Azticons Chaos Clusters™  –  a behind-the-scenes with the team  

Azticons Chaos Clusters™ is one of our most highly anticipated releases this year, so we thought it would be fun to give you a peek behind the scenes of this production. We sat down for a chat with Herbert Paradis, Producer, Berke Zorlu, Math Designer, Maria Solianyk, 2D Artist, and Lars Lindell, FX Artist.

Read on to find out what they enjoyed the most when working on this project, their favourite thing about this game, and why they started calling the highest paying symbol Trump!

What did you enjoy the most during this project?

Herbert: It was a thoroughly enjoyable project from start to finish so it’s hard to pick one thing, but if I had to choose, it was seeing and discussing the prototype for the first time. It was love at first sight. Even at that stage, the mechanics of the game were really enjoyable, and this set the tone for the rest of the project as we knew we were onto something great.

Berke: Getting the rather complex math optimised enough to simulate was a fun challenge. It has some unorthodox optimisations 🙂

Maria: This game was very enjoyable to work on from the beginning, from choosing the theme to painting the assets. Working on the background was particularly interesting for me though, and a nice challenge, since my comfort zone lies in creating characters.

Lars: I really enjoyed brainstorming the theme, and all the back and forth when shaping the Aztec theme we eventually settled on.

What’s your favourite thing about this game?

Herbert: It’s the perfect flow and balance between all the features. The Chaos Clusters™ mechanic on its own is exciting, but when you add the Turning Twin feature you can get some really great wins. And combining these two with a progressive multiplier triggers some real anticipation and suspense in the Free Spins Bonus.

Berke: Chaos Clusters™! A simple, but unique new mechanic.

Maria: The overall ambiance and mood. The sound design definitely enhances the atmosphere, from the calming jungle environment in the base game, to the excitement of the Free Spins Bonus. Also, I really love how the statues light up with fire during the transition. 

Lars: My favourite thing is the ambiance and mood of the game, how the art and sound design marries. It feels playful and cosy. 

Why is this our best game ever? 

Herbert: All game categories are different and have different appeal. To me, this is one of the best, if not the best, cluster games made. The Chaos Clusters™ mechanic with its different sized symbols opens up a whole new way to play cluster slots. It also lends itself better to this than in Ways or Lines games, in my opinion. 

Berke: It’s very polished in every aspect. Good job everyone!  

Maria: I agree with Herbert and Berke. 

Lars: Because it has everything. Nice artwork and sounds, and a new and fun mechanic that keeps surprising with its cluster formations and avalanches. 

Any fun stories from the project that you’d like to share? 

Herbert: When discussing the symbols it was easy to refer to the animal symbols by their species, but the highest paying symbol wasn’t an animal, so we had to give it a name. The resemblance was obvious, so we named it Trump. 

Berke: The Bigwinboard video on YouTube has the win cap bug that we found just before certification. The bug awarded the win cap too early, and it’s now immortalised on YouTube. 

Maria: One of many fun things that happened was when we developed the symbols. The H1 symbol is a human totem, and we picked an orange colour for it, so we jokingly named it Donald Trump and it kind of stuck. Later on, it continued to produce many hilarious jokes. 

Lars: Yes to all of the above 🙂