Category Archives: Games

The Importance of Music in Slots

By   October 26, 2016

Casino SlotsThere’s only a couple of months left in 2016, and very soon, around January, we’re going to start looking at all the slots released during the year and decide upon the three best slots of 2016. In order to reward the best of the best, we play through dozens of the most popular slots that came out, judging each and every single one of them on multiple parameters, including, but not limited to, graphics, RTP, bonus games, winnings, smoothness of animation, theme/license, music and sound. Yes, you heard right – music and sound. While many gamblers like to play slots with the sound turned off, and maybe while listening to their own music, we here take great effort to examine every single aspect of a slot when comparing it to all the others. And honestly? Believe it or not, the music can make or break a slot when it comes to whether or not it receives an award.

Now, before you take out your torches and pitchforks, allow me to make a few things clear. First of all, yes, music is very important. Slots are, after all, entertainment – just like movies, TV shows, videogames, plays… They do have a narrative. They aim to create an atmosphere. Sure, that doesn’t apply to all of them, of course, there are some (like “Reel King”) which are very simple in nature and seek to emulate the traditional fruit machines, which don’t have a particular theme, characters or story. But most slots today aren’t like that. “The Avengers” tells the story of a team of superheroes that, despite being drastically different, come together to defeat a common threat. “Aliens” tells a story of isolation, where death (in the form of an alien threat) may come from any corner. “Cashapillar” tells the tale of a cute little caterpillar on his own adventure in animal world. Each of these has a very distinct tone it’s trying to achieve through its characters, tone, graphics, and yes – music. And for those of you who don’t believe that music can be important in setting a tone, try watching the same movie scene with different music and tell me if it doesn’t feel entirely different each time.

Now, with that said, it’s important to note that a slot is not a movie or a TV show. Setting a tone is NOT what it sets out to do. As a result, things like the bonus games, payouts and overall playability of a slot will always be more important than its music. However, we do look at a slot as both a complete experience and as the sum of its parts, and no matter how you look at it, music plays a role in that, even if some would say a small one. So at the end of the day, if you have two slots which are absolutely excellent, stellar, perfectly made, but one has put a whole ton of effort into its music while the other just has some kind of generic melody, well… The former is going to take the award home. that’s just how it works. Not everyone can have first place, and we don’t give out participation awards. Some might call that cheating or unfair, but we’re not looking at slots as a hobby. We’re looking at them as a piece of media, with all of the elements that comprise them. And important or not, music is just one such element. To deny that fact is ridiculous.

What Can Online Casinos Learn From Mobile Games

By   July 20, 2016

Online Casinos Mobile GamesIf you haven’t been living under a rock for the past few weeks, then you’ve undoubtedly heard of “Pokémon GO” – the latest mobile craze which sent millions of people out on the streets in search of rare Pokémon to add to their collections. To say that the game has been a massive success despite a myriad of server problems, glitches and missing features would be the understatement of the century – it seems like every time you go outside there’s at least one person quite obviously playing the game, their phone outstretched in front of them as they look at their map. It was so, successful, in fact, that after its release Nintendo’s stocks jumped by 25% – the biggest jump since 1983, when they pretty much revolutionized gaming with their NES, shaping the entire videogame industry after the infamous videogame crash earlier the same year. And the kicker? Nintendo didn’t even make the game – “Pokémon GO” was developed by former Google subsidiary Niantic. Hell, Nintendo don’t even own the company that makes the main “Pokémon” games (only a third of it), and yet they still somehow managed to earn over $7 billion in stocks alone.

We’ve got to face the reality that mobile gaming profits are slowly, but surely, catching up to online gambling in terms of profits, having surpassed it by popularity long ago. The numbers don’t lie – in 2016, all arms of online gambling across the globe (both on PC and on mobile) are expected to generate a total of $45 billion in revenue, while mobile games alone will likely generate $36 billion – but keep in mind, that estimate was made before the release of “Pokémon GO”, so honestly, my personal estimate would be closer to $40 billion. Obviously, mobile gaming is quickly catching up, attracting new players in ways that online gambling simply can not do. So maybe it’s time for a change. Perhaps online casinos should learn a thing or two from mobile games and attempt to improve themselves? After all, even the most informative online casino website can tell you that aside from some differences in interface they haven’t really changed all that much these past 10 years. But how?

