MXPA06001869A - Dynamically configurable gaming system - Google Patents

Abstract

A gaming system (40) according to the present invention includes a number of gaming machines (10), each gaming machine including a single player game presentation arrangement that may be reconfigured to provide any one of a number of game presentations. In addition to the gaming machines (10) the present gaming system (40) includes a system configuration arrangement (51) and a game modification controller (50). The system configuration arrangement (51) produces system configuration commands based either on manual inputs, system usage information, or various information related to one or more players in a gaming facility. The game modification controller (50) included in preferred forms of the gaming system receives the system configuration commands and in response to the commands, communicates presentation switching instructions to one or more gaming machines (10) included in the system.

Description

GAME SYSTEM SUSCEPTIBLE TO BE CONFIGURED IN A DYNAMIC WAY Field of the Invention The present invention relates to gaming machines that can be easily modified to change the game presentation provided by said gaming machine. In particular, the invention relates to systems of such gaming machines that configure the various gaming machines to provide different game presentations based on various conditions.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION A large number of different games of chance can use electronic gaming machines as an interface through which players can participate in the game. For example, electronic gaming machines can be used to imitate a traditional mechanical slot machine, a poker game, a blackjack game, or other traditional casino games. Electronic gaming machines can also be used to play lottery games, bingo and bingo-like games, as well as other games of chance that are not necessarily related to a traditional casino game. Electronic gaming machines are usually housed in a large cabinet that is often autonomous. The cabinet includes a front side on which a game video display screen is mounted in conjunction with player controls. Player controls may include various types of mechanical controls such as switches, buttons and levers mounted on a ledge extending forward and below the game video display screen. Player controls can also be incorporated into the same game video display screen using touch-sensitive display technology. In addition, from the game video display screen and the basic player controls through which the player makes choices or performs actions in the game that is offered through the gaming machine, the gaming machines can also include other player interface devices such as coin or paper currency receivers, credit card receivers or player cards, keyboards and other player interface devices. As with traditional mechanical gaming machines, electronic gaming machines also typically include a number of static graphics display screens. In electronic gaming machines, these static graphics display screens are mounted above the game video display screen and / or below the game video display screen or on the front of the cabinet. These static graphics display screens generally provide information regarding the game that is offered through the gaming machine such as the pay tables and other information related to the game, and include colorful and attractive graphics that coordinate with the visual presentation displayed on the game video display screen in the course of the game game. Display screens of static graphics may also incorporate non-static elements such as counters or numerical displays to show bonuses or progressive game information. The video displays may also be incorporated in the static graphics display screens to display information related to the game or non-game related information that is available in the gaming machine. The graphics viewer located above the game video display screen is commonly referred to as the top window while the graphics viewer that is located below the game video display screen is commonly referred to as the skirt window . The appearance of a particular game for a player in an electronic gaming machine can be referred to as the presentation of the game. This game presentation includes the animated graphics that are displayed in the game video viewer and the associated static graphics that are displayed in the upper window and in the skirt window. For example, a gaming machine that provides a game presentation that imitates a slot machine will include graphics displayed on the game video display to mimic a number of reels. In response to a player control, these reel representations are set in motion using proper graphics display techniques and are made to appear to stop at some final stop position indicating the outcome of the game. The top and skirt windows commonly have graphics associated with a game theme that imitates the type of slots, and a pay table that shows the payouts for different reel stop positions. As another example, a gaming machine that provides a game presentation that imitates a poker game may include animated graphics that are displayed on the game video display and that show a card transaction and allowing the player to watch the cards that are played. They are dealt and perhaps certain cards distributed to the house or other players depending on the specific type of the poker game that is being represented. The graphics of the upper windows and the skirt that are part of the poker presentation will be related to the subject of poker and may also include pay tables for the game of poker, rules of the game, as well as other information. The game presentation of an electronic game machine can describe the real game that is offered through the gaming machine or some other game of chance. An example of an electronic gaming machine that describes the actual game being played is a slot machine type game in which the gaming machine itself or some associated piece of equipment executes a program to independently choose the stall positions of the reel for a given game game., and in this way determine the outcome of the game. The component that determines the outcome of a game in these types of game machines, including the program, logic, or rules that the component follows, will be considered as a part of the game presentation for purposes of the present invention in conjunction with the payment tables that correlate the payments with the various results of a game in the game, and together with several graphics and audio that can be detected by the player when he is playing in a gaming machine. A video lottery terminal is an example of an electronic gaming machine that can illustrate a different game of the game that is actually being played to determine a win / lose result. In video lottery terminals, the win / lose result is determined by a predetermined video lottery ticket or data record that is selected from a group of such records in response to a game starting request. The video game viewer of a video lottery terminal may simply display a presentation of the predetermined lottery record selected for a given game game request. However, the graphics provided in the game video display may alternately provide a presentation of a different game such as a presentation that includes reels that spin imitating a traditional mechanical slot machine. The spool stop position is dictated by the result associated with the predetermined video lottery register selected in response to a game starting request in the video lottery terminal. A given game facility that uses electronic gaming machines may include numerous machines to accommodate a large number of players. Each of the gaming machines is usually dedicated to a particular presentation or perhaps to a number of related presentations. While the equipment that is included in the game machine may be slightly generic from one game presentation to the next, the overall game presentation provided by the gaming machine can be changed only by replacing the upper window and the skirt window and perhaps changing the player controls to give rise to the new game presentation. In this way, changing the game presentation provided by an electronic machine to a completely different presentation is an important undertaking and can be carried out only by taking the gaming machine out of service for a relatively long period of time. A change of gaming presentations usually requires the removal of the gaming machine from the casino floor to the change shop. That is, if a casino wants to switch from a gaming machine that has a presentation to a gaming machine that has another presentation, essentially the entire gaming machine must be replaced to at least take it out of service for a significant period of time to change the static graphics viewers. Because the changing of game presentations in a gaming machine is so involved, the game presentations offered in a given game installation are practically static. It is appreciated that