Over the next week, we are reflecting on the feature series and taking a look at some of the most interesting insights from origin stories of igaming players. 

For this edition we are looking at who the industry’s most beloved video game character is. 

SlotBeats: Who is your favourite video game character? 

Andrew Goodale, CEO at Northern Lights Gaming: Master Chief of course, such a cool character – and when they released the first limited series, I was blown away to see this world and all these characters actually on the big screen, and then the Paramount spin off… This blew my mind and still does. I love it. 

I remember a few years back a trailer was released for what everyone thought was going to be a Halo film, but it wasn’t. It was a one off thing but I remember vividly watching that and the effort that had been put into it was amazing. Someone should do a Halo film, it’s a no brainer.

Rahul Chudasama, Head of Business Development at Blaze Gaming: Kratos from God of War is my favourite character because of his incredible depth and complexity. 

He’s not just a warrior fuelled by rage; he’s a man haunted by his past, striving for redemption while battling inner demons. His journey from vengeance to fatherhood, especially in the more recent games, shows real character growth. 

His iconic moments of battling gods and monsters are epic and, being a fan of mythology, this series was perfect for me. I also love the development of the character, because Kratos is the ultimate embodiment of strength and redemption. 

James Ross, iGamingDaily: For childhood memories, I’ll say Spyro the Dragon. The cheeky purple dragon always finds a way to save the Dragon Kingdom. 

But a special shoutout goes to Red Dead’s John Marston. I’m a huge fan of the Western film genre and, aside from the average 360 game GUN and Red Dead’s predecessor Red Dead Revolver, there was never a Western game that hooked me. 

John’s journey did that. Plus, his need for redemption and the love and security of his family was such a rollercoaster. It was also great to see the start of his journey in Red Dead Redemption 2.

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In this edition, we spoke to Ed Pattman, Producer at Northern Lights Gaming, who underlined his love for one of Britpop’s staple bands, an admiration for The Rolling Stones’ incomparable longevity and the song that has him “lifting weights like Superman”. 

What was your first-ever gig, and what was it like?

Rather embarrassingly it was the Beautiful South…but I have a good excuse! My older sisters were going to watch them with their friends and one of them dropped out. So I got to go out with them all to London and feel like a proper grown up! The concert was great, but the whole experience was brilliant.

What’s the best performance you have ever seen live, and why was it so good?

Blur. Proper Blur back in the late nineties early noughties. I went to watch them a few times over the years and they were amazing. One year they had Pulp supporting them and that was just an awesome gig. Blur were my favourite band and they always played with such energy but also technically they always sounded great too. 

What is your most cherished album, and what makes it so special to you?

I hate this question! I suppose it should be an album that has been with me forever and has probably the most plays I guess, so I reckon that is either Wu Tang forever, Blur by Blur OR as an outsider Kind of Blue by Miles Davis. All those albums have been with me for years and everything I listen to I remember milestone events, school, college, uni, my kids being born etc.

What song always makes it to your gym playlist? What activities do you usually do in the gym while listening to it?

“Rari workout” by Lethal Bizzle! That song will get you lifting weights like Superman I swear!

Is there an artist who, in your eyes, can do no wrong? If so, why?

Toss up between Damon Albarn, who has always released some of my favourite music whether with Blur or solo, or Jagger and the Stones. I mean the fact they are still making amazing music after years of such incredible stuff is mind blowing.

Which artist or song helps take your mind off work? Why have you chosen this artist and genre?

Jazz. Proper old school stuff. Miles Davis Kind of Blue is the one thing I will play at the end of a day, normally whilst cooking tea or something, which totally bookends the working day and stops me thinking about whatever went wrong that day!

If you could go on a night out with any musician, who would it be, and where would you take them?

Keith Richards, I mean it has to be right? And as if I would get a say as to where we went or what we would do…Or what country we would end up in!

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72 Fortunes – Betsoft

Wukong the Monkey God is the star of the show in Betsoft’s latest East Asian-themed slot title, which uses a 3×1 reel set with just one payline. While a bonus reel offers varied game enhancements, the slot has an RTP of 96.41 per cent with medium volatility. 

Fernando Van Velzen, Head of Account Management at Betsoft Gaming, stated: “72 Fortunes offers a great interplay of frequent payouts plus bonuses which can significantly impact the big win potential. The dramatic graphics and authentic soundtrack enhances the overall experience. 

“Betsoft fans who loved 88 Frenzy Fortune especially will really get a lot from this latest release. We are expecting a positive player reception to 72 Fortunes.”

Throughout the game, a bonus reel sits to the right side of the base grid that can present game enhancements on any winning spin. 

In order to activate one of these game enhancements, they must appear on the middle-most part of the bonus reel set, in between two arrows, while a win occurs on the main three reels’ single payline. 

