After informing viewers on the journey Peter & Sons has taken from land-based production to online gaming, Bautista launched into the 5×3 reel slot that offers 243 ways to win and a maximum win worth x30,000 the player’s bet, explaining how Yggdrasil’s DoubleMax feature provides “a very nice tempo” for the series. 

“We have done this with different games, and it’s a stair multiplier basically. I think the feature itself is very attractive, and it gives a tempo to the game that is very nice,” he said. 

“But it’s not just that feature. We always try to bring in something new into the game. In this case, we’re talking about a ways game, rather than a paylines game, and of course it’s a cascade game. Then, we implement other features that work well with the original mechanic (DoubleMax), like the multiplier jump, where all of a sudden you can jump from x2 to x16.”

On revamping the studio’s previous Barbarossa release for this sequel, Bautista explained the importance of taking in player feedback and making tweaks towards their preferences, while remaining loyal to the original title. 

“We tried to be loyal to the original game because I think that’s what a player expects from a sequel. So we listened to the players and we tried to bring what they were asking us for, which was increasing a little bit of the volatility and increasing the win potential as well, from x20,000 to x30,000.”

Bautista then went on to explain how the Barbarossa series appeals to constantly shifting player preferences, stating that the initial title was “one of the best performing games, if not the best performing games we have”. 

“I have to say that Barbarossa, first of all, was one of the best performing games, if not the best performing game we have. So we already have a base of loyal players. 

“When we made the sequel Barbarossa Revenge, the idea was to give these players something new. The game has been out there for one year and we are talking about returning players. The game is very retentive. 

“And we thought, okay, let’s give them what they want. Let’s give them something else. But as Barbarossa already has a loyal base of players. So this is, I would call it, a gift for them.”

To hear Bautista explain how the studio produces unique art concepts for each title, as well as the potential for Barbaroosa to become an even bigger series, click here to watch the full interview. 

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David Stoveld, Chief Operating Officer at Armadillo Studios, joined CasinoBeats and SlotBeats Editor, Joe Streeter, to discuss the importance of the game’s multitude of features when it comes to boosting player engagement, reasons behind the theme and the evolution of the design process for the slot’s animations.

With playing card guards representing low value symbols and the many creatures of Wonderland offering higher-value prizes, Alice’s Mad Fortune takes place on a 5×3 reel set that uses 10-paylines to offer a maximum win of up to x50,100 the player’s wager. 

After providing a brief look back at his journey into the igaming industry, Stoveld dived into the new slot title and the reasons behind taking players down the rabbit hole with Alice. 

He explained: “We’ve all gone down the rabbit hole, we all make references to the film, I do all the time. I personally love it. More importantly, I think everyone can relate to it.

“We’re the in-house studio provider for EveryMatrix, where everything is possible. What better idea than to have all of these characters that have this creative imagination and believe they can do anything. 

“It also gives a lot of flexibility to our amazing art, animation and sound team to be able to create really amazing animations to fit the actual scope of a slot game.”

Looking at the importance of animations in engaging players, Stolved said: “Technology has been getting better and better and if you’re making a new game, especially with all the competition everywhere, you really need something to stand out, you need a kind of beauty to your game. 

“When you have those animations to keep you going, that buys the player time to understand the unique mechanics and how the game works, helping them to make the assessment of whether they like it or not.”

To watch Stoveld run through the myriad of bonus features on offer in Alice’s Mad Fortune, while detailing the target audiences he thinks the slot can appeal to, click here to watch the full interview.

The post Beyond the Reels: in Wonderland with Armadillo Studios appeared first on CasinoBeats.

Tapping into familiar fruit themes and sparkling diamond bonuses, 243 Fire’n’Diamonds offers 243 ways to win on a 5×3 reel set with players able to win up to x1,800 their stake. The game uses medium-high volatility with an RTP of 95.02 per cent. 

