfer paths for the display list DL and the voice command list VC are provided as follows: (1) a first path via the CPU register port PORT, and (2) a second path that does not go through the CPU register port PORT. Either path can be used. This also applies to other data, where there is a first path via the CPU register port PORT and data relay units CH0 to CH4, and a second path via only the data relay units CH0 to CH4. The first path is used for data transfers in which the performance control CPU 57 is directly involved, while the second path is used for data transfers (DMA operations) in which the performance control CPU 57 is not directly involved.

As shown in Figure 8, the CPU data FIFO circuit receives data in 32-bit units, while data relay units CH0 to CH4 receive data in 1024-bit units. Therefore, when the first path is utilized, once 1024 bits of data have accumulated in the CPU data FIFO circuit, the stored data will be transferred to one of the data relay units CH0 to CH4 (hereinafter referred to as the channel data FIFO).

In other words, if less than 32 stages of data are written to the CPU data FIFO circuit, no data transfer to the channel data FIFO occurs. Only when the 32nd stage of data is written does the 32 stages of accumulated data transfer to the channel data FIFO, and then to the subsequent destination. On the other hand, since the data transfer size is an arbitrary integer multiple of 32 bits, it is possible that the data in the CPU data FIFO circuit may end before reaching 32 stages. However, when the cumulative size of the written data reaches the transfer size pre-set in the data transfer register, the accumulated data of less than 32 stages will be transferred to the channel data FIFO and the subsequent destination.

In this embodiment, the transfer size of the data transfer circuit 70 is an arbitrary value that is an integer multiple of 32 bits, regardless of whether it passes through the first or second path. Furthermore, the instruction commands constituting the display list DL and the voice commands constituting the voice command list VC are all composed of integer multiples of 32 bits. Therefore, in this embodiment, there are no restrictions on the number of commands in the display list DL or voice command list VC, allowing for a free list configuration, and eliminating the need to adjust the total data size by adding dummy commands or the like.

Figure 9 shows the transfer operation of the display list DL to the drawing circuit 74 via the CPU register port PORT and data relay unit CH2 (Figure 9(a)), the transfer operation of the display list DL from the built-in RAM 59 to the drawing circuit 74 via data relay unit CH2 (Figure 9(b)), and the transfer operation of the rewritten list DL', which is a modified display list, from the VRAM 53 to the drawing circuit 74 via data relay unit CH2 (Figure 9(c)).

Figures 9(d) and 9(e) show the operation of transferring the display list DL to the preloader 72 via the CPU register port PORT and data relay unit CH3, and the operation of transferring the display list DL from the built-in RAM 59 to the preloader 72 via data relay unit CH3.

Furthermore, Figures 9(f) and 9(g) illustrate the transfer operation of the voice command list VC to the voice processing unit SND via the CPU register port PORT and data relay unit CH4, and the transfer operation of the voice command list VC from the built-in RAM 59 to the voice processing unit SND via data relay unit CH4.

The CPU circuit 51 initiates the operation of the drawing circuit 74, preloader 72, and audio processing unit SND prior to the start of the data transfer circuit 70. Therefore, the drawing circuit 74 begins drawing operations based on the transferred display list DL. Meanwhile, the preloader 72 performs the necessary preload operations based on the transferred display list DL. The transferred display list DL is determined by the display list analyzer built into the drawing circuit 74 and preloader 72, and processing is performed according to the type of instruction command. Furthermore, the audio processing unit SND starts or proceeds with audio effects based on the transferred audio command list VC.

Furthermore, data in the CPU address space other than the display list DL and voice command list VC can be transmitted via the CPU bus 56, then via the CPU register port PORT, or directly to the data relay units CH0 to CH4. The data relay units CH0 to CH1 then transfer the transmitted data to a predetermined transfer destination in the VRAM 53 or extended RAM 54 via the arbitration circuit ICM. The reverse transfer operation is similar; the data relay units CH0 to CH1, having received data via the arbitration circuit ICM, transfer it via the CPU register port PORT or directly to a predetermined transfer destination in the CPU address space.

Next, the preloader 72 will be explained, but whether or not to utilize the preloader 72 is optional. When the display list analyzer interprets the display list DL transferred from the data relay section CH3 of the data transfer circuit 70 and detects a LOADTX command, the preloader 72 pre-transfers (pre-loads) the CG data on the external ROM 55 referenced by the LOADTX command to the preload area of the extended RAM 54 (see Figure 6(b)).

Furthermore, the preloader 72 stores a rewrite list DL' in the DL buffer BUF' of the VRAM 53 (see Figure 6(a)) with the CG data reference destination rewritten to the address after transfer, in relation to the LOADTX command mentioned above. Note that the DL buffer BUF' and the preload area are pre-allocated during the initial processing after a CPU reset.

The rewrite list DL' is then transferred to the drawing circuit 74 via the arbitration circuit ICM and data relay unit CH2 of the data transfer circuit 70 at the start of the drawing operation of the drawing circuit 74 (see Figure 9(c)). The drawing circuit 74 then executes the drawing operation based on the rewrite list DL'. Therefore, CG data that should normally be acquired from the external ROM 55 based on commands such as LOADTX is quickly acquired from the preload area of the extended RAM 54 as preloaded data that has been pre-read into the preload area. Considering this point, the preloader 72 is typically enabled in a standard equipment configuration.

In this embodiment, since a preload area is set in the external expansion RAM 54 which has sufficient memory capacity, multiple preloads are possible, for example, where CG data for multiple frames is preloaded at once. That is, regarding the operation period of the preloader 72, multiple preloads are realized by appropriately setting the operation period of the series of preload operations, including the CG data pre-reading operation, within an integer multiple of the operation period δ of the intermittent operation of the integrated production circuit 52.

However, for convenience, the following explanation will describe an embodiment without multiple preloads. Therefore, the preloader 72 in this embodiment will complete the preload operation for one frame within one operation cycle δ. In this embodiment, the operation cycle δ of the integrated production circuit 52 during intermittent operation is 1/30th of a second, which is twice the period of the vertical synchronization signal of the display device DS.

Next, the drawing circuit 74 sequentially analyzes the instruction command sequences of the display list DL and rewrite list DL' transferred via the data transfer circuit 70, and, in cooperation with the GDEC circuit 73 and the geometry engine, draws the image for one frame of the display device DS onto the frame buffer FB reserved in the VRAM 53.

As described above, when the preloader 72 is activated, the CG data referenced in the rewrite list DL' is not the external ROM 55, but the preload area set in the extended RAM 54. Therefore, sequential access to the CG data during drawing by the drawing circuit 74 can be performed quickly, and even high-resolution videos with rapid movement can be drawn without problems.

Incidentally, regardless of whether the preloader 72 is activated or not, even if data bit corruption occurs during the transfer of the display list DL or rewrite list DL', the drawing circuit 74 cannot detect it. Therefore, in this embodiment, a timeout monitoring circuit with a configuration similar to a watchdog timer is provided to detect an abnormality where memory access does not occur for a certain period of time after the start of operation of the drawing circuit 74.

To detect operational abnormalities in the drawing circuit 74, this embodiment provides a time setting register (a predetermined register) TO, which allows for arbitrary setting of the timeout period (abnormality detection period). The time setting register TO is a type of drawing register, and the operation of the drawing circuit 74 is configured to start based on the setting value of a predetermined drawing register (drawing operation permission/denial register).

When a predetermined timeout period is set in the time setting register TO, and start information is set in the drawing operation permission register, the drawing circuit 74 starts operating. In response, the timeout monitoring circuit (monitoring means) monitors the memory access cycle (memory access time interval). If no memory access occurs even after the timeout period has elapsed, the abnormal flag in the predetermined drawing register is set to ON, and an abnormal interrupt is triggered.

While it's possible to respond to this abnormal interrupt by activating an interrupt handling program, this embodiment prevents the appearance of an abnormal screen by checking the ON/OFF state of the abnormal flag at each operation cycle δ of the integrated display circuit 52. Specifically, if the abnormal flag is ON, even if the drawing circuit 74 has completed its operation, the screen update for that operation cycle is skipped.

Here, as in the configurations of Patent Documents 1 and 2, if measures such as activating the WDT 58 or resetting the drawing circuit 74 are taken, there is a risk of unnatural screen displays appearing. However, in this embodiment, the appearance of abnormal screens is easily prevented with minimal intervention. Furthermore, the monitoring timeout period can be arbitrarily set considering the arrangement of commands such as the LOADTX command in the display list DL and the access time of the external ROM 55, etc., thereby achieving optimal monitoring operation.

Incidentally, in the above configuration, the memory access cycle was monitored from the start to the end of operation of the drawing circuit 74. However, it is also preferable to adopt a configuration that monitors the operation time of the GDEC circuit 73 from the start to the end of operation, instead of this configuration, or in addition to this configuration. In this case as well, an optimal value considering the data capacity of the texture can be set in the time setting register TO', thereby achieving optimal monitoring operation.

In the latter configuration, the timeout monitoring circuit starts monitoring each time the GDEC circuit 73 starts decoding the CG compressed data, and ends the monitoring operation for that cycle when decoding is complete. As in the former configuration, when a timeout occurs, the abnormal flag in a predetermined drawing register is set to ON, triggering an abnormal interrupt, and when an abnormality is detected, the screen update for that operation cycle is skipped. In this embodiment, a flag polling method is used to check the ON/OFF state of the abnormal flag at each operation cycle δ of the integrated presentation circuit 52. However, a configuration that activates an abnormal interrupt processing program to skip the screen update for the operation cycle in which the problem occurred may also be adopted.

Next, the image filter circuit 75 functions based on instruction commands (filter execution commands) described in the display list DL, and performs appropriate filtering on textures temporarily stored in VRAM 53 or extended RAM 54. In other words, the image filter circuit 75 in this embodiment does not perform uniform filtering based on the setting value of the performance control register RGij, but rather allows for flexible filtering of necessary image data by arbitrarily describing appropriate instruction commands in the display list DL.

The content of the filtering process is determined by the selection of the filtering execution command and the setting parameters of the selected command. The executable filtering processes include (1) FIR (Finite Impulse Response) filtering, (2) downsampling, and (3) linear interpolation. Here, downsampling is a different process from the scaling process in the display circuit 71, which operates based on the setting value in the display control register RGij (display register).

In other words, downsampling involves scaling only vertically or horizontally, rather than reducing the image to a similar shape like scaling. While not strictly limited, downsampling typically involves calculating the average image information of pixels within a predetermined range surrounding the target pixel and then applying a decimation process, such as moving average, to reduce the texture size.

Figure 10(a) illustrates an example of operation in which FIR filtering is performed twice consecutively by a filter execution command. First, the SETFTINDEX command sets the destination index space where the reference texture to be filtered should be saved (command processing L20). Subsequently, the LOADTX command retrieves the reference texture from the external ROM 55 specified by the command's setting parameters, and saves the decoded image data to the destination index space (command processing L21).

Then, the SETFTINDEX command sets the index space where the result texture will be saved (command processing L22), and the SETFTSAMP and SETFTCOEF commands set the filter coefficients and other information (command processing L23). Finally, the FTEXECFIR command executes the FIR filter (command processing L24). Note that the SETFTINDEX command distinguishes whether it specifies the index space for the reference texture or the index space for the result texture, depending on the parameters set in the command.

As shown in Figure 10(b), the image data expanded into the index space for the reference texture defined by instruction command L20 is then saved to the index space for the result texture specified by instruction command L22 after the FIR filtering process instructed by instruction command L23.

Next, the SETFTINDEX command sets the index space for the reference texture (command processing L25), and the SETTXINDEX command sets the index space where the result texture will be saved (command processing L26). Since the filtered image data is designated as the reference texture in command L25, the result texture specified in command L22 is transformed into the reference texture by command L25.

Subsequently, the necessary filter coefficients are set using the SETFTSAMP and SETFTCOEF commands, and other information is configured (command processing L27). Then, the necessary FIR filtering is executed using the FTEXECFIR command (command processing L28). Since the filtered image data is stored in the index space specified by the instruction command L26, executing the SETTXMODE command followed by the SPRITE command (command processing L29) will render the FIR-filtered image data into appropriate rectangular sections of the virtual rendering space.

Figure 10(c) is a diagram illustrating an example of operation in which scaling processing is performed by a filter execution command. First, the SETFTINDEX command sets the destination index space where the reference texture to be scaled should be stored (command processing L30). Subsequently, the LOADTX command retrieves the reference texture from the external ROM 55 specified by the command's setting parameters (command processing L31).

Next, the SETTXINDEX command is used to set the index space for storing the auxiliary data necessary for scaling (command processing L32). Here, the auxiliary data is plane information extracted from the reference texture, which characterizes the reference texture. The reason for considering such auxiliary data is that the scaling process in this example includes deformations of dissimilar shapes, not just similar shapes. Therefore, appropriate interpolation processing is performed to resolve the unnaturalness of the deformed image.

Therefore, in the scaling process of this embodiment, the FTEXECGRD command is written following command L32 to generate auxiliary information (plane information) in the index space defined by command L32 (command processing L33). Since the necessary preparations are completed with these commands, the next step is to set the index space to be used as a texture with the SETTXINDEX command (command processing L34), set the necessary information with the SETTXSAMP command, and then execute the scaling process with the SETTXMODE command (command processing L35).

As a result of the above, the image data after scaling is stored in the index space specified by the instruction command L34. Therefore, after executing the SETTXMODE command, executing the SPRITE command (command processing L36) will cause the scaled image data to be drawn into the appropriate rectangular area of the virtual drawing space.

The image filter circuit 75 has been described above. The GDEC circuit 73 performs decoding processing on compressed data such as stream video, still images, and alpha values using software processing corresponding to each compression algorithm. In this embodiment, the stream video is divided into S-stream, IP-stream, and IPB-stream, and the frames constituting the stream video are composed of I-pictures, S-pictures, P-pictures, or B-pictures in appropriate combinations.

An I (Intra-coded) picture refers to an intra-coded (within-screen) image, meaning image data that is compressed directly from the input image, independently of other screens. On the other hand, an S-picture is image data that performs predictive coding by referencing the most recent I-pictures, and has the advantage of a higher compression ratio than an I-picture. The S-stream video in this embodiment is a video combining I-pictures and S-pictures. By arranging I-pictures according to a certain period, random access and reverse playback starting from an I-picture can be performed, enabling effective image effects. Note that S-stream videos without S-pictures are also possible, and an S-stream video without S-pictures is substantially identical to an I-stream video.

Next, P-pictures (Predictive coded) are image data that perform forward predictive coding, predicting the current frame from a frame that has been in the past in time. Predictive coding is performed using I-pictures or P-pictures located in the past in time. On the other hand, B-pictures (Bidirectional coded) are image data that perform bidirectional predictive coding, performing both forward and backward prediction, predicting the current frame from a future frame. Predictive coding is performed using I-pictures or P-pictures located in both the past and future in time.

Generally, inter-frame prediction techniques include forward prediction (predicting the current frame from frames in the past), backward prediction (predicting the current frame from future frames), and bidirectional prediction (performing both forward and backward prediction). B-Picture employs bidirectional prediction, thus improving prediction accuracy.

Therefore, in this embodiment, in addition to S-stream videos combining I-pictures and S-pictures, the system is configured to also play IP-stream videos and IPB-stream videos that appropriately combine I-pictures, P-pictures, and B-pictures. IP-stream videos are composed of a combination of I-pictures and P-pictures, while IPB-stream videos are composed of a combination of I-pictures, P-pictures, and B-pictures.

As is clear from the above relationship, in S-stream videos containing S-pictures and IPB-stream videos, due to the need for backward predictive coding, it becomes necessary to acquire and decode I-pictures and P-pictures, which are to be played later in time, prior to acquiring S-pictures and B-pictures.

Therefore, in this embodiment, a single LOADTX command is configured to identify multiple textures, namely the main frame's CG data and the subframe's CG data. Here, the main frame refers to the CG frame data that should be played back at the current time, and the subframe refers to the CG frame data that should be played back at a different time.

For example, in S-pictures, predictive coding is performed by referencing the most recent (previous or next) I-picture. Therefore, in S-stream videos where I-pictures and S-pictures are consecutive, the CG data of both the S-picture (main frame) and the I-picture (subframe) may be acquired and decoded with a single LOADTX command.

Furthermore, since B-picture (Bidirectional coded) uses bidirectional predictive coding, it is necessary that the CG data of past frames and the CG data of future frames be allocated in a decoded state prior to the B-picture decoding process. Therefore, in this embodiment, when playing back an IPB stream video, it is necessary to allocate a first reference buffer for storing past frames and a second reference buffer for storing future frames prior to this playback operation. The reference buffer is an index space with sufficient capacity to store reference images, allocated in an arbitrary area of VRAM 53 or extended RAM 54, and identified by a unique index number.

Figure 11 is a diagram illustrating the playback procedure for IPB stream video, with the playback operation progressing from the top to the bottom of the page. Figure 11 is divided into six horizontal sections, from left to right: (1) the LOADTX command on the display list DL, (2) the pictures constituting the IPB stream video, (3) the decoding process of the main frame and subframes, (4) the decoding process of the reference image, (5) the reference buffer where the reference image is stored, and (6) the index space (expansion space) where the decoded image displayed on the screen is stored.

The downward arrow in column 1 indicates the progression of the operating cycle of the intermittently operating integrated presentation circuit 52 (GDEC circuit 73), and the downward arrow in column 6 indicates the display order of the images displayed on the display device DS. For convenience, in the following explanation, a group of video frames played back at timings T1 to T7 is referred to as a GOP (Group Of Picture), but the GOP can be appropriately changed based on the embedded parameters of the LOADTX command on the series of display lists for video playback.

First, the LOADTX command at timing T1, when the I-picture should be played back, identifies the addresses of the main frame I-picture (I1) and the subframe P-picture (P1) through its embedded parameters. The index number of the expansion space where the decoded data should be stored is also identified.

Therefore, the I-picture (I1) acquired based on the LOADTX command at timing T1 is, after decoding, stored in the first reference buffer that stores past frames, along with its original expanded space. Furthermore, the P-picture (P1) is acquired based on the LOADTX command at timing T1, and its decoded data is stored as a reference image in the second reference buffer that stores future frames. While not particularly limited, the reference image is stored in a compressed state using a special method.

Next, the LOADTX command at timing T2 specifies only the B picture (B1) as the main frame. Then, as a bidirectional predictive operation, the image data B1 of the current frame is reconstructed and saved in the unfolded space based on the I picture (I1) in the first reference buffer, the P picture (P1) in the second reference buffer, and the B picture (B1). The same applies to the subsequent LOADTX command at timing T3; the image data B2 of the current frame is reconstructed and saved in the unfolded space based on the I picture (I1) in the first reference buffer, the P picture (P1) in the second reference buffer, and the B picture (B2).

Next, in the LOADTX command at timing T4, when the P-picture should be played back, the embedded parameters of the command instruct that the main frame P-picture (P1) should be retrieved from the second reference buffer. The address of the subframe P-picture (P2) is also identified.

Therefore, at timing T4, the P-picture (P1) in the second reference buffer, which is compressed using a special method, is decompressed and saved in the unpacking space. Simultaneously, the P-picture (P1) is stored in the first reference buffer as a past frame image for subsequent processing. Furthermore, upon instruction from the LOADTX command at timing T4, a future P-picture (P2) is acquired, and its decoded data is saved in the second reference buffer as a reference image for the future frame.

The subsequent operations at timings T5 and T6 are substantially the same as those at timings T2 and T3. That is, at timing T5, based on bidirectional prediction, the B3 picture image, formed from the P-picture (P1) of the first reference buffer, the P-picture (P2) of the second reference buffer, and the B-picture (B3), is unfolded into the unfolding space. Furthermore, at timing T6, the B4 picture image, formed from the P-picture (P1) of the first reference buffer, the P-picture (P2) of the second reference buffer, and the B-picture (B4), is unfolded into the unfolding space.

Next, the LOAD command at timing T7 instructs that the main frame, P-picture (P2), be retrieved from the second reference buffer. The address of the subframe, I-picture (I2), is also identified. Therefore, at timing T7, the P-picture (P2) in the second reference buffer is decompressed and saved in the decompression space. Simultaneously, the I-picture (I2) is retrieved according to the LOADTX command at timing T7, and its decoded data is saved in the second reference buffer as a reference image for future frames.

At the next timing T9, the system is instructed to retrieve the main frame, I-picture (I2), from the second reference buffer. Therefore, the I-picture (I2) in the second reference buffer is decompressed and saved in the decompression space. Simultaneously, the I-picture (I2) is stored in the first reference buffer as a past frame image for subsequent processing. Furthermore, since the address of the subframe, P-picture (P3), is identified in the LOAD command at timing T9, P-picture (P3) is retrieved, and its decoded data is saved in the second reference buffer as a reference image for future frames.

Figure 12(a) is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of the audio processing unit SND. As shown in the figure, the audio processing unit SND is divided into a pre-processing unit FT, in which 64 processing blocks are arranged to operate in parallel; a post-processing unit BK, which consists of a master effect unit, a master volume unit, an output protection unit, and a serializer; and a mixer MX, which transmits the output of the pre-processing unit FT to the post-processing unit BK.

As shown in the diagram, the pre-processing unit FT is equipped with 64 decoders that receive compressed audio data (compressed phrase data) from the external memory 55. Meanwhile, the post-processing unit BK is configured to output the audio signals SDOUTA to SDOUTD of the four paths A/B/C/D as serial data, along with the clock signal SBCLK and the control signal SLRCLK, via a serializer. Each of the four paths A/B/C/D's serial data SDOUTA to SDOUTD contains both right data R and left data L on a single data line. Depending on whether the control signal SLRCLK is in a high-level or low-level period, the serial data SDOUTA at that timing is determined to be either left data L or right data R.

Next, regarding the internal operation of the pre-processing unit (FT), the phrase data decompressed by the decoder has its volume adjusted appropriately by the primary volume, secondary volume, and pan pot section. Here, the primary and secondary volume controls two levels of volume adjustment, while the pan pot section adjusts the volume ratio between the left and right speakers. The specific operations of the primary volume, secondary volume, and pan pot section are defined by the voice commands listed in the voice command list (VC).

By the way, phrase data is audio data that realizes a single unit of audio production, and includes a whole song of background sound, or a unit of audio production such as sound effects or shouts. Then, one phrase data is output from the pan pot section of the pre-processing unit FT to eight paths. As shown in the diagram, in this embodiment, 64-track processing blocks (pre-processing unit FT) are arranged to operate in parallel, and a maximum of 64 phrase data can be output to the mixer MX. The audio data, grouped into eight paths (left/right audio R/L for the four paths A/B/C/D), is transmitted to the post-processing unit BK.

The pan pot allows you to adjust the volume ratio between the left and right speakers. For example, you can set the pan pot of the first track to output only to the first line of the mixer MX with the left/right volume ratio set to maximum value: zero, while simultaneously setting the pan pot of the second track to output only to the second line of the mixer MX with the left/right volume ratio set to zero: maximum value. Therefore, for instance, the first phrase data (left audio) will be output only to the first line, and the second phrase data (right audio) will be output only to the second line, enabling stereo playback using the left and right speakers of system A.

Next, regarding the internal operation of the post-processing unit BK, the master effect performs audio filtering, and the master volume makes the final volume determination. The specific details of these operations are defined by the audio commands listed in the audio command list VC. The master volume is used, for example, for silent warnings that instantly silence the sound effect, while the master effect is used, for example, for sound alteration warnings that drastically change the sound quality.

Figure 12(b) illustrates the relationship between the voice command list VC and the voice effects realized by the voice commands listed in the voice command list VC. Here, the START command, which instructs the start of playback of a specific phrase data, the PAUSE command, which instructs the stop of playback of a specific phrase data, the RESUME command, which instructs the resume of playback of a specific phrase data, and the STOP command, which instructs the end of playback of a specific phrase data, are shown as examples. Note that the voice command list VC is composed of one or more voice commands, but it must be terminated with a predetermined termination command EOSC.

First, the voice command list VC1 is instructed to start playback of 64 different phrase data via voice commands START1 to START64. Therefore, once the decoding process for the 64 compressed phrase data is complete, playback of the 64 phrase data begins.

Next, since voice command list VC2 contains voice commands PAUSE1, PAUSE2, and STOP64, playback of phrase data 1, 2, and 64 will be paused or stopped. Then, voice command list VC3 contains voice commands RESUME1 and RESUME2, so playback of the paused phrase data 1 and 2 will resume.

Furthermore, the voice command list VC can be output not only at the start and end of phrase data playback, but also at any necessary timing within the operation cycle δ (= 1/30 second) of the integrated production circuit 52. In other words, while the display list DL is output at each operation cycle δ of the integrated production circuit 52, the voice command list VC is generally output irregularly.

Next, the drawing pipeline processing that can be executed in the drawing circuit 74 will be described. Figure 13(a) shows a detailed illustration of the part of the drawing circuit 74 related to the drawing pipeline processing. The display list analyzer sequentially analyzes the instruction commands listed in the display list DL and transfers them to the appropriate internal circuit according to their type. Note that in Figure 13(a), instruction commands are specifically referred to as drawing commands, and in the following explanation, instruction commands may also be referred to as drawing commands.

The internal circuits that receive drawing commands are configured to operate in parallel. The display list analyzer analyzes the drawing commands listed in the display list DL in the order they are written and forwards them to the corresponding internal circuits one after another (see Figure 13(a)).

Incidentally, the internal circuitry of the drawing circuit 74 operates asynchronously with the CPU circuit 51 that issues the display list DL and the data transfer circuit 70 that sequentially transfers the configuration data of the display list DL. Generally, the operating speed of the internal circuitry of the drawing circuit 74 is significantly slower than the transfer speed of the configuration data of the display list DL.

Therefore, the internal circuitry that receives drawing commands is equipped with a waiting queue to store drawing commands before processing begins. The display list analyzer places a drawing command into the waiting queue only if there is an empty slot. In other words, the display list analyzer stalls (pauses) its command placement operation until the waiting queue becomes free, so there is no risk of losing a drawing command. The numbers indicated in the waiting queue section are illustrative examples showing the number of queue levels.

As explained earlier, the instruction commands listed in the display list DL include: (1) index table control commands related to the index table IDXTBL that manages the index space; (2) texture loading commands such as the LOADTX command for reading and decoding (unzipping/decompressing) image materials (textures) from the external ROM 55; (3) filter execution commands that specify the filtering process for the unzipped image data; (4) rendering commands such as the SPRITE command for placing the decoded (unzipped) image materials in the designated location in the virtual rendering space; and (5) pipeline commands related to the rendering pipeline operation.

As shown in Figure 13(a), the index table control command (1) is transferred to the control circuit of the index table IDXTBL, the texture load command (2) is transferred to the GDEC circuit 73, and the filter execution command (3) is transferred to the image filter circuit 75. Each of these commands is then processed appropriately by the respective destination circuits. Specifically, the GDEC circuit 73 operates based on the transferred drawing commands (texture load commands), acquiring the necessary textures and expanding the decompressed data into the decode space.

Furthermore, the index table IDXTBL is updated as needed through the operation of its control circuit. The image filter circuit 75 applies a specified filter to a predetermined reference texture and stores the filter result in a predetermined index space (see Figure 10). Additionally, upon receiving a predetermined drawing command (high-speed transfer command), the high-speed transfer circuit TRNS functions, enabling high-speed data transmission and reception between the VRAM 53 and the extended RAM 54. The high-speed transfer circuit TRNS is an internal circuit of the drawing circuit 74 and is separate from the data transfer circuit 70.

When using the data transfer circuit 70, the CPU circuit 51 needs to set the type of source medium and transfer start address, the type of destination medium and reception start address, and the transfer size in a predetermined performance control register RGij (data transfer register). However, the high-speed transfer circuit TRNS has the advantage of being easily activated by a command (transfer execution command) in the display list DL when needed, and also has the advantage of being able to transfer two-dimensional data at high speed using the index space as the unit. It should be noted that using the data transfer circuit 70 only when needed in a control program that is functioning continuously is not easy from a program configuration standpoint.

As explained earlier, the rendering pipeline operation is performed using the vertex buffer VB built into the rendering circuit 74, the frame buffer FB reserved as an index space, and the depth/stencil buffer that manages the front-to-back relationships of polygons and the display of pixels. The input assembler process (acquisition process) IA, the geometry engine process TL, the rasterizer process (primitive process) RS, the texture sampler process TX, the texture process PS, the pixel rendering process PX, and the render process (image generation process) RO are configured to be executed as needed.

In other words, the drawing pipeline processing is executed from upstream to downstream, either by going through all processes or some of them, in the order of Process IA → Process TL (Process VB) → Process RS → Process TX → Process PS → Process PX → Process RO. Each process operates in parallel, but since the completion of drawing commands becomes slower towards the downstream processes, the number of stages in the waiting queue that accumulates drawing commands for each process is configured so that it does not fall below the number of stages in the waiting queue on the upstream side.

As illustrated in Figure 13(a), the number of stages in the standby queue corresponds to process IA → process TL → process RS → process TX → process PS → process PX → process RO, with 1 stage → 5 stages → 14 stages → 18 stages → 18 stages → 23 stages. The number of stages in each process is equal to or greater than the number of stages in the upstream standby queue.

By the way, the pipeline commands explained earlier are setting commands that define the operation of each pipeline process (IA, TL, VB, RS, TX, PS, PX, RO). The acquired pipeline commands are transferred to the parameter setting unit SET, which sets the necessary operating parameters for the required internal circuits, such as the geometry engine.

In this embodiment, as shown in Figure 13(b), the drawing pipeline consists of processes IA, TL, RS, TX, PS, PX, and RO. First, the input assembler process IA acquires the vertex stream of a three-dimensional 3D drawing object, which is typically defined in local coordinates. It then stores the information necessary for subsequent processing and outputs vertex data containing predetermined vertex information.

In this process IA, in addition to the setting commands for process IA (pipeline commands), drawing commands such as the DRAW command and DRAWD command are used. The DRAW command specifies the starting address of the memory (external ROM 55 in this embodiment) where a series of vertex streams are stored, and the number of vertices.

On the other hand, the DRAWD command has a series of vertex streams embedded within it. The specific operation of the DRAW and DRAWD commands is defined by the embedded information of each command and the setting commands for process IA. While each vertex in the vertex stream can have a defined vertex color (RGBA color information), if a vertex color is not defined, the input assembler process IA sets a default value as the vertex information. Here, RGBG represents the color information of R=Red, B=Blue, and G=Green, while A is the alpha value α, indicating opacity, and is used in alpha blending during image compositing.

In the subsequent geometry engine process (TL), matrix operations are performed to transform the vertex coordinates of 3D rendering objects using the vertex data output from the input assembler process (IA), as well as lighting processing related to light sources. The coordinate transformation process includes view matrix operations to convert local coordinates to view coordinates, and matrix operations for projection transformation (perspective projection).

Here, the view coordinate system is one in which the viewpoint is the origin and the point at infinity (0,0,-∞) is the point of line of sight. In projection transformation, to achieve perspective corresponding to the placement of the 3D rendering object, the shape of the 3D rendering object is scaled, thereby transforming from the view coordinate system to the clip coordinate system.

The specific details of the matrix operations are defined in the TL process setting commands (pipeline commands), and the execution of the predetermined geometric matrix operations is instructed by the DRAW command or DRAWD command. Therefore, process IA and process TL can be executed together with a single drawing command (DRAW/DRAWD). However, in either case, the results of the geometric matrix operations performed by the drawing command (DRAW/DRAWD) are saved in the vertex buffer VB.

Note that the geometry engine process TL is not mandatory. If a vertex stream defined by clip coordinates is obtained from the external ROM 55, that information is stored directly in the vertex buffer VB via the input assembler process IA. Furthermore, the input assembler process IA and geometry engine process TL may be repeated for multiple 3D drawing objects. The vertex buffer VB is configured to store a maximum of 256 vertices.

Next, in the rasterizer process RS, primitives are generated and drawn based on the vertex information in the vertex buffer VB. After eliminating unnecessary polygons through conversion from the clip coordinate system to the window coordinate system, clipping, culling, scissoring, etc., the pixel data for the 3D drawing object is generated. In other words, the three-dimensional 3D image object is fixed in a predetermined position and orientation within the window coordinate system (world coordinates) corresponding to the virtual drawing space.

To generate primitives, you can appropriately select and use triangle drawing methods such as triangle lists, triangle strips, or triangle fans, and line drawing methods such as line lists, line strips, or line fans.

Furthermore, in this rasterizer process (RS), in addition to setting commands (pipeline commands) that specifically define the processing content, the drawing commands DRAW, DRAWD, DRAWI, and SPRITE are used as appropriate.

Here, the DRAWI command generates and draws primitives based on vertex data obtained from the vertex buffer VB. On the other hand, the DRAW command generates and draws primitives based on a vertex stream obtained from the external ROM 55, while the DRAWD command generates and draws primitives based on a vertex stream embedded within the command itself.

Therefore, it is possible to execute the rasterizer process (RS) without going through the geometry engine process (TL). For example, in the case of a two-dimensional 2D drawing object, the geometry engine process (TL) is not particularly necessary. In either case, each polygon generated through the rasterizer process (RS) has RGBA color information for each pixel, based on the vertex color of each vertex.

Next, in the texture sampler process TX, the index space to be used as the texture is identified, and the texture coordinates for each pixel are determined. Then, in the texture process PS, the pixel color obtained in the rasterizer process RS and the texture color are calculated as appropriate.

In the TX and PS processes, and the subsequent PX process, in addition to the setting commands (pipeline commands) for each process, the drawing commands DRAW, DRAWD, DRAWI, or SPRITE are used as appropriate. The DRAW, DRAWD, or DRAWI commands apply a texture to the area enclosed by the specified vertices, while the SPRITE command applies a texture to the specified rectangular area.

Next, in the pixel rendering process (PX), the rendering color and background color are combined, tone mapping is performed to adjust contrast, and inverse tone mapping is also performed. In this PX process, pixel data containing predetermined information is input for each pixel from the texture process (PS), and data (background color) stored at the pixel's rendering position is input for each pixel from the frame buffer (FB).

In the final rendering stage (RO), the depth and stencil buffers are referenced, and pixel tests are performed to determine whether or not to display pixels based on their depth and stencil information. After alpha blending processing for overlapping rendering objects, the completed rendering object is written to the frame buffer (FB). Writing to the frame buffer (FB) is equivalent to rendering into the virtual rendering space shown in Figure 6, and is typically done using the SPRITE command.

In addition to the DRAW, DRAWD, DRAWI, and SPRITE commands, the RO (Render Process) also allows the use of the CLEAR command, which fills the frame buffer (FB) with a single color, and the CLEARZ command, which fills the depth and stencil buffers with a single color. The CLEAR command is used to clear the frame buffer (FB) before the start of the rendering operation, while the CLEARZ command is used when depth and stencil information is not needed.

Thus, in this invention, all or part of the series of drawing pipeline processes function, and two-dimensional or three-dimensional drawing objects are successively written to the frame buffer FB, ultimately completing the image data for one frame of the display device.

Figure 14 is a process diagram showing various rendering modes that utilize all or part of the rendering pipeline process. First, the rendering mode in Figure 14(a) is an operation mode that uses the CLEAR and CLEARZ commands described above, and only the render process RO is functional.

The sprite drawing mode in Figure 14(b) utilizes the following processes: rasterizer process RS, texture sampler process TX, texture process PS, pixel drawing process PX, and render process RO. Note that the rasterizer process RS simply adds an offset value to the X and Y coordinates of the window vertices; this offset value is related to the paste rectangle area of the SPRITE command.

In practice, the SETTXINDEX command sets the target index space for sprite rendering, the LOADTX command retrieves the specified texture and renders it into the index space, and the SPRITE command reserves this rendered texture in its designated location. The information from the rendered texture is then referenced and finally written to the frame buffer (FB). Video playback and the playback of simple still images are, in principle, achieved using this sprite rendering mode.

The drawing mode shown in Figure 14(c) is an example of operation that uses the entire drawing pipeline to perform triangle drawing and line drawing. The only difference between triangle drawing and line drawing is the primitive generation method; in both cases, primitives are identified and drawn based on the vertex stream of the 3D drawing object supplied to the input assembler process IA.

Figure 14(d) shows a drawing operation using commands such as DRAW and DRAWD, where pixel data for the drawing object is generated in the rasterizer process RS without performing coordinate transformation. This operation is typically used when displaying a two-dimensional 2D drawing object, whose contour lines can be identified by a vertex stream, on a display screen.

Figures 14(e) and (f) show the operation modes when accumulating vertex data in the vertex buffer VB, and are divided into cases where coordinate transformation processing is performed (e) and cases where coordinate transformation processing is not performed (f). These operations are executed by the DRAW command and the DRAWD command. Next, Figure 14(g) shows the operation mode using the vertex data accumulated in the vertex buffer VB, and is executed by the DRAWI command.

As described above, the drawing pipeline of this embodiment can be used in various ways. However, for example, playback of 2D still images and streaming videos (S-stream, IPB-stream, IP-stream) can be achieved simply by drawing sprites, and the playback operation is realized in the operating mode shown in Figure 14(b), as previously stated.

As explained above, the display list analyzer determines the drawing commands in the display list DL and forwards each command to the corresponding processing block in the pipeline process. The forwarded drawing commands are then first placed into the waiting queue of each pipeline process, and the processing corresponding to the drawing commands is executed in the order they were placed.

However, since the operation of the data transfer circuit 70 that transfers the display list DL is significantly faster than the progress of this rendering pipeline, if, for example, you want to display multiple 3D rendering objects on the screen, and also display other 2D rendering objects, the execution of the SPRITE command in the render process RO will be delayed for a long time.

In other words, processing the coordinate transformation matrix for 3D drawing objects takes a considerable amount of time, so, for example, a large number of SPRITE commands accumulate in the waiting queue of the RO process. However, in this embodiment, as explained earlier, drawing commands are waited for until the waiting queue is empty (stall state), and furthermore, the number of stages in the waiting queue of the downstream process is the same as or greater than the number of stages in the waiting queue of the upstream process, so the operation of the commands listed in the display list DL is smoothly realized.

Furthermore, drawing commands transferred from the waiting queue will also be held in a stall state until the necessary start conditions are met, preventing inconsistent drawing operations such as index space rewriting.

Having explained the circuit configuration above, we will now explain the control operation by the CPU circuit 51. As explained earlier, when the power is turned on, a reset period occurs prior to the start of control operation, during which the system reset signal SYS maintains a low level for a predetermined time.

During this reset period, first, one or two oscillator circuits that control the operation of the integrated performance circuit 52 and the built-in CPU circuit 51 begin oscillating, and wait for the oscillation frequencies of each system clock to stabilize. Next, the internal circuits of the composite chip 50 are initialized in synchronization with each system clock, and predetermined default values are set in the performance control register RGij and the operation control register REG. Hereinafter, in this specification, this operation will be referred to as a hardware reset to distinguish it from the software reset described later.

Once this hardware reset period ends, the built-in CPU circuit 51's performance control CPU 57 executes the boot program stored in the external ROM 55, transferring the control program and control data from the external ROM 55 to the expanded RAM 54. The performance control CPU 57 then continues its control operations based on the control program transferred to the expanded RAM 54.

The control operations performed by the performance control CPU 57 are as shown in Figure 15, and include a main process (a) consisting of initial processing and subsequent steady-state processing, a timer interrupt process (b) activated every 1 ms, a VBLANK interrupt process (c) activated upon receiving a VBLANK signal output from the integrated performance circuit 52 at the start of the vertical retrace period of the display device DS, and a receive interrupt process (not shown) for receiving the control command CMD. The VBLANK signal is generated every 1/60th of a second.

As shown in Figure 15(b), the timer interrupt processing acquires sensor signals to determine the motor position, etc. (ST20), and, when necessary, starts or progresses the lamp or motor effects (ST21). In this embodiment, the lamp effects are realized by the operation of the effect control CPU 57 and the lamp control unit L_CTL based on the lamp drive data, which is the control data. The motor effects are realized by the operation of the effect control CPU 57 and the motor control unit MT_CTL based on the lamp drive data, which is the control data. Furthermore, in the VBLANK interrupt processing, which is activated by receiving the VBLANK signal, the interrupt counter VCNT is incremented and processing ends, as shown in Figure 15(c) (ST22).

First, we will explain the main processing in the case where the preloader 72 is not used. As shown in Figure 15(a), the initial setup process (ST1) is executed first, and appropriate setting values are set in the RGij production control register of the integrated production circuit 52 and the REG operation control register of the CPU circuit 51.

The setting process for the performance control register RGij includes allocating appropriate virtual work areas (AAC area, page area, arbitrary area) in the VRAM 53 and extended RAM 54 (see Figures 6(a) and 6(b)), and allocating index space essential for game control operations, such as the frame buffer FB. As explained earlier, the frame buffer FB consists of a first buffer with index number N1 and a second buffer with index number N2.

Furthermore, the starting address of the shared area allocated in VRAM 53 (used as the AAC area in this embodiment) is set in units of 4kbytes (the lower 15 bits are zero), and the area size is allocated in integer multiples of 4kbytes. Additionally, the page area allocated in extended RAM 54 is set in units of 32kbytes (the lower 18 bits are zero), and the area size is allocated in integer multiples of 32kbytes.

Furthermore, the setting value in the operation control register REG includes operation parameters related to the watchdog timer WDT58, which include an operation start instruction and a counter value. In this embodiment, the WDT58 is configured to downcount its initial value (counter value), and the WDT58 is prevented from starting by reloading the counter value before an underflow occurs where the count value becomes zero.

On the other hand, if the count value underflows, a WDT reset request is generated, and the WDT58 is activated, resulting in a software reset state. In standard operation, all internal circuits are initialized, and the values of all registers RGij and REG (except for a predetermined register) return to their initial values (default values), and the WDT58 stops operating. The only register value that is exceptionally maintained is the register indicating the WDT's operating status.

However, in this embodiment, operations other than the standard operation described above are also possible. (1) Whether or not to initialize the internal circuitry, and (2) whether or not to initialize the system clock circuitry if initialization is performed, can be arbitrarily selected by setting a corresponding value in a predetermined operation control register REG during the initial setup process after a hardware reset. Therefore, in this embodiment, based on the predetermined setting value in the operation control register REG, during a software reset, the game operation is resumed from the process of step ST1 without initializing the internal circuitry.

Thus, unlike the configurations in prior art documents 1 and 2, this embodiment has the advantage of allowing for quick resumption of gameplay because, even if the WDT 58 underflows, it does not enter a hardware reset state. Furthermore, since the WDT stops operating after a software reset, there is no risk of the software reset operation being repeatedly triggered.

Once the initial setup process (ST1), which includes the above processes, is complete, the intermittently executed steady-state processes (ST2 to ST10) begin. As shown in step ST2 of Figure 15(a), the steady-state process begins when the interrupt counter VCNT becomes VCNT ≥ 2. Therefore, the operating period (operating cycle) δ of the steady-state process corresponds to the operating period of the VBLANK signal (1/60 second), resulting in 1/30 second.

Then, in step ST3, after resetting the interrupt counter VCNT, it is determined whether the conditions for starting steady-state operation are met. Specifically, a predetermined display control register RGij, which indicates the operating state of the drawing circuit 74, is accessed via READ, and it is determined at this timing whether the drawing circuit 74 has completed the drawing operation based on the display list DL of the previous operation cycle. Furthermore, it is determined by the ON/OFF state of a predetermined abnormal flag whether the memory access period of the drawing circuit 74 in the previous operation cycle's drawing operation exceeded the timeout period set in the time setting register TO.

Furthermore, if the memory access of the drawing circuit 74 is abnormally prolonged, and the abnormal flag is ON, even if the drawing circuit 74 has finished its drawing operation, it is determined that the operation start conditions have not been met, and the process proceeds to the animation command analysis process in step ST9.

Steps ST4 to ST8 are skipped because, given the unusually long memory access of the drawing circuit 74, there is a possibility that normal image data is not being generated, including bit corruption in the instruction commands. This is done to avoid an unreasonable screen display.

In the performance command analysis process (ST9), it is determined whether or not a control command CMD has been received from the main control board 21. If a control command CMD has been received, the control command CMD is analyzed and the necessary processing is executed. Here, the necessary processing includes the preparation process for starting a new variation performance based on a control command CMD instructing the start of a variation performance, and the start of error notification based on a control command CMD indicating an error has occurred.

Next, the watchdog timer WDT 58 is prevented from starting by reloading its counter value (ST10). As explained earlier, even in the event of an abnormal activation of the watchdog timer 58, the composite chip 50 in this embodiment enters a software reset state, distinct from a hardware reset. With this, the operation cycle is complete, and the process moves to step ST2, waiting for the next VBLANK interrupt.

The above describes the case where the operation start conditions are not met. Normally, after the determination process in step ST3, the display circuit 71 identifies the image data to be read based on the setting value of the predetermined display register RGij and starts the operation of the display circuit (ST4). As explained earlier, the frame buffer FB has a double buffer structure, and the first and second buffers are controlled by the setting value of the predetermined display register RGij to toggle between them.

Specifically, the index numbers N1/N2 of the first or second buffer, which were identified as the "write area" by the display list DL of the previous operation cycle, are set. When this step ST4 is executed, the "write area" of the previous operation cycle becomes the "read area" of the current operation cycle. Therefore, the display circuit 71 outputs the image data completed by the drawing circuit 74 in the previous operation cycle to the display device DS. In other words, the processing in step ST4 also includes an instruction to start the read operation of the display circuit 71.

Once the processing of step ST4, which has the significance described above, is completed, the performance control CPU 57 then completes the display list DL, which identifies the image data that the display circuit 71 should output to the display device DS in the next operation cycle (ST5). While not particularly limited, in this embodiment, a list buffer area (DL buffer BUF) in the built-in RAM 59 is reserved in advance, and the display list DL is completed there (see Figure 8).

The display list DL is, in principle, created each time with its contents changed for each operation cycle. However, the beginning area of the display list DL contains a command that defines the index number of the frame buffer FB. As explained earlier, the frame buffer FB is an index space with a double-buffer structure where index numbers are N1 and N2. To use the double buffer in a toggling manner, each display list DL alternately specifies the frame buffer FB with index number N1 and the frame buffer FB with index number N2, thus cycling the "write area."

The performance control CPU 57 then issues the completed display list DL to the integrated performance circuit 52 (ST6). Next, the performance control CPU 57 updates the performance scenario EN, which centrally manages image performance, sound performance, lamp performance, and motor performance (ST7). If the timing is appropriate, it issues the sound command list VC to the sound processing unit SND to start or advance the sound performance (ST8).

Regarding motor and lamp effects, when the start time for the effect managed by the effect scenario EN is reached, the timer interrupt processing (Figure 15(b)) executes the motor and lamp effects based on the corresponding motor drive data and lamp drive data. The processing in steps ST9 to ST10, which follow step ST8, is as described above.

Figures 16(a) and 16(b) are flowcharts showing the specific details of the display list DL issuance process (ST6), and Figure 16(c) is a schematic diagram showing the operation of the DL issuance process (ST6). As explained with respect to Figure 9, the display list DL issuance process has two cases: one where the CPU register port PORT is accessed in 32-bit units (Figure 9(a)) and one where it does not go through the CPU register port PORT (Figure 9(b)). The operation details of each case are shown in Figure 16.

First, regarding Figure 16(a), the performance control CPU 57 sets the transfer register RGij to use the data relay unit CH2 (data transfer channel CH2), and also sets the total size of the transfer data to a predetermined transfer register RGij (ST30).

Here, the display list DL differs in content for each operation cycle, but is issued after being terminated by a predetermined termination command EODL. In this embodiment, the instruction commands used for the display list DL, including the termination command EODL, are one or more words (= N * 32 bits), so no data size adjustment processing is necessary. That is, the total size of the transfer data set in the transfer register RGij is an arbitrary value that is an integer multiple of 32 bits.

Next, the performance control CPU 57 sets the number of write operations corresponding to the total size of the data to be transferred to the management counter CN (ST31), starts the operation of the drawing circuit 74 (ST32), and then starts the operation of the data transfer circuit 70 (ST33). Here, the instructions to start the operation of the drawing circuit 74 and the data transfer circuit 70 are realized by setting predetermined drawing registers RGij and transfer registers RGij, respectively.

Next, the performance control CPU 57, while confirming that the 130-stage CPU data FIFO circuit is not full, writes the display list DL configuration data to the CPU register port PORT in 32-bit units (ST35). Then, it continues the writing operation while decrementing the management counter CN (ST36, ST37).

As explained earlier, the CPU data FIFO circuit receives data in 32-bit units, while data relay units CH0 to CH4 receive data in 1024-bit units. Therefore, in principle, when 1024 bits of data accumulate in the CPU data FIFO circuit, the accumulated data is transferred to data relay unit CH2. However, when the value set in the transfer register RGij (the total size of the data to be transferred) is reached, the accumulated data in the CPU data FIFO circuit at that point is transferred to data relay unit CH2.

The above process completes the DL issuance process (ST6) via the CPU register port PORT. Next, Figure 16(b) shows an embodiment where the process does not go through the CPU register port PORT, and the data transfer circuit 70 reads the display list from the list buffer (DL buffer BUF). In this case, the performance control CPU 57 sets the transfer register RGij to use the data relay unit CH2 (ST40), and sets the total size of the transfer data and the starting address of the list buffer BUF in a predetermined transfer register RGij (ST41).

Here, regarding the list buffer BUF set in the internal RAM 59, its starting address must be set in 8-bit units. Therefore, as explained earlier, the starting address of the DL buffer BUF has zeros in its lower 7 bits. This address condition applies not only to the starting address of the list buffer BUF that stores the display list DL, but also to the starting address of the list buffer BUF that stores the voice command list VC.

Next, the performance control CPU 57 starts the operation of the drawing circuit 74 (ST42), and then starts the operation of the data transfer circuit 70 (ST43). These operation instructions are also implemented by setting predetermined drawing registers RGij and transfer registers RGij, respectively. This operation instruction initiates the data transfer process, and upon completion of the transfer of a predetermined size of data, the data transfer circuit 70 terminates its operation. Therefore, after the processing in step ST43, the performance control CPU 57 can immediately proceed to another process, following the display list issuance process (ST6).

In this case as well, when the amount of data to be transferred reaches the value set in the transfer register RGij (the total size of the data to be transferred), the data accumulated in the CPU data FIFO circuit at that point is transferred to the data relay unit CH2.

The process for issuing a display list DL has been explained above based on Figures 16(a) and 16(b). However, the process for issuing a voice command list VC to the voice processing unit SND is essentially the same as that described in Figures 16(a) and 16(b) (see Figures 9(f) and 9(g)).

In other words, the voice command list VC, which lists the voice commands, is issued terminated with a predetermined termination command EOSC. Since each voice command, including the termination command EOSC, is one or more words (= N * 32 bits), no data size adjustment processing is required.

The above describes the case where the preloader 72 is not used. However, the main processing when the preloader 72 is used is shown in Figure 17(a). The processing content shown in Figure 17(a) is similar to the processing content shown in Figure 15(a).

However, as shown in Figure 17(a), this differs from the process in Figure 15(a) in that (a) after creating the display list DL for the next operation cycle (ST5), the display list DL is issued to the preloader 72 instead of the drawing circuit 74 (ST60), and (b) although this display list DL is rewritten by the preloader 72 to become the rewritten list DL', the rewritten list DL' from the previous operation cycle is obtained by the drawing circuit 74 prior to the processing in step ST5 (ST41).

In the process shown in Figure 17(a), the issuance process (ST60) for issuing the display list DL to the preloader 72 is almost identical to that in Figures 16(a) and 16(b), except that the recipient is the preloader 72. The general operation is as shown in Figures 9(d) and 9(e). In response to the change in recipient to the preloader 72, the data relay unit CH2 changes to the data relay unit CH3 (data transfer channel CH3). Otherwise, the operation is the same as in Figures 16(a) and 16(b), and the corresponding operations are shown in Figures 17(b) and 17(c).

On the other hand, the process of obtaining the rewrite list DL' from the drawing circuit 74 (ST41 in Figure 17) is shown in Figure 17(d). As shown in Figure 9(c), in this embodiment, the rewrite list DL' is stored in the preload buffer of the VRAM 53 (see Figure 6(a)).

In step ST41 of Figure 17, the performance control CPU 57 sets the transfer register RGij to use the data relay unit CH2 (transfer channel CH2) (ST50 in Figure 17(d)). Next, it sets the total size of the rewrite list DL', which is the transfer data, and the starting address of the preload buffer where the rewrite list DL' is stored in a predetermined transfer register RGij (ST51).

Since the starting address in VRAM 53 must be set in 32-bit units, the starting address of the preload buffer that stores the rewrite list DL' must have its lower 31 bits zero. In this embodiment, the preload buffer is allocated at a position that satisfies this condition.

Next, the performance control CPU 57 starts the operation of the drawing circuit 74 (ST 52) and the data transfer circuit 70 (ST 53). These operation instructions are implemented by setting predetermined drawing registers RGij and transfer registers RGij, respectively. These operation instructions then initiate the data transfer process, and upon completion of the data transfer, the data transfer circuit 70 terminates its operation.

Next, we will explain the effects, primarily those involving image display on the display device DS. The effects used include the display device DS, as well as light-emitting means (illuminated lamps) such as frame-side LED lamps (i.e., glass door 6, front panel 7 side) and panel-side LED lamps (i.e., game board 5 side), sound output means such as speakers, and movable effects units. These are controlled by the effects control board (effect execution means) 23, thereby executing various effects.

The display device DS displays various performance images, notification images, etc. As shown in Figure 18, it consists of a decorative pattern display means 161, a mini-pattern display means 162, a hold image display means 163, etc. The decorative pattern display means 161 can display decorative patterns 164, and the mini-pattern display means 162 can display mini-patterns 165, respectively. The hold image display means 163 can display various images such as the first and second hold images X1-X4, Y1-Y4, which indicate the first and second special hold numbers.

The decorative pattern display means 161 is configured to display decorative patterns 164 in a variable manner using the display device DS based on the entry of game balls into the first and second pattern starting openings 15a and 15b (fulfillment of predetermined pattern starting conditions). The decorative patterns 164 include a left decorative pattern (first decorative pattern) 164a, which is displayed in a variable manner by the special pattern display unit Da (see Figure 2), a right decorative pattern (second decorative pattern) 164b, which is displayed in a variable manner by the special pattern display unit Dc (see Figure 2), and a middle decorative pattern (third decorative pattern) 164c, which is displayed in a variable manner by the special pattern display unit Db (see Figure 2). Each of the decorative patterns 164a to 164c is composed of a pattern row in which multiple patterns are arranged endlessly. Furthermore, each decorative design 164a to 164c has a main body (number section) 166 composed of numbers such as "1" to "8" and other elements, and a character or other decorative section 167 attached to this main body 166. It can be changed to multiple display modes, including a non-decorative display mode that displays the main body 166 but not the decorative section 167, and a decorative display mode that displays both the main body 166 and the decorative section 167. It is also possible to enlarge, reduce, and change the display position.

When a game ball enters the first and second symbol start openings 15a and 15b (when the symbol start condition is met), the decorative symbols 164a to 164c will change and be displayed for a predetermined time according to a predetermined variation pattern. If the jackpot judgment random value included in the first special random number information (random number information) acquired when a game ball enters the first symbol start opening 15a matches a predetermined jackpot judgment value, the symbols will stop in a jackpot performance mode; otherwise, they will stop in a loss performance mode. If the jackpot judgment random value included in the second special random number information (random number information) acquired when a game ball enters the second symbol start opening 15b matches a predetermined jackpot judgment value, the symbols will stop in a jackpot performance mode; otherwise, they will stop in a loss performance mode. In decorative patterns 164a to 164c, combinations where all symbols are the same (predetermined combinations), such as "2-2-2" and "7-7-7," represent the winning animation, while all other combinations represent losing animations, etc.

