Sometimes, there are magical moments for gifted creators and designers who realize a concept they have developed has more to build and improvise upon than originally envisioned.
Melinda Parr, the Studio Director for Ainsworth Game Technology in the greater Sydney area of Australia, experienced such a moment with her team when their Ultra Shot slot concept revealed the potential to become the catalyst for what is described as a “massive overhaul of how the company will present itself to players moving forward”.
“When Dave Bollesen joined Ainsworth as Chief Product Officer, there was an immediate change to the culture and feel of the studio,” Parr explained. “Soon, all departments were working together with the game developers to ensure everyone had a buy-in on the product. Everyone participated in reviews and updates.
“Ultra Shot was our starting point. The first thing we looked at was the presence of the art on the cabinet, how the game played, and how the players interacted with the game. We really took a step back and looked at the user interface, the clarity, and making sure that features really popped up on the cabinet.”
Ultra Shot is more than just a portfolio encore for Ainsworth’s successful game concepts brought to life through Treasure Spirits and Ca$h Stacks Gold. This one is a game changer, or to put it in Bollesen’s words, “the most forward-thinking of our games”.
The revolutionary game brings a new dimension of excitement to the popular “Hold & Spin” bonus feature by introducing the “Ultra Shot” mechanic.
It takes players through a compelling three-level Ultra Shot adventure with a groundbreaking coin collection component in which coins accumulate during the bonus fill ladders that lead to 2-times and 3-times coin multiplier levels as well as the linked progressive Grand and standalone Major jackpots.
“Just one thing among many that is great about Ultra Shot is the enhanced gameplay,” Parr said. “We looked at all the different components, but I think the main thing was addressing the visual presence of the game because that is what will attract players to the cabinet. That is really the point at which the major overhaul started.”
Dedicated slot players live for bonus rounds. When the required symbols appear on the grid, an immediate adrenaline rush ensues. Free games trigger intense sensations of excitement, anticipation, and, ultimately, drama as the feature unfolds and the end result plays out.
This is where Ultra Shot takes things to an entirely new plateau for players, who will experience unprecedented feelings of having a chance to escalate to the Major or even Grand jackpot because that chance is always “alive” as you ascend the coin multiplier levels.
“We believe it is essential that the player has feelings that they really have a chance for a big prize,” Parr acknowledged. “Whenever we design a game that’s how you have to think. You have to put yourself in the player’s seat and think you have a shot to win those Grands or Majors.
“With Ultra Shot, you have three levels to go through. When you collect 15 coins in the first level, the game takes you to the second level where the player sees all their prizes doubling up and the player is fulfilled with exactly what they were chasing.
“Fill that ladder with 12 coins, and you jump to the third level in which the prizes are tripled, giving them a decent shot to come away with a big prize. At this point, the player will think, ‘OK, I’m at level three. I can get the Major or Grand’.”
Ultra Shot goes live in the United States in almost every major gaming market in the first week of August. It launches in Ainsworth’s premium A-STAR Curve XL with a 55-inch monitor and A-STAR Curve with a 43-inch screen.
The initial themes will be the Tiger and Panda games, with Ultra Shot enhancements of Royal Diamond and Sapphire Eyes to follow soon thereafter, in penny, two-cent, nickel, dime, dollar and two-dollar PSMD formats.
Not a single detail was overlooked in the design of Ultra Shot. Something as subtle as the audio sound of the reels dropping into place was even addressed.
“It is all about the player experience,” Parr explained. “We thought the sound was a little bit ‘dry’, so we wanted to address the complete player experience with an appealing sound that wasn’t jarring.
“With that said, along with the art, the sound has been completely reimagined. This was our first step with Ultra Shot. We are quite proud of the manner in which things are moving forward in the studio.”
Parr revealed that the creation of Ultra Shot required a degree of ‘playing off’ traditional Ainsworth Double Shot games but incorporating enhancements that make the new products moving forward “a noticeable increase in the look and feel, and sight and sound of the product”.
“We improved the graphics to bring them up to today’s age by enhancing the colors, animation, and so on,” she said. “This was about attention to detail of how the games play, the intuitive aspect, the branding.”
Another important aspect that wasn’t overlooked was the colors associated with different jackpot levels. Parr said, “when you look at what’s out there in the market, a lot of the colors were consistent and didn’t change. The color changes we incorporated visually add to the excitement level”.
“We paid a lot of attention to the animation and the graphics and even observed the player’s response to ascending to the next level in the bonus round,” she said.
“On Ultra Shot, the anticipation increases because of visual awareness of color changes. You go from the “green” level to the 2-times multiplier “blue” level, to the 3-times multiplier “red” level, where the player knows instantly that they are progressing closer to the Major and Grand jackpots.”
Parr believes that Ultra Shot, introduced to Australian gamers last year, will succeed in the United States market.
“This is our first step in changing the whole look and feel of Ainsworth,” she observed. “The graphics of the Panda and Tiger themes are quite strong, the animation of the animals completely re-enhanced and animated to bring the games to life. It has a very strong presence, just as Royal Diamonds and Sapphire Eyes will have when they are released.”
Summing up the collaborative effort put forth by the studio on Ultra Shot, Parr believes that it adds up to a “really good mix and a team effort among extremely talented individuals”.
“Ultra Shot really kicks off a different look and feel for Ainsworth,” she said. “You’ll notice that moving forward with our games. It is what we are striving for: the team working together and collaborating because, in the end, it is going to result in a better product. We’re very excited for the future.”