even in the prior art game machines that allow the player to choose from among different different games, parts of the game presentation remain static between the different games that are available in said game machine. Gaming machines that have static graphics display screens associated with one or more presentations offered by or through the gaming machine are also seriously limited in how they can be displayed. As mentioned above, the game machines of the prior art are commonly located in huge gaming facilities that have many gaming machines. The large number of gaming machines is required not only to accommodate a large number of players but also to ensure that a wide variety of performances are available with the hope of each player wishing to play being able to find the particular game presentation. what he wants. However, a small game installation may simply not have enough space to provide a wide variety of game presentations and at the same time ensure that the most popular game presentations are also available to players at the facility. Additionally, it has not been practical to place gaming machines in locations such as hotel rooms because if the people to whom the room has been assigned do not wish to play the game that particular presentation has, the gaming machine will have little chance. to be used while that person is assigned to that room. For this reason, the positioning of the prior art gaming machines in places such as hotel rooms has not been profitable.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention includes a gaming system having a number of individual gaming machines and the ability to dynamically reconfigure one or more gaming machines to provide different presentations based on various conditions. The invention also encompasses a method for dynamically reconfiguring one or more gaming machines based on various conditions. A game system in accordance with the present invention includes a number of game machines, each game machine including a single player game presentation arrangement that can be reconfigured to provide any of a number of game presentations. In addition to gaming machines, the present game system includes a system configuration arrangement and preferably a game modification controller. The system configuration arrangement produces system configuration commands based either on manual power signals by system administration personnel or by players, system usage information, or various information related to one or more players in a game installation. The game modification controller included in preferred forms of the game system receives system configuration commands and responds to commands by generating appropriate change of presentation instructions and communicating those instructions to one or more game machines that are included in the system . A system configuration arrangement embodying the principles of the invention can encompass a wide variety of monitoring arrangements or systems in addition to a manual configuration interface. Preferred forms of the invention may include one or more of: a controller monitoring the use of the system, a controller tracking the location of the player, a controller tracking the player's preferences, and a player interface controller. These devices participate in the monitoring or analysis of the use of the game machine, the location of the player, the characteristics of the player or group of players, and interactive player input signals, respectively, and produce system configuration commands on the basis of this monitoring or analysis. The execution of these system configuration commands dynamically configures one or more gaming machines, that is, configures one or more gaming machines in response to real or assumed conditions in the game installation or real or supposed conditions associated with one or more players that are in the game installation. This dynamic configuration of the gaming machines can optimize the game system to improve the experience of each player with the game system and generally increase the use of gaming machines. The present invention encompasses the game system itself and the methods executed by the game system. Because the present game system is preferably implemented in data processing hardware that works under the control of functional program codes, the invention also encompasses program products to make the various elements of the hardware perform the desired functions. In particular, a program product according to the present invention includes a system configuration program code to produce the system configuration commands. The program product also includes a presentation change program code that responds to system configuration commands to change game presentations on one or more game machines from one presentation to another. A gaming machine that can be used in the present invention can include a cabinet that has a game video display screen mounted on the front side of the cabinet. The game machine it may also include at least one or more additional video display screens mounted on the front side of the cabinet either above or below the game video display screen. A player control device is also mounted on the front side of the cabinet. This player control device may be separate from the video display screens or may be integrated with one or more of the video display screens in the form of a portion of the touch screen of one or more of the display screens. video display In a preferred form of the invention the player control device includes a player control touch-sensitive display screen which forms a part of a shelf projecting forward and which is located below the video display screen. In addition to the player control device, a gaming machine in accordance with the present ntion may also include one or more player interface devices such as a player card reader, a money acceptor / confirmer, or a coin acceptor, mounted in the cabinet. These player interface devices may be mounted on the front side of the cabinet on the shelf projecting forward or in some other location. The additional video displays mounted above and / or below the game video display may be used to display the part of a game presentation previously displayed by the static displays used in the prior art game devices. For example, a first additional video viewer mounted above the game video display screen may extend across the entire front surface of an upper portion of the game device, forming the entire area used for the upper window in the machines of the prior art game. Said video viewer can be used to display the information and graphics previously displayed by the superior came found in a game machine of the prior art. A second additional video viewer mounted below the game video display screen may extend across the entire width of a lower part of the game device, forming the entire area used by the skirt window in the game machines of the game. the prior art. Said second additional video viewer can be used to display the information and graphics previously displayed by the window of the skirt of a game machine of the prior art. By using additional video displays rather than static displays, two important advantages are provided. First, the additional video viewers provide animated and more interesting graphics and also allow much more information to be displayed. This greatly increases the flexibility of the gaming machine and allows the gaming machine to provide more interesting presentations. The second main advantage associated with the use of additional video viewers is that the additional video viewers allow the presentation of the entire game of a particular gaming machine to be modified without modifying the static structure of the gaming machine itself. That is, rather than taking a game machine out of service to change the upper and skirt windows, and perhaps other static graphics in the game machine cabinet, the additional video displays of the present ntion can simply be provided with different instructions to display a different presentation. These and other advantages and features of the ntion will be clear from the following description of the preferred embodiments, considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 is a perspective view of a gaming machine that can be used in a game system embodying the principles of the invention. Figure 2 is a schematic diagram showing the various components of a preferred form of a gaming machine that can be used in accordance with the present invention. Figure 3 is a schematic diagram showing a game system embodying the principles of the present invention. Figure 4 is a diagrammatic representation of a player position determination system, according to one form of the invention. Figure 5 is a diagrammatic representation of an alternative system for determining the position of the player, according to a form of the invention.

Figure 6 is a process flow diagram illustrating a method of configuring one or more gaming machines in accordance with the present invention.