When a game ball enters the first symbol starting slot 15a and the decorative symbols 164a to 164c change to a jackpot display pattern, a special game representing the first jackpot begins, and the sliding plate of the first large prize slot 16a opens. Similarly, when a game ball enters the second symbol starting slot 15b and the decorative symbols 164a to 164c change to a jackpot display pattern, a special game representing the second jackpot begins, and the opening/closing plate of the second large prize slot 16b opens. Note that the decorative symbol display means 161 is not limited to arranging the decorative symbols 164a to 164c horizontally and changing them by vertical scrolling, etc. For example, the decorative symbols 164a to 164c may be arranged vertically and changing them by horizontal scrolling, etc.

The variation pattern of the decorative symbols 164 begins with a normal variation in which each row of symbols 164a to 164c changes. If a reach state such as "2-↓-2" or "7-↓-7" is established during this normal variation, the machine proceeds through one or more stages of reach sequences (N-reach, S-reach, SP-reach, etc.) before finally stopping. A reach variation pattern is when the normal variation progresses to a reach sequence, resulting in either a jackpot or a loss sequence. A normal variation pattern is when the normal variation does not progress to a reach sequence and instead results in a loss sequence.

The mini-symbol display means 162 is configured to display the mini-symbols 165 in a variable manner via the display device DS, corresponding to the variable display of the decorative symbols 164, based on the entry of game balls into the first and second symbol start slots 15a and 15b. While the decorative symbols 164 are not always displayed during the symbol variation (hereinafter simply referred to as "during symbol variation"), from the start of the variation based on the entry of game balls into the first and second symbol start slots 15a and 15b until the variation stops, and may disappear from the screen in part or in whole depending on the content of the performance, such as a reach animation, the mini-symbols 165 are always displayed on the display device DS during the symbol variation. However, the mini-symbols 165 may disappear from the screen for a period during the symbol variation. Furthermore, the mini-symbols 165 may become difficult or impossible to see for a period when a movable performance element (not shown) is moving.

The mini-pattern 165 shares the same number of pattern rows (three in this case) and types of patterns that make up each pattern row (number patterns "1" to "8" in this case) as the decorative pattern 164. However, it only has a main body consisting of numbers such as "1" to "8" and does not have a decorative part. As shown in Figure 18, it is smaller than the decorative pattern 164 and is displayed near the periphery of the display screen DSa of the display device DS. Furthermore, the display state of the mini-pattern 165 is limited to "stopped fluctuation state" and "high-speed fluctuation state." Unlike the decorative pattern 164, there are no speed changes during fluctuation (deceleration, frame-by-frame playback, etc.). When the pattern fluctuation starts, it instantly switches from the stopped fluctuation state based on a predetermined starting pattern, or from the previous stopping pattern to a predetermined starting pattern, and then transitions to a high-speed fluctuation state where each pattern row cyclically fluctuates at a predetermined speed. When the pattern fluctuation stops, it switches from the high-speed fluctuation state to the stopped fluctuation state based on a predetermined stopping pattern. Furthermore, the fluctuation speed of the mini-symbol 165 in the high-speed fluctuation state is always constant. As shown in Figure 19, in a display device DS that displays video at a predetermined frame rate (e.g., 60 fps), the high-speed fluctuation display of the mini-symbol 165 is performed at a speed at which the symbol sequence completes one cycle every N frames.

Furthermore, while the reel stops at the decorative symbol 164 and becomes the starting reel for the next spin, the mini symbol 165 always uses a predetermined starting reel. At the start of a spin, it instantly switches from the previous spin's stopping reel to the predetermined starting reel, and then begins high-speed spinning from that starting reel. This is because if the previous spin was a near miss or a big win, and the mini symbol 165's spinning started using that stopping reel, the left and right symbols, or all symbols, would remain aligned during the high-speed spin, potentially giving the player the misconception that another near miss or big win is imminent. Therefore, the starting reel for the mini symbol 165 needs to be set to a number unrelated to near misses or big wins, such as "1, 3, 5". Note that the stopping reel for the mini symbol 165 is the same as the stopping reel for the decorative symbol 164.

The held image display means 163 executes a held image display effect that shows the number of random number information stored in the held storage means. Here, if a game ball enters the first and second symbol start openings 15a and 15b during the special held period, including during the symbol variation of the decorative symbol display means 161 and during a jackpot (special game), the first and second special random number information acquired thereby is stored in the predetermined held storage means, up to a predetermined upper limit of four each. After the special held period ends, this stored information is consumed, and a new symbol variation by the decorative symbol display means 161 begins. The held image display means 163 notifies the number of stored first and second special random number information (first and second special held number) by displaying the number of held images.

As shown in Figure 18, the display device DS is configured to display first and second reserved images X1 to X4, Y1 to Y4, etc., indicating the first and second special reserved numbers, superimposed on the front of a predetermined reserved base image 168. The reserved image display means 163 adds one of the first and second reserved images X1 to Y1 to on the reserved base image 168 when the number of first and second special reserved numbers increases based on game balls entering the first and second symbol start openings 15a and 15b, and shifts the first and second reserved images X1 to Y1 to one by one toward the front of the queue (for example, the right side of the screen) when the number of first and second special reserved numbers decreases based on the start of a new variation of the decorative pattern 164 by the decorative pattern display means 161. The reserved base image 168 is displayed in the periphery or vicinity of the display screen DSa, and in this embodiment, it is displayed horizontally along the lower edge of the display screen DSa.

Next, we will explain specific examples of the effects during the variation of the decorative pattern 164 (there may be periods during which at least a portion of the decorative pattern 164 is not displayed), focusing on the content of image effects by the display device DS, light effects by light-emitting means (illumination lamps) such as frame-side LED lamps and panel-side LED lamps, and sound output effects by sound output means. In the following explanation, regarding the light-emitting means that perform light effects, the frame-side LED lamp will be referred to as "frame-side lamp La," the panel-side LED lamp as "panel-side lamp Lb," and together as "effect lamp L." Furthermore, in the diagrams used in the following explanation, as shown in Figure 18, the panel-side lamp Lb and frame-side lamp La are represented by a schematic diagram showing the former arranged on the upper and left and right sides of the display device DS, and the latter arranged on the left and right sides of those. Of course, the arrangement of these panel-side lamp Lb and frame-side lamp La is not limited to this.

The following sections will sequentially explain twelve types of pre-announcement effects performed during symbol changes: step-up pre-announcement, reach pre-announcement, button pre-announcement 1, dialogue pre-announcement 1, pseudo-consecutive pre-announcement, button pre-announcement 2, interrupt pre-announcement, dialogue pre-announcement 2, dialogue pre-announcement 3, dialogue pre-announcement 4, notification pre-announcement, and level-up pre-announcement. These twelve types of pre-announcement effects are selected and executed based on the jackpot reliability setting shown in Figure 20. Here, "jackpot reliability" is an example of the reliability of the appearance of a predetermined event, and in this case, it refers to the reliability of the decorative symbol 164 becoming a jackpot effect. After explaining these twelve types of pre-announcement effects, several examples of various effects that can be incorporated into these pre-announcement effects (hereinafter referred to as partial effects) (reliability suggestion effects, reach title display effects, operation effects, reach development effects) will be explained.

Furthermore, each of the following sequences has multiple variations that indicate the likelihood of a jackpot, and the likelihood of a jackpot differs for each of these variations. This likelihood-indicating information can be in various forms, such as text information and image color information. In the following sequences, when image color information is used as likelihood-indicating information, the likelihood of a jackpot increases in the following order: "white," "green," "blue," "red," "gold," "danger color," and "rainbow." However, it is not necessary to use all of these colors; using several of them is sufficient. Also, this color information indicates the relative likelihood of a jackpot among the multiple variations that can appear in a single sequence. Naturally, even variations using the same color information will not necessarily have the same jackpot likelihood between different sequences.

Furthermore, the content described below for each type of effect is not limited to that specific effect and may be applied to other effects as well. For example, the high-brightness effect configuration that appears in the step-up予告 (preview) effect may be applied to other preview effects such as the reach preview effect and the dialogue preview effect, or to partial effects such as the reliability indication effect.

[Step-up予告演出]
Figures 21 to 26 show examples of step-up notification effects that are performed during normal spins in reach variation patterns or normal variation patterns. Step-up notification effects (specific notification effects) are effects that are performed up to a predetermined stage out of multiple stages (five stages in this case) of effects, depending on the probability of winning a jackpot, and are set so that the probability of winning a jackpot increases as the effects steps progress.

As shown in Figure 21, this step-up予告演出 (preview sequence) involves five characters—an elephant, lion, fox, squirrel, and bear—each shooting arrows at a balloon in sequence, corresponding to five stages of the sequence from the first to the fifth stage. The sequence continues until an arrow hits the balloon and it bursts. However, the sequence begins with a step-up introduction sequence ST0 (Figure 21(a)) which indicates the start of the step-up preview sequence. In this step-up introduction sequence ST0, the five characters, each aiming at the balloon, appear simultaneously, hinting at the content of the step-up preview sequence. Of course, the characters may appear in the order of the corresponding sequence steps—elephant → lion → fox → squirrel → bear—or in any other arbitrary order.

Following the Step-Up Introduction sequence ST0 (Figure 21(a)), the first stage, Step 1 sequence ST1, begins. Step 1 sequence ST1 consists of the first half sequence ST1A and the first half sequence ST1B. First, the first half sequence ST1A is executed. In this first half sequence ST1A, the first character, an elephant, fires an arrow (Figure 21(b1)). If the arrow hits the balloon (Figure 21(d1)), the sequence is confirmed to end at this first stage, and the first half sequence ST1B is performed. The second half sequence, including this second half sequence ST1B, will be described later.

On the other hand, if the arrow shot by the elephant does not hit the balloon (Figure 21(c1)), the first second half of the performance ST1B is not executed, and the second stage, the second first half of the second step performance ST2A, begins. In this second first half performance ST2A, a scene takes place in which the second character, the lion, shoots an arrow (Figure 21(b2)). If the arrow hits the balloon (Figure 21(d2)), the performance step is confirmed to end at that second stage, and the second second half performance ST2B is performed. In this way, arrows are shot in the order of elephant, lion, fox, squirrel, and bear until an arrow shot by any of the characters hits the balloon (Figures 21(b1) to (b5)). When the arrow hits the balloon (Figures 21(d1) to (d5)), the performance step is confirmed to end at that stage, and the second half performances ST1B to ST5B corresponding to that stage are executed. Furthermore, since the step-up予告演出 (preview sequence) in this embodiment only goes up to the fifth stage, the arrow shot by the bear in the first half of the fifth stage, ST5A, will always hit the balloon (Figure 21 (d5)).

Furthermore, in the step-up予告演出 (pre-announcement) sequence of this embodiment, multiple types (five types in this case) are provided for each of the first to fifth second-half sequences, ST1B to ST5B. One of these multiple types is selected according to the reliability of the appearance of a predetermined event (in this case, the jackpot reliability).

Figure 22 illustrates five different modes (variations) for the third second half performance ST3B and the fifth second half performance ST5B, which are among the first to fifth second half performances ST1B to ST5B. Of course, similar variations using the respective characters are also available for the first, second, and fourth second half performances ST1B, ST2B, and ST4B, but they are omitted here. In the first to fifth second half performances ST1B to ST5B, the hold pedestal image 168 is displayed on the lower side of the display screen DSaa, and the mini symbols 165 are displayed on the upper side of the display screen DSaa. The first and second hold images X1 to X4, Y1 to Y4, etc. are displayed in front of the hold pedestal image 168, and the step-up予告 performance image 169 is displayed behind the hold pedestal image 168 and the mini symbols 165. However, the hold pedestal image 168 may be displayed during the first half performance, but not during the second half performance. This allows for a larger display area for the later-stage effects that show the probability of a big win, enabling more impactful display effects. In the first to fifth later-stage effects (ST1B to ST5B), the decorative symbol 164 is not displayed during reel spinning.

The five types of third-second-half sequences ST3Ba to ST3Be shown in Figures 22(a1) to (e1) share the same basic screen layout centered around the fox character from the third-step sequence ST3 and the step-up予告演出画像169, but differ in the content of the displayed text image, the display method of the text image (in this case, the display color), and at least some of the display colors (base color) of the step-up予告演出画像169.

Specifically, the step-up予告演出 images 169 for the third second half performance ST3Ba to ST3Be shown in Figures 22(a1) to (e1) all share the following features: a large fox character image is displayed in a position that divides the background image into a left background image and a right background image; and a text image consisting of a predetermined line of dialogue (which may consist of only one character) is displayed horizontally in front of the character image (fox) and its background image. On the other hand, the content of the line of dialogue differs for all five types, and the content of the line of dialogue corresponding to the third second half performance ST3Ba to ST3Be is "Something good is going to happen," "Okay, let's do our best," "Something even better is going to happen," "It'll definitely be alright," and "I feel great." Furthermore, the display color (display pattern) of the dialogue strings differs for all five types. The display colors (internal character colors) of the dialogue strings corresponding to the third-half performances ST3Ba to ST3Be are "blue," "red," "gold," "danger color," and "rainbow color," respectively. Here, "danger color" refers to a striped color scheme using multiple colors, distinct from rainbow color. In this embodiment, it consists of three colors—yellow, black, and red—arranged in diagonal stripes.

Furthermore, for the step-up予告演出 images 169 of the third second half performances ST3Ba to ST3Bd (Figures 22(a1) to (d1)), excluding ST3Be (Figure 22(e1)), the base color corresponds to the display color of the dialogue strings. Corresponding to the respective character colors of "blue," "red," "gold," and "danger color," each of these colors is used in at least a part of the step-up予告演出 images 169 (such as the right background image). Here, the "danger color" as a base color is the same as the "danger color" as a character color in that it is composed of three colors: yellow, black, and red. However, it differs from the "danger color" as a character color in that the striped color scheme consists only of yellow and black, and the string "DANGER" is continuously arranged in red on the black lines. It would be more accurate to call it a "danger pattern." It should be noted that each manufacturer uses its own unique pattern for this "danger pattern," and the pattern used in this example is merely one example. Of course, the composition of the danger color is not limited to this; it just needs to be different from the other text colors/base colors.

Furthermore, the five types of fifth-step second-half sequences ST5Ba to ST5Be shown in Figures 22(a2) to (e2) share the same basic screen layout centered around the bear character (the bear from the fifth-step sequence ST5) and the step-up予告演出画像169, but differ in the content of the text image displayed on the screen, the display method of the text image (in this case, the display color), and at least some of the display colors (base colors) of the step-up予告演出画像169.

Specifically, the step-up予告演出 images 169 for the fifth second half performance ST5Ba to ST5Be shown in Figures 22(a2) to (e2) all share the following features: a bear character image is displayed largely in a position that divides the background image into a left background image and a right background image; and a text image consisting of a predetermined line of dialogue (which may consist of only one character) is displayed horizontally in front of the character image (bear) and its background image. On the other hand, the content of the line of dialogue differs for all five types, with the lines of dialogue corresponding to the fifth second half performance ST5Ba to ST5Be being "I think I can do it," "Just a little more," "I feel great," "I'm getting excited," and "I'm very satisfied!" respectively. Furthermore, the display color of the line of dialogue also differs for all five types, with the display color (internal color of the characters) of the line of dialogue corresponding to the fifth second half performance ST5Ba to ST5Be being "blue," "red," "gold," "danger color," and "rainbow color," respectively. As described above, the content of the dialogue strings in the second half of the fifth performance (ST5Ba-ST5Be) is completely different from the content of the dialogue strings in the second half of the third performance (ST3Ba-ST3Be), however, at least some of the dialogue strings may be shared.

Furthermore, for the step-up予告演出 images 169 of the fifth second half performance ST5Ba to ST5Bd (Figures 22(a2) to (d2)), excluding ST5Be (Figure 22(e2)), the screen's base color corresponds to the display color of the dialogue strings. Each of these colors—blue, red, gold, and danger—corresponds to the respective character colors, and is used in at least a portion of the screen (e.g., a portion of the background image).

Here, the probability of winning a jackpot is set to gradually increase from the third half of the sequence ST3Ba to ST3Be, and from the fifth half of the sequence ST5Ba to ST5Be. That is, the relationship between the display color of the dialogue string and the probability of winning a jackpot is such that the probability increases in the order of "blue," "red," "gold," "danger color," and "rainbow." Note that "rainbow" indicates a 100% probability of winning a jackpot, i.e., a guaranteed jackpot. Thus, since the probability of winning a jackpot differs depending on the display color of the dialogue string in the third half of the sequence ST3Ba to ST3Be and the fifth half of the sequence ST5Ba to ST5Be, the text image (specific text information), or the step-up予告演出 image 169 containing that text image, can be said to be a specific image containing probability information regarding a jackpot. The same applies to the other first, second, and fourth half sequences.

Thus, for example, the third second half performance ST3Ba (Figure 22(a1)) and the fifth second half performance ST5Ba (Figure 22(a2)) are examples of images that specify the first reliability level A, corresponding to the first reliability level A, and the third second half performance ST3Bb (Figure 22(b1)) and the fifth second half performance ST5Bb (Figure 22(b2)) are examples of images that specify the second reliability level A, corresponding to the second reliability level A. In this embodiment, the five display colors "blue," "red," "gold," "danger color," and "rainbow" used in this step-up予告演出 (pre-announcement effect) represent the full lineup of reliability information related to jackpots (reliability information related to the appearance of predetermined events), and are set so that the jackpot reliability increases in that order. However, in other pre-announcement effects, it is not necessary to use all five display colors as reliability information; only some, such as "red" or "gold," may be used. However, even in that case, the relationship between high and low jackpot reliability (for example, "gold" is higher than "red") remains unchanged.

Furthermore, the base color of the step-up予告演出 (preview) image 169 does not need to be exactly the same as the text color; a similar color scheme is sufficient. Also, for the third-half-stage ST3Be and fifth-half-stage ST5Be sequences, where the text color is "rainbow," the screen's base color may be made to correspond to the text color by making at least some of the display colors other than the dialogue string "rainbow." In this embodiment, the font (typeface) and size of the dialogue string, and other display characteristics related to the dialogue string other than the display color, are generally common across the five types of third-half-stage ST3Ba to ST3Be and fifth-half-stage ST5Ba to ST5Be sequences. However, other display characteristics (font, etc.) may be different along with the text color, or the text color may be generally the same while other specific display characteristics (font, etc.) are different, and these specific display characteristics may be used as reliability information.

Next, we will explain a specific example of the step-up予告演出 (step-up notification effect), using the case where the effect steps have progressed to the third stage and ST3Bc (Figure 22(c1)) is selected as the second half of the third stage effect. First, we will explain the overview while referring to Figure 23. When the step-up notification effect starts during a normal variation in the reach variation pattern, the speaker begins outputting BGM1 related to this step-up notification effect as background music. At the same time, the decorative symbols 164 during high-speed variation are hidden on the display screen DSa, and the hold base image 168 is displayed at the lower end, and the mini symbols 165 are displayed at the upper end, with the effect image related to the step-up introduction effect ST0 displayed behind them (Figure 23(a)).

In this step-up introduction sequence ST0, five characters—an elephant, a lion, a fox, a squirrel, and a bear—corresponding to the five stages of the sequence are lined up, and a step-up予告演出 image 169 is displayed showing each character preparing to fire an arrow at a balloon. Upon seeing this, the player can recognize that this is a step-up予告演出 in which the sequence progresses until one of the characters pops the balloon. In addition, in this step-up introduction sequence ST0 (Figure 23(a)), for example, at the start, a predetermined introductory sound is output from the speaker as a sound effect. Furthermore, during this step-up introduction sequence ST0 (Figure 23(a)), at least a portion of the performance lamp L (here, both the frame-side lamp La and the board-side lamp Lb) illuminate in an introductory illumination pattern corresponding to this step-up introduction sequence ST0, for example, in orange. Furthermore, "at least a portion of the effect lamp L" may refer to either the frame-side lamp La or the panel-side lamp Lb, or both, or at least a portion of the frame-side lamp La and a portion of the panel-side lamp Lb. This applies to all subsequent explanations.

Following the step-up introduction sequence ST0 (Figure 23(a)), one or more step sequences from the first stage to a predetermined stage are executed sequentially. In this case, the first step sequence ST1 to the third step sequence ST3 are executed. Specifically, the first stage begins with the first half sequence ST1A of the first step sequence ST1 (Figure 23(b)). In this first half sequence ST1A, the first character, an elephant, fires an arrow at a balloon, but fails to hit it.

Furthermore, during this first half-performance ST1A (Figure 23(b)), for example, at its start, a predetermined first start sound is output from the speaker as a sound effect, and following this first start sound, a first half-voice such as "Let's go" is output as a dialogue sound. Note that the output of the first half-voice may start after the output of the first start sound has finished, or it may start during the output of the first start sound. Furthermore, during this first half-performance ST1A (Figure 23(b)), at least a portion of the performance lamp L (here, both the frame-side lamp La and the panel-side lamp Lb) emits light in a first-half illumination mode corresponding to the first half-performance (a first illumination mode corresponding to the first half-performance), for example, in green.

When the arrow shot by the elephant misses the balloon, the first half of the performance, ST1A, ends, and the second half of the second step performance, ST2A, begins (Figure 23(c)). In this second half performance, ST2A, the second character, the lion, shoots an arrow at the balloon, but, as with the first step performance, ST1, it is not possible to hit the balloon here.

Furthermore, during this second first half performance ST2A (Figure 23(c)), for example, at its start, a predetermined second start sound is output from the speaker as a sound effect, and following this second start sound, a second first half voice such as "This time for sure" is output as a line of dialogue. The second start sound may be the same as or different from the first start sound. Also, the output of the second first half voice may start after the output of the second start sound has finished, or it may start during the output of the second start sound. Furthermore, during this second first half performance ST2A (Figure 23(c)), at least a portion of the performance lamp L (here, both the frame-side lamp La and the panel-side lamp Lb) continues to emit light in the first half illumination mode corresponding to the first half performance, for example, in green.

When the arrow shot by the lion misses the balloon, the second half of the performance, ST2A, ends, and the third step of the performance, ST3, begins with the third half of the performance, ST3A (Figure 23(d)). In this third half of the performance, ST3A, the third character, the fox, shoots an arrow at the balloon, and in the example in Figure 23, the arrow hits the balloon successfully (Figure 23(d)).

Furthermore, during this third first half performance ST3A (Figure 23(d)), for example, at its start, a predetermined third start sound is output from the speaker as a sound effect, and following this third start sound, a third first half voice such as "How's that?" is output as a line of dialogue. The third start sound may be the same as or different from the first and second start sounds. Also, the output of the third first half voice may start after the output of the third start sound has finished, or it may start during the output of the third start sound. Furthermore, during this third first half performance ST2A (Figure 23(d)), at least a portion of the performance lamp L (here, both the frame-side lamp La and the panel-side lamp Lb) continues to illuminate in the first half lighting mode corresponding to the first half performance, for example, green, until just before the arrow hits the balloon, and then, when the arrow hits the balloon or just before, it transitions to the first half ending lighting mode, for example, a short period of blackout.

Furthermore, the illumination pattern in the first half may differ for each of the first half sequences, ST1A to ST5A. In this case, the illumination pattern may be configured to change triggered by, for example, the second start sound, the third start sound, etc. This configuration makes it easier for the player to perceive the step-up stages. Alternatively, the illumination pattern may be temporarily changed triggered by the second start sound, the third start sound, etc. In this case, the illumination pattern will not change for the first to fifth first half sequences, ST1A to ST5A, but at least before and after the timing of the second start sound, the third start sound, etc., the illumination pattern will be different (e.g., white). This configuration makes it easier for the player to perceive the change in the step-up stage.

When the arrow hits the balloon (Figure 23(d)), the animation step is confirmed to end at its third stage. At that timing (first timing), the high-brightness animation WO11 (First High-Brightness Animation A) (Figure 23(e)) is performed, and during (or after) the execution of the high-brightness animation WO11, one of several types (five types in this case) of the third second half animations ST3Ba to ST3Be, in this case ST3Bc, is executed (Figure 23(f)). That is, the high-brightness animation WO11 is executed at the timing (first timing) when the image switches from the first scene image related to the first half animation to the second scene image related to the second half animation.

Here, "high-brightness effect" refers to an effect that reduces the visibility of the image behind the high-brightness image 170 (in this case, the step-up preview effect image 169) by displaying the high-brightness image 170. In this embodiment, the high-brightness effect is what is known as a whiteout, using a white high-brightness image 170. However, the color of the high-brightness image may be any color other than white, such as gray, yellow, blue, or red, or it may be composed of multiple colors. Furthermore, there may be cases where no image is displayed behind the high-brightness image 170.

In the high-brightness effect WO11, the high-brightness image 170a is displayed before the step-up予告演出 (specific image) 169, and after the mini-symbol 165, the hold base image 168, and the hold images X1-X4, Y1-Y4 in front of it. Therefore, the visibility of the step-up予告演出 (specific image) 169 can be changed without altering the visibility of the hold images X1-X4, Y1-Y4, or the mini-symbol 165. This also applies to other high-brightness effects described later. Furthermore, in the high-brightness effect WO11, the same high-brightness image 170a will be displayed regardless of which of the third second-half effects ST3Ba-ST3Be is selected. The same applies to the first, second, fourth, and fifth second-half effects.

However, the system is not limited to this, and the high-brightness image 170 may be displayed in front of at least one of the mini-symbols 165, the hold images X1~, Y1~, and the hold base image 168, thereby reducing their visibility. In this case, the high-brightness image 170 may be displayed in front of the hold base image 168 and behind the hold images X1~, Y1~. This makes it possible to perform a more wide-ranging and impactful high-brightness effect without reducing the visibility of at least the hold images X1~, Y1~. Furthermore, it is desirable that the display area that does not overlap with the high-brightness image 170 be smaller than the area where the high-brightness image 170 is displayed. This makes it possible to create a stronger impression that the image behind the high-brightness image 170 is obscured. Furthermore, it is desirable that the display area that does not overlap with the high-brightness image 170 be an area in the images of the third second half effect ST3B that will be displayed afterward that does not contain information that suggests reliability (text information, character images, other images displayed in reliability colors). This allows the occlusion effect of the high-brightness image 170 to be achieved without obscuring the entire display screen area with the high-brightness image 170.

The high-brightness image 170 is displayed in white within a predetermined area on the screen, and the transmittance within that area is set to an arbitrary level. The transmittance of the high-brightness image 170 may be uniform or non-uniform within its display range. If the transmittance of the high-brightness image 170 is non-uniform, the transmittance and/or rate of change of the transmittance of the high-brightness image 170 may be configured to differ between the area where information suggesting reliability (text information, character images, and other images displayed in reliability colors) is located and the other areas. In this case, it is desirable to configure the area where information suggesting reliability (text information, character images, and other images displayed in reliability colors) is located to have a lower transmittance and/or rate of change of transmittance. Furthermore, the area where particularly important text information and other images displayed in reliability colors are located may be configured to have a lower transmittance and/or rate of change of transmittance than the area where character images are located, or vice versa. In this way, by varying the transmittance and rate of change of transmittance of high-brightness images according to the display position, it is possible to prevent high-brightness effects from becoming monotonous. Furthermore, by understanding the level of transmittance and the rate of change of transmittance, it becomes possible to interpret the content of the image in, for example, the second half of the third effect, ST3B, making the high-brightness effects more complex and interesting.

Furthermore, the size (display range) of the high-brightness image can be changed over time, and the transmittance value and transmittance distribution can also be changed over time. If the transmittance of high-brightness image 170 is 0%, the image behind it becomes completely invisible. If the transmittance of high-brightness image 170 is 100%, then high-brightness image 170 itself becomes completely invisible. Therefore, if the transmittance of a predetermined portion of high-brightness image 170 is 100%, then that predetermined portion can be considered not to be part of high-brightness image 170 in the first place. Also, if the transmittance of a predetermined portion of high-brightness image 170 changes from a value less than 100% to 100%, then at the point where it reached 100%, that predetermined portion can be considered to have fallen outside the range of high-brightness image 170.

During the high-brightness effect WO11 (Figure 23(e)), the output of BGM1 related to the step-up予告演出 (step-up予告演出) continues. Also during the high-brightness effect WO11, a predetermined emphasized sound is output as a sound effect, and this predetermined emphasized sound is selected from the 1st to 5th predetermined emphasized sounds depending on the reliability information regarding the big win in the second half of the effect (for example, in the case of the 3rd second half of the effect, depending on whether ST3Ba to ST3Be is selected). Specifically, when displaying an image related to the third second half of the performance ST3Ba (Figure 22(a1)) (First Reliability Identification Image) while the high-brightness image 170a is displayed, a first predetermined emphasis sound corresponding to the image related to the third second half of the performance ST3Ba (First Reliability Identification Image) can be output while the high-brightness image 170a is displayed (First Sound Effect). Similarly, when displaying an image related to the third second half of the performance ST3Bc (Figure 22(c1)) (Second Reliability Identification Image) while the high-brightness image 170a is displayed, a third predetermined emphasis sound corresponding to the image related to the third second half of the performance ST3Bc (Second Reliability Identification Image) can be output while the high-brightness image 170a is displayed (Second Sound Effect). This allows for the ability to inform the player of reliability information audibly in advance during the high-brightness performance WO11, even when the dialogue string (text information) is not yet visible or difficult to see, thus improving the performance effect.

Furthermore, the system may be configured to output a common predetermined emphasis sound for each jackpot reliability level in the second half of the performance. For example, a common first predetermined emphasis sound may be output when displaying the image related to the third second half performance ST3Ba (Figure 22(a1)) (First Reliability Identification Image A), the image related to the third second half performance ST3Bb (Figure 22(b1)) (First Reliability Identification Image B), and the image related to the third second half performance ST3Bc (Figure 22(c1)) (First Reliability Identification Image B). A common second emphasis sound may be output when displaying the image related to the third second half performance ST3Bd (Figure 22(d1)) (First Reliability Identification Image A) and the image related to the third second half performance ST3Be (Figure 22(e1)) (First Reliability Identification Image B). This allows the player to be informed of the expected reliability level in advance through the content of the predetermined emphasis sound, resulting in an improved performance effect.

Furthermore, the first to fifth predetermined emphasis sounds may be configured such that the output volume and/or output time increases as the reliability information regarding the jackpot in the second half of the performance increases. In this case, the output volume and/or output time of the third predetermined emphasis sound (first specific sound) output when the high-brightness performance WO11 is executed during the third second half of the performance ST3Bc (Figure 22(c1)) (first high-brightness performance) will be greater than the output volume and/or output time of the first predetermined emphasis sound (second specific sound) output when the high-brightness performance WO11 is executed during the third second half of the performance ST3Ba (Figure 22(a1)) (second high-brightness performance).

Furthermore, the first to fifth predetermined emphasis sounds may be configured to include a vibration effect based on the reliability information regarding the jackpot in the latter half of the performance. The higher the jackpot reliability, the more likely it is to trigger a vibration effect. For example, the first to third predetermined emphasis sounds may be configured without a vibration effect, while the fourth and fifth predetermined emphasis sounds may be configured with a vibration effect. Alternatively, only the fifth predetermined emphasis sound may be configured with a vibration effect. Here, the vibration mechanism can be configured to vibrate a predetermined part, such as the chance button 11. Also, when using two types of predetermined emphasis sounds, the first and second predetermined emphasis sounds, only the second predetermined emphasis sound may be configured with a vibration effect. Furthermore, it is not always necessary to include a vibration effect; the vibration effect may be performed along with the execution of the predetermined emphasis sound, or it may not be performed. More preferably, it is desirable to configure the system so that the vibration effect is only performed when the expectation of a jackpot is high.

Furthermore, during the high-brightness effect WO11 (first high-brightness effect), at least a portion of the effect lamp L (here, both the frame-side lamp La and the panel-side lamp Lb) emits light in the first high-brightness medium-light emission mode (first light emission mode corresponding to the high-brightness effect) (first light emission effect, first light emission effect that causes the light emission means to emit light in the first light emission mode). In this embodiment, the first high-brightness medium-light emission mode during the high-brightness effect WO11 is a cyclical change mode that cyclically changes to multiple colors (for example, gold, green, and white) including the text color of the third second half effect ST3B (for example, gold). Note that the first high-brightness medium-light emission mode only needs to include a color corresponding to the text color of the third second half effect ST3B (for example, gold), and may be just one color such as gold. This has the advantage of improving the effect of the effect by allowing reliability information to be notified to the player in advance by light emission during the high-brightness effect WO11 when the dialogue string (text information) is not visible or is difficult to see. Furthermore, when illuminating the effect lamp L in a color corresponding to the image, the emitted color does not need to be exactly the same as the image color; a similar color (for example, yellow for a gold image) is acceptable.

During the third second half of the performance ST3Bc (Figure 23(f)) following the completion of the high-brightness performance WO11, as described above, a large fox character image is displayed as a step-up予告 (preview) image 169, positioned to divide the background image into left and right background images. Furthermore, the text "Something even better seems to be coming" is displayed in gold in front of both the character image (fox) and its background image.

Furthermore, during this third-half sequence ST3Bc (Figure 23(f)), the BGM1 related to the step-up予告演出 (step-up予告演出) continues to be output, and a predetermined third-half voice is output as dialogue. This third-half voice corresponds to the dialogue string (text information) displayed on the screen, and in this case, it outputs "Something better is likely to happen." It is desirable to have the character image perform lip-syncing (speaking motion) when outputting this dialogue.

Furthermore, during the third second half performance ST3Bc (Figure 23(f)), at least a portion of the performance lamp L (here, both the frame-side lamp La and the panel-side lamp Lb) emits light in a cyclical change pattern that cyclically changes to multiple colors (here, gold, green, and white) including the text color of the third second half performance ST3Bc (here, gold, green, and white), which corresponds to the second half illumination pattern (third illumination pattern corresponding to a specific image). Thus, the second half illumination pattern may be the same as or different from the preceding first high-brightness illumination pattern, but it is desirable to configure it to include the text color of the third second half performance ST3Bc (here, gold). This makes it possible to perform an illumination pattern corresponding to the text color (here, gold) indicating the level of expectation even after the display of the image performance of the third second half performance ST3Bc has finished, and to provide notification using the text color (here, gold) indicating the probability of a big win to players who have missed the image performance, as much as possible. Furthermore, it is desirable that the light color of this second-half illumination mode does not include the colors corresponding to other second-half effects (in this case, blue, red, danger color, and rainbow colors). Alternatively, the second-half illumination mode may consist only of the light color corresponding to the text color (e.g., gold). It may also be configured to not include the text color of the third second-half effect ST3Bc (in this case, gold), thereby making it possible to visually perceive the end of the effect period for the third second-half effect ST3Bc.

After the execution of the third second half performance ST3Bc, the high-brightness performance WO12 (second high-brightness performance A) is performed at that timing (second timing) (Figure 23(g)), and during the execution of the high-brightness performance WO12, the step-up予告 performance image 169 related to the third second half performance ST3Bc is switched to the changing screen of the decorative pattern 164 (specific image end performance) (Figure 23(h)). Here, the high-brightness performance WO12 differs from the high-brightness performance WO11 in terms of the display area of the high-brightness image and the rate of change of the transparency. This makes it possible to clearly express the start and end of the second half performance. Note that the high-brightness performance WO12 has the same minimum value (0%) for the transparency of the high-brightness image as the high-brightness performance WO11, but this may also be different. In addition, the high-brightness performance WO12 may have the same display area for the high-brightness image as the high-brightness performance WO11. Furthermore, the minimum transmittance and/or the rate of change of transmittance may be kept the same. This makes it possible to give the player a sense of anticipation that the second half of the performance may continue. Also, it is desirable that the high-brightness performance WO12 displays the area where information suggesting the reliability of the second half of the performance (text information, character images, or other images displayed in a reliability color) is located, obscuring it with the high-brightness image. This allows for a smooth end to the second half of the performance and a transition to the symbol variation screen. Furthermore, it may be configured so that the area where at least one of the information suggesting the reliability of the second half of the performance (text information, character images, or other images displayed in a reliability color) is located is obscured by the high-brightness image.

During the high-brightness effect WO12 (Figure 23(g)), for example, the BGM output is stopped. Also during the high-brightness effect WO12, a specific emphasized sound is output as a sound effect, and this specific emphasized sound is selected from the 1st to 5th specific emphasized sounds depending on the reliability information regarding the jackpot in the second half of the effect (for example, depending on which of ST3Ba to ST3Be is selected in the third second half of the effect). Alternatively, the high-brightness effect WO12 may be configured to output a common specific emphasized sound as a sound effect. That is, it may be configured to output a common specific emphasized sound regardless of the content of the reliability information regarding the jackpot in the second half of the effect. This allows, for example, during the high-brightness effect WO11, different predetermined emphasis sounds are output depending on the reliability information regarding the jackpot in the latter half of the effect, while during the high-brightness effect WO12, a common specific emphasis sound is output regardless of the reliability information regarding the jackpot. This makes it possible to express different effects in the high-brightness effect WO11 and the high-brightness effect WO12. Alternatively, the predetermined emphasis sound in the high-brightness effect WO11 may be common regardless of the reliability information regarding the jackpot, while the specific emphasis sound in the high-brightness effect WO12 may differ depending on the reliability information regarding the jackpot.

Furthermore, the first to fifth specific emphasis sounds may be configured such that the output volume and/or output duration increases as the jackpot reliability information in the second half of the performance increases. In this case, the output volume and/or output duration of the third specific emphasis sound (first specific sound) output when the high-brightness performance WO12 is executed during the third second half of the performance ST3Bc (Figure 22(c1)) (first high-brightness performance) will be greater than the output volume and/or output duration of the first specific emphasis sound (second specific sound) output when the high-brightness performance WO12 is executed during the third second half of the performance ST3Ba (Figure 22(a1)) (second high-brightness performance). Also, the first to fifth specific emphasis sounds in the high-brightness performance WO12 may be different from or the same as the first to fifth predetermined emphasis sounds in the high-brightness performance WO11.

Furthermore, during the high-brightness effect WO12 (second high-brightness effect), at least a portion of the effect lamp L (here, both the frame-side lamp La and the panel-side lamp Lb) emits light in a cyclical change pattern, cyclically changing between multiple colors (here, gold, green, and white) including the text color of the third second-half effect ST3Bc (here, gold) (a specific effect that causes the light-emitting means to emit light in a specific light-emitting pattern corresponding to a specific image). Thus, the second-half light-emitting pattern may be the same as or different from the first high-brightness light-emitting pattern and the second-half light-emitting pattern, but it is desirable to configure it to include the text color of the third second-half effect ST3Bc (here, gold). Alternatively, the second-half light-emitting pattern may be configured not to include the text color (here, gold). Furthermore, by configuring the first high-brightness light-emitting pattern to include the text color and the second-half light-emitting pattern not to include the text color, it is possible to avoid monotonous effect expression and prevent a decrease in the effect.

After the high-brightness effect WO12, when the symbol variation screen begins, a sound effect is output that coincides with the stopping of the decorative symbols 164a to 164c.

Next, we will explain in more detail the performance period, focusing on the high-brightness performances WO11 and WO12, in relation to the step-up予告演出 (preview performance) shown in Figure 23. Figures 24 to 26 show the changes in the display screen and light-emitting means at even smaller time intervals than in Figure 23, for the period from Figure 23(e) to (h), that is, from the start of the high-brightness performance WO11 to the end of the high-brightness performance WO12 and the transition to the changing screen of the decorative pattern 164. Note that the 22 frames shown in Figures 24 to 26 do not represent all frames during the period from Figure 23(e) to (h), but rather were extracted from all frames at a constant pitch. Therefore, in Figures 24 to 26, the time interval between adjacent frames is the same (here, it is A milliseconds). Thus, in Figures 24 to 26, the time elapsed doubles when the number of frames doubles. For example, the elapsed time between Figures 24(a) to (c) is the same as the elapsed time between Figures 24(d) to (f), while the elapsed time between Figures 24(a) to (c) is longer than the elapsed time between Figures 24(d) to (g).

First, let's explain the details of the high-brightness effect WO11. In the high-brightness effect WO11 shown in Figures 24(a) to 25(j), at its start, a high-brightness image 170a is displayed before the step-up予告 (specific image) 169, and after the mini-symbol 165, the hold base image 168, and the hold images X1-X4 and Y1-Y4 in front of it (Figure 24(a)) (high-brightness image display process). The size (range) and transparency of the high-brightness image 170a gradually change until it finally disappears (Figure 24(j)).

Furthermore, the high-brightness image 170a is configured so that its size (range) is at its maximum at the start of display (Figure 24(a)) and gradually decreases over time. In other words, the high-brightness effect WO11 consists of an expansion effect that changes the size (range) of the high-brightness image 170a in the expansion direction, and a reduction effect that changes it in the reduction direction, with the latter (Figures 24(a) to 25(j)) having a longer execution time than the former (Figure 24(a)). In the high-brightness effect WO11, the coverage rate of the high-brightness image 170a over the entire step-up予告演出 image 169 is less than 100%, and even when the size (range) of the high-brightness image 170a is at its maximum (Figure 24(a)), a portion of the step-up予告演出 image 169 is visible from the front. Of course, when the size (range) of the high-brightness image 170a is at its maximum, the coverage rate of the high-brightness image 170a over the entire step-up予告演出画像 169 may be set to 100%. Furthermore, it is sufficient that a portion of the predetermined information (text information, character images, reliability color display images, etc.) within the step-up予告演出画像 is obscured by the high-brightness image 170a, making it difficult to perceive and/or see; it is not necessary for all of the predetermined information to be obscured.

Furthermore, the high-brightness image 170a is set so that its transmittance is approximately uniform within its range. The high-brightness image 170a also changes over time not only in size (range) but also in transmittance (transmittance change processing, transmittance change effect). At the start of display (Figure 24(a)), the transmittance is at its minimum (e.g., 0%), and it gradually increases (rises) over time, for example, at a constant rate of change. That is, the high-brightness effect WO11 consists of a low-transmittance change effect that changes the transmittance of the high-brightness image 170a in the decreasing direction, and a high-transmittance change effect that changes the transmittance of the high-brightness image 170a in the increasing direction. The execution time for the latter (Figures 24(a) to 25(j)) is longer than that of the former (Figure 24(a)).

Furthermore, the minimum transmittance of the high-brightness image 170a may be greater than 0%. Also, the transmittance of the high-brightness image 170a does not need to have a constant rate of change (amount of change per unit time). The transmittance of the high-brightness image 170a may be made non-uniform, and the non-uniform transmittance may be configured to change over time. Furthermore, the size (range) of the high-brightness image 170a may be changed without changing its transmittance, or the transmittance may be changed without changing the size (range) of the high-brightness image 170a. However, since a decrease in the size (range) of the high-brightness image 170a can be considered as the transmittance of a portion of the high-brightness image 170a increasing to 100%, effectively eliminating that portion, changing the size (range) of the high-brightness image 170a can be said to substantially change the transmittance of the high-brightness image 170a.

Furthermore, in the high-brightness effect WO11, the step-up予告演出 image 169, which is displayed behind the high-brightness image 170a, is switched from the image of the preceding third-half effect ST3A (see Figure 23(d)) to the image of the third-half effect ST3Bc (see Figure 22(c1)) at the start of the display of the high-brightness image 170a (Figure 24(a)). As a result, after the start of the high-brightness effect WO11, the size (range) of the high-brightness image 170a gradually decreases, and similarly, as the transmittance gradually increases, the visibility of the step-up予告演出 image 169 improves. Eventually, when the high-brightness image 170a disappears (Figure 25(j)), the entire step-up予告演出 image 169 (excluding parts hidden behind the mini-symbols 165, etc.) becomes fully visible.

Furthermore, during the high-brightness effect WO11, the effect lamp L emits light in a first high-brightness emission mode. The first high-brightness emission mode is a cyclical change mode that cyclically changes to multiple colors (for example, gold, green, and white) including the text color (for example, gold) of the third second half effect ST3Bc. For example, the emission color changes in the order of green (Figures 24(a) to (c)), white (Figures 24(d) to (f)), and gold (Figures 24(g) to (i)), so that the gold emission corresponding to the text color appears in the latter half or at the end of the high-brightness effect WO11. However, the system is not limited to this, and the emission mode of the effect lamp L, for example, the brightness and/or emission color, may be changed in accordance with the change in the transmittance of the high-brightness image 170a. This allows for a stronger correlation between the change in the transmittance of the high-brightness image 170a and the change in the emission mode, thereby enhancing the effect. Furthermore, the lighting mode (e.g., brightness and color) of the indicator lamp L may be configured to change in stages according to the change in the transmittance of the high-brightness image 170a. For example, the first lighting mode may be used when the transmittance of the high-brightness image 170a is 0% to 30%, the second lighting mode when it is 31% to 70%, and the third lighting mode when it is 71% to 99%.

As described above, during the high-brightness effect WO11, the visibility of the subsequent step-up preview effect image 169 changes over time due to changes in the size (range) and/or transmittance of the high-brightness image 170a, and the character information constituting the step-up preview effect image 169 transitions from an invisible (or difficult to see) state to an invisible (or easily visible) state at a predetermined point in time (for example, Figure 24(d)). That is, during the high-brightness effect WO11, it is possible to perform a first transmittance change process that changes the transmittance of the high-brightness image 170a while the character information is invisible (or difficult to see), and a second transmittance change process that changes the transmittance of the high-brightness image 170a while all of the character information is visible (or easily visible). The execution time of the former (for example, Figures 24(a) to (d)) and the latter (for example, Figures 24(d) to 25(j)) differs, with the latter taking longer than the former. In this way, by making the execution time of the latter longer than that of the former, the textual information that players are most interested in can be revealed to them earlier, and sufficient display time for high-brightness images can be provided, thereby enhancing the visual effect of the high-brightness effects themselves.

Furthermore, the execution time for the first transparency change process may be longer than that for the second transparency change process, or the execution times of the former and latter may be made approximately the same. By making the execution time of the first transparency change process longer than that of the second transparency change process, the disclosure of text information can be delayed, thereby heightening the player's sense of anticipation and tension. Also, once the text information has been disclosed, it is desirable to disclose the entire information as soon as possible (to improve visibility to make the text information easier to read earlier). Therefore, if the execution time of the first transparency change process is set to be longer, it is desirable to shorten the execution time of the second transparency change process.

Regarding the boundary between a state where text information is not visible (or difficult to see) and a state where it is visible (or easily visible), it may be defined as the moment when at least a portion of the text information no longer overlaps with the high-brightness image. Alternatively, it may be defined as the moment when all (the entirety) of the text information no longer overlaps with the high-brightness image.

Furthermore, during the high-brightness effect WO11, it is possible to execute a first range change process that changes the size (range) of the high-brightness image 170a while the text information is invisible (or difficult to see), and a second range change process that changes the size (range) of the high-brightness image 170a while all of the text information is visible (or easily visible). The execution time of the former (e.g., Figures 24(a) to (d)) and the latter (e.g., Figures 24(d) to 25(j)) differs, with the latter taking longer than the former. Note that the execution time of the first range change process may be longer than that of the second range change process, or the execution times of the former and the latter may be approximately the same.

When the high-brightness effect WO11 ends and the entire step-up予告演出 image 169 related to the third second half effect ST3Bc becomes visible (Figure 25(j)), the dialogue sound (third second half voice) of "Something better is likely to happen" corresponding to the dialogue string (text information) displayed on the screen is output. However, the following dynamic display is performed on the step-up予告演出 image 169 in response to the output of the dialogue sound (post-execution dynamic display processing, post-execution change processing). That is, as shown in Figures 25(j) to (o), while the dialogue sound (third second half voice) is being output, the fox character image performs a so-called lip-syncing action in accordance with the dialogue sound, and the dialogue string performs a predetermined action (in this case, the oscillation of each character). In addition, the display color of the characters corresponding to the dialogue sound being output temporarily changes (for example, from gold to white). As a result, the white part is perceived as moving, for example, from left to right, over the string of characters "Something better is likely to happen" which is displayed in gold. Furthermore, the dialogue sound may be output without accompanying lip-syncing of the character.

After the post-execution dynamic display processing (Figures 25(j) to (o)) in the third second half performance ST3Bc is completed, the high-brightness performance WO12 is then started. In the high-brightness performance WO12 shown in Figures 25(o) to 26(v), similar to the high-brightness performance WO11, the high-brightness image 170b appears before the step-up予告 performance image 169 and after the mini symbol 165, the hold base image 168 and the hold images X1 to X4, Y1 to Y4 in front of it, and then disappears. However, the display pattern of the high-brightness image 170b in this high-brightness performance WO12 (second high-brightness performance) is different from the display pattern of the high-brightness image 170a in the high-brightness performance WO11 (first high-brightness performance), and the length of its execution time is also different. Furthermore, the high-brightness effect WO12 (second high-brightness effect) may also be configured, similar to the high-brightness effect WO11 (first high-brightness effect), to display a high-brightness image with low transparency (e.g., 0%) for a short time, and then gradually increase the transparency of the high-brightness image over a longer period of time before transitioning to the pattern variation screen.

In other words, the high-brightness image 170b is configured such that its size (range) gradually increases over time, reaching its maximum at a predetermined point (Figures 25(o) to 26(s)), and then gradually decreases over time until it disappears (Figures 26(s) to (v)). Thus, the high-brightness effect WO12 consists of an expansion effect that changes the size (range) of the high-brightness image 170b in the expansion direction, and a reduction effect that changes it in the reduction direction, with the latter (Figures 26(s) to (v)) having a shorter execution time than the former (Figures 25(o) to 26(s)). In the high-brightness effect WO12, the coverage rate of the high-brightness image 170b over the entire step-up予告演出 image 169 is less than 100%, and even when the size (range) of the high-brightness image 170b is at its maximum (Figure 26(s)), a portion of the step-up予告演出 image 169 is outside the range of the high-brightness image 170b. Of course, when the size (range) of the high-brightness image 170b is at its maximum, the coverage rate of the high-brightness image 170 over the entire step-up preview image 169 may be set to 100%.

Furthermore, the coverage rate of the high-brightness image on the entire step-up予告演出 (preview) image may be configured differently for the high-brightness effect WO12 (second high-brightness effect) and the high-brightness effect WO11 (first high-brightness effect). In this case, it is desirable that at least the information suggesting reliability (text information, character information, and displays suggesting reliability colors) is covered by the high-brightness image in both the high-brightness effect WO12 (second high-brightness effect) and the high-brightness effect WO11 (first high-brightness effect). Also, since the information suggesting reliability has already been disclosed at the time the high-brightness effect WO12 (second high-brightness effect) is executed, there may be areas/ranges where this information is not obscured by the high-brightness image.

Furthermore, the high-brightness image 170b is set so that its transmittance is approximately uniform within its range. In addition, the high-brightness image 170b is configured so that not only its size (range) but also its transmittance changes (transmittance change processing, transmittance change effect), and as time progresses, the transmittance gradually decreases at a constant rate, for example, until it reaches a minimum (0% in this case) at a predetermined point (Figures 25(o) to 26(s)), and then gradually increases at a constant rate, for example, as time progresses (Figures 26(s) to (v)). That is, the high-brightness effect WO12 consists of a low-transmittance change effect that changes the transmittance of the high-brightness image 170b in the decreasing direction, and a high-transmittance change effect that changes the transmittance of the high-brightness image 170b in the increasing direction, and the execution time of the latter (Figures 26(s) to (v)) is shorter than that of the former (Figures 25(o) to 26(s)). Note that while the minimum transmittance of the high-brightness image 170b is set to 0% (Figure 26(s)), it may be greater than 0%. Of course, the transmittance of the high-brightness image 170b may be made non-uniform, and the non-uniform transmittance may be configured to change over time. Furthermore, the execution time for the high-transmittance change effect may be longer than that for the low-transmittance change effect, or the execution times for both may be approximately the same.

Furthermore, the size (range) of the high-brightness image 170b may be changed without changing its transmittance, or its transmittance may be changed without changing its size (range). However, since a decrease in the size (range) of the high-brightness image 170b can be considered as the transmittance of a portion of the high-brightness image 170b increasing to 100%, effectively eliminating that portion, changing the size (range) of the high-brightness image 170b can be said to substantially change its transmittance.

Furthermore, in the high-brightness effect WO12, the step-up予告演出 image 169 displayed behind the high-brightness image 170b is switched to the changing screen of the decorative pattern 164 (see Figure 23(h)) when, for example, the size (range) of the high-brightness image 170b is at its maximum and its transmittance is at its minimum (Figure 26(s)), or at a timing close to that. As a result, after the start of the high-brightness effect WO12, as the size (range) of the high-brightness image 170b gradually increases and its transmittance gradually decreases, the visibility of the step-up予告演出 image 169 related to the third second half effect ST3B decreases, and the screen switches to the changing screen of the decorative pattern 164 when the visibility of the step-up予告演出 image 169 is at its lowest point (Figure 26(s)), or at a timing close to that. Then, as the size (range) of the high-brightness image 170b gradually decreases and its transmittance gradually increases, the visibility of the changing screen of the decorative pattern 164 improves. Eventually, when the high-brightness image 170b disappears (Figure 26(v)), the entire changing screen of the decorative pattern 164 (excluding parts hidden behind the mini-patterns 165, etc.) becomes fully visible. In this way, during the execution of the high-brightness effect WO12, a specific image termination effect is executed to end the display of the step-up予告 (preview) effect image (specific image) 169.

Furthermore, during the third second half performance ST3Bc (during post-execution dynamic display processing) after the high-brightness performance WO11 has finished, the performance lamp L illuminates in the second half illumination mode, and during the subsequent high-brightness performance WO12, the performance lamp L illuminates in the second high-brightness illumination mode. In this embodiment, both the second half illumination mode and the second high-brightness illumination mode are common to the first high-brightness illumination mode, and are cyclical change modes that cyclically change to multiple colors (for example, gold, green, and white) including the text color of the third second half performance ST3Bc (for example, gold), and the illumination color changes in the order of green (Figures 25(j) to (l)), white (Figures 25(m) to (o)), gold (Figures 25(p) to (r)), and green (Figures 26(s) to (u)). At least one of the second half illumination mode and the second high-brightness illumination mode may be different from the first high-brightness illumination mode. However, even in that case, it is desirable that each illumination mode include a color corresponding to the text color (e.g., gold).

As described above, the step-up予告演出 (step-up notification effect) consists of a first half-effect before displaying the step-up notification effect image 169 (specific image) which contains reliability information regarding the jackpot (i.e., text information whose display color and content differ depending on the jackpot reliability), and a second half-effect that displays the step-up notification effect image 169 (specific image) which contains the reliability information regarding the jackpot. After the execution of the first half-effect, and before or at the start of the second half-effect, the high-brightness effect WO11 is executed in front of the specific image. Furthermore, the effect lamp (light-emitting means) L emits light in the first half-effect corresponding to the first half-effect (first light-emitting mode) during the first half-effect, and emits light in the first high-brightness medium light-emitting mode corresponding to the high-brightness effect WO11 (second light-emitting mode) during the high-brightness effect WO11.

