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While you may not think esports games like Halo and Call of Duty and FIFA are anything like casino games, you might want to think twice.
Gamification is essence is adding gaming elements such as ‘visual and auditory effects’, level ups, unlockable content and narratives. By adding in these gamification elements casino providers have changed the way players interact with casino games hopefully to create a better user experience.
“Casino providers are responsible for the gaming software, design, and gameplay behind all your favourite casino games. Whether that’s video slots, progressive jackpot slots, table games or live casino games – they’re brought to you by casino providers” says SuperLenny.
In order to first grab the attention of prospective players all games need an exciting narrative or ‘back story’ to engage players. Whether it’s saving the human race, or questing in search of treasure all good games have a captivating back story at their heart.
“As Captain Reyes, a Tier 1 Special Operations pilot turned Commander, you must lead the remaining coalition forces against a relentless enemy, while trying to overcome the deadly, extreme environments of space.” –Call of Duty Infinite Warfare
“Welcome to the Hero Islands, a wonderful place which is ruled by a generous King. Here, everyone used to live in harmony until the day evil Bosses invaded the Kingdom. Join now and fight evil with good while you win Free Spins in the name of the King!” – Casino Heroes
We see Call of Duty is asking for prospective players to become Captain Reyes and take part in combat against the enemy in space, Casino Heroes mirrors this. By creating the fictional world of Hero Islands complete with evil bosses, Casino Heroes is enticing players the same way.
Level ups and Unlockable content. In order to keep players engaged for a sustained time, video games make use of level ups and unlockable content. Essentially this adds more layers to the game, hopefully spurring the player to continue.
Making use of a traditional level system Halo 5 allows players to level up based on the amount of XP they have. This means the more they place, the more XP they will have allowing them to level up. This is displayed on a XP bar in the game.
This strategy of making players play longer in order to level up is also employed by casinos. Casino Heroes uses a progress bar to show users how close they are to the next region and fighting the boss. For each spin the progress bar will fill up and when it does they will encounter the boss. Upon successfully beating the boss new regions will be unlocked.
Another common characteristic of both video games and casino games is their use of visual and auditory effects. Studies have indicated that players become more aroused or respond more to both video games and casinos games such as slots.
Take for example FIFA the official video game of the international governing body of football (FIFA). Fans of FIFA and live football are aware of the power of auditory and visual effects both online and on the pitch. Whether it’s the feel of an adrenaline rush as the referee’s whistle blows or the excitement as the crowd cheers. This clever association of sounds to stir up emotions in players is why FIFA continues to be one of the most popular esports games to date, with sports TV giant BT SPORT broadcasting FIFA 17 matches.
The same tactic of associating rewards with visual and auditory effects is also heavily used by casino providers in slot games. Designed to keep players engaged slot games are now a world of titillating sounds and top end graphics.
Let’s take a look at the types of slot games available in particular video slots. Centred around providing players with better quality graphics and effects, video slots are a forerunner of gamification in casinos. Video slot titles now include blockbusters such as Game of Thrones and X-Men. These type of online video slots are carefully crafted to deliver a ‘feel good hit’ to players click after click.
As the fight to hook both new and existing players’ wages on it is clear casinos are utilizing gamification tools, bringing them closer to video games. In the long run this can only benefit casino players as it highlights improved user experience.
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