Trends in Slot Development

Slot games started out in 1975 where Fortune Coin Company developed the first ever video slot. So much has happened with video slots in the 45 years since then though, probably more than what many people would expect. Slot games are some of the most played games throughout the gambling world. They provide excellent fun as well as a chance to win some good money whilst playing. There are many slot trends which providers can do to keep up with the ever changing times and make sure that their games are fun for players.

Megaways Slots

Megaways Slots are becoming increasingly popular within the slot industry. There is a very strong chance that slot lovers will have played one even if they do not know it. Megaways slots is a series of reel spins that can lead to thousands of different combinations to win on each spin. This type of slot is earning a reputation for allowing customers to win big money from small stakes, now who doesn’t like the sound of that? A longer odds win is unbelievably satisfying. How good would it feel to win a few hundred quid from just a couple of pounds staked?

There are many examples of Megaways slots available to play. For instance, Bonanza Megaways and Curse of the Werewolf Megaways. In fact, the technology was originally developed for the Bonanza slot by Big Time Gaming. After the success of that, they ended up licensing it to other developers who then used it for their own slots, highlighting the popularity of the Megaways Slots.

Mobile Friendly Slots

Mobile users have skyrocketed for online casinos since the development of smartphones. It is almost essential in today’s world to have a smartphone. Whether Apple or Android is your preferred platform, there are thousands of different applications that can be installed onto the device. There are hundreds of different apps available for online casinos that it is vital for game developers to make their games playable on mobile to keep up with the competition. When developing a slot, it makes sense for the provider to ensure that they make a version for both computer users and mobile users.

It is quite incredible to think how far mobile games have come since the first ever one – Snake was on the Nokia phone back in 1997. It even took eight years after the first mobile game for the first slot game to come on mobile. This was Pub Fruity and was exactly as it sounds – a mirror copy of a fruit machine in a pub. This game launched somewhat of a flurry of new games on mobile devices. Shortly after Pub Fruity, Texas Hold’em Poker and some other mini games were available to play. This was all for virtual chips though, things did not take long to advance to play for real money once Apple brought out the iPhone in 2007. This meant, for the first time ever, casino players were able to make a deposit online and play on their mobile phone. Of course smartphones have highly developed since and are now incredibly popular for slot games. The future of mobile gaming may go down the smartwatch route, with slot machines available to play on a watch. Now that would really be quite something.

Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality 

Augmented reality and virtual reality are having a huge impact on all technology, not just in the video slot world. AR is something which is seen in games like PokemonGO where the gaming experience is enhanced by trying to make you feel more involved in the game. This is usually done by combining images and special effects on top of the gameplay. Slot gaming could become much more immersive, offering 360-degree views of gaming environments which would take a slot game to the next level. Virtual reality could be the trend we see first though. VR gaming is a computer-generated simulation of 3D images that get interacted with to allow the player to be part of the game. For instance, a player can look through some goggles and feel like they are part of the game. The software for this is incredibly expensive though so it may not dominate the industry for a little while just yet.

Licensed Branded Slot Games

When developers theme a slot game, they often name it after something famous such as a popular TV series, a well known celebrity or a legendary film. An example of this would be Michael Jackson: King of Pop. This slot has a great theme of the legendary musician and players get to play on a slot which revolves around his music. Having unique themes is a big pulling factor for players as it helps to  give some variety when playing a slot game. You also see slot games like Family Guy which are named after the much loved TV series. Family Guy is another slot where the player gets to delve through the game as if they are part of the show when playing the slot. There are so many different themed slots out there that there is something guaranteed to appeal to absolutely everyone. A wide range of slots gives people more choice when it comes to playing, so they can spend more time on a slot without getting bored.

Hold and Respin Machine

The hold and respin machine is another trend that is becoming increasingly popular in slot games. This is exactly as it sounds. When a bonus comes up in a reel, it gets held in place and then the other reels get span again. The big selling point of the hold and respin feature is to give players an opportunity to collect the largest reward possible. This is heavily featured around bonus features. A lot of slot producers rely on bonus features to be the biggest selling point when developing a slot game. Hold and respin means that a bonus feature is going to have more potential than otherwise. It is a clever introduction from slot developers that really helps the player enjoy the game they are playing.