These bonus enhancements include an instant win bonus that will award either x8 or x18 the player’s stake, multiplier bonuses that apply either a x2, x5 or x8 multiplier to the initial win or a respin bonus. 

This respin bonus causes the reels to spin again after awarding the player’s payline payout, resulting in the exact same spin that triggered the initial payout, repeating the player’s win. 

This can reoccur up to five times and can present either a x1, x2, x3 or x4 multiplier for each repeated win to increase the payout potential. 

Unusual Suspects – Northern Lights Gaming

Criminal masterminds are on the run in Northern Lights Gaming’s latest title, showcasing a game of cops and robbers on a 5×4 reel grid with 20-paylines, offering a maximum win of up to x12,000 the player’s bet. This game has an RTP of 96.15 per cent. 

For this title, three different wild symbols are available, each substituting for all symbols in the game other than the siren scatters. 

Firstly, standard criminal wilds can drop into play, substituting for other symbols and awarding payouts of x2, x5 or x20 the chosen bet if three, four or five land in a winning combination respectively. 

Next, gold criminal wilds are available, causing other standard or gold wilds to appear across the board when they land on the reels. 

Each of these criminal wilds will leave behind a x1 multiplier in the frame they drop into, increasing by a value of one with each additional wild that drops into the same frame. 

The third available wild is a detective wild, which will activate the wild frames feature. Each time a detective wild drops into play, the marked frames across the board will become filled with wild symbols for one enhanced spin. 

Additionally, this will also cause the multipliers within those frames to become active. 

Meanwhile, the free spins game mode is a progressive feature, as every third detective wild that is collected will enhance the bonus game mode. 

Landing the first three detective wilds will award an extra five spins with a multiplier of x2 to be applied to every win, while collecting another three will provide another five spins with a x3 multiplier. 

If players collect another three detective wilds after that, then another five spins will be activated with a multiplier of x5. 

Lastly, if another three detective wilds drop into play after this point then a final five more spins will be triggered with a maximum multiplier of x10.

Bone Bonanza – BGaming

BGaming has made an early preparation for November’s Day of the Dead, presenting a 6×5 reel slot with scatter-pays, requiring a minimum of eight identical symbols, while offering a maximum win of x14,134 the player’s stake. This highly volatile slot uses an RTP of 96 per cent. 

Yulia Aliakseyeva, Co-CPO at BGaming, commented: “The Day of the Dead theme is hugely popular not just in Mexico, but around the world, with people choosing to mark the occasion with vibrant costumes and lively music.

“Players will be consumed by this unforgettable slot in the lead up to Halloween and beyond, with its lovable characters adding to the engaging gameplay.”

The game uses scatter-pays, meaning that it features no paylines as all wins are formed when a minimum of eight identical symbols appear on a single turn.

Cascading wins are also showcased, causing winning symbols to disappear after providing their payout to make way for new symbols and increase the win potential. 

Additionally, female character scatters are available, respectively triggering 10, 20 or 30 free spins if four, five or six land on the same turn.

The free spins feature uses progressive multiplier levels that increase each time a win is formed with a low or high value symbol that hasn‘t already contributed to a win in previous free spins. 

This multiplier meter shows the minimum and maximum level that the multipliers can be, advancing with every new symbol win, until it eventually reaches the maximum multiplier of x100. 

Thunder Mega Sevens – Evoplay

Evoplay has electrified the reels with its latest fruit machine-inspired slot release, using a 5×3 reel grid with 20-paylines and a maximum win of up to x3,000 the player’s bet. This slot has an RTP of 95.96 per cent with medium volatility. 

Ivan Kravchuk, CEO at Evoplay, explained: “Thunder Mega Sevens is an electrifying player experience, letting players set off on a riveting voyage in search of activating the thrilling wheel of thunder round.

“This slot also allows users to access the bonus buy option, immediately transporting players to the classic Free Spins round where enchanting gameplay awaits.”

Free spins text scatters can appear, triggering 10, 15 or 20 free spins if three, four or five scatters appear on the same spin. 

Blue bonus symbols can also drop into play, displaying multiplied bet amount prizes from x1 to x5 the player’s bet, which will be awarded if five bonus symbols land at once. This will also trigger the Wheel of Thunder feature. 

Moreover, wild text symbols are available, substituting for all symbols other than the free spins scatters and blue bonus prizes. 

If five or more bonus symbols drop into play, the prizes on each symbol will be added together and placed on a screen above the reels. 

When this happens, the Wheel of Thunder feature is activated, which spins through several multipliers, revealing one to enhance the player’s bonus symbol winnings. 

The wheel can reveal multipliers of x2, x3, x4, x5, x8 or x12, as well as ‘x2 + respin’ and ‘x3 + respin’ multipliers that offer another respin of the wheel of thunder while applying their respective multipliers to the winnings. 