Detailed Description of the Preferred Modes Referring to Figure 1, a game machine 10 includes a cabinet 11 having a front side generally shown with the reference numeral 12. A display 14 of the game video is mounted on a central portion of the front surface 12 with a shelf 16 placed below the game video display and projecting forward from the plane of the game video display. In addition to the game video display 14, the illustrated form of the invention includes a first additional video display 17 placed on the front side of the cabinet 11 above the game video display 14, and a second video display 18 additional mounted on the front side of the cabinet below the game video display. Each of these displays, the game video display 14, the first additional video display 17, and the second additional video display 18 participate in the operation of the game machine 10 to provide a presentation for a particular game or presentations. potentials for multiple games simultaneously. It should be noted that the game machine 10 is shown in an operating position in Figure 1, and that descriptions of positions above or below certain elements are made with reference to this illustrated operating position. The game machine 10 illustrated in Figure 1 includes a display 15 with a player control touch screen that forms a portion of the shelf 16 that extends from the plane of the video display 14 of the game video. With this separate player control touch screen, the illustrated game machine 10 includes a total of four different video viewers which together provide the presentation or presentations of the game in the course of the operation of the game machine. In addition to the separate player-controlled touch screen 15, the game machine 10 also includes mechanical player control buttons or other input signal feeding devices 19 mounted on the shelf 16. Other forms of the invention may include switches, game levers, or other player input signal devices mounted on the ledge 16. However, all of the traditional player control inputs from devices such as switches, buttons, and pointer controls may be provided through the player control device / touch screen display, illustrated and / or touch screen elements incorporated with other display screens 14, 17 and 18 included in the game machine 10. Using the display 15 touch-sensitive screen of player control, separate, in the game machine 10 the controls of the game are allowed They are easily modified from one game presentation to the next and even within a single presentation. It will be appreciated that gaming machines may also include player interface devices in addition to devices that are considered player controls to be used when playing a particular game. For example, gaming machines commonly include a player card reader; a reader / dispenser of tickets or vouchers; an acceptor / confirmer of money, and / or acceptors / dispatchers of coins or tokens. The form of the invention shown in Figure 1 includes these types of additional player interface devices in a portion below the cabinet 11 generally in the plane of the display 18 of the additional, second or lower game video. These additional player interface devices 20 are located around the periphery of the second additional video display 18. However, other forms of the invention may configure one or more separate displays to conform the overall display 18 with interface devices 20 or even mechanical player controls mounted within the area of the second additional video display. This use of apparent openings in the video display also applies to the player control video display 15 and other video displays in the machine 10. While Figure 1 shows four separate video displays that combine to produce the presentation or game presentations for the game machine 10, it will be appreciated that a smaller number of video viewers may be used. For example, a gaming machine according to the invention may include a game video display 14 and only an additional video display that may be mounted above or below the game video display and occupy the entire area of the game. the front surface of the gaming machine previously reserved for a static upper window or a lower window visualization. Also, although each video viewer shown in Figure 1 is indicated as being a single viewer, it will be appreciated that each video viewer 14, 15, 17 and 18 shown in Figure 1 can indeed be comprised of two or more Separate visualizers that combine to provide what would seem to the user to be a single viewer. It will also be appreciated that many different types of video displays may be used for the display screens in the present invention, including cathode ray tubes, liquid crystal displays, plasma screens, LED-based display screens or any other type of display. video viewer that is currently known or can be developed in the future. The invention is not limited to any particular use of the display screens 14, 15, 17 and 18 in a given presentation. For example, only one display among the various display screens included in the gaming machine 10 can be used in the actual driving of a game, while the remaining displays can simply display striking graphics. In other arrangements, each display screen can actually provide a presentation for a different game. One or more of the displays 14, 15, 17 and 18 can be used to provide other graphic content to the player not related to the game, such as television or movie programming. In still other implementations, a part of one or more of the displays 14, 15, 17 or 18 may be dedicated to graphics associated with a presentation while another part of the same display may be dedicated to graphics of a display. another game presentation. For example, a gaming machine 10 can be controlled such that the right side of the machine displays a game presentation while the left side of the machine shows a second and different game presentation. It should also be noted that one or more progressive counters may be displayed in the various displays on the gaming machine 10, or one or more progressive and separate counters / counters may be included in the gaming machine 10. Figure 2 provides a block diagram which shows all the components of the video machine 10 (shown in Figure 1) including the displays 14, 15, 17 and 18. The game machine 10 includes a central processing unit (CPU) 25 together with random access memory 26 and a permanent memory or storage device 27. All of these devices are connected to a common system bus 28 with an audio method device 29, communication interface 30 and a serial interface 31. Also connected are two graphics processors 35 and 36 on the common bus 28 and are connected to energize the displays mounted on the cabinet 11 (shown in Figure 11). The graphics processor 35 controls the display 14 of the game video and the display 15 of the player control while the graphics processor 36 controls the first additional display 17 and the second additional display 18. The system shown in Figure 2 also includes a touch-sensitive screen controller 37 connected to the bus 28 of the system. The touch screen controller 37 is also connected to receive signals from touch screen elements associated with each display, 14, 15, 17 and 18. It will be appreciated that the touch screen elements themselves comprise thin films that they are secured on the respective video viewer. These touch-sensitive screen elements are not illustrated or are referred to separately in the Figures. It will also be appreciated that the touch-sensitive screen elements may not be associated with each display, although most preferred forms of the gaming machines according to the present invention will have a touch-sensitive screen element associated with at least a game video viewer 14 and a player control video viewer 15. All of the elements 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30 and 31 shown in Figure 2 are elements commonly associated with a personal computer. These elements are preferably mounted on a standard personal computer chassis and housed in a standard personal computer chassis which is mounted in the cabinet 11 shown in Figure 1. Alternatively, the various processing elements may be mounted on one or more circuit boards mounted within the cabinet 11 without a separate enclosure such as those found in personal computers. Those who are familiar with the data processing systems, as well as with the various standard data processing elements shown in Figure 2 will appreciate that many variations of this illustrated structure can be used, within the scope of the present invention. For example, since serial communications are used on a regular basis from a secured touch screen element on a video display, a system according to the invention may not include a separate touch screen controller 37. Rather, communications from touch-sensitive screen elements can be accommodated through any appropriate peripheral interface such as a USB controller or an IEEE 1394 controller. In this manner, the connections shown from the touch-sensitive screen controller 37 to the various displays may alternatively run from the displays (or more precisely the touch screen elements associated with the displays) to the serial interface 31 or any other suitable interface. Numerous other variants in the internal structure and the gaming machine system may be used in accordance with the principles of the present invention. It will also be appreciated that graphics processors are commonly a part of modern computer systems. While two separate graphics processors 35 and 36 are shown to control the four displays included in this form of the invention, it will be appreciated that a separate graphics processor can be included in the system for each particular viewer. Control of all video displays mounted on a game machine 10 is also possible for a single graphics processing. Generally, the invention is not limited to any particular arrangement of graphics processors to control the various displays of the gaming machine. In the game machine 10 illustrated, the CPU 25 executes the game software which finally controls the full game machine 10 including the presentation provided through video displays. The CPU 25 also executes software related to the communications handled through the communication interface 30, and software related to various peripheral devices such as those connected to the system through the audio interface 29, serial interface 31 and screen controller 37 Sensitive to touch. The CPU 25 can also execute software to perform accounting functions associated with the game game. The random access memory 26 provides memory for use by the central processing unit when executing its various software programs while the permanent or mass storage memory 27 provides storage for programs that are not in use or for other information generated or used in the course of the operation of the gaming machine. The communication interface 30 provides an interface to other components of a game system that may be involved in the game game. For example, some game machines rely on remote processing