The online slot games are very popular today in the gambling and casino industry. Their popularity has increased a lot in the past years, offering a fun way to spend time.
One big advantage of online slot games, compared to the traditional slot machines, is that you can play – and win money if you are lucky – from almost any place in the world.
But how are the online slot games made?
Before presenting how they appeared and developed, around 30 years ago, we should know that, almost a century before that moment, the first slot machine was invented, at the end of the 19th century.
“Liberty Bell Slot Machine” was the name, and San Francisco, California was the place. It had five symbols: diamonds, hearts, spades, horseshoes, and the liberty bell. A few years later, the Operators Bell from Chicago introduced the fruit symbols.
Just before the Internet took over, the first video slot was released in 1976, being named Fortune Coin, and displayed at the Hilton hotel in Las Vegas.
From the 1990s, computerized technology kicked in, and this was the next step in the evolution of the slots – the online games.
The online casinos appeared officially in 1994, with Microgaming being the online slot pioneer. Roulette and blackjack were the first casino games to be played online, followed by slots.
From then on, the developers and the casino operators raced together to keep up with the innovations from this industry, one that grew very fast. And online slot games have gone through a big transformation over the past years.
Before hitting the market, an online slot game goes through a process of several steps.
The first step is target research. This is mainly the developers’ job – to determine what will be the final product they want to reach. At this point, they set the game type, the thematic, and the game mechanisms.
The second step is conceptualization. Now is the moment when the creative idea is developed. The creative team needs to express its ideas, and this translates into developing concepts and themes. They often team up with other popular brands in movies or music to bring some big names in the online slot world.
The third step is the development – this is the most technical part of the creation process. All the pieces are assembled, the user interface is established, graphics and audio are synchronized, and then the HTML5 programming language is used to put all this together.
The fourth step is testing. The development team has already done the internal testing to be sure everything is in its place, but then there are the tests from different institutions. The certified specialist must determine that the games have technical quality and the customers are protected. Then, there have to be RNG and RTP evaluations.
The fifth and sixth steps are the promotion and the game launch. At this point, PR and media houses enter the stage to conceive and implement the optimal promotion and launch plan.
Today, there are many online casinos that offer hundreds of slot games. One example is the Unibet NJ slot collection, which is very large and with a lot of great slot games. There you can play your favorite online slot game – or pick one from the huge offer.
And this is another reason people are attracted to online slot games – they can play them more often and have countless options to choose from, thanks to the online advancements. These online slots are easier to play compared to the traditional ones, because they offer game instructions before actually starting to play, plus the demo versions.
The online slot games also offer many engaging features – 3D visual effects, animations, and incredibly accurate sound effects and graphics.
In present day, the global online gaming market is estimated at $70 billion, but the forecast indicates around $95 billion in 2024.