I hate to admit it, but I really like old technology. Gears, pistons, clockworks, steam power and glowing vacuum tubes (that’s valves to you overseas blokes). I don’t know that I’d go as far as to call myself ‘steampunk’ (seems a bit frivolous and indiscriminate to me), but I am definitely attracted to outdated machinery.
On the other hand, new gadgets are also a big personal fascination. I was an early computer nerd, in the days when you backed up to a cassette tape and connected to the ‘net by putting your telephone headset (corded, probably) right on top of your specially-molded modem. The two decades since then have been filled with the kinds of things that a techno-geek could only dream of; between all of the impressive stuff that goes into computers (or vice versa) and all of the personal entertainment and productivity gizmos, we truly live in marvelous times.
How best to combine my love for old and new? How about online slots?
Think about it…what could be more ‘steampunk’ than a classic old-school slots machine, with its lever-action controls, big clanking metal gears that spin real reels. Online slots use virtual versions of these processes, making them every bit as much fun as the original…and noticeably cheaper, easier to maintain, and far more flexible in operation. Actually, the first one came out before the 20th Century, so you could see the rise of online slots over the past decade as a sort of centennial tribute to the progenitor.
There are indeed plenty of classic fruit machines or one-armed bandits at any given online casino USA or elsewhere. A number of these have all of the details right, down to the wood grain and rivets, the glare of the glass on the reel windows, and the satisfying chunk of the metal handle ratcheting back into place.
Or you could just play a modern online slot. More like a video game, in fact some of the most advanced actually play like a video game on the bonus screen minigames that are built in (try the Marvel slots, the Tomb Raider Slots or any of the iSlots Series for excellent examples of this).