Furthermore, in the high-brightness effects WO11 and WO12 of the step-up予告演出 (step-up予告演出), the high-brightness images 170a and 170b are displayed in front of the step-up予告演出 image 169 (specific image) and behind the first and second reserved images (reserved images) X1~, Y1~, and mini symbols 165. This changes the visibility of the step-up予告演出 image 169 while not changing the visibility of the first and second reserved images X1~, Y1~, and mini symbols 165. The high-brightness effect WO11 consists of a low-transparency change effect that changes the transmittance of the high-brightness image 170a in the direction of decreasing, and a high-transparency change effect that changes the transmittance of the high-brightness image 170a in the direction of increasing, with the latter (Figures 24(a) to 25(j)) having a longer execution time than the former (Figure 24(a)). On the other hand, in the high-brightness effect WO12, the execution time for the high-transmittance change effect (Figures 26(s) to (v)) is shorter than that for the low-transmittance change effect (Figures 25(o) to 26(s)).

Furthermore, in the high-brightness effect WO11 of the step-up予告演出 (preview effect), it is possible to perform a high-brightness image display process (Figure 24(a)) that displays a high-brightness image 170a, and a transmittance change process (Figures 24(a) to 25(j)) that changes the transmittance of the high-brightness image 170a displayed by the high-brightness image display process. By increasing the transmittance of the high-brightness image 170a through the transmittance change process, the visibility of the subsequent step-up予告演出 image 169 is gradually improved. Furthermore, the step-up予告演出 (preview) image 169 includes a character image (specific character information) containing reliability information. During the high-brightness effect WO11, it is possible to perform a first transmittance change process that changes the transmittance of the high-brightness image 170a while the character information is not visible (or difficult to see), and a second transmittance change process that changes the transmittance of the high-brightness image 170a while all of the character information is visible (or easily visible). The execution time differs between the former (e.g., Figures 24(a) to (d)) and the latter (e.g., Figures 24(d) to 25(j)), with the latter taking longer than the former.

Furthermore, in the step-up予告演出 (step-up予告演出) sequence, it is possible to display any of several types of specific images, including the step-up予告演出 image displayed in the third second half sequence ST3Ba (Figure 22(a1)) (a first reliability specific image having first reliability information corresponding to the first reliability A) and the step-up予告演出 image displayed in the third second half sequence ST3Bc (Figure 22(c1)) (a second reliability specific image having second reliability information corresponding to the second reliability A, which is higher than the first reliability A), and the high-brightness image 170 in the high-brightness sequence WO11. During the display of (a), the high-brightness image 170a is common to both the third-half-stage performance ST3Ba and the third-half-stage performance ST3Bb. In the case of the third-half-stage performance ST3Ba, a first predetermined enhanced sound corresponding to the image related to the third-half-stage performance ST3Ba (the first confidence level specified image) can be output during the display of the high-brightness image 170a (first sound effect). In the case of the third-half-stage performance ST3Bc, a third predetermined enhanced sound corresponding to the image related to the third-half-stage performance ST3Bc (the second confidence level specified image) can be output during the display of the high-brightness image 170a (second sound effect).

Furthermore, in the step-up予告演出 (step-up予告演出) sequence, during the execution of the high-brightness sequence WO12, the step-up予告演出 image 169 related to the third second-half sequence ST3Bc is switched to the display screen of the decorative symbols 164, thereby enabling the execution of a specific image termination sequence that ends the display of the step-up予告演出 image 169, including the text image. Also, when the specific image termination sequence is executed during the execution of the high-brightness sequence WO12, the performance lamp (light-emitting means) L emits light in a second high-brightness medium-light emission mode (a specific light emission mode corresponding to the specific image) that includes the text color of the second-half sequence (specific light emission mode).

Furthermore, in the step-up予告演出 (step-up announcement effect), a step-up announcement image (specific image) 169 containing reliability information regarding a big win is displayed during the execution of the high-brightness effect WO11 (first high-brightness effect), and then its display is terminated during the execution of the high-brightness effect WO12 (second high-brightness effect) (effect at the end of the specific image). The execution times of high-brightness effects WO11 and WO12 differ; in the examples shown in Figures 24 to 26, high-brightness effect WO11 has a longer execution time than high-brightness effect WO12.

Furthermore, in the step-up予告演出 (step-up announcement effect), a step-up announcement image 169 containing jackpot reliability information is displayed during the execution of the high-brightness effect WO11. After the high-brightness effect WO11 ends, a post-execution dynamic display process is performed to dynamically display at least a portion of the step-up announcement image 169, and a post-execution change process (Figures 25(j) to (o)) is performed to cause a predetermined change (color change) to at least a portion of the step-up announcement image 169.

Furthermore, the step-up予告演出 (preview sequence) allows for the execution of two high-brightness sequences: a high-brightness sequence (first high-brightness sequence) WO11, which displays a high-brightness image (first high-brightness image A) 170a, and a high-brightness sequence (second high-brightness sequence A) WO12, which displays a high-brightness image (second high-brightness image A) 170b. The high-brightness sequence (first high-brightness sequence A) WO11 is executed at the first timing when the image switches from the first scene image related to the first half of the sequence to the second scene image related to the second half of the sequence, and the high-brightness sequence (second high-brightness sequence A) WO12 is executed at the second timing thereafter.

Furthermore, in the step-up予告演出 (preview/announcement) sequence, during the high-brightness sequence WO11, the display of a text image containing jackpot reliability information begins, and when the display of that text image ends, the high-brightness sequence WO12 (specific image ending sequence) can be executed. During the high-brightness sequence WO11, a first illumination sequence is executed, illuminating the sequence lamp (lighting means) L in a first high-brightness illumination mode (first illumination mode) corresponding to the reliability information (e.g., display color) in the text image. During the high-brightness sequence WO12 (specific image ending sequence), a second illumination sequence is executed, illuminating the sequence lamp (lighting means) L in a second high-brightness illumination mode (second illumination mode). Note that the second high-brightness illumination mode (second illumination mode) may differ from the first high-brightness illumination mode (first illumination mode).

Furthermore, in the step-up予告演出 (step-up予告演出), the output volume and/or output duration of the third predetermined emphasis sound (B-1 specific sound) output when the high-brightness effect WO11 is executed during the third second half effect ST3Bc (Figure 22(c1)) (B-1 high-brightness effect) is greater than that of the first predetermined emphasis sound (B-2 specific sound) output when the high-brightness effect WO11 is executed during the third second half effect ST3Ba (Figure 22(a1)) (B-2 high-brightness effect). The vibration effect may be configured to be executed approximately simultaneously with the third predetermined emphasis sound. Alternatively, the vibration effect may be configured to be executed instead of the third predetermined emphasis sound.

Furthermore, the step-up予告演出 (step-up予告演出) is an example of a text information display演出 (text information display演出), and it is possible to execute a high-brightness演出 WO11 as a text information display start演出 (first specific演出) performed when the display of text information begins, and a high-brightness演出 WO12 as a text information display end演出 (second specific演出) performed when the display of text information ends. After the execution of the high-brightness演出 WO11 (text information display start演出), a display mode change process (specific display process that displays text information in a specific display mode) (Figures 25(j) to (o)) is executed to change the display mode of the text information, and the display mode change process (specific display process) is not executed while the high-brightness演出 WO12 (text information display end演出) is being executed.

In addition, in the above step-up予告演出 (preview sequence), the number of variations of reliability display that can be executed in the second half of the 1st to 5th sequences ST1B to ST5B is uniformly set to 5 types (Figure 22). However, depending on the content of the first to 5th sequences ST1A to ST5A, the number of variations of reliability indications that can be executed in the second half of the 1st to 5th sequences ST1B to ST5B that are executed afterward may differ. Specifically, in the case of the second half of the 1st to 3rd sequences ST1B to ST3B, three types of reliability indications from the lowest reliability may be executed, and in the case of the second half of the 4th and 5th sequences ST4B to ST5B, five types of reliability indications may be executed. Furthermore, in the case of the second half of the 4th and 5th sequences ST4B to ST5B, reliability indications that are not executed in the second half of the 1st to 3rd sequences ST1B to ST3B (two types with high reliability) may be executed. Furthermore, the number of possible reliability indications may vary depending on the character and stage, such as 3 types for the first half-stage ST1B, 3 types for the second half-stage ST2B, 3 types for the third half-stage ST3B, 5 types for the fourth half-stage ST4B, and 4 types for the fifth half-stage ST5B.

Furthermore, depending on the selection rate of each character, the number of variations in the reliability indications for characters with high selection rates may be increased, while the number of variations for characters with low selection rates may be decreased. This configuration allows players to see a wider variety of presentations, creating a presentation that keeps players engaged. Additionally, characters with lower selection rates may have more variations in their reliability indications than characters with higher selection rates. Also, if the characters are set in the order of highest selection rates as elephant, lion, fox, squirrel, and bear, the number of variations in the reliability indications for the fox and squirrel may be greater than those for the elephant and lion. Furthermore, in this case, the number of variations for the bear may be less than those for the fox and squirrel. In this case, it is desirable that when the bear is selected, only high-reliability variations are provided, and low-reliability variations are not.

The various configurations described above for the step-up予告演出 (pre-announcement effect) are not limited to this particular effect; they can also be applied to other types of effects (pre-announcement effects and partial effects). For example, the various configurations of the high-brightness effects WO11 and WO12 in the step-up予告演出 may also be applied to the reach予告演出 (reach announcement effect), dialogue予告演出 (dialogue announcement effect), etc., described later.

[Reach予告演出 (Reach予告演出 - a type of animation/effect)]
Figures 27 to 31 show examples of reach notification effects performed during normal fluctuations in reach fluctuation patterns or normal fluctuation patterns. This reach notification effect (specific notification effect) provides notification regarding the establishment of a reach state and consists of a first-half reach notification effect RC1 and a second-half reach notification effect RC2. Depending on the type of fluctuation pattern selected, the performance mode of the second-half reach notification effect RC2 is set to be selected from multiple types (in this case, four types shown in Figure 27). The probability of winning a jackpot is set to gradually increase from the first performance mode RC2a (Figure 27(a)) to the fourth performance mode RC2d (Figure 27(d)). Thus, for example, the performance image from the first performance mode RC2a (Figure 27(a)) is an example of a specific image for the first probability of winning corresponding to the first probability of winning, and the performance image from the second performance mode RC2b (Figure 27(b)) is an example of a specific image for the second probability of winning corresponding to the second probability of winning.

The four different presentation modes (RC2a to RC2d) of the latter half of this reach予告 (reach announcement) sequence share largely the same characters and their actions in the presentation images. However, the differences lie in the dialogue displayed in front of the character images, the corresponding audio output, and the base color of the presentation images. Specifically, as shown in Figure 27, the same kappa character image is displayed in all four presentation modes (RC2a to RC2d), but the dialogue displayed in front of the character image and the corresponding audio output differ in all four modes, with each containing the phrases "Reach!", "SP Reach!", "Big Chance!!", and "Super Hot!!".

Furthermore, the display color of the dialogue strings and the base color of the performance images are different for all four types. The display color (internal color) and base color of the dialogue strings corresponding to the first to fourth performance modes RC2a to RC2d are "blue," "red," "gold," and "danger color," respectively. The danger color is as described above. Thus, since the probability of winning differs depending on the display color of the strings in the first to fourth performance modes RC2a to RC2d, it can be said that the text images (specific text information), or the reach予告 performance images that have such text images, contain probability information regarding winning. It is also possible to provide multiple display modes (display colors) for a common string. In cases where the string itself indicates probability, such as "Super Hot," it is desirable to enable performance expressions using multiple display modes (display colors) with different probability levels, for example, by configuring it so that "Super Hot" in danger color indicates a higher probability than "Super Hot" in gold. In this case, multiple display modes other than the display color (text color), such as variations in the size of the text outline, may also be provided.

Next, a specific example of the reach予告演出 (reach予告演出) will be explained using the case where the first performance mode RC2a (Figure 27(a)) is selected from the first to fourth performance modes RC2a to RC2d as an example. First, an overview will be explained with reference to Figure 28. When the reach予告演出 begins during normal variation in the reach variation pattern, the speaker starts outputting BGM2 related to this reach予告演出 as background music. At the same time, the decorative symbols 164 during high-speed variation are hidden on the display screen DSaa, and the hold base image 168 is displayed at the lower end, and the mini symbols 165 are displayed at the upper end. Behind these, the reach予告演出 image 171 related to the first half of the reach予告演出 RC1 is displayed (Figure 28(a)). This reach予告演出 image 171 related to the first half of the reach予告演出 RC1 consists of a scene of a kappa character flying through the sky.

Furthermore, during the first half of the reach予告演出 RC1 (Figure 28(a)), at least a portion of the effect lamp L (here, both the frame-side lamp La and the panel-side lamp Lb) illuminates in the first half illumination mode corresponding to the first half of the reach予告演出, for example, in orange. A predetermined start sound may also be output as a sound effect at the start of the reach予告演出.

Subsequently, the game transitions from the first half of the reach予告演出 RC1 to the second half of the reach予告演出 RC2 (here, the first presentation mode RC2a), and the reach予告演出 image 171 switches to a scene showing a close-up of the kappa character's upper body (Figure 28(b)~). Also, when the scene changes (switching from the first scene image to the second scene image) accompanying the transition from the first half of the reach予告演出 RC1 to the second half of the reach予告演出 RC2 (first timing), a high-brightness effect (first high-brightness effect A) WO21 is executed by displaying a high-brightness image 170c, thereby reducing the visibility of the image behind the high-brightness image 170c (here, the reach予告演出 image 171) (Figure 28(b)). Thus, at the first timing when the high-brightness effect WO21 is performed, no dialogue strings (text images) containing reliability information regarding the jackpot are yet displayed on the screen. In this high-brightness effect WO21, the minimum transmittance of the high-brightness image is set to greater than 0%, but it is also possible to set the minimum transmittance of the high-brightness image to 0%, so that the character image behind it becomes completely invisible.

During the high-brightness effect WO21 (Figure 28(b)), the BGM2 related to the reach予告 (reach announcement) effect continues to be output. Also, at the start of the high-brightness effect WO21, a predetermined first emphasis sound is output as a sound effect. Furthermore, during the high-brightness effect WO21, at least a portion of the effect lamps L (here, both the frame-side lamp La and the panel-side lamp Lb) illuminate in a high-brightness medium illumination mode. This high-brightness medium illumination mode includes a specific color (e.g., blue) corresponding to the text color of the second half of the reach announcement effect RC2, and is configured to change, for example, from a predetermined color (here, white) to the specific color (here, blue). Note that this high-brightness medium illumination mode may be configured not to include the specific color corresponding to the text color. This prevents the content of the text information to be displayed later from being revealed in advance.

Once the high-brightness effect WO21 ends and the reach予告 (reach)予告 (reach) effect image 171 becomes fully visible (Figure 28(c)), the text string "Reach!" (text information) is displayed in front of the character image (text information display start effect). At this time, the text string appears accompanied by the first dynamic display effect (Figure 28(c) → (d)). That is, during the first dynamic display period in which the first dynamic display effect is executed, the text information display start effect (first specific effect) is performed when the display of text information begins. In this first dynamic display effect, the text string moves toward a predetermined display position at a first change speed (in this case, a movement involving rotation).

During the text information display start animation, the BGM2 related to the reach予告 (reach announcement) animation continues to be output. Also, when the display of the dialogue string begins (when the text information display start animation begins), a predetermined character appearance sound is output as a sound effect. In addition, during the text information display start animation, at least a portion of the animation lamp L (here, both the frame-side lamp La and the panel-side lamp Lb) illuminates in a character appearance illumination pattern. This character appearance illumination pattern is a cyclical change pattern that cyclically changes through multiple colors (for example, blue and white) including the character color of the dialogue string displayed on the screen (here, blue). It is desirable that the illumination color used in this cyclical change pattern does not indicate higher reliability than the character color of the dialogue string (here, blue) (here, red, gold, etc.). In this case, it is desirable to use a color that indicates lower reliability compared to the character color of the dialogue string, or an illumination color that is not used to indicate reliability (here, white, etc.). Alternatively, an illumination pattern corresponding only to the character color of the dialogue string may be adopted, or a flashing illumination other than continuous lighting may be used. Furthermore, it is possible to configure specific illuminated areas to emit light in a color corresponding to the text color of the dialogue string, while other illuminated areas emit light in a different manner (e.g., white or off). In this case, it is desirable to avoid using colors that indicate higher reliability than the dialogue string's text color (in this case, blue) for the other illumination manners (in this case, red, gold, etc.). It is preferable to use colors that indicate lower reliability compared to the dialogue string's text color, or illumination colors that are not used to indicate reliability (in this case, white, etc.).

When the dialogue string is displayed at a predetermined display position after the first dynamic display effect (second timing), a high-brightness effect (second high-brightness effect A) WO22 is executed, which reduces the visibility of the image behind the high-brightness image 170d (in this case, the reach予告演出 image 171) by displaying a high-brightness image 170d (Figure 28(d)). Thus, at the second timing when the high-brightness effect WO22 is performed, the dialogue string (character image) containing reliability information regarding the jackpot is already displayed on the screen. During this high-brightness effect WO22, the BGM2 related to the reach予告演出 continues to be output, and a predetermined second accent sound is output as a sound effect. Also, during the high-brightness effect WO22, at least a portion of the effect lamp L (in this case, both the frame-side lamp La and the panel-side lamp Lb) continues to illuminate in the character appearance illumination pattern.

When the high-brightness effect WO22 ends and the reach予告 (reach announcement) effect image 171 containing the dialogue string becomes fully visible (Figure 28(e)), a predetermined reach announcement voice is output as a dialogue sound (dialogue output effect). This reach announcement voice corresponds to the dialogue string displayed on the screen, and in this case, "Reach!" is output. However, it is not limited to this; the "Reach!" dialogue output effect may be configured to run from the time the high-brightness effect WO22 is running, or from the time the dialogue string appears before the high-brightness effect WO22 is running. Furthermore, during the dialogue output effect, the BGM 2 related to the reach announcement effect continues to run, and at least a portion of the effect lamp L (here, both the frame-side lamp La and the panel-side lamp Lb) illuminates in a dialogue output illumination pattern (here, blue) corresponding to the character color of the dialogue string (i.e., reliability information).

When the dialogue output animation ends, an ending animation (specific image ending animation) is executed to end the display of the reach announcement animation image 171 related to the reach announcement animation and switch to the symbol variation screen (Figure 28(f)). During this ending animation, at least a portion of the animation lamp L (here, both the frame-side lamp La and the panel-side lamp Lb) will light up in an ending light pattern (for example, orange) that is different from the previous dialogue output light pattern (here, blue) or the text appearance light pattern (here, a cyclical change between blue and white). However, this ending light pattern may be configured to be the same as either the dialogue output light pattern or the text appearance light pattern. When the symbol variation screen starts after the ending animation (Figure 28(g)), a symbol stop sound is output as a sound effect in conjunction with the stopping of the decorative symbols 164a to 164c. Note that the reach announcement animation shown in Figure 28 has a different jackpot reliability than the step-up announcement animation shown in Figure 23, with the latter having a higher jackpot reliability than the former (Figure 20).

Furthermore, the high-brightness effect (High-Brightness Effect A, Part 2) WO22 may be configured to have a different execution time than the high-brightness effect (High-Brightness Effect A, Part 1) WO21, or it may be configured to have the same execution time. Also, the transparency of the high-brightness image may be different for both, or it may be configured to have the same transparency. Also, the display range of the high-brightness image may be different for both, or it may be the same. Additionally, since there is no display of text during the execution of the high-brightness effect (High-Brightness Effect A, Part 1) WO21, and text is displayed during the execution of the high-brightness effect (High-Brightness Effect A, Part 2) WO22, it is sufficient that the high-brightness image is displayed in such a way that the text is at least difficult to see. For example, the transparency of the high-brightness image may be different for the character (kappa) part and the text part. Furthermore, the high-brightness image may be executed so that it does not overlap or only partially overlaps the character (kappa) portion, while it may overlap the text portion. Also, when dynamically displaying the character (kappa) and/or text, it is desirable that they always be displayed within the display range of the high-brightness image. However, this is not limited to this; the dynamic display of the character (kappa) and/or text may be configured so that there are times when they overlap and times when they do not overlap the display range of the high-brightness image. This allows for changes in the visibility of the character (kappa) and/or text during dynamic display, thereby improving the visual effect. Additionally, the dynamic pattern for dynamically displaying the character (kappa) and/or text during the execution of the high-brightness effect may be configured to be different from the dynamic pattern for dynamically displaying the character (kappa) and/or text after the execution of the high-brightness effect has ended.

Next, we will explain in more detail the performance period, focusing on the high-brightness performances WO21 and WO22, as shown in Figure 28. Figures 29 to 31 show the changes in the display screen and light-emitting means at even smaller time intervals than in Figure 28, for the period from the start of the high-brightness performance WO21 to the end of the reach-notification performance and the transition to the changing screen of the decorative symbol 164. The 20 frames shown in Figures 29 to 31 were extracted at a constant pitch from all frames during the period of Figures 28(b) to (g). Therefore, in Figures 29 to 31, the time interval between adjacent frames is the same, and is set to A milliseconds, the same as in Figures 24 to 26 in the step-up notification performance.

First, let's explain the details of the high-brightness effect WO21. In the high-brightness effect WO21 shown in Figures 29(a) to (f), at its start, a high-brightness image 170c is displayed in front of the reach予告 (reach notification) image 171, and behind the mini-symbol 165, the hold base image 168, and the hold images X1-X4 and Y1-Y4 in front of it (Figure 29(a)). The transparency of this high-brightness image 170c gradually changes until it finally disappears (Figure 29(f)).

Here, the high-brightness image 170c is displayed within an area (size) that covers the entire reach予告演出画像171, and its transmittance is uniform within that display area. The display area does not change over time, while the transmittance changes over time (transmittance change processing, transmittance change effect). The transmittance of the high-brightness image 170c is set to a minimum (25% in this case) at the start of display (Figure 29(a)), and is configured to gradually increase (rise) over time at a constant rate, for example (first display pattern). That is, the high-brightness effect WO21 consists of a low-transmittance change effect that changes the transmittance of the high-brightness image 170c in the decreasing direction, and a high-transmittance change effect that changes the transmittance of the high-brightness image 170c in the increasing direction, with the latter (Figures 29(a) to (f)) taking longer to execute than the former (Figure 29(a)). In the high-brightness image 170c, the minimum transmittance is greater than 0% (25% in this case), and even at the start of display when this minimum transmittance occurs (Figure 29(a)), the reach予告演出 (reach announcement effect) image 171 is still slightly visible. Alternatively, the transmittance of the high-brightness image 170c at the start of display could be set to 0%, so that the content displayed behind the high-brightness image 170c at the start of display is not visible.

Of course, the high-brightness image 170c may be set to a display range (size) such that the coverage rate of the reach予告演出 (reach announcement effect) image 171 is less than 100%, or the transparency within the display range may be made uneven. Furthermore, the display range (size) may be changed over time, either while changing the transparency or without changing the transparency. Also, the minimum transparency of the high-brightness image 170c may be set to 0%. Additionally, the execution time of the high-transparency change effect may be shorter than that of the low-transparency change effect, or the execution times of both may be approximately the same.

Furthermore, at a predetermined point in the high-brightness effect WO21, for example at its start (Figure 29(a)), the effect scenario is switched, causing the reach予告 effect image 171 behind the high-brightness image 170c to switch from the image of the first half of the reach予告 effect RC1 to the image of the second half of the reach予告 effect RC2. In other words, the high-brightness effect WO21 is an example of a high-brightness effect during image change that can be executed when performing an image change process from the first image to the second image, and is also an example of a high-brightness effect during scenario change that is executed at the timing of switching the effect scenario. As a result, after the start of the high-brightness effect WO21, as the transmittance of the high-brightness image 170c gradually increases, the visibility of the reach予告 effect image 171 improves, and when the high-brightness image 170c disappears (Figure 29(f)), the entire reach予告 effect image 171 (excluding parts hidden behind the mini-symbols 165, etc.) becomes fully visible.

Furthermore, during the execution of the high-brightness effect WO21, the mini-symbols 165 cycle through from between "3, 5, 7" and "4, 6, 8" (Figure 29(a)) to "8, 2, 4" (Figure 29(f)). In other words, the execution time of the high-brightness effect WO21 (Figures 29(a) to (f)) is longer than the time it takes for the mini-symbols 165 to complete one cycle.

Furthermore, during the high-brightness effect WO21, the effect lamp L emits light in a high-brightness emission mode. The high-brightness emission mode is configured to emit light in a predetermined color (white in this case) up to a predetermined point in time during the high-brightness effect WO21 (Figures 29(a) to (b)), and then change to a specific color (blue in this case) thereafter (Figures 29(c) to (e)).

When the high-brightness effect WO21 ends and the reach予告 (reach announcement) effect image 171 becomes fully visible (Figure 29(f)), the text information display start effect (Figures 29(f) to (h)) is performed simultaneously or at a predetermined timing thereafter. In this text information display start effect, the dialogue string "Reach!" (text information) appears in front of the character image, etc., accompanied by a first dynamic display effect (first dynamic display period). In this first dynamic display effect, the dialogue string moves toward a predetermined display position at a first change speed (in this case, an action involving rotation and shrinking). Due to this first dynamic display effect with rotation and shrinking, the player perceives the dialogue string as moving toward the back of the screen, for example, while rotating clockwise. Note that the dialogue string "Reach!" is displayed in "blue" (Figure 27(a)), but the display manner of the dialogue string (display color and shape) does not change during the first dynamic display effect (no specific display processing is performed to display the text information in a specific display manner).

When the dialogue string reaches a predetermined display position after the first dynamic display animation (Figure 29(h)), a high-brightness animation WO22 (Figures 29(h) to 30(l)) is executed by displaying a high-brightness image 170d, thereby reducing the visibility of the image behind the high-brightness image 170d (in this case, the reach予告演出画像171). Unlike the high-brightness animation WO21, this high-brightness animation WO22 is executed when the animation scenario is not switched, i.e., when the reach予告演出画像171 is not changed. Thus, the high-brightness animation WO22 is an example of a high-brightness animation that can be executed when no predetermined image is changed (image change), and is an example of a high-brightness animation that is executed when the animation scenario is not switched.

In this high-brightness effect WO22, similar to high-brightness effect WO21, the high-brightness image 170d appears before the reach予告 (reach notification) effect image 171 and after the mini-symbol 165, the hold base image 168, and the hold images X1-X4, Y1-Y4 in front of it, and then disappears. However, the change (display pattern) of the high-brightness image 170d is different from the high-brightness image 170b in high-brightness effect WO21. It is also possible to configure the high-brightness image to appear before the hold base image 168 and the hold images X1-X4, Y1-Y4 in front of it; this is also true for other effects.

In other words, the high-brightness image 170d is displayed within an area (size) that covers the entire reach予告演出画像171, and its transmittance is uniform within that display area. The display area does not change over time, and the transmittance changes over time (transmittance change processing, transmittance change effect), which is common to the high-brightness image 170c. However, it differs in that its transmittance gradually decreases over time, reaching a minimum (40% in this case) at a predetermined point (Figures 29(h) to 30(j)), and then gradually increases over time (Figures 30(j) to (l)) (second display pattern). Thus, the high-brightness effect WO22 consists of a low-transmittance change effect that changes the transmittance of the high-brightness image 170d in the downward direction, and a high-transmittance change effect that changes the transmittance of the high-brightness image 170d in the upward direction, and the execution time of the former (Figures 29(h) to 30(j)) and the latter (Figures 30(j) to (l)) is approximately the same. Of course, the execution time for the high-transparency change effect can be longer than that for the low-transparency change effect, or vice versa. Note that in the high-brightness image 170d, the minimum transmittance is greater than 0% (40% in this case), and even at the predetermined point in time when this minimum transmittance occurs (Figure 30(j)), the reach予告 (reach) effect image 171 remains visible.

Furthermore, during the execution of the high-brightness effect WO22, the mini-symbol 165 cycles from "5-7-1" (Figure 29(h)) to "7-1-3" (Figure 30(l)). That is, the execution time of the high-brightness effect WO22 (Figure 29(h) to Figure 30(l)) is longer than the time it takes for the mini-symbol 165 to complete one cycle. Also, the execution time of the high-transparency change effect may be longer than that of the low-transparency change effect, or vice versa.

Furthermore, during the high-brightness effect WO22, a point-emphasis operation is performed to highlight when the dialogue string reaches a predetermined display position; in this case, an expansion/contraction operation (enlargement/reduction operation) of the dialogue string is performed (Figures 29(h) to 30(l)). The type of this point-emphasis operation is arbitrary and can be anything, such as a bouncing operation of the dialogue string or a deformation operation other than expansion/contraction. Also, the high-brightness effect WO22 may be configured to execute at the timing when the dialogue string point-emphasis operation is completed. That is, the high-brightness effect WO22 may be configured not to perform any deformation operations on the dialogue string. Alternatively, the high-brightness effect WO22 may be configured to perform only minor deformation operations on the dialogue string that are smaller than the dialogue string point-emphasis operation performed before the execution of the high-brightness effect WO22.

Furthermore, during the period from the start of the text information display animation to the high-brightness animation WO22, the animation lamp L illuminates in the text appearance illumination pattern. The text appearance illumination pattern is a cyclical change pattern that cyclically changes between multiple colors (for example, blue and white), including the color of the dialogue string displayed on the screen (in this case, blue). The illumination color changes as follows: white (Figures 29(f) to (g)) → blue (Figures 29(h) to (i)) → white (Figures 30(j) to (k)).

Once the high-brightness effect WO22 ends and the entire reach予告 (reach announcement) image 171, including the dialogue string, becomes visible (Figure 30(l)), the dialogue output effect is performed, and the dialogue sound (reach announcement voice) corresponding to the dialogue string (text information) displayed on the screen, "It's a reach!", is output. During this dialogue output effect (second dynamic display period), a second dynamic display effect is performed on the dialogue string (Figures 30(l) to (p)). In this second dynamic display effect, the dialogue string is displayed at a second change speed (slower than the first change speed in this case), different from the change speed during the first dynamic display effect (first change speed), for example, by slowly shrinking. This shrinking display makes the player perceive the dialogue string as moving towards the back of the screen.

During the second dynamic display period, when the second dynamic display effect is performed for the dialogue string, the mini-symbols 165 cycle from "7-1-3" (Figure 30(l)) to "1-3-5" (Figure 30(p)). That is, the second dynamic display period (Figures 30(l)-(p)) is longer than the time it takes for the mini-symbols 165 to cycle, and also longer than the first dynamic display period (Figures 29(f)-(h)). In the example of Figure 29, however, the first dynamic display period (Figures 29(f)-(h)) is shorter than the time it takes for the mini-symbols to cycle.

Furthermore, during this second dynamic display effect (Figures 30(l) to (p)), a display mode change process (a specific display process that displays text information in a specific display mode) is performed to change the display mode (in this case, the display color) of the dialogue string. This display mode change process is performed within the outline of the dialogue string (text information), and for example, the display color of the characters corresponding to the dialogue sound being output temporarily changes (for example, from blue to white). As a result, the white portion is perceived as moving, for example, from left to right, over the blue-displayed string "Reach!". When performing a predetermined change effect within the outline of the dialogue string in this way, the dialogue string may be configured to be displayed dynamically, or the effect image may be configured to be displayed while the string is stationary. When outputting this dialogue sound, it is desirable to have the character image perform a so-called lip-syncing action (speaking action). Also, it is desirable that the display mode change process (specific display process that displays text information in a specific display mode) that moves the white portion over the dialogue string be performed in response to the output of the dialogue sound. By synchronizing the timing of the dialogue sound output with the change (movement) of the display color on the dialogue string, it becomes possible to more clearly express the relationship between the dialogue sound output and the dialogue text being output, even if lip-syncing (speech) is not involved. Lip-syncing may be performed during the display of the high-brightness image, or it may be configured to be performed after the display of the high-brightness image has finished. When performing lip-syncing during the display of the high-brightness image, it is desirable to configure the system so that lip-syncing is performed at least during the display of the dialogue string or after the first dynamic display of the dialogue string has finished; however, it is not limited to this, and the system may be configured to perform lip-syncing from the first dynamic display.

Furthermore, during dialogue output animations, the animation lamp L illuminates in a manner corresponding to the color of the dialogue string (blue in this case), i.e., in blue (Figures 30(l) to (p)).

When the dialogue output animation (Figures 30(l) to (p)) ends (i.e., after the second dynamic display period), an ending animation (specific image ending animation, text information display ending animation) is performed to end the display of the reach announcement animation image 171 related to the reach announcement animation and switch to the symbol variation screen (Figures 30(q) to 31(t)). In this ending animation, a concealing image 172 is displayed in front of the reach announcement animation image 171 to conceal it, and the symbol variation screen appears when the display of the concealing image 172 ends. In the ending sequence of this embodiment, the concealed image 172 consists of a curtain and a character pulling it. The character closes the curtain, concealing the reach予告演出 image 171 (Figures 30(q) to (r)), and then the character opens the curtain, gradually making the rotating screen of the decorative symbols 164 (excluding the parts hidden behind the mini symbols 165, etc.) visible (Figure 30(r) → Figure 31(t)). During the execution of this ending sequence, the display manner of the dialogue string (display color and shape) does not change (no specific display processing is performed to display text information in a specific display manner). In this example, a white image is used as the concealed image 172, but it is not limited to this; for example, a display color that suggests reliability may be used, or other colors may be used. The transparency of the concealed image 172 may also be greater than 0%. If the concealed image 172 is of another color, it is desirable to use an image with a color or pattern different from the high-brightness image. Furthermore, the concealed image 172 may be configured to be displayed in an area including the front of the holding base image 168 and the holding images X1-X4, Y1-Y4, so as to overlap them. Also, the display period of the concealed image 172 may be configured to be different from or the same as the display period of the high-brightness image. If the periods are different, the display period of the concealed image 172 may be configured to be longer than or shorter than the display period of the high-brightness image.

Furthermore, during the ending animation, the animation lamp L illuminates in the ending illumination mode, for example, orange (Figures 30(q) to 31(s)).

Furthermore, comparing the execution times of the high-brightness effects WO21 and WO22 and the ending effect in the reach予告演出 (reach予告演出), the high-brightness effect WO21 (Figures 29(a) to (f)) is approximately 5A milliseconds, the high-brightness effect WO22 (Figures 29(h) to 30(l)) is approximately 4A milliseconds, and the ending effect is approximately 4A milliseconds. However, the execution time of the ending effect may be shorter or longer than the execution time of the high-brightness effect WO22.

As described above, the reach予告演出 (reach予告演出) can execute two types of high-brightness effects: a high-brightness effect (high-brightness effect WO21) displaying a high-brightness image (high-brightness image A, type 1) 170c, and a high-brightness effect (high-brightness effect WO22) displaying a high-brightness image (high-brightness image A, type 2) 170d. The high-brightness effect WO21 is executed at the first timing when the scene changes (switching from the first scene image to the second scene image) accompanies the transition from the first half reach予告演出 RC1 to the second half reach予告演出 RC2. The high-brightness effect WO22 is then executed at the second timing. Note that at the first timing when the high-brightness effect WO21 is executed, the dialogue string (text image) containing reliability information regarding the jackpot is not yet displayed on the screen; it is displayed at the second timing.

Furthermore, in the reach予告演出 (reach notification effect), the display of a character image containing jackpot reliability information begins before the high-brightness effect WO22, and the ending effect (specific image ending effect) can be executed when the display of that character image ends (Figures 30(q) to 31(t)). During the high-brightness effect WO22, a first illumination effect is executed, illuminating the effect lamp (lighting means) L in a character appearance illumination pattern (first illumination pattern) corresponding to the reliability information (e.g., display color) in the character image. During the ending effect (specific image ending effect), a second illumination effect is executed, illuminating the effect lamp (lighting means) L in an ending illumination pattern (second illumination pattern) different from the character appearance illumination pattern (first illumination pattern).

Furthermore, in the reach予告演出 (reach予告演出), two types of high-brightness effects are possible: a high-brightness effect (high-brightness effect during image change) WO21, which can be executed when an image change process is performed to switch from the image of the first half of the reach予告演出 RC1 (first image) to the image of the second half of the reach予告演出 RC2 (second image), and a high-brightness effect (high-brightness effect when image is not changed) WO22, which can be executed when no image change process is performed. The minimum transmittance (transparency performance) of the high-brightness image is different for high-brightness effect WO21 and high-brightness effect WO22. Here, the minimum transmittance is different as an example of the transparency performance of the high-brightness image, but other transparency performances, such as the range (size) of the high-brightness image or the distribution of transmittance, may also be different. In addition, the image change process is not limited to switching from the image of the first half of the reach予告演出 RC1 (first image) to the image of the second half of the reach予告演出 RC2 (second image), but may be any process that switches from a predetermined first image to a predetermined second image. In other words, the image displayed before the high-brightness effect is executed but not after is considered the first image, and the image not displayed before the high-brightness effect is executed but is displayed after is considered the second image. Thus, if there are images (the first and second images) whose display is switched before and after the high-brightness effect, it can be considered that the image change process has been executed.

Furthermore, the reach予告演出 (reach notification effect) is an example of a text information display effect that displays text information (in this case, dynamically). It is possible to execute a text information display start effect (a first specific effect performed when the display of text information begins) and an end effect (a second specific effect performed when the display of text information ends). After the execution of the text information display start effect (during the first specific effect), a display mode change process (a specific display process that displays text information in a specific display mode) (Figures 30(l) to (p)) is executed to change the display mode of the text information, and the display mode change process (specific display process) is not executed during the execution of the end effect (second specific effect). However, it is not limited to this, and it may also be configured to execute the display mode change process (specific display process) during the execution of the end effect (second specific effect). In this case, the display mode change effect that was started after the execution of the text information display start effect (during the first specific effect) will continue to be executed during the execution of the end effect (second specific effect). Furthermore, it is possible to configure the system to execute a different display mode change animation during the execution of the termination animation (second specific animation), distinct from the display mode change animation that started after the execution of the text information display start animation (during the first specific animation).

Furthermore, in the reach予告演出 (reach notification effect), there are two types of high-brightness effects: WO21, which is executed when the effect scenario is switched (high-brightness effect during scenario switching), and WO22, which is executed when the effect scenario is not switched (high-brightness effect when the scenario is not switched). In high-brightness effect WO21, the high-brightness image 170c is displayed in the first display pattern, while in high-brightness effect WO22, the high-brightness image 170d is displayed in the second display pattern, which is different from the first display pattern. High-brightness effect WO21 (Figures 29(a) to (f)) has a longer execution time than high-brightness effect WO22 (Figures 29(h) to 30(l)). As mentioned above, the minimum transmittance (transmittance performance) of the high-brightness images differs between high-brightness effect WO21 and high-brightness effect WO22. The high-brightness image 170d of high-brightness effect WO22 has a higher minimum transmittance than the high-brightness image 170c of high-brightness effect WO21. However, the minimum transmittance of the high-brightness image 170d of high-brightness effect WO22 may be smaller than that of the high-brightness image 170c of high-brightness effect WO21, or they may be approximately the same. Furthermore, other transmittance performance characteristics, such as the maximum range (size) of the high-brightness image and the transmittance distribution, may also differ between high-brightness effect WO21 and high-brightness effect WO22. In this case, high-brightness effect WO21 may be large and high-brightness effect WO22 may be small, or high-brightness effect WO21 may be small and high-brightness effect WO22 may be large.

Furthermore, in the reach予告演出 (reach予告演出), it is possible to execute a first dynamic display演出 in which the dialogue string moves toward a predetermined display position at a first change speed (in this case, an action involving rotation and shrinking), and a second dynamic display演出 in which the dialogue string moves at a second change speed (in this case, slower than the first change speed) that is different from the change speed during the first dynamic display演出 (first change speed), for example, by slowly shrinking and displaying. During the second dynamic display演出, a display mode change process (specific display process that displays the text information in a specific display mode) is executed to change the display mode (in this case, the display color) of the dialogue string (text information), and the display mode change process (specific display process) is not executed during the first dynamic display演出. Note that the display mode change process (specific display process) is executed within the outline of the dialogue string (text information). In addition, during the first dynamic display演出, a text information display start演出 (first specific performance that is performed when the display of text information is started) is performed to start displaying the dialogue string (text information). During the execution of the ending animation (the second specific animation performed when ending the display of dialogue strings (text information)), the display appearance of the dialogue strings (display color and shape) does not change (specific display processing is not executed).

Furthermore, the reach予告演出 (reach notification effect) consists of a first dynamic display period in which the dialogue string is dynamically displayed at a first change speed toward a predetermined display position, and a second dynamic display period in which the dialogue string is dynamically displayed at a second change speed slower than the first change speed. The second dynamic display period (Figures 30(l) to (p)) is longer than the first dynamic display period (Figures 29(f) to (h)). Also, during the first dynamic display period, a text information display start effect (first specific effect) is executed when the display of the dialogue string (text information) begins, and after the second dynamic display period, an end effect (second specific effect) is executed when the display of the dialogue string (text information) ends. Note that the second dynamic display period is longer than the time it takes for the mini symbol 165 to complete one cycle. The first dynamic display period is also longer than the time it takes for the mini symbol 165 to complete one cycle.

Furthermore, the reach予告演出 (reach notification effect) is an example of a text information display effect, and it is possible to execute a text information display start effect (first specific effect) when the display of text information begins, and an end effect (second specific effect) when the display of text information ends. After the execution of the text information display start effect, a display mode change process (specific display process that displays text information in a specific display mode) (Figures 30(l) to (p)) is executed to change the display mode of the text information, and the display mode change process (specific display process) is not executed while the end effect is being executed.

Furthermore, in the reach予告演出 (reach notification effect), there are two types of high-brightness effects: WO21, which can be executed when the reach notification image 171 is changed from the first image to the second image; and WO22, which can be executed when the reach notification image (predetermined image) 171 is not changed (no image change processing is performed). The execution times of WO21 and WO22 are approximately the same, and the execution time of both WO21 and WO22 is longer than the time it takes for the mini symbols 165 to complete one cycle. Note that the execution time of WO21 may be longer than that of WO22, or vice versa.

Furthermore, the minimum transmittance of the high-brightness images differs between the high-brightness effect (high-brightness effect when the image changes) WO21 and the high-brightness effect (high-brightness effect when the image does not change) WO22. Specifically, the high-brightness image 170c in high-brightness effect WO21 has a minimum transmittance of 25%, while the high-brightness image 170d in high-brightness effect WO22 has a minimum transmittance of 40%. Therefore, the minimum transmittance of the high-brightness image 170d in high-brightness effect WO22 is higher than that of the high-brightness image 170c in high-brightness effect WO21.

The various configurations described above for the reach予告演出 (reach予告演出) are not limited to this reach予告演出, but can also be similarly adopted for other various effects (preview effects and partial effects). For example, the various configurations of the high-brightness effects WO21, WO22, and the ending effect in the reach予告演出 may be adopted for the aforementioned step-up preview effect, the button preview effects 1 and 2 described later, the dialogue preview effect, etc. In other words, if an effect (preview) involves the execution of high-brightness effects or ending effects, the content of the high-brightness effects WO21, WO22, and ending effect in this preview演出 may be configured to be adopted in other effects. Furthermore, it goes without saying that the text information display start effect and display mode change processing executed in conjunction with this can also be similarly adopted.

[Button notification effect 1]
Figures 32 to 35 show an example of a button notification effect 1 that is executed during a reach variation in a reach variation pattern. This button notification effect (operation effect) 1 is an effect that requests the player to operate the chance button (operation means) 11 (related to the player's operation of the operation means), and suggests the probability of a big win by executing a predetermined post-operation effect based on the fulfillment of one or more conditions, including when the chance button 11 is operated during the operation valid period. There are several types of post-operation effects, for example, two types: post-operation success effects and post-operation failure effects, with post-operation success effects indicating a higher probability of a big win than post-operation failure effects.

Next, a specific example of the button notification effect 1 will be explained, using the case where the post-operation success effect is selected as the post-operation effect. First, an overview will be explained with reference to Figure 32. When the button notification effect 1 starts after a reach is established in the reach variation pattern, the speaker begins outputting BGM 3 related to this button notification effect 1 as background music. On the display screen DSa, the left decorative symbols 164a and right decorative symbols 164b that constitute the reach remain visible, while the middle decorative symbol 164c, which is in high-speed variation mode, is hidden. The hold base image 168 is displayed at the lower end, and the mini-symbol 165 is displayed at the upper end. Behind these, the button notification effect image 173 related to the button introduction effect BA0 is displayed (Figure 32(a), (b)).

In the button introduction animation BA0, the button notification image 173 displays, for example, a character image 174 with a serious expression and a text image 175 with text such as "Make the character laugh," in that order. Players who see this can recognize that the animation suggests the possibility of a jackpot depending on whether the character laughs or not. Furthermore, in this button introduction animation BA0 (Figures 32(a), (b)), for example, at the start, a predetermined introductory sound is output from the speaker as a sound effect, and in conjunction with the display of the text image 175, a voice line corresponding to the text image 175, namely "Make the character laugh," is output. Additionally, during this button introduction animation BA0 (Figures 32(a), (b)), at least a portion of the animation lamp L (here, both the frame-side lamp La and the panel-side lamp Lb) illuminates in a predetermined illumination pattern corresponding to this button introduction animation BA0, for example, in light blue.

Following the button introduction animation BA0 (Figures 32(a) and (b)), an operation prompt animation BA1 (Figures 32(c) to (d)) is performed, displaying an operation prompt image 176 that encourages the user to operate the control device. Here, the operation prompt image 176 consists of a button image (operation target image) 176a indicating the target of operation, and an operation method notification image 176b indicating the operation method for the target of operation. For example, it is displayed approximately in the center of the screen, replacing the text image 175 that reads "Make the character laugh." The operation method notification image 176b consists of an arrow indicating the direction of pressure on the target of operation and the text "PUSH."

In this embodiment, the target of operation is the chance button 11. However, the chance button 11 mounted on the pachinko machine GM, as shown in Figure 1, is roughly rectangular in front view and configured to be pressed backward, which is not typical. Therefore, in Figure 32 and subsequent drawings, in order to make the content of the image presentation easier to understand, we have deliberately used an operation guidance image 176 that assumes a more typical chance button (here, roughly circular in plan view and pressed roughly downward). The same applies to the operation guidance image 206 (Figure 44, etc.) and button image 251 (Figure 78, etc.) described later. However, in the following explanation, we will proceed under the assumption that the operation guidance images 176, 206, and button image 251 correspond to the chance button 11. Of course, in an actual pachinko machine, the button image 176a and operation mode notification image 176b corresponding to the shape and operation mode of the chance button (operating means) mounted on that pachinko machine should be used.

Furthermore, during the execution of the operation prompting effect BA1, a high-brightness effect WO31 is executed, which reduces the visibility of the image behind the high-brightness image 170e (in this case, the operation prompting image 176) by displaying the high-brightness image 170e (Figure 32(c)). This high-brightness effect WO31 can emphasize the appearance of the operation prompting image 176, i.e., the start of the operation validity period. During this high-brightness effect WO31, the output of the BGM3 related to the button notification effect 1 continues. Also, at the start of the high-brightness effect WO31, a predetermined first emphasis sound is output as a sound effect. Also, during the high-brightness effect WO31, at least a part of the effect lamp L (in this case, both the frame-side lamp La and the panel-side lamp Lb) emits light in a first high-brightness emission mode, for example, in blue. Although not shown, a gauge section indicating the elapsed status of the operation validity period may also be displayed. In this case, the gauge section begins displaying at the time the high-brightness image 170e finishes displaying (Figure 32(d)), and the display mode of the gauge section changes according to the elapsed operation validity period. Furthermore, the display range of the high-brightness image 170e may be configured to overlap with the area where the gauge section is scheduled to be displayed, or it may be configured to overlap only with the operation prompt image, without overlapping with the area where the gauge section is scheduled to be displayed. Alternatively, the high-brightness image may be displayed overlapping with the character image. Also, the execution time of the high-brightness effect WO31 may be configured to differ from the execution times of the high-brightness effects WO21 and WO22. In this case, the former may be longer or shorter than the latter.

During the operation prompting effect BA1, the output of BGM3 related to button notification effect 1 continues even after the high-brightness effect WO31 ends. Furthermore, after the high-brightness effect WO31 ends, at least a portion of the effect lamps L (in this case, both the frame-side lamp La and the panel-side lamp Lb) illuminate in an operation-waiting mode, for example, flashing blue.

During the operation prompting effect BA1, i.e., when the chance button 11 is operated, a high-brightness effect WO32 is performed by displaying a high-brightness image 170f, thereby reducing the visibility of the image behind the high-brightness image 170f (in this case, the operation prompting image 176) (Figure 32(e)). At the same time, during the high-brightness effect WO32, the post-operation success effect BA2A is started as the post-operation effect BA2. Here, in the high-brightness effect WO32, the display of the high-brightness image 170f is started in the range corresponding to the operation prompting image 176 (Figure 32(e)), and while the high-brightness image 170f is displayed (during the high-brightness effect WO32), the operation prompting image 176 is removed from the screen, and for example, a character image 174 with a serious expression starts a predetermined operation (Figure 32(f)). In that case, the transmittance of the high-brightness image 170f in the high-brightness effect WO32 may be reduced, and the operation prompt image 176 may be made invisible and then removed from the screen.

Then, by displaying the high-brightness image 170g, a high-brightness effect WO33 is performed (Figure 32(g)) that reduces the visibility of the image behind the high-brightness image 170g (in this case, the character image 174). During this high-brightness effect WO33, the character image 174 changes from a serious expression to a smiling one. In this case, the transmittance of the high-brightness image 170g in the high-brightness effect BA33 may be increased, and the character image 174 may be changed while remaining visible (though visibility is reduced).

During the execution of the post-operation success animation BA2A, the output of BGM3 related to button notification animation 1 continues. Furthermore, at the start of high-brightness animations WO32 and WO33, the second and third emphasized sounds are output as sound effects, respectively. During high-brightness animation WO32, at least a portion of the animation lamp L (here, both the frame-side lamp La and the panel-side lamp Lb) illuminates in the second high-brightness illumination mode, for example, white. Then, during high-brightness animation WO33, at least a portion of the animation lamp L (here, both the frame-side lamp La and the panel-side lamp Lb) illuminates in the success illumination mode, for example, red. After the end of high-brightness animation WO32, the animation lamp L is temporarily turned off until the start of high-brightness animation WO33. In the case of a post-operation failure animation, during high-brightness animation WO33, the animation lamp illuminates in a failure illumination mode different from the success illumination mode, for example, green.

After the above operations, when the successful animation BA2A ends, the jackpot variation result animation is performed, and the central decorative symbol 164c stops, resulting in a jackpot animation pattern such as "7-7-7" (Figure 32(h)). During this jackpot variation result animation, a jackpot stop sound is output as a sound effect, and at least a portion of the animation lamp L (in this case, both the frame-side lamp La and the panel-side lamp Lb) lights up in a jackpot stop illumination pattern, for example, flashing red.

Next, we will explain in more detail the duration of the button notification effect 1 shown in Figure 32, focusing on the button introduction effect BA0 and the high-brightness effects WO31-33. Figure 33 shows the changes in the display screen and light-emitting means at even smaller time intervals than in Figure 32, for the periods shown in Figures 32(a)-(b), Figure 34 for the periods shown in Figures 32(c)-(d), and Figure 35 for the periods shown in Figures 32(e)-(g). Note that in Figures 33-35, the time interval between adjacent frames is the same, and is set to A milliseconds, the same as in Figures 24-26 in the step-up notification effect.

First, let's explain the details of the button introduction animation BA0. In the button introduction animation BA0, as shown in Figures 33(a) to (e), the text image 175 of "Make the character laugh" is displayed on the screen, appearing sequentially from the beginning to the end of the text at a predetermined speed. This text image 175 is displayed in a common manner regardless of whether a success animation or a failure animation is selected as the post-operation animation. That is, the text image 175 is an example of non-specific text information that does not have reliability information attached, which is based on the reliability of the appearance of a predetermined event (e.g., jackpot reliability). The time required from the start of displaying the text image 175 to its completion (i.e., when the text image 175 becomes easily recognizable) (Figures 33(a) to 33(e)) is 4A milliseconds.

Here, the text string image 175 uses red (specific color) and white (non-specific color) as character colors. The first character of each line, i.e., "Ki" in "Kya wo" in the first column and "Warawarero" in the second column, is displayed in red, while the other characters are displayed in white (non-specific color). The number of characters without red (specific color) is greater than the number of characters with red (specific color). Furthermore, during the button introduction animation BA0 (Figures 32(a), (b)) in which the text string image 175 is displayed, at least a portion of the animation lamp L (here, both the frame-side lamp La and the panel-side lamp Lb) illuminates in the introduction illumination mode (Figures 32(a), (b)). However, the illumination color in this introduction illumination mode is not corresponding to the specific color (red), for example, light blue (Figures 33(a) to (e)). Note that when displaying the text string image 175, the animation lamp L may illuminate in a color corresponding to the specific color.

Furthermore, the text color of the text image 175 may be set to red (a specific color), and the effect lamp L may be configured to emit light in a color different from red (the specific color). Also, if the text color of the text image 175 is set to red (the specific color), but it is not used as a color to indicate reliability, it is desirable to make the outline of the text image 175 different from the outline of the text when red (the specific color) is used as a color to indicate reliability. In this case, the outline of the text when red (the specific color) is used as a color to indicate reliability may be set to red (the specific color), or another color may be used. If another color is used, it is desirable to use a color that is not used when it is not used as a color to indicate reliability. In addition to the color of the outline, the thickness and shape of the outline may also be made different. Furthermore, the sound effect when displaying the text image may be made different. For example, the sound effect may not be output when it is not used as a color to indicate reliability, and the sound effect may be output when it is used as a color to indicate reliability. Furthermore, if the text color of the text image 175 is entirely red (a specific color), but it is not used as a color to indicate reliability, it is desirable to use a color other than red (the specific color) for the outline of the text image 175. In this case, the thickness and shape of the text outline may be extended so that the outline area exceeds the display area of the red (specific color) portion of the text. Alternatively, the thickness and shape of the outline of only specific characters in the text image 175 may be made different. When such outline representation is used, even if the text color is red (the specific color), it may be configured not to be used as a color to indicate reliability. In this case, the text color of characters other than the specific character may be red (the specific color) or a color other than red (the specific color). Conversely, such visual representation may be used only when the color is used to indicate reliability, and not when the color is not used to indicate reliability.

As described above, in the string image 175, red (a specific color) is used as the character color. However, as stated above, the string image 175 is non-specific character information to which reliability information is not attached, and this red (specific color) does not suggest the reliability of the appearance of a predetermined event (such as the reliability of a big win). In this way, in the string image 175, by using multiple colors, including the specific color, as the display color for each character, the appearance of the string can be diversified and made more visually appealing. Moreover, since the specific color is used for only some characters, and the performance lamp L is set to light up with a color that does not correspond to the specific color (light blue), the possibility of misunderstanding that this specific color suggests reliability can be reduced. Furthermore, when the performance lamp L is set to light up with a color that does not correspond to the specific color, the performance lamp L may be set to light up with a color corresponding to the character color composed of colors other than the specific color in the string image 175. For example, if, in the text string image 175, certain characters are displayed using red (a specific color), and the other characters are displayed using white (a non-specific color), the effect lamp L may be configured to emit white light (a non-specific color). Alternatively, the effect lamp L may be configured to emit light based on the outline color of the characters. For example, if the outline color of the characters is yellow (a non-specific color), the effect lamp L may be configured to emit yellow light (a non-specific color).

