The first modern slot machine was created by Charles August Fey, a Bavarian-born American inventor. While working as a mechanic in San Francisco in 1884, he built the first coin-operated gambling device. By 1898, Fey had developed his machine into the Card Bell, which was the first three-reel slot machine with automatic payouts. But it was the following year when Fey’s machines really caught the public’s imagination. When his 1899 Liberty Bell slot machine was launched, which featured symbols like horseshoes, bells, and traditional playing card suits on the reels, it soon spread to establishments all across America. It wasn’t long before other manufacturers saw the potential of slot machines and began making their own. The slot machine has evolved in many ways over the last century, and now online slot games are evolving even more with the help of modern technology.
More Innovative Slots
So, slot games have come a long way since the simple one-armed bandits of old. In recent times, video slots have become very popular. At the same time, game developers are finding new ways for people to play slot games. For instance, cluster slots have recently become a favorite of online casino-goers. With a cluster slot game, there’s no such thing as a pay line. Instead, to win, you need to form a cluster of matching symbols. Cluster games are more exciting than traditional slot games. If you’re new to cluster slots, you can play reactoonz, in which symbols drop into a 7×7 grid to form potential matching combinations, to see what all the fuss is about. You can expect to see a lot more cluster slot games emerge this year and beyond. But slot developers are also looking at other types of slot games to replace traditional pay-line ones. 3D slots are already on the market and look to become much more prevalent over the next year or two. And multiple progressive slots will soon become commonplace. At the moment, there are only a few multiple progressives on the market, but that looks set to change soon. Progressive slots are basically games that offer multiple jackpots and require a minimum bet.
Virtual Reality Slots
There are already virtual reality video games available, and now the technology that gives users a lifelike simulation is being used to develop slot games. While the tech is still in its infancy at present, leading slot games developer NetEnt is already testing its first virtual reality slot titles. The only problem at present is you need a powerful computer, with at least 8GB of RAM, in order to render the 3D environment in real-time while you wear a VR headset and bio-sensing data gloves that allow you to feel like you’re touching things in the virtual world. But as hardware continues to evolve as much as slot games, we’re betting there will be lots of cool VR slot titles emerging in the coming years.
Cross-platform Slot Games
Cross-platform video games have revolutionized the way that people play video games, and in the very near future, you’ll have lots more options regarding the devices you can use to play slot games. At present, people can play slots on mobile, PC, or tablet. But slot games are already being developed that can be played on consoles like PlayStation and Xbox and devices like smartwatches and smart TVs. In the same way in which slot developers began making games specifically for mobile platforms, they are now looking at various cross-platform options. Actually, some slots are already available to play on specific smartwatches like the Samsung Gear 2 and the Apple Watch. As hardware improves in the coming months and years, so will the slot games that can be played on it.
