Nostalgia. A word we’re hearing more and more in our everyday settings. TV shows and movies are getting rebooted. Games, commercials, and music styles constantly go in circles. Recurring trends in fashion are common. Even toy and cartoon revivals are marketed toward middle-aged individuals because they’ve played a massive role in their childhood.
And then come the generational wars, where people whose youth was centred around something develop a sense of entitlement, believing it still belongs solely to them. The new generations are “spoiling it.” We hashtag not-my-luke-skywalker, forgetting he was never ours in the first place. Feeling a sense of belonging is easy when formative identities and emotions are involved.
Long story short, nostalgia means many things, some quite unsavoury and dangerous. But your fateful CasinoOnlineCA team will focus on the good things. Join us as we dissect the aesthetic return of the 8-bit graphics in contemporary slot games and how the real money online casino industry uses the nostalgic touch to embellish virtual gambling.
Trends and Their Patterns
Trends are circular. The fact that everything comes and goes around is common knowledge. People tend to sometimes fall into the trap of believing something is unique and experienced for the first time, despite numerous evidence pointing in another direction. Like contemporary whining concerning politics and art that disregards the fact art and politics have always been linked. It is hardly a modern, woke invention.
But what is the role of nostalgia in all of it? To activate deep emotional responses in individuals and motivate them to consume a product.
We won’t pretend casinos don’t utilize old-fashioned graphics to use people’s fond memories of something and make them more likely to play the games. After all, the online casino industry is a lucrative business. Still, nostalgia is not only an opposing force, even though it can be. It has positive sides, and we will list them for you.
The Up Side of Nostalgia
The Wrongful Demonization of the Concept
Nostalgia is often described as a dangerous force that makes us feel the past was better just because it is distant or because we were younger and knew less of the world. This is sometimes true, but people ignore that many individuals don’t think the past was objectively better.
They are nostalgic for the lack of awareness or youthful faith in a better future. They miss their optimistic outlook, yet to be jaded by reality rather than the times themselves. And that is a legitimate emotional state that shouldn’t be dismissed as a delusion about the past. Nostalgia can remind us of who we used to be and which aspects of ourselves, lost along the way, we wish to rebuild.
Learning About the Past
Reviving old trends can be beneficial by inviting us to interact actively with the previous generations. By learning about long-gone trends or rearranging them in different, current contexts, we create a culture that is always an intergenerational endeavour.
Old Fashioned Slots and All You Need to Know About Them
Retro is in. The moment you cast a glance at the screen, you recognize it. The way the virtual world used to look like. Some younger individuals have never experienced those days, but many, still alive and well, have. We’ve played games as children, and seeing the old, clearly inferior graphics makes our hearts jump. And online casinos know it. So, why retro slots? Let’s break it down.
Iconic Imagery
The slot machines have been a part of the casino industry since the late 19th century. Some symbols and styles have become synonymous with slots due to their iconic status, like card symbols or fruits. Naturally, classic aesthetics is always in.
Time Travel
We don’t need to idealize the past to want to visit it occasionally. Until we construct a time machine, consuming vintage media is probably the closest to that.
Simplicity
“Slot machine games are known for being simple, but this is particularly true of retro designs,” highlights a gambling fiend and editor-in-chief at CasinoOnlineCA, James Segrest. “Modern technology can go too far with the desire to impress. With retro slot games, you get simplicity par excellence,” he adds.
Are you among the people who revel in vintage video games? Here are some examples of retro slot machine games for you.
The Best Retro Slot Game Titles
8 Bit Intruders Slot
This delightful retro game is brought to you by Genesis Gaming. Enjoy the charming vintage visuals that bring back old casinos, computers, Nintendo or whatever you used back in the day.
8 Bit Intruder is a 5-reel slot game with bonus features like an additional arcade-style game. The graphics might be old-looking, but the implementation indeed isn’t. You can play the game on both a desktop and a mobile device.
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Rat King Slot
The setting of this game is a dark factory that represents the home to the titular rodents. It is animal-themed and provides multiple bonus options, such as Free Spins and Scatter Pays. Push Gaming created it.
Dog Town Deal Slot
You’ve probably seen the image of dogs playing poker. This is precisely the vibe this game is going for. Designed by Quickspin, this slot game takes you to a particular, retro-looking casino called Dog Town Casino. The participants are all canine. The additional features include a card deal game, multipliers and Free Spins.
Hellcatraz Slot
Fans of retro gaming will surely appreciate the unique aesthetics of this game. Hellcatraz was created by Relax Gaming. It features Free Spins, bonus rounds and mystery symbols. The visual identity of this game will appeal especially to Nintendo fans.
Reel Rush Slot
This Net Ent game features an expanding symbol, which means that when you win, the size of the reels goes up. You can get Re-Spins, Free Spins, and other cool bonuses. The classic fruit slot games have inspired visual imagery by adding cascade games. Both types are vintage but also appeal to many modern players.
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Break da Bank Slot
As the name states, this quirky title from Microgaming simulates a bank heist. The whole aesthetics centres around bank and robbing imagery, a beloved theme of many old, especially Western movies, which is also nostalgic in its own right.
Mega Joker Slot
Can’t get enough of the classic fruit-themed slots? Here is another beloved title that transports you back to the early days of the now iconic slot machine. The game includes a progressive type of jackpot so you can win big.
Conclusion
Nostalgia seems to be a controversial word that people weaponize everywhere. Although there is some merit in their concerns, our attraction and occasional emotional attachment toward stimuli from our past is also a natural and positive thing.
It can reunite us with our personal histories, the people we used to be, previous generations, and much more. Having a soft spot for the past is not a negative thing unless it is used in such a way as to distort reality. In other regards, it is natural and normal. In that spirit, we know you enjoy the contemporary special effects in modern gaming.
But, you get a unique feeling while witnessing something that resembles the games you used to play as kids. The online casino industry offers multiple slot themes, including the delicious, charming retro ones.