Explaining why the studio decided to play on familiarity with symbols and themes that players will recognise, Pusnia said: “I believe that classical fruit slots are still really popular amongst the players, and they still captivate pretty substantial player bases all around the world.

“Although we have a trend of growing popularity for games that have complex features, themes and narratives, there is a set of players that still prefer simplicity and familiarity over the modern, or let’s say ‘fancy’ graphics. 

“In 243 Fire’n’Diamonds we really took the traditional elements of a slot game, such as fire and diamonds, obviously, and the fruits. Just by combining these with contemporary and astonishing art, we brought the experience to a whole new level.”

Fitting in with the recognisability of the art, symbols and theme for the slot, Pushnia suggested that the game’s diamond-collecting bonus feature is “pretty straight forward”, with players able to easily identify what symbols are needed to gain specific, high multiplier wins. 

He continued: “Players enjoy clarity in terms of understanding where the big wins will come from. Actually, in this game, we have two places where big wins can come from – wild multipliers with a maximum win of x1,800 and diamond hits where players can win x777.

“We did this on purpose so that diamond hits have a slightly lower maximum win, and we wanted to make this kind of win more achievable for players. This combined with frequent teases throughout the gameplay make it really dynamic and engaging for the player.”

To hear Pushnia’s reflection on a “remarkable” 2023 for Tom Horn Gaming, how enhanced wins can be offered across the game’s bonus features and what the studio has planned in the new year, click here to watch the full video.

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With players hoping to witness a meteor shower of wild symbols, Cavemen and Dinosaurs takes place in a world where man and dinosaur coexisted, using a 5×3 reel set that has 20-paylines and a maximum win of up to x1,500 the player’s stake. 

Detailing the inspiration behind the slot’s prehistoric design, Yanev stated: “We wanted to stray a bit from the most common themes for slot games with this title. We ran through a lot of different ideas and concepts, but we couldn’t really pick a winner between two standout concepts. 

“One was the cavemen theme, and the other was a dinosaur theme. So we decided, ‘why not bring them together?’ Even though historically they didn’t coexist, just by some 60 million years.”

Explaining the features on offer in Cavemen and Dinosaurs’ free spins game mode, Yanew continued: “Every free spins session within the game starts with exactly eight spins. What’s different from the base game is that we have a meteor shower in the bonus game.”

In this meteor shower feature, players can have their free spins enhanced by an abundance of meteors that fall onto the reel set and transform symbols into wilds. If these meteors manage to land on volcano scatter symbols, additional free spins will be awarded. 

Yanev added: “What differs this game mode from a lot of other slot games is that you can actually get a lot of additional free spins and retriggers during your hunt for a full screen of wilds, for an award of x1,500.”

To hear Yanev outline the importance of offering bonus buy abilities in slot releases and dive into what players can expect from Amusnet in 2024, click the video above.

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Elvis Frog: Trueways – BGaming

The first episode of 2023 saw Alex Baliukonis, Game Designer at BGaming, discuss the return of the studio’s hound frog in Elvis Frog Trueways.

Elvis Frog Trueways is a six reel slot with up to eight rows, using the studio’s Trueways mechanic to offer up to 262,144 ways to win. The game has special futures including free spins and a coin respin game mode, which gives players the chance to win a mega jackpot prize. 

This slot sees the return of the amphibious rock and roll star, which Baliukonis stated is a key component in the success of this game as players “like to play with someone”. 

He continued: “It’s always great when you get that big win and somebody can celebrate it with you. So Elvis Frog is about emotional design and retention. Above that, he’s also part of the game and all the greatest features are triggered by him.”

“He can bring you a multiplier. He can bring you free spins. So he’s like your buddy who’s helping you to win.” 

When explaining the game’s features, Baliukonis said: “The main character, Elvis Frog, plays the role of the wild and can replace any symbol in a winning combination. In free spins, he has a wild multiplier which gives the ability to increase the winnings.”