units to provide accounting functions associated with the game game and also to provide the game results. U.S. Patent No. 6,524,184 provides an example of a gaming system that includes player terminals and remote systems to provide predetermined game-play record results and that are stored in remote systems. Even where the results of the game game are determined in the game machine itself, the game machines commonly interface with systems for accounting and control purposes, and the communication interface 30 may also provide an interface for such communications. The communication interface 30 also provides an interface to a processor that controls display changes in the gaming machine as will be described below with reference to FIG. 3. The audio interface 29 provides an interface for an audio system that may be included in the game machine 10. The serial interface 31 provides an interface for serial devices such as player controls not incorporated in any touch screen display, and possibly the touch screen elements themselves, and other player interface devices such as acceptors / confirmers. of money, a player card reader, readers / printers of vouchers and coin acceptors / tokens. The serial interface 31 may also provide an interface with several counters that may be included in the gaming machine 10 such as a progressive counter, for example. A single serial interface device is commonly used to communicate with a number of serial devices through a suitable serial protocol such as USB or IEEE 1394. However, it will be appreciated that additional serial interfaces may be used depending on the nature of the serial protocols used. for communications and the number of serial devices included in the game machine 10. It will be appreciated that other basic components will be included in the gaming machine 10 such as power supply systems, cooling systems for the various processors, audio amplifiers and speakers, and other devices that are common in gaming machines. These additional devices are omitted in the drawings so as not to obscure the present invention with unnecessary details. It should be noted that the data processing required to operate the various displays and other components of the gaming machine 10 can be distributed to data processing devices outside the gaming machine itself. For example, the gaming machine 10 may depend on the processing and control of data from a central computing system in communication with the gaming machine or various elements of the gaming machine. The example shown in Figure 2 should be seen only as an implementation of a game machine capable of being configured, and the invention is not intended to be limited to this particular example. Rather, the invention encompasses game systems that include any types of gaming machines that are capable of being reconfigured to provide different game presentations at different times. Referring now to Figure 3, a number of game machines 10 are included in a game system 40 according to the present invention. The eight game machines 10 shown in Figure 3 only for purposes of the example, are divided into three separate groups indicated by dotted lines 41, 42 and 43. Each game machine 10 is shown connected to a network center or switch 45. Also shown is a separate processing device 47 connected to the center / switch 45. This separate processing device is used according to the invention to implement a presentation server 48 with associated presentation storage 49, a modification controller 50, and a system configuration arrangement 51. The illustrated system configuration arrangement 51 includes a controller 52 for monitoring the use of the system, a manual interface controller 53, and a player monitoring array 55 which includes a controller 56 tracking the location of the player, a controller 57 of tracking player preferences, and a player interface controller 60. The processing device 47 may comprise a single computer that executes software instructions to provide communications and functions for the presentation server 48, presentation storage 49, modification controller 50, usage monitoring controller 52, and configuration fix 51 of the system, which are described further below. The various components of the array 51 of the configuration system may depend on data or functions provided by external systems or devices. For example, the manual interface controller 53 will generally require an array of interface device 54 such as a computer monitor and a control or power device such as a keyboard, mouse, control ball, or touch screen controls. . The player preference tracking controller 57 uses a player data collection arrangement 59 when producing system configuration commands and the player location tracking controller 56 preferably utilizes a player location determination system 58. and perhaps an array 59 of player data collection. These elements 54, 56, 57, 58 and 59 will be described further, below and with reference to the components of the system configuration arrangement that uses those elements. As indicated in Figure 3, the gaming system 40 may also include a separate processing system 64 to handle the accounting, administration, determination or distribution of gaming game results, and other functions required in the gaming system. . While the game / accounting game system 64 is shown in the figure as a separate system, it will be appreciated that the functions performed by the game / accounting game system can in fact be carried out by the same processing device 47 or devices used to perform the various functions associated with the system configuration array 51 and the controller 50 of modifications. The present invention is not limited to any particular form of accounting management, administration, or determination of the game / distribution game. For example, the present invention has application in central determinant type gaming systems in which the results are determined by one or more central servers outside the gaming machines and a gaming system in which the individual gaming machines actually determine some or all of the results associated with the games offered through the system 40. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the computer network and computer systems communications technology that the arrangement illustrated in Figure 3 provides only a single example of a network arrangement that can be used to implement the present invention. The illustrated example would be appropriate for directing TCP / IP communications with the individual gaming machines. Other forms of the invention may use serial communications with gaming machines and may also include a suitable serial driver interposed between one or more gaming machines and the center / switch 45. Still other forms of the invention may use additional or emerging forms of technology. of inter-device communication to provide the necessary communications between components in the system. The present invention is not generally limited to any particular arrangement of communications or protocol to provide communications between the respective gaming machines 10 and the processor 47. It will also be appreciated that the processing functions described below for the components 48, 49, 50 and 51, can be distributed in different processors and are not necessarily executed by a single processor indicated in the reference numeral 47. In particular, the processing functions shown in Figure 3 as being executed by the processor 47 connected in a network of local area with gaming machines 10 can in fact be carried out by a remote central computing system of the location where the gaming machines are located. At the other end of the spectrum, each gaming machine 10 may include sufficient processing capacity and operating software to perform at least some of the functions of the modification controller 50, and of the system configuration array 51. That is, the gaming machine itself can monitor the conditions of the system or the characteristics of the player and change the presentations on the basis of the conditions or characteristics detected according to some predetermined standard, formula, or logic. For example, a gaming machine 10 according to the invention may be configured to change presentations per se in the event that no player has played on the gaming machine for a given period of time or in the case of the gaming machine. game is unused and the player tracking controller 56 detects the presence of a particular player at a site near the gaming machine. Alternatively to shifting the processing functions to the gaming machines 10, the processing functions can be transferred from the gaming machines to other elements of the system. For example, rather than running the game software on the gaming machines 10 to produce the signals required to drive the video display screens and the audio devices associated with a particular gaming machine, the gaming software can be executed remotely and the video and audio feeds directed to the gaming machine through an adequate signal feeding arrangement. The three different groups of game machines 10 are shown to illustrate that a game system according to the present invention in a given game installation may include different groups of game machines 10 with each different group including controlled or configured game machines. to provide a particular game presentation. The number of gaming machines 10 shown in Figure 3 is shown for exemplary purposes only and it will be appreciated that a gaming system 40 according to the invention can include large numbers of gaming machines all connected for communications with one or more processors used to implement presentation server 48, controller 50 of modifications, arrangement 51 of system configuration, and game / accounting game systems according to the invention. All of the gaming machines 10 can be located in a particular location such as a single casino. Alternatively, the gaming machines in the gaming system 40 may be dispersed through two or more gaming facilities. Also, because the gaming machines 10 can be configured to provide any of a large number of game presentations, the gaming machines can be placed in small groups in very small gaming facilities that can still provide any of the game presentations. game available in the big casinos. The gaming machines alone can also be placed directly in hotel or motel rooms and be configured in any of the modes described below to produce the desired game presentation or presentations by the guest in the respective room. The modification controller 50 is preferably implemented through a modification control program code executed by the processor 47 and works to selectively issue presentation change instructions to the various game machines 10 included in the game system 40. These presentation change instructions are executed in the receiving game machine 10 to cause the game machine to change from a first game presentation to a second game presentation or from a first type of striking presentation to another striking presentation type.