However, the system is not limited to this, and the string image 175 may be configured to display in a way that indicates the reliability of the appearance of a predetermined event (such as the reliability of a big win or the expected success rate of a button notification effect). In that case, even if the system is configured to display the string image 175 in any of several display ways that indicate different levels of reliability, it is desirable that the high-brightness effects executed afterward be the same. Furthermore, the system is not limited to this, and if the system is configured to display the string image 175 in any of several display ways that indicate different levels of reliability, it is also possible to configure the system to execute different high-brightness effects depending on whether a low-reliability string image 175 is displayed or a high-reliability string image 175 is displayed. For example, the system may be configured to display a wider area of the high-brightness image when displaying a high-reliability string image 175. In other words, when displaying a low-reliability text image 175, a high-brightness image may be displayed in the area overlapping with the operation prompt image. Conversely, when displaying a high-reliability text image 175, the high-brightness image may be configured to overlap not only with the operation prompt image but also with all or at least one of the other displayed elements, such as patterns, button prompts, character images, and background effects. Conversely, when displaying a low-reliability text image 175, the high-brightness image may be displayed over a wider area.

Next, we will explain the details of the high-brightness effect WO31. In the high-brightness effect (first range high-brightness effect) WO31 shown in Figures 34(a) to (e), at its start, a high-brightness image 170e is displayed in front of the button notification effect image 173 and behind the mini-symbols 165, the hold base image 168, and the hold images X1-X4, Y1-Y4 in front of it (Figure 34(a)). The size and transparency of the high-brightness image 170e gradually change and eventually disappear (Figure 34(e)). Here, the high-brightness image 170e is displayed in a size (range) corresponding to a part of the button notification effect image 173, in this case, the area between the left and right decorative symbols 164a and 164b. Its transparency is uniform within its display range, and its size (range) and transparency change over time.

When the display of the high-brightness image 170e begins (Figure 34(a)), the text image 175 is erased at that point, and the operation prompt image 176 is displayed within the display range of the high-brightness image 170e. The size (range) of the high-brightness image 170e is at its maximum at the start of display (Figure 34(a)) and is configured to gradually decrease over time. That is, the high-brightness effect WO31 consists of an expansion change effect that changes the size (range) of the high-brightness image 170e in the expansion direction, and a reduction change effect that changes it in the reduction direction, with the latter (Figures 34(a) to (e)) taking longer to execute than the former (Figure 34(a)). If the system is configured to display one of several types of operation prompt images, the display size of the high-brightness image may be configured to differ depending on the operation prompt image to be displayed. Furthermore, when displaying an action prompt image corresponding to high reliability (high probability of winning a jackpot or success in a button prompt animation) among multiple types of action prompt images, the display range of the high-brightness image may be configured to be wider than when displaying an action prompt image corresponding to low reliability. In this case, a larger display size may be adopted for the action prompt image corresponding to high reliability than for the action prompt image corresponding to low reliability, and a high-brightness image corresponding to the display size of the action prompt image may be displayed so that the action prompt image is displayed within the display range of the high-brightness image, and the display size of the high-brightness image may differ depending on the reliability. Also, when displaying an action prompt image corresponding to high reliability, the high-brightness image may be displayed over an even wider area than the display size of the action prompt image, so that it overlaps with all or at least one of the symbols, button prompt animation character images, background images, etc.

Furthermore, the transmittance of the high-brightness image 170e is set to a minimum (e.g., 10%) at the start of display (Figure 34(a)) and gradually increases (rises) over time at a constant rate (transmittance change processing, transmittance change effect). Specifically, the high-brightness effect WO31 consists of a low-transmittance change effect that decreases the transmittance of the high-brightness image 170e and a high-transmittance change effect that increases the transmittance of the high-brightness image 170e. The execution time for the latter (Figures 34(a) to (e)) is longer than that for the former (Figure 34(a)).

During the high-brightness effect WO31, the effect lamp L emits light in the first high-brightness emission mode (blue in this case) (Figures 34(a) to (d)). Note that in the high-brightness image 170e, the minimum transmittance is greater than 0% (for example, 10%), and even at the start of display when this minimum transmittance occurs (Figure 34(a)), the operation prompt image 176 is still slightly visible. However, the minimum transmittance of the high-brightness image 170e may be 0%. Furthermore, only the size of the high-brightness image 170e may be changed while the transmittance remains constant, or only the transmittance may be changed while the size remains constant. Also, the transmittance of the high-brightness image 170e may be non-uniform. Additionally, the execution time of the high-transmittance change effect may be shorter than that of the low-transmittance change effect, or the execution times of both may be approximately the same.

When the high-brightness image 170e disappears and the high-brightness effect WO31 ends (Figure 34(e)), the operation prompt image 176 is dynamically displayed to show the action of pressing the chance button 11 until the operation validity period ends (Figure 34(f)). During this time, the effect lamp L illuminates in an operation-waiting illumination mode (here, blue blinking). The operation-waiting illumination mode of the effect lamp L may be set to off. Furthermore, some effect lamps may blink blue and others may be off, or some effect lamps may be off and others may blink blue. The operation validity period may begin when the operation prompt image 176 is displayed, i.e., when the high-brightness effect WO31 begins (Figure 34(a)), when the high-brightness image 170e disappears, i.e., when the high-brightness effect WO31 ends (Figure 34(e)), or at any timing in between.

Next, we will explain the details of the high-brightness effects WO32 and WO33. When the chance button 11 is operated during the operation valid period (Figure 34(f)), the game transitions from the operation promotion effect BA1 to the post-operation success effect BA2A, and the high-brightness effect WO32 is performed first (Figure 35(a)). In this high-brightness effect (second range high-brightness effect) WO32, similar to the high-brightness effect WO31, the high-brightness image 170f is displayed in front of the button notification effect image 173 and behind the mini-symbol 165, the hold base image 168, and the hold images X1-X4 and Y1-Y4 in front of it (Figure 35(a)). The size and transparency of the high-brightness image 170f gradually change and eventually disappear (Figure 35(d)). However, the changes in the high-brightness image 170f differ from those of the high-brightness image 170e in the high-brightness effect WO31 (Figures 34(a)-(e)).

In other words, the high-brightness image 170f is configured to start displaying at a size (range) corresponding to the operation prompt image 176 (Figure 35(a)), then gradually increase in size (range) over time, reaching its maximum at a predetermined point (Figure 35(b)), and then gradually decrease in size over time until it finally disappears (Figures 35(b) to (d)). Thus, the high-brightness effect WO32 consists of an expansion effect that changes the size (range) of the high-brightness image 170f in the expansion direction, and a reduction effect that changes it in the reduction direction, with the latter (Figures 35(b) to (d)) having a longer execution time than the former (Figures 35(a) to (b)). Furthermore, the maximum range (second range) of the high-brightness image 170f in the high-brightness effect (second range high-brightness effect) WO32 is wider than the maximum range (first range) of the high-brightness image 170e in the high-brightness effect (first range high-brightness effect) WO31.

Furthermore, the high-brightness image 170f is configured such that, for example, its transmittance is uniform and changes over time (transmittance change processing, transmittance change effect), and the transmittance gradually decreases over time, reaching a minimum at a predetermined point (Figures 35(a) to (b)), and then gradually increases over time (Figures 35(b) to (d)). That is, the high-brightness effect WO32 consists of a low-transmittance change effect that changes the transmittance of the high-brightness image 170f in the decreasing direction, and a high-transmittance change effect that changes the transmittance of the high-brightness image 170f in the increasing direction, with the latter (Figures 35(b) to (d)) taking longer to execute than the former (Figures 35(a) to (b)). Note that the minimum transmittance of the high-brightness image 170f is set to be greater than 0% (for example, 20%), but it may be 0%. Also, only the size of the high-brightness image 170f may be changed while the transmittance remains constant, or only the transmittance may be changed while the size remains constant. Furthermore, the transmittance of the high-brightness image 170f may be non-uniform. Also, the execution time for the high-transmittance change effect may be shorter than that for the low-transmittance change effect, or the execution times for both may be approximately the same.

Furthermore, the high-brightness effect WO31 and high-brightness effect WO32 may be configured to have different minimum transmittance (transparency performance) of the high-brightness image, or different display ranges (transparency performance) of the high-brightness image. In this case, it is desirable that the minimum transmittance of the high-brightness image in high-brightness effect WO32 be lower than that of high-brightness effect WO31, and that the display range of the high-brightness image in high-brightness effect WO32 be larger than that of high-brightness effect WO31. This allows for the execution of different high-brightness effects before and after the display of the operation prompt image, or before and after the player operates the operation means, and furthermore, a more impactful high-brightness effect can be executed upon success after the operation.

During the high-brightness effect WO32, the operation prompt image 176 is first erased behind the high-brightness image 170f (Figure 35(a) → (b)), and then the character image 174 rotates while maintaining a serious expression and performs other predetermined actions (Figures 35(b) to (d)). Also during the high-brightness effect WO32, the effect lamp L illuminates in the second high-brightness emission mode (white in this case) (Figures 34(a) to (c)). After the high-brightness effect WO32 ends, the character image 174 enlarges and switches from a serious expression to a smile (Figure 35(d) → (e)), at which point the high-brightness effect WO33 is performed.

The high-brightness effect WO33 is designed to emphasize that the character image 174 has changed to a smiling face. At the moment the character image 174 changes from a serious expression to a smile, a high-brightness image 170g corresponding to the display area of the character image 174 is displayed (Figure 35(e)). When the high-brightness effect WO33 ends due to the disappearance of the high-brightness image 170g, the smiling character image 174 becomes fully visible (Figure 35(f)). The effect lamp L also turns off after the high-brightness effect WO32, and then illuminates in the successful illumination mode (red in this case) from the high-brightness effect WO33 onward (Figures 35(d) to (f)).

Here, the minimum transmittance of the high-brightness image 170g is assumed to be greater than 0% (for example, 10%), but it may also be 0%. Furthermore, the transmittance of the high-brightness image 170g is assumed to be uniform, but it may also be non-uniform. Note that the execution time of this high-brightness effect WO33 (display time of the high-brightness image 170g) is shorter than the execution times of high-brightness effects WO31 and WO32. Also, the maximum range (second range) of the high-brightness image 170g in high-brightness effect WO33 is wider than the maximum range (first range) of the high-brightness image 170e in high-brightness effect WO31.

As described above, based on the operation of the chance button 11, high-brightness effects (second high-brightness effects) WO32 and WO33 are performed, and during the execution of these high-brightness effects WO32 and WO33, the post-operation success effect (post-operation effect) BA2A is executed.

As explained above, the button notification effect 1 can execute a high-brightness effect (first range high-brightness effect) WO31 that displays a high-brightness image 170e in a first range, and a high-brightness effect (second range high-brightness effect) WO32 that displays a high-brightness image 170f in a second range wider than the first range. It can also execute an operation prompting effect that displays an operation prompting image 176 to prompt the operation of the chance button (operating means) 11, and a post-operation effect that is performed after the chance button 11 is operated. The high-brightness effect WO31 can be executed while the operation prompting effect is being executed, the high-brightness effect WO32 can be executed when the chance button 11 is operated, and the post-operation effect can be executed while the high-brightness effect WO32 is being executed. Note that the high-brightness image displayed in front of the operation prompting image 176 and the high-brightness image displayed in front of the character image 174 may be configured to have different transparency rates. In this case, the high-brightness image displayed in front of the operation prompt image 176 may have lower transparency, and the high-brightness image displayed in front of the character image 174 may have higher transparency, or vice versa.

The various configurations in Button Notification Effect 1 described above are not limited to Button Notification Effect 1, but can also be similarly applied to other types of effects (notification effects and partial effects). For example, the various configurations of the high-brightness effects WO31, WO32, WO33, etc. in Button Notification Effect 1 may be applied to the aforementioned step-up notification effect, reach notification effect, and the dialogue notification effect described later.

[Dialogue preview 1]
Figures 36 to 40 show an example of a dialogue予告演出1 that is executed during a normal variation in a reach variation pattern or a normal variation pattern, or during a reach variation in a reach variation pattern. This dialogue予告演出1 is an effect in which a character speaks a line of dialogue, and as shown in Figure 36, the probability of winning a jackpot is controlled to differ depending on the type of dialogue, the type of character, the display method of the dialogue text, etc. In this embodiment of the dialogue予告演出1, as shown in Figure 36, there are six different performance modes that differ in combination of five types of dialogue L1 to L5 (Figure 36(b)) - "I feel a curse", "The key to breaking the curse is here", "This is...", "I drew a fortune slip and it was a great luck", and "I feel great", and two types of characters C1 and C2 (Figure 36(c)) - a boy and a girl. The probability of winning a jackpot for these six performance modes is set as shown in Figure 36(a). Furthermore, the dialogue characters corresponding to dialogue lines L1 to L5 are displayed in different display modes (in this case, display colors), and the respective display colors are "blue,""red,""gold,""dangercolor," and "rainbow" (Figure 36(b)).

Furthermore, the same number of presentation modes (for example, 6 types) may be provided for each character C1 and C2, or the number of presentation modes may differ, such as L3-L5 for character C1 and L1-L5 for character C2. Also, multiple presentation modes may be provided for a single display mode related to a string (for example, red), and in this case, the number of presentation modes for a single display mode related to a string (for example, red) may differ for each character. That is, for example, when the text color is red, there may be two types of presentation modes for character C1 and one type for character C2. When multiple presentation modes are provided for a single display mode related to a string (for example, display color), it is desirable to differ the dialogue content for each presentation mode.

Next, a specific example of the dialogue予告演出1 will be explained using the case where dialogue L5 and character C1 are selected, but first, an overview will be explained with reference to Figure 37. When dialogue予告演出1 is started during a normal variation in a reach variation pattern or a normal variation pattern (or during a reach variation in a reach variation pattern), the speaker starts outputting BGM4 related to this dialogue予告演出1 as background music, and on the display screen DSa, the decorative symbols 164 are hidden, and the hold base image 168 is displayed at the lower end and the mini symbols 165 are displayed at the upper end. Behind these, the dialogue予告演出 image 181a related to the dialogue予告演出 SA1, in which, for example, two types of characters C1 and C2 appear together, is displayed (Figure 37(a)). Also, during the dialogue予告演出 SA1, at least a part of the effect lamp L (here, both the frame-side lamp La and the panel-side lamp Lb) lights up in the dialogue予告演出 mode, for example, in white.

Then, the sequence transitions from the first half of the dialogue sequence (SA1) to the second half (SA2). The dialogue preview image 181a (Figure 37(a)) is switched to the dialogue preview image 181b (Figure 37(c)) related to the second half of the dialogue sequence (SA2) via the high-brightness sequence WO41 (Figure 37(b)). At least a portion of the sequence lamp L (here, both the frame-side lamp La and the panel-side lamp Lb) is switched from the first half of the dialogue illumination mode (here, white) to the second half of the dialogue illumination mode (here, orange). Here, the high-brightness sequence WO41 displays a high-brightness image 170h, thereby reducing the visibility of the images following that image (here, dialogue preview images 181a and 181b). Note that in dialogue preview image 181b, only one of the selected characters C1 and C2 (here, the boy character C1) is displayed.

During the high-brightness effect WO41 (Figure 37(b)), the BGM 4 related to the dialogue preview effect continues to be output. Additionally, as sound effects, a high-brightness first-half emphasis sound is output during the first half when the transparency of the high-brightness image 170h decreases, and a high-brightness second-half emphasis sound is output during the second half when the transparency increases.

When the high-brightness effect WO41 (Figure 37(b)) ends and the dialogue preview image 181b (Figure 37(c)) becomes fully visible (Figure 37(c)), the dialogue image 182 is added to the dialogue preview image 181b (Figure 37(d)). Here, the dialogue image 182 consists of a speech bubble image 182a and the dialogue text 182b displayed within the speech bubble image 182a. In this case, the dialogue text 182b consists of the string "I feel great."

Then, at a predetermined point after the display of the dialogue image 182 begins, the dialogue output effect starts, and the dialogue sound (preview voice) of "I feel great" corresponding to the dialogue characters 182b displayed on the screen is output. At the same time, the high-brightness effect WO42 is performed corresponding to the area of the dialogue image 182 within the dialogue preview effect image 181b (Figure 37(e)). In this high-brightness effect WO42, in accordance with the progress of the dialogue output, for example, by moving the high-brightness image 170i over the dialogue image 182 at a timing preceding the progress of the dialogue output, the visibility of the image behind the high-brightness image 170i (in this case, the dialogue characters 182b) is temporarily reduced.

Furthermore, after the display of the dialogue image 182 begins, at least a portion of the effect lamp L (in this case, both the frame-side lamp La and the panel-side lamp Lb) illuminates in the dialogue output illumination mode. The dialogue output illumination mode is a cyclical change mode that cyclically changes through multiple colors, including the illumination color of the previous dialogue's latter half illumination mode (in this case, orange and white).

Next, we will explain in more detail the duration of the dialogue予告演出 (preview effect) shown in Figure 25, focusing on the high-brightness effects WO41 and WO42. Figures 38 to 40 show the changes in the display screen and light-emitting means over the entire period of Figures 37(a) to (e), at even smaller time intervals than in Figure 37. Note that in Figures 38 to 40, the time interval between adjacent frames is the same, and is set to A milliseconds, the same as in Figures 24 to 26 in the step-up preview effect.

First, let's explain the details of the high-brightness effect WO41. In the high-brightness effect WO41 shown in Figures 38(a) to 39(r), when the dialogue予告 (preview) image 181a switches to the dialogue予告 (preview) image 181b, the high-brightness image 170h is displayed before the dialogue予告 (preview) images 181a and 181b, and after the mini-symbol 165, the hold base image 168, and the hold images X1-X4 and Y1-Y4 in front of it.

Here, the high-brightness image 170h is displayed within an area (size) that covers the entire dialogue preview images 181a and 181b, and its transmittance is uniform within that display area. The display area does not change over time, while the transmittance changes over time (transmittance change processing, transmittance change effect). The transmittance of the high-brightness image 170h is configured to gradually decrease over time, for example from 100% to 0% (Figures 38(a) to (i)), and then gradually increase over time, for example from 0% to 100% (Figures 39(j) to (r)). Furthermore, during the first half of the period when the transmittance of the high-brightness image 170h decreases, the effect lamp L emits light in the first half of the dialogue emission mode (in this case, white) (Figures 38(a) to (i)), and during the second half of the period when the transmittance of the high-brightness image 170h increases, the effect lamp L emits light in the second half of the dialogue emission mode (in this case, orange) (Figures 39(j) to (r)). Furthermore, the lighting pattern for the first half of the dialogue and the lighting pattern for the second half of the dialogue may be configured to use a common lighting pattern (e.g., white).

Furthermore, when the transmittance of the high-brightness image 170h becomes 0% and the image behind it becomes completely invisible (Figures 38(i) and 39(j)), the dialogue予告演出 image 181a is switched to the dialogue予告演出 image 181b. Thus, the high-brightness effect WO41 is configured to display the high-brightness image 170h before the effect image at the time of the image change. Also, when executed during a reach effect, the high-brightness image may be configured to display before the transition from the reach effect to the special reach effect.

Furthermore, during the first half of the high-brightness effect WO41's effect period, when the transmittance of the high-brightness image 170h decreases, for example, the transmittance values of the high-brightness image 170h in each frame of Figures 38(a) to (i) are 100% → 95% → 88% → 79% → 68% → 55% → 40% → 23% → 0%, respectively, and the rate of change and the amount of change of the transmittance gradually increase. That is, for example, if we define the rate of change of the transmittance of the high-brightness image 170h during the period from Figure 38(a) to (e) (first transmittance change effect) as the first rate of change and the amount of change as the first amount of change, and then define the rate of change of the transmittance of the high-brightness image 170h during the subsequent period from Figure 38(e) to (i) (second transmittance change effect) as the second rate of change and the amount of change as the second amount of change, then the second rate of change is larger than the first rate of change, and the second amount of change is larger than the first amount of change. In this way, gradually increasing the rate and amount of change in transparency prevents the transparency change animation from becoming monotonous. Furthermore, by gradually increasing the rate and amount of change in transparency towards the latter half, it is possible to allow the player to recognize the start of the transparency change animation and then transition to a low-transparency state relatively smoothly and quickly. Alternatively, the rate and amount of change in transparency may be gradually decreased. In this case, since the rate and amount of change decrease towards the latter half, it is possible to create a more lingering and impactful transparency change animation towards the end, while also preventing monotony and enhancing the overall effect.

Furthermore, during the latter half of the high-brightness effect WO41's effect period, when the transmittance of the high-brightness image 170h increases, for example, the transmittance values of the high-brightness image 170h in each frame of Figures 39(j) to (r) are 0% → 23% → 40% → 55% → 68% → 79% → 88% → 95% → 100%, respectively, and the rate of change and amount of change of the transmittance gradually decrease. That is, for example, if we define the rate of change of the transmittance of the high-brightness image 170h during the period from Figure 39(j) to (n) (second transmittance change effect) as the second rate of change and the amount of change as the second amount of change, and then define the rate of change of the transmittance of the high-brightness image 170h during the subsequent period from Figure 39(n) to (r) (first transmittance change effect) as the first rate of change and the amount of change as the first amount of change, then the second rate of change is larger than the first rate of change, and the second amount of change is larger than the first amount of change. Furthermore, the rate and amount of change in transmittance may be gradually increased. This prevents the transmittance change animation from becoming monotonous. Also, by gradually increasing the rate and amount of change in transmittance towards the latter half, it is possible to allow the player to recognize that the transmittance change animation has begun, and then transition to a low transmittance state relatively smoothly and quickly.

Furthermore, the second rate of change and second amount of change in the second transmittance change effect may be configured to be smaller than the first rate of change and first amount of change in the first transmittance change effect, or they may be configured to be approximately the same. Also, when the first and second transmittance change effects are configured to increase the rate of change and amount of change in transmittance, or to decrease the rate of change and amount of change in transmittance, it is desirable that the first rate of change and the second rate of change, and the first amount of change and the second amount of change, are different in either case. Even in this case, the second rate of change and the second amount of change may be configured to be larger than or smaller than the first rate of change and first amount of change. By making the first rate of change and the second rate of change, and the first amount of change and the second amount of change, it is possible to execute a wide variety of transmittance change effects and improve the effect.

Furthermore, during the execution of the high-brightness effect WO41, the mini-symbol 165 cycles multiple times from "8-2-4" (Figure 38(a)) to reach the point between "2-4-6" and "3-5-7" (Figure 39(r)). In other words, the execution time of the high-brightness effect WO41 (Figures 38(a) to 39(r)) is longer than the time it takes for the mini-symbol 165 to complete one cycle.

Next, the details of the high-brightness effect WO42 will be explained. When the dialogue preview image 181b becomes fully visible upon the end of the high-brightness effect WO41 (Figure 39(r)), a dialogue image 182 consisting of a speech bubble image 182a and dialogue text 182b is added to the dialogue preview image 181b (Figure 40(s)), and the dialogue sound (preview voice) of "I feel great" corresponding to the dialogue text 182b is output. The high-brightness effect WO42 (Figures 40(s) to (w)) is performed in response to the output of this dialogue sound. Here, the high-brightness effect WO42 displays a high-brightness image in front of the dialogue text in the order it is arranged, but it is not limited to this, and a high-brightness image may be displayed in front of all of the dialogue text. Furthermore, in this case, the high-brightness image is not limited to being displayed in front of the dialogue text in a way that completely covers all of it; it is acceptable if it roughly covers all of the dialogue text, even if some of the dialogue text remains visible (or easily visible) without overlapping with the high-brightness image.

Furthermore, the dialogue characters 182b have different jackpot reliability levels depending on their type and display mode (display color) (Figures 36(a), (b)), and are an example of specific character information to which reliability information is added, consisting of a display mode corresponding to the jackpot reliability level (reliability regarding the appearance of a predetermined event). During the high-brightness effect WO42, the effect lamp L illuminates in a dialogue output illumination mode (here, a cyclical change mode between orange and white) (Figures 40(s) to (w)). It is also possible to configure the system to execute different dialogue output illumination modes depending on the type of character selected. Alternatively, it may be configured to execute a common dialogue output illumination mode regardless of the selected character. Furthermore, it may be configured to execute a dialogue output illumination mode corresponding to the display color of the dialogue characters.

The high-brightness image 170i used in the high-brightness effect WO42 is approximately the size of one character of the dialogue characters 182b, and its transparency is set to a uniform value greater than 0% (for example, 20%). It moves on the dialogue image 182 in accordance with the progress of the dialogue output, for example, at a timing preceding the progress of the dialogue output (Figures 40(s) to (w)). Since the transparency of the high-brightness image 170i is greater than 0% (for example, 20%), the characters behind the high-brightness image 170i are also visible. However, it may be configured to display a high-brightness image with lower transparency so that the characters behind the image are not visible. In this way, the high-brightness effect WO42 is configured to display the high-brightness image 170i in accordance with the display area of the dialogue characters (specific character information) 182b. Furthermore, the system may be configured to sequentially display the dialogue characters 182b from the beginning, preceding the dialogue output, and to move and display the high-brightness image 170i in accordance with the display of the dialogue characters 182b.

Furthermore, during the execution of the high-brightness effect WO42, the mini-symbol 165 cycles from "5-7-1" (Figure 40(s)) to "7-1-3" (Figure 40(w)). In other words, the execution time of the high-brightness effect WO42 (Figure 40(s) to (w)) is longer than the time it takes for the mini-symbol 165 to complete one cycle.

As described above, in the dialogue preview effect 1, for example, if we define the rate of change in the transmittance of the high-brightness image 170h during the period from Figure 38(a) to (e) (first transmittance change effect) as the first change rate and the amount of change as the first change amount, and then define the rate of change in the transmittance of the high-brightness image 170h during the subsequent period from Figure 38(e) to (i) (second transmittance change effect) as the second change rate and the amount of change as the second change amount, then the second change rate is larger than the first change rate, and the second change amount is larger than the first change amount. Thus, when reducing the transmittance of the high-brightness image 170h, the second transmittance change effect is executed after the first transmittance change effect. Furthermore, for example, if we define the rate of change in the transmittance of the high-brightness image 170h during the period from Figure 39(j) to (n) (second transmittance change effect) as the second rate of change and the amount of change as the second amount of change, and then define the rate of change in the transmittance of the high-brightness image 170h during the subsequent period from Figure 39(n) to (r) (first transmittance change effect) as the first rate of change and the amount of change as the first amount of change, then the second rate of change is larger than the first rate of change, and the second amount of change is larger than the first amount of change. Thus, when increasing the transmittance of the high-brightness image 170h, the first transmittance change effect should be executed after the second transmittance change effect.

Furthermore, in dialogue予告演出1, there are two types of high-brightness effects: WO41, which can be executed when an image change process is performed to change the dialogue予告演出 image (predetermined image); and WO42, which can be executed when the dialogue予告演出 image (predetermined image) is not changed (no image change process is performed). High-brightness effect WO41 has a longer execution time than high-brightness effect WO42, and the execution time of high-brightness effect WO41 is longer than the time it takes for the mini symbol 165 to complete one cycle. Incidentally, the execution time of high-brightness effect WO42 is also longer than the time it takes for the mini symbol 165 to complete one cycle, but this can be shorter than the time it takes for the mini symbol 165 to complete one cycle.

Furthermore, the minimum transmittance of the high-brightness image differs between the high-brightness effect (high-brightness effect when image changes) WO41 and the high-brightness effect (high-brightness effect when image does not change) WO42. Specifically, the high-brightness image 170h in high-brightness effect WO41 has a minimum transmittance of 0%, while the high-brightness image 170i in high-brightness effect WO42 has a minimum transmittance greater than 0%, meaning that the minimum transmittance of high-brightness image 170i in high-brightness effect WO42 is greater than that of high-brightness image 170h in high-brightness effect WO41. Note that the minimum transmittance of high-brightness image 170i in high-brightness effect WO42 may be smaller than that of high-brightness image 170h in high-brightness effect WO41, or they may be approximately the same.

The various configurations in the above-described dialogue予告演出1 are not limited to this dialogue予告演出, but can also be similarly adopted in other various effects (preview effects and partial effects). For example, the various configurations in dialogue予告演出1, such as the high-brightness effects WO41 and WO42, and the dialogue output effect, may be adopted in the aforementioned step-up preview effect, reach preview effect, pseudo-consecutive preview effect, button preview effect 2, etc., which will be described later. It is also possible to configure the system to execute a dialogue preview effect by a character before the high-brightness effect WO41. In that case, it is desirable that the dialogue preview effect does not include any indication of reliability. Alternatively, the dialogue preview effect may include an indication of reliability, but it is desirable that the content of the indication of reliability is lower than that of the dialogue preview effect executed after the high-brightness effect WO41 (Figures 40(s) to (w)), and it may also be a dialogue preview effect that suggests the content to be executed in the dialogue preview effect (Figures 40(s) to (w)). Furthermore, the system may be configured to execute a dialogue preview during the period in the high-brightness effect WO41 when the transmittance of the high-brightness image decreases, for example, during the period shown in Figures 39(k) to (r). It is desirable that this dialogue preview does not include any indication of reliability. While the dialogue preview may include an indication of reliability, it is desirable that the content of the reliability indication is lower than that of the dialogue preview executed after the high-brightness effect WO41 (Figures 40(s) to (w)). The dialogue preview may also be designed to suggest the content that will be presented in the subsequent dialogue preview (Figures 40(s) to (w)).

[Pseudo-Consecutive Preview Production]
Figures 41 to 43 show an example of a pseudo-consecutive win notification effect that is performed during normal spins in a normal spin pattern. The pseudo-consecutive win notification effect is an effect in which multiple pseudo-symbol spins are performed by the decorative symbol 164 while the first and second special symbols spin once. When a pseudo-consecutive win display appears during the spin of the decorative symbol 164 (for example, when the middle decorative symbol 164c stops on a predetermined pseudo-consecutive win symbol such as "@"), a new pseudo-symbol spin is started. The more pseudo-symbol spins (number of pseudo-consecutive wins) there are, the higher the probability of winning a jackpot.

The following will explain a specific example of the pseudo-consecutive win notification effect, using the case where the first and second pseudo-symbol changes occur as examples. First, we will explain the overview with reference to Figure 41. When the pseudo-consecutive win notification effect is executed, for example, during a normal change in a reach change pattern or normal change pattern, BGM 5 related to the first pseudo-symbol change is output from the speaker as background music. At the same time, on the display screen DSa, for example, the decorative symbol 164 is hidden, and the hold base image 168 is displayed at the lower end, and the mini-symbol 165 is displayed at the upper end. Behind these, the first pseudo-consecutive win first half effect image 191a related to the first pseudo-symbol change first half effect (first pseudo-consecutive win first half effect PF1A) is displayed (Figure 41(a)).

The first pseudo-consecutive-reel animation image 191a includes a character image 192a of an arbitrary character (in this case, a kappa), and is expressed in a color scheme based on the first display color (in this case, blue) corresponding to the first pseudo-symbol variation. Furthermore, during the first pseudo-consecutive-reel animation PF1A, at least a portion of the animation lamp L (in this case, both the frame-side lamp La and the panel-side lamp Lb) illuminates in a first pseudo-consecutive-reel animation pattern corresponding to the first display color, for example, in blue.

Subsequently, the first pseudo-sequence first half animation image 191a is switched to the first pseudo-sequence second half animation image 194a, transitioning from the first pseudo-sequence first half animation PF1A (Figure 41(a)) to the first pseudo-sequence second half animation PF1B (Figure 41(c)). During this transition, a high-brightness animation WO51 (Figure 41(b)) is performed. Specifically, an arbitrary shape, for example, a rectangular first transition region 195a, is displayed in front of the first pseudo-sequence first half animation image 191a, and a part of the first pseudo-sequence second half animation image 194a is displayed within this first transition region 195a. However, in the high-brightness animation WO51, a high-brightness image 170j is displayed in the first transition region (first region) 195a, thereby reducing the visibility of the image behind the high-brightness image 170j (in this case, the first pseudo-sequence second half animation image 194a). Furthermore, during the high-brightness effect WO51, a text image 193a consisting of an arbitrary string of characters (in this case, "To begin...") is displayed on the screen, for example, outside the first transition area 195a.

During the high-brightness effect WO51 (Figure 41(b)), the BGM 5 related to the first pseudo-symbol variation continues to be output, and the first pseudo-consecutive high-brightness emphasis sound is output as a sound effect. Furthermore, during the high-brightness effect WO51, at least a portion of the effect lamps L (here, both the frame-side lamp La and the panel-side lamp Lb) illuminates in a first pseudo-consecutive high-brightness emission pattern corresponding to, for example, the first display color (e.g., blue flashing).

When the high-brightness image 170j disappears, the high-brightness effect WO51 (Figure 41(b)) ends, and the first pseudo-sequence second half effect image 194a within the first transition area 195a becomes fully visible. Then, the first transition area 195a expands to fill the entire screen, making the entire first pseudo-sequence second half effect image 194a visible (Figure 41(c)). Note that the first pseudo-sequence second half effect image 194a includes a character image 196a. This character image 196a uses the same type of character as character image 192a, but is displayed larger than character image 192a.

Subsequently, the display transitions to the symbol variation screen for the decorative symbol 164. The transition to the second pseudo-symbol variation is confirmed when the middle decorative symbol 164c stops at the pseudo-consecutive symbol "@" (a pseudo-consecutive symbol display appears) (Figure 41(d)). While the symbol variation screen is displayed, for example, the BGM output is stopped, and a symbol stop sound is output as a sound effect, coinciding with the stopping of decorative symbols 164a to 164c.

During the subsequent second pseudo-symbol variation, BGM 6 related to the second pseudo-symbol variation is output from the speaker as background music. Simultaneously, on the display screen DSa, for example, the decorative symbol 164 is hidden, and the hold base image 168 is displayed at the lower end, while the mini-symbol 165 is displayed at the upper end. Behind these, the second pseudo-symbol variation's first half performance image 191b (the second pseudo-symbol variation's first half performance PF2A) is displayed (Figure 41(e)).

The second pseudo-consecutive-reel animation image 191b includes a character image 192b of an arbitrary character (here, the same kappa as in the first pseudo-consecutive-reel animation image 191a), and is expressed in a color scheme based on the second display color (here, red) corresponding to the second pseudo-symbol variation. Furthermore, during the second pseudo-consecutive-reel animation PF2A, at least a portion of the animation lamp L (here, both the frame-side lamp La and the panel-side lamp Lb) illuminates in a second pseudo-consecutive-reel animation pattern corresponding to the second display color, in this case, red. In this embodiment, character images 192a and 192b are substantially identical images with different base colors.

Subsequently, the second pseudo-sequence first half animation image 191b is switched to the second pseudo-sequence second half animation image 194b, transitioning from the second pseudo-sequence first half animation PF2A (Figure 41(e)) to the second pseudo-sequence second half animation PF2B (Figure 41(g)). During this transition, a high-brightness animation WO52 (Figure 41(f)) is performed. Specifically, an arbitrary shape, for example, a rectangular second transition region 195b, is displayed in front of the second pseudo-sequence first half animation image 191b, and a part of the second pseudo-sequence second half animation image 194b is displayed within this second transition region 195b. However, the high-brightness animation WO52 displays a high-brightness image 170k in the second transition region (second region) 195b, thereby reducing the visibility of the image behind the high-brightness image 170k (in this case, the second pseudo-sequence second half animation image 194b). Furthermore, during the high-brightness effect WO51, a character image 193b consisting of an arbitrary string of characters (in this case, "Now...") is displayed on the screen, for example, inside the second transition area 195b. Note that the second transition area 195b is wider than the first transition area 195a. During the high-brightness effect WO52, the character image consisting of the string of characters may also be configured to be displayed outside the second transition area 195b.

During the high-brightness effect WO52 (Figure 41(f)), the BGM 6 related to the second pseudo-symbol variation continues to be output, and the second pseudo-consecutive high-brightness emphasis sound is output as a sound effect. Here, it is desirable that the first pseudo-consecutive high-brightness emphasis sound and the second pseudo-consecutive high-brightness emphasis sound are different emphasis sounds. If they are different emphasis sounds, it is desirable that the second pseudo-consecutive high-brightness emphasis sound is louder and more flashy than the first pseudo-consecutive high-brightness emphasis sound. Also, for the purpose of reducing audio data, the first and second pseudo-consecutive high-brightness emphasis sounds may be a common emphasis sound. Furthermore, during the high-brightness effect WO52, at least a portion of the effect lamps L (here, both the frame-side lamp La and the panel-side lamp Lb) illuminate in a second pseudo-consecutive high-brightness emission mode corresponding to, for example, the second display color (e.g., red flashing).

When the high-brightness image 170k disappears, the high-brightness effect WO52 (Figure 41(f)) ends, and the second pseudo-sequence second half effect image 194b within the second transition area 195b becomes fully visible. Then, the second transition area 195b expands to fill the entire screen, making the entire second pseudo-sequence second half effect image 194b visible (Figure 41(g)). The second pseudo-sequence second half effect image 194b includes a character image 196b. This character image 196b uses the same type of character as character image 192b and is displayed larger than character image 192b. In this embodiment, character images 196b and 196a use approximately the same image (excluding the base color), but character image 196b is displayed larger than character image 196a. However, this is not limited to this configuration; character images 196a and 196b may be configured to display at the same size.

Subsequently, the display transitions to the symbol variation screen for the decorative symbol 164. The transition to the third pseudo-symbol variation is confirmed when the middle decorative symbol 164c stops at the pseudo-consecutive symbol "@" (a pseudo-consecutive symbol display appears) (Figure 41(h)). While the symbol variation screen is displayed, for example, the BGM output is stopped, and a symbol stop sound is output as a sound effect, coinciding with the stopping of decorative symbols 164a to 164c.

Next, we will explain in more detail the duration of the pseudo-consecutive notification effect shown in Figure 41, focusing on the high-brightness effects WO51 and WO52. Figure 42 shows the changes in the display screen and light-emitting means at even smaller time intervals than in Figure 41, for the periods shown in Figures 41(a) to (c), and Figure 43 shows the changes for the periods shown in Figures 41(e) to (g). Note that in Figures 42 and 43, the time interval between adjacent frames is the same, and is set to A milliseconds, the same as in Figures 24 to 26 in the step-up notification effect.

First, let's explain the details of the high-brightness effect WO51. In the high-brightness effect WO51, a first transition area 195a of an arbitrary shape (here, a rectangle) is displayed in front of the first pseudo-sequence first half effect image 191a after a predetermined display start operation, in this case, an expansion operation centered on a predetermined point on the screen (Figures 42(a) to (c)). Simultaneously, a text image 193a consisting of an arbitrary string of characters (here, "Starting with...") is displayed outside the first transition area 195a. Within this first transition area 195a, a portion of the first pseudo-sequence second half effect image 194a is displayed from the start of its display. However, a high-brightness image 170j is superimposed and displayed in front of the first pseudo-sequence second half effect image 194a within the first transition area 195a. Therefore, the visibility of the first pseudo-sequence second half effect image 194a is reduced by the high-brightness image 170j.

In this embodiment, the high-brightness image 170j corresponds to the entire display range of the first transition area 195a, has uniform transmittance, and its transmittance at the start of display of the first transition area 195a is assumed to be 0%. Therefore, at the start of display of the first transition area 195a (Figures 42(b) to (c)), the first pseudo-sequence second half animation image 194a inside it is not visible. Of course, the transmittance of the high-brightness image 170j at the start of display of the first transition area 195a may be greater than 0%.

When the first transition area 195a is displayed at a predetermined size after a predetermined display start operation (Figure 42(c)), the transmittance of the high-brightness image 170j gradually increases over time (transmittance change processing, transmittance change effect), and consequently, the visibility of the first pseudo-sequence second half effect image 194a within the first transition area 195a gradually increases (Figures 42(c) to (g)). Then, when the transmittance of the high-brightness image 170j reaches 100%, the high-brightness image 170j disappears and the high-brightness effect WO51 ends (Figure 42(g)), the first transition area 195a expands to fill the entire screen, the character image 193a is removed from the screen, and the first pseudo-sequence first half effect image 191a is completely switched to the first pseudo-sequence second half effect image 194a (Figures 42(g) to (i)). During the high-brightness effect WO51, the effect lamp L illuminates in a first pseudo-continuous high-brightness emission mode (e.g., blue flashing) corresponding to the first display color (blue in this case).

Next, we will explain the details of the high-brightness effect WO52. In the high-brightness effect WO52, first, a second transition area 195b of an arbitrary shape (here, a rectangle) is displayed in front of the second pseudo-sequence first half effect image 191b after a predetermined display start operation, in this case, an expansion operation centered on a predetermined point on the screen (Figures 43(a) to (c)). At the same time, a text image 193b consisting of an arbitrary string of characters (here, "Now...") is displayed, for example, inside the second transition area 195b at a corresponding position. Note that within this second transition area 195b, a portion of the second pseudo-sequence second half effect image 194b is displayed from the start of its display. However, within the second transition area 195b, a high-brightness image 170k is superimposed and displayed in front of the second pseudo-sequence second half effect image 194b. Therefore, the visibility of the second pseudo-sequence second half effect image 194b is reduced by the high-brightness image 170k.

In this embodiment, the high-brightness image 170k corresponds to the entire display range of the second transition area 195b, has uniform transmittance, and its transmittance at the start of display of the second transition area 195b is assumed to be 0%. Therefore, the second pseudo-sequence second half animation image 194b is not visible at the start of display of the second transition area 195b. Of course, the transmittance of the high-brightness image 170k at the start of display of the second transition area 195b may be greater than 0%. Note that the size of the second transition area (second area) 195b after the predetermined display start operation is wider than the first transition area (first area) 195a.

When the first transition area 195a is displayed at a predetermined size after a predetermined display start operation (Figure 43(c)), the transmittance of the high-brightness image 170k gradually increases over time (transmittance change processing, transmittance change effect), and accordingly, the visibility of the second pseudo-sequence second half effect image 194b within the second transition area 195b gradually increases (Figures 43(c) to (g)). Then, when the transmittance of the high-brightness image 170k reaches 100%, the high-brightness image 170k disappears and the high-brightness effect WO52 ends (Figure 43(g)), the second transition area 195b expands to fill the entire screen, the character image 193b is removed from the screen, and the second pseudo-sequence first half effect image 191b is completely switched to the second pseudo-sequence second half effect image 194b. During the high-brightness effect WO52, the effect lamp L illuminates in a second pseudo-continuous high-brightness emission mode (e.g., red flashing) corresponding to the second display color (red in this case). It is also possible to configure the system to execute a common lamp effect for the pseudo-continuous effects shown in Figures 41(a) to (d) and the pseudo-continuous effects shown in Figures 41(e) to (h).

As explained above, in the pseudo-consecutive win notification effect, during the first pseudo-symbol variation, a high-brightness effect (specific first high-brightness effect) WO51 is executed, which displays a high-brightness image (specific first high-brightness image) 170j in the first transition area (first area) 195a so that the visibility of the character image (first character image) 196a changes. During the second pseudo-symbol variation, a high-brightness effect (specific second high-brightness effect) WO52 is executed, which displays a high-brightness image (specific second high-brightness image) 170k in the second transition area (second area) 195b so that the visibility of the character image (second character image) 196b changes. The second transition area (second area) 195b is wider than the first transition area (first area) 195a, and the character image (second character image) 196b is displayed larger than the character image (first character image) 196a.

Furthermore, the system may be configured to display a high-brightness image in front of the pseudo-consecutive symbol (in this case, "@"). The system may also be configured to display a high-brightness image in front of the pseudo-consecutive symbol "@" at the moment it stops, thereby reducing its visibility before it stops. Additionally, the system may be configured to display different high-brightness images for the pseudo-consecutive symbol "@" displayed at the timing shown in Figure 41(d) and the pseudo-consecutive symbol "@" displayed at the timing shown in Figure 41(h). Alternatively, the system may be configured to not display a high-brightness image at the timing shown in Figure 41(d) but to display a high-brightness image at the timing shown in Figure 41(h), or vice versa. Furthermore, the system may be configured to display a high-brightness image in front of the pseudo-consecutive symbol "@" only when the pseudo-consecutive symbol "@" stops and the pseudo-consecutive effect continues. Furthermore, if the pseudo-consecutive symbol "@" does not stop displaying (pseudo-consecutive failure), the system may be configured so that a high-brightness image is not displayed in front of the pseudo-consecutive symbol "@". In these cases, the display position of the high-brightness image is not limited to in front of the pseudo-consecutive symbol "@"; it is sufficient that the high-brightness effect is executed at least before and after the timing when the pseudo-consecutive symbol "@" stops displaying. Even when the high-brightness image is displayed at the timing when the pseudo-consecutive symbol "@" stops displaying, the system may be configured to execute a high-brightness effect on the character image before the pseudo-consecutive symbol "@" is displayed. In this case, the system may also be configured not to execute a high-brightness effect on the character image. Furthermore, when the high-brightness effect is displayed at the timing when the pseudo-consecutive symbol "@" stops displaying, the system may be configured to execute a high-brightness effect different from the one executed on the character image, or to execute a common high-brightness effect.

The various configurations for the pseudo-consecutive win notification effects described above are not limited to this specific effect, but can also be similarly applied to other types of effects (notification effects and partial effects). For example, the various configurations of the high-brightness effects WO51, WO52, etc., in the pseudo-consecutive win notification effects may be applied to the aforementioned step-up notification effect, reach notification effect, and button notification effect 2 described later. Furthermore, the pseudo-consecutive win notifications in Figures 41(a) to (d) may not utilize high-brightness effects, while those in Figures 41(e) to (h) may utilize high-brightness effects. In this case, it is desirable to configure the pseudo-consecutive win notifications in Figures 41(e) to (h) to have a higher probability of success than those in Figures 41(a) to (d), but the opposite relationship may also be achieved. Thus, when there are multiple pseudo-consecutive win notifications, it is possible to configure them so that some include high-brightness effects and others do not.

[Button notification effect 2]
Figures 44 to 47 show an example of a button notification effect 2 that is executed during a normal variation in a reach variation pattern or a normal variation pattern, or during a reach variation in a reach variation pattern. This button notification effect (operation effect) 2, like button notification effect 1, is an effect that requests the player to operate the operating means (related to the player's operation of the operating means), and is designed to indicate the probability of a big win by executing a predetermined post-operation effect based on the fulfillment of one or more conditions, including when the chance button 11 is operated during the operation valid period. There are several types of post-operation effects, for example, two types: a post-operation success effect and a post-operation failure effect, and the probability of a big win is higher for the post-operation success effect than for the post-operation failure effect.

Next, we will explain a specific example of the button notification effect 2, using the case where the post-operation success effect is selected as the post-operation effect. First, we will explain the overview while referring to Figure 44. When the button notification effect 2 is started during a normal variation in a reach variation pattern or a normal variation pattern (or during a reach variation in a reach variation pattern), the speaker starts outputting BGM 7 related to this button notification effect 1 as background music, and the button introduction effect BB0 starts.

In the button introduction animation BB0, the decorative symbols 164 are hidden, and the hold base image 168 is displayed at the bottom and the mini symbols 165 are displayed at the top. Behind these, the button introduction animation image 202, which includes a text image 201 such as "Defeat the monster!", is displayed (Figure 44(a)). Players who see this can recognize that it is an animation suggesting the possibility of a jackpot depending on whether or not the monster is defeated. Then, after a high-brightness animation WO61 that displays a high-brightness image 170l in front of the button introduction animation image 202, the monster character image 203a is added to the button introduction animation image 202 (Figures 44(b) to (c)). Furthermore, an effect image (specific image) 204 is superimposed in front of this character image 203a. This effect image 204 consists of so-called "converging lines," for example, displayed radially from the inside to the outside of the screen.

Furthermore, in this button introduction sequence BB0 (Figures 44(a) to (c)), for example, at its start, a predetermined introduction sound is output from the speaker as a sound effect, along with a dialogue sound corresponding to the text image 201, namely the button introduction voice "Defeat the monster." At the start of the high-brightness sequence WO61, a first emphasis sound is output as a sound effect. Moreover, at least a portion of the sequence lamps L (here, both the frame-side lamp La and the panel-side lamp Lb) emit light in the introduction mode corresponding to the button introduction sequence BB0, for example, green, at the start of the button introduction sequence BB0 (Figure 44(a)), and during the high-brightness sequence WO61 (Figures 44(b) to (c)), emit light in the first high-brightness mode, for example, white.

Following the button introduction animation BB0 described above, the button prompting animation BB1 is performed (Figure 44(d)). This button prompting animation BB1 is a rapidly switching display animation that alternates between a first prompting image (individual image) 205a, which has a monster character image 203a, and a second prompting image (individual image) 205b, which has a kappa character image 203b confronting the monster. A text image 201, such as "Defeat the monster!", and an effect image 204 are continuously displayed in front of the first prompting image 205a and the second prompting image 205b. Note that the first prompting image 205a, the second prompting image 205b, the text image 201, and the effect image 204 are displayed behind the hold base image 168 and the mini-symbols 165, similar to the button introduction animation image 202.

Furthermore, the multiple characters appearing in this button-teasing animation BB1 include "ally characters" whose victory suggests an advantageous position for the player, and "enemy characters" whose victory suggests a disadvantageous position for the player. In this button-teasing animation BB1, the monster character image 203a corresponds to an "enemy character," and the kappa character image 203b corresponds to an "ally character."

Furthermore, during the button-teasing animation BB1 (Figure 44(d)), BGM7 continues to be output, and a new teasing sound is continuously output as a sound effect. However, the output of BGM7 stops midway through the button-teasing animation BB1, for example, by fading out. Also, during the button-teasing animation BB1 (Figure 44(d)), at least a portion of the animation lamp L (here, both the frame-side lamp La and the panel-side lamp Lb) illuminates in a button-teasing illumination pattern. This button-teasing illumination pattern is a cyclical change pattern that cyclically switches between multiple illumination colors (here, white and orange) corresponding to multiple individual images (here, the first and second teasing images 205a and 205b).

Furthermore, this button-teasing effect BB1 is not limited to being performed as part of a button-pressing notification effect; like other teasing effects, it can be performed in various notification effects and reach effects other than button-pressing notifications.

Following the button prompting animation BB1, a high-brightness animation WO62 (Figure 44(e)) displaying a high-brightness image 170m is performed, followed by an operation prompting animation BB2 (Figure 44(f)) displaying an operation prompting image 206 to encourage operation of the control device. Here, the operation prompting image 206 consists of a button image (operation target image) 206a indicating the target of operation, and an operation method notification image 206b indicating the operation method for the target of operation. During the operation prompting animation BB2, both the monster character image 203a and the kappa character image 203b are displayed, and the operation prompting image 206 is displayed between these character images 203a and 203b. Furthermore, during this operation prompting animation BB2, the string image 201 and effect image 204 continue to be displayed in front of the character images 203a, 203b, etc.

Furthermore, a second emphasis sound is output as a sound effect at the start of the high-brightness effect WO62. Also, at least a portion of the effect lamps L (in this case, both the frame-side lamp La and the panel-side lamp Lb) illuminate in a second high-brightness mode, for example, blue, during the high-brightness effect WO62, and in an operation-waiting mode, for example, blinking blue, during the operation-prompting effect BB2.

During the operation prompting animation BB2, i.e., during the operation valid period (Figure 44(f)), if the chance button 11 is operated, a high-brightness animation WO63 (Figure 44(g)) is performed, which displays a high-brightness image 170n, thereby reducing the visibility of the image behind the high-brightness image 170n (in this case, the operation prompting image 206, etc.). Following this, the post-operation animation BB3A (Figure 44(h)) begins as the post-operation animation BB3. Here, in the high-brightness animation WO63, the display of the high-brightness image 170n begins in the area corresponding to the operation prompting image 206 and character images 203a and 203b. While the high-brightness image 170n is displayed (during the high-brightness animation WO63), the operation prompting image 206, character image 203b, text image 201, and effect image 204 are removed from the screen. For example, the monster character image 203a is displayed in a fallen state, and a new text image 207 such as "Success" is displayed.

Furthermore, at the start of the high-brightness effect WO63, a third-level emphasis sound is output as a sound effect, and during the post-operation success effect BB3A, a success sound is output as a sound effect. Also, at least a portion of the effect lamps L (in this case, both the frame-side lamp La and the panel-side lamp Lb) emit light in the third high-brightness mode, for example, white, during the high-brightness effect WO63, and in the success mode, for example, red, during the post-operation success effect BB3A.

Next, we will explain in more detail the button prompting effect BB1, which is related to the button prompting effect 2 shown in Figure 44. Figures 45 to 47 show the changes in the display screen and light emission means for each frame during the duration of the button prompting effect BB1 shown in Figure 44(d).

This button-teasing animation BB1 is configured to alternately display a first tease image (individual image) 205a, which has a monster character image 203a, and a second tease image (individual image) 205b, which has a kappa character image 203b. In this configuration, the first tease image 205a, corresponding to the "enemy character," is displayed first, followed by the second tease image 205b, corresponding to the "ally character." Alternatively, the configuration could be reversed, with the second tease image 205b, corresponding to the "ally character," displayed first, followed by the first tease image 205a, corresponding to the "enemy character."

The BB1 button prompt animation consists of multiple (five types in this case) 1st to 5th switching display periods. In the first switching display period, each image 205a and 205b is displayed for 8 frames each, once each (total of 2 times) (Figure 45 (a1), (a2)). In the subsequent 2nd switching display period, each image 205a and 205b is displayed for 6 frames each, twice each (total of 4 times) (Figure 45 (b1) to (b4)). During the display period, each image 205a and 205b is displayed for 4 frames, three times each (a total of 6 times) (Figures 46(c1) to (c6)). In the subsequent fourth switching display period, each image 205a and 205b is displayed for 2 frames, three times each (a total of 6 times) (Figures 47(d1) to (d6)). In the subsequent fifth switching display period, each image 205a and 205b is displayed for 1 frame, six times each (a total of 12 times) (Figures 47(e1) to (e12)).

Thus, during the button prompt animation BB1, the display duration of each image 205a and 205b (i.e., the time interval between switching between the first prompt image 205a and the second prompt image 205b) gradually decreases from 8 frames → 6 frames → 4 frames → 2 frames → 1 frame as the switching display period progresses. Furthermore, the number of switches for the same display duration gradually increases from 1 → 2 → 3 → 3 → 6 as the switching display period progresses. In addition, throughout the entire duration of the first to fifth switching display periods, a text image 201 and an effect image (specific image) 204 are displayed in front of the first and second prompt images 205a and 205b.

Furthermore, the display position of the character image 203a changes before and after the display period of the second image 205b (first action), and the display position of the character image 203a gradually moves from the center of the screen to one side (in this case, the right side) as time progresses (see the first frame of each of Figures 45(a1)→(b1)→(b3)→Figure 46(c1)→(c3)...). Also, the first image 205a performs a second action different from the first action, such as a swaying motion at the same position, in multiple consecutive frames (see all frames of Figure 45(a1), etc.).

Furthermore, regarding the second scenic image 205b, the display position of the character image 203b changes before and after the display period of the first scenic image 205a (first action), and the display position of the character image 203b gradually moves from the center of the screen to the other side (in this case, the left side) as time progresses (see the first frame of each of Figures 45(a2)→(b2)→(b4)→Figure 46(c2)→(c4)...). Also, the second scenic image 205b performs a second action different from the first action, such as a swaying motion at the same position, in multiple consecutive frames (see all frames of Figure 45(a2), etc.).

As a result, character images 203a and 203b, which were initially displayed near the center of the screen at the start of the button-teasing animation BB1, gradually move from side to side as time progresses, and by the time the button-teasing animation BB1 ends and they are displayed on a single screen (Figure 44(f)), they are facing each other.

