Slot machines have come a long way from their early designs, which were far more clunky and mechanical in nature than the Slots you’ll see in casinos today. While modern slot games maintain the basic concept, a lot has changed in terms of game components and technology, mechanics, and even theming.
So, let’s take a dive into just how different modern Slots like Pirots 3 are compared to the classics.
- Technology and gameplay mechanics
The single biggest difference between slot games then and now is in the technology that drives them. Classic slot machines were completely mechanical, relying on springs, levers and gears to spin the reels and determine outcomes. This also limited the designs in terms of how many reels they featured and how gameplay worked.
Modern Slots are now entirely digital in nature, with their outcomes determined by computer algorithms known as random number generators (RNG). These ensure that the outcome of any given spin is impossible to predict and completely random in nature, free of any external influences.
Without the physical limitations of older slot machines, modern games generally feature five or more reels, along with far higher numbers of potential paylines. The digital reels also allow for features like cascading symbols, where matching combinations clear off the screen once counted to make way for new symbols to drop down onto the reels.
- Themes and graphics
The original slot machines were pretty simple in their theming. The only real element of theming were the symbols on the reels, which often stuck to simple concepts like fruits, playing card suits and numbers.
This is very different to the wide array of themes found in modern Slots, although some do still pattern themselves after the retro fruit machine designs. From ancient civilisations and mythology to popular culture and TV shows, there are more slot game themes out there than we can list here.
Plus, modern games benefit from advanced graphics, animations and sound effects capabilities which all add to the theming.
- Special symbols
The oldest slot machine designs had a much more limited selection of symbols, with Charles Fey’s Liberty Bell only using a total of five different symbols. They also only utilised the one central payline, with matching combinations needing to land on the centre horizontal line.
That’s all changed with current slot game designs, which may utilise special symbols that add twists to the classic Slots gameplay. Wilds, scatters and multipliers are just some of the special symbols found in modern slot games.
- Progressive jackpots
Something that’s only found in more recent Slots is the progressive jackpot, a concept that wouldn’t have worked with the oldest slot machine designs. A progressive jackpot is one where a portion of every wager made on the connected games goes towards the overall jackpot pool, allowing it to grow over time.
Some progressive jackpots are just linked to instances of a single game, whereas others connect a group of games under the same umbrella.
Classic slot machines are much simpler by design compared to modern games, which have added new mechanics on top of the core concept. But even if players prefer the more streamlined design of classic Slots, there are still online options that replicate the retro slot game design.
