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Cha-ching, bling, bling, bling… BLAM… BLAM… BLAM, dee-da-deet-deeee-dee-dee-da-deet-deeee-dee…

The sound of a reel clunking into place to trigger a feature. Reels spinning and clattering, jingling on their own, racking you up hundreds of credits. The background music of a jungle-themed game. And the loud craziness of a machine going-absolutely-bananas so as to embarrass you and attract a crowd when a jackpot is hit.

The sounds of a slot machine doing its thing are unmistakable.

Now, I know it’s not usually the genre of music that we cover here, but slot machine music and sounds are still designed, finessed, and produced – like any other music track would be.

Whether it’s on the casino floor, or you just have the sound up on your phone or laptop while playing slots online, the soundscapes of slots are unique. You can get a feel trying these no deposit and completely online slot games to see what I’m talking about if you’ve forgotten the exact style I’m talking about, or you’re not up to speed with modern-day slots symphonies.

While the music and sounds are all very “machine-like” to the ear, there’s a person behind the scenes making all that happen, very carefully placing each note.

Generally, each slots house has their very own writer/s and/or producer/s that will whip up the sounds and tunes for each new game. Each of these tunes and sounds may be all-new, or certain tunes and/or sounds may be recycled from other titles within the company.

And hey, it could be a new job if you’re already in the music biz – or trying to be. If you’re sick of slogging it out trying to get your tracks heard as a producer and want a day job that may even pay fat stacks, then slot machine music and sound production could be an excellent career move.

Wouldn’t making those sounds all day drive you crazy?

Think that developing sound for slots would be repetitive and boring? Well, it might be, depending on your level of imagination, and what sort of music you like to produce – and the type of work environment that you enjoy. And hey, if you’re a big fan of the circus then you would probably be right at home fine tuning sounds for use on the slots.

Jonathon Roberts wrote a piece back in ‘14 on his blog that detailed how his career progressed into a full time role at a slots house. His take on what he does for a crust? “This is a great job. I get to write in a wide range of styles, record live musicians in a professional in-house recording studio, work with the latest audio software and sample instrument libraries, and learn along with a team of accomplished and innovative composers, designers, and audio engineers.”

Sounds pretty interesting, don’t you think?

Building out the music

The first thing that is important to do when designing for a slot machine is to check the theme. A slot will come with a particular theme, let’s say ‘Jungle Princess’, plus graphics and the type of feature the game will have.

This will direct the flow of what the music designer should do for the game. They’ll check out all the info they have been given about the game, view all the graphics, and revisit what the type of feature will do.

Plus, if you have a specific licensed theme, like a Queen-themed slot, or James Bond, you might just be able to use some of the very familiar tunes of these bands and franchises.

And how about some science thrown in for good measure?

There have been studies conducted about the effect of sound on gamblers playing the slots. For instance, The Impact of Sound in Modern Multiline Video Slot Machine Play (2013) found that “sounds… caused players to significantly overestimate the number of times they won (vs. non-audio slot playing)”

Another study, Losses disguised as wins in multiline slots: using an educational animation to reduce erroneous win overestimates (2017) indicates that novice players overestimated the times they remembered winning over a play session when losses disguised as wins (LDWs) were part of the game. LDWs include flashing lights and interesting sounds on a loss. It’s a tricky little nuance of the game industry that can trip up players if they aren’t paying attention, and are simply pressing that spin button over and over.

A journey in sound

If you’re after a Fear and Loathing style take on the music of the slots, you’d be hard-pressed to go past the musings of Adrian Rew, in his rambling, poetic and in depth account of his fascination and encounters with the music of the slots. This man literally put out Slot Machine Music Vol 1 and Vol 2 on a record label. It’s some interesting stuff!

The article is a whirlwind of descriptiveness of casino floors, the varying types of games, a smattering of history, and references to some of the more famous “slot game noise” scenes in movies.

Slot machine music and sounds may not be as glamorous as the latest release by an up and coming indie artist, but they’re a part of the music industry, nonetheless. Like creating jingles for companies, it’s how plenty of musos make a crust while pursuing their passion projects that aren’t exactly raking in the funds. If you think you might be interested in pursuing slot machine sound design and creation, then why not check out the major players in the industry and see what roles they have on offer. You never know what you might find or where it might take you…

Free to Play IGT Slots Online

It would be unusual for anybody to hear the name Cleopatra and not have some image of her rule in Egypt. Cleopatra is one the best-known historical figures around the world. She’s even been the subject of many modern works of fiction and nonfiction, further adding to her renown.

With a namesake inspired the Egyptian ruler, the slot machine franchise by IGT is fittingly one of the most recognized and popular around the world as well.

Cleopatra slot machines have a distinct Egyptian theme, complete with classic Egyptian symbols and easily recognizable sounds and music. The original slot machine game, known simply as Cleopatra, became so widely played that a direct sequel to it was also created.

