How have gaming, gambling, and film capitalized on evolving computer animation?

Since the dawn of entertainment, film studios and other developers have sought to utilize new technology to enhance their products. At one time, special effects were mechanical, or stop motion, or even just using puppets on strings. In the case of online entertainment, Java technology was often utilized, resulting in clunky movement – but things have changed a little since then.

During the last 25 years, computer animation has revolutionized the world of entertainment, helping to make the impossible possible and allow directors, producers, and actors to dream bigger than ever before.

But it has also been a huge boon for the online gambling industry, which, along with film and gaming, has benefited from the technology more than most.

In this article, we will explore the history of computer animation in film, including its impact on animation and its use in live-action titles. We will also discuss how the technology has been utilized in the online casino industry to help bring gambling entertainment to life, and examine the similarities and differences between the two media sectors’ use of animation and effects.

The origins of computer animation

Believe it or not, the history of computer-generated imagery – or CGI, in film dates back as far as 1976, when producers of short films experimented with the possibilities of the new technology on the big screen.

The first animated feature film to utilize computer animation was Golgo 13: The Professional in 1983, and the technology proved a hit with audiences and producers, helping to enhance visuals and tell a much more immersive story.

In the years that followed, traditionally animated pictures experiment with CGI elements in specific scenes. This included Disney classics like Aladdin and Beauty and the Beast, which remained faithful to classic cel-shading for the most part, with just a sprinkling of computer magic.

The real breakthrough for the technology came in 1995 with the release of Toy Story. Though not the first-ever completely computer-animated movie, the runaway success of the movie – and the subsequent franchise, has helped place CGI at the top of the agenda for film studios.

It was also around this time that we saw online gambling build momentum. The dawn of the internet unlocked possibilities for casino brands, although CGI was still some way from being properly utilized in the sector. 

24 years ago I sat in a theater on opening day, with my dad, to watch the first #ToyStory

He took me for pizza after and tried to explain CGI to me.

He had no clue how moments like that would shape me and my life.

Today I took my youngest to see her first movie, Toy Story 4 pic.twitter.com/jdp63x1XYS

— Robert Bowling (@fourzerotwo) June 23, 2019

Use in live-action films

The technology has also been used in live-action cinema for a range of purposes, whether that’s making a super-hero flick even more fantastical, recreating an ancient civilization, or producing the most epic fight sequence.

Even though CGI got its break in Toy Story, its use is far from restricted to kids’ films. In fact, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a Hollywood blockbuster released during the last ten years that doesn’t make use of the technology in one way or another.

Despite some early goofs, advancing graphics have enabled the implementation of CGI to become more and more seamless, to the extent that you may not even realize that what you’re watching isn’t actually real life.

It’s been the same in online gambling, with computer animation often overlaid on a live picture to deliver a vivid virtual experience. Utilized properly, the presenter or dealer can even interact with the digital assets around them, whether that’s to spin a roulette wheel or reveal a card.

Use in gaming and gambling

Unsurprisingly, other industries have taken notice of the possibilities of computer animation to enhance their entertainment proposition. And similar to the world of film, it has helped to expand possibilities and deliver a greater level of immersion.

The video game industry is naturally one key entertainment sector that is built around advances in computer animation, with the prospective titles on the upcoming PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X boasting truly vivid graphics.

But it’s perhaps the casino industry that has most effectively utilized computer animation to create something special, with slick animations built directly into the browser are now a reality for now a reality for popular casino games such as the selection offered by Royal Panda, for example. The site offers an extensive collection of video slots with immersive graphics, with the quality of the slots available also garnering traffic, as well as simply the RTP (return to player) rates.

Source: Pexels

The future

Computer animation has already had a profound impact, not only on film and casino gaming, but across the world of visual entertainment, and its influence is unlikely to diminish in the years ahead. As animation becomes more and more lifelike, it’s perhaps even possible that the technology will be used to replace real movie actors in the not-too-distant future.

Such is the pace of change that any predictions are little more than fanciful speculation, but the potential of the technology is certainly exciting, with the power to continue to disrupt and even revolutionize the way we make movies and enjoy our favorite casino games.