Online games use attractive graphics to draw attention and make the play more exciting, so this dimension impacts the players’ preferences to a considerable degree. Many classic casino games such as slots or roulette are available in dozens of variations, each with a different graphic theme. It’s interesting to look at the predominant themes and seek a connection with modern culture – are we seeing a stylised echo of the generational aesthetics in popular online games?
To find this connection, we need to take a closer look at popular iGaming products and try to understand which design principles were followed during their development.Â
Most Common Visual Themes in iGaming
At first sight, the visual themes present in online games seem completely random – you can find pretty much anything from pirates to aliens in games of this kind. The style of animation also varies widely from cartoonish representations to nearly realistic depiction of humans and objects. Still, there are some common traits – almost every game is based on a concept that is already present in mainstream media and features icons representing common everyday items. Basically, iGaming lets you explore imagined worlds and borrows elements from the real world to populate them. In the process, these elements are reduced to clichés in order to fit into the framework of the game.
The Advent of Pop Culture Inspired Games
More recently, iGaming companies are exploring a new method for drawing in casual players. They are creating games that evoke popular TV programs, video games, or blockbuster movies while using the rules that more or less correspond to traditional games of chance. For example, if you look through the available online casino slots in Canada, you are likely to find a few titles that are based directly on various pop culture contents, i.e., reality shows or films. In some cases, game manufacturers have licencing agreements that allow them to use an existing IP in a new medium, while there is no shortage of imitation either. iGaming companies are attempting to tap into the existing fandom and derive more value from it, and this process is gaining steam as we speak.
Using Universal Symbols as Communication Shorthand
Even tiny visual details that online games use to progress gameplay and prompt the user to take action tend to be developed based on previously established visual associations. We live in the emoji era and many younger players are well-versed in communicating using symbols, so it’s not a huge jump for them to interpreting pictograms when they are playing slots online. A skull always means danger, rainbow signifies luck, while flashing red light alerts you to a specific portion of the screen. Game developers are constantly testing what works best to keep the players focused, and they are learning that relying on symbols that are already etched into our minds lets them create more dynamic and engaging content.
How the Visuals Impact the Player?
Most players will tell you they don’t care too much about the visuals and they are more concerned with winning odds. That’s not entirely true – nobody can completely exclude the impact of visual cues that appear on the screen in rapid succession. You don’t have to love pirate lore in order to play a pirate-themed slot game, but it’s possible that the visual setting will get you in a mood for raiding your enemies. In a sense, visuals aspects of a game contribute to its narrative power and make it more believable, at least for a brief moment. Since iGaming companies want to incentivise players to spend more time playing, we should stop to think how cheerful graphics and colorful rewards for our actions are impacting our wallets.
Urban Motifs Commonly Found in Online Games
Since online games are primarily marketed to urban dwellers, it’s not surprising that the visuals reflect this strategic goal. It’s very common to find skyscrapers, parking lots, or supermarkets as visual backgrounds in games, while most characters don nice clothing and modern hairstyles. You could say that online games are a cultural mirror that shows us what we would like to see – a simplified world where urban struggles are reduced to fun adventures. You can see the same trend in the narrative arcs used in games – it’s always about gathering riches, leveling up to get even more riches, proving your worth against other players. In other words, the ambitions we can’t realise in real life are just a few clicks away in the iGaming world.
Is iGaming’s Integration into the Mainstream a Good Thing?
It’s difficult to evaluate the long-term relevance of the increasing acceptance of iGaming by the society at large. On one hand, it’s better to have gambling out in the open where it can be monitored and regulated than to allow an illegal industry to flourish. On the other, increased presence of visual enticements to put our hard-earned money at risk could have negative consequences, especially for the younger generation. For now, the best approach is to keep watching this emerging market and collecting data, so that we can implement the necessary safeguards in the future.
