VIDEO SLOT BASICS

It’s said that nothing in the universe above quantum level is truly random, but random number generators are close enough that players can’t discern any repeating patterns, and the long-term percentages are those you would expect from randomly occurring outcomes. Here are a few key points about the RNG:

• Imaging was flat and low-resolution. The screens weren’t attractive.
• Games used three video reels and came across as pale imitations of mechanical slots.
• There was no animation nor were there sound effects and bonus events to set the games apart.
• Players didn’t trust computers, and they thought video results could be fixed against them.

Mechanical-reel slots also are computerized, and the video slots were random in the same was as those with mechanical reels, but in those days before home computers, players weren’t tech-savvy. That all changed in the mid-to-late 1990s as video bonusing slots broke through to popularity, but along the way a number of things had to happen to break down player resistance.

1975: Fortune Coin Company introduces the Fortune Coin video slot, the first slot machine played on a video screen.

1979: SIRCOMA rolls out its first video poker game, promoted by its founder, Si Redd. Video poker becomes the first video game widely accepted by casino players, and sets the stage for later video breakthroughs. SIRCOMA later became International Game Technology, a worldwide leader in slot manufacturing.

1994: Bally Techologies introduces the Bally Game Maker, the first machine in casinos to put multiple games on the same unit. All were on video, to be launched by touching on icon on the screen. The most popular games were video poker and video blackjack, but video slot games also carved out a following – rare for the time.

The success of Reel ’Em In served notice to other gamemakers that they’d have to go video if they were going to keep up with a shifting market. For the next several years, three-reel games remained the most popular U.S. slots, but innovations from multiple manufactures helped video slots built momentum. Among the important pieces that fell into place for video gaming were:

MULTI-TIERED JACKPOTS:

Aristocrat was the pioneer with its Hyperlink games, first popular on the Pacific Rim and later in the United States with the debut of Cash Express. Today, many manufacturers produce games with progressive jackpots
that range from a few dollars for frequent hits to build player interest on up to hundreds, or thousands, of dollars.

POP CULTURE THEMES:

If a theme appeals to the slot-playing demographic and it has elements that can be tied to bonus events, you can bet somebody’s trying to negotiate a license. The Twilight Zone (IGT), Lord of the Rings (WMS), Michael Jackson (Bally) The Big Bang Theory (Aristocrat) and many, many more themes have become successful video slots, or online slot games.

ANIMATION, VIDEO CLIPS AND SOUND EFFECTS:

What would Aristocrat’s slot based on the 1960s Batman TV series be without clips and characters from the show?
What would Konami’s Neo Contra be if you couldn’t hear and practically feel that helicopter overhead? A multidimensional entertainment experience brings players to the video slots.

Then on the first three payline samples above, you have two Hawks, and on the fourth you have four mice. You get the five-coin two-hawk payoff three times and the 15-coin four-mouse payoff once. In that example, your 20-coin bet at one coin per line brings a total of a 30-coin return. Those multiple pays have to be accounted for in the math of the games and the random number sets designers and programmers use. There are other factors to be taken into account, including these:

• Wild symbols and expanding wilds.
• Scatter pays.
• Bonus events.

WILD SYMBOLS

Wild symbols are matches for any symbol, usually excluding scatter symbols or bonus symbols. Let’s say that in the above example, the mouse on the third reel was a wild symbol instead, as follows:
In that case, the mouse pays remain intact, but now you have four hawks on the payline that looks like this:

Instead of a five-credit pay for two hawks, that’s a 250-credit pay for four hawks. With expanding wilds, when a wild symbol lands on the payline, it grows to fill all three spaces in a column. Let’s try putting two wilds in the above example:

With expanding wilds, the symbols would grow so your screen looked like this:

The treasure chest spaces would not constitute a winning combination with other symbols. They do not line up on a left-to-right payline, starting at reel No. 1. But with scatter pays, having enough symbols triggers a payoff, no matter where they land.

Slot machines payoffs traditionally have been built around paylines. On three reel mechanical games, the most common configuration has been one line down the center:

When five-reel video slots rose to popularity in the 1990s, the breakthrough games had five paylines, with three horizontal lines, a “V” and a chevron:

That concept has grown, and as we saw in Chapter 4.2, some paylines zig and zag across the reels, such as this:

WHAT MULTIPLE PAYLINES DO FOR YOU

Having all those paylines accomplishes a number of things:

• It opens the possibility on of winning on more than one line on a single spin.
• It gives game designers a great deal of leeway in devising games of different volatility.
• It makes it easy to devise games with high hit frequencies.
• It gives players a wide range of betting possibilities.

In that configuration, you could bet anywhere from one coin per spin to 25. Many games with more paylines also offer betting options all the way down to a single coin, although not all coin-line combinations are offered.
Here’s one from a 20-line game:

On a 40-line, forced bet game, the button panel might look like this:
The “Bet 40” option is simply covering all the paylines at one coin per line. On such games, you can no longer bet just one coin, but you can bet one coin per payline.

