SlotBeats has stood to attention in the latest episode of Beyond the Reels as Lady Luck Games’ CCO, Julian Borg-Barthet, and Head of Marketing, Dorota Gruszka, guide viewers through Beetle Bailey.
As a 4×5, 81-payline slot, Beetle Bailey features a golf bonus game entitled Camp Swampy, along with a Wild Wake-Up feature and gamble modes.
When delving into why Lady Luck Games decided to embark on a slot title based on a comic strip character over 70 years ago, Borg-Barthet pointed out that, as of 2016, the strip was being syndicated by King Features in 1,800 newspapers in the United States, as well as the rest of the world.
Knowing this, the firm’s CCO expressed that there was “no doubt” that Beetle Bailey is a “truly iconic character” that would “put a smile on peoples faces”.
He continued: “The igaming industry is very demanding with new studios joining month after month. It is much harder to emerge in the gaming sector. The quality of the games have improved over the last year.
“However, players and users in general are more likely to choose something that is familiar to them.
“Many movies are based on books, video games or comic characters. Regarding slot games, there is no difference. Many game providers decide to make branded games and those games are a tremendous success.
“This being said, we found an opportunity to collaborate with King Features and identified some brands that would help us make our mark for our first branded games.”
Looking into what Lady Luck Games wanted players to instantly experience once entering the title, Gruszka explained that the studio really wanted to take players back in time to the 1950’s while aiming to “stick to the original concept as closely as possible”.
She added: “Our collaboration with Kings Features while developing this game was super tight because we really wanted to make sure we didn’t miss anything out. We also want to let the players know that we brought the drawn comic strip back to life on the reels, which was super important to us.”
Throughout the video, Gruszka emphatically showcases what players can expect to see in the title, guiding the viewer through the base game and the Camp Swampy feature with Borg-Barthet highlighting the additional pressure of producing a branded slot compared to an in-house original and providing a glimpse into the studio’s future.
