Eclipse Gaming Continues its Money Arcade Sequence with DUCK DOLLARS
By Frank Legato
Final yr, Eclipse Gaming Programs, one of many fastest-growing suppliers within the Class II Native American slot market—and inevitably on a path to arriving at business casinos quickly—launched a enjoyable group of video games it dubbed the Money Arcade Sequence.
The collection is distinguished by the novel nature of the video games. There are easy reels, however the reels are by no means the main focus. The video games as a substitute give attention to enjoyable video games drawn from the traditions of the carnival, the truthful and the amusement arcade.
The first two entries within the recreation household fashioned the Large Shake collection—Large Shake Neon and Large Shake Carnival, two video games that replicate the coin-pusher machines present in arcades, carnivals, and, again within the Nineteen Eighties, in casinos. These have been video games with mechanical pusher brooms that the participant tried to govern to push a pile of quarters over a ledge and right into a hopper tray. The Large Shake model makes use of high-definition video and a digital engine utilizing “real-time physics” to create a outstanding simulation.
With the Large Shake video games bona fide hits in all Eclipse’s present markets and nonetheless on the rise, Eclipse is able to launch the following Money Arcade recreation, referred to as Duck {Dollars}. It’s a recreation that can take gamers again to these county festivals and carnivals—a re-creation of a carnival mainstay, the capturing gallery.
“We brainstormed on different concepts, and one associated to Money Arcade was what to do subsequent,” says Bruce City, chief product officer of Eclipse. “What are standard video games which are in arcades? We progressed to the halfway carnival-type sort video games, and capturing galleries are very fashionable. That’s how Duck {Dollars} happened—that idea of a participant being engaged in profitable prizes by hitting targets on the display.”
Recalling the Gallery
One have a look at this recreation and you already know it’s going to be enjoyable. The big 4K portrait display is remodeled into an old-time carnival capturing gallery, with rows of geese flanked by targets, all as if on a mechanical conveyor in an precise capturing gallery.
On the backside of the display is a slick three-reel, single-line slot array. The bottom recreation is conventional— bars and 7s together with three different duck symbols (for 4 different 7 combos), and an important aspect to the sport, the cannon image.
Three like-colored rubber geese nab one in all three jackpots—based mostly on guess stage, three white geese return as much as a $2,500 Minor jackpot; three blue geese, as much as a $5,000 jackpot; and three crimson geese nab the Grand jackpot which, based mostly on guess stage, can attain $50,000.
City notes that the jackpots are usually static, in order that they hit extra usually. “We selected to suggest that casinos offer fixed values so we may make certain the frequency is a bit of bit larger versus an incrementing progressive,” he says. The cannon image triggers the bonus recreation that’s the coronary heart of the slot. There’s a cannon over every reel, and by touching the FIRE button, gamers really feel like they’re manipulating the place of the cannon to shoot on the geese and targets as they transfer throughout the gallery.
The geese shifting throughout the display all show credit score awards, the highest row of the three-row gallery with the very best. They resemble the cash-on-reels symbols in lots of video games. City calls them “cash- on-ducks.”
“It creates a pleasant presentation on the floor once they’re positioned facet by facet,” City says. “It seems to be just like the geese are going out of 1 machine and into the following. It creates a pleasant financial institution effect for the gamers.”
Money-on-ducks symbols are one factor, however the targets between the geese are particular—they unveil thriller bonuses utilized to the gallery wins. There’s a thriller behind one of many targets that may improve the values on the geese, giving the participant a “Reload” message to shoot once more. That may occur a number of instances.
“The targets symbolize a bit of hidden piece of the sport, a thriller issue,” says City. “These targets can up the values of the geese and offer you one other shot. After which additionally they can award a number of geese on a ‘Fortunate Duck’ bonus throughout the goal.
“My expectation as a participant is that I’m going to wish to hit the targets earlier than I hit the geese.”
Coronary heart of the Recreation
There are some good line wins within the three-reel base recreation, however this slot is all in regards to the capturing gallery. Each time a duck lands on the reels, the corresponding cannon prompts for a shot on the shifting targets.
A single cannon on the reels awards one shot; two cannons award two. What you’re actually on the lookout for right here, although, is to land three cannons on the reels.
Three cannons on the reels set off the “Firequackers Frenzy,” awarding six, 9 or 12 pictures, which may be taken in fast succession. That is the place the sport begins to essentially behave like a carnival capturing gallery.
“We give the participant management to fire the cannons within the Frenzy, and you may be awarded wherever from six to 12 pictures,” City says. “Consider it as free video games. It’s a different technique to implement free video games and win values for the participant.”
City calls video games like these “feature-forward,” as a result of the options are specified by entrance of the participant earlier than they even sit down. “It brings the bonus function to the participant, making the sport much less in regards to the reels,” he says.
He provides that this bonus function occurs with nice frequency, giving a sense of fixed motion to the sport. “The bonus function happens with a frequency that ought to carry a number of pleasure and pleasure to the gamers on the financial institution,” City says. “On a financial institution of three video games, gamers are going to be trying over on the different gamers: ‘Oh, you simply acquired a shot! What did you hit?’ We envision this as a very entertaining, very thrilling recreation for the gamers.”
Protecting with the Large Shake recreation options, there’s even hidden leisure to the sport. The participant can select their base recreation music by urgent the “Duck Radio” button on the bottom recreation display. The participant chooses between three tracks—the usual Duck {Dollars} theme; the Duck {Dollars} seaside theme, that includes a surfboard duck and seaside pop music; or the Duck {Dollars} nation theme, with a duck sporting a Stetson and backed by nation music.
Eclipse will officially launch Duck {Dollars} on the World Gaming Expo, the massive gaming commerce present the second week of October. In response to Sean Evans, senior vp of gross sales for Eclipse, clients in Native American casinos will start to see placements by November, with placements in all the corporate’s on line casino markets by early subsequent yr. Eclipse sells in Oklahoma, Texas, Midwestern states together with Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin, Southern states together with Alabama and Florida, and most just lately, California, the place Eclipse video games might be positioned alongside business Class III video games.
“What I like in regards to the Money Arcade Sequence is that it provides you a nostalgic look again,” says Evans. “All of us in a sure age group regarded ahead to our county truthful yearly. The carnival got here in they usually arrange rides and video games, and it was a carefree time in your life.
“That’s what we’re making a connection to with this recreation. I’ve watched lots of people in casinos play our Large Shake coin-pusher video games, and that’s what they’re getting. It’s what Bruce and the crew have finished in Duck {Dollars}, with the geese rolling throughout the screens. It’s the identical because the coin pusher—there’s one thing happening even when it’s in an idle mode.”
Count on extra video games within the coming months and years to faucet into that carnival magic. City and Evans say there are all the time a number of concepts swirling across the R&D crew for brand spanking new carnival-style video games.
However in the meantime, Duck {Dollars} may have its coming-out get together on the massive commerce present and can go reside shortly thereafter.
