Movie Clips in Online Casino Video Slots

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Online slot games are known to draw brand equity from other products and movies is one of the more popular themes. In the older slot games the theme of movies was applied generally. An example is the Movie Mayhem series of slot games from Cryptologic that depict four different genres of movies. Over the last two years there have been slot games based on specific movies, usually with arrangement with the distributors of the movies. This has enabled the slot games developers to incorporate clips from the movies in the slots games and thus take the games to a higher level of enjoyment.

There are three places in the slot game where a movie clip can be inserted. Many slot games begin with an introductory clip that depicts the theme of the slot and introduces the symbols used on the reels. Usually this introductory clip is animated. Recently Cryptologic released two slot games based on award winning movies from Paramount. These are Forrest Gump and Braveheart. In both slot games the introductory clip shows scenes from the movies. In Forrest Gump the scenes are the turning points in the movie such as the football game. In Braveheart the introductory clip shows a pitched battle scene from the movie between Braveheart and the English King Longshanks.

It is in the animations of winning combinations that movie clips come into their own. When symbols on the reels align in winning combinations they usually exhibit some degree of animation. This is to indicate that there has been a payout and also to create interest in the game. Usually the animations are computer generated graphics. But in some online slot games based on movies a clip from the movie is used instead. One of the first slot games to use this technique was The Three Stooges from Realtime Gaming. Each of the three stooges is a scatter symbol and when three or more of a like stooge appears on the reels scatter payments are awarded and bonus rounds are triggered. At the same time a short clip featuring the stooge is played. In the case of Larry his wig is removed by one of the other stooges. In Braveheart the animation takes the form of a battle scene from the movie with the sound of the screams of soldiers and the clash of steel. The movie Gladiator won considerable acclaim. Playtech has released a slot game based on this movie, which is a movie buff’s delight. The symbols displaying the characters from the movies are actual photographs and not computer generated likenesses. The animations do not depict any action but have the characters deliver one of their popular dialogues from the movie. Players can hear Princess Lucilla saying, "Today I saw a slave become more powerful than the Emperor of Rome."

The third place that movie clips find place in video slots is in the bonus games. In Braveheart the bonus game depicts a contest between Braveheart and Longshanks. Every time Braveheart appears on the reels his army scores a point and the visual shows a scene of his army advancing into battle. The same applies for Longshanks. In the bonus game in Gladiator the movie clip is not integrated into the bonus game. But after the bonus game is over there is a fairly long clip of a scene from the Coliseum with the gladiators in the ring and the crowd cheering wildly.

Fortunately this practice of using movie clips has not been used too extensively and hence the value of the slots that have incorporated it stands undiminished.

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