If you buy just one reel, your potential winners look like this:

Potential winners with two reels bought:

With three reels bought:

And with four reels bought:

With five reels bought, winners must appear on adjacent reels right to left, but can be in any reel position. Take this example:

Aristocrat calls such games Xtra Reel Power. They have 1,024 ways to win, and with so many possibilities typically are even more volatile than Reel Power games.

On video slots, casino industry professionals make a distinction between “entertainment” games and “gambling” games.

• Entertainment games have high hit frequencies but low jackpot probabilities.
• Entertainment games are designed to give players extended play.
• Gambling games offer enhanced chances at big payoffs, but have low hit frequencies.
• On gambling games, you can lose money faster when the big wins don’t come.

For a look at the arithmetic of hit frequencies and payback percentages, see Chapter 3.2, Hit Frequency vs. Payback Percentage. The examples are for three-reel slots, but the principles are the same. However, there are some special factors that apply to video slots.

• Video slots and online slots have many more potential paying combinations.
• Only about two-thirds of overall payout is on the main game, though that varies by game and gamemaker.
• Bonus events must factor into both hit frequency and payback percentage.

That is a simplified game. Most video slots in casinos will add extra low-paying symbols such as A, K, Q, J, 10. There are ways to make this a high hit frequency game, but not necessarily a high payer. Let’s do a little arithmetic for a single payline.

• The numbers of mice could be enhanced on the first three reels.
• There could then be fewer mice on reels 4 and 5.
• The numbers of hawks could be increase on the first two reels.
• There could then be fewer hawks on other reels.

You could do the same with other symbols. The key is that there does not have to be the same number of each symbol on each reel. Let’s say we’re working with 30 symbols per reel – a small number compared to most video slots.

• There are 2.43 million total five-reel combinations.
• There is a payoff for hawks on the first two reels. There are 900 two-reel combinations.
• If there are five hawks on the first reel and four on the second, there are 20 two- hawk combinations.
• You would get a payoff on two or more hawks once per 45 spins.

Casinos don’t have to replace entire machines to change games.
Only the software needs to be changed.

For the most part, slot games are chip-based. To change a game, it’s necessary to change a chip. Regulations and procedures differ from state to state and jurisdiction to jurisdiction, but basically changing a game looks like this:

• Under gaming board supervision, a casino employee unlocks and opens the slot machine door.
• The central processing unit is removed, the door relocked, and the CPU is taken to the back shop.
• Evidence tape is broken, and the game chip is removed.
• A new game chip is inserted a resealed with evidence tape.
• The CPU is placed back in the machine, the door locked and the game restarted.

LESS TIME TO CHANGE:

Operators and regulators, working together, can use a point-and-click method to choose games and paybacks at the click of a mouse. It can be done in seconds.

AUTOMATIC CHANGE:

This does not yet appear to be in use in the U.S., but server-based games have the capability to change according to specific casino needs.

If a casino finds it draws large numbers of video poker players in the daytime, but needs more multiline penny slots at night, it can set the system up to change at a specified time each day.

All this would require regulatory approval. One thing regulators I’ve spoken with have said they will not approve is any automatic change in payback percentages. Any casino that wanted to offer 92-percent games as an attraction in low-traffic times but drop to 85 percent on busy weekends would be blocked by regulators.

For example, if show time is near and a lot of tickets are unsold, the system can scan the records of active players to identify those who are closest to qualifying for complimentary tickets.

The window then can open to offer tickets, and the player can accept or decline. There’s the potential to build good will by offering comps to players who wouldn’t normally qualify, while raising no cost to the casino since the seat would otherwise be unfilled, producing no revenue. Special games and tournaments can enhance the regular game experience.

PROCEDURE FOR DELIVERING GAMES

The situation is not as simple as a game supplier sending a game directly to a machine. That wouldn’t meet regulatory concerns. Instead, games are often sent to regulatory bodies first, who then relay them to casinos. Every jurisdiction has its own regulations, but here’s an example from the state of Indiana as to how it works:

• The casino subscribes to monthly game updates from the manufacturer.
• Games are put on a disc, which then is delivered to the gaming board.
• After the disc has been approved, it is delivered to the casino and installed in its server room.
• In the server room, a double-lock system is used.
• Both a casino employee and a gaming board agent must be logged in to load games onto machines.

Even on games that are not remotely delivered, networking the machines has opened new possibilities for interactivity and for bringing the experience to players in their homes between casino visits. WMS Gaming, now part of Scientific Games, has been a pioneer with its Star Trek and Lord of the Rings slots. Such networked games are set up so that:

• Players create an identity when they play.
• During game play, players unlock new bonus packages and graphics.
• The next time they play, they can log in and pick up where they left off.
• At home, players can log onto a free play site, interact with other players and game designers.
• During free play, players also can unlock bonus features that will be available on their next casino trip.
• Players also can earn badges they can display to their online friends.

Star Trek and Lord of the Rings both were popular, well-received games, but this remains a small segment of video games. It has promise as more players who were raised in the social media age start to play in casinos.