Furthermore, the system may be configured to change the display position of the character image at the frame display period switching timing (e.g., 8-frame period → 6-frame period), or it may be configured not to change the display position. Also, if there are multiple character images, the system may be configured to change the display position of a specific character (e.g., the first 'teasing image') while keeping the display position of another character (e.g., the second 'teasing image') unchanged. Additionally, in multiple frames where the same 'teasing image' is displayed consecutively (e.g., all frames in Figure 45(a1)), the system may be configured not to include a swaying motion. Moreover, the second action is not limited to a swaying motion; the 'teasing image' may be gradually enlarged or gradually reduced. In this case, at the frame display period switching timing (e.g., 8-frame period → 6-frame period), the system may switch to displaying a higher magnification or a higher reduction in the 'teasing image'.

Furthermore, during the button-teasing animation BB1, the animation lamp L illuminates in a cyclical change pattern, switching between multiple light colors (in this case, white and orange) corresponding to multiple individual images (in this case, the first and second animation images 205a and 205b). The time interval between these color changes is controlled to gradually shorten over time. In the examples shown in Figures 45 to 47, the light color of the animation lamp L is switched in accordance with the switching timing of the first and second animation images 205a and 205b. However, the switching timing of the first and second animation images 205a and 205b does not necessarily have to coincide with the switching timing of the animation lamp L's light color.

As explained above, in button notification effect 2, a button prompt effect (switching display effect) BB1 is performed, which alternately displays multiple types (in this case, two types) of first and second prompt images (individual images) 205a and 205b. This button prompt effect BB1 has a first switching display period in which the first and second prompt images 205a and 205b are displayed for a first time (for example, a time corresponding to 8 frames), and a second switching display period in which the first and second prompt images 205a and 205b are displayed for a second time (for example, a time corresponding to 6 frames), which is shorter than the first switching display period. The second switching display period has more switching intervals for the first and second prompt images 205a and 205b. Furthermore, an effect image (specific image) 204 is displayed before the first and second prompt images 205a and 205b, spanning both the first and second switching display periods.

Furthermore, the first promotional image (specific individual image) 205a includes a character image 203a, and the display position of the character image 203a differs between the first display state, which displays the first promotional image (specific individual image) 205a, and the second display state, which, after the first display state, switches to the second promotional image (another individual image) 205b and then displays the first promotional image 205a again. Similarly, the second promotional image (specific individual image) 205b includes a character image 203b, and the display position of the character image 203b differs between the first display state, which displays the second promotional image (specific individual image) 205ab, and the second display state, after the first display state, switches to the first promotional image (another individual image) 205a and then displays the second promotional image 205b again.

The following describes examples of modifications to the button prompting animation BB1. Figures 45 to 47 show an example in which the effect image 204, which constitutes the so-called "concentration lines," is displayed from the beginning of the button prompting animation BB1. However, it is also possible to configure the animation to display the effect image 204 at a predetermined point in the button prompting animation BB1. In this case, it is desirable to start displaying the effect image 204 during the switching display period with the longest display duration of each image 205a, 205b (here, the period shown in Figures 45(a1) and (a2)). Furthermore, during that period, it is desirable to start displaying the effect image 204 before switching between the first hype image 205a corresponding to the "enemy character" and the second hype image 205b corresponding to the "ally character" (in this case, during the period shown in Figure 45(a1) while the first hype image 205a is displayed). However, it is also acceptable to start displaying the effect image 204 after switching between the first hype image 205a and the second hype image 205b (in this case, during the period shown in Figure 45(a2) while the second hype image 205b is displayed). Alternatively, the effect image 204 may be displayed during a switching display period after the longest display duration for each image 205a and 205b (in this case, the periods shown in Figures 45(a1) and (a2)). Even in this case, however, it is still desirable to start displaying the effect image 204 while the first hype image 205a corresponding to the "enemy character" is displayed during that switching display period.

Furthermore, the display mode of the effect image 204 that constitutes the "concentration lines" may be changed according to the display duration of each image 205a and 205b. For example, as the switching display period progressively shortens from 8 frames to 6 frames to 4 frames, the thickness of the concentration lines may be increased (or decreased), the number of concentration lines may be increased (or decreased), or the color of the concentration lines may be changed (e.g., confidence information may be added). Similarly, the display mode of the effect image 204 may be changed according to the switching of each image 205a and 205b. Also, the display mode of the effect image 204 may be different when displaying the first dramatic image 205a and when displaying the second dramatic image 205b.

Figures 45 to 47 show an example where the button-teasing animation BB1 is consistently configured to alternately switch between the first tease image 205a corresponding to the "enemy character" and the second tease image 205b corresponding to the "ally character" from beginning to end. However, at a predetermined timing when the display duration of each image 205a and 205b gradually shortens, for example, when entering the fifth switching display period where images are switched every frame, the system may be configured to switch to a different type of image, such as an enemy-ally image displaying both the "enemy character" and the "ally character." In this case, the enemy-ally image may be displayed continuously, or it may be alternately displayed with a white image that does not display either the "enemy character" or the "ally character."

Figures 45 to 47 show an example where the switching timing of each image 205a and 205b is synchronized with the switching timing of the illumination color of the effect lamp L. However, the switching timing of each image 205a and 205b and the switching timing of the illumination color of the effect lamp L do not necessarily have to be synchronized. For example, during the first switching display period in which images are switched every 8 frames, the illumination color of the effect lamp L can be switched every 6 frames, and during the second switching display period in which images are switched every 6 frames, the illumination color of the effect lamp L can be switched every 4 frames, which is shorter than the image switching frequency. Furthermore, until the display duration of each image 205a and 205b reaches a predetermined length (for example, 6 frames), the illumination color switching frequency of the effect lamp L may be higher than the image switching frequency (shorter duration of the same illumination color), and thereafter, the illumination color switching frequency of the effect lamp L may be lower than the image switching frequency (longer duration of the same illumination color) (for example, during the fifth switching display period, the image is switched every 1 frame, but the illumination color of the effect lamp L is switched every 3 frames). Furthermore, if the timing of the color change of the effect lamp L is shortened over time, the timing of changing the color change timing does not need to coincide with the timing of changing the image change timing. Also, the color change timing of the effect lamp L may remain constant (not shortened).

The "focus lines" displayed when showing "enemy characters" may be different from those displayed when showing "ally characters." Furthermore, the system may be configured to display different "focus lines" when showing "enemy characters" at the timing shown in Figure 45(a1) and when showing "enemy characters" at the timing shown in Figure 45(b1). Similarly, the system may be configured to display different "focus lines" when showing "ally characters" at the timing shown in Figure 45(a2) and when showing "ally characters" at the timing shown in Figure 45(b2). Also, regardless of these timings, the "focus lines" may be different in Figure 45(b1) and Figure 45(b3), and in Figure 45(b2) and Figure 45(b4).

Furthermore, the system may be configured to display different "focus lines" for each switching display period. However, in this case, it is not necessary to make the "focus lines" different for all switching display periods; it is sufficient to make the "focus lines" for at least one switching display period different from those for the other switching display periods. Also, if there are multiple switching display periods, one or more switching display periods may display "focus lines" according to the first display mode, and one or more switching display periods may display "focus lines" according to a second display mode different from the first display mode. In this case, the system may be configured so that the switching display periods displaying "focus lines" according to the second display mode are longer than those displaying "focus lines" according to the first display mode, or vice versa. Furthermore, a "different focus line" simply means that the display mode is different; for example, if the line length, line color, display location, or dynamic pattern is different, it qualifies as a different "focus line."

Furthermore, the display position of each character image may not be changed according to the progress of the switching display period, or in addition to that, the character images may be configured to enlarge or shrink according to the progress of the switching display period. In that case, it is desirable that each character be enlarged or shrunk toward approximately the center of the "concentration lines." Also, the "concentration lines" may be configured to display with a line color corresponding to the light color of the effect lamp, or with a line color different from the light color of the effect lamp. For example, if the light color of the effect lamp changes according to the progress of the switching display period, the line color of the "concentration lines" may also be configured to change according to the change in the light color of the effect lamp, or, to avoid visual clutter, the line color of the "concentration lines" may be different from the light color of the effect lamp. Incidentally, even if the light color of the effect lamp does not change according to the progress of the switching display period, the same configuration may be used.

The various configurations described above in Button Notification Effect 2 are not limited to this effect; they can also be similarly applied to other effects (notification effects and partial effects). For example, the various configurations in Button Notification Effect 2, such as the high-brightness effects WO61, WO62, WO63, and the button-teasing effect BB1, may also be applied to the aforementioned step-up notification effect, reach notification effect, etc.

[Interruption予告演出 (preview effect)]
Figures 48 to 52 show an example of an interruption notification effect that is executed during a reach variation in a reach variation pattern. This interruption notification effect is executed by interrupting the reach variation, and is configured to have a higher probability of winning a jackpot compared to when this interruption notification effect is not executed (when the reach variation continues without interruption). In this embodiment, the probability of winning a jackpot with the interruption notification effect is higher than with other notification effects, as shown in Figure 20.

Furthermore, this interruption予告演出 (preview/announcement) has multiple types (three types shown in Figure 48) of presentation patterns (variations). The probability of winning a jackpot is set so that the second presentation pattern IRb (Figure 48(b)) is higher than the first presentation pattern IRa (Figure 48(a)), and the third presentation pattern IRc (Figure 48(c)) is higher than the second presentation pattern IRb (Figure 48(b)). These multiple types (three types) of presentation patterns IRa to IRCc are largely the same in terms of the characters and their actions that appear in the presentation images, but differ in the dialogue strings displayed in front of the character images, the corresponding dialogue sounds output, and the base color of the presentation images. That is, as shown in Figure 48, the same kappa character image is displayed in the first to third presentation patterns IRa to IRCc, but the content of the dialogue strings displayed in front of the character image and the corresponding dialogue sounds are different, being "Lucky!", "Chance!", and "Super Hot!" respectively.

Furthermore, the display color of the dialogue strings and the base color of the performance images also differ. The display color (internal color) and base color of the dialogue strings corresponding to the first to third performance modes IRa to IRC are "red," "gold," and "danger color," respectively. Thus, since the probability of winning a jackpot differs depending on the display color of the strings in the first to third performance modes IRa to IRC, it can be said that the text images (specific text information), or the interruption予告 performance images that contain such text images, have probability of winning a jackpot. As mentioned above, since this interruption予告 performance has a high probability of winning a jackpot (Figure 20), some performance modes with low probability of winning a jackpot (in this case, performance modes where the display color and base color of the dialogue strings are "white" and "blue") are not provided. Of course, as multiple types of performance modes, the text colors that serve as probability information regarding jackpots are not limited to three types such as "red," "gold," and "danger color," but may also include two or four or more types such as "red" and "gold," or may include "rainbow."

Next, a specific example of the interruption予告演出 (pre-announcement effect) will be explained using the case where the second effect mode IRb (Figure 48(b)) of the first and second effect modes IRa and IRb is selected. First, an overview will be explained with reference to Figure 49. During the reach variation according to the reach variation pattern, before the interruption announcement effect appears, the pre-interruption announcement buildup effect IR0 is performed. In this pre-interruption announcement buildup effect IR0, BGM8 is output from the speaker as background music, and on the display screen DSa, the left and right decorative symbols 164a and 164b that constitute the reach are displayed in a reduced size near the periphery (for example, the upper side of the screen) with only the main body 166 visible. The hold base image 168 is displayed at the lower end, and the mini symbol 165 is displayed at the upper end, with the effect image 211 related to the pre-interruption announcement buildup effect IR0 displayed behind them (Figures 49(a), (b)).

In this pre-interruption予告演出 (pre-announcement tease) sequence IR0, the left and right decorative symbols 164a and 164b are displayed in a color other than the blue, red, gold, etc. that constitute the reliability information (in this case, green). The sequence image 211 related to this pre-interruption announcement tease sequence IR0 consists of a scene where a kappa character flies freely through the sky while emitting smoke. Since this pre-interruption announcement tease sequence IR0 is a tease sequence to determine whether or not an interruption announcement sequence will appear, it can be executed not only if an interruption announcement sequence appears afterward, but also if it does not.

Furthermore, during the pre-interruption announcement buildup animation IR0 (Figures 49(a) and (b)), at least a portion of the animation lamp L (here, both the frame-side lamp La and the panel-side lamp Lb) illuminates in a buildup pattern corresponding to the pre-interruption announcement buildup animation, for example, in purple. During the pre-interruption announcement buildup animation IR0, a predetermined sound effect, such as a flight sound corresponding to the flight of the kappa character, may also be output.

Following the pre-interruption announcement buildup sequence IR0, the interruption announcement sequence begins using the second sequence IRb (Figure 48(b)). This sequence consists of the first interruption announcement sequence IR1b (Figure 49(d)), the second interruption announcement sequence IR2b (Figure 49(f)), and the third interruption announcement sequence IR3b (Figure 49(h)). Furthermore, a high-brightness sequence WO71 (Figure 49(c)) is executed during the transition from the pre-interruption announcement buildup sequence IR0 to the first interruption announcement sequence IR1b; a high-brightness sequence WO72 (Figure 49(e)) is executed during the transition from the first interruption announcement sequence IR1b to the second interruption announcement sequence IR2b; and a high-brightness sequence WO73 (Figure 49(g)) is executed during the transition from the second interruption announcement sequence IR2b to the third interruption announcement sequence IR3b.

The high-brightness effect WO71 (Figure 49(c)) reduces the visibility of the image behind the high-brightness image 170o by displaying the high-brightness image 170o. During this high-brightness effect WO71, the image behind the high-brightness image 170o is switched from the effect image 211 related to the interruption予告 (pre-announcement) buildup effect IR0 to the effect image 212 related to the interruption予告 (first) effect IR1b. During the high-brightness effect WO71, along with the high-brightness image 170o, a radial effect image of converging lines 213 is displayed from the center of the screen outwards. This converging lines 213 is displayed in a different color (in this case, light blue) than the text color of the selected effect mode (in this case, the second effect mode IRb). The presentation image 212 (Figure 49(d)) related to the first interruption notification presentation IR1b comprises a character image and a focus line 214. This focus line 214 is displayed in a color corresponding to the text color (reliability information) of the selected presentation mode (in this case, the second presentation mode IRb) (in this case, gold). Note that the focus line 214 may be displayed in a color different from the text color (reliability information).

During the high-brightness effect WO71 (Figure 49(c)), the output of BGM8 continues. Furthermore, at the start of the high-brightness effect WO71, a predetermined first emphasis sound is output as a sound effect. During the high-brightness effect WO71, at least a portion of the effect lamps L (here, both the frame-side lamp La and the panel-side lamp Lb) illuminate in the first high-brightness illumination mode. This first high-brightness illumination mode is composed of a color different from the character color corresponding to the second effect mode IRb (here, white), but it may be configured to include a color corresponding to the character color.

Furthermore, during the first interruption notification effect IR1b (Figure 49(d)), the output of BGM8 continues, and at least a portion of the effect lamp L (here, both the frame-side lamp La and the panel-side lamp Lb) illuminates in the first interruption notification illumination mode. This first interruption notification illumination mode is the same as the first high-brightness illumination mode (here, white), but it may be different from the first high-brightness illumination mode. In this case, the first interruption notification illumination mode may also be configured to include a color corresponding to the text color (here, gold).

The high-brightness effect WO72 reduces the visibility of the image behind the high-brightness image 170p by displaying the high-brightness image 170p. During this high-brightness effect WO72, the image behind the high-brightness image 170p is switched from the effect image 212 related to the first interruption notification effect IR1b to the effect image 215 related to the second interruption notification effect IR2b. The effect image 215 related to the second interruption notification effect IR2b comprises a character image and a string image 216 (in this case, the golden string "Chance!" corresponding to the second effect mode IRb).

During the high-brightness effect WO72 (Figure 49(e)), the output of BGM8 continues. Furthermore, at the start of the high-brightness effect WO72, a predetermined second accented sound is output as a sound effect. During the high-brightness effect WO72, at least a portion of the effect lamps L (here, both the frame-side lamp La and the panel-side lamp Lb) illuminate in the second high-brightness illumination mode. This second high-brightness illumination mode includes the character color corresponding to the second effect mode IRb (here, gold), and is, for example, a cyclical change between white, gold, and orange. However, the sound effects and lamp modes in the high-brightness effect WO72 may be the same as those in the high-brightness effects WO71 and WO73, i.e., the first or third accented sound is used as the sound effect, and the first or third high-brightness illumination mode is used as the lamp mode.

Furthermore, during the second interruption予告演出 IR2b (Figure 49(f)), the BGM8 output continues, and the interruption予告 voice corresponding to the "Chance!" text image 216 is output. Note that the character image does not perform lip-syncing (speaking action) at this time, although lip-syncing may be enabled. Also, during the second interruption予告演出 IR2b, at least a portion of the performance lamp L (here, both the frame-side lamp La and the panel-side lamp Lb) illuminates in the second interruption予告 illumination mode. This second interruption予告 illumination mode, like the second high-brightness illumination mode, includes the character color corresponding to the second performance mode IRb (here, gold), and may be a cyclical change between white, gold, and orange, but may differ in at least a part from the second high-brightness illumination mode.

The high-brightness effect WO73 reduces the visibility of the image behind the high-brightness image 170q by displaying the high-brightness image 170q. During this high-brightness effect WO73, the image behind the high-brightness image 170q is switched from the effect image 215 related to the second interruption notification effect IR2b to the effect image 216 related to the third interruption notification effect IR3b. The effect image 216 related to the third interruption notification effect IR3b includes the left and right decorative patterns 164a and 164b, which are displayed in the display color corresponding to the second effect mode IRb (gold in this case).

During the high-brightness effect WO73 (Figure 49(g)), the output of BGM8 continues. Furthermore, at the start of the high-brightness effect WO73, a predetermined third accented sound is output as a sound effect. During the high-brightness effect WO73, at least a portion of the effect lamps L (here, both the frame-side lamp La and the panel-side lamp Lb) illuminate in the third high-brightness illumination mode. This third high-brightness illumination mode is a cyclical change mode (here, gold and orange) that includes the character color corresponding to the second effect mode IRb (here, gold). However, the sound effects and lamp modes in the high-brightness effect WO73 may be the same as those in high-brightness effects WO71 and WO72, i.e., the first or second accented sound is used as the sound effect, and the first or second high-brightness illumination mode is used as the lamp mode.

Furthermore, during the third interruption notification sequence IR3b (Figure 49(h)), the BGM8 output continues, and at least a portion of the performance lamp L (here, both the frame-side lamp La and the panel-side lamp Lb) illuminates in the third interruption notification illumination pattern. This third interruption notification illumination pattern is the same as the third high-brightness illumination pattern (here, a cyclical change between gold and orange), but it may differ in at least a portion from the third high-brightness illumination pattern.

Next, we will explain in more detail the interruption予告演出 (preview effect) shown in Figure 49, including the high-brightness effects WO71 to WO73, for almost all of the effect periods. Figures 50 to 52 show the changes in the display screen and light-emitting means at even smaller time intervals than in Figure 49, for the period shown in Figures 49(b) to (h). Note that in Figures 50 to 52, the time interval between adjacent frames is the same, and is set to A milliseconds, the same as in Figures 24 to 26 in the step-up preview effect.

First, let's explain the details of the high-brightness effect WO71. In the high-brightness effect WO71 shown in Figures 50(a) to (h), the high-brightness image 170o is displayed in front of the effect image 211 related to the interruption pre-announcement buildup effect IR0, and after the decorative symbols 164a, 164b, mini symbols 165, the hold base image 168 and the hold images X1 to X4, Y1 to Y4 in front of it. The high-brightness image 170o is configured to gradually change in size and eventually disappear. That is, the high-brightness image 170o is configured so that its size (range) gradually increases over time, reaching its maximum at a predetermined point (Figures 50(a) to (e)), and then gradually decreases over time until it finally disappears (Figures 50(e) to (h)). Thus, the high-brightness effect WO71 consists of an enlargement effect that changes the size (range) of the high-brightness image 170o in the enlargement direction, and a reduction effect that changes it in the reduction direction. While the execution time of the latter (Figures 50(e) to (h)) is shorter than that of the former (Figures 50(a) to (e)), the execution time of the former may be shorter than that of the latter, or they may be approximately the same.

In the high-brightness effect WO71, the coverage rate of the high-brightness image 170o over the entire effect image 211 is less than 100%, and even when the size (range) of the high-brightness image 170o is at its maximum (Figure 50(e)), a portion of the image behind it is outside the range of the high-brightness image 170o. Furthermore, for at least a portion of the high-brightness effect WO71 (Figures 50(d) to (e)), a converging line 213 of a different color (here, light blue) than the text color (here, gold) of the selected effect mode (here, second effect mode IRb) is displayed around the high-brightness image 170o. Of course, when the size (range) of the high-brightness image 170o is at its maximum, the coverage rate of the high-brightness image 170o over the entire image behind it may be set to 100%.

Furthermore, the high-brightness image 170o is set so that its transmittance is approximately uniform within its range. Also, while the size of the high-brightness image 170o changes over time, its transmittance remains constant, for example, maintaining a transmittance of 0%. However, the transmittance of the high-brightness image 170o may be greater than 0%, non-uniform, or configured to change over time.

Furthermore, during the high-brightness effect WO71, the image behind the high-brightness image 170o is switched from the effect image 211 related to the pre-interruption announcement effect IR0 to the effect image 212 related to the first interruption announcement effect IR1b. However, in the reduction change effect (Figures 50(e) to (h)) which changes the size of the high-brightness image 170o in the direction of reduction, a switching emphasis image 217 is displayed in front of the switched effect image 212. This switching emphasis image 217 emphasizes the image switch to the effect image 212, and is configured to start displaying in a state that obscures almost the entire effect image 212 (Figure 50(f)), and then gradually release the obscured state (Figures 50(g) to (i)). Here, it consists of a video in which glass in front of the effect image 212 shatters into pieces and scatters, disappearing from in front of the effect image 212. During the high-brightness effect WO71, the effect lamp L illuminates in the first high-brightness mode (white in this case).

The animation image 212 (Figures 50(i) to 51(j)) related to the interruption予告 (first animation) IR1b, which appears after the high-brightness animation WO71, comprises a character image and a converging line 214. This converging line 214 is displayed in a color (in this case, gold) corresponding to the text color (reliability information) of the selected animation mode (in this case, the second animation mode IRb). During the interruption予告 (first animation) IR1b (Figures 50(i) to 51(j)), the animation lamp L is assumed to illuminate in the interruption予告 (first illumination mode) (in this case, white), but the animation lamp L may also illuminate in a color (in this case, gold) corresponding to the text color (reliability information).

Next, we will explain the details of the high-brightness effect WO72. In the high-brightness effect WO72 shown in Figures 51(j) to 52(s), the high-brightness image 170p is displayed in front of the effect image 212 related to the interruption announcement first effect IR1b, and after the decorative symbols 164a, 164b, mini symbols 165, the hold base image 168 and the hold images X1 to X4, Y1 to Y4 in front of it. The high-brightness image 170p is configured to gradually change in size and eventually disappear. That is, the high-brightness image 170p is configured so that its size (range) gradually increases over time, reaching its maximum at a predetermined point (Figures 51(j) to (n)), and then gradually decreases over time until it eventually disappears (Figures 51(n) to 52(s)). Thus, the high-brightness effect WO72 consists of an enlargement effect that changes the size (range) of the high-brightness image 170p in the enlargement direction, and a reduction effect that changes it in the reduction direction. While the execution time of the latter (Figures 51(n) to 52(s)) is longer than that of the former (Figures 51(j) to (n)), the execution time of the former may be longer than that of the latter, or they may be approximately the same.

In the high-brightness effect WO72, the coverage rate of the high-brightness image 170p over the entire image behind it is less than 100%. Even when the size (range) of the high-brightness image 170p is at its maximum (Figure 51(n)), a portion of the image behind it remains outside the range of the high-brightness image 170p. Furthermore, the high-brightness image 170p is set to have a nearly uniform transmittance within its range. While the size of the high-brightness image 170p changes over time, its transmittance remains constant, for example, maintaining a transmittance of 0%. However, the transmittance of the high-brightness image 170p may be greater than 0%, non-uniform, or configured to change over time.

Furthermore, during the high-brightness effect WO72, the image behind the high-brightness image 170p is maintained, for example, while a string image 216 of the word "Chance!" displayed in gold to indicate reliability information is displayed in front of the high-brightness image 170p, accompanied by a predetermined string appearance operation (Figures 51(o) to 52(s)). This string appearance operation is arbitrary, but in this embodiment, each character constituting the string is configured to move sequentially from any direction outside the screen toward a predetermined position such as the center of the screen. Alternatively, the string appearance operation of the "Chance!" string image 216 may be configured to be performed behind the high-brightness image 170p. In this case, at the time of string appearance, the "Chance!" string image 216 becomes difficult to recognize due to the high-brightness image 170p. Then, as the high-brightness image 170p gradually disappears, the "Chance!" string image 216 becomes easier to recognize. This configuration makes it possible to improve the effect of the display of the string image. Furthermore, in addition to the "Chance!" text image 216, the system may be configured to display other texts that suggest a higher level of expectation (such as "Super Hot"). By configuring the system to display multiple types of text images in this way, the visual effect related to the display of text images can be further enhanced.

Here, the interrupt notification voice corresponding to the "Chance!" string image 216 is configured to start output, for example, when the display of the string image 216 accompanied by the string appearance operation begins (Figure 51(o)), or at a predetermined point during the string appearance operation. However, the output of the interrupt notification voice may also start when all the characters constituting the string image 216 are displayed in the predetermined positions (Figure 52(s)). During the high-brightness effect WO72, the effect lamp L illuminates in the second high-brightness illumination mode (here, a cyclical change between white, gold, and orange), and during the subsequent interrupt notification second effect IR2b, the effect lamp L illuminates in the same interrupt notification second illumination mode as the second high-brightness illumination mode (here, a cyclical change between white, gold, and orange).

When all the characters constituting the string image 216 are displayed in their predetermined positions, and the output of the interruption notification voice ends and the interruption notification second performance IR2b ends, the program proceeds to the interruption notification third performance IR3b via the high-brightness performance WO73. In the high-brightness performance WO73 shown in Figures 52(s) to (w), the high-brightness image 170q is displayed in front of the performance image 215 and decorative symbols 164a, 164b related to the interruption notification second performance IR2b, and behind the mini symbol 165, the hold base image 168 and the hold images X1 to X4, Y1 to Y4 in front of it. The high-brightness image 170q gradually changes in size and eventually disappears. In this way, unlike the high-brightness performances WO71 and WO72, the high-brightness performance WO73 is displayed in front of the decorative symbols 164a, 164b, thereby reducing the visibility of the decorative symbols 164a, 164b.

The high-brightness image 170q changes in size over time, but its transmittance remains constant, for example, maintaining a transmittance of 0%. The transmittance of the high-brightness image 170q may be greater than 0%, or it may be non-uniform, and it may be configured to change over time. As the size of the high-brightness image 170q gradually decreases, the decorative patterns 164a and 164b, which were hidden by the high-brightness image 170q, become visible (Figure 52(v)). At this point, the decorative patterns 164a and 164b are displayed not in their previous green color, but in the display color corresponding to the second performance mode IRb (in this case, gold). Instead of simply reappearing the decorative patterns 164a and 164b in gold, the system may be configured to execute a display color change animation after the high-brightness performance WO73 ends, changing the green decorative patterns 164a and 164b to gold.

During the high-brightness effect WO73, the effect lamp L illuminates in the third high-brightness illumination pattern (in this case, a cyclical change between gold and orange). Then, during the subsequent interruption予告 (pre-announcement) third effect IR3b, the effect lamp L illuminates in the same interruption予告 (pre-announcement) third illumination pattern as the third high-brightness illumination pattern (in this case, a cyclical change between gold and orange).

In addition, in Figures 50(e), 51(n), and 52(u), the high-brightness image may be configured to be displayed across the entire screen. Furthermore, the high-brightness images 170o, 170p, and 170q shown in Figures 50 to 52 may be configured to vary their transmittance. Specifically, the transmittance may be decreased as the display range of the high-brightness image increases, or conversely, the transmittance may be increased as the display range decreases. Alternatively, the display range of the high-brightness image may be kept constant, and the visibility provided by the high-brightness image may be changed by varying its transmittance. In this case, it is desirable to display the high-brightness image over a wide area, for example, as in Figures 50(e), 51(n), and 52(u), and then change the transmittance without changing the display range. However, this is not limited to this configuration; the display range may be kept unchanged when decreasing the transmittance of the high-brightness image, and the display range may be reduced when increasing the transmittance of the high-brightness image. Furthermore, in the high-brightness effects WO71 to WO73, the high-brightness images may be set to have different transparency and display ranges. Also, if the transparency and display range of the high-brightness images are to be different, the aforementioned details may be adopted in any way for each of the high-brightness effects WO71 to WO73.

The various configurations in the interruption予告演出 (pre-announcement effect) described above are not limited to this interruption予告演出, but can also be similarly adopted in other various effects (pre-announcement effects and partial effects). For example, the various configurations of the high-brightness effects WO71, WO72, WO73, etc. in the interruption予告演出 may also be adopted in the aforementioned step-up予告演出, reach予告演出, and the dialogue予告演出2 described later. Furthermore, in the interruption予告演出 described above, the high-brightness effect WO71 and the first interruption予告演出 IR1b are executed, followed by the high-brightness effect WO72 and the second interruption予告演出 IR2b, and then the high-brightness effect WO73 and the third interruption予告演出 IR3b. However, the configuration is not limited to this, and may be as follows. For example, after the execution of the high-brightness effect WO71, only the first interruption予告演出 IR1b may be executed. Alternatively, after the execution of the high-brightness effect WO71, the first interruption予告 effect IR1b may be executed, followed by the execution of the high-brightness effect WO73 and the third interruption予告 effect IR3b to conclude the effect. Alternatively, after the execution of the pre-interruption予告 teaser effect IR0, only the high-brightness effect WO72 and the second interruption予告 effect IR2b may be executed. Alternatively, after the execution of the pre-interruption予告 teaser effect IR0, the high-brightness effect WO72 and the second interruption予告 effect IR2b may be executed, followed by the execution of the high-brightness effect WO73 and the third interruption予告 effect IR3b to conclude the effect. Furthermore, the execution order of the high-brightness effects WO71, WO72, and WO73 may be changed as appropriate. For example, after the execution of the high-brightness effect WO72, the first interruption予告 effect IR1b may be executed, or after the execution of the high-brightness effect WO71, the second interruption予告 effect IR2b may be executed. Thus, the high-brightness effects WO71-WO73 and the first interruption予告 (pre-announcement) effects IR1b-IR3b can be combined in any way.

[Dialogue preview 2]
Figures 53 to 55 show an example of a dialogue予告演出2 that is executed during a normal variation in a reach variation pattern or a normal variation pattern, or during a reach variation in a reach variation pattern. This dialogue予告演出2 is an effect in which a character speaks a line of dialogue, and is executed under the same settings as the dialogue予告演出1 described above, as shown in Figure 36. The characters C1 and C2 are named "Shoji" and "Fujiko," respectively.

Next, a specific example of the dialogue予告演出2 will be explained using the case where dialogue L2 and character C2 are selected, but first, an overview will be explained with reference to Figure 53. When dialogue予告演出2 is started during a normal variation in a reach variation pattern or a normal variation pattern (or during a reach variation in a reach variation pattern), the speaker starts outputting BGM9 related to this dialogue予告演出2 as background music, and on the display screen DSa, the decorative symbols 164 are hidden, and the hold base image 168 is displayed at the lower end and the mini symbols 165 are displayed at the upper end. Behind these, for example, the performance image 221 related to the character appearance performance SB1, in which two types of characters C1 and C2 appear together, is displayed (Figure 53(a)). Also, during the character appearance performance SB1, at least a part of the performance lamp L (here, both the frame-side lamp La and the panel-side lamp Lb) lights up in the character appearance light emission mode, for example, in white.

Then, the animation transitions from the character appearance animation SB1 to the pre-dialogue output animation SB2. In the pre-dialogue output animation SB2, a character selection image 222 is displayed, indicating which of the two characters C1 and C2 shown in the animation image 221 will speak (Figure 53(b)). This character selection image 222 consists of a character display frame 222a of a predetermined shape (in this case, roughly circular) and a character face image 222b displayed within that character display frame 222a. At the start of the display of the character selection image 222, a high-brightness animation WO81 is executed, displaying a high-brightness image 170r within the character display frame 222a. After the high-brightness animation WO81, the character face image 222b within the character display frame 222a becomes visible.

After the pre-dialogue output animation SB2, the program transitions to the dialogue output animation SB3. In the dialogue output animation SB3 (Figures 53(c) to (e)), the dialogue text display image 223 and the character name display image 224 are displayed near the character designation image 222 (Figure 53(c)). Then, a high-brightness animation WO82 is executed, displaying a high-brightness image 170s corresponding to at least a portion of the areas of the character designation image 222, the dialogue text display image 223, and the character name display image 224, for example, almost all of these areas (Figure 53(d)). The dialogue text display image 223 consists of a dialogue display frame 223a of a predetermined shape (in this case, a horizontally elongated strip) and a dialogue string 223b displayed within that dialogue display frame 223a.

Furthermore, in the dialogue output effect SB3, a preview voice corresponding to the dialogue string 223b displayed in the dialogue text display image 223 is output as dialogue sound. Here, the output of this preview voice begins when the display of the dialogue text display image 223 starts and ends at a predetermined point after the end of the high-brightness effect WO82. However, the timing of the preview voice output start is not limited to this; it may also start at the timing when the display of the dialogue text display image 223 is complete and the high-brightness effect WO82 begins, or at the timing when the high-brightness effect WO82 ends. Alternatively, the preview voice output may start at the start of the pre-dialogue output effect SB2. In conjunction with the output of the preview voice, the character specified in the character designation image 222 and the character name display image 224 (in this case, character C2) performs lip-syncing (speaking action).

Furthermore, during the presentation period from the pre-dialogue output presentation SB2 to the dialogue output presentation SB3, at least a portion of the presentation lamp L (in this case, both the frame-side lamp La and the panel-side lamp Lb) will illuminate in the dialogue output illumination pattern (e.g., white → blue).

Next, we will explain in more detail the dialogue予告演出2 shown in Figure 53, including the high-brightness effects WO81 and WO82, for almost the entire duration of the effect. Figures 54 to 55 show the changes in the display screen and light-emitting means at even smaller time intervals than in Figure 53, for the period shown in Figures 53(a) to (e). Note that in Figures 54 to 55, the time interval between adjacent frames is the same, and is set to A milliseconds, the same as in Figures 24 to 26 in the step-up予告演出.

In the character appearance sequence SB1 of the dialogue予告演出2, for example, the decorative symbol 164 is hidden, and a sequence image 221 containing two types of characters C1 and C2 is displayed behind the mini symbol 165, the hold base image 168, and the hold images X1-X4 and Y1-Y4 in front of it (Figure 54(a)). Also, during the character appearance sequence SB1 (Figure 54(a)), the sequence lamp L illuminates in the character appearance illumination mode (white in this case).

Then, in the subsequent pre-dialogue output sequence SB2, the character designation image 222 is additionally displayed on the sequence image 221. The character designation image 222 is displayed, for example, by gradually enlarging (Figure 54(b) → (c)). At this time, a high-brightness image 170r with 0% transparency is displayed within the character display frame 222a, making the character face image 222b within the character display frame 222a invisible (high-brightness sequence WO81). The high-brightness image 170r expands in size in accordance with the enlargement of the character display frame 222a, and its transparency is assumed to be uniform. Note that the transparency of the high-brightness image 170r may be greater than 0% or may be non-uniform.

When the character designation image 222 is displayed in a predetermined position and size, the high-brightness effect WO81 ends as the transmittance of the high-brightness image 170r changes to 100%, and the character face image 222b within the character display frame 222a becomes visible (Figure 54(d)). Approximately simultaneously with, or at a predetermined timing thereafter, the program transitions from the pre-dialogue output effect SB2 to the dialogue output effect SB3, and the additional display of the dialogue text display image 223 and the character name display image 224 begins near the character designation image 222. Here, the dialogue text display image 223 is displayed so as to stretch in the direction of the dialogue string 223b (i.e., to the right) (Figures 54(d) to (e)).

Then, once the display of the dialogue text image 223 and the character name display image 224 is complete (Figure 54(e)), a high-brightness effect WO82 is executed, which displays a high-brightness image 170s corresponding to at least a portion of the areas of the character designation image 222, the dialogue text display image 223, and the character name display image 224 (in this case, almost all of those areas) (Figures 54(e) to 55(k)). In this high-brightness effect WO82, the transmittance of the high-brightness image 170s is non-uniform, and its change is not constant, but for example, the timing at which the transmittance becomes 100% is almost the same across the entire area. Specifically, in the examples shown in Figures 54(e) to 55(k), the transmittance of the high-brightness image 170s changes from 100% → 60% → 20% → 40% → 60% → 80% → 100% in the area corresponding to the character designation image 222 and the character name display image 224 (referred to as high-brightness image 170sa), while in the area corresponding to the dialogue text display image 223 (referred to as high-brightness image 170sb), it changes from 100% → 70% → 40% → 55% → 70% → 85% → 100%. The timing of when the transmittance becomes less than 100% and when it returns to 100% is approximately the same for high-brightness image 170sa corresponding to character designation image 222 and character name display image 224, and for high-brightness image 170sb corresponding to dialogue text display image 223.

Furthermore, the high-brightness effect may be applied only to the character designation image 222 and the character name display image 224 (but not to the dialogue text display image 223). Alternatively, the high-brightness effect may be applied only to the area corresponding to the dialogue text display image 223 (but not to the character designation image 222 and the character name display image 224). Additionally, the timing of applying the high-brightness effect to the character designation image 222 and the character name display image 224 may be different from the timing of applying the high-brightness effect to the dialogue text display image 223. In this case, the high-brightness effect may be applied to the character designation image 222 and the character name display image 224 first, followed by the dialogue text display image 223, or vice versa.

Furthermore, in the dialogue output effect SB3, a preview voice (here, "The key to breaking the curse is here") corresponding to the dialogue string 223b displayed in the dialogue text display image 223 is output as dialogue sound. Simultaneously with the output of this preview voice, the character specified in the character designation image 222 and character name display image 224 (here, character C2) performs lip-syncing (speaking action). This preview voice output and lip-syncing action begins, for example, when the display of the dialogue text display image 223 begins (Figure 54(d)) and ends at a predetermined point after the end of the high-brightness effect WO82 (Figure 55(k)). The start timing of the character's lip-syncing action is preferably approximately simultaneous with the start of the dialogue sound output, but it may also begin after or before the start of the dialogue sound output. Similarly, the end timing of the character's lip-syncing action is preferably approximately simultaneous with the end of the dialogue sound output, but it may also end after or before the end of the dialogue sound output.

Furthermore, during the presentation period from the pre-dialogue output presentation SB2 to the dialogue output presentation SB3, at least a portion of the presentation lamp L (in this case, both the frame-side lamp La and the panel-side lamp Lb) illuminates in the dialogue output illumination pattern (e.g., white → blue). In this case, the illumination color of the presentation lamp L may switch from white to blue at a predetermined point, or it may start with the entire display being white, and the blue area gradually expands until the entire display is blue.

The various configurations described above in Dialogue Announcement Sequence 2 are not limited to this sequence alone; they can also be applied to other sequences (announcement sequences and partial sequences). For example, the various configurations of the high-brightness sequences WO81 and WO82 in Dialogue Announcement Sequence 2 may be applied to the aforementioned step-up announcement sequence, reach announcement sequence, and Dialogue Announcement Sequence 1.

[Dialogue preview effect 3]
Figures 56 to 59 show an example of a dialogue notification effect 3 that is executed during a normal variation in a reach variation pattern or a normal variation pattern, or during a reach variation in a reach variation pattern. This dialogue notification effect 3 is an effect in which a character speaks a line of dialogue, and is configured to indicate the probability of a big win by displaying one of the multiple types (four types) of dialogue display images (variations) shown in Figure 56 and outputting the corresponding dialogue sound. The four types of dialogue display images are almost the same in terms of the display layout including the character (here, a bear), but the content of the dialogue string and the base color of the dialogue display image (here, the background color of the dialogue string (color of the dialogue text frame)) differ. Specifically, regarding the base color (reliability indication information), the first dialogue display image SCa is "green", the second dialogue display image SCb is "blue", the third dialogue display image SCc is "red", and the fourth dialogue display image SCd is "gold". For example, if the symbol variation is a losing variation (a symbol variation in which the decorative symbol 164 is shown in a losing animation), the appearance rate of the dialogue display images decreases in the order SCa→SCb→SCc→SCd, and if the symbol variation is a winning variation (a symbol variation in which the decorative symbol 164 is shown in a winning animation), the appearance rate of the dialogue display images increases in the order SCa→SCb→SCc→SCd, so the reliability of a big win increases in the order of dialogue display images SCa→SCb→SCc→SCd.

Furthermore, regarding the content of the dialogue strings (reliability indication information), the first dialogue display image SCa reads "What?", the second dialogue display image SCb reads "Looks like something good is going to happen?", the third dialogue display image SCc reads "This is really exciting!", and the fourth dialogue display image SCd reads "This is super exciting!". Thus, in dialogue予告演出3 (dialogue予告演出3), at least some of the multiple types of dialogue display images (here, the second to fourth dialogue display images SCb to SCd, excluding the first dialogue display image SCa, which has the lowest jackpot reliability) contain special character information related to jackpot reliability (reliability regarding the appearance of a predetermined event) in the dialogue strings. This special character information directly or indirectly expresses the level of jackpot reliability, with "Good" in the second dialogue display image SCb, "Exciting" in the third dialogue display image SCc, and "Super Exciting" in the fourth dialogue display image SCd being the special character information.

Furthermore, in this dialogue予告演出3, at least a portion of the dialogue string in some dialogue display images corresponding to high reliability (in this case, the fourth dialogue display image SCd, which has the highest probability of winning) (in this case, the "Super Hot" part, which is special character information) has a different font (typeface) (in this case, a three-dimensional font that expresses depth) than the font of the dialogue string in the other dialogue display images (in this case, the first to third dialogue display images SCa to SCc) (in this case, a two-dimensional font that does not express depth). Moreover, in each dialogue string, the display manner other than the font, such as the display color and size (the special character information part is larger), differs between the special character information part (for example, "Good") and the other parts (for example, "Seems likely?"). Furthermore, among the dialogue display images SCb to SCd, which contain special text information, the display color of the special text information in dialogue display images SCb and SCc is the same and differs from the base color (reliability color). However, in dialogue display image SCd, the display color of the special text information (in this case, the display color on the front of the text) is the base color (reliability color), which is "gold."

Furthermore, the display characteristics of text information include not only the font (typeface) but also the display color and size. Font (typeface) includes not only different types such as Gothic and Mincho, but also whether it is a two-dimensional font (which does not express depth) or a three-dimensional font (which does), and the presence and thickness of outlines. Regarding display color, this includes the internal color of the front of the characters, the color of the outline, and, in the case of three-dimensional fonts, the colors of the sides and back.

Next, a specific example of the dialogue予告演出3 will be explained using the case where the second dialogue display image SCb (Figure 56(b)) is selected from the first to fourth dialogue display images SCa to SCd. First, an overview will be explained with reference to Figure 57. When dialogue予告演出3 begins during a normal variation in a reach variation pattern or a normal variation pattern (or during a reach variation in a reach variation pattern), the speaker starts outputting BGM 9a related to this dialogue予告演出3 as background music. At the same time, the decorative symbols 164 are hidden on the display screen DSaa, and the hold base image 168 is displayed at the lower end, and the mini symbols 165 are displayed at the upper end. Behind these, the presentation image 301 related to the introductory演出SC1, which consists of a scene such as a boy walking a dog, is displayed (Figures 57(a), (b)).

The introductory sequence SC1, specifically image 301, depicts a boy and his dog walking, for example, by horizontally moving background. It features minimal cuts and a generally slow, deliberate pace. During the introductory sequence SC1, at least a portion of the indicator lamps L (in this case, both the frame-side lamp La and the panel-side lamp Lb) illuminates in an introductory pattern, for example, entirely orange with white light moving in a predetermined direction above it. The speed of this introductory illumination pattern change (e.g., the speed of the white portion's movement) should ideally be slow, matching the movement in the walking scene in image 301.

Then, in the introductory sequence SC1, when a portion of the bear character, the main character of the dialogue予告 sequence 3, is displayed on the screen (Figure 57(b)), the sequence transitions from SC1 to SC2, and the sequence image 301 switches to a magnified view of the bear character playing the trumpet (Figure 57(c)). Furthermore, a scene transition sound is output as a sound effect during the transition from SC1 to SC2. At this time, the sequence lamp L switches from the introductory illumination mode to the pre-dialogue illumination mode; for example, the white moving illumination ends and becomes a single-color orange illumination.

In dialogue presentation SC2, a blue dialogue text frame 301a indicating the reliability level is displayed in front of the bear character. Within this dialogue text frame 301a, a dialogue string 301b, for example, "Looks like something good is going to happen?", is displayed in blue, indicating a high probability of a big win (Figure 57(d)). Furthermore, a dialogue appearance notification sound is output as a sound effect, synchronized with the display timing of the dialogue string 301b, or the preceding dialogue text frame 301a. This dialogue appearance notification sound may vary depending on the probability of a big win; for example, "Pikon" for the first and second dialogue display images SCa and SCb, "Piroron" for the third dialogue display image SCc, and "Piroropiroron" for the fourth dialogue display image SCd. In this case, the longer the dialogue appearance notification sound, the higher the probability of a big win.

Furthermore, while the dialogue string 301b is displayed, after the bear character stops playing the trumpet, lip-syncing (speaking) begins, and a dialogue sound (preview voice) corresponding to the dialogue string 301b is output. Also, at a predetermined point during the dialogue performance SC2, for example, approximately simultaneously with the start of the display of the dialogue string 301b, the illumination mode of the performance lamp L switches from the pre-dialogue illumination mode (orange) to the dialogue illumination mode (blue in this case) corresponding to the character color of the dialogue string 301b (i.e., reliability information). When the dialogue performance SC2 ends, the output of the BGM 9a stops, and the performance image 301 switches to the changing screen of the decorative pattern 164 (Figure 57(e)).

Next, we will explain in more detail the dialogue予告演出3 shown in Figure 57. Figures 58 to 59 show the changes in the display screen and light-emitting means at even smaller time intervals than in Figure 57, for the period shown in Figures 57(b) to (e). The 15 frames shown in Figures 58 to 59 were extracted at a constant pitch from all frames during the period shown in Figures 57(b) to (e). Therefore, in Figures 58 to 59, the time interval between adjacent frames is the same, and is set to A milliseconds, the same as in Figures 24 to 26 in the step-up予告演出. Furthermore, Figures 84(a) to 85(a) show a general time chart for the period shown in Figures 57(a) to (e), in comparison with the general time chart for the dialogue予告演出4 (Figures 84(b) to 85(b)) and the general time chart for the notification予告演出 (Figures 84(c) to 85(c)), which will be described later.

In the dialogue preview sequence 3, as shown in Figure 84(a), the introductory sequence SC1, consisting of a scene of a boy walking his dog, is executed for approximately 8 seconds. During this walking scene, when a part of a bear character is displayed on the screen (Figure 58(a)), the screen switches to a larger view of the bear character along with the output of a scene switching sound (Figure 58(b)), and the dialogue sequence SC2 begins. At this time, the sequence lamp L switches from the introductory illumination mode to the pre-dialogue illumination mode, for example, the moving white illumination ends and becomes a single-color orange illumination. Then, after a predetermined time (10 frames in this case), a dialogue caption frame 301a is displayed in front of the character image, etc., in a color indicating the probability of a big win (blue in this case) (Figures 58(c) to (d)) (6 frames in this case). Furthermore, a dialogue string 301b indicating the probability of a big win ("Looks like something good is going to happen?") is displayed in front of the dialogue caption frame 301a, for example, with a fade-in effect (3 frames in this case) (Figures 58(e) to (f)) (start of dialogue display period, dialogue display lingering period (first half)).

Here, the "dialogue display lingering period" refers to the period during which the dialogue text is displayed but the corresponding dialogue sound is not output. The "first half" of this period is the period before the dialogue sound output begins, and the "second half" is the period after the dialogue sound output ends. The timing of the start of display for the dialogue caption frame 301a and the dialogue text 301b is the same regardless of the type of dialogue display image, but it may be varied depending on the type of dialogue display image, i.e., the probability of a big win.

When the display of the dialogue string 301b begins (or when the display of the dialogue caption frame 301a begins), a dialogue appearance sound (here, "Pikon") corresponding to the jackpot reliability is output, and as shown in Figures 58(b) to (e), the illumination pattern of the effect lamp L switches from the pre-dialogue illumination pattern (orange) to the dialogue illumination pattern (here, blue) corresponding to the character color of the dialogue string 301b (i.e., reliability information). Furthermore, the dialogue string 301b begins to be displayed in a predetermined dynamic pattern (here, the entire string moves to the right along the dialogue caption frame 301a) when the fade-in display is complete (Figure 58(f)) (start of the dynamic dialogue display period). However, this dynamic display may start during the fade-in or at a predetermined timing after the fade-in is complete.

Subsequently, the character who was playing the trumpet performs an action to end the performance (Figure 58(g)) (15F in this case), and then the output of the dialogue sound (preview voice) corresponding to the dialogue string 301b begins (end of the dialogue display afterglow period (first half)) and the character performs a lip-sync action (speaking action) (Figures 58(h) to 59(j)). Here, the length of the dialogue sound output period differs depending on the length of the dialogue string 301b for each dialogue display image, and in this dialogue preview effect 3, as shown in Figures 84(a) to 85(a), it is 50F for the first and second dialogue display images SCa and SCb, 60F for the third dialogue display image SCc, and 40F for the fourth dialogue display image SCd. Furthermore, the length of the lip-syncing animation (lip-syncing period) is the same for all dialogue display images, regardless of the length of the dialogue sound output period. For example, it is set to the same length as one of the multiple dialogue sound output periods (in this case, 60F, the same as the dialogue sound output period for the third dialogue display image SCc). It is desirable to match the length of the lip-syncing period to the dialogue sound output period for dialogue display images that appear more frequently during winning spins (e.g., the third dialogue display image SCc), rather than to the dialogue sound output period for dialogue display images that appear more frequently during losing spins (e.g., the first dialogue display image SCa). This is because players are likely to pay more attention to the announcements during winning spins than during losing spins.

The lip-syncing period and the dialogue sound output period end (Figure 59(j)) (beginning of the dialogue display lingering period (second half)), and after a predetermined time has elapsed, the dialogue display image ends its display, for example, by fading out (here, 3F) (Figures 59(k) to (o)) (end of the dialogue display period and the dialogue display lingering period (second half)). The timing of this fade-out is the same regardless of the type of dialogue display image. In parallel with the fade-out display, the changing screen of the decorative pattern 164 fades in. The dynamic display of the dialogue string 301b ends when the dialogue display image fades out, but it may also end during the fade-out or continue until the fade-out is complete.

[Dialogue preview effect 4]
Figures 60 to 63 show an example of a dialogue notification effect 4 that is executed during a normal variation in a reach variation pattern or a normal variation pattern, or during a reach variation in a reach variation pattern. This dialogue notification effect 4 is an effect in which a character speaks a line of dialogue, and is configured to indicate the probability of a big win by displaying one of the multiple types (five types) of dialogue display images (variations) shown in Figure 60 and outputting the corresponding dialogue sound. The five types of dialogue display images are almost the same in terms of the display layout including the character (in this case, Kappa), but differ in the content of the dialogue string and the base color of the dialogue display image (in this case, the display color (internal color) of the dialogue string and some background colors). Specifically, regarding the base color (reliability indicator), the first dialogue display image SDa is "blue," the second dialogue display image SDb is "red," the third dialogue display image SDc is "gold," the fourth dialogue display image SDd is "danger color," and the fifth dialogue display image SDe is "rainbow." For example, if the symbol variation is a losing variation, the appearance rate of the dialogue display images decreases in the order of SDa → SDb → SDc → SDd → SDe, and if the symbol variation is a jackpot variation (a symbol variation in which decorative symbol 164 becomes a jackpot performance), the appearance rate increases in the order of SDa → SDb → SDc → SDd → SDe, so the jackpot reliability is configured to increase in the order of SDa → SDb → SDc → SDd → SDe.

Furthermore, regarding the content of the dialogue strings (reliability indication information), the first dialogue display image SDa reads "Can I help you with anything?", the second dialogue display image SDb reads "Let's do our best", the third dialogue display image SDc reads "How are you feeling?", the fourth dialogue display image SDd reads "I believe your words", and the fifth dialogue display image SDe reads "Have you forgotten about me?". Thus, unlike dialogue予告演出3, in dialogue予告演出4, the dialogue strings in all dialogue display images SDa to SDe do not contain special text information (such as "Super Hot") regarding the level of jackpot reliability (reliability regarding the appearance of a predetermined event). Also, in dialogue予告演出4, the font (typeface) of the dialogue strings is the same for all dialogue display images SDa to SCe.

Next, a specific example of the dialogue予告演出4 will be explained using the case where the third dialogue display image SDc (Figure 60(c)) from the first to fifth dialogue display images SDa to SDe is selected. First, an overview will be explained with reference to Figure 61. When the dialogue予告演出4 begins during a normal variation in a reach variation pattern or a normal variation pattern (or during a reach variation in a reach variation pattern), the speaker starts outputting BGM 9b related to this dialogue予告演出4 as background music. At the same time, the decorative symbols 164 are hidden on the display screen DSa, the hold base image 168 is displayed at the lower end, and the mini symbols 165 are displayed at the upper end. Behind these, the presentation image 311 related to the introductory演出SD1, which consists of a scene of, for example, an animal character playing a musical instrument, is displayed (Figures 61(a) to (c)).

In the introductory sequence SD1, image 311 features separate performance scenes for each of several animal characters, which are switched sequentially in relatively short intervals. Thus, the introductory sequence SD1 of the dialogue予告演出4 features numerous cuts, and these cuts occur at relatively short intervals, resulting in an overall fast-paced presentation. The number of performance scene changes (i.e., the number of animal characters appearing) may be configured to vary according to the probability of a big win, etc. In other words, a step-up sequence element may be adopted in the introductory sequence SD1. This makes it possible to evoke a sense of anticipation in the player during the introductory sequence SD1. However, even in this case, it is desirable that the duration of the introductory sequence SD1 be consistent.

At the start of each performance scene, a predetermined start sound is output as a sound effect, and during each performance scene, an optional introductory voice by each animal character is output as dialogue sound. The corresponding dialogue string is not displayed on the screen, although it may be displayed on the screen. Furthermore, during the introductory effect SD1, at least a portion of the effect lamps L (here, both the frame-side lamp La and the panel-side lamp Lb) illuminates in an introductory illumination pattern, for example, a cyclical change pattern that changes cyclically through multiple colors such as purple and white.

Then, the program transitions from the introductory sequence SD1 to the dialogue sequence SD2. The display screen DSa displays one of the first to fifth dialogue display images SDa to SDe (in this case, the third dialogue display image SDc). However, at the start of the dialogue sequence SD2, the high-brightness sequence WOC1 is performed (Figure 61(d)). This high-brightness sequence WOC1 enhances the display of the dialogue display image. By displaying the high-brightness image 170wa, it is configured to reduce the visibility of the image behind the high-brightness image 170wa (in this case, the third dialogue display image SDc). Therefore, as the transmittance of the high-brightness image 170wa increases in the high-brightness sequence WOC1, the third dialogue display image SDc, which was previously invisible or difficult to see, gradually becomes visible (Figure 61(e)). At the start of the high-brightness sequence WOC1, the first emphasis sound is output as a sound effect. Furthermore, during the high-brightness effect WOC1, at least a portion of the effect lamps L (in this case, both the frame-side lamp La and the panel-side lamp Lb) emit light in a first high-brightness light emission mode, for example, a cyclical change mode in which multiple colors such as white, blue, red, and gold are cyclically alternating.

