By: FireFishMike
Slots games are pretty straightforward – there are two key demands that they have to satisfy. They have to able to combine the sense of anticipation that goes with those spinning wheels with a familiar motif. It’s that recognizable theme that represents the hook that can pull punters in and keep them spinning happily away for hours.
Supply and demand
Online casinos specialize in delivering what it is their customers want. With so many different games out there and with busy producers like Microgaming generating new games almost as fast as we can play them, anything that is going to stand out has got to be good. The fact that you can now play them on your mobile phone only adds to the spread of a genre that is fast becoming universal. But it doesn’t seem to matter how fast new games hit the market, there is always a demand for more: You can find the current crop of slots here.
A new breed
That reliance on a recognizable theme or motif allows slots to be designed for just about as many different niche interests as you could imagine. There are slots based on epic tales and fairy tales, on Knights of old and old-fashioned ladies’ nights out. You name it, there’s a slot themed for it. Or at least that’s what we thought, but we think we’ve spotted a gap in the market.
Where the action is
Research has shown that people dip in and out of playing slots for many different reasons, and that partly explains the range of themes offered. Different types of design appeal not only to different visual tastes but to different types of player as well. It means that casinos can provide a range of slots to retain the interest of visitors to their sites whatever their individual tastes. A more relaxed player will be attracted to a more relaxed theme, but the more aggressive player – someone inclined to place bigger bets – will tend to be attracted to a more dramatic styling.
A whole new battlefield
That’s why we think there is scope to translate some of the success of games like Battlefield and Titan Falls to the slots genre. Strong graphics, a robust and recognizable character list, and the concentrated attention that such adrenaline-popping titles deliver as a matter of course look like the ideal ingredients for a new generation of slots. What could be more epic than a slot game that involved explosions and Titans?
And the same research that has explored the different playing motivations that players bring to the experience suggests that this sort of high impact, high drama theme is more likely to appeal to men and, moreover, to those players who like to play for higher stakes. That means that from the casino operators’ point of view there is every reason to accommodate our idea for battlefield slots.
Big bangs for big bucks
The typical slots game is played for low stakes, with relaxation often held up as the reason for playing what is a fairly undemanding game. But that is not to say that it is not possible to win big. Prizes as big as £5 million have been claimed whilst at the same time, there are nuts and bolts machines that have stubbornly refused to pay out for almost a generation – that’s since before online slots were even invented!
Of course, the real excitement – maybe that should be the reel excitement! – of playing slots is the uncertainty involved. For all the familiarity and the sense of excitement that a dramatic theme can evoke there is no substitute for not knowing what the next spin of the wheel is about to deliver.