Wagering game, reel-based gaming machine and method with anticipation lighting

摘要

A wagering game is operable on a reel-based gaming machine which has the capability to selectively illuminate one or more reels with one or more colors of graduating intensity. In conjunction with the stopping sequence of the reels for a given play of the wagering game, the gaming machine provides a distinctive lighting effect at one or more of the reels when a reel in the set is stopped showing a predefined symbol. The predefined symbol presents the possibility of some desirable outcome for the given play of the wagering game depending upon the positions in which the remaining reels in the set stop.

主权项

1. A method of operating a wagering game, the method including:
receiving a player input through a user interface at a gaming machine; responsive to the player input, illuminating a set of reels at the gaming machine with a base lighting effect at a base color and base light intensity from one or more light source clusters located behind and in front of a displayed portion of the reels to place the set of reels in a base lighting state and spinning the reels while in the base lighting state, the set of reels comprising three or more mechanical reels or video-generated reels; stopping a first reel of the set of reels to display a first reel outcome; if the first reel outcome includes a first predefined symbol, —illuminating a portion of at least the first reel with an anticipation lighting color different from the base color and at a first light intensity to place the set of reels in a first anticipation lighting state different from the base lighting state, the first light intensity greater than the base light intensity; after stopping the first reel, stopping a second reel of the set of reels to display a second reel outcome; if the displayed first and second reel outcomes respectively include the first predefined symbol, illuminating a portion of at least the second reel while a third reel is spinning to place the set of reels in a second anticipation lighting state different from the base lighting state and the first anticipation lighting state; if the displayed second reel outcome does not include the first predefined symbol, then fading the set of reels from the first anticipation lighting state to the base lighting state; and after each of the reels of the set of reels have been stopped to display a game outcome for the player input, awarding a payment associated with any winning result defined in the game outcome and if the first predefined symbol is not part of a winning combination then fading the set of reels from the second anticipation lighting state to the base lighting state.