He continued: “Also, in the mechanics of Trueways, we have got the hold and spin mechanic, which is very popular amongst players. If you get six or more scatters, you are going to get from 12 to 20 free spins.”

Check out the above video to hear Baliukonis discuss the different jackpot prizes on offer in the title and how the free spins feature impacts gameplay.

Wild Dragon’s Fortune – Tom Horn Gaming

In the spring, SlotBeats took a trip to East Asia as Mykhailo Pushnia, Game Producer at Tom Horn Gaming, took the stage to run through Wild Dragon’s Fortune. 

Pushnia was eager to dive into the inspiration behind Wild Dragon’s Fortune, a 5×4 reel slot with four base game mode options for the player to choose from. These game modes vary from 20-winlines up to 1,024-ways to win through Tom Horn Gaming’s Gifts of Fortune mechanic. 

Looking into the initial design process behind the slot, Pushnia explained: “With this game we decided that we can increase the payouts for the symbols, or we can use higher multipliers, but what actually makes these features outstanding for the players?

“We decided to come up with different winline sets for these base game levels, so while you’re playing on the first level you’re having just 20 winlines, wild multipliers from x1 to x5 and you’re playing low volatility games, slowly getting some nice wins.

“Then, you have the second level which already has 40-winlines, higher wild multipliers and so on, so you actually can receive bigger wins. With the third one you have 100-winlines.”

He continued: “As the biggest feature, we have this 1,024-ways and maximum wild multipliers, so on the last level, with four upgraded symbols, players can get wilds with multipliers up to x8 and there are very big wins.”

While players select what number of high value symbols they want to become enhanced as a Gift of Fortune, the game also offers players the choice of four game modes when triggering the free spins feature from landing blossom tree scatters. 

Commenting on the range of bonus game options, Pushnia said: “In regular free spins game modes, you’re waiting for it and it appears in, let’s say, 200 spins right? 

“But, with Wild Dragon’s Fortune, we decided we wanted to bring something new to the free spins to have players actually experience different game plays, in the same way that we have that in the base game.”

Watch the video above to hear why Pushnia believes the East Asian theme “fits slots perfectly” and what players are able to access using Tom Horn Gaming’s proprietary bonus buy feature – QuickX. 

Treasures of the Count – Wizard Games

With Halloween representing an opportune time for slot studios, October saw SlotBeats cover one of Wizard Games’ spooky slot titles – Treasures of the Count – as the studio’s Director of Game Studio, Simon Jagdhar, shed light on the vampire-themed release. 

After detailing his role within Wizard Games’ slot production, Jagdhar began to dive into the slot release, which offers a 5×4 reel grid, 40-paylines and a maximum win of up to x2,919 the player’s stake. While presenting several base game and bonus features, the slot uses low volatility with an RTP range of 88.08 to 96.06 per cent. 

Explaining why the industry witnesses an abundance of Halloween-themed games at this time of year, Jagdhar said: “Seasonal slots present a great opportunity because of a lot of the work and effort that goes into the seasonal preparation by casinos.

“It’s a very strong period of promotion, emails, text messages, some casinos might go as far as etching out a specific area on the casino homepage just for the seasonal games. Knowing this, providers have an opportunity to feature in all of that promotional activity by making and delivering an on-season game.”

Looking at the slot’s base gameplay, Jagdhar continued: “A good base game is critical to any game. When we make our base game, we always aim to make it as entertaining as possible. 

“We want to have good base game features that happen at a good frequency and have a reasonably good average pay to sustain the player’s balance over time. The last thing you want to see is your balance dwindle away in a couple hundred spins. Something needs to happen to boost it back up again. 

“So, since our main feature in Treasures of the Count is a hold and spin with cash symbols, we also use cash symbols in the base game to hint at what is going to come later in your bigger feature.”

Delving further into the slot’s main bonus feature, the Count Respins game mode, Jagdhar explained: “It’s a hold and spin but we’ve added a multiplier element to it. It works like a classic hold and spin, you get your three spins to get as many cash symbols as you possibly can. 

