Patent ID: 9679445
Date: 2017-06-13
CPC Classifications: G07F

Claim:
1. A method for operating a gaming machine, the method including: (a) receiving a value deposit from a player through a currency/voucher acceptor on the gaming machine, and receiving from the player a play input through a player input system of the gaming machine, the play input initiating a play in a wagering game; (b) in the play in the wagering game, controlling a display system of the gaming machine to populate at least some game symbol locations of an array of game symbol locations, each of the at least some game symbol locations being populated with a respective game symbol selected from a set of game symbols which includes a wild symbol, wherein the game symbol locations are divided into sets of game symbol locations and the sets of game symbol locations are populated sequentially with one or more respective sets of game symbol locations being populated at a first population rate; (c) through the gaming machine, awarding a respective pay line prize for each winning combination of game symbols appearing along an active pay line defined through the array of game symbol locations for that play in the wagering game, each winning combination of game symbols being defined in a pay table for the wagering game in which each of a number of respective winning combinations of game symbols is associated with a respective prize for the wagering game; (d) through the gaming machine, awarding a respective noncontributing wild symbol prize for one or more sets of noncontributing wild symbols meeting one of one or more noncontributing wild symbol prize definitions for the wagering game, wherein a noncontributing wild symbol comprises a wild symbol appearing in the populated array of game symbol locations for the play in the wagering game which is not included in any winning combination of game symbols appearing along an active pay line for the play in the wagering game, and causing the noncontributing wild symbol prize to be displayed by controlling the display system, and causing the noncontributing wild symbol prize to be awarded as a value credit to the player; and (e) wherein controlling the display system to populate at least some of the game symbol locations includes (i) after a respective wild symbol populates one of the symbol locations for the play of the wagering game, changing the graphic appearance of that wild symbol from a standard wild symbol graphic to a noncontributing wild symbol graphic in the event that wild symbol meets the noncontributing wild symbol definition for the play in the wagering game, and (ii) populating a final one of the sets of game symbol locations at a second population rate lower than the first population rate in the event a predefined number of noncontributing wild symbols have already populated the game symbol locations for the play of the wagering game.