The outcomes of any online game come down to two major factors – skill and luck. Their exact contributions vary from one game to another, with those that rely primarily on strategy and skilled execution popular among the more experienced players. Slot games have traditionally been regarded as luck-dependent to a high-degree, but in recent years there have been some changes that aim to put more power in the player’s hands.
Some of these changes can be broadly classified under the ‘gamification label’, and they are intended to increase engagement and make the players more likely to stay on the same website. Let’s talk about the impact of this approach on the quality of play and user experience.
What Is Gamification and How Is It Used in Online Casinos
The concept of gamification originated in the early 2010’s, when mainstream businesses started paying attention to mechanisms used in video games to drive the players’ actions. All of a sudden, things like achievement badges, leaderboards, and progress bars started appearing in contexts where they would be unimaginable just a few years prior. The craziest thing is that the trick worked, and techniques that were honed through many versions of video game updates proved effective for boosting business plans in a lot of different fields.
Online casino websites have a pronounced need to keep their players constantly engaged and highly motivated to play. That made them natural candidates to adopt some of the principles of gamification and integrate them into the way their platforms function. In a field where most providers have similar games, this became a differentiating factor that allowed for some creativity and brand story development. The players mostly loved the innovations, which in turn drove other operators to start offering similar possibilities.
Which Gamification Features Benefit Slot Players
Every online casino can implement the general idea of gamification in a way that fits its identity and promotional strategy. Due to overlapping objectives, many websites chose similar features that tend to give the players reassurance and nudge them towards certain games. Since a majority of players are financially motivated, gamification features in this sector often take the form of rewards and gifts, but that’s only the beginning. Other elements are often deployed to give the players more of an entertainment factor or motivate them to try new things.
Some casinos let players create and level up their avatars much like in role-playing games, tying direct benefits to the current stats. For example, a player with a higher level might be eligible for a bigger percentage of cashback or other benefits. There might also be some limited-time contests where players try to collect as many points on specific games. In recent years, we’ve even seen a few slots that have variable characteristics such as RTP% depending on the chosen protagonist, giving the player direct control over the amount of risk he is willing to endure.
How to Optimise Your Strategy and Master RPG Slots
The impact of luck can’t be completely eliminated when you are playing slots, as the reels stop where they like. What the player can do is take advantage of game rules and website policies, and gamification increases the scope of opportunities for this. It’s absolutely imperative to pick up all available bonuses and use every free spin you can, as the only way to get a lucky combination is to play a lot. Rather than avoiding the impact of luck, savvy players simply accept it and chase the best probabilities.
To maximise your chances, you need to read the fine print and figure out how to make the gamified features work for you. Once you understand the exact terms for bonuses and pay-outs, you can select the highest paying online casinos that have a lot of different slots and let you pick up extra resources in exchange for your loyalty. It takes some preparation to understand how the slots work and adjust your play accordingly, but the game is more fun when you have decisions to make.
Why the Trend Towards Reducing Randomness Is Good for the Industry?
One of the biggest issues in today’s iGaming world is that online gambling platforms look like carbon copies of each other. They all have huge collections of slots, but behind this apparent diversity you will run into a lot of the same old luck-driven mechanics. Despite all the technological advances, the atmosphere on the platforms feels a little stale and stuck in the previous decade. Any changes that introduce alternatives are more than welcome, especially if they are keeping the players happy and reducing the impact of blind chance.
Online casino operators are fully aware of the shrinking space to stand out in a crowded market, which is why some of them are open to experimenting with all kinds of gamification schemes. Most of the features require no investment into expensive hardware and can be launched relatively quickly, while their impact on traffic volume and quality can be precisely measured. It’s good to see providers moving away from competing by throwing huge bonuses at new players and towards a player retention strategy that prioritises long term relationships.