First of all – it’s important to create a sense of community. One of the reasons why “Pokémon GO” is so successful is because it managed to bring people together. That’s no accident – the game was specifically designed with a great sense of community and real life interactions, with the inclusion of lure modules (which attract wild Pokémon, as well as other players, to your location) and gyms (which allow you to work with your team in order to battle the opponent’s Pokémon). Physical casinos also value real-life interaction a great deal – they’re very social spaces, and people rarely go there by themselves. However, that lack of community is simply not there in online casinos. There’s rarely a chat feature (and only a few games support it, if it’s even there), there’s no way to communicate with other players… It’s a very solitary experience, which isn’t what casino is about to many people. Perhaps if there was a way to engage with fellow players more, then more people would feel motivated to play?

Second – events. Many, many, MANY mobile games have incorporated the so-called “events”, which temporarily change the experience and add new things. For example, you could have a character that can only be unlocked for a limited amount of time, or some kind of bonus that will not be there this time next week. I’m not saying online casinos need to be THAT extreme, but events have been proven to work – TinyCo, the developers of “Avengers Academy”, made over $2 million in one month during their “Civil War” event. Maybe there could be a game that’s only available on certain days, thus stimulating gamblers to take advantage of it? Or perhaps there can be certain deposit bonuses in place which are only valid for a period of time before changing into something entirely different. The possibilities are right there – they just need to be explored!

What Would Make an Online Casino Award-Worthy?

By   April 15, 2016

cubeIn a few articles on this blog (past and future), you may spot sentences such as “[Casino Name] is definitely award-worthy”, or “[Casino Name] absolutely deserves any awards it gets”. Notice how this is different from a casino that is simply praise-worthy – no, here we’re talking about something more, something better. Many things can be praise-worthy. My office chair is praise-worthy – it’s soft, it’s comfortable, it does wonders for my back and I would recommend it to a friend who is in need of an office chair. Would I stamp it with an award, though? No, I would not. Online casinos operate on pretty much the same principle – the very best of the very best go home with an award, and the rest do not. But what would an online casino need to do in order to be truly award-worthy? Well, it needs to have three very simple things:

1. A Whole Ton of Quality Games

First and foremost, an online casino is only as good as its games. A casino that tries to convince you of the opposite is not a casino worth your time! At the end of the day, you go there to play games, not to hang around and gawk at the background! You need a good variety of games, at least 150 of them, and a good variety of genres, too. Everyone has slots, blackjack and roulette, but not many have fruit machines, lotto tickets, baccarat and more! It goes without saying that the games should also be good – I’m not going to be naming any names here, but I’ve been to online casinos where there are hundreds of games, but only a handful are actually worth playing. And last, but not least, you need a high-quality live casino with HD feeds, friendly dealers and, again, a large variety of games!

2. A User-Friendly Experience

Einstein once said “If you can’t explain it simply, then you don’t understand it well enough”. I’m going to put my own spin on that saying – “If it’s not simple enough, then it’s not good enough”. Watch out for overly complicated casinos where you need to read the entirety of the terms of service just to know what’s going on! As a general rule of thumb, the more user-friendly the website is, the better the online casino is. This includes not only the user interface and the general ease of use, but also the registration process. If it takes longer than 10 minutes to set up an account, that online casino is not award-worthy!

3. Something Unique

Depending on where you live, online casinos are a dime a dozen these days. Most people really only sign up for one, so casinos need to try extra hard in order to impress customers, and if you ask me that includes a bit of a personal touch. What that touch is, I don’t know, because it’s obviously going to be different for each casino – that’s what the word “unique” means, after all. I guarantee you, though – if the only casino you’re checking out is award-worthy, then you’re definitely going to spot the unique feature!

Microgaming Wins Innovator of the Year; Sets Guinness Record

By   February 11, 2016

casino  gamesMicrogaming has just turned into that little overachiever teacher’s pet who just had to graduate third grade with straight A’s while also winning the spelling bee and being featured on TV for helping the homeless. They’re not only successful – they’re so successful on so many levels that they just have to rub it in your silly face. To start off, they managed to win Innovator of the Year at the International Gaming Awards, which happened in the beginning of February. They managed to achieve this by creating the very first VR (virtual reality) casino game, a roulette simulation. With the advent of VR, it was only a matter of time before this technology began being used for casino games, and the award is probably going to stimulate both Microgaming and other developers to experiment a bit more with VR from now on.