The presentation server 48 and its associated storage 49 provide a deposit of a number of different sets of game presentation instructions and perhaps a number of sets of striking presentation instructions. Each set of game presentation instructions includes a program code capable of being executed on a gaming machine 10 to provide a particular game presentation on the gaming machine. Each set of striking presentation instructions includes a program code capable of being executed on a gaming machine 10 to provide a particular gaudy game presentation on the gaming machine. In some forms of the invention, the issuance of a change of presentation instruction from the change controller 50 is done in conjunction with a transfer of a given set of presentation instructions or a group of striking display instructions from a store 49 from the presentation server to the particular machine or gaming machines that receive the change command. The presentation server 48 and its associated store 49 facilitate storage of a large number of different game presentations and eye-catching presentations that can be downloaded to the various gaming machines 10 as needed. In other forms of the invention, however, each game machine 10 may include sufficient storage capacity (in the mass or permanent storage memory 27 shown in Figure 2) to store a large number of game presentation instruction groups. and different groups of striking presentation instructions. The storage of sets of game presentation instructions and flashy presentations in the gaming machines reduces the need for a presentation server 48 and a store 49 respectively in a central location such as the processor 47, however, a server and the Related store can still be included in the system to store new game presentation software before downloading to the various gaming machines 10. In cases where groups of game presentation instructions and eye-catching presentations are pre-stored in gaming machines 10, the change of presentation instructions from the modification controller 50 simply cause the gaming machines to load and execute one in particular from the groups of presentation instructions identified in the change instructions.

The change controller 50 issues display change instructions in response to one or more system configuration commands derived or produced by the various components of the system configuration array 51 on the basis of various types of data including data on the condition of the system. system and data related to the player. The modification controller 50 may also be configured to issue presentation change instructions in response to an input signal from a player in one of the gaming machines 10. The various components that may be included in the system configuration array 51 and the information that those components use to produce system configuration commands will be described in the following paragraphs. The usage monitoring controller 52 shown in Figure 3 is preferably implemented by a usage monitoring program code executed by the processor 47 and monitors the use of the various game machines 10 included in the system 40. By detecting certain conditions of predetermined use, the monitoring controller 52 can issue a system configuration command to the modification controller 50 which responds by issuing change of presentation instructions to one or more game machines. For example, wherein the usage information indicates that all or most of the gaming machines in a facility offering a particular game presentation are in use as gaming machines provide another game presentation are not in use, the usage monitoring controller 52 may communicate a system configuration command to the modification controller 50 to cause the change controller to issue presentation change instructions to the gaming machines that are not being used and that offer the presentation of less popular game. These presentation change instructions would cause the receiving gaming machines 10 to change to provide the most popular game presentation. Of course, the issuance of instructions for changing from one game presentation to another in a particular gaming machine may not be fully automated and may require some intervention by an operator within the scope of the invention, regardless of the bases under which which the change instructions were generated. The illustrated manual interface controller 53 is preferably implemented through a manual interface program code executed by an appropriate processor such as the processor 47. The manual interface controller 53 communicates with the device arrangement 54 that can be comprising a display screen and a suitable pointing / selecting device such as a keyboard, mouse, control ball and / or touch-sensitive screen control. In preferred forms of the invention, the controller 53 produces a suitable graphical interface through the array device arrangement 54 which allows a system administrator to produce input signals that can be interpreted by the controller 53 to generate command configuration commands. system to be communicated to the controller 50 of modifications. For example, a system administrator may know that players in a game installation accommodate a certain profile at a certain time. The administrator can know this based on his experience in the game installation or from other information (for example the arrival to the game installation of several tourist buses filled with players that fit a certain profile). Regardless of how the system administrator bases his decisions, the administrator can feed input signals through the interface device array 54 to cause a number of game machines in the game installation to change to provide a game presentation that Desirably it will be particularly attractive to the players who are in the facility. The player monitoring arrangement 55, shown in Figure 3, includes a player location tracking controller 56 and a player tracking controller 57, both of which are, again, preferably implemented using a program code. In particular, the player location tracking controller 56 is preferably implemented with a player location controller program code and the player preference tracking controller 57 is preferably implemented with a controller program code of the player. tracking of the player's preferences. The player location tracking controller 56 cooperates with the player tracking system 56 to track the physical location of the various players in a game facility, and detects change of presentation conditions related to the physical location of multiple players. The player preference tracking controller 57 cooperates with the player information collection system 59 to monitor conditions related to various characteristics of players who are using a particular game facility. It should be noted that the player location tracking controller 56 may also use information from the player information collection system 59 in formulating system configuration commands. The player interface controller 60 is provided for interaction with one or more players using game machines 10 in the system so that system configuration commands can be based not only on player characteristics but also on interactions or communications with the players. Figures 4 and 5 show alternative systems that can be used as the system 58 for the determination of the player's position, shown in Figure 3, to provide information of the position of the player to the controller 56 tracking the position of the player. Referring first to Figure 4, a first alternate system for determining the position of the player depends on a radio frequency transponder 68 carried by the player 70 and preferably at least three receivers 71, 72 and 73 located in different positions around the periphery of a game installation where the player's position will be tracked. This system relies on timing variations between the reception of the transponder signal in the various receivers 71, 72 and 73 to calculate the location of the player 70 in the game installation. The time variations are communicated from the receivers 71, 72 and 73 to a player 74 for determining the position of the player which determines the position of the player according to some coordinate system. The processor 74 then communicates the position information of the player to the controller 56 tracking the position of the player. The player position tracking controller 56 uses the location information of the player to determine where the player is in relation to a particular gaming machine or a group of gaming machines such as the three gaming machines 10 shown in Figure 4. For example, the tracking controller 56 of the player's location can recognize a player approaching an unused game machine as a condition of change of presentation, and can use information about the player's preferences. player (from the player information collection 59 directly or through the player tracking controller 57) to make the game machine switch to the player's preferred