During the dialogue presentation SD2, a predetermined予告 voice is output as dialogue sound. This preview voice corresponds to the dialogue string 311a displayed on the screen, and in this case, "How are you feeling?" is output. The output of this dialogue sound begins before the third dialogue display image SDc becomes fully visible, that is, during the execution of the high-brightness presentation WOC1. Furthermore, after the high-brightness presentation WOC1 ends during the dialogue presentation SD2, the presentation lamp L illuminates in a preview-like pattern, for example, a cyclical change pattern that changes between multiple colors such as blue, red, and gold.

At the end of the dialogue presentation SD2, a high-brightness presentation WOC2 is performed, displaying a high-brightness image 170wb (Figure 61(f)). During the execution of this high-brightness presentation WOC2, the third dialogue display image SDc is switched to a changing screen of the decorative pattern 164 (Figure 61(g)). Furthermore, at the start of the high-brightness presentation WOC2, the output of the BGM 9b is stopped.

Next, we will explain in more detail the dialogue予告演出4 shown in Figure 61. Figures 62 and 63 show the changes in the display screen and light-emitting means at even smaller time intervals than in Figure 61, for the period shown in Figures 61(c) to (g). The 15 frames shown in Figures 62 and 63 were extracted at a constant pitch from all frames during the period shown in Figures 61(c) to (g). Therefore, in Figures 62 and 63, the time interval between adjacent frames is the same, and is set to A milliseconds, the same as in Figures 24 to 26 in the step-up予告演出. Furthermore, Figures 84(b) to 85(b) show a general time chart for the period shown in Figures 61(a) to (g), in comparison with the general time chart for the dialogue予告演出3 described above (Figures 84(a) to 85(a)) and the general time chart for the notification予告演出 described later (Figures 84(c) to 85(c)).

In the dialogue preview sequence 4, as shown in Figure 84(b), the introductory sequence SD1, in which scenes of animal characters playing musical instruments are sequentially switched, is executed for approximately 8 seconds. When the dialogue sequence SD2 begins, switching from the final performance scene (Figure 62(a)) to a dialogue display image (in this case, the third dialogue display image SDc), a first emphasis sound is output as a sound effect, and the high-brightness sequence WOC1 begins (Figure 62(b)). At this time, the sequence lamp L switches from the introductory illumination mode (a cyclical change between purple and white) to the first high-brightness medium illumination mode (a cyclical illumination mode between white, blue, red, and gold).

In the high-brightness effect WOC1, the high-brightness image 170wa is displayed in front of the dialogue display image and behind the mini-symbol 165, the hold base image 168, and the hold images X1-X4 and Y1-Y4 in front of it (Figure 62(b)). The size (range) of the high-brightness image 170wa gradually changes and eventually disappears (Figure 62(h)). In this high-brightness effect WOC1, the transparency of the high-brightness image 170wa does not change (here, it is assumed to be 0%). However, the transparency may change along with the size (range) of the high-brightness image 170wa, or the transparency may change but the size (range) may remain unchanged.

Furthermore, the high-brightness image 170wa is configured such that its size (range) is at its maximum at the start of display (Figure 62(b)), gradually decreases over time, and at a predetermined point in the process (here, the point shown in Figure 62(e)), the entire dialogue string 311a becomes visible (start of the dialogue display period and the dialogue display afterglow period (first half)). Also, the dialogue string 311a begins to be displayed in a predetermined dynamic manner (here, each character constituting the string individually oscillates from side to side) at the point when at least a portion of it becomes visible (Figure 62(c)) (start of the dynamic dialogue display period). However, this dynamic display may begin at the point when the entire dialogue string 311a becomes visible, or at a predetermined point thereafter.

Furthermore, after the entire dialogue string 311a becomes visible (Figure 62(e)), at a predetermined point (here, the point shown in Figure 62(g)) until the high-brightness image 170wa completely disappears and the high-brightness effect WOC1 ends (Figure 62(h)), the output of the dialogue sound (preview voice) corresponding to the dialogue string 311a begins (end of the dialogue display afterglow period (first half)). Note that in this dialogue preview effect 4, no lip-syncing (speaking action) by the character is performed for the dialogue sound corresponding to the dialogue string 311a.

Here, the length of the dialogue sound output period varies depending on the length of the dialogue string 311a for each dialogue display image. In this dialogue予告演出4, as shown in Figures 84(b) to 85(b), the length is 65F (frames) for the first dialogue display image SDa, 102F for the second dialogue display image SDb, 57F for the third dialogue display image SDc, 59F for the fourth dialogue display image SDd, and 63F for the fifth dialogue display image SDe. After the high-brightness演出 WOC1 ends, the illumination pattern of the illumination lamp L switches from the previous first high-brightness medium illumination pattern (a cyclical illumination pattern of white, blue, red, and gold) to the illumination pattern during the予告 (preview) (a cyclical change pattern of blue, red, and gold).

Furthermore, in this dialogue予告演出4 (dialogue予告演出4), except in the case of the second dialogue display image SDb, the display and dynamic display of the dialogue string 311a continue even after the dialogue sound output period ends (for example, Figure 63(j)) (beginning of the dialogue display lingering period (second half)) (Figures 85(b), 63(j) to (k)). Then, at a predetermined point thereafter (Figure 63(k)), the high-brightness演出 WOC2 begins. The start timing of the high-brightness演出 WOC2 is constant regardless of the type of dialogue display image. When the high-brightness演出 WOC2 begins, the illumination pattern of the effect lamp L switches from the previous illumination pattern during the予告 (preview) (a cyclical change pattern of blue, red, and gold) to the second high-brightness illumination pattern (white).

In the high-brightness effect WOC2 shown in Figures 63(k) to (o), the high-brightness image 170wb is displayed in front of the dialogue display image and behind the mini-symbol 165, the hold base image 168, and the hold images X1 to X4 and Y1 to Y4 in front of it. This high-brightness image 170wb is configured so that its size (range) gradually increases over time, reaching a maximum at a predetermined point (Figures 63(k) to (m)), and then gradually decreases over time until it disappears (Figures 63(m) to (o)). Furthermore, the high-brightness image 170wb is set so that its transmittance is approximately uniform within its range, and not only its size (range) but also its transmittance changes. Over time, the transmittance gradually decreases at, for example, a constant rate of change, reaching a minimum (0% in this case) at a predetermined point (Figures 63(k) to (m)), and then gradually increases at, for example, a constant rate of change over time (Figures 63(m) to (o)).

Furthermore, in the high-brightness effect WOC2, as the size (range) of the high-brightness image 170wb gradually increases and its transmittance gradually decreases, the dialogue display image fades out on the screen. When the size (range) of the high-brightness image 170wb reaches its maximum and its transmittance reaches its minimum (Figure 63(m)), or at a similar timing, the display switches to the changing screen of the decorative pattern 164 (end of the dialogue display afterglow time (second half)). Then, as the size (range) of the high-brightness image 170wb gradually decreases and its transmittance gradually increases, the visibility of the changing screen of the decorative pattern 164 improves. Eventually, when the high-brightness image 170wb disappears (Figure 63(o)), the entire changing screen of the decorative pattern 164 (excluding parts hidden behind mini-patterns 165, etc.) becomes fully visible.

In the dialogue notification effect 4, as shown in Figure 85(b), when displaying a dialogue display image with a high appearance rate during a jackpot spin (here, the third dialogue display image SDb), the dialogue sound output period continues until the end of the display of the dialogue display image (i.e., the display of the dialogue string 311a), and there is no dialogue display afterglow period (second half). Furthermore, the length of the dialogue display afterglow period (second half) is longer when displaying a high-reliability dialogue display image (here, the third to fifth dialogue display images SDc to SDe) than when displaying a low-reliability dialogue display image (here, the first dialogue display image SDa). The length of the dialogue display afterglow period (first half) may be varied depending on the jackpot reliability, the length of the dialogue sound output period, etc.

[Announcement/Preview Production]
Figures 64 to 67 show notification and preview effects that are executed during normal spins in the reach spin pattern or normal spin pattern, or during reach spins in the reach spin pattern. In this notification and preview effect (specific notification effect), the probability of a big win is indicated by displaying one of the multiple types (four types) of notification display images (specific images) (variations) shown in Figure 64. All four types of notification display images display various notification information within a notification frame, but the displayed character (in this case, Kappa), the content of the second string of the first and second strings (text information) (in this case, "Sale in Progress!"), and the display layout within the notification frame are largely the same, while the content of the first string and the base color of the notification display image (in this case, the display color (internal color) and background color of the first string) differ.

In other words, regarding the base color (reliability indicator information), the notification display image ANA is "blue," notification display images ANb1 and ANb2 are both "red," and notification display image ANc is "gold." Here, if the symbol variation is a losing variation, the appearance rate decreases in the order of notification display image ANA → ANb1, ANb2 → ANc, and if the symbol variation is a jackpot variation (a symbol variation in which decorative symbol 164 becomes a jackpot performance), the appearance rate increases in the order of notification display image ANA → ANb1, ANb2 → ANc. As a result, the jackpot reliability is higher for notification display images (second reliability indicator information) ANb1 and ANb2 than for notification display image (first reliability indicator information) ANA, and furthermore, the jackpot reliability is higher for notification display image (third reliability indicator information) ANc than for notification display images (second reliability indicator information) ANb1 and ANb2. Thus, the number of presentation patterns corresponding to the "red" base color (second reliability indicator information) (two in this case) is greater than the number of presentation patterns corresponding to the "blue" base color (first reliability indicator information) (one in this case).

Furthermore, regarding the content of the first string (reliability suggestion information), the notification display image ANA is "Kappa", the notification display image ANb1 is "Chance", the notification display image ANb2 is "Big Chance", and the notification display image ANc is "Super Hot". Thus, in this notification予告演出 (notification予告演出), at least some of the multiple types of notification display images (in this case, notification display images ANb1, ANb2, and ANc, excluding notification display image ANA, which has the lowest probability of winning) contain special character information in the string that relates to the level of probability of winning (the probability of the appearance of a predetermined event). In other words, the first strings "Chance", "Big Chance", and "Super Hot" of notification display images ANb1, ANb2, and ANc each correspond to special character information. Here, for notification display images (second reliability indication information) ANb1 and ANb2, which use the same "red" base color, the special character information constituting the first string is "Chance" (first character information) and "Big Chance" (second character information). Therefore, when the symbol variation is a jackpot variation, notification display image (second reliability indication information) ANb2 is set to appear more frequently than notification display image (second reliability indication information A) ANb1. As a result, notification display image (second reliability indication information B) ANb2, which has the special character information "Big Chance," has a higher jackpot reliability than notification display image (second reliability indication information A) ANb1, which has the special character information "Chance."

Furthermore, in this notification and preview presentation, the font (typeface) of the first string of characters (text information) is the same between notification display image ANA, which corresponds to the "blue" base color (first confidence level suggestion information), and notification display images ANb1 and ANb2, which correspond to the "red" base color (second confidence level suggestion information) which has a higher confidence level (both are Gothic fonts). However, the font (typeface) of the first string of characters (text information) is different for notification display image ANc, which corresponds to the "gold" base color (third confidence level suggestion information) which has an even higher confidence level (Pop font). Moreover, for notification display images ANb1 and ANb2, which use the same "red" base color, the font (typeface) of the first string of characters is the same, but other predetermined display characteristics (in this case, the color of the character outlines) are different. Furthermore, the font type of the first string may be different between notification image ANb1 and notification image ANb2, and other display characteristics besides the outline color, such as size and internal color, may also be different.

Next, a specific example of the notification予告演出 (notification/preview) will be explained, using the case where notification display image ANb1 (Figure 64(b1)) is selected from the notification display images ANa, ANb1, ANb2, and ANc. First, an overview will be explained with reference to Figure 65. When the notification/preview performance begins during a normal variation in a reach variation pattern or a normal variation pattern (or during a reach variation in a reach variation pattern), the speaker starts outputting BGM 9c related to this dialogue notification performance 4 as background music. At the same time, the decorative symbols 164 are hidden on the display screen DSaa, and the hold base image 168 is displayed at the lower end, and the mini symbols 165 are displayed at the upper end. Behind these, the performance image 321 related to the introductory performance AN1, which consists of a scene such as a kappa character flying in the sky and a boy finding it, is displayed (Figure 65(a)).

In the introductory sequence AN1, a voice clip is played as a boy who has spotted a flying kappa, uttering lines such as "Oh, a kappa!" The corresponding dialogue is displayed as text on the screen. During the introductory sequence AN1, at least a portion of the sequence lamps L (in this case, both the frame-side lamp La and the panel-side lamp Lb) illuminate in the introductory lighting pattern, for example, purple, which is not included in the reliability indication information.

Then, the program transitions from the introductory sequence AN1 to the notification display sequence AN2. The display screen DSaa shows one of the notification display images ANa, ANb1, ANb2, or ANc (in this case, notification display image ANb1). However, following the flow from the introductory sequence AN1, the notification frame 321a, which contains notification information such as the first and second strings, appears on the screen as if pulled down by a kappa character (Figure 65(b)). At this time, the sequence lamp L lights up in the same purple color as the illumination pattern at the start of the notification display, for example, the illumination pattern at the introduction. Immediately after the entire notification frame 321a becomes visible, the high-brightness sequence WOD1 is performed (Figure 65(c)). This high-brightness effect WOD1 is designed to emphasize the display of the notification frame 321a. By displaying the high-brightness image 170wc, it is configured to reduce the visibility of the image behind the high-brightness image 170wc (in this case, the notification frame 321a of the notification display image ANb1).

Furthermore, as the range (size) of the high-brightness image 170wc gradually narrows and its transmittance gradually increases, the display information in the notification frame 321a gradually becomes visible. However, even after the display information in the notification frame 321a becomes fully visible, the high-brightness effect WOD1 continues until the notification display effect AN2 ends. That is, the display of the high-brightness image 170wc continues in a range that does not adversely affect the visibility of the display information in the notification frame 321a, for example, in the peripheral area of the screen (Figures 65(c) to (f)). Also, at the start of the high-brightness effect WOD1, an emphasis sound is output as a sound effect. During the high-brightness effect WOD1, the effect lamp L emits light in a notification display mode that includes the reliability display color (red) of the notification display image ANb1, for example, in a mode where the entire display is red and white moves in a predetermined direction over it.

Subsequently, an ending sequence is executed to terminate the display of the notification image ANb1 related to the notification display sequence AN2 and switch to the symbol variation screen (Figure 65(f)). During this ending sequence, the sequence lamp L illuminates in a different ending illumination pattern (e.g., orange) than the illumination pattern during the previous notification display (in this case, red + white movement). After the ending sequence, when the symbol variation screen begins (Figure 65(g)), a symbol stop sound is output as a sound effect, coinciding with the stopping of the decorative symbols 164a to 164c.

Next, we will explain in more detail the notification and warning effects shown in Figure 65. Figures 66 and 67 show the changes in the display screen and light-emitting means at even smaller time intervals (here, every 1F (frame)) than in Figure 65, for the period shown in Figures 65(b) to (e). Figure 66 shows the case when it is executed during normal gameplay (hereinafter referred to as the normal notification display effect), and Figure 67 shows the case when it is executed during special gameplay (high probability state, etc.) (hereinafter referred to as the special notification display effect). Note that Figures 66 and 67 differ in the manner of dynamic display of text information and the manner of corresponding light-emitting effects, but are otherwise common. Therefore, in the following explanation, we will basically refer to Figure 66 and refer to Figure 67 as needed. Furthermore, Figures 84(c) to 85(c) show a general time chart for the period shown in Figures 65(a) to 65(g), in comparison with the general time charts for the dialogue preview sequences 3 and 4 described above (Figures 84(a) to 85(a), and 84(b) to 85(b)).

In the notification and preview sequence, as shown in Figure 84(c), an introductory sequence AN1, consisting of a scene of a kappa character flying in the sky and a boy finding it, is executed for approximately 8 seconds. This is followed by a transition to notification display sequence AN2, in which one of the notification display images ANa, ANb1, ANb2, or ANc (in this case, notification display image ANb1) is displayed. In this notification display sequence AN2, following the flow from the introductory sequence AN1, a notification frame 321a containing notification information such as the first and second strings of text appears on the screen as if being pulled down by the kappa character (Figures 66(a) to (e)) (start of the string display afterglow period). In the scene in which the notification frame 321a appears, the first and second strings of text gradually become visible, and at a predetermined point in time (for example, at the point in Figure 66(d)), the first and second strings of text become fully visible (start of the string display period (first half)). At this time, the indicator lamp L will illuminate in the same purple color as when the notification display starts, for example, the illumination pattern at the beginning of the announcement.

Then, the entire notification frame 321a appears on the screen, and when this state continues for a certain period of time (Figures 66(e) to (j)), an emphasis sound is output as a sound effect and the high-brightness effect WOD1 is started (Figure 66(k)) (end of the string display afterglow period and the string display period (first half)). In this high-brightness effect WOD1, a high-brightness image 170wc is displayed in front of the notification display image and behind the mini symbol 165, the hold base image 168 and the hold images X1 to X4, Y1 to Y4 in front of it, and the size (range) and transparency of the high-brightness image 170wc gradually change (Figures 66(k) to (u)). This high-brightness effect WOD1 consists of an enlargement effect (Figures 66(k) to (l)) in which the size (range) of the high-brightness image 170wc gradually increases over time until it reaches its maximum at a predetermined point, followed by a reduction effect (Figures 66(l) to (u)) in which it gradually decreases over time, and then a maintenance effect (Figures 66(u) to) in which the reduced state is maintained. The duration of each of these enlargement, reduction, and maintenance effects is common regardless of the type of display image.

In the enlargement effect (Figures 66(k) to (l)), the high-brightness image 170wc expands from the center of the screen outwards, while the area outside the high-brightness image 170wc gradually narrows towards the outer edge of the screen. In contrast, in the shrinking effect (Figures 66(l) to (u)), the high-brightness image 170wc shrinks from the center of the screen outwards, while the area outside the high-brightness image 170wc gradually expands from the center of the screen outwards. Furthermore, in the maintenance effect (Figures 66(u) to), the high-brightness image 170wc is displayed in an area (range) outside the display range of at least the first and second strings. Furthermore, the high-brightness image 170wc is set so that its transmittance is approximately uniform within its range, and both its size (range) and transmittance change. Over time, the transmittance gradually decreases at a constant rate, reaching a minimum (0% in this case) at a predetermined point (Figures 66(k) to (l)). Afterward, it gradually increases at a constant rate over time (Figures 66(l) to (u)), and this state is maintained (Figures 66(u) to ). During the high-brightness effect WOD1, the visibility of the first and second strings of text should gradually improve; therefore, either the range (size) or the transmittance of the high-brightness image 170wc may be changed.

Furthermore, during the high-brightness presentation WOD1, until the visibility of the first and second strings improves to a certain extent (in this case, until the first and second strings become fully visible) (for example, during the shrinking change presentation (Figures 66(l) to (u))), a predetermined dynamic display (in this case, a periodic movement that vibrates vertically) is performed for the first and second strings (dynamic string display period). This makes it possible to strongly impress upon the player the appearance and presence of the first and second strings even when their visibility is reduced by the high-brightness image 170wc. Note that the dynamic display of the first and second strings differs in operation between the normal notification and予告 presentation (Figure 66) performed during normal gameplay and the special notification and予告 presentation (Figure 67) performed during special gameplay. In other words, while the dynamic display of text information in a normal notification/preview sequence (first oscillation sequence) and the dynamic display of text information in a special notification/preview sequence (second oscillation sequence) share the characteristics of being periodic movements that oscillate vertically and having a similar execution time, their periods and magnitudes of change differ. The latter (Figures 67(l) to (u))) has a shorter period (smaller increments) and a larger amplitude of movement than the former (Figures 66(l) to (u)).

Here, this notification/preview animation is executed more frequently during the special game state (special notification/preview animation (Figure 67)) than during the normal game state (normal notification/preview animation (Figure 66)). As described above, by differentiating the fluctuation pattern of text information between the normal and special game states, the effect of the animation can be enhanced. Furthermore, by increasing the execution frequency during the special game state, which is more advantageous to the player, it is possible to increase the player's anticipation for the text information fluctuation animation.

The dynamic display period and dynamic display mode of the text are common regardless of the type of notification image (i.e., the probability of winning a jackpot). However, at least one of these text dynamic display periods and dynamic display modes may be different depending on the type of notification image (i.e., the probability of winning a jackpot). Even in this case, the text dynamic display period and dynamic display mode may be common for notification images with the same probability display color (here, notification images ANb1 and ANb2). If at least one of these text dynamic display periods and dynamic display modes are different depending on the type of notification image (i.e., the probability of winning a jackpot), it is conceivable that a higher probability of winning a jackpot would result in a longer text dynamic display period and a more pronounced dynamic display mode.

Furthermore, regarding the dynamic display of character information, the periodic motion is not limited to reciprocating motions such as vertical movement, horizontal movement, or oscillation around the front-to-back axis, i.e., where the forward and return movements follow approximately the same path. It may also be a periodic motion that does not involve reciprocating motion, such as moving linearly or curvilinearly around a predetermined area and returning to the original position. Additionally, the entire character information is not limited to a single, integrated movement; multiple units constituting the character information (e.g., each character) may perform different periodic motions (oscillation, etc.). Moreover, while the motion in the dynamic display of character information is described as periodic, it is not limited to motion at a fixed period; the period may vary (e.g., the speed or amplitude of vertical movement changes).

Subsequently, after the first and second strings become fully visible (in this case, during the maintenance animation period (Figure 66(u)~)), the dynamic display ends. However, even during this period, the display of the high-brightness image 170wc is continued to the extent that the visibility of the first and second strings is not reduced, thereby maintaining the effect of the high-brightness animation WOD1. Furthermore, the dynamic display may continue even after the first and second strings become fully visible, or it may be switched to a different dynamic display (for example, from small, rapid movements to slower movements). Also, during the high-brightness animation WOD1, the animation lamp L emits light in a notification display mode that includes the reliability display color (red) of the notification display image ANb1, for example, in a mode where the entire display is red and white light moves in a predetermined direction over it. Furthermore, during the special notification/pre-announcement sequence (Figure 67) performed in the special game state, the performance lamp L may be illuminated in a rainbow-colored emission pattern different from that during the normal game state (normal notification/pre-announcement sequence (Figure 66)) for at least a portion of the dynamic text display period (in this case, during the high-brightness sequence WOD1). This rainbow-colored emission pattern is not performed in the case of a losing spin, but is an example of a specific emission pattern that can be performed in the case of a winning spin.

As explained above, in this notification and preview effect, the high-brightness effect WOD1 can be executed after the display of the first and second strings (text information) begins, and the first and second strings (text information) are dynamically displayed after the execution of the high-brightness effect WOD1 begins. In this way, by first displaying text information that suggests the probability of a big win, it is possible to heighten the player's anticipation, and then by executing the high-brightness effect and the dynamic display of text information, it is possible to create a greater impact with the display image including the text information. Furthermore, at the timing when the display of the first and second strings (text information) begins, the illumination mode of the effect lamp (light-emitting means) L is set to, for example, a purple notification display start illumination mode (first illumination mode), and during the execution of the high-brightness effect WOD1, the illumination mode of the effect lamp (light-emitting means) L is configured to change from the notification display start illumination mode (first illumination mode) to, for example, a red + white moving notification display illumination mode (second illumination mode).

Furthermore, the system is configured to dynamically display the first and second strings (text information) during the high-brightness effect WOD1, allowing the player to be aware of the presence of the first and second strings even when their visibility is reduced by the high-brightness effect. Additionally, the system is configured to change (improve) the visibility of the first and second strings (text information) by altering the range (size) and transparency of the high-brightness image 170wc during the dynamic display of the first and second strings (text information). Moreover, by continuing the high-brightness effect WOD1 after the dynamic display of the first and second strings (text information) ends, the effect of the high-brightness effect WOD1 can be maintained.

Furthermore, in this notification and preview sequence, it is possible to execute any of the following multiple reliability indicators: notification display image (first reliability indicator information) ANA, notification display images (second reliability indicator information) ANb1 and ANb2 corresponding to a higher reliability than notification display image (first reliability indicator information) ANA, and notification display image (third reliability indicator information) ANc corresponding to a higher reliability than notification display image (second reliability indicator information) ANb1 and ANb2. In the case of a losing spin, the notification display image (second reliability indicator information) ANb1 and ANb2 appear more frequently than the notification display image (second reliability suggestion information) ANb1 and ANb2. Furthermore, notification display images (second reliability suggestion information) ANb1 and ANb2 include notification display image (Type A second reliability suggestion information) ANb1 and notification display image (Type B second reliability suggestion information) ANb2. During big win variations, notification display image (Type B second reliability suggestion information) ANb2 appears more frequently than notification display image (Type A second reliability suggestion information) ANb1.

Furthermore, in this notification and preview animation, regardless of whether the notification display images ANA, ANb1, ANb2, or ANc are displayed, the high-brightness animation WOD1 is executed after the display of text information begins (Figure 84(c)), and the text information is dynamically displayed after the execution of the high-brightness animation WOD1 (Figures 66(l) to (u)). The execution times for the high-brightness animation and the dynamic display of text information are common to both. That is, in both the first animation mode corresponding to the first confidence level (for example, the animation mode displaying notification display image ANA) and the second animation mode corresponding to the second confidence level higher than the first confidence level (for example, the animation mode displaying notification display image ANb1), the high-brightness animation is executed after the display of text information begins, and the text information is dynamically displayed after the execution of the high-brightness animation. The execution times for the high-brightness animation and the dynamic display of text information are common to both.

In the above example, even if the probability of winning differs (i.e., regardless of which of the multiple types of notification display images is displayed), the execution time of the high-brightness effects and the dynamic display of text information are the same, and the display style of the high-brightness effects and the dynamic display of text information are also the same. However, the display style of the high-brightness effects and the dynamic display of text information may be different depending on the probability of winning. For example, the color of the high-brightness image in the high-brightness effect may be the same as the base color (probability indication information) in the notification display image, or the dynamic display cycle may be shortened or the amount of change may be increased when displaying a notification display image with a high probability of winning compared to when displaying a notification display image with a lower probability of winning.

[Level-up予告演出 (Level-up予告演出 - Level
Figures 68 to 72 show the level-up予告演出 (level-up notification effect) that is performed during normal fluctuations in the reach fluctuation pattern or normal fluctuation pattern, or during reach fluctuations in the reach fluctuation pattern. In this level-up notification effect, multiple types of level display images (here, five types from level 1 to level 5) shown in Figure 68 appear in ascending order, including the level 1 display image LVa, to indicate the probability of a big win. The probability of a big win is set so that the higher the level of the final level display image that appears, the higher the probability of a big win. In the level-up notification effect of this embodiment, two to a maximum of five types of level display images are displayed in stages from the five types of level display images, and there are 15 possible appearance patterns as shown in Figure 69. Of course, it is not necessary to make all of these 15 appearance patterns possible, and some of them may have an appearance rate of 0%. Here, if the final level display image that appears is the same (for example, the level 5 display image LVe), the probability of a big win may be set so that, for example, the more (or fewer) stages that have passed, the higher the probability of a big win. Furthermore, if the final level display image is the same and the number of stages passed is also the same, the probability of a big win may be increased, for example, by having a higher (or lower) total number of stages passed. Note that the display may start from a level display image other than the level 1 display image LVa, or it may be configured to always increase by one level at a time, similar to the step-up予告演出 (pre-announcement effect) described above.

The Level 1 display images LVa to Level 5 display images LVe, shown in Figure 68, share almost identical characteristics in terms of the displayed character (in this case, a kappa), the font and size of the level number string, and their display layout. However, they differ in their base color (in this case, the display color (internal color) and background color of the level string). Specifically, regarding the base color (reliability indicator information), corresponding to the jackpot reliability of each level display image, Level 1 display image LVa is "white," Level 2 display image LVb is "green," Level 3 display image LVc is "blue," Level 4 display image LVd is "red," and Level 5 display image LVe is "gold."

Next, we will explain a specific example of the level-up予告演出 (level-up notification effect), using the case where it changes in three stages: Level 1 → 3 → 5. First, we will explain the overview while referring to Figure 70. When the level-up notification effect starts during a normal variation in a reach variation pattern or a normal variation pattern (or during a reach variation in a reach variation pattern), the speaker starts outputting BGM 9d related to this dialogue notification effect 4 as background music. At the same time, the decorative symbols 164 are hidden on the display screen DSa, and the hold base image 168 is displayed at the bottom and the mini symbols 165 are displayed at the top. Then, the first level effect LV1 begins.

In this first level effect LV1, the level 1 display image LVa is shown on the screen. At this time, the character image 331b is displayed before the level string 331a is shown, and the high-brightness effect WOE1 is performed (Figure 70(a)). This high-brightness effect WOE1 emphasizes the display of the level string 331a that appears later. By displaying a high-brightness image 170wd, it is configured to reduce the visibility of the image behind the high-brightness image 170wd (in this case, a part of the character image 331b). At this time, the background color representing the reliability information may be made difficult or impossible to see by the high-brightness image 170wd, or the high-brightness image 170wd may be displayed in the same color as the background color representing the reliability information. Then, for example, partway through the high-brightness effect WOE1, the level string 331a, such as "Level 1," is displayed in front of the high-brightness image 170wd (Figure 70(b)).

Furthermore, as for sound effects, a first emphasis sound is output at the start of the high-brightness effect WOE1, and a first display sound is output at the start of the display of the level string 331a. Also, the effect lamp L illuminates in a high-brightness medium emission mode (e.g., purple) after the start of the high-brightness effect WOE1, and illuminates in a first-level emission mode including the reliability display color (in this case, white) after the start of the display of the level string 331a.

Following the first level effect (LV1), the second level effect (LV2) and the third level effect (LV3) are performed sequentially. In the second level effect (LV2), a high-brightness effect (WOE2) is performed, displaying a high-brightness image (170we), and a level string (332a) such as "Level 3" is displayed. As for sound effects, a second emphasis sound is output at the start of the high-brightness effect (WOE2), and a second display sound is output at the start of the display of the level string (332a). Furthermore, the effect lamp L illuminates in a high-brightness medium emission mode (e.g., purple) after the start of the high-brightness effect (WOE2), and illuminates in a second-level emission mode (blue in this case) including the reliability display color after the start of the display of the level string (332a).

In the subsequent third level effect LV3, a high-brightness effect WOE3 is performed, displaying a high-brightness image 170wf, and a level string 333a such as "Level 5" is displayed. As for sound effects, a third emphasis sound is output at the start of the high-brightness effect WOE3, and a third display sound is output when the level string 333a begins to be displayed. Furthermore, the effect lamp L illuminates in a high-brightness medium emission mode (e.g., purple) after the start of the high-brightness effect WOE3, and illuminates in a third-level emission mode including the reliability display color (gold in this case) after the display of the level string 333a begins.

Next, we will explain in more detail the level-up予告演出 (level-up notification effect) shown in Figure 70. Figures 71 to 72 show the changes in the display screen and light-emitting means at even smaller time intervals than in Figure 70, over the period shown in Figures 70(a) to (f). The 12 frames shown in Figures 71 to 72 were extracted at a constant pitch from all frames during the period shown in Figures 70(a) to (f). Therefore, in Figures 71 to 72, the time interval between adjacent frames is the same, and is set to A milliseconds, the same as in Figures 24 to 26 of the step-up notification effect.

First, when the first level effect LV1 is started, only the character image 331b is initially displayed among the level string 331a and character image 331b that constitute the level 1 display image LVa, and the high-brightness effect WOE1 is started along with the output of the first emphasized sound (Figure 71(a)). In this high-brightness effect WOE1, a high-brightness image 170wd is displayed in a predetermined area on the screen, for example, the areas on both the left and right sides of the character image 331b. This high-brightness image 170wd is configured such that its size (range) gradually increases over time, reaching its maximum at a predetermined point (Figures 71(a) to (b)), and then gradually decreases over time until it finally disappears (Figures 71(b) to (d)). Furthermore, the high-brightness image 170wd is set so that the transmittance is approximately uniform within its range, and not only its size (range) but also its transmittance changes. Over time, the transmittance gradually decreases at a constant rate, reaching a minimum (0% in this case) at a predetermined point (Figures 71(a) to (b)), and then gradually increases again at a constant rate over time (Figures 71(b) to (d)).

Furthermore, at a predetermined point in the high-brightness effect WOE1, for example, when the size (range) of the high-brightness image 170wd reaches its maximum (Figure 71(b)), a level string 331a such as "Level 1" is displayed in front of the high-brightness image 170wd. At this time, the level string 331a undergoes a predetermined dynamic display, such as rotation around the vertical axis, and then stops displaying after the high-brightness effect WOE1 ends (Figures 71(b) to (d)). Of course, the level string 331a may also stop displaying after the dynamic display ends before or at the end of the high-brightness effect WOE1. Also, the effect lamp L emits light in a high-brightness emission mode (e.g., purple) after the start of the high-brightness effect WOE1 (Figure 71(a)), and after a predetermined point in the high-brightness effect WOE1, for example, after the display of the level string 331a begins, it emits light in a first-level emission mode including the reliability display color (here, white) (Figures 71(b) to (d)).

After the first level effect LV1 ends, the second level effect LV2 begins, and of the level string 332a and character image 331b that constitute the level 3 display image LVc, only the character image 331b is displayed initially, and the high brightness effect WOE2 begins with the output of the second emphasized sound (Figure 71(e)). In this high brightness effect WOE2, a high brightness image 170we is displayed in a predetermined area on the screen, for example, the areas on both the left and right sides of the character image 331b. This high brightness image 170we is configured such that its size (range) gradually increases over time, reaching its maximum at a predetermined point (Figures 71(e) to (f)), and then gradually decreases over time until it finally disappears (Figures 71(f) to (h)). Furthermore, the high-brightness image 170we is set so that the transmittance is approximately uniform within its range, and not only its size (range) but also its transmittance changes. Over time, the transmittance gradually decreases at a constant rate, reaching a minimum (0% in this case) at a predetermined point (Figures 71(e) to (f)), and then gradually increases again at a constant rate over time (Figures 71(f) to (h)).

Furthermore, at a predetermined point in the high-brightness effect WOE2, for example, when the size (range) of the high-brightness image 170we reaches its maximum (Figure 71(f)), a level string 332a such as "Level 3" is displayed in front of the high-brightness image 170we. At this time, the level string 332a undergoes a predetermined dynamic display, such as rotation around the vertical axis, and then stops displaying after the high-brightness effect WOE2 ends (Figures 71(f) to (h)). Of course, the level string 332a may also stop displaying after the dynamic display ends before or at the end of the high-brightness effect WOE2. Also, the effect lamp L emits light in a high-brightness emission mode (e.g., purple) after the start of the high-brightness effect WOE2 (Figure 71(e)), and then emits light in a second-level emission mode including the reliability display color (here, blue) after a predetermined point in the high-brightness effect WOE2, for example, after the display of the level string 332a begins (Figures 71(f) to (h)).

After the end of the second level effect LV2, the third level effect LV3 is started, and of the level string 333a and character image 331b that constitute the level 5 display image LVe, only the character image 331b is displayed at first, and the high brightness effect WOE3 is started along with the output of the third enhanced sound (Figure 71(i)). In this high brightness effect WOE3, a high brightness image 170wf is displayed in a predetermined area on the screen, for example, the areas on both the left and right sides of the character image 331b. This high brightness image 170wf is configured such that its size (range) gradually increases over time, reaching its maximum at a predetermined point (Figures 71(i) to 72(j)), and then gradually decreases over time until it finally disappears (Figures 72(j) to (l)). Furthermore, the high-brightness image 170wf is set so that the transmittance is approximately uniform within its range, and not only its size (range) but also its transmittance changes. Over time, the transmittance gradually decreases at a constant rate, reaching a minimum (0% in this case) at a predetermined point (Figures 71(i) to 72(j)), and then gradually increases again at a constant rate over time (Figures 72(j) to (l)).

Furthermore, at a predetermined point in the high-brightness effect WOE3, for example, when the size (range) of the high-brightness image 170wf reaches its maximum (Figure 72(j)), a level string 333a such as "Level 5" is displayed in front of the high-brightness image 170wf. At this time, the level string 333a undergoes predetermined dynamic display, such as rotation around the vertical axis, and then stops displaying after the high-brightness effect WOE3 ends (Figures 72(j) to (l)). Of course, the level string 333a may also stop displaying after the dynamic display ends before or at the end of the high-brightness effect WOE3. Also, the effect lamp L emits light in a high-brightness emission mode (e.g., purple) after the start of the high-brightness effect WOE3 (Figure 71(i)), and after a predetermined point in the high-brightness effect WOE3, for example, after the display of the level string 333 begins, it emits light in a third-level emission mode including the reliability indicator color (gold in this case) (Figures 72(j) to (l)).

In the above example, the dynamic display of the level string was common to all level effects. However, the type of dynamic display of the level string may differ for each of the 1st to 5th level effects (LV1 to LV5), or for each level display image (i.e., each type of level string). Also, in the above example, the font (typeface) was common to all level strings. However, the font of level strings above a certain level, for example, the level string of the level 5 display image (LVe), may be different from the font of the level strings of the other level 1 to 4 display images (LVa to LVd). Furthermore, depending on the probability of winning a jackpot, if the level increases to a predetermined high probability, the font of the level string may be configured to change at a predetermined point during the level increase. For example, when the level increases from 1 to 2 to 4, the font of the level string may not change, but when the level increases to a higher probability of winning a jackpot (1 to 2 to 4 to 5), the font of the level string may be changed at a predetermined point during the level increase, for example, when the level reaches 4.

Next, we will explain some examples of partial effects that can be incorporated into various preview effects, such as reliability indication effects, reach title display effects, operation effects, and reach development effects.

[Reliability-indicating presentation]
Figures 73 to 75 show an example of a reliability indication effect that suggests the reliability of the appearance of a predetermined event, such as the probability of a jackpot. In the reliability indication effect, the content of the displayed string and its display color are configured to suggest the probability of a jackpot. In this embodiment, the reliability indication effect suggests the probability of a jackpot by displaying the strings "Something good is likely to happen" and "It might work" from among several sets of strings.

The following is an overview of the confidence indication effect, starting with a reference to Figure 73. In this confidence indication effect, the first string start effect PR1 (Figure 73(a)) is performed first. In this first string start effect PR1, the first string 232 appears in front of the first effect image 231, accompanied by a first action (in this case, individual rotation and movement actions for each character). Here, the first effect image 231 is composed of, for example, multiple characters, and the first string 232 consists of the string "Something good is likely to happen". The first effect image 231 and the first string 232 are displayed behind the hold base image 168, which is displayed at the lower end of the display screen DSaa, and the mini symbol 165, which is displayed at the upper end. Furthermore, during the first string start animation PR1, BGM10 is output as background music, and a first character appearance sound is output as a sound effect in conjunction with the appearance of the first string 232. At least a portion of the animation lamps L (in this case, both the frame-side lamp La and the panel-side lamp Lb) illuminate in a first character appearance illumination pattern, flashing in a predetermined color (in this case, gold) in conjunction with the appearance of the first string 232.

Following the first string initiation effect PR1, the high-brightness effect WO91 is performed. This high-brightness effect WO91 emphasizes the appearance of the first string 232 and is configured to reduce the visibility of the images behind the high-brightness image 170t (in this case, the first effect image 231 and the first string 232) by displaying a high-brightness image 170t (Figures 73(b), (c)). During this high-brightness effect WO91, the visibility of the first effect image 231 and the first string 232 behind the high-brightness image 170t is reduced and then improved, at which point the first effect image 231 and the first string 232 perform a second action (in this case, the first effect image 231 and the first string 232 move together). Also, during the high-brightness effect WO91, BGM 10 is output, and a predetermined high-brightness emphasis sound is output as a sound effect. Furthermore, during the high-brightness effect WO91, at least a portion of the effect lamps L (in this case, both the frame-side lamp La and the panel-side lamp Lb) emit light in a high-brightness mode, for example, in white.

Following the high-brightness effect WO91, the first dialogue output effect PR2 (Figure 73(d)) is performed. In this first dialogue output effect PR2, the first effect image 231 and the first string 232 perform a third action different from the second action in the high-brightness effect WO91 (in this case, a reduction (zoom-out) action centered around the center of the screen), and a predetermined first internal change display is performed on the first string 232. This first internal change display partially changes the display color of each character and moves the location of the change, for example, it can dynamically represent the reflection of light. Also, during the first dialogue output effect PR2, BGM 10 is output, and the first予告 voice "Something good is going to happen" corresponding to the first string 232 is output as dialogue sound, and a predetermined first change sound is output as a sound effect. Furthermore, during the first dialogue output effect PR2, at least a portion of the effect lamp L (in this case, both the frame-side lamp La and the panel-side lamp Lb) illuminates in the first dialogue illumination pattern (in this case, the gold-colored illuminated area moves).

After the first dialogue output effect PR2, the screen switches to the second string start effect PR3 (Figure 73(e)). In this second string start effect PR3, the second string 233 (here, "maybe it's possible") appears, accompanied by a fourth action (here, a shrinking (zooming out) action centered around the center of the screen), replacing the previous first effect image 231 and first string 232. This shrinking action makes the second string 233 appear to be moving towards the back of the screen at a first change speed. At this time, a radial effect image of converging lines 234, which radiates outwards from the center of the screen, is displayed on the screen in accordance with the fourth action of the second string 233. Furthermore, during the second string start animation PR3, BGM 10 continues to be output, and as a sound effect, a second character appearance sound is output in conjunction with the appearance of the second string 233. At least a portion of the animation lamp L (in this case, both the frame-side lamp La and the panel-side lamp Lb) illuminates in the second character appearance illumination pattern (e.g., gold).

When the second string 233 is displayed at a predetermined location and size on the screen by the second string start animation PR3, the second dialogue output animation PR4 (Figure 73(f)) is performed. In this second dialogue output animation PR4, the movement of the second string 233 transitions from the previous fourth animation to the fifth animation. The fifth animation is, for example, the same type of animation as the fourth animation (in this case, a reduction (zoom-out) animation centered near the center of the screen), but with a slower change speed than the fourth animation. As a result, the second string 233 is perceived as moving towards the back of the screen at a second change speed that is slower than the previous first change speed. Of course, the fifth animation may be a different type of animation than the fourth animation.

During the second dialogue output sequence PR4, a predetermined second internal change display is performed on the second string 233. This second internal change display, similar to the first internal change process, partially changes the display color of each character while moving the location of the change, allowing for dynamic representation of, for example, light reflection. The second internal change display may be the same as the first internal change display, or at least one of the following may differ: the type of color changed, the speed of the change, etc. Furthermore, during the second dialogue output sequence PR4, BGM 10 continues to be output, and a second予告 voice corresponding to the second string 233 is output as dialogue sound, while a predetermined second change sound is output as a sound effect. Also, during the second dialogue output sequence PR4, at least a portion of the display lamp L (here, both the frame-side lamp La and the panel-side lamp Lb) illuminates in the second dialogue illumination pattern (here, the gold illuminated area moves).

Here, during the movement of the string (the first to fifth movements), the performance lamp L may also be illuminated in a dynamic light-emitting mode. Furthermore, the dynamic light-emitting mode may be one in which the light color and brightness change according to the direction of the string's movement, or it may be a dynamic light-emitting mode that does not correspond to the direction of the string's movement. Also, depending on the string's movement pattern (for example, the first to fifth movements described above), the performance lamp L may be illuminated in different dynamic light-emitting modes, or the performance lamp L may be illuminated in a common dynamic light-emitting mode regardless of the string's movement pattern. By configuring it in this way, the movement of the string and the light-emitting mode can be made more integrated, improving the performance effect. However, it is not limited to this, and the light-emitting mode of the performance lamp L during the movement of the string may be set to a non-dynamic state. A non-dynamic light-emitting mode would be to maintain a predetermined color illumination state or a blinking state. Also, depending on the string's movement pattern (for example, the first to fifth movements described above), the performance lamp L may be illuminated in different non-dynamic light-emitting modes, or the performance lamp L may be illuminated in a common non-dynamic light-emitting mode regardless of the string's movement pattern. By structuring it in this way, the behavior of the text can be made more prominent, and the visual effect can be improved.

Next, we will provide a more detailed explanation of the reliability indication effect shown in Figure 73, covering almost the entire duration of the effect. Figures 74 and 75 show the changes in the display screen and light-emitting means at even smaller time intervals than in Figure 73, for the periods shown in Figures 73(a) to (f). Note that in Figures 74 and 75, the time interval between adjacent frames is the same, and is set to A milliseconds, the same as in Figures 24 to 26 of the step-up予告 (preview) effect.

In the first string initiation sequence PR1 of the reliability indication sequence (Figures 74(a)-(b)), the first string 232 appears behind the mini-symbols 165, the hold base image 168, and the hold images X1-X4, Y1-Y4, and in front of the first sequence image 231, which consists of multiple characters. At this time, the first sequence image 231 is displayed with individual rotation and movement actions (first action) for each character, and correspondingly, a sound indicating the appearance of the first character is output. At least a portion of the sequence lamps L (here, both the frame-side lamp La and the board-side lamp Lb) illuminates in the first character appearance illumination pattern (gold flashing), thus strongly impressing upon the player the appearance of the first string 232.

Following the first string initiation animation PR1 described above, the high-brightness animation WO91 is performed. In this high-brightness animation WO91 (Figures 74(b) to (i)), the high-brightness image 170t is displayed in front of the first animation image 231 and the first string 232, and after the mini-symbol 165, the hold base image 168, and the hold images X1 to X4, Y1 to Y4. This high-brightness animation WO91 consists of an enlargement change animation (Figures 74(b) to (e)) that changes the size (range) of the high-brightness image 170t in the enlargement direction, and a reduction change animation (Figures 74(e) to (i)) that changes it in the reduction direction. In the enlargement effect (Figures 74(b) to (e)), the high-brightness image 170t expands from the center of the screen outwards, while the area outside the high-brightness image 170t gradually narrows towards the outer edge of the screen. In contrast, in the shrinking effect (Figures 74(e) to (i)), the high-brightness image 170t shrinks from the center of the screen outwards, while the area outside the high-brightness image 170t gradually expands from the center of the screen outwards.

Here, the enlargement and reduction of the high-brightness image 170t does not have to be uniform over time. For example, at the end of the reduction change effect, when substantially the entirety of the first effect image 231 and the first string 232 becomes visible, the reduction change of the high-brightness image 170t may be slowed down or stopped for a certain period of time (Figures 74(g) to (h)). The high-brightness image 170t is set so that its transmittance is substantially uniform within its range, and although its size changes over time, its transmittance does not change, for example, maintaining a transmittance of 0%. However, the transmittance of the high-brightness image 170t may be greater than 0% or non-uniform, and it may be configured so that its transmittance changes over time. Furthermore, during the shrinking change effect in the high-brightness effect WO91 (Figures 74(e) to (i)), the visibility of the first effect image 231 and the first string of characters 232 behind the high-brightness image 170t gradually improves. During this process, the first effect image 231 and the first string of characters 232, for example, sway together (second action). Also, during the high-brightness effect WO91, at least a portion of the effect lamps L (here, both the frame-side lamp La and the panel-side lamp Lb) emits light in a high-brightness emission mode (e.g., white).

In the example shown in Figure 74, the high-brightness effect WO91 is started after the first operation of the first string 232 is completed and the first string 232 reaches a predetermined position during the first string start effect PR1. However, the high-brightness effect WO91 may be started before the first operation of the first string 232 is completed, i.e., before the first string 232 reaches a predetermined position.

Once the high-brightness effect WO91 ends, the first dialogue output effect PR2 is performed. In this first dialogue output effect PR2 (Figures 74(i) to 75(j)), the first予告 voice, "Something good is about to happen," corresponding to the first string 232, is output as dialogue sound. At this time, the first effect image 231 and the first string 232 shrink together at a slow speed (third action), and a first internal change display is performed on the first string 232, where the display color of each character partially changes and the location of the change moves. As a result, the first effect image 231 and the first string 232 move slowly towards the back of the screen, and the first string 232 appears to have light partially reflected and its position changing, thus strongly impressing the first string 232, which contains reliability information, upon the player.

When the first dialogue output animation PR2 ends and the game transitions to the second string appearance animation PR3 (Figures 75(k) to (m)), the first animation image 231 and first string 232 are replaced by the second string 233, "Maybe I can do it," and the focus lines 234, accompanied by a relatively rapid shrinking motion (fourth motion). This shrinking motion makes the second string 233 appear to be moving towards the back of the screen at the first change speed, thus strongly impressing its appearance upon the player. Furthermore, during the second string appearance animation PR3, at least a portion of the animation lamp L (here, both the frame-side lamp La and the board-side lamp Lb) illuminates in the second string appearance illumination pattern (e.g., gold).

Then, when the second string 233 reaches a predetermined size, the system transitions from the second string start animation PR3 to the second dialogue output animation PR4 (Figures 75(n) to (r)). As a result, the second予告 voice, "Maybe I can do it," corresponding to the second string 233, is output as dialogue sound. At this time, the focus lines 234 disappear from the screen, and the shrinking motion of the second string 233 is switched to a slower speed than before (fifth motion), so that the second string 233 is perceived as moving slowly towards the back of the screen at a second change speed that is slower than the previous first change speed. This makes it possible for the player to easily and reliably recognize the second string 233, which is reliability information. In addition, in this second dialogue output animation PR4, a second internal change display is performed for the second string 233, in which the display color of each character partially changes and the location of the change moves. As a result, the second string 233 is perceived as partially reflecting light and changing position, thus strongly impressing the player with the second string 233, which is reliability information. Furthermore, during the second dialogue output effect PR4, at least a portion of the effect lamp L (here, both the frame-side lamp La and the board-side lamp Lb) illuminates in the second dialogue illumination pattern (here, the gold illuminated area moves). Here, the converging lines 234 may be configured to be displayed not only during the period shown in Figures 75(k) to (m) (the period during the fourth operation), but also during the period shown in Figures 75(k) to (r) (the period during the fourth and fifth operations). It is also desirable to configure the system to display the converging lines at least during the period when the string is dynamically displayed. Furthermore, it is desirable that the converging lines be displayed in a manner corresponding to the direction of movement of the string.

The various configurations used in the reliability indication effects described above are not limited to these effects, but can also be used in other types of effects (preview effects and partial effects). For example, the various configurations used in the reliability indication effects, such as the high-brightness effect WO91, the first string start effect PR1, the first dialogue output effect PR2, the second string start effect PR3, and the second dialogue output effect PR4, may also be used in the aforementioned step-up preview effect, dialogue preview effect 1, the reach title display effect and reach development effect described later. Furthermore, when displaying strings dynamically, if there are other displays, it is desirable not to display the other displays dynamically. This makes it possible to display the strings in a more impressive way. Alternatively, other displays may be displayed dynamically, but in that case, it is desirable to configure the other displays so that their movement distance is shorter than that of the dynamically displayed strings, or so that their dynamic speed is slower than that of the dynamically displayed strings, in order to make the strings more impressive. Furthermore, the display could be intentionally structured so that the movement distance of the text is shorter than that of other displayed elements, or so that the dynamic speed is slower, thereby diminishing the impact of the text and creating a visual effect that is less easily perceived by the player.

[Reach Title Display Animation]
Figures 76 and 77 show an example of a reach title display animation that displays the title of a reach animation. Below, the overview of this reach title display animation will be explained, first with reference to Figure 76. In this reach title display animation, the title display start animation TS1 (Figure 76(a)) is performed first. In this title display start animation TS1, the left and right decorative symbols 164a and 164b that constitute the reach are displayed in a reduced size near the periphery (for example, the upper side of the screen) with only the main body 166 visible, and in this state, the title string 241 is displayed at the first display position near the center of the screen. During the title display start animation TS1, BGM 11 is output as background music, and as a sound effect, a title appearance sound is output in conjunction with the appearance of the title string 241, and at least a part of the animation lamp L (here, both the frame-side lamp La and the panel-side lamp Lb) lights up in a title appearance illumination mode in which they flash in a predetermined color (here, white).

In the subsequent character display start animation TS2 (Figure 76(b)), the title string 241 moves at a first speed (first action) from the first display position to, for example, the second display position at the bottom of the screen, and the character image 242 appears in the empty space on the screen. During this character display start animation TS2, BGM 11 continues to be output, and as a sound effect, a character appearance sound is output in conjunction with the appearance of the character image 242. At least a portion of the animation lamps L (here, both the frame-side lamp La and the panel-side lamp Lb) illuminates in a character appearance pattern, flashing in, for example, a predetermined color (here, red).

Then, in the subsequent title notification sequence TS3, each character constituting the title string 241 performs a different action (second action), causing the arrangement of the characters to shift from the first arrangement at the start of display to the second arrangement, and simultaneously displaying a predetermined internal change to the title string 241. This internal change display partially changes the display color of each character while moving the location of the change, allowing for dynamic representation of, for example, light reflection. Note that in the first action, all characters constituting the title string 241 move together at a first speed, whereas in the second action, each character moves individually at a slower speed than the first speed. The type of action (rotation, translation, enlargement, reduction, etc.) and speed of the action differ for each character, and some characters may not move at all.

During the title announcement sequence TS3, BGM 11 continues to be output, and at least a portion of the presentation lamps L (in this case, both the frame-side lamp La and the panel-side lamp Lb) illuminate in a title announcement flashing pattern, for example, a predetermined color (in this case, red). While the title announcement flashing pattern is the same as the character appearance flashing pattern here, they may be different.

Next, we will explain in more detail the entire duration of the reach title display animation shown in Figure 76. Figure 77 shows the changes in the display screen and light emission means at even smaller time intervals than in Figure 76, for the periods shown in Figures 76(a) to (c). Note that in Figure 77, the time interval between adjacent frames is the same, and is set to A milliseconds, the same as in Figures 24 to 26 in the step-up予告演出 (step-up予告演出).

In the title display start animation TS1 of the reach title display animation (Figures 77(a) to (b)), the title string 241, consisting of the characters "Kappa Daibouken" (Kappa's Great Adventure), is displayed behind the decorative symbols 164a, 164b, the mini symbols 165, the hold base image 168, and the hold images X1 to X4, Y1 to Y4, and at a first display position near the center of the screen, arranged in a first arrangement where the size, position, and orientation of each character are not perfectly aligned. At this time, at least a portion of the animation lamps L (here, both the frame-side lamp La and the panel-side lamp Lb) illuminates in a title appearance illumination pattern, for example, by flashing a predetermined color (here, white).

Then, in the subsequent character display start animation TS2 (Figures 77(c) to (d)), the title string 241 moves from the first display position to, for example, the second display position at the bottom of the screen, at a first speed (first action), while each character maintains its first arrangement relationship. A new character image 242 is then displayed in the space freed up by the movement of the title string 241. At this time, at least a portion of the animation lamps L (here, both the frame-side lamp La and the panel-side lamp Lb) illuminate in a character appearance pattern, flashing in, for example, a predetermined color (here, red).

