Games have been with us, arguably, for as long as human beings have been around. But only in recent decades has the modern kind of interactive experience, in which a player interacts with a machine, come about.
In the late nineteenth century, the first slot machines came about. Since then, there have been countless evolutions, revolutions, and forks in the road and we’ve ended up with a gaming ecosystem so varied that it would appear totally alien to the designers of those early machines.
The Birth of Classic Reels
Among the earliest classic machines was the Liberty Bell, by Charles Fey. This machine was the first to introduce the now-iconic three-wheel model. The three wheels would spin, and when they landed on the right combination, the machine would pay out.
The lever-style ‘arm’ of the machine became part of its compulsive appeal and this mechanism set it apart from many of its rivals. Along with other arcade pastimes, like pinball, these machines helped the pre-digital gaming industry to establish itself.
The Slot Machine Revolution from Mechanical to Digital
While the games were progressively refined over the ensuing decades, granting the house a greater edge, and making the action that much more compulsive, it wasn’t until the digital revolution of the 1980s that the slot machine truly evolved.
The microprocessor vastly expanded the possibilities for designers while driving down the per-unit cost of the machines. Bonus rounds, multiple paylines, and lights and sounds suddenly became possible: arcade games and casinos were swiftly transformed.
The Golden Age of Arcades
In the UK, the golden age of arcade gaming arguably arrived in the 1980s. Titles like Pac-Man, Defender, and Asteroids became wildly popular, and turned video gaming from a niche pursuit into a mainstream one. The action was now rendered on what we might recognise today as a television display and this granted game designers much greater flexibility.
Online and Mobile Gaming
Another revolution in the world of gaming was to arrive just a few decades later, with the arrival of the modern internet and the smartphone. With the help of a small, pocket-sized device, gamers could log into online casinos and app stores, and enjoy digital versions of their favourite slot arcade games.
Things are likely to change even more in the future, with the arrival of cloud-based gaming and AI-assisted design. It’s likely that we’ll see experiences become even more tailored to our own particular preferences, although the true shape of things to come might be difficult to predict!
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