presentation. In this way, as the player 70 approaches the three unused game machines 10 in Figure 4, the player location tracking controller 56 can issue presentation change instructions to the gaming machines. The graphic then displayed on the gaming machines can be a striking special presentation designed for that player or it can be for a game presentation that the system 40 knows is favored by the player 70, or that will probably be favored by the player. based on the player's known preferences or game characteristics. A particularly eye-catching presentation can still cause the gaming machine to call the player by his name as the player approaches in an attempt to make the player stop and play a game game on the machine. As another example, the position information of the player can be used by the player tracking controller 56 to optimize a certain room in a game facility for the various players detected in that room. Optimization may include changing game presentations for the various unused gaming machines found in the room or area of a gaming installation to favorable presentations for players in the room or likely to be favorable to the players. players that are in the room. Figure 5 shows an alternate arrangement for the player location tracking system 58 shown in Figure 3. This alternate position tracking system includes a transceiver 80 carried by a player 81 and a number of detectors 82, 83, 84 and 85 located in various positions through a game installation. The detectors may be associated with each gaming machine for example. Regardless of how the detectors are arranged, each detector includes a transmitter that transmits an RF signal in a certain area such as area 87 in front of the detector 82. This RF signal energizes the transceiver 80 in the transmission area and causes the transceiver to emit a return RF signal and that contains player identification information such as a unique identifier for the player. This return signal is picked up by a receiver associated with the detector 82 and indicates that the player is located in the range of that particular detector. Information from individual detectors can be provided to the player location tracking controller 56 (shown in Figure 3) which can act on that player location information to formulate system configuration commands for the modification controller 50. Alternatively, information from the various detectors 82, 83 etc. it can be combined to provide player location information to be used by the player tracking controller 56 to detect conditions of change of presentation and formulate suitable signals of change. Figure 5 does not show the communication lines from the individual detectors 82, 83, 84 and 85, however, it will be appreciated that these devices communicate information to the tracking controller 56 of the player's location for processing directly or to some intermediate processing element before the controller 56. The detectors 82, 83, etc. they may be incorporated or otherwise associated with the gaming machines 10 themselves, as indicated in Figure 5. In this arrangement, the tracking controller 56 of the player's location may be notified when a player approaches a player. game machine 10 even before you decide to play by entering the machine. However, other forms of the player location tracking system 58 may include the detectors 82, 83, etc. in other locations in addition to or instead of the locations in the gaming machines 10. Alternatively to the transceiver carried by the player, the player may carry some other device that can be registered or detected when it is within a certain range of a device adequate detection. For example, a player may carry with him an exposed badge that includes a unique bar code for the player, and the detection device may comprise a bar code reader. As another example, the player may wear an exposed badge that is coded with a unique color pattern for the player and the detector may be able to read or detect the color pattern and distinguish it from other color patterns assigned to other players. Referring again to Figure 3, the player preference tracking controller 57 preferably produces system configuration commands for the controller 50 of modifications based at least partially on the player's actual preferences or on the player's assumed or projected preferences. Controller 57 can produce system configuration commands based on characteristics of a particular known player that is in a given game location of the system, or on the basis of characteristics of a known or expected group of players. in a certain game location in the system at certain times. The manner in which the controller 57 produces system configuration commands will typically define the type of information that must be gathered or that must be available through the player information collection arrangement 59. The following examples illustrate the operation of the controller 57 tracking the player's preferences and the type of information that may be required from the information gathering arrangement 59. In one form of the invention, the player preference tracking controller 57 may utilize artificial intelligence techniques or any other appropriate techniques to analyze patterns of game play and / or demographic use of the player in conjunction with time information. day available through the information gathering arrangement 59 to produce system configuration commands to optimally configure a facility or game location according to the time of day and / or day of the week and / or by month or season . For example, historical data may indicate that a first age group predominates in a given game facility over a certain period of the day and a second age group predominates in another period of the day. The information can also show that each different age group has a preference for a certain type or style of game presentation. In this situation, the controller 57 can output signals to the modification controller 50 to change game machines 10 without using a game presentation or presentation style favored by the first age group during the time that group predominates. The controller 57 may then cause the unused game machines to change to a game presentation style favored by the second age group for the hours in which the second age group historically predominates. Alternatively to the use of historical information from the information gathering arrangement 59, the player preference tracking controller 57 can monitor the player's actual age or other characteristics to optimally configure the game presentations available through the machines. of game 10 in a given installation or game location. This optimization or configuration of the gaming machines based on real characteristics of the player can be implemented especially in gaming facilities that require or allow player club cards or other player identification cards to obtain real player information. For example, player card entries in a game installation may indicate that a large number of players that adapt to a certain player profile are currently in the game facility. The player preference tracking controller 57 can use this player's current information as well as his profile information to produce system configuration commands to change unused game machines and provide presentations that are likely to be favored by the players that fit. to the identified profile. Another example of the use of the player's current information in accordance with the invention relates to the optimization of game machines 10, amenable to configuration, placed in limited access rooms such as hotel rooms. The information gathering arrangement 59 may include a database that collects registration or room allocation information in a hotel that may be associated with a casino or that is independent of any casino. The player preference tracking controller may use this registration or room allocation information to identify an individual assigned to a particular room and also use historical game preference information for that individual and formulate a configuration command for the individual. system for the particular game machine 10 that is in the room of that individual. The command would direct the presentation change as necessary to change the presentation provided in the gaming machine 10 to a presentation preferred by the individual. Yet a further example of the operation of the controller 57 tracking player preferences involves monitoring certain actions of the player by comparing those actions with historical behavior. For example, a player may have a history of playing a game presentation for a certain period of time, then switching to another game presentation, and then perhaps to another. By virtue of this historical behavior, the player's tracking controller 57 can monitor the player's exit from a gaming machine and respond to that output by issuing a configuration command to effect a change in the game presentation to another Game favored by the player.

