Themed Slots, Space Invaders and UFO

Themed slots, Space Invaders and UFO. What do they all stand for and how did they evolve? Let’s have a look!

Themed Slots

Themed slots first emerged in the 1970’s. A themed slot is just a classic slot that has had a makeover. This makeover is attained by the addition of a theme from popular culture with a suitable sound track to accompany it. An example of this might be the use of Roman graphics, with mock Roman harp music in the background and possibly Caesar himself appearing. It gives the player an illusion of change.

Themed slots may also contain bonus games. These games offer the player the chance to ascend to a different level and increase their winnings. There will be conditions attached which keeps the player spending money. The themed slot does exactly what a classic slot did. It allows you to gamble on the spin of reels all being in graphic form.

Space Invaders

Space Invaders was basically developed as an arcade game. It was the brainchild of Tomohiro Nishikado and was launched in Japan in 1978. Tomohiro Nishikado drew his inspiration for the game from the plethora of Hollywood block buster films about space travel and space wars in the late 1960’s and 70’s. The basic aim of the game was to destroy waves of invading aliens using laser shots.

If a player succeeded in destroying all the aliens then he was the winner. Its popularity spread very rapidly and was soon licensed around the world. Many casinos installed these machines but it was generally targeted at the younger market. It was defined as an arcade game due to the legal restrictions on the younger generation entering licensed casinos.

UFO

UFO games took their inspiration from Space invaders and have remained immensely popular ever since. With the introduction of hand held gaming devices, UFO games have remained immensely popular. The games have evolved in accordance with the evolution in technology. The graphics and audio have improved beyond all recognition. The basic idea of UFO games is to repel alien invaders by any means possible at the gamers’ hands.

The gamer will normally be supplied, at the start of the game, with an array of weapons which when depleted have to be won. There are many ways in which to replenish the gamers’ weapons arsenal. Examples are by completing tasks set by the game, reaching goals set by the game and attaining the next level in the game.