More interestingly, Microgaming also managed to literally break records by setting a new Guinness World Record for largest jackpot ever won on an online slot game. The jackpot, which amounted to €17.8 million (not much larger than the previous record holder, but still), was won by a UK user named Jon Heywood, who accepted his check at the ICE Totally Gaming 2016 press conference, where he revealed that he managed to win it on only a 25p bet, which only goes to show that pretty much anyone can win a sum like that if they only decide to try their luck out. Mr. Heywood explained to the crowd that, while he doesn’t have any particular plans about what he would like to do with the money, he’d like to invest in a new car, some holidays and also in taking care of his family. With a jackpot so huge, he’ll probably be able to do almost anything he likes.

Microgaming have been known for adding gigantic jackpots to their online slots for a while now, with one of their slots – Mega Moolah – setting a precedent in front of all others by having a significantly larger jackpot than almost any other slots on the UK market. In addition to that, they also regularly purchase the license for the biggest movie and TV blockbusters, such as “Game of Thrones” and “Terminator 2”, and then develop slots based on those properties. They are currently in development of a slot based on “Jurassic World” – the ground-breaking sequel to “Jurassic Park” (on which Microgaming have also based a slot) which, at the time of its release, was in the top 5 most financially successful movies ever made. While there’s still no word on whether or not we’re going to see a jackpot in “Jurassic World”, we remain optimistic and hopeful!

Online Slots Award – The Best and Worst in 2015

By   February 2, 2016

It’s that time of the year, folks! Winter is still keeping us firmly in its grasp despite promises that it’d go away soon, birds will start migrating back here soon, the flowers will be blooming anytime now, and Leonardo DiCaprio will once again fail to win a Best Actor Oscar despite being nominated. You know what that means – it’s time to commemorate the best and worst slot that came out this year! Now, before I get into it, you have to keep a couple of things in mind. First and foremost, I haven’t played every single slot that came out this year – maybe there’s one or even several that are better than my pick for Best, and several that are worse than my Worst. Websites like bestonlineslots.co.uk have lots more suggestions, in case you’re interested. Second of all, I may not pick the objectively best and worst slots, but rather the ones I feel deserve to win those titles, for one reason or another – this is purely subjective, right? Okay, without further ado, let’s get right to it!

Best Slot Of 2015: Machine Gun Unicorn

Screenshot of the game Machine Gun UnicornThroughout my gambling years, there’s one thing I’ve always wondered – slots are meant to be played by adults, right? I mean, there’s actually a law prohibiting minors from playing them, and the average slot player is over 30, so why do the overwhelming majority look like they were designed for the 5-10 year old demographic? It’s insane! You’ve got slots like Kitty Glitter that are trying to take themselves seriously with pictures of cute cats and all! It’s insane! Well, Machine Gun Unicorn takes that concept and shatters it! You’ve got cute, little ponies that wouldn’t look out of place in a show like “My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic”, except they’re brandishing bloody weapons and decapitating zombies. It’s so great! Combine that with a very nice RTP, awesome bonus features and a whole lot of polish being thrown into the slot overall, and you’ve got a winner! More like that, please!

Worst Slot of 2015: Gods of Olympus

Screenshot of the game Gods of OlympusSiiiiiigh… I thought we’d moved past this already. Can’t the era of uninspired, zero-effort basic slots be over already? I mean, seriously, you guys, how many more slots based on a public domain concept with almost no features or personality are we going to have?!? You wanna make a successful slot? There’s no need for stuff like imagination or whatever, just pick a subject that’s somewhat relevant, but non-copyright infringing and then reskin the most basic slot you can find with that new theme, and you’re set! Seriously, as we all know, Greek mythology is among the most diverse and interesting ever, so wasting it all on a cookie cutter, no-imagination slot is a crime that should be punishable by something! And since I can’t really do anything about it, the punishment is the Worst Slot of 2015 award. In a way, Gods of Olympus represents everything wrong with the slot industry in general. Let’s hope that, moving forward, the fad of zero-effort slots based on something recognizable will die off for good.