The invention is not limited to any particular type of player data collection arrangement 59 or database structure used to collect and organize the information required by the controller 57 to track the player's preferences. The player information collection arrangement 59 may be a system for identifying the player card or a club card system or any other type of player identification system that assigns a unique identifier to each player and stores demographic information of the player and perhaps information of their preferences at the moment the identifier is assigned. These systems typically require the player to connect to play on any gaming machines and use this input information to gather additional information of the player's preferences. Alternatively to player card or club card tracking systems, player information can be collected manually by polling the players or by observing the players. Regardless of the manner in which the player's information is collected, stored or maintained by the player's information collection arrangement 59, the player's tracking preferences controller 57 has access to this information and analyzes the data together with information which is displayed in the game installation and the actual use information of the game machine to generate game system configuration commands for the presentation change controller 50. It is also important to note that the present system collects important information in relation to the player's preferences and reactions to various game presentations. In this way, the system 40 in Figure 3 can be configured to add information to the player data collection arrangement 59 or some other database of player information. It is important to note that a prominent use of the present invention is to monitor the player's reaction to a new game presentation. The system may be configured to collect certain types of information after switching to a newly designed game presentation in an effort to monitor the player's reaction and perhaps get ideas for additional presentations or ideas for changes to the monitored presentation. The player interface controller 60 is responsible for initiating or conducting communications related to the presentation of the game with players that are in various gaming machines 10 in the system shown in Figure 3. These communications are preferably made through one or more of the displays (such as the display screens 14, 15, 17 and 18 in Figure 1) included in the gaming machines 10 and transfer information to the player to facilitate changes of presentations in the gaming machine that could be of interest to the player . Unprovoked requests from the player for presentation changes in one or more gaming machines may also be directed through the player's interface controller 60. The following examples illustrate the operation of the controller 60. Assume that a player having a game history of a particular game presentation or of a presentation type enters a game machine 10 in Figure 3 that provides a presentation or type of different presentation. The controller 60 can detect this by receiving information from the player input from a suitable player input system and access data about the player from an appropriate data collection such as that stored in the pickup array 59. This use of a new game presentation for the player may indicate that the player is feeling interested in that moment or may be bored with his historically favorite game presentation. In any case, the player interface controller 60, between games on the game machine or at other appropriate times, directs the game machine to provide a graphical interface that would allow the player to choose a newly created game having a presentation of the same type as the previous and favorite presentation of the player or choose a different game presentation that has a theme that might be of interest to the player based on the player's demographics and other player characteristics. The player may also be given the opportunity to choose to participate in special games that may be of interest to them such as a tournament game involving a given presentation or game presentations. Alternatively, a graphical interface can be provided in the gaming machine 10 when a player enters a game having a presentation that has a recently updated version. This interface in the gaming machine can be used to offer the player the possibility to choose that updated version without having to get up and go to a different gaming machine. In any of these examples, if the player indicates his desire to try a different game presentation through the provided graphical interface, the controller 60 sends system configuration commands to the presentation modification controller 50 to cause the controller to modifications make the change to the new game presentation. Another example of the operation of the player interface controller 60 arises in a situation in which a player has a history of changing game presentations after a certain period of play. In these situations the player interface controller 60 can monitor the time the player has been playing on a given machine and then offer new presentations at times when the player is likely to want to switch to a different game presentation. The player interface controller 60 may also be used to cause a change in the game presentation in more than one game machine 10 of Figure 3. For example, a player who has a game story together with a group of others players can enter a gaming machine 10 given in Figure 3. The controller 60 can detect this condition and can provide a graphical interface that would ask if the player wishes to play in a group, how many players are in the group, and what presentation of the game would like to play the group. Assuming that there are enough unused gaming machines to accommodate the group, the player interface confrolador 60 can respond to the response of the player by issuing system configuration commands to the controller 50 to make presentation changes in a complete block of machines. of adjacent games. It will be appreciated from the above examples in relation to the operation of the player interface controller 60 that information may be required from the player data collection arrangement 59, player location determination system 58 and / or player tracking system. player such as a player card or club card system. Figure 3 therefore indicates that the controller 60 is connected for communications with the location determination array 58 and the player data collection array 59. Alternatively, to obtain information directly from the location determination arrangement 58 and the information gathering arrangement 59, the confrolador 60 may receive the information required indirectly through the player preference tracking controller 57 and the game tracking controller 59. player location as indicated by dotted lines in Figure 3. Additionally, the responses provided by the player through the various interfaces displayed to the player may represent important player preference data and may be directed to the collection arrangement 59 of player data. In this way the controller 60 can direct information to the player data collection arrangement 59 as well as use information from said array. It will be appreciated that the specific arrangement 51 of the system configuration shown in Figure 3 is illustrated solely for purposes of example and that the invention is not limited to this particular arrangement. A system configuration arrangement within the scope of the present invention may include all of the illustrated components 52, 53, 55, 56, 57 and 60, or only one or more of these illustrated components. Also, the various functions performed by the illustrated components of the system configuration array 51 in Figure 3 can be located or distributed differently among various logical components within the scope of the present invention. Again, these components are preferably implemented in software executed by an appropriate data processing device. From the above examples of the various controllers used to produce system configuration commands according to the invention, it will be noted that the various controllers may require information on the current state of the system in order to produce effective system configuration commands. In this way, the present game system also includes a suitable state controller 61, which is shown in Figure 3 and which maintains current information on the state of the system. In particular, the status controller 61 maintains information about the current presentation that is being produced in a gaming machine 10 and whether the gaming machine is in use or is idle. The state controller may maintain other information such as which game presentations were recently produced in a given gaming machine and which has either been used or has been unoccupied by a particular gaming machine. As shown in Figure 6, a dynamic configuration process of a gaming machine includes producing a system configuration command as shown in process block 90 and finally changing a game presentation into one or more gaming machines. as indicated in process block 91. The system configuration commands may be based at least partially on the use of the system as monitored by the usage monitoring controller 52 (shown in Figure 3). In this manner, the process according to the invention can include monitoring the use of the gaming machine as indicated in process block 94. The system configuration commands can also be based at least partially on preference information. of the player as described above with reference to the controller 57 tracking the player's preferences. In this way, the process shown in Figure 6 includes in the process block 95 the stage of accessing or receiving and subsequently analyzing information of the player's preferences using artificial intelligence techniques and other analytical or data processing techniques. As described above with reference to the player interface driver 60, the system configuration commands may be based at least partially on the interaction or communications with a player in one of the game machines of the system. The process block 96 samples the process of transmitting game information to the player while the process block 97 shows the reception of a player response that can be used to formulate a system configuration command. Process block 98 in Figure 6 shows the step of producing or receiving information from the player's location for use in the formulation of a system configuration command. This process step is carried out by the controller 56 tracking the location of the player, described above. The step of producing a system configuration command may also include the reception of a manual input signal as its sample in process block 99. This manual tamper signal may be received through the controller 53 of manual interface as described above or through a request or change of presentation command fed by a player in a gaming machine. In some preferred forms of the invention the system configuration commands are not performed directly by the gaming machines that are to be configured. In these cases the system configuration commands motivate the creation of presentation change instructions as shown in the process block 100 in Figure 6. These change instructions are then communicated to the affected game machine or machines as shown in the process block 101. These steps of producing presentation change instructions in response to the system configuration commands and subsequently communicating those instructions to the gaming machines can be carried out by the modification controller 50 itself or in conjunction with server 48 of presentations. The presentation change instruction issued in process block 101 will be addressed to at least one gaming machine 10 shown in Figures 1 to 3 using the applicable communication protocol, and may include information that identifies the game presentation that is to be used in the gaming machine or the information or group of instructions for the presentation itself. In the latter case, the information or group of instructions itself can be directed from the store 49 of the presentation server shown in Figure 3. For example purposes, suppose that the game machines 10 in the group 41 provide a game presentation A, each of the game machines that are in group 42 provide a different game presentation B, and each game machine 10 that is in group 43 still provides a different presentation C. In this example, suppose that the presentation A becomes particularly popular at a point in time and that all the other game machines that provide that presentation, that is, all the game machines 10 that are in group 41, they are being used. Also suppose that at least some of the gaming machines that provide the presentation C, that is, the gaming machines 10 that are in group 43, are not in use. It may be desirable in that situation to have more gaming machines 10 in the gaming facility to switch to a presentation A from a presentation C. In accordance with the present invention, the change in gaming presentations is carried out through communication of a presentation change instruction from the modification controller 50, and perhaps a set of game presentation instructions from the server 48 / store 49, to one or more of the unused game machines 10 that are in the group 43. The change instruction will cause the receiving gaming machines to change their presentations to the desired presentation. The new game presentation will include different graphics for the game video display 14 associated with the game machine as shown in Figures 1 and 2, and usually different graphics for each additional video display such as the displays 15, 17 and 18 shown in Figures 1 and 2. In the embodiment of the invention illustrated in Figure 3, the usage monitoring controller 52 would collect usage information from the gaming machine either directly from the gaming machines themselves or through some intermediary such as the status controller 61, and, where the usage information satisfies certain exchange conditions, signals or commands are issued to the modification controller 50 to cause it to issue presentation change instructions to the appropriate gaming machines. It is clear from this example how the additional video displays 15, 17 and 18, shown in Figures 1 and 2 allow the change of game presentations without taking the game machine 10 out of service for any extended period of time. In addition, the example illustrates how the present invention makes it possible for the game presentations offered in a given game installation to be modified to meet the demand and to optimize the use of the gaming machine. Of course, as described above with reference to the player preference tracking controller 57, the player location tracking controller 56, the manual interface controller 53, and the player interface controller 60, the present invention it encompasses many additional conditions whether real or assumed / projected to develop system configuration commands that ultimately cause the gaming machines 10 to change from one presentation to another. The preferred embodiments, described above, are intended to illustrate the principles of the invention, but not to limit the scope of the invention. Various other modalities and modifications to these preferred embodiments may be carried out by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the following claims. For example, while the invention contemplates the change from a game presentation to a totally different game presentation, the change may be between game presentations related in some way, or presentations having elements in common with the previous presentation on the machine of game. Furthermore, the invention can be implemented in an information processing environment in which more processing tasks are carried out in a central processing device rather than in the CPUs of the individual gaming machines.