Then, in the subsequent title notification sequence TS3 (Figures 77(e) to (h)), each character constituting the title string 241 performs a different action (second action) individually, causing the arrangement of the characters to shift from the first arrangement at the start of display to the second arrangement. This second action involves each character performing an action individually, and some characters may not perform any action at all (in this case, the character "冒"). The type and speed of the action differ for each character, and the speed is slower than the first speed in the first action. Furthermore, during this title notification sequence TS3, an internal change display is performed on the title string 241, partially changing the display color of each character while moving the location of the change. This internal change display allows for the dynamic representation of, for example, light reflection. During the title notification sequence TS3, at least a portion of the display lamps L (in this case, both the frame-side lamp La and the panel-side lamp Lb) illuminates in a title notification flashing pattern, for example, a predetermined color (in this case, red).

Furthermore, the internal change display for each character may be configured to be executed simultaneously for all characters. "Simultaneously" here means that the timing of the start of the internal change display may be simultaneous, or that there may be simultaneous timings during the process of executing the internal change display. Additionally, the display mode of the internal change display may be configured to change over time. For example, the display may start with a first mode (e.g., dynamically representing light reflection) and change to a second mode (e.g., a mirror-like representation) after a predetermined time has elapsed. By changing the display mode of the internal change display over time in this way, the visual effect can be improved. Furthermore, different internal change displays may be executed depending on the content of the reach animation. "Different" here means that at least one of the following may differ: the display mode of the internal change display, the execution time of the internal change display, or the execution range of the internal change display. By executing different internal change displays according to the reach animation in this way, it is possible to avoid monotonous visual expression and achieve a more visually impactful expression. The above modifications regarding internal change displays are applicable not only to the reach title display animation but also to all animations that execute internal change displays.

The various configurations for the reach title display effect described above are not limited to this reach title display effect, but can also be similarly adopted for other types of effects (preview effects and partial effects). For example, the various configurations for the title display start effect TS1, character display start effect TS2, title notification effect TS3, etc. in the reach title display effect may also be adopted for the aforementioned step-up preview effect, dialogue preview effect 1, and the reach development effect described later. In the above example, the character display start effect TS2 performs the first action on the string but does not perform the internal change display, and the title notification effect TS3 performs the second action and the internal change display on the string, but it is also possible to perform only the internal change display on the string and not the dynamic display. In this way, depending on the content of the effect, it is possible to configure the effect to separate effects that perform only the internal change display, effects that perform only the dynamic display, and effects that perform both. Also, for example, it is possible to configure the effect so that the string is dynamically displayed in both the first and second effects, with the first effect further performing the internal change display, while the second effect does not perform the internal change display. Alternatively, for example, both the first and second performances could display the internal changes of the string, with the first performance also performing dynamic display, while the second performance does not. Of course, both the first and second performances could be configured to display both dynamic and internal changes of the string.

[Operation performance]
Figures 78 and 79 show an example of an operation sequence that requests the player to operate an operating means such as the chance button 11 (related to the player's operation of the operating means). Below, the outline of this operation sequence will be explained, first with reference to Figure 78. In this operation sequence, an operation display start sequence BC1 (Figure 78(a)) is performed first. In this operation display start sequence BC1, a button image (operation target image) 251 indicating the target of operation and a text image 252 such as "Make the character laugh" are displayed on the screen. At this time, the button image 251 and the text image 252 undergo a first operation, such as shrinking at a first change speed.

Following the operation display start animation BC1, the high-brightness animation WOA1 (Figure 78(b)) is performed. This high-brightness animation WOA1 emphasizes the appearance of the button image 251 and the text image 252. By displaying the high-brightness image 170u, it is configured to reduce the visibility of the images behind the high-brightness image 170u (in this case, the button image 251 and the text image 252).

Following the high-brightness effect WOA1, the operation-promoting effect BC2 (Figure 78(c)) is performed. In this operation-promoting effect BC2, the string image 252 moves at a slower speed than the first action (second action). Unlike the first action, this second action involves each character slowly moving towards the center, although the second action may be the same type of action as the first action (for example, shrinking). Also, for example, an operation-type notification image 253 such as "PUSH!" indicating the operation type for the target of operation is displayed in front of the button image 251. This operation-type notification image 253 performs a third action different from that of the string image 252. This third action involves irregular movements such as swaying or up-and-down movement for each character, but all characters may be operated as a single unit. Furthermore, during the operation-promoting effect BC2, a predetermined internal change display is performed on the string image 252. This internal change display partially changes the display color of each character while moving the location of the change, for example, to dynamically represent light reflection.

During the operation animation, BGM12 is output as background music, and at the start of the operation display start animation BC1, a predetermined emphasis sound is output until the next high-brightness animation WOA1. Furthermore, during the operation animation, the animation lamp L remains off.

Next, we will explain in more detail the operation and presentation shown in Figure 78, covering almost the entire presentation period. Figure 79 shows the changes in the display screen and light-emitting means at even smaller time intervals than in Figure 78, for the periods shown in Figures 78(a) to (c). Note that in Figure 79, the time interval between adjacent frames is the same, and is set to A milliseconds, the same as in Figures 24 to 26 in the step-up予告演出 (step-up予告演出).

In the operation display start animation BC1 (Figures 79(a) to (c)) of the operation animation, a button image (operation target image) 251 indicating the operation target and a text string image 252 with the words "Make the character laugh" are displayed behind the mini-symbols 165, the hold base image 168, and the hold images X1 to X4, Y1 to Y4, accompanied by a first action. The first action is a shrinking motion at a first change speed; for example, the image gradually moves from a state where it extends far beyond the screen to one where it fits within the screen.

Following the operation display start animation BC1, the high-brightness animation WOA1 is performed. In this high-brightness animation WOA1 (Figures 79(c) to (g)), a high-brightness image 170u is displayed in front of the button image 251 and the string image 252, and behind the mini symbol 165, the hold base image 168 and the hold images X1 to X4 and Y1 to Y4 in front of it. The high-brightness image 170u is configured to gradually change in size and eventually disappear. That is, the high-brightness image 170u is configured so that its size (range) gradually increases over time, reaching its maximum at a predetermined point (Figures 79(c) to (e)), and then gradually decreases over time until it eventually disappears (Figures 79(e) to (g)). Thus, the high-brightness effect WOA1 consists of an enlargement effect that changes the size (range) of the high-brightness image 170u in the enlargement direction, and a reduction effect that changes it in the reduction direction. While the execution times of the former (Figures 79(c) to (e)) and the latter (Figures 79(e) to (g)) are approximately the same, the execution time of the former may be shorter than that of the latter, or vice versa.

Furthermore, the high-brightness image 170u is set to have a substantially uniform transmittance within its range, but the transmittance may be non-uniform. Also, the high-brightness image 170u changes in size over time but its transmittance does not change, for example, maintaining a transmittance of 0%, but the transmittance of the high-brightness image 170u may be greater than 0%, or it may be configured so that the transmittance changes over time. Furthermore, the vibration effect may be started by the vibration means at the timing when the display of the high-brightness image 170u ends. This makes it possible to execute the vibration effect at the timing when the display of the high-brightness image 170u ends and the button image 251 is displayed, thus synchronizing the timing of the execution of the vibration effect with the display timing of the button image 251. Furthermore, the vibration effect may be started while the high-brightness image 170u is being displayed. This makes it possible to execute the vibration effect without delay when the button image 251 is displayed, and makes it possible to execute each effect in parallel and integrated. Furthermore, if the vibration effect is to be executed while the high-brightness image 170u is being displayed, the system may be configured to execute the vibration effect in parallel with the start of the high-brightness image 170u display, or it may be configured to start the vibration effect after the high-brightness image 170u has been displayed, while the high-brightness image 170u is being displayed (while the display range is changing or the transmittance is changing over time).

Furthermore, the system may be configured to execute a high-brightness effect in response to the pressing of the chance button 11. In this case, if a vibration effect is to be executed by a vibration mechanism in response to the pressing of the chance button, the vibration effect may be started during the execution of the high-brightness effect. This can improve the effect of the high-brightness effect. However, the system may also be configured to execute the vibration effect after the high-brightness effect has been executed. Alternatively, the system may be configured to execute the vibration effect after the high-brightness effect has started, once the transmittance of the high-brightness image has been improved. Furthermore, the vibration characteristics may be different for the vibration effect performed during the high-brightness effect and the vibration effect performed after the high-brightness effect. For example, a subtle vibration effect may be executed during the high-brightness effect, and a more intense vibration effect may be executed after the high-brightness effect, or vice versa. Additionally, the execution times of the vibration effect performed during the high-brightness effect and the vibration effect performed after the high-brightness effect may be different. For example, the vibration effect performed during the high-brightness effect may have a shorter execution time than the vibration effect performed after the high-brightness effect.

Furthermore, the system may be configured to move the movable body in response to the pressing of the chance button 11. In this case, the system may be configured to start the movement of the movable body during the execution of the high-brightness effect, or to start the movement of the movable body after the execution of the high-brightness effect. Alternatively, the system may be configured to start the movement of the movable body after the high-brightness effect has started and the transmittance of the high-brightness image has been improved. Furthermore, the system may be configured to have different operating times for the movable body during the high-brightness effect and after the execution of the high-brightness effect. For example, the operating time for the movable body during the high-brightness effect may be shorter than the operating time for the movable body after the execution of the high-brightness effect. Regarding the above, if there are multiple performance patterns for the operation effect, the system may be configured to execute a common high-brightness effect in each operation effect, or different high-brightness effects may be executed depending on the performance pattern of the operation effect. Additionally, there may be cases where different high-brightness effects are executed depending on the performance pattern of the operation effect, and cases where a common high-brightness effect is executed. For example, the high-brightness effect WOA1 may have different content depending on the effect pattern of the operation effect (including cases where the high-brightness effect is not executed in one case and executed in another), and the high-brightness effect performed after pressing the chance button 11 may be configured to execute a common high-brightness effect. In this way, by making various high-brightness effects executable according to the effect pattern of the operation effect, the effect of the operation effect can be enhanced.

Once the high-brightness effect WOA1 is completed and the entire button image 251 and text image 252 become visible, the operation prompt effect BC2 (Figures 79(g) to (i)) is performed. In this operation prompt effect BC2, an operation method notification image 253, such as "PUSH!", indicating the operation method for the chance button 11 which is the target of operation, is displayed in front of the button image 251. In addition, the text image 252 moves towards the center at a slower speed than the first operation (second operation), and an internal change display is performed in which the display color of each character is partially changed while the changed part moves. This internal change display can dynamically represent, for example, light reflection. Note that the second operation of the text image 252 may differ for each character. In addition, the operation method notification image 253 performs irregular movements such as swaying and up-and-down movement for each character (third operation). In this way, by making the operation mode notification image 253 perform a different action than the text image 252, it is possible to prevent the operation mode notification image 253 from being obscured by the text image 252 and to attract the player's attention.

The various configurations described above for the operation and presentation are not limited to this particular presentation; they can also be similarly applied to other types of presentations (such as preview presentations and partial presentations). For example, the various configurations of the high-brightness presentation WOA1 in the operation and presentation may also be applied to the aforementioned step-up preview presentation, dialogue preview presentation 1, and the reach development presentation described later.

[Reach development animation]
Figures 80 to 83 show an example of a reach development animation that is performed when a reach is established. Below, the outline of this reach development animation will be explained, first with reference to Figure 80. In this reach development animation, when the left and right decorative symbols 164a and 164b stop on the same symbol such as "8-8" and a reach is established (Figure 80(a)), the pre-development animation RS1 (Figure 80(b)) is performed. In the pre-development animation RS1, the left and right decorative symbols 164a and 164b are reduced in size and moved to the periphery, and then the pre-development image 261 is displayed behind the decorative symbols 164a and 164b. This pre-development image 261 is composed of a first character. During the reach development sequence, BGM 13 is output as background music, and when a reach is established (Figure 80(a)), a symbol stopping sound is output as a sound effect. Also, at the start of the pre-development sequence RS1 (Figure 80(b)), a pre-development voice such as "Watch this" is output as a dialogue sound. Furthermore, from the establishment of the reach to the pre-development sequence RS1, at least a portion of the performance lamp L (in this case, both the frame-side lamp La and the panel-side lamp Lb) lights up in a reach establishment lighting pattern, for example, by switching alternately between orange and white.

Subsequently, by transitioning to the post-development effect RS2, the pre-development image 261 is switched to the post-development image 262, which includes the second character (Figure 80(d)), and the high-brightness effect WOB1 is performed at the time of this switch (Figure 80(c)). The high-brightness effect WOB1 reduces the visibility of the images behind the high-brightness image 170v (in this case, the pre-development image 261 and the post-development image 262) by displaying a high-brightness image 170v. Furthermore, a switching emphasis sound is output at a predetermined timing during the high-brightness effect WOB1, for example, when the transmittance of the high-brightness image 170v reaches 0% and then begins to increase, or at a predetermined timing before that. Furthermore, at least a portion of the effect lamp L (here, both the frame-side lamp La and the panel-side lamp Lb) illuminates in a first high-brightness emission mode (e.g., white) during the first half of the high-brightness effect WOB1, illuminates in a second high-brightness emission mode (e.g., alternating orange and white) during the second half of the high-brightness effect WOB1, for example, after the start of the switching emphasis sound output, and illuminates in a post-development emission mode (e.g., orange) during the post-development effect RS2. Note that if the switching emphasis sound is output before the transmittance of the high-brightness image reaches 0%, it is desirable that the switching emphasis sound continues to be output even after the transmittance of the high-brightness image reaches 0%. The switching emphasis sound may also be configured to terminate its output during the execution of the post-development effect following the high-brightness effect.

Next, regarding the reach development sequence shown in Figure 80, we will explain in more detail the duration of the high-brightness sequence WOB1. Figures 81 to 83 show the changes in the display screen and light-emitting means at even smaller time intervals than in Figure 80, for the duration of the high-brightness sequence WOB1 shown in Figure 80(c). Note that in Figures 81 to 83, the time interval between adjacent frames is the same, and is set to A milliseconds, the same as in Figures 24 to 26 in the step-up予告 sequence.

In the high-brightness WOB1 shown in Figures 81(a) to 83(v), when switching from the pre-development image 261 to the post-development image 262, the high-brightness image 170v is displayed in front of the pre-development image 261 and the post-development image 262, and behind the left and right decorative symbols 164a, 164b, the mini symbol 165, the hold base image 168, and the hold images X1-X4, Y1-Y4.

Here, the high-brightness image 170v is displayed within a range (size) that covers the entire pre-development image 261 and post-development image 262 behind it. The transmittance is approximately uniform within this display range, the display range does not change over time, while the transmittance changes over time (transmittance change processing, transmittance change effect). The transmittance of the high-brightness image 170v gradually decreases over time, for example from 100% to 0% (Figures 81(a) to (i)), and after reaching 0%, it maintains that state for a predetermined time (Figures 81(i) to 82(r)), and then gradually increases again over time, for example from 0% to 100% (Figures 82(r) to 83(v)).

Here, comparing the lengths of the transmittance reduction period (Figures 81(a) to (i)) during which the transmittance of the high-brightness image 170v decreases, the transmittance maintenance period (Figures 81(i) to 82(r)) during which the transmittance is maintained, and the transmittance increase period (Figures 82(r) to 83(v)) during which the transmittance increases, the transmittance increase period is shorter than both the transmittance reduction period and the transmittance maintenance period, and the transmittance maintenance period is longer than the transmittance reduction period. In this way, by providing a long period of 0% transmittance (transmittance maintenance period), it is possible to improve the effect of the presentation by adding emphasis and contrast when developing into a reach presentation. Note that the transmittance maintenance period may be approximately the same length as or shorter than the transmittance reduction period. Also, the transmittance of the high-brightness image 170v during the transmittance maintenance period may be higher than 0%. Furthermore, the display range of the high-brightness image 170v during the transmittance maintenance period may be set so that the coverage rate of the subsequent pre-development image 261 etc. is less than 100%.

In this embodiment, both the transmittance decrease period and the transmittance maintenance period are longer than the time it takes for the mini-symbols 165 to complete one cycle, and the transmittance increase period is approximately the same as the time it takes for the mini-symbols 165 to complete one cycle. However, the transmittance increase period may be shorter than the time it takes for the mini-symbols 165 to complete one cycle. Alternatively, the transmittance maintenance period may be made longer than the time it takes for the mini-symbols 165 to complete one cycle, while the transmittance decrease period and transmittance increase period may be made shorter than the time it takes for the mini-symbols 165 to complete one cycle.

Furthermore, during the high-brightness effect WOB1's effect period, in the transmittance reduction period where the transmittance of the high-brightness image 170v decreases, for example, the transmittance values of the high-brightness image 170v in each frame of Figures 81(a) to (i) are 100% → 95% → 88% → 79% → 68% → 55% → 40% → 23% → 0%, respectively, and the rate of change and amount of change of the transmittance gradually increase. That is, for example, if we define the rate of change of the transmittance of the high-brightness image 170v during the period from Figure 81(a) to (e) (first transmittance change effect) as the first rate of change and the amount of change as the first amount of change, and then define the rate of change of the transmittance of the high-brightness image 170v during the subsequent period from Figure 81(e) to (i) (second transmittance change effect) as the second rate of change and the amount of change as the second amount of change, then the second rate of change is larger than the first rate of change, and the second amount of change is larger than the first amount of change. In this way, gradually increasing the rate and amount of change in transparency prevents the transparency change animation from becoming monotonous. Furthermore, gradually increasing the rate and amount of change in transparency allows the player to recognize the start of the transparency change animation and then transition to a low-transparency state relatively smoothly and quickly. Alternatively, the rate and amount of change in transparency could be gradually decreased. In this case, a more evocative transparency change animation can be created, preventing monotony and enhancing the overall effect.

Furthermore, during the high-brightness effect WOB1's effect period, in the transmittance increase period when the transmittance of the high-brightness image 170v increases, for example, the transmittance values of the high-brightness image 170v in each frame from Figure 82(r) to Figure 83(v) are 0% → 40% → 70% → 90% → 100%, respectively, and the rate of change and amount of change of the transmittance gradually decrease. That is, for example, if we define the rate of change of the transmittance of the high-brightness image 170v during the period from Figure 82(r) to Figure 83(t) (second transmittance change effect) as the second rate of change and the amount of change as the second amount of change, and then define the rate of change of the transmittance of the high-brightness image 170v during the subsequent period from Figure 83(t) to (v) (first transmittance change effect) as the first rate of change and the amount of change as the first amount of change, then the second rate of change is larger than the first rate of change, and the second amount of change is larger than the first amount of change. Furthermore, the rate and amount of change in transmittance may be gradually increased. This prevents the transmittance change animation from becoming monotonous. Also, by gradually increasing the rate and amount of change in transmittance, it becomes possible to transition to a low transmittance state relatively smoothly and quickly after the player has become aware that the transmittance change animation has begun.

Furthermore, during the transmittance increase period (Figures 82(r) to 83(v)) when the transmittance of the high-brightness image 170v increases, a transition enhancement image 263 is displayed in front of the developed image 262 after the switch. This transition enhancement image 263 emphasizes the image switch to the developed image 262. It begins displaying in a state that almost completely obscures the developed image 262 (Figure 83(s)), and then gradually resolves this obscuration (Figures 83(t) to (v)). This image consists of a video showing glass in front of the developed image 262 shattering and scattering, gradually disappearing from the front of the developed image 262. In this way, by making the transmittance increase period shorter than the transmittance decrease period, and by displaying a video of the transition enhancement image 263 in front of the developed image 262 when it becomes visible during the transmittance increase period, it is possible to enhance the effect of the presentation by adding emphasis and contrast when the reach animation develops.

Furthermore, during the high-brightness effect WOB1, at least a portion of the effect lamps L (here, both the frame-side lamp La and the panel-side lamp Lb) initially begin emitting light in the first high-brightness emission mode (e.g., white). Then, for example, at the timing when the transmittance increase period begins after the transmittance decrease period and transmittance maintenance period have passed, a switching accent sound is output, and at least a portion of the effect lamps L (here, both the frame-side lamp La and the panel-side lamp Lb) are switched to the second high-brightness emission mode (e.g., alternating between orange and white). Note that the output of the switching accent sound and the timing of the switching of the effect lamps L to the second high-brightness emission mode may occur during the transmittance maintenance period. Also, the timing of the output of the switching accent sound and the timing of the switching of the effect lamps L to the second high-brightness emission mode may differ; for example, the output of the switching accent sound may begin during the transmittance maintenance period, and then the switching of the effect lamps L to the second high-brightness emission mode may occur at the start of the transmittance increase period, or vice versa.

The various configurations described above for the reach development sequence are not limited to this sequence; they can also be used in other sequences (pre-announcement sequences and partial sequences). For example, the various configurations such as the high-brightness sequence WOB1 in the reach development sequence may be used in the aforementioned step-up announcement sequence, dialogue announcement sequence 1, reliability indication sequence, etc.

Above, we have individually explained 12 types of preview effects and 4 types of partial effects. Next, we will select several sets of these effects and compare them.

[Comparison of Step-Up予告演出 and Reach予告演出]
First, we compare the step-up予告演出 (step-up notification effect) and the reach予告演出 (reach notification effect). In this embodiment, the probability of a big win is higher for the step-up notification effect (first specific notification effect) than for the reach notification effect (second specific notification effect) (Figure 20), but the opposite may also be true. Also, although various comparisons are made between the step-up notification effect and the reach notification effect here, the two effects being compared are not limited to the step-up notification effect and the reach notification effect; any two effects of different or the same type are acceptable (of course, a comparison between a notification effect and a partial effect is also acceptable, or a comparison between partial effects is also acceptable).

Comparing the high-brightness step-up予告演出 (first pre-announcement high-brightness演出) WO11 (Figures 24(a) to 25(j)) with the high-brightness reach pre-announcement演出 (second pre-announcement high-brightness演出) WO21 (Figures 29(a) to 29(f)), it is clear that the execution time of the former (approximately 9A milliseconds) is longer than that of the latter (approximately 5A milliseconds). On the other hand, comparing the degree of decrease in visibility due to high-brightness images between high-brightness演出 WO11 and high-brightness演出 WO21, the minimum transmittance of high-brightness image 170a in high-brightness演出 WO11 is 0%, while the minimum transmittance of high-brightness image 170c in high-brightness演出 WO21 is greater than 0%, indicating that the former experiences a greater decrease in visibility due to the transmittance of the high-brightness image than the latter. On the other hand, comparing the range (size) of the high-brightness image in high-brightness effects WO11 and WO21, the maximum value is smaller in the former than in the latter, and the degree of decrease in visibility due to the range of the high-brightness image is smaller in the former than in the latter.

Thus, comparing high-brightness effects WO11 and WO21, the degree of visibility reduction due to the transmittance of the high-brightness image is greater in the former than in the latter, while the degree of visibility reduction due to the range of the high-brightness image is smaller in the former than in the latter. However, if, for example, the high-brightness image 170a of high-brightness effect WO11 does not change its range (size), while the high-brightness image 170c of high-brightness effect WO21 changes its range (size) over time, then the degree of visibility reduction due to both the transmittance and range (size) of the high-brightness image will be greater in the former than in the latter.

Furthermore, while the transmittance of high-brightness image 170a in high-brightness effect WO11 changes from 0% to 100% in approximately 9 arithms, the transmittance of high-brightness image 170c in high-brightness effect WO21 changes from 20% to 100% in approximately 5 arithms. Therefore, the amount of change in transmittance per unit time is greater for the latter than for the former.

Furthermore, comparing the output volume and duration of the emphasized sound output during the high-brightness effect (High-Brightness Effect 1, WO11) and the high-brightness effect (High-Brightness Effect 2, WO21), the emphasized sound (First Specific Sound) output in High-Brightness Effect WO11 has a higher output volume and longer output duration than the emphasized sound (Second Specific Sound) output in High-Brightness Effect WO21.

Furthermore, in the step-up notification effect (first specific notification effect), a step-up notification effect image 169 is displayed, selected from several different types (for example, Figures 22(a1) to (e1), (a2) to (e2)) depending on the probability of winning a jackpot. In the high-brightness effect WO11 (Figures 24(a) to 25(j)), regardless of the type of step-up notification effect image 169 (i.e., whether the first probability-specific image or the second probability-specific image is displayed), a common high-brightness image (first predetermined high-brightness image) 170a is displayed before it. On the other hand, in the reach予告演出 (second specific prediction演出), a reach予告演出 image 171 is displayed, selected from several different types (for example, Figures 27(a) to (d)) depending on the probability of winning a jackpot. In the high-brightness演出 WO22 (Figures 29(h) to 30(l)), regardless of the type of reach予告演出 image 171 (i.e., whether displaying the first probability-specific image or the second probability-specific image), a common high-brightness image (second predetermined high-brightness image) 170d is displayed before it. Furthermore, the display patterns of the high-brightness image 170a in the high-brightness演出 WO11 and the high-brightness image 170d in the high-brightness演出 WO22 are different.

[Comparison of Step-Up予告演出 and Button予告演出 1]
Next, we compare the step-up notification effect and the button notification effect 1. In this embodiment, the probability of a big win is higher for the step-up notification effect (first specific notification effect) than for the button notification effect 1 (second specific notification effect) (Figure 20), but the opposite may also be true. Similarly, the appearance rate is assumed to be higher for the step-up notification effect (first specific notification effect) than for the button notification effect 1 (second specific notification effect), but the opposite may also be true. Furthermore, while various comparisons are made between the step-up notification effect and the button notification effect 1 here, the two effects being compared are not limited to the step-up notification effect and the button notification effect; any two effects of different or the same type may be used (of course, a comparison between a notification effect and a partial effect is also acceptable, or a comparison between two partial effects is also acceptable).

Both the Step-Up予告演出 (Step-Up Pre-announcement) and Button Pre-announcement 1 are configured to display text information on the screen. However, the text information displayed in the Step-Up Pre-announcement (Specific Text Information Pre-announcement) such as "Something better is likely to happen" is specific text information with reliability information attached, consisting of a display pattern (display color) corresponding to the probability of a big win (Figure 22). In contrast, the text information displayed in Button Pre-announcement 1 (Non-Specific Text Information Pre-announcement) such as "Make the character laugh" is non-specific text information without such reliability information attached. Therefore, the two differ in that respect.

Furthermore, in the step-up予告演出 (specific character information予告演出), the high-brightness effect WO11 is executed to display the specific character information, and the effect lamp L is illuminated in a first high-brightness medium illumination mode corresponding to the specific character information, even before the entire specific character information becomes visible during the high-brightness effect WO11 (Figures 23 to 25). In contrast, in the button予告演出 1 (non-specific character information予告演出), non-specific character information is displayed without executing the high-brightness effect, and the effect lamp L is illuminated in the initial illumination mode (predetermined illumination mode) regardless of the non-specific character information (Figure 32, etc.).

Furthermore, in button notification animation 1 (non-specific character information notification animation), the time until the non-specific character information becomes easily recognizable is approximately 4A milliseconds (Figures 33(a) to (e)), whereas in step-up notification animation (specific character information notification animation), the time until the specific character information becomes easily recognizable is approximately 7A milliseconds (Figures 24(a) to (h)), indicating that the latter is longer than the former.

Furthermore, in the Step-Up予告演出 (First Text Information Announcement), all characters constituting the text information (predetermined text information) such as "Something better is likely to happen" are assigned a specific color, such as red, and this specific color indicates the likelihood of a big win. In contrast, in Button Announcement 1 (Second Text Information Announcement), only some of the characters constituting the text information (predetermined text information) "Make the character laugh" are assigned a specific color (in this case, red), and this specific color does not indicate the likelihood of a big win. The two differ in this respect. Also, in the Step-Up Announcement (First Text Information Announcement), the performance lamp L lights up with a color corresponding to the specific color, while in Button Announcement 1 (Second Text Information Announcement), the performance lamp L lights up with a color that does not correspond to the specific color. Note that in Button Announcement 1 (Second Text Information Announcement), the number of characters without a specific color (in this case, red) is greater than the number of characters with a specific color (in this case, red).

In this embodiment, the first character information予告演出 (preview effect) includes step-up preview effects, reach preview effects, dialogue preview effects 1, and interrupt preview effects, while the second character information preview effect is only button preview effect 1. It is desirable to configure the system so that the number of first character information preview effects is greater than the number of second character information preview effects.

[Comparison of Step-Up予告演出 and Dialogue予告演出 1]
Next, we will compare the step-up予告演出 (step-up予告演出) and the dialogue予告演出 1 (dialogue予告演出 1). Note that while we will make various comparisons between the step-up予告演出 and the dialogue予告演出 1 here, the two performances being compared are not limited to the step-up予告演出 and the dialogue予告演出 1; any two performances of different or the same type are acceptable (of course, a comparison between a preview performance and a partial performance, or a comparison between two partial performances, is also acceptable).

Comparing the high-brightness effects of the step-up予告演出 (C-2 high-brightness effect, D-2 high-brightness effect) WO11 (Figures 24(a) to 25(j)) with the high-brightness effects of the dialogue予告演出 1 (C-1 high-brightness effect, D-1 high-brightness effect) WO42 (Figures 40(s) to 40(w)), the former displays high-brightness images (C-2 high-brightness image, D-2 high-brightness image) 170a in a way that corresponds to the display area of specific text information such as "Something even better is about to happen" and its background image, and overlaps with character images such as a fox, whereas the latter displays high-brightness images (C-1 high-brightness image, D-1 high-brightness image) 170i in a way that corresponds to the display area of specific text information such as "I feel great" and does not overlap with character images such as a boy. In other words, the high-brightness images (C-2nd high-brightness image, D-2nd high-brightness image) 170a in the high-brightness effects (C-2nd high-brightness effect, D-2nd high-brightness effect) WO11 of the step-up予告演出 (preview effect) are displayed in a way that makes the character image more difficult to see than the high-brightness images (C-1st high-brightness image, D-1st high-brightness image) 170i in the high-brightness effects (C-1st high-brightness effect, D-1st high-brightness effect) WO42 of the dialogue preview effect 1. Furthermore, comparing the execution time of high-brightness effects WO11 (Figures 24(a) to 25(j)) and high-brightness effects WO42 (Figures 40(s) to 40(w)), the former (approximately 9A milliseconds) is longer than the latter (approximately 4A milliseconds).

[Comparison of Reach予告演出 and Dialogue予告演出 1]
Next, we will compare the reach予告演出 (reach notification effect) and the dialogue予告演出 1 (dialogue notification effect). Here, we will make various comparisons between the reach notification effect and the dialogue notification effect 1, but the two effects being compared are not limited to the reach notification effect and the dialogue notification effect 1; any two effects of different or the same type are acceptable (of course, a comparison between a notification effect and a partial effect is also acceptable, or a comparison between two partial effects is also acceptable).

Comparing the high-brightness effects of the reach予告演出 (C-2 high-brightness effect, D-2 high-brightness effect) WO22 (Figures 29(h) to 30(l)) and the high-brightness effects of the dialogue予告演出 1 (C-1 high-brightness effect, D-1 high-brightness effect) WO42 (Figures 40(s) to 40(w)), the former displays the high-brightness image (C-2 high-brightness image, D-2 high-brightness image) 170d in a way that corresponds to the display area of specific text information such as "It's a reach!" and its background image, and overlaps with the kappa character image, while the latter displays the high-brightness image (C-1 high-brightness image, D-1 high-brightness image) 170i in a way that corresponds to the display area of specific text information such as "I feel great", and does not overlap with the character image of the boy, etc. In other words, the high-brightness images (C-2 high-brightness image, D-2 high-brightness image) 170d in the high-brightness effects (C-2 high-brightness effects, D-2 high-brightness effects) WO22 of the reach予告演出 (reach予告演出) are displayed in a way that makes the character images more difficult to see than the high-brightness images (C-1 high-brightness image, D-1 high-brightness image) 170i in the high-brightness effects (C-1 high-brightness effects, D-1 high-brightness effects) WO42 of the dialogue予告演出 1. Furthermore, when comparing the execution times of high-brightness effects WO22 (Figures 29(h) to 30(l)) and high-brightness effects WO42 (Figures 40(s) to 40(w)), they are both approximately the same (about 4A milliseconds). Of course, the execution times for high-brightness effects WO22 and WO42 can be different; in that case, the former can be made longer than the latter, or vice versa.

[Comparison of dialogue preview sequence 3 and dialogue preview sequence 4]
Next, we compare dialogue予告演出3 and dialogue予告演出4. In this embodiment, the probability of winning is higher for dialogue予告演出3 than for dialogue予告演出4 (Figure 20), but the opposite may also be true. Similarly, the appearance rate is assumed to be higher for dialogue予告演出3 than for dialogue予告演出4, but the opposite may also be true. Here, we make various comparisons between dialogue予告演出3 and dialogue予告演出4, but the two effects being compared are not limited to dialogue予告演出3 and dialogue予告演出4; any two effects of different or the same type are acceptable (of course, a comparison between a preview effect and a partial effect is also acceptable, or a comparison between partial effects is also acceptable).

Comparing dialogue予告演出3 and dialogue予告演出4, in dialogue予告演出3 (first specific演出), as shown in Figure 56, at least some of the multiple types of dialogue display images that can appear (here, the second to fourth dialogue display images SCb to SCd, excluding the first dialogue display image SCa, which has the lowest jackpot reliability) contain special character information ("Good," "Hot," "Super Hot") related to the level of jackpot reliability (reliability regarding the appearance of a predetermined event) in the dialogue string. In contrast, in dialogue予告演出4 (second specific演出), as shown in Figure 60, none of the multiple types of dialogue display images that can appear contain special character information such as "Super Hot" in the dialogue string.

Furthermore, if we define the time from the start of execution of the dialogue予告演出3 (first specific演出) until the dialogue string (special confidence level suggestion information) is displayed (the dialogue display period begins) as the first time, and the time from the start of execution of the dialogue予告演出4 (second specific演出) until the dialogue string (non-special confidence level suggestion information that does not have special character information regarding confidence level) is displayed (the dialogue display period begins) as the second time, then as is clear from Figures 84(a) and (b), the first time is shorter than the second time. In other words, in a preview sequence with a long time before the dialogue is displayed (dialogue preview sequence 4), the build-up before the dialogue is displayed is sufficient to arouse the player's anticipation. Therefore, there is no need to directly or indirectly express the likelihood of a big win through the dialogue, and it is possible to freely use lines from the original work. On the other hand, in a preview sequence with a short time before the dialogue is displayed (dialogue preview sequence 3), there is not enough time to build anticipation before the dialogue is displayed. Therefore, the dialogue includes special text information such as "super hot" that directly or indirectly expresses the likelihood of a big win.

Furthermore, the first time period may be configured to be longer than the second time period. That is, in the dialogue予告演出3 (first specific performance) capable of outputting a dialogue string containing special character information (special reliability suggestion information), the time from the start of the performance until the dialogue string is displayed (the dialogue display period begins) (the first time period) may be longer than the time from the start of the performance until the dialogue string is displayed (the dialogue display period begins) in the dialogue予告演出4 (second specific performance) where none of the multiple types of dialogue display images that can appear contain special character information in the dialogue string (the dialogue display period begins) (the second time period).

Furthermore, while the dialogue予告演出3 (first specific演出), which can display dialogue strings containing special character information, does not execute high-brightness effects, the dialogue予告演出4 (second specific演出), which does not display dialogue strings containing special character information and displays dialogue strings without special character information, is configured to execute high-brightness effects WOC1 and WOC2. In other words, in the dialogue予告演出 (dialogue予告演出4), where high-brightness effects are executed and the presentation has intonation, the player's anticipation can be sufficiently aroused by the dialogue alone. Therefore, there is no need to directly or indirectly express the level of jackpot probability through dialogue, and it is possible to freely use dialogue from the original work. In contrast, in the dialogue予告演出 (dialogue予告演出3), where high-brightness effects are not executed and the presentation has little intonation, the player's anticipation cannot be sufficiently aroused by the dialogue alone. Therefore, dialogue containing special character information such as "super hot" that directly or indirectly expresses the level of jackpot probability is used.

Furthermore, if we define the length of the dialogue display period in the dialogue予告演出3 (first specific演出), which can display a dialogue string containing special character information, as the first character information display time, and the length of the dialogue display period in the dialogue予告演出4 (second specific演出), which does not display a dialogue string containing special character information but displays a dialogue string without special character information, as the second character information display time, then, as is clear from Figures 84(a) and (b), the first character information display time is longer than the second character information display time. In other words, in a予告演出 (preview演出) that uses special character information contained in the dialogue string to evoke anticipation in the player (dialogue予告演出3), it is necessary to ensure that the player reliably recognizes the special character information, and to ensure a longer dialogue display period to match the high reliability. In contrast, in a preview演出 (preview演出) that does not display special character information (dialogue予告演出4), there is no need to ensure that the player recognizes the special character information, so the dialogue display period is shortened.

Furthermore, if we define the length of the dialogue display lingering period in dialogue preview effect 3 (first specific effect) as the first dialogue display lingering time, and the length of the dialogue display lingering period in dialogue preview effect 4 (second specific effect) as the second dialogue display lingering time, then, as is clear from Figures 84(a) and (b), the first dialogue display lingering time is longer than the second dialogue display lingering time. In this case, possible comparison methods include comparing only the dialogue display lingering period before the dialogue sound output begins (first half), comparing only the dialogue display lingering period after the dialogue sound output ends (second half), and comparing the entire dialogue display lingering period (sum of the first and second halves). However, in the examples of Figures 84(a) and (b), the first dialogue display lingering period is longer than the second dialogue display lingering time in all of these comparison methods. When comparing lines of dialogue containing special text information such as "Super Hot" with lines of dialogue without it, the latter tend to be longer. Therefore, if the length of the dialogue display period (the start/end timing of the dialogue display period) is determined based on the output period of the dialogue sound, the display period for the former will be too short, resulting in a display time that does not match the high reliability. To address this, the dialogue display lingering period in dialogue予告演出3 (first specific performance), which can display dialogue strings with special text information, is made longer than the dialogue display lingering period in dialogue予告演出4 (second specific performance), which displays dialogue strings without special text information. This ensures a sufficient dialogue display period when special text information is present.

Furthermore, in the dialogue notification sequence 3 (first specific sequence), the dialogue display images SCa to SCd (first reliability indication information) use different fonts for the text information between the dialogue display images SCa to SCc (normal first reliability indication information) and the dialogue display image SCd (specific first reliability indication information). In contrast, in the dialogue notification sequence 4 (second specific sequence), the dialogue display images SDa to SDe (second reliability indication information) use the same font. In the case of a notification sequence that does not include special text information such as "Super Hot" (dialogue notification sequence 4), the text information does not directly indicate the level of reliability, so it is displayed using the same font regardless of the type of text information. However, in the case of a notification sequence that includes special text information such as "Super Hot" (dialogue notification sequence 3), the font of the text information is changed to emphasize the special text information, making the excitement more easily conveyed to the player.

Furthermore, in dialogue preview effect 3 (first specific effect), dialogue sound is output and the corresponding character image performs lip-syncing (speech animation effect), whereas in dialogue preview effect 4 (second specific effect), dialogue sound is output, but the corresponding character image does not perform lip-syncing (speech animation effect). As is clear from Figures 85(a) and (b), in the dialogue予告演出3 (first specific演出) in which lip-syncing (speech action) is performed, it is necessary to have a certain degree of correspondence between the lip-syncing action and the output period of the dialogue sound. Therefore, the output period of the dialogue sound (voice) is configured so that it does not extend beyond the display period of the dialogue string (text information). In contrast, in the dialogue予告演出4 (second specific演出) in which lip-syncing (speech action) is not performed, there is no need to worry about the correspondence between the lip-syncing action and the output period of the dialogue sound. Therefore, it is possible for the output period of the dialogue sound (voice) to extend beyond the display period of the dialogue string (text information). In the dialogue予告演出4 (second specific演出), in the red dialogue display image SDb, which appears in both losing and winning variations and has a relatively high appearance rate and a relatively high probability of winning, the output period of the dialogue sound (voice) extends beyond the display period of the dialogue string (text information).

In the above example, the dialogue予告演出3 (first specific演出), which can display dialogue strings containing special character information, does not execute the high-brightness effect, nor does it display dialogue strings containing special character information. However, the dialogue予告演出4 (second specific演出), which displays dialogue strings without special character information, is configured to execute the high-brightness effect. Alternatively, the dialogue予告演出3 (first specific演出), which can display dialogue strings containing special character information, may execute the high-brightness effect, while the dialogue予告演出4 (second specific演出), which displays dialogue strings without special character information, may not execute the high-brightness effect.

Furthermore, in the above example, we showed an example where the length of the dialogue display period (first character information display time) in the dialogue予告演出3 (first specific演出), which can display a dialogue string containing special character information, was longer than the length of the dialogue display period (second character information display time) in the dialogue予告演出4 (second specific演出), which does not display a dialogue string containing special character information but displays a dialogue string without special character information. However, the first character information display time may also be shorter than the second character information display time.

Furthermore, in the above example, the dialogue display images SCa to SCd (first confidence level suggestion information) in the dialogue予告演出3 (first specific演出) containing special text information have different fonts for the text information between the dialogue display images SCa to SCc (normal first confidence level suggestion information) and the dialogue display image SCd (specific first confidence level suggestion information). In contrast, the dialogue display images SDa to SDe (second confidence level suggestion information) in the dialogue予告演出4 (second specific演出) without special text information have a common font. However, the multiple second confidence level suggestion information in the second specific演出 without special confidence level suggestion information may include normal second confidence level suggestion information and specific second confidence level suggestion information with a different font. The multiple first confidence level suggestion information in the first specific演出 containing special confidence level suggestion information may be configured to have a common font.

[Comparison of dialogue preview effect 3 and level-up preview effect]
Next, we compare the dialogue予告演出3 and the level-up予告演出. In this embodiment, the probability of a big win is higher for the level-up予告演出 than for the dialogue予告演出3 (Figure 20), but the opposite may also be true. Similarly, the appearance rate is assumed to be higher for the level-up予告演出 than for the dialogue予告演出3, but the opposite may also be true. Here, we make various comparisons between the dialogue予告演出3 and the level-up予告演出, but the two effects being compared are not limited to the dialogue予告演出3 and the level-up予告演出; any two effects of different or the same type may be used (of course, a comparison between a preview effect and a partial effect is also acceptable, or a comparison between partial effects is also acceptable).

Comparing the dialogue予告演出3 and the level-up予告演出, the dialogue予告演出3 (first specific演出) displays one of several dialogue display images SCa to SCd (first reliability suggestion information) corresponding to different jackpot reliability levels during a single演出, as shown in Figure 56, whereas the level-up予告演出 (second specific演出) displays multiple level display images (second reliability suggestion information) corresponding to different jackpot reliability levels in stages during a single演出, as shown in Figures 68 and 69. Furthermore, in the Level-Up予告演出 (Second Specific Presentation), while the base color (color information) changes when displaying multiple level display images (Second Trust Level Indication Information) in stages, the font (typeface) information of the text information remains unchanged even though the base color (color information) changes. In contrast, in the Dialogue Preview Presentation 3 (First Specific Presentation), among the multiple dialogue display images SCa to SCd (First Trust Level Indication Information), the font (typeface) information of the text information is different for dialogue display image SCd (Specific First Trust Level Indication Information) which uses gold (Specific Color Information) as its base color, and for dialogue display images SCa to SCc (Non-Specific First Trust Level Indication Information) which use green, blue, or red (Non-Specific Color Information) as their base colors.

[Comparison of dialogue preview effect 4 and announcement preview effect]
Next, we compare the dialogue予告演出4 and the announcement予告演出. In this embodiment, the probability of a big win is higher for the announcement予告演出 than for the dialogue予告演出4 (Figure 20), but the opposite may also be true. Similarly, the appearance rate is assumed to be higher for the announcement予告演出 than for the dialogue予告演出4, but the opposite may also be true. Here, we make various comparisons between the dialogue予告演出4 and the announcement予告演出, but the two effects being compared are not limited to the dialogue予告演出4 and the announcement予告演出; any two effects of different or the same type may be used (of course, a comparison between a preview effect and a partial effect is also acceptable, or a comparison between two partial effects is also acceptable).

Comparing the dialogue予告演出4 (dialogue予告演出) and the notification予告演出 (announcement予告演出), both are similar in that they dynamically display text information after the execution (start of execution) of the high-brightness effect. However, the dialogue予告演出4 (first specific予告演出) differs in that, as shown in Figure 84(b), it provides audio output corresponding to the text information, while the notification予告演出 (second specific予告演出) differs in that, as shown in Figure 84(c), it does not provide audio output corresponding to the text information (except for dialogue output during the introductory effect). Furthermore, the dialogue予告演出4 (first specific予告演出) dynamically displays the text information in a first motion mode (here, each character is individually oscillating) after the execution of the high-brightness effect (Figures 62(c) to 63(l)), while the notification予告演出 (second specific予告演出) dynamically displays the text information in a second motion mode (here, the entire string moves up and down as a single unit) after the execution of the high-brightness effect (Figures 66(m) to (u)).

Thus, both the dialogue予告演出4 and the notification予告演出 make the text information more prominent by dynamically displaying it after the execution of a high-brightness effect. However, since the notification予告演出 does not provide audio output corresponding to the text information, it is important not to compromise readability when dynamically displaying the text information. Therefore, a second motion mode is adopted in which the entire string moves up and down as a single unit, while keeping the flashiness to a minimum. In contrast, since dialogue予告演出4 provides audio output corresponding to the text information, it is possible to prioritize flashiness in the dynamic display of the text information, even at the expense of readability, and a first motion mode is adopted in which each character is individually swayed. Note that the first and second motion modes are not limited to these two; similar motion modes (such as the movement of the entire string, or the swaying of each character individually) may also be used, provided that the motion speed of the second motion mode is slower than that of the first motion mode, or that the amount of movement (movement distance or rotation angle) is smaller.

Furthermore, the dialogue予告演出4 (first specific予告演出) differs from the notification予告演出 (second specific notification演出) in that the dialogue予告演出 begins displaying text information after the high-brightness effect is executed (Figure 84(b)), while the announcement予告演出 (second specific notification演出) executes the high-brightness effect after the text information is displayed (Figure 84(c)). Dialogue予告演出4 provides audio output corresponding to the text information, allowing the player to recognize the content of the text information even if the display begins after the high-brightness effect. However, the announcement予告演出 does not provide audio output corresponding to the text information; therefore, by starting the display of the text information before the high-brightness effect is executed, it ensures that the player can reliably recognize the content of the text information.

Figure 86 compares the appearance rate of display images with a red reliability color (first reliability suggestion information) and display images with a gold reliability color (second reliability suggestion information) in the dialogue予告演出4 and the notification予告演出. As shown in the figure, for dialogue予告演出4 (second specific演出), the appearance rate of the second dialogue display image SDb (second normal reliability suggestion information, which is first reliability suggestion information and does not have special text information) with a red reliability color is Ra1, and the appearance rate of the third dialogue display image SDc (second high reliability suggestion information, which is second reliability suggestion information, which does not have special text information) with a gold reliability color is Rb1. For notification予告演出 (first specific演出), the appearance rate of the second dialogue display image SDb (second normal reliability suggestion information) with a red reliability color is Rb1. Let Ra2 be the appearance rate of notification display image ANb1 (first reliability indication information, which is first normal reliability indication information containing first special character information ("Chance")), and let Rb2 be the appearance rate of notification display image ANc (second reliability indication information, which is first high reliability indication information containing second special character information ("Super Hot")), which has a reliability color of gold. Then, the relationships Ra1 > Ra2, Rb1 > Rb2, and (Ra1 - Ra2) < (Rb1 - Rb2) hold.

In other words, the appearance rate Rb1 of the second high-reliability suggestion information is higher than the appearance rate Rb2 of the first high-reliability suggestion information, and the difference in appearance rates between the first high-reliability suggestion information and the second high-reliability suggestion information (Rb1 - Rb2) is greater than the difference in appearance rates between the first normal-reliability suggestion information and the second normal-reliability suggestion information (Ra1 - Ra2). In the example in Figure 86, for simplicity, it was assumed that there is only one type of notification display image with a red reliability color, ANb1, in the notification予告演出 (notification予告演出 - notification予告演出 - notification preview演出), and its appearance rate was taken as Ra2. However, it is also possible to assume that there are two or more types of notification display images with a red reliability color, such as ANb1 and ANb2, and take the sum of their appearance rates as Ra2. Furthermore, in the example shown in Figure 86, the notification display image ANb1, which has a red reliability color in the notification予告演出 (first specific演出), is configured to include the special text information "Chance" (first special text information). However, it is sufficient that it is different from the special text information "Super Hot" (second special text information), and it does not need to include any special text information.

[Comparison of Announcement/Preview Production and Interruption/Preview Production]
Next, we will compare the notification and interruption notification effects. In this embodiment, the probability of a big win is higher for the interruption notification effect than for the notification and announcement effect (Figure 20), but the opposite may also apply. Similarly, the appearance rate is assumed to be higher for the interruption notification effect than for the notification and announcement effect, but the opposite may also apply. Here, we will make various comparisons between the notification and announcement effect and the interruption notification effect, but the two effects being compared are not limited to the notification and announcement effect and the interruption notification effect; any two effects of different or the same type are acceptable (of course, a comparison between a notification effect and a partial effect is also acceptable, or a comparison between two partial effects is also acceptable).

Comparing the notification and interruption notification sequences, both share the commonality of including two types of sequences that have two types of special text information: "Chance" (first special text information) and "Super Hot" (second special text information) among the multiple types of sequences that are selectively executed (Figures 48 and 64). On the other hand, in the notification and preview sequence (first specific sequence), notification display image ANb1, which uses red as its base color (first reliability indication information), has the special text information "Chance" (first special text information), and notification display image ANc, which uses gold as its base color (second reliability indication information), which has a higher probability of winning than red, has the special text information "Super Hot" (second special text information) (Figure 64). In contrast, in the interruption notification sequence (second specific sequence), the second sequence mode IRb, which uses gold as its base color (second reliability indication information), displays the special text information "Chance" (first special text information), while the third sequence mode IRc, which uses danger color as its base color (third reliability indication information), which has a higher probability of winning than gold, displays the special text information "Super Hot" (second special text information) (Figure 48). These are the differences between the two.

Thus, the probability of a big win is higher when the special text information "Chance" and "Super Hot" is displayed in the interruption予告演出 (second specific演出) than when it is displayed in the notification予告演出 (first specific演出). Furthermore, the timing of displaying the reliability indicator information, including the special text information such as "Chance" and "Super Hot," should be later for the interruption予告演出 (second specific演出) than for the notification予告演出 (first specific演出). The order of timing in this case should be determined based on the start of the symbol change, but it may also be determined before or after a predetermined reference point (for example, when a reach is established). Moreover, it is desirable to determine the order of timing as described above, regardless of whether the notification予告演出 (first specific演出) and the interruption予告演出 (second specific演出) appear during the same symbol change or during different symbol changes.

[Comparison of Reach予告演出 and Dialogue予告演出 4]
Next, we compare the reach予告演出 (reach notification effect) and the dialogue予告演出 (dialogue notification effect) 4. In this embodiment, the probability of a big win is higher for the reach notification effect than for the dialogue notification effect 4 (Figure 20), but the opposite may also be true. Similarly, the appearance rate is assumed to be higher for the reach notification effect than for the dialogue notification effect 4, but the opposite may also be true. Here, we make various comparisons between the reach notification effect and the dialogue notification effect 4, but the two effects being compared are not limited to the reach notification effect and the dialogue notification effect 4; any two effects of different or the same type are acceptable (of course, a comparison between a notification effect and a partial effect is also acceptable, or a comparison between two partial effects is also acceptable).

Comparing the reach予告演出 (reach予告演出) and the dialogue予告演出 4 (dialogue予告演出 4), as shown in Figure 27, in the reach予告演出 (first specific演出), at least some of the multiple possible presentation modes (here, the third and fourth presentation modes RC2c and RC2d, excluding the first and second presentation modes RC2a and RC2b, which have low jackpot reliability) include special character information ("Big Chance," "Super Hot") related to the jackpot reliability (reliability regarding the appearance of a predetermined event) in the dialogue string (special reliability suggestion information). In contrast, in the dialogue予告演出 4 (second specific演出), as shown in Figure 60, none of the multiple possible dialogue display images include special character information such as "Super Hot" in the dialogue string (non-special reliability suggestion information).

Furthermore, both the reach予告演出 (reach予告演出) and the dialogue予告演出 4 (dialogue予告演出 4) execute a high-brightness effect when the dialogue string (text information) appears, but the manner of the high-brightness effect differs between the two. Specifically, in the high-brightness effect WO22 (first high-brightness effect) of the reach予告演出 (first specific effect), as shown in Figure 30, the minimum transmittance of the high-brightness image 170d is less than 0% (40% in this case), and although visibility is reduced during the high-brightness effect WO22, the dialogue string is always visible. In contrast, in the high-brightness effect WOC1 (second high-brightness effect) of the dialogue予告演出 4 (second specific effect), as shown in Figure 62, the minimum transmittance of the high-brightness image 170wa is 0%, and the dialogue string is not visible for at least a portion of the high-brightness effect WOC1.

Thus, in the dialogue予告演出4, which displays a string of dialogue that does not contain special textual information, the content of the dialogue string alone is not sufficient to arouse the player's anticipation. Therefore, for example, a high-brightness effect with a large change in the transparency of the high-brightness image is executed to increase the intensity of the effect. In contrast, in the reach予告演出, which can display a string of dialogue that contains special textual information, the content of the dialogue string can directly arouse the player's anticipation. Therefore, in order to make better use of the dialogue string, a high-brightness effect with a small change in the transparency of the high-brightness image is executed. Furthermore, the first high-brightness effect, executed in the first specific effect that displays character information containing special character information, and the second high-brightness effect, executed in the second specific effect that displays character information without special character information, may differ not only in the minimum transmittance of the high-brightness image, but also in other aspects, such as the duration of the high-brightness effect (the first high-brightness effect is shorter), the size or range of the high-brightness image (the first high-brightness effect is smaller), the presence or absence of sound effects during the high-brightness effect (the first high-brightness effect has no sound effects), and the volume of the audio output during the high-brightness effect (the first high-brightness effect is quieter).

[Comparison of dialogue preview sequences 1, 3, and 4, and announcement preview sequences]
Next, we will compare dialogue preview sequences 1, 3, and 4 and the announcement preview sequence. Here, we will make various comparisons between dialogue preview sequences 1, 3, and 4 and the announcement preview sequence, but the multiple (four) sequences being compared are not limited to dialogue preview sequences 1, 3, and 4 and the announcement preview sequence; any multiple sequences of different types or of the same type are acceptable (of course, it is also acceptable to compare a preview sequence with a partial sequence, or to compare partial sequences with each other).

Figure 87 shows an example in which dialogue予告演出1 and notification予告演出 can be executed before a reach is established (before the symbols enter a reach state), and dialogue予告演出4 and dialogue予告演出3 can be executed after a reach is established (after the symbols enter a reach state). In dialogue予告演出1 (first specific pre-reach演出) which is executed before a reach is established, a presentation pattern (first pre-reach presentation pattern) can be executed that displays the dialogue string "This is..." (second reliability suggestion information) which does not contain any special text information, corresponding to the gold color among several types of reliability colors, and its jackpot reliability is Rc1. Furthermore, in the dialogue notification effect 4 (first specific effect after reach) that is executed after a reach is established, it is possible to execute an effect pattern (first effect pattern after reach) that displays an image (second reliability suggestion information) containing the dialogue string "How are you feeling?" (second reliability suggestion information) which does not contain any special text information, corresponding to the gold color among the multiple types of reliability colors, and the probability of winning is Rc2. Furthermore, in the notification notification effect that is executed before a reach is established (second specific effect before reach), it is possible to execute an effect pattern (second effect pattern before reach) that displays the string "Super Hot Sale in Progress" (reliability suggestion information) which contains the special text information "Super Hot" (second special text information), and the probability of winning is Rd1. Furthermore, in the dialogue予告演出3 (second specific演出 after reach) executed after a reach is achieved, it is possible to execute a presentation pattern (second presentation pattern after reach) that displays the string "It's super hot!" (reliability indication information) which includes the special text information "Super hot" (second special text information), and the probability of winning is Rd2. The relationships Rc1 < Rc2, Rd1 < Rd2, (Rc2 - Rc1) > (Rd2 - Rd1) hold true for these four probability levels of winning.

