Slot machines are the most popular and often most profitable inclusion in modern casinos, both online and offline. They are quick to play and easy to learn, and their bright lights and rhythmic noises only serve to make them even more appealing. Slot designers have also turned to the use of popular culture and trends to aid in the creation of appealing aesthetics.

Slots Popularity

Such is their popularity that casinos include hundreds upon hundreds, sometimes even thousands, and online casinos can house even more. Their features have become more expansive, and they offer a massive draw for casinos. As such, a lot of casinos use slots as a means of drawing players in – whether by offering free slot spins or, like the discasino welcome bonus, by matching player deposits so the player can spend their enhanced betting bank on slot machines.

Common Pop Culture Themes

Popular culture is a common thread in slot machine design. For the casino, it offers appealing designs that will draw players in. For game makers, there are plenty of existing designs to use in the creation of symbols and the tables themselves. For players, it offers a feeling of familiarity, which makes the games seem even easier to learn.

Popular TV

Game of Thrones, Stranger Things, The Walking Dead: these are three of the biggest TV shows to hit screens in the past couple of decades, attracting tens of millions of viewers and spawning sequels as well as huge merchandise sales. When used in slots design, they have familiar characters and they not only appeal to fans of the shows but they still hold some familiarity for others.

Endorsements

If you’ve ever seen a Taylor Swift concert, you’ll have seen the level of fever pitch fans can reach. They take their fandom to another level, and this isn’t specific to Taylor Swift. Musicians, as well as TV and other stars, hold considerable appeal. If a game designer can bag a partnership with a major celebrity, it virtually guarantees popularity for the game, although the playability, RTP, and quality of the game design need to be high to ensure long-term success.

Sports Teams And Players

Music fans can be obsessive, but sports fans are described as being tribal. Their love for their teams goes way beyond watching them on a Saturday afternoon or a Thursday night. Fans talk about games, take part in fantasy leagues, and obsessively buy the latest jerseys and merchandise. They will also watch documentaries and play games related to their favorite teams and sports stars, making sports a popular theme for slot machines.

Trends

Some trends don’t necessarily fit into any of these categories but are popular with game designers. You will find a lot of games that are designed around fashion, travel, and other popular trending topics. There’s probably even a politics-themed slot machine or two out there.

Gaming

iGaming is one part of the wider gaming industry, which also includes PC and console gaming, as well as mobile gaming. It is an obvious crossover to create slot machine designs based on other games. If the slot designer gets an appropriate license with the game maker, you will see symbols and bonus games based on specific in-game assets and designs.

Other Common Slot Design Trends

Popular culture is commonly used in slot machine design, but there are some time-honored designs that we still see cropping up regularly, as well as those that are loosely based on a popular theme.

Cards

The first slot machine, The Liberty Bell, was created in 1894. It featured, as the name suggests, liberty bell symbols. Players would also see horseshoes, the symbol for luck, and the rest of the symbols were made up of the suits of a deck of playing cards. Cards remain popular in slot machine symbolism because they are recognizable, easy to design, and can be incorporated into other designs.

Fruit Machines

Some early slot machines had packs of gum as prizes. The flavors of the gum that could be won were represented by fruit symbols on the reels, and this led to the popular use of iconography like cherries and lemons. The term fruit machine is still used today, and fruit symbols are also still commonly used in slot machine designs. Even the BAR symbol that we can still see in use is related to these early machines, as it was the logo used by the Bell-Fruit Gum Company.

Historical Influences

History is an endearing topic because it is always there, and certain periods in history lend themselves very well to slot machine design. For example, ancient Egypt is a common theme, thanks to its bright colors, use of hieroglyphics, and its obsession with gold. Other periods of history we might see in slot machine design include ancient Greece and even ancient Norse, with particular attention paid to the mythology of these civilizations.

How Game Designers Incorporate Pop Culture

Slot designers have a lot of potential topics and themes to choose from, but the most popular tend to be those that have recognizable iconography and that can be easily turned into basic symbols. For online slots, the designer has to bear in mind that some people will play on mobile devices, which means they can’t incorporate overly complicated imagery. Whatever the chosen theme, it can be incorporated into different areas of the game design.

Symbol And Feature Design

The symbols on the playreels need to be colorful, easy to differentiate, and memorable. The symbols are the part of slot machine design that players stare at and concentrate on more than any other, so these are arguably the most important section.

Ambience

While the symbols are important to players, the general design of the table, or the ambiance, is what will draw new players in. New players look at the overall design when picking a game, so the frame and the design behind the reels will often feature the iconography, the table name, and other relevant designs.

Bonus Games

Online slots are more advanced than the coin-operated slots of old. In particular, they can include a host of bonus games. These games offer access to free spins as well as prize boosters and instant-win prizes. The games are often played away from the reels, and they can include a more complex design than the reel symbols and table background. Bonus games are a great place to add more design based on the theme of the table.

Soundtrack

Slot machines have some kind of soundtrack or sound effects. Players can hear the synthesized noise of reels spinning and symbols landing, as well as jubilant prize noises. The modern slot machine design may also include sounds and soundtracks that are relevant to the theme, whether that’s the Addams Family clicks or the Marvel Spiderman theme that most of us recognize. The soundtrack can help increase immersion in the game.

Conclusion

Slot machines have existed for more than 100 years, and while they have advanced a long way from the Liberty Bell, they retain a lot of the same features. Modern designs are based on everything from TV and movie franchises to Ancient Egypt or Nose mythology – all to draw players in and keep them at the reels.