Online slots have come a long way in the looks department since the
mid 1990's when slot machine software was still in its infancy. This
section take a brief look at how they have evolved over the past 15 or
so years, looking at the first ever classic slot up to the most recently
developed 3 dimensional i-Slots.
Classic slots were the first
slots to become available online. These had just three reels and one
winning pay line and very few player controls. They are still around
today and available to company software's who first blessed us with
their creation. In fact, that very first slot, 'Cash Splash' can still
be played today in various online casinos.
All of a sudden, more
slots started appearing and other software companies began developing
their own take on a slot machine. More online casinos also started
popping up all over the web and players didn't have to look far to find a
slot.
If we skip to the new millennium, it was in the first few
years when video slots also started appearing. These new games had
additional reels, more winning pay lines, special symbols and even bonus
rounds to take part in. Basically these 'new' online video slots were a
lot more fun, but that didn't stop the popularity of the classic 3
reeled slot.
Scatter symbols were introduced, along with wild
symbols and bonus symbols, plus players could now win free spins. The
scatter symbols triggered free spins bonus rounds and the wild symbols
basically acted as substitute rymbols and would combine with other
symbols to generate a line win. The bonus games that players could now
participate in started out as simple picking rounds. Certain items
revealed hidden values when players selected them and these are still
the most common type of bonus games.
Some of the more complex
slots have bonus games that actually require an element of skill in
order to win prizes and instead of just cash prizes, players could also
win multipliers and free spins. The multipliers tend to range anywhere
from 2 times up to usually no more than 10,000 times. They generally
multiply the stake that you are playing with.
Over the past few
years, more and more software companies have been competing against each
other to create some amazing slots. Some are actually 3D and will
require you to wear special glasses, but there are literally just a
small handful of these slots. The latest and most innovative online
slots to have ever been created are the amazing i-Slots.
The
gameplay is fairly similar to most other video slots, but the graphics
and sound effects are far superior. Most of the companies have managed
to develop a fascinating collection of these wonders in innovation.
Titles
such as French Cuisine, Beretta's Vendetta, Gonzo's Quest, Ed's
Venture, Magical Forest, Jacks T-Rex, A Night in Paris and Barbary Coast
are just a few hot games that are now available. They offer us a
glimpse into what the next few years may hold with regards to the
dynamic face of the online slot.
