Online gambling today offers thousands and thousands of different slot games. Experienced players are familiar with the most popular ones. But even the best ones have not tried all the games out there. Canadian players who enjoy exploring different brands reviewed at casinosworld.ca are always looking for slots with interesting designs, styles, and graphics. That’s why developers are always creating new games.
Aside from the wide range of slot games, developers also want to offer variety when it comes to payment methods. So, based on Canadian gamblers payment method preferences, they add the most popular payment options to the gambling sites. Paired with slot variety, this gives plenty of freedom to players and makes platforms that offer so much variety more appealing.
But let’s get back to slots, their themes, unique designs, and styles. There is something common for all slot games, and that’s their original design influence from arcade games. Let’s explore what are some retro video games that have inspired slots as we know them today.
Arcade Influence on Slot Aesthetics
The first arcades were closely connected with slots. They were full of pinball machines and slot games. But as things evolved and technology moved forward, digital arcade games were all people wanted to play. Those were the times when big game studios understood the potential that video gaming carried.
The massive popularity of the arcades set a standard as to what people expected. Therefore, the first digital slot developers wanted to match the feel of the original arcades. They were successful as numerous slot games inherited many elements from the top arcade titles.
Themed Slots Based on Game Nostalgia
Nostalgia hits hard when it comes to games. It’s the reason why indie studios take inspiration and use pixelated graphics in games like Mudborne. That’s what the developers of the first digital slots were well aware of and why they incorporated different elements from the arcades. Later on, they would use themes from completely different industries to play the nostalgia card while someone was gambling.
If you’re curious what are the best retro video games that have inspired classic casino slots, here are the most popular titles.
Pac-Man
Pac-Man was published in 1980 in both Japan and the United States. It was developed with the goal of creating an appealing game for both male and female players. It quickly became a success that conquered the market. Its maze genre was something new for everyone and people were competing who would last the longest.
All of the elements of this game became a part of the classic slots. Looped sound effects were introduced. Bright colors and simple layouts made slots and video poker games less distracting, with simple interfaces that improved the overall experience. The game evidently made an impact on casino slot games and how they’re designed to this day.
Donkey Kong
Only a year after the Pac-Man release, Donkey Kong spread like wildfire. It quickly became one of the most popular arcade games in the United States. Its popularity lasted for years, as the game was remade for different handhelds and consoles.
It’s unique for introducing the vertical level progression. It forced players to think differently while playing. This concept was later introduced in the step-based bonus rounds in slot games which use a similar pattern.
Street Fighter II
On March 7th, 1991, the arcade world was changed with the release of Street Fighter II. Over the decades, this has become one of the best fighting games out there. It put Capcom at the top of the game development studios.
Both the first digital slots and those played in online casinos today use animation bursts and fight-round formats in the form of interactive slot bonus features. This keeps the players glued to their screens, captivating their attention fully.
Aside from serving as an inspiration for classic casino slots, it has been used as the slot theme created by NetEnt that carries the same name as the original game. The graphics have been replicated and it’s among popular games from this studio. Once you turn it on, it screams nostalgia.
Tetris
Tetris served as an inspiration for a feature that was developed by NetEnt. It’s clear that the studio did their homework and used some mechanics from classic arcades. Tetris served as an inspiration for a feature in one of their most popular games, Gonzo’s Quest.
Its introduction created a popular feature in numerous slots known as cascading reels and other combo features in games. Essentially, Gonzo’s Quest uses the Avalanche feature that introduced the Tetris mechanics into the slot world for the first time. Once the winning symbols are aligned, they would blow up, causing more symbols to drop from the top. This created potentially new winning combos, leading to a gameplay experience full of thrills.
Frogger
Launched in 1981 by Konami, the arcade became a Sega exclusive. The game’s concept of getting the five frogs safely across a busy street is what made it so appealing. The challenge was the high traffic, which was the obstacle you had to overcome.
This obstacle-based progression was inherited by some slot games. Additionally, sound cues from Frogger as well.
The game’s popularity was so big that Konami Gaming even created the Frogger slot game and released it in 2016.
