Maya: Hey Helen, thanks for taking the time to talk with us today! The team here at Fruity Slots are absolutely buzzing for the launch of 99 Royale, but could you explain it in one sentence to anyone who’s only ever played a normal slot, and why they should try out 99 Royale?
Helen: Battle royale meets slots – compete with up to 99 players!
If you love competition, you’ll love it. If the thought of being KO makes you cry, you’ll hate it.
Maya: Video games like Fortnite really turned “battle royale” into a household phrase. Did the battle royale hype play a role in the creation of 99 Royale, or was the concept from somewhere completely different?
Helen: Lots of the team are video gamers – which actually is kind of the point. WAY more people play video games than slots. So rather than ‘hype’ I’d say this was about tapping into how more people play.
At its heart was a really simple idea – people like doing stuff together. We are social animals! The whole point of streaming is that it helps make the solo experience of playing slots a shared one.
So how can the game itself be truly multiplayer? Not just where you watch, but where you actually compete?
Maya: You’ve said before that 99 Royale took more than five years to build. What took the longest to nail?
Helen: We had to reinvent everything:
- The concept itself
- UX
- Infrastructure
- Maths
- Commercials
It’s HARD. To anyone who is thinking of copying us. Sure. Give it a go. Or just licence the tech from us. I promise you it will be cheaper and easier.
Maya: “Your slot isn’t just a theme, it’s your weapon” is the line you’re selling this on. What’s the main mechanic that makes 99 Royale a battle royale rather than a slot with a leaderboard attached?
Helen: A leaderboard is about who wins the most. Not only is that fundamentally pretty dull, but I think it also pits pride and sociability against privacy. I might not want to boast to my friends about my wallet balance, but KOing everyone around me… that’s worth the flex.
In 99 Royale what you DO matters as much as what you win.
When should I attack? When should I hold onto my power? Do I change targets? What’s my strategy?
Big wins are great – of course they are! – but in 99 Royale, they are only part of the game.
Maya: Slots are traditionally all about RNG, but 99 Royale introduces a layer of decision-making on top of that – how much can a player’s choices actually influence what happens in a battle?
Helen: Your decisions are influenced by what happens in the game (if you’re winning, if others are attacking you or not, how you like to play) and all of those decisions have an impact and come with a consequence. For example, if I hold onto my power while my health goes down because I’m waiting to KO a player – that’s a risky move – but could have high reward.
Your choices do matter (but of course none of them actually guarantee a win). It’s a really interesting mix of choice and chance – people struggle to get their heads around it because there aren’t any traditional casino games that are like it.
Maya: Clearly, strategy is such a key part of 99 Royale, it feels like there’s no one “right” way to approach a battle. What different playstyles do you expect to see from players?
Helen: Let me illustrate two typical types of player!
The ones who like to attack every time they get a little win. They hate their health dipping and they love getting in the hits.
The risk takers who are happy to be KO battle after battle as they wait for the mega win that will allow them to annihilate the competition.
It tells you a lot about someone when you watch them develop their 99 royale style!
Maya: Given everything happens in real-time, the idea of logging on and potentially finding yourself in a battle with streamers like our own Ais and Scotty is pretty cool. Was that community and streaming potential always part of the plan, or more of a happy coincidence?
Helen: The first time we realised how much fun it was watching people play 99 Royale, we knew we had to get it in front of streamers. We only had a prototype at that point but it was amazing to get those first reactions.
I hope… I really hope … that the FruitySlots audience find 99 Royale as entertaining to watch as we do.
I don’t want to sound arrogant but… watching people KO, have victory within their grasp and then see it snatched away… how could you NOT want to watch it?
Maya: The three launch characters – Cherry Blossom, Ra the King, and Ragnarok – are so different. What made you land on these three characters to begin with, and do you have a favourite?
Helen: Our aim is that whatever your favourite type of slot mechanic or theme, there should be a way to play it in battle mode.
So if you like a book game, or a walking wilds, or a tumble multiplier – there’s a 99 Royale version to play in battle mode.
Personally – I love Cherry Blossom. I love the high hit rate – and then when you get the free spins – wow! Are they volatile!
Maya: You’ve teased that new heroes will be arriving every month. Do you have any sneak peeks into what’s coming next?
Helen: If you love volatility – then Lord of the Jungle launching in October is for you. It is a BEAST.
Swaghorn – I love the music – that’s the November launch. And Bonnie and Clyde in December has such a great narrative in the slot play.
Top Banana is awesome – my favourite design by a long way. I will never forget our Creative Director dressing up as a banana to showcase the game. Honestly – we have poured our heart and soul into these titles. They are the absolutely opposite of the AI skins flooding every other lobby. I hope players feel it!
Maya: Between new heroes dropping monthly and the sheer ambition behind this launch, it feels like 99 Royale is built to keep evolving. Realistically, how far do you think you can take this idea?
Helen: It’s just the beginning. Fortnite brought out new seasons and chapters. We will have squads and teams.
There will be closed garden events for streamers. Special marketing events like a World Series to crown the 99 Royale champion of slots.
It doesn’t even have to be a competition – imagine a game where you collaborate to beat the final boss.
Give us a hot minute though 😉 Took us 5 years to get here. But we want to reinvent casino multiplayer. Our ambition is boundless.
About G.Games
G.Games — Great, Gambling, and Games — is the British studio behind some of the most inventive names in the business, from Cheeky Fruits to Vomiting Unicorns.
Founded through the 2018 merger of Gamevy (Paul Dolman-Darrall and Helen Walton’s award-winning studio) and Gluck Games, the team has built a reputation for taking gameplay seriously without ever taking itself too seriously – every title runs on its own bespoke math model with creativity running through the heart of every new title.
With the highly-anticipated 99 Royale, G.Games has fused competitive video game mechanics with the art of spinning slots to create the world’s first multiplayer battle royale slot experience.
Find out more about G.Games on our dedicated provider page, with includes more on the studio’s background, all of our published reviews, and common FAQs.
Comments