Ten things 2007 - a class with Michael Shanks about design: Tracing Technology and its Effects on Slot Machines

As we have already seen, slot machines have a relatively short history. Yet, over the last century or so, they have rapidly evolved and branched into a wide array of devices with vastly different designs, some retaining not much more than the basic design of rewarding based on slot image matching. As we trace through technological advancements and their impact on slot machines, the general theme we will be following is how technology motivates and enables slot machine designers to increasingly take advantage of the players’ behavioral psychology.

The first mechanical design of the slot machine had a very complex mechanical design consisting of numerous gears, levers, and shafts, but its function was very simple. Pulling the lever would rotate three reels that will come to a stop mechanically at a random position. Even at this early stage, however, one can already observe how technology is assisting slot machines achieve its popularity. For instance, much of the mechanical complexities were introduced to ensure that each reel stops one at a time, allowing for a lot more suspense and excitement as the player watches the correct (or incorrect) symbols fall in place. This kind of psychological “manipulation” has made slot machine playing much more engaging.

The next step in the advancement came with electrical machines. These machines still remained very simple, relative to the complex variations observed today, as the major change was simply that mechanical components were replaced with motorized systems. However, this technological development brought about and enabled two important features. First, a more complex payout system could be conceived with these machines. The mechanical predecessor was limited in its ability to control a variety of payout strategies, as the only variable in most cases was how long the shutter was open to let coins fall down. The electrical systems, on the other hand, could more precisely control its payout strategy depending on several different symbol combinations. Second, perhaps an even more significant feature enabled by the electrical system was simply elaborate lights and sounds that could accompany the machine. Not only do these peripheral effects draw potential players in, they provide a much more ostentatious payout, “publicizing” any jackpots to the whole game floor with its loud noises and hard-to-miss light flashes. We again see how technology enabled slot machines to increase its popularity through simple manipulations.

Despite such steady technological advancements and transformations in slot machines, it wasn’t until the computerized system was introduced that the slot machines came to have an even bigger presence. The most central improvement that came with the computerized system is the random number generator (RNG). The RNG generates thousands of random numbers a second, pulling out the most recent ones when the lever is pulled. The chosen numbers then are used in combination with some mathematical algorithm to determine the precise place where reels should stop. While the numbers generated by the RNG are technically not perfectly random, as they are only a part of a predetermined sequence based on the initial seed value, they do represent a dramatic improvement over the past designs. They guarantee that the next pull of the lever will vary depending on the time of the pull, and not on the previous resting position of the reels or the mechanical configuration of the system.

This also means that casinos can now have a better control over the machine’s average payout percentage. The software built into the machine could precisely and mathematically ensure a certain payout ratio over time, even while maintaining the ability for the machine owners to dynamically change this ratio. But perhaps more importantly, slot machine owners and casinos could now enjoy a better control over countless other features. These include both large and small variations such as lever-pulling versus button-pressing, jackpot image animation, reel rotation speed, display types, etc.

The computerized system is also a topic of much controversy as it introduced the concept of “near-miss programming”—manipulating the reels to stop at “near-miss” positions more frequently. While this is illegal in most areas, the computerized system can still legally manipulate it such that the most attractive payout lines are shown above or below the more common lines. As Professor Thomas Creed of St John's University described the psychological impact of the “near-miss programming,” “Getting two out of three jackpot bars on a payline is exciting [and] the player has been reinforced at no cost to the [casino].” We'll examine the psychology behind this fascinating phenomenon more in depth in later sections.

While slot machines still retain the original simplicity in the perspective of the player, it has grown to be a much more complicated system with numerous little particulars in the perspective of the designer. As we have seen, technology really has reinvented slot machines and still is. Slot machine designers are constantly coming up with and experimenting with new ideas, such as simultaneous multiple paylines, win/loss tracking, credit-card accepting machines, or even integration with video games and movie themes.

To learn more about how slot machines actually work mechanically, go to here.

1. The inner mechanical complexity of slot machines

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