During the free spins game mode, every bonus symbol that appears will apply itself to the screen above the reels as players are guaranteed to activate the Wheel of Thunder feature on the very last spin. 

Professor Big Win – Atomic Slot Lab

Bubbling test tubes and chemical mixtures take their place on the reel set in Atomic Slot Lab’s latest release, presenting players with a 5×4 reel slot that has 40-paylines. This scientific slot release has medium volatility with an RTP of 95.52 per cent. 

Voltage bonus symbols can appear on both the first and fifth reels, triggering the replicating reels feature when two land at the same time. However, this feature can also be randomly triggered on any spin where this does not occur.

Free spins text scatters are also available, activating the free spins game mode if at least two reels become fully stacked with free spins symbols. 

Wild orb symbols are also included, substituting for all symbols other than the voltage bonuses and the free spins scatters. Additionally, landing three, four or five wilds in a winning combination will result in payouts of x1.25, x5 or x50 respectively. 

When the replicating reels feature is activated, between two and five reels will be chosen to be enhanced for one free respin. 

These selected reels will reveal identical symbols to increase the win potential of the respin, while also increasing the chances of activating the free spins game mode with at least two full reels of scatters. 

During the free spins game mode, the reels that activated the game mode will become replicating reels for the entirety of the feature, revealing identical symbols throughout. 

While players are given seven initial spins, any full reels of free spins scatters that appear during the feature will award an extra three spins and turn into another replicating reel. 

The free spins game mode can also randomly activate a high voltage feature, which increases the players chances of landing another full reel of scatters. 

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Becoming the latest in an array of expansions to its operator network, following integration the supplier’s portfolio of in-house and partner content will be rolled out with Rootz’s flagship online casino brand, Wildz. 

Lasse Rantala, chief executive officer of Rootz, commented: “Integration can often be a headache, but not with Relax. Their knowledgeable team has made integration a pleasant business with competent personnel, a well-built API, and a robust selection of third-party integrations.

“Additionally, their roadmap is quite impressive suggesting that Relax Gaming is diligently focused on future growth.”

Launched earlier this year Wildz, which stresses a focus on “intuitive gameplay and rewarding its customers,” is to gain access to the Relax Gaming catalogue, which boasts in excess of 570 titles. 

Daniel Eskola, CEO at Relax Gaming, added: “We’re delighted to supply Rootz with our catalogue of innovative and engaging games as the operator sets its sights on European expansion.

“As a new brand on the scene, we’re looking forward to supporting Wildz in hitting the ground running at the start line of its casino journey.”

This continues a busy month for both parties, each of which have added a third agreement, with Relax beginning July by giving its Silver Bullet partner program a boost following a content agreement with Northern Lights Gaming. 

A further agreement alongside Betclic Everest Group followed this up, with Relax titles, such as Caveman Bob and Temple Tumble, made available to the operator’s brands under the terms of the deal, including the flagship Betclic.com site.

Malta Gaming Authority licensed Wildz on the other hand penned two deals in three days, firstly welcoming content casino game and software supplier Red Tiger before Nolimit City expanded its content distribution base after aligning with the new operator.

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The online gaming organisation, which recently deepened its US footprint, adds Northern Lights to its online casino suite, which combines in-house developed titles with those from third party suppliers.

Northern Lights, which has offices in Stockholm, Sweden, and Manchester, England, stresses that the deal adds further strength to its core European focus.

Andrew Goodale, CEO of Northern Lights Gaming, commented: “888 are undoubtedly at the very forefront of this industry. I’ve been working with them throughout my career, so it’s a real pleasure to now launch Northern Lights games on their platform.”

As a result of the new agreement 888casino customers can gain access to a number of Northern Lights games, including Blast Off, Electric Wilds, and Rocky’s Gold, with a variety of new titles also currently under development. 

Guy Cohen, SVP of B2C at 888, added: “888casino is focused on offering customers an entertaining experience by developing in-house games and adding to our platform, exciting third-party content, such as Northern Lights Gaming. 

“Their experienced team has developed fantastic video slots games which we look forward to sharing with our customers. We welcome this new partnership with Northern Lights Gaming and look forward to moving forward together.” 

888 Holdings recently debuted its ‘Orbit’ online gaming platform in New Jersey, which it lauds as its “most exciting product development of recent years”. 

Beginning “with great success” on the UK market a little over a year ago, the firm states that various enhancements made will ensure a faster and easier process for Garden State users to find specific titles, while offering a more personalised experience in the process.

Orbit is designed to deliver a superior user experience, with interface response said to be up to three times faster than previous versions, and giving players access to 239 slot games, 15 tables games and 13 live casino tables.

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