For over many decades, arcades and video game consoles continued to entertain the gaming masses until a new medium was born on the Internet known as online slots. With the growth of the internet in the late 1990s, many players soon found out that they could keep themselves entertained without having to leave their houses. At first, the cookie-cutter games copied from arcades like Pacman and Frogger did the trick – but players soon wanted something fresh and more exciting.
Online games are just like any other medium as they constantly need to evolve to keep up with the demand of the players. Alongside the addition of intriguing mechanics, online games have started appealing to more players as they have become more in tune with popular culture.
In the past, some people had strongly negative associations with online games as they were deemed tacky and cheap time wasters. However, this is certainly not the case with modern online games as the developers constantly strive to create something that stands out and that is memorable for the players.
Game developers listen to players and take notice of what is happening across the world. Like video games and films, online games try to keep up with what is trendy within pop culture and create content accordingly – and this is how they do it.
Tastefully Branded Games
When people think of branded online games, they think of a washed-up celebrity looking for a quick money scheme. It’s often assumed that these celebrities have no morals and do not care about the fans but instead just want to increase their revenue.
This is definitely not the case with modern online branded games. Developers work hard to create games that are faithful to the source material and deliver a new experience to the players. There’s no denying that some developers do create quick cash-grab branded games, but this is in the minority.
For the latest branded game from a top developer, the developers interviewed Lordi in order to gain an insight into the creative process so that they could create the best online game possible. The final product paid homage to the heavy-metal band with licensed songs from the band, familiar characters and even is faithful to the wacky lore created by the band.
These game developers show players that they are dedicated to creating a fun experience for fans of the source material. By doing this, they manage to stay in tune with pop culture and create online games that can be considered cool by the masses.
Keeping Ahead Of Online Trends
It’s worth noting that there are even game developers that try to embody meme culture and create something utterly bonkers but brilliant memes. Many developers are notorious for being unafraid to emulate what’s popular online but apply this to games instead.
Whether it’s the Tiger King himself or a mockery of world leaders, some developers are fearless when it comes to creating crazy games that fans will love. The latest online game like that, Karen Maneater, is literally an online game that combines the popular ‘Karen’ meme with actual cannibals for an unmissable experience.
As well as following beloved memes, online games stay up to date with current trends as well such is the case with NFTs. Since the release of the non-fungible tokens, there have been a handful of online games inspired by them. These games even contain popular cryptocurrencies such as Dogecoin, Litecoin, Ethereum and of course Bitcoin.
There aren’t many mediums that can successfully adopt meme culture and other popular topics online, let alone ones that manage to create something entertaining from it. Thankfully, most developers straddle the line between cringe and relatable with these online games. They even manage to do this without ever going too far in either direction.
Influenced By The Media
Like most mediums, online games are inspired by what is popular across other mediums. They take inspiration from each other in order to attract audiences and become more in tune with pop culture.
With the success of the Marvel films, there was a huge influx of superhero inspired slots with Super Heroes, Infinity Hero and a huge selection of DC games such as Wonder Woman and Man of Steel. The exact same thing happened with the video game God of War (2018) which led to unusual combinations of Greek and Norse mythology games. Ultimately, this led to many developers trying to replicate the success of the video game with a plethora of online look-a-likes.
These are just some of the many examples of online games being influenced by trends in mediums such as film, television and video games. There are some online games that blatantly copy other mediums without adding anything original – but this is a small number in comparison to those that do not.
It’s worth stating that most online games that are influenced by other mediums manage to create something fresh and unique, becoming games that are truly unforgettable. Not only are these games more memorable, but they are more in tune with popular culture and can often bring in returning players as well as new ones.
