Mobile games are a huge industry today and it seems that the boosting development of this industry is not going away anytime soon. More and more people are playing mobile games on a daily basis and the games only become more and more engaging.
One of the good news about making mobile apps in general and mobile games in particular is that anyone who has the skills to do it can do it. On the one hand, the advantage of this situation is that there is no monopoly and if you are talented at this type of thing, you can really create your own product and be good with it.
On the other hand, because there are so many publishers and so many different games, even being properly presented at the relevant app market does not guarantee that the apps or the game is still of a decent quality. As a result, so many games are poorly made and users feel that a lot could have been improved.
There are many types of games, and online slots that mimic classic casino slot machines are among the most popular. These can be social casino games where you cannot make real money bets to win actual money, or these can be games where players bet for real money and can withdraw the cash they won.
In any case, the design of these games is rather interesting because it stands out a bit from the crowd of other casual mobile games. Moreover, even at social casinos, online slots are considered extremely engaging and popular. This is why in this post, we will discuss – on a beginner-friendly level – five crucial elements of slot game design that make online slots so attractive for players.
Knowing these aspects, game developers can also adapt and use them when they make other types of games.
Comprehensive Mechanics
This might not be that obvious for many mobile game developers who are looking for creating unusual mechanics’, new complicated game rules, and unique approaches to make their games stand out and be recognisable.
The funny thing is that online slot games are so familiar in terms of how to play, and are so easy to understand that players can literally open them and play successfully from minute one.
The importance of simplicity and comprehensive mechanics for casual mobile games is often overlooked in the search for uniqueness. With slots, no previous experience or let alone skill is needed. All the player has to do is read the rules and poke the game in the free mode for a couple of minutes to just see how it goes. Playing slots is all fun and no work.
If you look at any Google pay casino or any online casino at all, online slots are usually the biggest chunk of their lobbies even though an objective viewer would find the majority of those games to be very similar. And yet, there is a reason why casino sites can have thousands of slot games and people play them all. They are easy and fun to play.
Visual Variety and Beautiful Designs
Bright, beautiful designs are something that catches the eye immediately and may attract players even if the mechanics are not so seamless or even if the publisher is not very famous. The point is to make the game a real eye-candy, make it visually satisfying, and make the player enjoy it visually during all kinds of interactions.
Online casino slots for real money may not be the best example because in this case, even an ugly game has a chance to become popular if its mechanics promise bigger wins. On the other hand, online slots are a perfect example because some studios just repurpose the same mechanics again and again, releasing new and new games with almost all the same features but changing the designs all the time. And users love it.
There are some really classic themes and designs that will always win players’ attention, like candy, gems, association with some ancient cultures, gold or gold mining, etc.
The Sound of Gaming
Many players definitely prefer to play their games on mute mode. This is especially true for mobile games and for players who play on the go, when they commute, or spend time in public places.
However, when the player can enjoy their games in a quiet atmosphere without disturbing anyone, or if sound is an important part of the game, musical background and all the functional sounds are crucial.
While sounds have nothing to do directly with winning, of course, they contribute a lot to the level of entertainment, user-friendliness, user satisfaction, and general user experience. Poorly designed, repeating, annoying sounds or sounds that cannot be regulated properly will totally destroy the impression from the game.
At the same time, a high-quality soundtrack and delicious functional sounds for clicks make the product satisfying to play and make the player stay longer.
Customization
In casual mobile games, regardless of the game type, customisation is absolutely crucial for the ultimate customer satisfaction. Users definitely give higher points to games that are customisable and customisable means you can change to day and night mode, right or left hand, use lite regime for saving your battery consumption, and so on. Providers that make their products customizable see a rapid increase in the games’ popularity and demand for them.
