Immortal Romance II Q&A with Stormcraft Studios!

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In this Q&A we catch up with Terence Igesund, Executive Producer at Stormcraft Studios to talk about the immortal game in both name and popularity, Immortal Romance^TM ,  and its long-awaited sequel Immortal Romance^TM II.

Immortal Romance^TM’s popularity has endured and withstood the test of time since its release 12 years ago, and it’s every bit as popular with slot enthusiasts now as it was then. Many consider it one of the earliest to truly push the boundaries of online slots with captivating bonus rounds that added unfathomable excitement, engagement and potential. Of course, the use of the vampire theme helped to bolster its popularity further, given the popularity of supernatural themes at the time.

If there were a physical hall of fame for slots, then you’d find Immortal Romance^TM displayed proudly in statue form for all to behold. As we catch up with Terence, we’ll be exploring its legacy, why it’s still so popular, and the exciting new sequel, Immortal Romance II^TM .

Immortal Romance II – Base Game

Q: What do you think makes Immortal Romance^TM stand out as one of the most prominent online slots of all time?

There are many reasons why the original Immortal slot was such a success from day one. For starters, the world was crazy about vampires at the time so the timing of the release would definitely have played a part. Add to that, the game was a derivative of our Thunderstruck™ II slot.  Thunderstruck™ II was hugely popular and the first online slot ever to save the player’s game state which created massive opportunity for bonus feature progression.

Q: Few slots go the distance like Immortal Romance^TM did. What do you think makes it one of your top performers, even years after its release?

Immortal Romance^TM was carefully crafted into a unique gaming experience through the introduction of compelling characters with intriguing narratives, which culminated in us writing and composing an amazing soundtrack to support each of the characters’ free spin features. There was nothing like it in the industry at the time and players were drawn to it for multiple reasons, whether it be the theme and visual design, the supporting narrative and soundtrack, or the innovative features and carefully balanced game maths.

Q: Immortal Romance^TM ’s success could be attributed in part to its great soundtrack. Do you think quality improvements like this are an aspect of development that is commonly overlooked?

I think it ultimately comes down to budget and a game studio’s ability and appetite to spend the time and money required to write and compose a quality multi song soundtrack for a slot game.  Thinking back over my long career in this industry, game sounds were often at the end of the creative production line, playing a supportive role instead of a primary role like with Immortal Romance^TM.  We were passionate about creating an immersive gaming experience and knew from the start how important sound and music were going to be in achieving that.

Speaking of soundtracks, the soundtrack for Immortal Romance^TM II has been added to Stormcraft’s Spotify account as well as all other major music streaming sites. You can also find the original Immortal Romance^TM album there as well as the Thunderstruck soundtracks, so go check it out.

Q: Did you think Immortal Romance^TM was going to be such a hit? Or did its popularity surprise even you?

I still remember the day the first complete build was sent to me to start testing. I could not stop smiling because I knew that we had just created something really special and unique that the industry had not experienced before. After the game launched and the numbers went through the roof, I was relieved that all the time, effort, and energy that we had poured into the project had been worthwhile. I never expected that years later, the game would still appear from time to time in the top 10 monthly commercial rankings. I continue to be filled with gratitude for the support of the incredible team who helped me manifest my Immortal Romance ^TM vision all those years ago.

Immortal Romance II – Amber Free Spins

Q: Was Immortal Romance^TM based on the popular vampire genre that took cinema by storm? Or was it just thematically coincidental?

Oh no it was very strategic! I’ll share the backstory of how this all came about. I was in London for the ICE trade show, and like every year, I made my annual pilgrimage to my favourite comic and collectable megastore in Shaftesbury Ave. I remember heading downstairs to the bookstore, excited to see what new graphic novels and art books would be for sale. To my surprise, the section of shelves that normally contained the new releases were now filled with dozens of paranormal romance books. It was at that moment that I realised this trend was significant and we needed to get on board. So, I bought my first vampire romance novel, finished it on the flight home, and, on arriving back at the studio, announced that we were going to be sinking our teeth into the paranormal romance genre! The rest is history! Actually, the game was ready to go live in the middle of the year, but I was determined to wait and release it in December to coincide with the hype around the launch of the final movie in that other vampire series that was all the rage at the time.

Q: Players all over the world have been eagerly awaiting a sequel to Immortal Romance^TM. Now that Immortal Romance II ^TM has been released to the world, what can you tell us about it?

Sure. We strategically chose to keep to the original 243 ways but introduce Rolling Reels™ throughout the entire game, which is closely coupled to all the new wild multiplier features and functionality that we have introduced. After all, Immortal Romance^TM is all about the wilds.

Based on industry feedback, we decided to commit the time and effort into once again creating unique free spins feature mechanics for each of the four characters, enhanced with their own original soundtrack. As per the original game, each of the free spins differs in volatility, but this time all the features are available to play from the first trigger with no unlocking required. Amber’s feature is an extension of base game’s mechanics with multipliers that increase by 3x per rolling win. Troy has a locking wild which expands and evolves into multipliers during consecutive rolling wins. Michael’s feature can randomly synchronize up to four reels at a time. Finally, Sarah has stacked sticky mystery symbols with a multiplier trail above the reels.

We’ve introduced four character-themed jackpots into the base game which will grow and improve through a novel gem collection mechanism. The jackpot wheel bonus can be triggered randomly on any gem collection event, where players can win one of the four jackpots or trigger the famous Wild Desire™ feature.

Now, onto Wild Desire™! We knew this feature needed to be next level, so we elevated the experience to a thrilling 1,024 ways to win. But that’s not all. One of the consistent requests we saw online was for a multiplier to be added to Wild Desire™… so we did it! This multiplier was built into the base game as a collection device which starts at 1x and can be increased up to 3x. Another change we introduced to Wild Desire™ was the way it was triggered. Originally it was completely random, which gave players zero indication of the hit rate of the feature. Wild Desire™ is now a reel symbol driven event, requiring a mouthwatering Blood Drop symbol to land on reels two and four. We also increased the max win potential in the feature from 12,000x to 15,000x the bet! So, as you can see there was a lot of work and engineering that went into this feature.

Immortal Romance II – Michael Free Spins

Q: Immortal Romance ^TM II has big shoes to fill, and slots have undoubtedly evolved since the release of the original. How has Immortal Romance ^TM II evolved, given the advancements in graphics, mechanics, and the trends in rising max wins, since the original?

We are well aware of the volatility trends within our industry. Stormcraft however prefers crafting games that are well balanced mathematically and designed with longevity in mind, that will not rapidly exhaust a player’s credit balance. We prefer to steer away from sensationalism and focus on creating entertaining and sustainable gaming experiences.

I hope that players will be open to acknowledging how much care and consideration has gone into finding that balance between nostalgic idealism and modern progression and evolution. The game has something for everyone and has been designed with entertainment and longevity in mind. The Bloodline feature for example rewards players who continue to play the game with unlockable music and visual skins to customise their gaming experience, which sets a new bar when it comes to innovative gamification.

Immortal Romance^TM II is the foundation upon which an impressive brand franchise is being built. This is the beginning of an exciting new era, so visit our Stormcraft Studios’ website, follow us on social media and Spotify as well as subscribe to our YouTube channel for all the breaking news and juicy updates.