Claims (24)

1. Novelty of the Invention 1. A game system, which includes: a) a number of game machines, each game machine including a respective game presentation arrangement capable of producing any of a number of unrelated game presentations; b) a system configuration fix to produce system configuration commands; and c) a game modification blocker in communication with the player monitoring array and with each respective gaming machine, the game modification blocker to receive system configuration commands from the system configuration array, and to communicate instructions of change of presentation to one or more of the "game" machines in response to the system configuration commands, the presentation change instructions causing the respective game machine to change from a first game presentation to a second game presentation. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein the system configuration arrangement includes a manual interface through which configuration commands can be manually initiated 3. The gaming system of claim 1, in where the system configuration fix includes a player monitoring array to produce commands from configuration based at least partially on the characteristics of the player. The gaming system of claim 3, wherein the player monitoring arrangement includes: a) a player location tracking controller to produce configuration commands based at least partially on a player's location; and b) a determination arrangement for the location of the player to determine the location of the player in a game facility that includes one or more of the gaming machines. The gaming system of claim 4, wherein the player location determination arrangement includes a signal reading device for remote reading that of identification information carried by the player or to remotely receive identification signals that originate from a device transported by the player. The gaming system of claim 4, wherein the player's location determination arrangement includes: a) a number of signal reading devices to remotely receive identification signals that originate from a device transported by the player; and b) a signal timing analysis device for analyzing the timing between the identification signals received by the number of signal reading devices to determine the location of the player. The gaming system of claim 3, wherein the player monitoring arrangement includes a controller tracing the preferences of the player to produce configuration commands based at least partially on actual or postulated player preferences for one or more players in a game installation that includes one or more gaming machines. The gaming system of claim 7, which further includes a player information collection arrangement for making information related to an individual or group of players available to the tracking controller of the player's preferences. The gaming system of claim 3, wherein the player monitoring array includes a player interface controller to produce configuration commands based at least partially on communications with one or more players. 10. A method for configuring a gaming machine game system, the method includes the steps of: a) producing a system configuration command; and b) in response to the system configuration command, changing a game presentation on one or more game machines in the system from a first game presentation to a second presentation not related to the first game presentation. 11. The method of claim 10, which further includes the step of producing presentation change instructions in response to the system configuration command and communicating the presentation change instructions to one or more game machines to effect the change of the presentation of game in one or more game machines in the system of a first game presentation to the second game presentation. The method of claim 10, wherein the step of producing the system configuration command includes receiving manual system configuration entries through a system administration interface. The method of claim 10, wherein the step of producing the system configuration command includes: a) producing location information that indicates the location of one or more players in a game installation that includes one or more game machines; game; and b) producing the system configuration command on the basis at least partially of the location information. The method of claim 10, wherein the step of producing the system configuration command includes: a) transmitting game information to a particular player using one of the gaming machines through the respective gaming machine; b) receive a response from the player; and c) producing the system configuration command based on, at least partially, the player response from player 15. The method of claim 14, wherein the step of transmitting player information includes transmitting information about a presentation. of additional game different from the game presentation that is currently being offered on the gaming machine used by a particular player, and providing the particular player with an opportunity to select the additional game presentation. The method of claim 10, wherein the step of producing the system configuration command includes: a) receiving information of the player's preferences associated with a player; and b) producing the system configuration command based, at least partially, on the information of the player's preferences. The method of claim 16, wherein the step of receiving information from the player's preferences includes receiving information from the player's profile for a player profile tied by the player. The method of claim 16, wherein the step of receiving information from the player's preferences includes receiving historical information of the system activity collected for the player. 19. A program product for configuring a gaming machine system, the program product being stored in a computer-readable medium and including: a) a system configuration program code to produce a configuration command system; and b) a presentation change program code for responding to the system configuration command by changing a game presentation on one or more game machines in the system from a first game presentation to a second presentation unrelated to the first presentation of the game. game. The product program of claim 19, wherein the presentation change program code includes a presentation change instruction program code to produce display change instructions in response to the system configuration command and transmitting the instructions of change of presentation to one or more game machines to effect the change of the game presentation in one or more game machines in the system from the first game presentation to the second game presentation. The product program of claim 19, which further includes a system management interface program code to produce an interface to receive manual system configuration input signals and produce the system configuration command in response to the Manual power signals system configuration. 22. The product program of claim 19, which also includes a player location controller program code to produce the system configuration command based, at least partially, on the location information of the player. 23. The product program of claim 19, which further includes a player interaction program code for transmitting game information to a particular player using one of the game machines through the respective game machine, receiving a player response from the player, and producing the system configuration command based on, at least partially, the player response from the player. 24. The product program of claim 19, which further includes a controller program code of the player's preferences for accessing player preference information associated with a player and producing the system configuration command on the basis of , at least partially, of the information of the player's preferences.