The rise of narrative driven slots

Fredrik Johansson, CCO and Founder at Fantasma Games, says it’s time for studios to open a new chapter on slot development by creating games based on narratives and characters

The power of storytelling has long been used to immerse consumers in new and exciting worlds, and to deliver experiences that take them away from their everyday life.

Video games are now like blockbuster movies, with complex narratives and a cast of characters that put players at the heart of the action whether that be entering a warzone or competing in the F1 World Championship.

These stories are all consuming, and due to the availability of smartphone technology and internet connectivity, can be accessed at any time and from anywhere.

But to date, the online casino industry has yet to truly explore the power of storytelling and especially when it comes to developing slots that are narrative driven. This is missing a trick as narrative driven slots deliver unprecedented levels of player engagement.

Building stories and characters into slots is something that we have been doing for several years now and the stats these games generate are impressive to say the least.

Take Heroes Hunt – the game starts with an opening sequence similar to what you would get from a video game. Players find themselves in a cave which they move through until they are met by the game’s four characters. They then pick the character they wish to play with.

As they play through the game, they unlock more characters until they reach the final sequence where they must defeat a dragon. The session times on Heroes Hunt are off the charts – we are talking about double that of a standard slot.

But how do developers set about creating story driven slots? And what comes first, the story or the mechanics and features of the game?

The creative process:

When developing story driven slots, we often consider the math and mechanics first. The gameplay is super important and is ultimately what keeps players on the edge of their seats.

Once we have the game’s features mapped out – it could be the ability to climb through levels and unlock additional features, for example – we then consider the different stories, characters and themes that would tie in with that type of gameplay.

We actually have a shelf of ideas that we come back to when brainstorming a new slot. These are concepts that our team have come up with but that we have not been able to build a game around up to that point.

This is true for our recent release, Wins of Nautilus Megaways. We had an idea for a game based on Jules Verne’s Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea but had yet to come up with the right math and mechanics to do it justice.

Having developed increasingly complex games over recent months, the time was right to combine this incredible theme with a math model and mechanics that could bring the story and characters to life. And that is exactly what we did.

Providing players with more value:

Consumer preferences are changing, and now more than ever players are seeking out interactive and social experiences. Simply hitting “Spin” and waiting to see if the game outcome is a win or is not enough to pull players away from other entertainment options.

But games that are narrative driven and provide the ability to progress through different levels and features gives players another reason to head to an online casino rather than a streaming service or mobile game. There is another purpose other than just winning money.

Of course, narrative driven games give players a reason to keep retuning to that title. While they may not progress all the way through the game in one playing session, they can come back to it time and again to see if they can reach the next level.

In a such a highly competitive market, this is exactly what operators want their players to do. What’s more, with game lobbies saturated with hundreds – sometimes thousands – of standard games, story-based slots can be a huge differentiator.

Operators can also use them as part of their marking activity by using game characters and events to reach out to players with different bonuses and promotions. They are also great for running tournaments based on in-game missions and tasks.

The online casino industry is aware that it is under threat from other entertainment options, but operators and suppliers must realise that in order to give players a compelling reason to engage with slots instead of Snapchat, they need to push the boundaries.

It is my belief that narrative driven slots do just this. They take elements from the video and mobile game industry and combine it with the immersive stories found in quality streaming content to deliver next level engagement with the ability to gamble on the outcome of games and win money.

This is a powerful combination and one that will allow the online casino industry to emerge as a favoured entertainment option for a wide range of consumers in markets and countries around the world.