The Emergence of RPG Video Slots

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Most people who visited a land-based or online casino will have played the full repertoire of slot titles and genres through the years. Whether it’s the bog-standard, what-you-see-is-what-you-get fruit machines or the slots based on everything from movie franchises to world-known rock bands, there are games to suit all tastes. Now, avid gamers of role-playing games (RPGs) on desktop or console can get their teeth stuck into the emerging RPG slot genre.

iGaming software developers have very quickly acknowledged the need to build video slots that appeal to millennials, who are fast becoming the primary workforce of today’s world. Throughout their lifetimes, video games have shaped the way that millennials consume and engage with digital content and entertainment, according to forbes.com contributor Lauren Friedman. From the most basic two-dimensional arcade-style games to the sprawling, open-world flexibility of RPGs, the video game industry has had more impact on millennials than any other age group. According to Jeff Hwang, a journalist at fool.com, American millennials find land-based video slots "uninteresting", citing a lack of engagement and empowerment and a lack of control over the final outcome as some of the biggest reasons why land-based slots are such a turn-off.

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In a bid to latch on to the demand for iGaming among the next generation, slot developers have been hard at work developing a new genre of video slots: RPGs. According to Ryan Clements, a journalist at uk.ign.com, RPGs have overtaken all other video gaming formats, with the world now “in love with leveling up”. These RPG-style slots boast many of the same game mechanics as other popular, award-winning titles, while being sprinkled with additional features such as a clear storyline and a form of level progression, just like a platform video game. Traditionally, video slots have had mini bonus games intertwined into their base games when triggered at random. However, today’s RPG slots feature mini-games that are part of the main focus of the slot, contributing towards a player’s end goal.

The beauty of RPG slots is that some iGamers subsequently forget what used to be the main goal of slot machine play, namely real-money prizes, thanks to their entertainment value. According to Caleb Crosby, editor-in-chief at bestcanadacasinos.ca, the average video slot has a payout range between 94-96%, meaning that for every $100 a player wagers, they will get back between $94-$96. The beauty of RPG video slots is that players can feel part of an epic storyline, regardless of the real-money element.

Although the mini-games and bonus features of today’s video slots are primarily designed to help players boost their winning spins and maximize their win multipliers, slot developers have worked impressively to design these games as an extension to the core storyline of each slot. In Spin Kingdom, where players head out on a mythical adventure, with the chance to play as the brave knight, wizard or even the rogue, the Dragon Trail bonus game sees players needing to make the end of the trail to catch the fire-breathing dragon – and claim a huge win multiplier in the process.

This mythical, magical cartoon-style game is just one example of many that video slots are using bonus games and high-definition visuals to create more slot experiences that are more immersive and engaging than ever before.