Modern games are huge, lavish affairs with sprawling sandbox environments. Yet casual mobile gaming, including iGaming, offers a refreshing alternative, and retro gaming aesthetics are influencing the look and design of games in the genre.
For those growing up in the nineties, the blocky 16-bit graphics of Sega titles were the pinnacle of gaming. As those gamers have grown older, this retro look has become a big source of nostalgia, especially when combined with chiptune soundtracks and synth-driven layers. In the modern era of quick play, casual mobile games, this look and feel is being assimilated, usually in some of the most innovative casino titles.
What Is a Retro Gaming Aesthetic?
Retro gaming is hard to quantify. It generally refers to a console or home computer, or titles played on it, that was discontinued more than 20 years ago. The look of their graphical capabilities and hardware defines a retro image. While people may jump to the four-bit look of Atari consoles in the eighties, it can just as well describe the vector-like shapes of PlayStation 2 or 3 graphics.
Nowhere has this look been more utilized than in the case of casual iGaming titles. These are the ones concerned with bringing the casino floor to digital devices, often in the form of table games, slots, but also with new exciting editions like live gameshows and crash titles. Jackpot City has several games of this nature, which take nods from the smash hits of yesteryear.
Games from this early period are usually characterised by three main factors. The first is a penchant for blocky, pixel-type graphics. Color palettes will also be adjusted to mirror this. Second, it characterises a type of gameplay that is often quite simple to pick up and play. Usually, these have certain concepts we don’t really use in modern gaming, such as levelling up, boss fighting, and others. Lastly, they often have very distinct chiptune soundtracks, evoking the blips and bleeps synonymous with the era.
Retro Gaming iGaming Titles
Many of these casino games do not just borrow retro aesthetics. They even use actual real-world games. Jump onto Jackpot City, and you will find examples like Slingo Space Invaders. Slingo is a hybrid of bingo and slots. Players must spin reels, in which they gain numbers and symbols that help them scratch off numbers on a bingo card. When they get certain patterns, they manage to win money.
In this version, all the iconic pop culture symbols of the Atari classic are there. Yet if players land three of the Slingo symbols on the reels, they are sent to a bonus round that lets them play the real game. The only difference is that the better they do, the bigger the cash prizes become.
For old school Sega fans who like fighting titles, then Street Fighter II: The World Warrior Slot is a must-play. It is not a million miles away from the concept behind the Sega Saturn’s Pocket Fighter (Japan release only) that many in the West experienced through PlayStation. Reels are spun, just like gems fall in the Pocket Fighter game, and those who win start to destroy the opponent until they win and go to the next stage.
Here, the graphics are not kawaii like Pocket Fighter. Instead, they fully incorporate the 16-bit era Genesis Street Fighter title. You choose a character, and battle through the stages, with bigger prizes as you level up. Truly tying it in for fans are the bonus rounds, which even incorporate the car-smashing stage, so known and loved.
The Appeal of Retro Gaming Visuals
The appeal of retro gaming lies in the comfort of nostalgia. For many, these graphics and soundtrack take us back to a different era. Even for those who didn’t experience it first time around, it can be a time of wonder and magic, before the all-encompassing gaze of social media and the smartphone. This can allow them to boost their mood by thinking of past happy times, and thinking of more socially connected times can counteract loneliness.
For others, playing retro games reinforces their identity. It provides them with a tether to the era they grew up in. When people log onto these updated titles, they get the best of both worlds. Replaying these retro games is not always the experience you remember, and some have not aged well. Yet with modern reimagining’s, capturing the key essence allows us to update them and keep the good memories fresh.
For those who choose to play in the iGaming sphere, they provide something consoles never could: The ability to win money. While gambling should only ever be viewed as a form of entertainment, this is another dimension. Some of the greatest games in history are being reinvented in this way, with the combination proving vastly successful, and this will continue for some time.