In other words, in the dialogue予告演出1 (first specific pre-reach演出) performed before the reach is established, the probability of winning is Rc1 when the dialogue string "This is..." which does not contain any special text information and corresponds to the gold probability color is displayed, while in the dialogue予告演出4 (first specific post-reach演出) performed after the reach is established, the probability of winning is Rc2 when the dialogue string "How are you feeling?" which does not contain any special text information and corresponds to the gold probability color is displayed, and it is performed before the reach is established. In the notification/pre-reach animation (second specific animation before a reach), the probability of winning a jackpot when displaying a string containing the special text information "Super Hot" is higher than the probability of winning a jackpot when displaying a string containing the special text information "Super Hot" in the dialogue notification animation 3 (second specific animation after a reach) executed after a reach is established. The difference between the probability of winning a jackpot (Rc2 - Rc1) is greater than the difference between the probability of winning a jackpot (Rd2 - Rd1). However, the difference between the probability of winning a jackpot (Rc2 - Rc1) may be considered smaller than the difference between the probability of winning a jackpot (Rd2 - Rd1).

Next, we will describe a second embodiment, which is a modified version of the first embodiment described above, with reference to Figure 88. In this embodiment, we compare the dialogue preview effects 1 and 4 described in the first embodiment with slight modifications. Since the other configurations are the same as in the first embodiment, we will omit their explanation here.

In the dialogue予告演出1 of the first embodiment, as shown in Figure 36, there was one variation for each of the reliability colors: blue, red, gold, danger color, and rainbow color. However, in the dialogue予告演出1 of this embodiment, as shown in Figure 88(a), in addition to the variation that outputs the line "I feel a curse" for the blue reliability color, there is also a variation that outputs the line "I'm feeling blue" for the blue reliability color. That is, in the dialogue予告演出1 (first specific演出) of this embodiment, focusing on the blue and red reliability colors, there are two variations (first reliability suggestion information) for the blue reliability color and one variation (second reliability suggestion information) for the red reliability color (Figure 88(a)). Furthermore, the dialogue予告演出1 (first specific演出) of this embodiment is performed before a reach is established.

Furthermore, in the dialogue予告演出4 of the first embodiment, as shown in Figure 60, there was one variation for each reliability color: blue, red, gold, danger color, and rainbow color. However, in the dialogue予告演出4 of this embodiment, as shown in Figure 88(b), in addition to the variation that outputs the line "Let's do our best" for the red reliability color, there is also a variation that outputs the line "Let's look ahead and move forward." That is, in the dialogue予告演出4 (second specific演出) of this embodiment, focusing on the blue and red reliability colors, there is one variation (first reliability suggestion information) for the blue reliability color and two variations (second reliability suggestion information) for the red reliability color (Figure 88(b)). Also, the dialogue予告演出4 (second specific演出) of this embodiment is executed after a reach is established.

In this embodiment, in the dialogue予告演出1 (first specific演出) performed before a reach is established, the number of variations corresponding to the red reliability color (second reliability suggestion information), which indicates a higher level of reliability, is smaller than the number of variations corresponding to the blue reliability color (first reliability suggestion information), which indicates a higher level of reliability (1 type). Conversely, in the dialogue予告演出4 (second specific演出) performed after a reach is established, the number of variations corresponding to the red reliability color (second reliability suggestion information), which indicates a higher level of reliability, is larger than the number of variations corresponding to the blue reliability color (first reliability suggestion information), which indicates a higher level of reliability (2 types). Thus, by increasing the number of variations with higher reliability from before to after a reach is established, it is possible to stimulate the player's anticipation and improve the effect of the presentation.

Furthermore, in the dialogue予告演出1 (first specific演出) performed before a reach is established, the number of variations corresponding to the blue reliability color (first reliability suggestion information) and the number of variations corresponding to the red reliability color (second reliability suggestion information), which corresponds to a higher reliability, may be the same (for example, two types). Also, for the dialogue予告演出4 (second specific演出) performed after a reach is established, it is desirable to have more variations corresponding to the red reliability color (second reliability suggestion information) (two types) than variations corresponding to the blue reliability color (first reliability suggestion information) (one type), as described above, but the former and the latter may be the same number.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, the dialogue notification effect 1 (first specific effect) is executed before a reach is established, and the dialogue notification effect 4 (second specific effect) is executed after a reach is established. However, the configuration described above may also be adopted, where the dialogue notification effect 1 (first specific effect) is executed during normal gameplay, and the dialogue notification effect 4 (second specific effect) is executed during special gameplay states such as high probability states.

Next, a third embodiment, which is a modified version of the first embodiment, will be described with reference to Figure 89. In this embodiment, seven types of pre-announcement effects (Br1 to Br7) shown in Figure 89(a) are provided as effects that can be executed before a reach is achieved, and seven types of pre-announcement effects (Ar1 to Ar7) shown in Figure 89(b) are provided as effects that can be executed after a reach is achieved. Note that these 14 types of pre-announcement effects may or may not include some that are common to the pre-announcement effects shown in the first embodiment. For example, pre-announcement effect Br1 may be the step-up pre-announcement effect of the first embodiment (Figure 22, etc.), and pre-announcement effect Br2 may be the reach pre-announcement effect of the first embodiment (Figure 27, etc.). Also, pre-announcement effect Ar1 may be the interrupt pre-announcement effect of the first embodiment (Figure 48, etc.).

Figure 89(a) shows all pre-reach animations Br1 to Br7 (specific pre-reach animations) that can be performed before a reach is established, and Figure 89(b) shows all post-reach animations Ar1 to Ar7 (specific post-reach animations) that can be performed after a reach is established. Each animation shows whether variations exist corresponding to the reliability colors: blue, red, gold, danger color, and rainbow. A circle (○) indicates that a variation exists (here, all are considered to be one type). For variations corresponding to the danger color, a black (●) indicates that a variation exists that includes special text information (here, "Super Hot") (here, all are considered to be one type).

The pre-reach animations Br1 to Br7 (pre-reach specific animations) performed before a reach is established are as follows: As shown in Figure 89(a), there are three types of pre-reach animations Br1 to Br3 (pre-reach first specific animations) that include a variation corresponding to the danger color (third reliability suggestion information) among multiple variations; and four types of pre-reach animations Br4 to Br7 (pre-reach second specific animations) that include a variation corresponding to red or gold (first reliability suggestion information or the aforementioned second reliability suggestion information) among multiple variations, but do not include a variation corresponding to the danger color (third reliability suggestion information).

Furthermore, the pre-announcement sequences Ar1 to Ar7 (post-reach specific sequences) executed after a reach is established are as follows: As shown in Figure 89(b), there are four types of pre-announcement sequences Ar1 to Ar4 (post-reach first specific sequences) that include a variation corresponding to the danger color (third reliability suggestion information) among multiple variations; and three types of pre-announcement sequences Ar5 to Ar7 (post-reach second specific sequences) that include a variation corresponding to red or gold (first reliability suggestion information or the aforementioned second reliability suggestion information) among multiple variations, but do not include a variation corresponding to the danger color (third reliability suggestion information).

Thus, in this embodiment, among the pre-reach announcement sequences Br1 to Br7 (pre-reach specific sequences) executed before a reach is established, the number of pre-reach announcement sequences Br4 to Br7 (pre-reach second specific sequences) that include variations corresponding to red or gold (first reliability suggestion information or the second reliability suggestion information) but do not include variations corresponding to danger colors (third reliability suggestion information) is greater than the number of pre-reach announcement sequences Br1 to Br3 (pre-reach first specific sequences) that include variations corresponding to danger colors (third reliability suggestion information) among multiple variations (3 types). Furthermore, comparing the number of pre-reach specific animations (Br1-Br7, pre-reach specific animations) and post-reach specific animations (Ar1-Ar7, post-reach specific animations) that include variations corresponding to the danger color (third reliability indication information) within multiple variations, the number of post-reach specific animations (Ar1-Ar4, four types) is greater than the number of pre-reach specific animations (Br1-Br3, three types).

Furthermore, in this embodiment, the number of pre-announcement sequences that include variations corresponding to the danger color and containing the special text information "Super Hot" (hereinafter referred to as "pre-announcement sequences with danger and super hot") is greater before the reach is established (two types of pre-announcement sequences, Br2 and Br3) than after the reach is established (one type of pre-announcement sequence, Ar1). However, it is also possible to make the number of sequences before the reach is established less than the number of sequences after the reach is established. Furthermore, in this embodiment, when comparing the number of pre-announcement sequences with "Danger Super Hot" and pre-announcement sequences that include variations corresponding to the "Danger" color and variations that do not have the special text information "Super Hot" (hereinafter referred to as "pre-announcement sequences without Danger Super Hot"), in all pre-announcement sequences Br1 to Br7 and Ar1 to Ar7 before and after the establishment of a reach, the number of pre-announcement sequences without "Danger Super Hot" (four types of pre-announcement sequences Br1, Ar2 to Ar4) is greater than the number of pre-announcement sequences with "Danger Super Hot" (three types of pre-announcement sequences Br2, Br3, and Ar1). Similarly, in pre-announcement sequences Ar1 to Ar7 after the establishment of a reach, the number of pre-announcement sequences without "Danger Super Hot" (three types of pre-announcement sequences Ar2 to Ar4) is greater than the number of pre-announcement sequences with "Danger Super Hot" (one type of pre-announcement sequence Ar1). Of course, even in pre-announcement sequences Br1 to Br7 before the establishment of a reach, the number of pre-announcement sequences without "Danger Super Hot" is greater than the number of pre-announcement sequences with "Danger Super Hot".

Next, a fourth embodiment, which is a modified version of the first embodiment, will be described with reference to Figure 90. In this embodiment, among the multiple types of pre-announcement effects, five types of pre-announcement effects (normal specific effects) that can be executed during normal gameplay are provided, as shown in Figure 90 (C1 to C5). These five types of pre-announcement effects may or may not include some that are common to the pre-announcement effects shown in the first embodiment. Here, pre-announcement effect C3 is assumed to be common to the notification pre-announcement effect in the first embodiment (Figure 64, etc.).

Figure 90 shows whether variations exist for each reliability color (blue, red, gold, danger color, and rainbow) for the notification effects C1 to C5 that can be executed during normal gameplay, and if so, the number of variations. Furthermore, it shows the total number of variations (effect patterns) for each reliability color for all possible variations of notification effects C1 to C5. For example, notification effect C3 has one variation corresponding to blue, two variations corresponding to red, and one variation corresponding to gold. The total number of variations corresponding to the reliability colors blue, red, gold, danger color, and rainbow are 7, 6, 5, 2, and 1, respectively.

In this embodiment, as is clear from Figure 90, for all variations (performance patterns) that can be executed in the予告演出 C1 to C5, the number of variations corresponding to red (performance patterns that output second reliability suggestion information) (6 types) is greater than the number of variations corresponding to gold (performance patterns that output third reliability suggestion information) (5 types). Similarly, the number of variations corresponding to blue (performance patterns that output first reliability suggestion information) (7 types) is greater than the number of variations corresponding to red (performance patterns that output second reliability suggestion information) (6 types). Furthermore, the number of variations corresponding to danger color (2 types) is greater than the number of variations corresponding to rainbow color (1 type). Similarly, the number of variations corresponding to gold (performance patterns that output third reliability suggestion information) (5 types) is greater than the number of variations corresponding to danger color (2 types).

Furthermore, in the preview sequence C3 (first normal specific sequence) among the preview sequences C1 to C5, two variations corresponding to red (second reliability suggestion information) are included among the multiple types (four types) of executable variations (sequence patterns) (first and second sequence patterns). Since the preview sequence C3 in this embodiment is the same as the notification preview sequence in the first embodiment (Figure 64, etc.), the two variations corresponding to red (second reliability suggestion information) are specifically the variation that outputs the notification display image ANb1 shown in Figure 64(b1) (first sequence pattern) and the variation that outputs the notification display image ANb2 shown in Figure 64(b2) (second sequence pattern). Both notification images ANb1 (Figure 64(b1)) and ANb2 (Figure 64(b2)) contain special text information. However, the special text information in notification image ANb1 is "Chance," while the special text information in notification image ANb2 is "Big Chance" (specific information), which suggests a higher probability of winning the jackpot.

Furthermore, in this notification effect C3 (first normal specific effect), when the symbol change is a jackpot change, the variation that outputs notification display image ANb2 (second effect pattern) will appear more frequently (be executed more often) than the variation that outputs notification display image ANb1 (first effect pattern). In this way, by providing multiple variations corresponding to the same red color (second reliability indication information), and by differentiating their appearance rates during jackpot changes and non-jackpot changes, the indication of jackpot reliability can be made more flexible, resulting in an improved effect. In this embodiment, notification effects C1 to C5 are executable during normal gameplay, but they may also be executable during special gameplay and configured similarly. In this case, the multiple types of notification effects executable during normal gameplay and the multiple types of notification effects executable during special gameplay may differ in some respects, or they may be entirely the same.

The embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, but the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and various modifications are possible without departing from the spirit of the invention. For example, in the above embodiments, a configuration was described in which an abnormality is detected by flag polling when the memory access cycle of the drawing circuit 74 or the decoding processing time is prolonged, but of course, abnormal interrupt processing may also be utilized. Figure 15(d) shows an example of such a configuration, in which, when a drawing abnormal interrupt occurs, only the drawing circuit 74 is individually reset (ST23), the operating parameters necessary for the operation of the drawing circuit 74 are reset, the stack area is appropriately released (ST24), and the process proceeds to step ST9.

The initialization of the performance control CPU may be configured as follows: The system clock frequency is set, and the method for loading the boot program for initial setup of the performance control CPU is configured. The system clock frequency is set by referring to pre-configured terminal information. The boot program loading method is also determined by referring to pre-configured terminal information, and the memory device for loading the boot program is selected according to the terminal information. In this case, the terminal information is pre-configured so that the performance control ROM is set as the memory device. After these processes are completed, a hardware reset is performed.

Next, the performance control CPU performs a standby process until the initialization of the integrated performance circuit is complete. The integrated performance circuit refers to predetermined terminal information and, after confirming that the information indicates initialization for a certain period, performs a hardware reset. This initializes each circuit component included in the integrated performance circuit. Here, the integrated performance circuit may refer to predetermined terminal information, or the performance control CPU may be configured to initialize the integrated performance circuit by referring to predetermined terminal information. Once the initialization of the integrated performance circuit is complete and a stable clock is supplied from the system clock, the reset state of each circuit component of the integrated performance circuit is released, and the functions of each circuit component become usable. The performance control CPU will continue to perform a standby process until this series of processes is complete.

In this case, the CPU's standby process may be configured to wait for a predetermined time, or it may be configured to terminate by referring to or confirming at least one of the following: referring to predetermined terminal information, checking predetermined internal registers, or confirming that the system clock supply is stable. Furthermore, if the standby process does not complete after the predetermined time has elapsed (for example, if the initialization of the integrated performance circuit is not completed for any reason), the system may be configured to continue the standby process until the initialization of the integrated performance circuit is complete, or it may be configured to perform another hardware reset at the predetermined time or via a watchdog timer.

Once the initialization of the integrated production circuit is complete, the next step is to configure the number of CPU cores in operation. In the initial state immediately after a hardware reset, only one of the four CPU cores is operational. Therefore, the number of CPU cores used is changed, and the process of making the stopped core operational is executed. While it is preferable to operate all CPU cores to prioritize the processing efficiency of the production control CPU, if the production control does not require a high processing load, it is acceptable to configure the system to use only some of the CPU cores.

Next, the system executes a process to change the recovery method for each circuit component in the event of an abnormal state, as needed, from its initial state. For example, it performs a process to change the system clock's abnormal state detection method and recovery method, as well as the watchdog timer's reset operation upon timeout, to any desired setting. Next, power-saving functions are configured for each circuit component. This allows the system clock and power supply to some circuit components to be turned off. In other words, by turning off the clock and power supply to unused circuits or circuits in standby mode (such as LED controllers and motor controllers inside composite chips not shown), power consumption can be reduced.

Next, the display output clock and sound clock are initialized. The frequency and source of the display output clock and sound clock are set in the internal registers, and then a reset process is performed. This ensures that the values set in the internal registers are reflected as clock control parameters during initialization. The performance control CPU is configured to wait for the initialization of the display output clock and sound clock to complete before using the display circuit and sound circuit.

At this time, the performance control CPU may be configured to wait for a predetermined time until the initialization of the display output clock and the sound clock is completed, or it may be configured to terminate the waiting process by referring to or confirming at least one of the following: referring to predetermined terminal information, checking predetermined internal registers, or confirming that the system clock supply is stable. Furthermore, if the waiting process is not completed after the predetermined time has elapsed (for any reason the initialization of the display output clock and the sound clock is not completed), the CPU may be configured to continue the waiting process until the initialization of the display output clock and the sound clock is completed, or it may be configured to perform another hardware reset at the predetermined time elapsed or by a watchdog timer. Here, the CPU may be configured to perform the initialization of the sound clock after the initialization of the display output clock is completed, or it may be configured to perform the initialization of the display output clock and the sound clock in parallel.

The initialization of the drawing circuit may be configured as follows: Initialization of the drawing circuit is performed by setting predetermined values in predetermined registers. During initialization, the status register will show a specific value, allowing confirmation that the drawing circuit is being initialized. Furthermore, the initialization of the drawing circuit at this time is performed as follows: First, once predetermined values are set in the predetermined registers, a clear process is performed so that the internal parameters set in the display list return to their initial values. Next, the drawing circuit is controlled to its initial state, and the GDEC circuit and image filter circuit are initialized sequentially. After that, the index table is initialized, and the index spaces of the page area and AAC area are all released. Finally, the information of the arbitrary area and page area is cleared.

The internal status registers for the drawing circuit may be configured to include a first status register that can check the status of the entire drawing circuit, and a second status register that can check the progress of the display list analysis. Similarly, the input assembler process IA, geometry engine process TL, rasterizer process RS, texture sampler process TX, texture process PS, pixel drawing process PX, render process RO, stencil buffer, vertex buffer, frame buffer cache, GDEC circuit, image filter circuit, etc., within the drawing circuit may each be configured to have separate registers for checking the progress of the drawing process. The performance control CPU can then check the contents of these internal status registers to determine the progress of the drawing process for each functional block. Of course, it is desirable that the contents of the internal status registers remain unchanged even when drawing commands unrelated to functional blocks are executed, and that the contents of the internal status registers only change for the functional blocks actually used.

Regarding the drawing commands listed in the display list, the following configuration may be used to ensure that the drawing results are obtained in the order they are written in the display list. For example, in cases where image data drawn by a drawing command written earlier in the display list is used as a texture by a drawing command written later, the system may be configured to execute a waiting process to wait for the command parsing and/or command execution of the subsequent drawing command until the drawing process of the image data by the earlier drawing command is completed.

Furthermore, if a drawing command that does not exist in the display list is described due to a malfunction or other issue, the system may be configured to discard the entire display list, or to treat only the non-existent drawing command as an error and discard the command. In this case, the system may be configured to allow confirmation of abnormal information indicating the inclusion of an abnormal drawing command in a designated register. In such cases, the system may be configured to execute an error interrupt that occurs only in abnormal situations. Also, if an abnormal drawing command is included, or if the command size of the drawing command is abnormal, or if the display list itself is abnormally sized, the system may be configured to allow confirmation of abnormal information indicating that the drawing circuit is abnormal in a designated register. In such cases, the system may be configured to execute an error interrupt that occurs only in abnormal situations. Furthermore, when it is detected that an abnormal command is included in the display list as described above, or when there have been no read and/or write requests to VRAM for a certain period, the system may be configured to initialize the drawing circuit by writing a predetermined value to a designated register.

Regarding the image filter circuit, the filtering process performed by the image filter circuit on the texture and the processing performed by the drawing circuit may be configured to run independently and in parallel. When the drawing circuit receives a display, it analyzes the display list and sends an execution request to the image filter circuit. In accordance with the execution request, the image filter circuit is configured to read the image data to be used as the texture from VRAM or CGROM and write the processing result to VRAM or extended RAM. These processes by the image filter are executed independently and in parallel with the display list analysis and other drawing processes performed by the drawing circuit.

The image filter circuit may be configured to include a FIFO circuit. This allows the content of drawing commands related to filtering the image filter circuit, along with execution parameters, to be queued in the FIFO circuit. Furthermore, it is desirable that the queued execution parameters are configured so as not to be affected by filtering by drawing commands already in progress. It is also desirable that there be multiple stages (e.g., four stages) of FIFO circuits, and that any drawing commands beyond these stages be stalled by the display list analyzer until a free FIFO circuit becomes available in the image filter circuit, preventing command analysis. It is also desirable that the availability of the FIFO circuits in the image filter circuit be checkable using a predetermined register. The performance control CPU, drawing circuit, or display list analyzer should check the availability of the FIFO circuits in the image filter circuit by referring to a predetermined register, and if there is availability, analyze the drawing command and/or transmit the content of the drawing command along with the execution parameters to the available area of the FIFO circuit in the image filter circuit.

If an error occurs within the image filter circuit, the currently running filter process may be configured to be interrupted. Furthermore, if the texture referenced by the image filter circuit is stored in the AAC area, this AAC area may be released. Additionally, the cause of the error may be recorded in a predetermined register. Afterward, it is desirable for the image filter circuit to notify the drawing circuit of the abnormal termination and then proceed to execute the next filter process.

Regarding the high-brightness image 170 displayed with high-brightness effects, the embodiments described cases where the size and transmittance (uniform) change over time, where only the transmittance (uniform) changes over time while the size remains unchanged with 100% coverage of the background image, and where only the size changes over time while the transmittance (uniform in this case) remains unchanged (Figure 91(a)). However, the embodiments are not limited to these cases. Figure 91(b) shows a case where only the transmittance of the high-brightness image 170 changes over time while the size remains unchanged with less than 100% coverage of the background image.

Figure 91(c) shows a case where the transmittance of the high-brightness image 170 is non-uniform, and its size and transmittance change over time. In the example in Figure 91(c), the rate of change in transmittance gradually increases from the center outwards of the high-brightness image 170. However, the system may be configured so that the rate of change in transmittance gradually decreases from the center outwards. Furthermore, while Figure 91(c) shows an example where the transmittance changes stepwise within the high-brightness image 170, the system may also be configured so that the transmittance changes almost continuously within the high-brightness image 170.

The types of high-brightness effects are classified into six forms: a first form in which the size and/or position and transmittance (uniform) of the high-brightness image change over time; a second form in which the size and/or position and transmittance (non-uniform) of the high-brightness image change over time; a third form in which the size and/or position of the high-brightness image changes over time, but the transmittance (uniform) does not; a fourth form in which the size and/or position of the high-brightness image changes over time, but the transmittance (non-uniform) does not; a fifth form in which the transmittance (uniform) of the high-brightness image changes over time, but the size and/or position does not; and a sixth form in which the transmittance (non-uniform) of the high-brightness image changes over time, but the size and/or position does not. A specific explanation of the variations of each effect shown in the examples is as follows. In other words, in the step-up予告演出 (preview/announcement) sequence, both high-brightness sequences WO11 and WO12 were set to their first form. However, high-brightness sequence WO11 may be set to any of the second through sixth forms, and high-brightness sequence WO12 may be set to any of the second through sixth forms. In this case, high-brightness sequences WO11 and WO12 may be set to the same form or to different forms; the combination is arbitrary.

In the reach予告演出 (reach notification effect), both high-brightness effects WO21 and WO22 were set to the 5th form, but high-brightness effect WO21 may be any of the 1st to 4th or 6th forms, and high-brightness effect WO22 may be any of the 1st to 4th or 6th forms. In this case, high-brightness effects WO21 and WO22 may be the same form or different forms, and the combination is arbitrary. In the button notification effect 1, both high-brightness effects WO31 to WO33 were set to the 1st form, but high-brightness effect WO31 may be any of the 2nd to 6th forms, high-brightness effect WO32 may be any of the 2nd to 6th forms, and high-brightness effect WO33 may be any of the 2nd to 6th forms. In this case, high-brightness effects WO31 to WO33 may be the same form or different forms, and the combination is arbitrary. In the dialogue preview sequence 1, high-brightness sequence WO41 was designated as the 5th form and high-brightness sequence WO42 as the 3rd form. However, high-brightness sequence WO41 may be any of the 1st to 4th or 6th forms, and high-brightness sequence WO42 may be any of the 1st, 2nd, or 4th to 6th forms. In this case, high-brightness sequences WO41 and WO42 may be the same form or different forms, and the combination is arbitrary.

In the pseudo-consecutive notification effect, both high-brightness effects WO51 and WO52 are set to the 5th form, but high-brightness effect WO51 may be any of the 1st to 4th or 6th forms, and high-brightness effect WO52 may be any of the 1st to 4th or 6th forms. In this case, high-brightness effects WO51 and WO52 may be the same form or different forms, and the combination is arbitrary. In button notification effect 2, it is not explicitly stated which form each of the high-brightness effects WO61 to WO63 is, but high-brightness effect WO61 may be any of the 1st to 6th forms, high-brightness effect WO62 may be any of the 1st to 6th forms, and high-brightness effect WO63 may be any of the 1st to 6th forms. In this case, high-brightness effects WO61 to WO63 may be the same form or different forms, and the combination is arbitrary. In the interruption予告演出 (preview/announcement) sequence, the high-brightness sequences WO71 to WO73 were all set to the third form. However, high-brightness sequence WO71 may be set to any of the first, second, or fourth-sixth forms; high-brightness sequence WO72 may be set to any of the first, second, or fourth-sixth forms; and high-brightness sequence WO73 may be set to any of the first, second, or fourth-sixth forms. In this case, high-brightness sequences WO71 to WO73 may be the same form or different forms, and the combination is arbitrary.

In the dialogue予告演出2, the high-brightness effect WO81 was designated as the third form and the high-brightness effect WO82 as the sixth form. However, the high-brightness effect WO81 may be any of the first, second, or fourth to sixth forms, and the high-brightness effect WO82 may be any of the first to fifth forms. In this case, the high-brightness effects WO81 and WO82 may be the same form or different forms, and the combination is arbitrary. In the reliability indication effect, the high-brightness effect WO91 was designated as the third form. However, the high-brightness effect WO91 may be any of the first, second, or fourth to sixth forms. In the reach title display effect, the high-brightness effect WOA1 was designated as the third form. However, the high-brightness effect WOA1 may be any of the first, second, or fourth to sixth forms. In the operation and presentation, the high-brightness presentation WOB1 was designated as the fifth form, but the high-brightness presentation WOB1 may also be one of the first to fourth or sixth forms. As described above, by varying the form of the high-brightness presentation for each preview presentation, or for each high-brightness presentation within a preview presentation, it is possible to execute various high-brightness presentations for each preview presentation, preventing monotony in expression and enhancing the presentation effect.

In the step-up presentation of the embodiment, even if any of the five types (Figures 22(a1) to (e1)) are selected as the third second half presentation ST3B, or if any of the five types (Figures 22(a2) to (e2)) are selected as the fifth second half presentation ST5B, the high-brightness presentations WO11 and WO12 are configured to display the same high-brightness images 170a and 170b, respectively. However, it is also possible to configure the display of different high-brightness images depending on the probability of winning, etc. Similarly, in the reach予告 presentation of the embodiment, even if any of the first to fourth presentation modes (Figures 27(a) to (d)) are selected, the high-brightness presentation WO22 is configured to display the same high-brightness image 170d. However, it is also possible to configure the display of different high-brightness images depending on the probability of winning, etc. In this case, at least one of the size and transmittance of the high-brightness image may be different depending on the probability of winning, etc., or the pattern of change in the size and/or transmittance of the high-brightness image may be different.

As a specific image termination effect to be performed when ending the display of a specific image containing reliability information regarding the occurrence of a predetermined event, the step-up予告演出 (step-up予告演出) in the embodiment exemplifies the high-brightness effect WO12, and similarly, the reach予告演出 (reach予告演出) shows an example of displaying a concealed image 172 that temporarily hides the specific image. However, it is not limited to these examples, and effects that simply erase text information from the screen are also included in the specific image termination effect.

When it is possible to execute preview sequences A and B, which include high-brightness effects, the minimum transmittance and rate of change of transmittance of the high-brightness image may be different for preview sequence A and preview sequence B. Furthermore, the transmittance of the high-brightness image may be changed over time, and the size of the high-brightness image may be changed over time. In this case, the reliability of the appearance of a predetermined event may also be different for preview sequence A and preview sequence B. However, it is desirable to configure the system so that a higher minimum transmittance of the high-brightness image results in higher reliability, and a longer time for the transmittance to change results in higher reliability.

If multiple performance patterns having a first reliability indication information (here, a "blue" base color) include the first and second performance patterns, and multiple performance patterns having a second reliability indication information corresponding to a higher reliability than the first reliability indication information (here, a "red" base color) include the third and fourth performance patterns, the first and second performance patterns may both have different text information that does not include special text information such as "Super Hot" or "Chance," while the third and fourth performance patterns may both have text information that includes common special text information (e.g., "Chance"). In this case, it is desirable that the text information of the third and fourth performance patterns differ in at least a part other than the special text information. The number of performance patterns having the first reliability indication information and the number of performance patterns having the second reliability indication information may be different or the same.

The first予告演出 (preview/announcement) may comprise multiple presentation patterns, including a first and second presentation pattern, each containing first reliability indication information (here, a "blue" base color). The second preview/announcement may comprise multiple presentation patterns, including a third and fourth presentation pattern, each containing second reliability indication information (here, a "red" base color) corresponding to a higher reliability than the first reliability indication information. In this case, the text information for the first and second presentation patterns may not have a common portion, while the text information for the third and fourth presentation patterns may have a common portion. In this case, the text information for the third and fourth presentation patterns may include common special text information such as "Super Hot" or "Chance." Furthermore, the text information for the first and second presentation patterns may have a common portion, but this common portion may not be special text information.

All of the above-mentioned effects (Step-up予告演出 in Figures 21-26, Reach予告演出 in Figures 27-31, Button予告演出 1 in Figures 32-35, Dialogue予告演出 1 in Figures 36-40, Pseudo-Consecutive予告演出 in Figures 41-43, Button予告演出 2 in Figures 44-47, Interrupt予告演出 in Figures 48-52, Dialogue予告演出 2 in Figures 53-55, Dialogue予告演出 3 in Figures 56-59, Dialogue予告演出 4 in Figures 60-63, Notification予告演出 in Figures 64-67, Level-up予告演出 in Figures 68-72) The examples shown involve displaying text on the screen in all sequences except the reach development sequence in Figures 80 to 83, among the sequence announcement sequence, the reliability indication sequence in Figures 73 to 75, the reach title display sequence in Figures 76 to 77, the operation sequence in Figures 78 to 79, and the reach development sequence in Figures 80 to 83. However, each sequence that displays text may be configured as follows (of course, the reach development sequence in Figures 80 to 83 may also display text and be configured as follows). That is, although the above example displays flat text, it may also be configured to display three-dimensional text. Specifically, by making the characters three-dimensional so that the characters themselves have side parts, it is possible to perform a dynamic display sequence in which the visible angle between the side parts and the front parts of the characters changes when the characters themselves are rotated and displayed at a predetermined speed (dynamic display). This allows for a display technique where, for example, at the start of displaying a string of characters, more of the side portion of the characters is visible than the front portion. Then, by dynamically displaying the characters, the front portion of each character becomes more visible than the side portion. This creates a gradual change in how the characters appear, from the side portion to the front portion. As the dynamic display time progresses, it becomes possible to create a visual effect that makes it easier for the player to perceive the string of characters. Furthermore, such a dynamic display effect may be performed for each character that makes up the string of characters, in which case the visible angles of the side portion and the front portion may differ depending on the character. Additionally, the size of each character that makes up the string of characters may be different, in which case the visible angles of the side portion and the front portion may differ depending on the character size. Finally, each character that makes up the string of characters may be rotated (dynamically displayed) at different speeds. This makes it possible to vary the speed at which the transition from a state where more of the side portion is visible to a state where more of the front portion is visible for each character. Furthermore, the display pattern is not limited to transitioning from a state where more of the side portion is visible to a state where more of the front portion is visible. Alternatively, the display may start with more of the front portion visible, and then, as the dynamic display progresses, more of the side portion may become visible. Also, depending on the character, the display may be divided into two types: one where the side portion is more visible first, and then the front portion gradually becomes more visible; and another where the front portion is more visible first, and then the side portion gradually becomes more visible.

Of all the effects described above, in each effect that displays text strings, the display method of the text outline, such as the type of outline (color, width, etc.), may be varied depending on the type of text string and its reliability (such as the reliability of a big win). For example, in the example of the reach予告演出 (reach予告 effect) in Figure 27, of the four types of text strings "Reach!", "SP Reach!", "Big Chance!!", and "Super Hot!!", the first outline may be used for the same type "Reach!" and "SP Reach!", while the second outline may be used for the other "Big Chance!!" and "Super Hot!!". Alternatively, of these four types of text strings, the first outline may be used for "Reach!", "SP Reach!", and "Big Chance!!", which have relatively low reliability, while the second outline, which is different from the first outline, may be used for "Super Hot!!", which has relatively high reliability. Furthermore, for "Super Hot!!", which has relatively high reliability, it is desirable to use a "danger color" for the outline according to its reliability. Furthermore, the outline colors for "Reach!", "SP Reach!", and "Big Chance!!" may also be adjusted according to their respective levels of reliability. When using different colors for the outlines of multiple types of text strings, it is desirable to differentiate the relatively high-reliability strings (e.g., "Big Chance!!" and "Super Hot!!") from the lower-reliability strings not only by color but also by the display of the outlines, such as using a different outline width or a three-dimensional outline.

Of all the effects described above, in each effect that displays text strings, the display color (internal color) of each string may be different for each予告演出 (pre-announcement effect). For example, in the example of the reach pre-announcement effect in Figure 27, the display color (internal color) of the text strings is blue for "Reach!", red for "SP Reach!", gold for "Big Chance!!", and danger color for "Super Hot!!". However, different pre-announcement effects may have different display colors, for example, blue for "Reach!", purple for "SP Reach!", red for "Big Chance!!", and gold for "Super Hot!!". In this case, when comparing the pre-announcements, even for the same "Big Chance!!", there will be cases where it is red and cases where it is gold. In this case, for example, the gold "Big Chance!!" will be set to have a higher reliability than the red "Big Chance!!". By changing the display color assigned to each pre-announcement according to its reliability, even for the same or common text strings, it is possible to prevent the indication of reliability in the pre-announcement effects from becoming monotonous, and to improve the effect of the effects, such as making it less likely for players to get bored. Furthermore, if in the first preview "It's a reach!" is blue, "It's an SP reach!" is red, "Big chance!!" is gold, and "Super hot!!" is danger colored, and in the second preview "It's a reach!" is blue, "It's an SP reach!" is purple, "Big chance!!" is red, and "Super hot!!" is gold, then the first preview has a higher reliability rating for the same string of characters. However, it is desirable to set the timing of the appearance of the preview with a higher reliability rating (first preview) to be later than that of the preview with a lower reliability rating (second preview). Specifically, this could include the first preview appearing in the latter half of the time before the reach and the second preview appearing in the first half of the time before the reach, or the first preview appearing after the reach and the second preview appearing before the reach, or the first preview appearing in the latter half of the time after the reach and the second preview appearing in the first half of the time after the reach, or the first preview appearing during the SP reach and the second preview appearing during the reach, etc. In any case, it is desirable to configure the system so that the first announcement is executed after the second announcement. As long as this relationship is maintained, the detailed timing of each announcement can be combined in any way as described above. However, this is not the only option; the system may also be configured so that the first announcement is executed before the second announcement. Even in that case, as long as the relationship of appearance timings is maintained, the detailed timing of each announcement can be combined in any way as described above.

If a string contains confidence information, the thickness, color, and width of the character outline may be configured to vary according to the confidence level of a jackpot. The outline of the character may also be displayed in a base color that suggests the confidence level of a jackpot. For example, if the character color is "red," the outline color may be a different color from the base color of the string (e.g., white), and if the character color is "gold," the outline color may be the same color as the base color of the string (e.g., gold). In this way, the outline color of the character may be configured to vary according to the level of confidence in a jackpot. Furthermore, not only the outline color, but also the thickness, width, and presence or absence of an outline may be varied. Also, not limited to the level of confidence in a jackpot, the thickness, color, and width of the character outline may be configured to vary according to the content of the予告 (pre-announcement). For example, the outline of the "red" character in the first pre-announcement may be different from the outline of the "red" character in the second pre-announcement. Furthermore, in this case, it is desirable to differentiate the reliability and appearance rate of the first and second previews. This allows for the use of different lettering styles, even if they suggest similar reliability (e.g., red), depending on the level of reliability and appearance rate of the preview itself. This makes it possible to allow players to perceive that, even if the underlying colors appear to suggest similar reliability, each preview actually has a different level of reliability and appearance rate.

In the case of effects involving sound output such as dialogue, it is possible to provide both a preview effect that uses lip-syncing (speaking action) with character images, etc., and a preview effect that does not use lip-syncing, and to configure them to have different levels of reliability. For example, the preview effect that uses lip-syncing may be configured to have a higher level of reliability than the preview effect that does not use lip-syncing. It is also possible to configure the preview effect that uses lip-syncing to include more high-reliability indicator patterns than the preview effect that does not use lip-syncing. Furthermore, it is possible to configure the preview effect that uses lip-syncing to have a higher level of reliability indicator patterns appearing more frequently than the preview effect that does not use lip-syncing. This allows players to expect that a higher-reliability indicator pattern will appear when a preview effect that uses lip-syncing occurs. Additionally, the preview effect that uses lip-syncing may be configured to have a longer execution time than the preview effect that does not use lip-syncing. This allows for more leeway in the lip-syncing sequences of trailers, enabling longer dialogue. However, to prevent the overall length from becoming too long, the duration of trailers without lip-syncing can be shortened, thus balancing the overall execution time of sequences with dialogue.

During the operation sequence performed before a predetermined reach (e.g., an SP reach), the system may be configured to display the hold pedestal image and the hold image, while during the operation sequence performed during the predetermined reach (SP reach) (or during the predetermined reach sequence), the system may be configured not to display the hold pedestal image and the hold image. In this case, during the operation sequence performed before the predetermined reach (SP reach) sequence, a high-brightness image with a display size that does not overlap the hold pedestal image and the hold image may be displayed in front of them. During the operation sequence performed after the predetermined reach (SP reach) sequence, since the hold pedestal image and the hold image are not displayed, the system may be configured to display a higher-brightness image with a larger display size using the area where they were displayed before the predetermined reach (SP reach) sequence. Furthermore, not limited to operation sequences, the system may be configured to have different display sizes for the high-brightness image before and after the predetermined reach (SP reach) sequence, as described above. Furthermore, the display size of the high-brightness image may be configured to differ depending on whether a reserve base image or reserve image (or other images with higher display priority than the high-brightness image, such as customization images, spin count display images, or mini-character images) is displayed or not, not limited to distinguishing between before and after a predetermined reach (SP reach) performance. In other words, the display size of the high-brightness image may be configured to differ depending on whether there are display items with higher display priority than the high-brightness image or not. Also, when there are display items with higher display priority than the high-brightness image, the high-brightness image may be displayed at a size that does not overlap with those display items (does not overlap behind those display items), or it may be displayed at a size that overlaps with those display items (overlaps behind those display items). In the former case, the display size of high-brightness images can be reduced, allowing for greater compression and reduction of image data. In the latter case, high-brightness images can be displayed at a larger size, creating a more impactful image.

In effects that output dialogue sounds, etc., before the start of a high-brightness effect (for example, the reach development effects shown in Figures 80 to 83), the dialogue sounds may be configured to finish outputting before the start of the high-brightness effect. Alternatively, the high-brightness effect may be started while the dialogue sounds are being outputted, and the dialogue sounds may finish outputting during the execution of the high-brightness effect. Furthermore, the dialogue sounds may be configured to start outputting after the start of the high-brightness effect. However, in any case, it is desirable that the dialogue sounds finish outputting at least before the high-brightness effect finishes.

When a dialogue performance is executed after a high-brightness effect has started, the system may be configured to start outputting the dialogue sound while the high-brightness effect is running (before the transparency reaches 100%), or to start outputting the dialogue sound after the high-brightness effect has finished (after the transparency reaches 100%). Furthermore, when the dialogue sound output is started while the high-brightness effect is running (before the transparency reaches 100%), it is desirable to configure the system so that the character image's lip-syncing (lip-syncing in sync with the dialogue sound) is not performed. This is because even if lip-syncing is performed in a state where the visibility of the character image displayed behind it is reduced due to the high-brightness effect, the player may not be able to recognize it. Therefore, it is desirable to perform dialogue performances accompanied by a high-brightness effect without lip-syncing of the character image. And, dialogue performances accompanied by lip-syncing of the character image should be used in performance scenes that do not involve the execution of a high-brightness effect. By considering the relationship between dialogue and high-brightness effects, and by selectively using or not using lip-syncing for character images, it is possible to reduce the amount of animation data while achieving effective and appropriate dramatic expression in the right places.

However, this is not the only option; the system may also be configured to perform lip-syncing for character images during dialogue sequences accompanied by high-brightness effects. In that case, it is desirable to start the dialogue sequence and character image lip-syncing after the high-brightness effect has finished. Furthermore, if the dialogue sequence and character image lip-syncing are started while the high-brightness effect is running, it is desirable to run the high-brightness effect in an area that does not overlap with the character image. Also, if the high-brightness effect is run in an area that overlaps with the character image, it is possible to run the dialogue sequence and character image lip-syncing without reducing the visibility of the character image and/or the character image lip-syncing by running the dialogue sequence and character image lip-syncing from the moment when the transparency of the high-brightness effect in front of the character image reaches 100%, or approximately 100%. Furthermore, if the display of the dialogue sequence text and the accompanying dialogue sound are started while the high-brightness effect is running, it is desirable to start outputting the dialogue sound from the moment when at least a part of the text becomes visible. This allows players to recognize that, even if they don't understand the content of the dialogue, the output of dialogue sounds for the text has begun. Therefore, they can enjoy the subsequent reveal of the text as the transparency changes during the high-brightness effect, while maintaining a sense of anticipation for the dialogue presentation.

Furthermore, when displaying the text of a dialogue effect and outputting the accompanying dialogue sound during a high-brightness effect, it is desirable to make the color of the text, based on its reliability, recognizable, at least if a portion of the text is visible. This allows the player to understand the reliability of the dialogue effect and then enjoy the subsequent reveal of the text as the transparency of the high-brightness effect changes. On the other hand, when displaying the text of a dialogue effect and outputting the accompanying dialogue sound during a high-brightness effect, it is acceptable to make the color of the text, based on its reliability, unrecognizable or difficult to recognize, at least if a portion of the text is visible. This allows the player to not understand the reliability of the dialogue effect and therefore experience joy or disappointment as the text is revealed as the transparency of the high-brightness effect changes.

The term "font" (typeface) used in the text information described above is not limited to the general meaning of font. For example, it may refer to the outlines or contours that form the characters, or to patterns or effects applied to the characters themselves, either inside or outside the outlines. Furthermore, in the case of three-dimensional characters, it may refer to the shape of the sides of the characters, or patterns or effects applied to the sides. Additionally, if there are dynamic characters with movement and static characters without movement, they may be considered to have different fonts (typefaces). Similarly, if there are differences in the movement of dynamic characters, they may be considered to have different fonts (typefaces).

Regarding the presentation shown in Figure 68, the system may be configured to change the font (typeface) of the text information when a predetermined stage is reached. For example, levels 1 to 3 may use a common first font, while levels 4 and 5 may use a second font different from the first font. Alternatively, level 4 may use the second font, and level 5 may use a third font different from both the first and second fonts. Furthermore, only level 5, which has the highest reliability, may be configured to use a different font from levels 1 to 4.

Furthermore, the background images and character images may be configured to differ depending on the level. For example, levels using the first font (e.g., levels 1-3) may use a common first background image and a common first character image; levels using the second font (e.g., level 4) may use a second background image and a second character image different from the first background image; and levels using the third font (e.g., level 5) may use a third background image and a third character image different from the first and second background images. In this way, the types of background images and character images may differ depending on the font used. While the example described uses the first to third fonts, a similar configuration may be used when using only the first and second fonts.

Depending on the type of preview, the font (typeface) of the text information may be configured to vary in terms of reliability. For example, in the first preview, if the reliability color indicating reliability is red, the font (typeface) of the text information may be different from that of reliability colors lower than red. Conversely, in the second preview, if the reliability color indicating reliability is gold (higher reliability than red), the font (typeface) of the text information may be different from that of reliability colors lower than gold. Note that the first and second previews referred to here may be any of the preview effects described in this specification.

For example, in a preview sequence that gradually increases the reliability level, as shown in Figure 68, the font (typeface) of the text information may be different when the reliability color indicating reliability is red compared to when the reliability color indicates lower reliability. Conversely, in a preview sequence that displays one of several reliability colors by lottery (as shown in Figures 22, 27, 86-90, etc.), the font (typeface) of the text information may be different when the reliability color indicating reliability is gold (higher reliability than red) compared to when the reliability color indicates lower reliability. Furthermore, any combination of several reliability colors displayed by lottery (as shown in Figures 22, 27, 86-90, etc.) may be configured as the first or second preview, resulting in the aforementioned content. In this way, by changing the reliability color, which changes the font (typeface) of the text information according to the preview sequence, it is possible to prevent the presentation from becoming monotonous.

Regarding Figures 71 and 72, the time it takes for the levels to progress may be configured to vary depending on the font (typeface) of the text information. For example, levels using a first font (e.g., levels 1-3) may be configured to take one hour to progress (level 1 to level 2, level 2 to level 3), levels using a second font (e.g., level 4) may be configured to take a second hour, longer than the first hour, to progress (level 3 to level 4), and levels using a third font (e.g., level 5) may be configured to take a third hour, longer than both the first and second hours, to progress (level 4 to level 5). In this way, the execution time may be configured to vary depending on the font (typeface) information used in the preview effects.

Furthermore, the animation for each level progression may be configured to differ depending on the font (typeface) used for the text information. For example, levels using a first font (e.g., levels 1-3) may be configured to execute a first progression animation (level 1 → level 2, level 2 → level 3), levels using a second font (e.g., level 4) may be configured to execute a second progression animation (level 3 → level 4), and levels using a third font (e.g., level 5) may be configured to execute a third progression animation (level 4 → level 5). In this way, the animation style, such as the progression animation, may be configured to differ depending on the font (typeface) information used in the preview animation.

Regarding the notice shown in Figure 64, the character image and/or background image may be different between notice display image ANb1 and notice display image ANb2. Furthermore, the font (typeface) of the text information may be different between notice display image ANb1 and notice display image ANb2. Also, the display time may be different between notice display image ANb1 and notice display image ANb2. Finally, the display area displayed on the image display means may be different between notice display image ANb1 and notice display image ANb2. In this case, it is desirable that notice display image ANb2, which has a higher reliability than notice display image ANb1, has a larger display area.

Furthermore, the character image and/or background image may be different for notification display image ANb1 and/or notification display image ANb2 and notification display image ANc. Also, the font (typeface) of the text information may be different for notification display image ANb1 and/or notification display image ANb2 and notification display image ANc. Furthermore, the display time may be different for notification display image ANb1 and/or notification display image ANb2 and notification display image ANc. Also, the display area displayed on the image display means may be different for notification display image ANb1 and/or notification display image ANb2. In this case, it is desirable that notification display image ANc, which has a higher reliability than notification display image ANb1 and/or notification display image ANb2, has a larger display area.

Furthermore, the character image displayed in notification display image ANA, the character image displayed in notification display image ANb1 and/or notification display image ANb2, and the character image displayed in notification display image ANc may be configured to be different. Alternatively, only notification display image ANA may have a different character image. Furthermore, only notification display image ANb1 and/or notification display image ANb2 may use a character image.

Regarding Figure 64, the text information "Chance" in notification display image ANb1 and the text information "Big Chance" in notification display image ANb2 may be configured to have different text display sizes. For example, it is desirable to configure the text information "Big Chance" in notification display image ANb2 to be larger than the text information "Chance" in notification display image ANb1. Also, if the text information in notification display image ANb1 and notification display image ANb2 is different, but the other display modes are substantially the same, it is desirable to provide a display area for displaying the text information to match the notification display image with larger text information. In other words, if the text information "Big Chance" in notification display image ANb2 is larger than the text information "Chance" in notification display image ANb1, when displaying the text information "Chance" in notification display image ANb1, a certain amount of margin can be provided around the text information "Chance" so that it does not overlap with other text information, character images, symbol information, or hold information. This allows the text information "Big Chance" in notification display image ANb2 to be displayed larger using that margin. Thus, when displaying different text information in a form that includes some common display effects between announcements, it is desirable to configure the display position of the common display effects to match the size of the text information with the larger display size or display area. Furthermore, this applies not only to notification display images ANb1 and ANb2, but also to notification display images ANA and ANc, which also include some common display effects, and the above content may be configured for any two of these announcements.

Regarding Figure 66, when displaying a notification image containing text information before the high-brightness effect, the system may be configured to start the dynamic display of the notification image and execute the high-brightness effect at the timing when the notification image has finished moving to a predetermined display position (Figure 66(e)). Alternatively, the system may be configured to start the dynamic display of the notification image and execute the high-brightness effect at the timing when at least the text information "Chance" becomes visible (Figure 66(c)) or the next timing (Figure 66(d)). Furthermore, the execution timing of these high-brightness effects may be the same for notification image ANA, notification image ANb1, notification image ANb2, and notification image ANc, or it may be configured to be different depending on the type of notification image. For example, the timing of the notification display image ANA, which has relatively low reliability, could be different, or the timing of the notification display image ANc, which has relatively high reliability, could be different. Alternatively, the timing of notification display images ANb1 and ANb2, which can suggest different levels of reliability while using a common reliability color, could be different from the others.

Furthermore, as shown in Figure 65(d), when changing the transparency of the high-brightness effect WOD1, the transparency may be configured to change so that the text information "Chance," which suggests reliability, is disclosed preferentially over other displayed elements (text information, character images, background images, etc., parts other than the text information "Chance" that constitute the preview effect). In this case, it is not necessary for all of the text information "Chance" to be disclosed preferentially; the transparency may be changed so that at least a portion of the area containing the text information "Chance" is disclosed preferentially. Conversely, the transparency may be configured to change so that other displayed elements (text information, character images, background images, etc., parts other than the text information "Chance" that constitute the preview effect) are disclosed preferentially over the text information "Chance." Again, it is not necessary for all of the other displayed elements to be disclosed preferentially; the transparency may be changed so that at least a portion of the area containing the other displayed elements is disclosed preferentially. While the text information "Chance" was used as an example, the above description is not limited to this and may be applied to other text information (such as "Super Hot").

Furthermore, the rate of change, duration, and areas where the transparency of the high-brightness effect is set to be higher may be configured to differ depending on the text information. For example, the time it takes for the transparency of the high-brightness effect to change may differ between the text information "Chance" (Figure 64 (b1)) and the text information "Super Hot" (Figure 64 (c)). Alternatively, the time may be longer for the relatively more reliable text information "Super Hot." Conversely, the time may be shorter for the text information "Super Hot." Furthermore, the rate of change, which is the degree of change in the transparency of the high-brightness image in the high-brightness effect, may differ between the text information "Chance" and the text information "Super Hot." Alternatively, the rate of change may be higher for the relatively more reliable text information "Super Hot." Conversely, the rate of change may be lower for the text information "Super Hot." Additionally, the areas where the transparency is set to be higher after the display of the high-brightness image in the high-brightness effect may differ between the text information "Chance" and the text information "Super Hot." Furthermore, the relatively reliable text information "Super Hot" may be configured to have a wider area where the transparency is set high after the display of the high-brightness image in the high-brightness effect. Conversely, the text information "Super Hot" may be configured to have a narrower area where the transparency is set high after the display of the high-brightness image in the high-brightness effect (the area is, for example, the area shown as 170WC in Figure 65(d)). In addition to the relationship between reliability levels, the font (typeface) and content of the text information may also be used to configure the system to differ in terms of the rate of change, the duration of change, and the area where the transparency is set high in the high-brightness image in the high-brightness effect, as described above.

Regarding Figure 73, the dynamic display of the string (character information) may be configured to differ between the timing before the high-brightness effect is executed (Figure 73(a)) and the timing after the high-brightness effect is executed (Figure 73(c) and later). For example, the dynamic display time may be longer (or shorter) in Figure 73(c) and later than in Figure 73(a). Furthermore, the dynamic distance may be longer (or shorter) in Figure 73(c) and later than in Figure 73(a). Also, the dynamic speed may be faster (or slower) in Figure 73(c) and later than in Figure 73(a). In this way, the dynamic mode of the character information may be changed triggered by the appearance of the high-brightness effect.

Regarding Figure 84, the execution times of the introductory sequence SC1 (Figure 84(a)), SD1 (Figure 84(b)), and AN1 (Figure 84(c)) may be configured to differ. For example, the execution time of the introductory sequence SC1 and AN1 that include specific textual information (such as "Chance" or "Super Hot") may be configured to be longer (or shorter) than that of the introductory sequence SD1 that does not include such textual information. In this way, the execution times of the introductory sequences may be configured to differ depending on the presence or absence of specific textual information (such as "Chance" or "Super Hot").

Furthermore, this invention is not limited to pachinko machines; it can also be implemented in other gaming machines such as slot machines, arrangement ball machines, and mahjong ball games.

As demonstrated in the examples described above, varying the presentation style of the high-brightness effect according to the preview prevents the high-brightness effect from becoming monotonous and enhances its effectiveness. Furthermore, by considering not only varying the content of the high-brightness effect but also executing the effect according to the content and type of the preview, it becomes possible to achieve a more appropriate presentation.

DS display device (image display means)
161 Decorative pattern display means (pattern display means)
162 Miniature pattern display means 163 Hold image display means

Claims (1)

It is possible to perform a specific animation that outputs confidence level suggestion information indicating the likelihood of a predetermined event occurring.
In a gaming machine that has textual information, the aforementioned reliability suggestion information is provided.
The aforementioned specific performance is,
A first specific performance capable of displaying special confidence level suggestion information having special character information relating to the aforementioned confidence level,
A second specific display that shows non-special confidence level suggestion information that does not have the special character information relating to the confidence level,
In the first specific performance, the text information in the special reliability suggestion information is displayed in a first dynamic manner.
In the second specific performance, the text information in the non-special reliability suggestion information is displayed in a second dynamic mode different from the first dynamic mode.
The reliability of the first specific performance is higher than that of the second specific performance.
The display time of the character information in the first specific performance is set to a predetermined first character information display time.
The display time of the character information in the second specific performance is set to a predetermined second character information display time.
A gaming machine characterized in that the first character information display time is configured to be longer than the second character information display time.