Inside Asian Gaming

INSIDE ASIAN GAMING | 34 FEATURES more stand-alone jackpot-style games.” Aristocrat is hitting upon a number of creative responses. More Power™, for one, brings a new level of interaction to Reel Power’s stand-alone progressive format with expanding reels that shift from 243 ways to win in the 3x5 reels of the free games feature to 1,024 ways in 4x5 reels and up to 3,125 possible combinations in 5x5s. Finding new ways to glean power from its stalwart Hyperlink™ multi-progressive platform is something the company also finds intriguing. The pairing of Hyperlink 2.0™ with a game designed specifically for the Asia-Pacific market, Dragons on the Lake™, brings together elements of 5 Dragons and FA FA FA in the formof a symbol- triggered jackpot and selectable volatility that lets players target the prize they want to play for. “That’s completely unique,” notes Mr Punter. “It’s quite exciting from a player’s perspective.” Dragons on the Lake will be shown at G2E Asia on top of 5 Dragons Deluxe™, Fortune King, Choy Sun Doa™ and possibly some others, depending on approvals. The region also will be getting its first look at an exciting reprise of Hyperlink’s legendary Cash Express™—the “Train Game,” as it’s known among Macau players—the game that proved that the city’s nascent machine gaming market of a decade ago was more than willing to be seduced by the lure of the big win. The new version, Cash Express Gold Class™, sports an eye-catching interactive top box in the shape of a locomotive smokestack and a randomly triggered “Multiplier Wheel Feature” that boosts base game wins up to 100 times. A “Gold Class Feature,” also randomly triggered, moves the player into a special three-reel screen for 20 free games. Jackpots are generated via a“Stop Reels”button that halts each of the five reels on a point total, the cumulative points corresponding to a progressive, and there’s also an additional prize level that resets to a higher amount than the traditional four. Interactive button decks are one of the more important recent innovations in slot design. As Mr Punter notes, “You can change play dynamically and interact with the customers a lot more.” New York-based High 5 Games was a pioneer in rethinking slot buttons, and Daniel Marks, who was a lead designer for the company, will be one of the people taking Aristocrat’s R&D into the future. He’s chief operating officer of Chicago-based Spooky Cool Labs, the company Cash Express Gold Class features a randomly triggered “Multiplier Wheel Feature” that boosts base game wins up to 100 times. “To deliver the world’s greatest gaming content, we need the world’s greatest game development talent.” — CEO Jamie Odell, Aristocrat Leisure