Jamie: Hey guys, thanks for chatting with us today! Duy, now that Nunchucks has been announced, how would you introduce the game to players who are seeing it for the first time, and what was the original idea behind it?
Duy: Honestly, the whole concept came straight from my head one day: the name, the theme, and the visual direction. The pun Nunchucks just popped up: literally nuns wielding nunchucks.
From there, I built out the backstory. These nuns used to have a rough past on the streets before they broke away, found god, and completely turned their lives around. But the crime boss they walked away from hasn’t forgotten, and now the past is catching up to them to settle old scores. It’s gritty, funny, and definitely not your everyday slot theme.
Jamie: Duy, what can you tell us about the game’s main features and what players can expect from a typical session in Nunchucks?
Duy: The core gameplay is all about the nuns and how their abilities interact. The main hook is landing a nun with the ability to give a re-spin.
Once that triggers, the goal is to keep landing more nuns on the reels, so their features start bouncing off each other. When you get a few of them on the board working together at the same time, that’s when the round can really take off.
Jamie: Mariia, what inspired the visual style and world of Nunchucks, and how did you bring that theme to life?
Mariia: When Duy pitched us the game concept for the first time, my first thought was “Wow this is a story about some badass independent women, and it reminds me of Sin City”.
The inspiration for visuals came from things like Tarantino movies and Daredevil comics and TV series. We decided to go with that sort of grungy vibe, dark humour and semi-nostalgic art style that people who love graphic novels always think of…
Jamie: Mariia, which part of the artwork or animation was the most enjoyable or challenging to create?
Mariia: Well, I think everyone in the team loved to work on the characters and the story.
First of all, the nuns. We wanted them each to have a distinct personality, so we came up the whole story for each of them: their holy names, their weapons, signature moves as well as their background, how they became nuns, where did the tattoos come from, and what do they mean to them, what is the beef with the gangsters?
When you actually think about all that stuff, you create interesting and memorable characters that really leave an impact. Then we just had fun bringing them to life with all the finishing touches and small details that matter.
Jamie: Duy, how did the team decide on the game’s pace and overall feel, and what do you hope players will enjoy most?
Duy: I did the math model for this game alongside the PO role, so tuning the pace was very hands-on for me. We built it around that pure chase feeling, hunting for the nuns that trigger re-spins and the free spins.
To be honest, high-volatility slots can be a bit of a grind at times, and there might be some frustrating dry spells, but the math is tuned so that when the setup finally connects, the payout makes the wait worth it. That sudden swing from a quiet run into a huge combo is exactly what we want players to feel.
Jamie: Duy and Mariia, how closely did the product and art teams work together during development? Did the visual direction shape any of the game’s features, or vice versa?
Duy: We worked super closely. Because I was wearing two hats (handling the concept and product side while also building the math) it made working with Mariia and her team really smooth.
I brought the initial vision and story to the table, and Mariia’s team did an incredible job bringing the characters, world, and animations to life. Whenever the art team came up with a killer visual or a dynamic animation beat, I could immediately adjust the mechanics and math numbers so the gameplay hit with that exact same impact on screen.
Mariia: I would say we all worked as one a team: brainstorming, discussing the features, suggesting ideas and improvements to the math, code, visuals and sound to make the game fun and entertaining. I think everyone would agree it is a nunbelievable blessing when you get a team so engaged and excited about the project.
Jamie: Duy, where does Nunchucks sit within NetEnt’s upcoming release plans, and what can you share about its launch and availability?
Duy: It’s a completely fresh and bold theme for NetEnt, with a catchy name that stands out immediately in the lobby. We’re rolling it out wide across our usual licensed markets and regions, so players should have no trouble finding it when live.
Jamie: Duy and Mariia, how streamable do you think Nunchucks will be? Are there moments, features or visual elements you think will make it especially fun to watch with the FruitySlots community?
Duy: I think it’s going to be really fun to watch on stream. The anticipation is super clear on screen, especially if someone uses the Elevate feature to jump straight into a Nun Spin. It’s built for those hype moments where the streamer and the chat are all waiting on that one extra nun to land and trigger a chain reaction.
Mariia: Hah, I hope it will be! We put a lot different content in the game as long as whole lotta effort to make it fun to play, watch, look out for rare combinations and then joyfully hum the song for the rest of the day
Jamie: Finally, Duy and Mariia, what would you most like players and the FruitySlots community to notice or remember after trying Nunchucks?
Nuy: We really want to see which nun becomes everyone’s personal favourite, and what kind of crazy combos people pull off. When players start clipping their best nun setups and sharing the wins with the community, that’s when we know the game really clicked
Mariia: I wonder which nun will be everyone’s favourite too. And I really want players get to the max win level and see the whole story unfold in front of them!
About NetEnt
NetEnt is one of the most established and influential game developers in the online casino industry.
Founded in Sweden in 1996, the studio has earned a reputation for producing high-quality slot games that combine innovative features, premium graphics and engaging gameplay. Over the years, NetEnt has created some of the industry’s most recognisable titles, including Starburst, Gonzo’s Quest, Dead or Alive and Divine Fortune.
To learn more about the studio and explore its full game catalogue, visit the Fruity Slots NetEnt provider page.
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