“The way the multiplier element of the game works is if you fill up a column with cash symbols then there’s going to be a multiplier applied to that column. This multiplier can go as high as x20.” 

To listen to Jagdhar detail how Halloween slots can outlive the short holiday to perform well during other seasons, click the video above.

Donkey & the GOATS – AvatarUX

Bringing the year to a close was AvatarUX, with the company’s Head of Studio, Hubert Spala, appearing on his second Beyond the Reels episode of the year to run through boxing-themed slot release Donkey & the GOATS. 

Looking back at what inspired the slot, Spala stated: “This game is very unique. We are well known for our PopWins games, and this is not a PopWins game. This is a big reach for us in some completely new ground.

“We wanted to have a completely new set of features to work with one another. It’s a foray into a completely new style for us on every level, the visuals, the audio, how they play, how they feel. They are just completely new entities. 

“We want to make a whole family of games like this, we want to expand on this idea. It took a lot of work to get all those features to work together in this fashion, so this is a very new project for AvatarUX.”

Explaining why the studio chose to focus on the sport of boxing for this title, Spala said: “We always look into our portfolio and check what we are missing. You might have an Irish game, an Egyptian game, classics so to speak, but we never really tackled a sport game, and we have some sport enthusiasts inside the studio. 

“We have some people with some expertise in boxing, which actually helped us to figure out what we actually wanted to show, what kind of fights, what kind of scene, what kind of battles, who is going to be our greatest of all time, the ‘GOATs’.”

“It’s all twisted to be a little bit of a parody, but it’s still boxing. You can recognise some famous hits, famous attacks and bouts but it’s all overdone to be a little cheeky, which is of course most visible in our Donkey character – based on the legendary Dom King.”

To watch Spala guide viewers through the many features on offer in Donkey & the GOATS, while providing insights into the studio’s plans for the title to kick-start a new slot series, watch the video above. 

The post AvatarUX, Wizard Games and Tom Horn Gaming – Beyond the Reels rewind appeared first on CasinoBeats.

Mega Laser Kitty Cube utilises an Interspace mechanic, designed by the company itself. With this mechanic, symbols fall in various conjoined shapes to create gaps in a colourful grid. An interspace block will then either collect cash values from these gaps on the grid or fill them to create cluster wins. 

When questioned on how the firm came up with the unique theme for this title, Lamond explained: “We probably approach games a little bit differently to a lot of studios, we come up with the mechanic first. There’s always five to ten demos that are at various stages being played, once we get one that is balanced, plays well and we all like, then we start to look at the themes and the styles.”

He continued: “This seemed to fit the originality and entertainment style of the mechanic. The intention is loosely based on early memes with space cats and all of this has an intention to be fun and put a smile on the players face. Hopefully, with the feedback we’ve had so far, it is doing that.”

This title uses a mechanic that has been designed by Rogue, and the majority of the brand’s titles are the same. John Parsonage explained that, although they tend to use game formats of their own creation, that doesn’t mean to say they wouldn’t use external IPs for different titles. 

He stated: “If one of our mechanics, or one of our formats really fits or would work well with another IP, whether it be in the gaming industry or completely separate, we would probably consider it, but only if it fits.

“What we try to do is, our mechanic comes first with the idea, and if that works then we will find a theme to fit it. I think that’s how we work differently to most other studios. Because we’re quite small, quite agile and like a collective, we work together on these things and when an idea comes together we get feedback from our teams, from our people. It’s like a fun project.” 

Watch the video above to learn all about the studio’s Interspace mechanic, how the studio thinks this format can attract players to their brand and future plans for the rising studio. 

The post Beyond the Reels: Rogue – Mega Laser Kitty Cube appeared first on CasinoBeats.

Featuring bonuses such as volcano erupt and lava spins, the title is a 5×4 reel slot with an additional horizontal top reel for increased win potential. 

