The Role of Sound Effects in Slot Games

It’s now a fairly well-understood and accepted fact that sound is an integral part of any multisensory experience.

This is why we purchase surround sound systems for our homes, it’s why game development companies are working with full orchestras, choirs and well-known artists on their soundtracks, and it’s why we enjoy soft, chanting sounds or singing bowls while we meditate or work through our yoga practice.

Sounds help to create a more immersive experience, bringing our sense of hearing to the party, not just our senses of sight and touch. Today, we’re going to explore the role of sound effects in online slot games.

Online Slots and Sound Design

The explosion of iGaming sites has meant that almost every casino game you could ever want to play is now available online as well as in brick-and-mortar casinos. Certain games, like slots, create a very particular experience in person, and that can be hard to translate to an online game. Bright and eye-catching graphics that line up with the game’s theme are a big part of keeping online slots players engaged, but with just the visuals, it’s clear that something is missing. It’s the sounds, of course!

Slot games are well-known for their distinctive array of sounds. Instructions boomed out by a narrator, a “chink-chink” sound as the reels turn over and slowly click into place and that one sound that everyone loves above all others: the explosive tinkle of all those golden jackpot coins bursting out of the machine when you win. Since there’s no real lever to pull and no machine in your home that can belch out gold pieces for you, you have to rely on the sounds to make you feel like you’re really in the moment!

The Psychology

Sounds and music have a very unique ability to influence the human psyche. Faster, more upbeat music evokes feelings of anticipation, excitement and happiness, which guides players to play through a game quickly and to repeat the process because the sounds and music make it more enjoyable. Slower and more melodic tunes with ambient sounds foster an environment and feeling of calm, allowing the player to think carefully about important decisions and not feel rushed or pressured to get through the game quickly.

The psychology of sound and music in gaming doesn’t end there. Sounds can also effect, how those listening can perceive time as well.

Sound Design in iGaming

Sound Effects

Music isn’t the only sound you’ll hear while playing a slot game. In fact, it’s the sound effects that are arguably more associated with slot games than any other sounds. The sounds we mentioned earlier, like the spinning of the reels and the jingle of coins when you get a lucky win, become almost Pavlovian in their ability to make the player feel and respond a certain way.

Ambient Sounds

Though these are harder to pick out due to their nature of being “background sounds”, ambient sounds have a very intense effect on the player. Imagine visiting a coffee shop but all you could hear was the conversation of the friend sitting across from you,” no milk being foamed, no radio playing, no cups clinking or phones ringing. It would feel lonely and isolated, wouldn’t it? These ambient sounds are especially important for those playing online as they draw the player into the casino environment with the murmur and bustle of the casino floor, if it’s a classic game, rustling leaves and echoing steps if it’s a horror game or waves crashing on the shore if the game is beach themed. You might not be able to pick them out, but you would notice if they weren’t there.

Voiceovers

Voiceovers add a more personal touch and are usually there to guide the player through the experience, like a narrator. Hearing a human voice can create a feeling of connection and make the player feel more welcome or like they’re doing a good job.

Music

The actual songs and tunes that you hear are the heart of the sound design of any game. The tune sets the mood for the slot experience, it drives the pace, and it determines what all the other things listed above need to be and do. The music in slot games has evolved over the years from very elementary jingles into full songs that evoke moods and help to carry the theme of the game through into an immersive quality that it would otherwise lack. The music will still loop, but now it’ll loop with a far more interesting tune!

Sound Effects in Slot Games

All of the forms of sound listed above have evolved into an adaptive set of sounds that both respond to and drive the player’s in-game experience. Without this carefully crafted set of sounds, your slots experience would be far less enjoyable, exciting and overall entertaining.

Thanks to the fact that previously limiting technology has evolved too, players can now experience these effects and soundtracks in surround sound, in ear headphones or through whichever listening device they most enjoy and fully immerse themselves in the experience of the game in 3 dimensions. Without their sounds, slot games would be a very basic and surface level game that wouldn’t attract as many players as they do, and we’d certainly miss them if they disappeared.