Cleopatra II and its predecessor are very similar in most ways. Both games are played with five reels and three spots per reel. Both games also offer a similar bonus game where a player can earn free spins with a multiplier.

The reel symbols, while all clearly Egyptian, are how players might be able to tell the two games apart.

Cleopatra: the symbols

Cleopatra uses a variety of classic icons most people would instantly recognize as Egyptian, but would otherwise know very little about.

• The Eye of Ra is the least lucrative of the Egyptian symbols that can be hit. Shown on a red background, it looks like an open eye facing forward with eyelashes extending from the bottom.
• The Crook and Flail has a yellow background. This symbol is the two tools, which both look like extravagant sticks, crossing each other.
• The Cartouche symbol has a blue background. A cartouche is an oval-shaped space that Egyptians used to contain their hieroglyphs; the reel symbol represents that.
• The Lotus and the Scarab are the two remaining and highest paying unique symbols in this game. The Lotus flower appears on a purple background and is shown as a group of three flowers. The Scarab is displayed on a green background. This symbol, predictably, looks like a beetle.

Slot Machine Jackpot Sound

Cleopatra II does away with all of these symbols and opts for a slightly more uniform set. Instead of picking a seemingly random group of important Egyptian icons, Cleopatra II’s unique reel symbols are each the heads classic Egyptian depictions of their own gods.

• Anubis resembles a jackal.
• Bastet is the symbol that looks most like a cat.
• Horus is a bird, perhaps a falcon.

In addition to these, each game also has a Cleopatra symbol. This symbol not only represents the top of the paytable, but also serves as a wild for all of the other symbols. As a wild, it can support the winning combinations of which it’s a part with a 2x multiplier.

Needless to say, having many Cleopatra symbols appear across the reels is the easiest way to win a lot of money.

The Sphinx symbol is the key to winning lots of money in the Cleopatra slot machines. Depicted as a lion’s body with the head of a human, having at least three of this symbol appear anywhere across the five reels will initiate the bonus game.

Big bonus wins

In Cleopatra, the bonus game is triggered when at least three of the five reels feature a Sphinx symbol. There is also an initial payout that depends on how many of the Sphinx symbols appeared on the spin that triggered the bonus game, up to 100x the bet for having all five reels show a Sphinx.

The bonus game starts with 15 free spins; each spin is given a 3x multiplier. It’s possible for a player to continue earning more free spins during the bonus game by landing three or more Sphinx symbols on a spin — the same requirement for having initially triggered the game.

Cleopatra II ramps up the potential for big wins in its bonus game. Just like in its predecessor, Cleopatra II’s bonus game is triggered with at least three Sphinx symbols scattered across the five reels. Having more than three such symbols still results in a larger win on the triggering spin as well.

Cleopatra II bonus game

Slot Machine Sound Effect Free

Unlike Cleopatra, Cleopatra II awards a variable amount of free spins during its bonus game: between five and 20. When the bonus game starts, the player will select from three thematically shaped sarcophagi each containing a different number of spins. The selected sarcophagus — shaped like a Scarab, an Eye of Ra, or an Ankh (an excitingly flavorful way for the game to begin) — opens to reveal the number of spins the player is awarded at the start of the bonus game.

The more Sphinx symbols on the spin that triggered the bonus game, the higher the amount of free spins that can be initially awarded in this way.

The unique aspect of the game happens at this point. Each spin in the bonus game has its own multiplier, determined by how many spins have already occurred during that iteration of the bonus game. The first spin has a 1x multiplier (like a normal spin in the game), and each subsequent spin will increase the multiplier by 1x.

So the second spin will have a 2x multiplier, the third spin will have a 3x multiplier, and so on. If a player lands three or more Sphinx symbols during the bonus game, the game will award additional free spins in the amount that was initially chosen from the sarcophagus. In this way, a player can have spins with a 30x, 40x, or even 50x multiplier attached to it.

Understandably, the bonus games in Cleopatra slots are not easy to trigger. With the infrequent potential for impressive wins, Cleopatra slots tend to have relativelyhigh variance.

Gamble, gamble

The highly volatile nature of Cleopatra slots may deter some players, but slot gamblers are likely to embrace them. Recognizing that fact, many US casinos offer Cleopatra and Cleopatra II in their high limit slot machine rooms.

At a $1 machine with 20 lines, players can risk up to $20 per spin. While this can lead to considerable losses fairly quickly, just one trigger of the bonus game can lead to wins even more substantial. Either way, this fast action and drama certainly attract slot gamblers.

Cleopatra machines combine an attractive theme, solid gameplay and mechanics, and some unique aspects to create an immersive gambling experience. There are few slot machine options that can meet or exceed what Cleopatra machines offer.

Music From Slot Machines

So long as willing customers are still looking to gamble, Cleopatra slot machines will have a place in casinos for those customers to try their luck.

Casino Slot Machine Sounds

Image credit: Emily Marie Wilson / Shutterstock.com