Players are awarded with special game events after a specific amount of spins, guaranteeing that they will experience some of the title’s bonus offerings in a bid to ensure player retention.

Commenting on the game’s Hawaiian island theme, Coleman explained: “So far, all of our games have been very character-based and we wanted to do that for Treasures of Kilauea as well so we really made the volcano the star of the game. 

“We wanted to make sure that the volcano was very interactive, particularly when the player is momentarily inactive.”

When asked how the studio designs slots to attract players who may have never gambled before, Coleman answered: “We try and put ourselves in the place of the player. Most of the guys in the studio are players themselves and we believe that players want to be entertained so when we build our games we want to bring that level of entertainment with each game that we create.

“We want the players to go on a journey, we don’t want them to just sit there and have to do 250, 300 spins to get into a bonus round that may or may not payout as you would want. We are not a one feature studio.

Click the video above to hear Coleman discuss how the studio came up with the idea for the title, future plans for the Canadian studio and in-depth details on the game’s many features.

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Joining CasinoBeats’ Senior Reporter, James Ross, on the rooftop of the InterContinental Malta at CasinoBeats Summit 2022, was Relax Gaming’s Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Daniel Eskola, who delved into the supplier’s slot title, Temple Tumble 2 Dream Drop. 

In the live interview, Eskola revealed that, within the first seven days of launching Temple Tumble 2 Dream Drop, “one of our biggest operators mentioned that this is the third best game that they ever launched.” 

Moreover, being a sequel to Relax’s original Temple Tumble title with the most prominent addition of a Dream Drop mechanic, Eskola continued to explain that “Dream Drop is a product that we’ve been working on for more than a year. 

He continued: “When we decided that we were going to do something with the jackpot segment of the industry, we did a big analysis of what’s on the market today. We realised that if we were going to create a jackpot game, we cannot create a game that is similar to everything that is on the market. 

“So we decided to do something really special here with Dream Drop, with the mechanic being a must-win, so players know that somebody’s going to win the jackpot before it reaches an amount. 

“What we believe here is that, if you’re playing the game and you enter into the jackpot round – and you know that somebody is going to win it in the next three days – the adrenaline, the dopamine and the excitement of playing the bonus game is way higher.”

Eskola also went on to explain how the base game and free spins feature function, delving further into the Dream Drop mechanic, how it works and its expectations for its success in the near, and long term, future.

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Delving into the title with CasinoBeats’ Senior Reporter, James Ross, was the slot suppliers Founder and Director, Bryan Upton, who stated the firm aimed for something “slightly edgy” with the voodoo theme. 

He stated: “Something edgy seems to stand out in this day and age and voodoo is slightly edgy. You can do a lot of dark stuff with that theme. We then wanted a central character who was the main protagonist of the wins, which was the High Priestess. 

“We looked up a lot of shamans and priestesses to try and capture it, but also bring it a little bit more modern day. We did a bit of research on certain bits of art that emanated from voodoo and then pieced it together. 

“We didn’t make it authentically accurate, I’ll say that! We tried to focus on it being fun and nice to look at more than anything else so any voodo aficionados out there I’m sorry!”

Delving into RTP, within the game and in general, Upton stated that the company was “all about transparency”, noting the company is frequent in “calling out” its titles stats for players to see at any time.

“I think the RTP is important,” noted Upton. “We do two RTP variants of our games at the moment, and that’s 94.5 and 96.5 per cent in the base, but if you buy a bonus buy, in Voodoo Temple for example, then that RTP is 97 per cent, also the same in the Shadow Bet. 

“What we’re saying is, if you want to spend a little bit more with us at Lucksome, then we will give you a higher RTP in exchange for that loyalty, which I think is quite important and I believe we’re quite transparent about that.”

Upton also delved into the titles Shadow Spins mode, free spins feature, why certain symbols was selected and what the company has in store for the near future.

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