Casino slots have become one of the players’ favorites almost from the day they had first appeared. Their simplicity, combined with the possibility to win big and nice graphics appearing on the screen, made slots low hanging fruits of the gambling world.
Over the years, game developers have produced dozens of thousands of various slots. Initially, they were quite simple in terms of graphics and audio but with the arrival of new technologies, slot machines have started to become increasingly complex and nicer to look at.
And yet, with all these changes, it seems that slot makers have mostly stuck to several large themes that served as inspirations for the games. In this blog, we’ll look into main topics and subtopics featured in online slots over the years.
Ancient Civilizations
Ancient civilizations have probably been the biggest inspiration for slot makers over the decades. Stories, myths, and legends about kings and queens of old times, their brave armies, and astonishing achievements have offered so much material that, to this day, game developers are still finding new approaches and angles to tell the same stories.
Old Egypt
The civilization of ancient Egypt has probably been featured in slots more than any other topic out there. Just think about all the slots featuring Cleopatra, pyramids, Sphinx, Anubis, and other things and characters originating from Egypt.
The mystery surrounding this ancient civilization and their tremendous achievements has befuddled scientists throughout the centuries and has inspired many writers, film makers, and other creative people. Slot makers didn’t remain unaffected by this ancient charm, either, which is why we have hundreds of slots featuring Egypt in one way or another from nearly all companies involved in the production of casino games.
Ancient Cultures of Orient
Like Egypt, mysterious cultures of China, Japan, and other Far East empires have also served as an inspiration for many slots. Although these cultures are often not as close to players from western parts of the world, these slots have often captured our imaginations, transporting us to unknown worlds filled with geishas, brave samurai warriors, silent ninja assassins, and much more.
Often, such games are based on stories and legends that we haven’t had a chance to hear before, so, in a way, they help us expand our horizons and learn about new cultures, especially for those of us with curious minds.
Greece
The great Greek civilization has had a huge impact on the modern civilization and their myths and legends have survived over the centuries to this very day. Most Greek-themed slots revolve around their famous gods and demigods, such as Zeus, Athena, Apollo, Hercules, and others. With the wealth of myths and stories originating from that period, game makers aren’t likely to run out of ideas any time soon.
Vikings
With their history filled with brave undertakings and their pantheon inhabited with human-like, capricious gods, Vikings left us many stories worth retelling. So, it is no surprise many of these stories have found their way onto slot reels. There are dozens of Viking-themed slots out there, featuring mainly their legendary gods such as Thor, Freya, and Loki.
Great Roman Empire
Last but not least, the Great Roman Empire has served as inspiration for many casino slots. Featuring brave gladiators, powerful roman armies, and famous rulers such as Caesar himself, Roman-themed slots take players on a historical adventure reliving famous battles and visiting fabled monuments such as Coliseum.
Holidays
Most of us love holidays. These are the times of year when we get to take break from our work, spend some time with those closest to us, and enjoy activities that we don’t get to enjoy during ‘regular’ times.
So, it is no wonder slot makers have picked up on this and created thousands of slots with holiday themes, knowing that people will be attracted to them by the familiar feel and symbolism. Of course, some holidays are clear favorites when it comes to the gambling industry.
Christmas Slots
Christmas holidays are usually connected to peace, love, and happiness. Most people, even those who don’t officially celebrate Christmas, enjoy this time of the year because there is something in the air that can’t quite be described or captured. Call it the Christmas Spirit, if you will.
Slot makers have found an easy in here, creating games filled with Christmas themes, filled with nicely decorated trees, presents, holiday decorations, fireworks, Santa Claus figures, and accompanied by popular holiday tunes such as Jingle Bells. The atmosphere of these games alone is usually enough to get people to play them because – everybody loves Christmas!
Halloween
Although Halloween isn’t nearly as popular as Christmas and is, in fact, only really celebrated in some countries around the globe, the holiday seems to be a great inspiration for slot developers. Almost every year, there are dozens of new slots released around Halloween to celebrate the occasion.
These games have different themes but they always revolve around creatures and characters found in fairytales and horror movies. From witches and carved pumpkins, over wizards, to vampires and werewolves, Halloween slots can be quite entertaining.
The Animal World
Like many writers before them, slot makers love the idea of bringing animals to life. The range of animal-themed slots is too wide to describe in details but, over the years, we’ve certainly seen some very creative ideas. Since imagination is their only limit when making these games, slot developers often go wild and come up with really unexpected results.
Some of these slots simply try to present animals in their natural habitats, showing fairly realistic representations of wild life from jungles, savannahs, deserts, and forests around the world. These games usually feature nice sound effects imitating animal voices and creating a nice gaming atmosphere.
Some of them, however, take things to a whole new level, giving animals human-like properties, so we see lions and zebras playing soccer, monkeys robbing banks, and jungle critters starting their own band and setting off on a global tour in search for fame and fortune.
This other group of games will usually make you laugh and really get you in the mood. With these slots, the design itself isn’t as important as the story. The crazier and the less credible it is, the more entertaining it becomes!
Sports Slots
Sports are easily the leading source of entertainment for people around the world. However, they can be so much more, because we identify with our favorite athletes and feel what they feel: the thrill of victory, the pain of defeat, and everything and anything that comes in-between.
Sports have, naturally, found their way into the slots’ industry as well. Since people can’t seem to get enough of sports, slot makers have figured it was an excellent niche with almost limitless possibilities, and they weren’t wrong. Today, there are thousands of slots featuring different sports and popular sporting competitions, with some sports being more popular than some others.
Soccer (Football)
Football, or soccer as it is known in the US, is probably the most popular sport in the world. Hundreds of millions of people worldwide enjoy watching football live and on TV, whether it is their local leagues or higher level competitions. Football is probably the number one sport today and this isn’t likely to change any time soon.
So, there is no surprise that most sports-themed slots are actually about football. From general football slots over those featuring individual themes and players, to games celebrating big competitions such as the World Cup or the Champions League, football slots come in all shapes and sizes.
Often, these games also have entertaining thematic features such as free kicks and penalty shootouts, adding even more to the overall atmosphere. If you’re a football fan, some of these slots will definitely get your juices flowing and help you get in the right mood for the next match of your favorite team.
Horse Racing
Although not nearly as popular as football, horse racing seems to be in good standing with slot makers. This is probably due to the fact horse races are quite popular with the punters, who represent a very suitable target audience. These games can be fun but if you aren’t a fan of horse racing, many of the symbols and characters featured in these slots won’t really ring a bell for you.
Popular Movies
Over the last few years, we’ve seen a real explosion of slots based on popular movies. More and more slot developers are obtaining licenses to turn well-known films into casino slots. This is a very sound strategy considering that many of these movies already have large fan bases whose members are likely to be eager to try their luck with these games, especially if they already gamble online as it is.
The development of new technologies has made things easier for slot makers because now they are able to incorporate many special effects, cut scenes, and entertaining bonus features into their slots. This helps create games that really deliver that original feel many fans of a franchise are likely to expect when they hear their favorite movie is being turned into a casino slot.
The Halloween Franchise
The Halloween franchise, which started with the 1978 movie directed by John Carpenter, definitely has the cult status among the fans of horror genre. Recently, Microgaming has picked up the slack and came up with the Halloween slot based on the original movie, targeting franchise fans as well as everyone who enjoy games with scary elements.
The slot features many characters and items everyone who’s seen the movie will have no problems identifying. The game also has a bonus feature where players need to escape Michael Myers who is chasing them with a knife, so it moves away from traditional slots and offers a more entertaining and interactive experience.
Highlander
Another old classic that was revived by Microgaming, Highlander came out in 1986. Telling the story of the age-old battle between immortals, the movie stars Christopher Lambert and Sean Connery and it was quite popular back in the day.
Microgaming decided it was high time to restore some of the old movie’s fame and released a 243-ways to win game with original characters on the reels, guaranteed to bring back memories for all of us who saw this movie one too many times.
Technologies Change, Themes Are Forever
Casino slots have certainly come a long way from what they used to be. Modern graphics, special effects, and fast processing powers have given slot makers almost limitless possibilities. They can make games they want, in any way they want, and things are likely to only get better and better in this regard.
When it comes to themes, however, it seems that main topics will remain unchanged for the foreseeable future. There are certain things, places, and stories out there that always get our imagination going and game designers are clearly betting on the winning horse. For as long as players love the same, old themes in a fresh design, they’ll keep hitting us with Cleopatras, Greek gods and goddesses, and cute and crazy animals doing weird stuff on the reels.
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