Q1. Hi Will, and thanks for taking the time to speak to us today. Can you tell us a little bit about your next release, Aztec Tower?
Thanks for having me! Aztec Tower is a high-energy release, combining lots of popular mechanics and features – including a global win multiplier and Scatter Pays mechanic – with some unique elements for an engaging and rewarding experience.
Each winning cascade will trigger one of four unique Enhancers, allowing the win multiplier to climb with both winning cascades and the Multi Boost Enhancer. Alongside that, Enhancers can remove Blocker symbols in view and add Wild or Scatter symbols to the grid.
Free Spins have fewer Blocker symbols on the reels, and the multiplier doesn’t reset between spins. Players also have the opportunity to gamble up to a x50 starting multiplier, which is really exciting!
Q2. Cascading wins and a growing global multiplier are central to the experience – how did you refine this to feel rewarding without becoming predictable?
I think the important part is offering something that feels unique alongside the parts that are in danger of feeling predictable.
That doesn’t necessarily mean completely reinventing the wheel or coming up with a feature that has never been seen before. Instead, it’s about looking at what you’re offering and making sure there’s something there that players aren’t expecting.
For us, the global win multiplier and cascades were too simple on their own, but we knew we didn’t want to lessen the impact of either – as you say, they’re the parts that truly feel rewarding – so instead we added in the Enhancers, helping each winning cascade not only contribute to the multiplier reward but also interact with the grid in some way.
Q3. The multiplier and climbing progression in Aztec Tower are quite visually unique. How did you decide on this approach?
This was one of the earliest decisions we made, and again it comes back to the global multiplier being a fairly safe mechanic. There aren’t a lot of ways that you can really change a multiplier wheel (at least not without being at serious risk of making it worse!) so we decided instead that we wanted it to be visually impactful.
Every studio and every player will feel their own way about what it means to make something different – we’re okay making use of the tried and tested mechanics that players love, but we do like to add our own twist in some way.
In this case, we decided to literally take players above the canopy and into the sky as they climb through multiplier levels – and it’s one of my favourite parts about the game now!
Q4. You’ve done a few different themes, including space bees and pirate pigs, and now you’ve gone for something a bit more common with an Aztec theme. Do you think it’s important to have a mixture of unique and expected themes?
Yes, it is for us at this point in time – we want to be able to look at our roadmap and see variety. Not only does it mean we will likely reach more players over time, but it also means we’re trying lots of different things, and we feel that’s important at the beginning of your journey – Aztec Tower is only our fourth release after all.
On this occasion, we truly felt the Aztec theme was the one destined for the game. Visually and thematically, it just supported the gameplay in a way that something else wouldn’t – especially with the features we were offering, many of which players have come to associate with Aztec themes.
That doesn’t mean we’re committed to only doing these more popular themes now, but we won’t turn away from a theme just because someone else did it first.
Q5. The Free Spins feature offers a persistent global multiplier and fewer Blocker symbols. How does this shift the player experience compared to the base game?
It makes a meaningful difference. The persistent multiplier is the biggest difference, and players will be glad to hear that it is possible to get all the way to x250 – especially if you’ve used the Free Spins gamble for a higher starting multiplier.
However, having fewer Blocker symbols also makes a big difference, especially since it’s a Scatter Pays release, and we offer a Remove Blocker Enhancer. This means that there are lots of spins where very few Blockers are in view, giving players ample opportunity to climb even higher on the Multiplier Wheel!
Q6. What was the most difficult part of creating Aztec Tower, and how do you expect it to stand out upon release?
Probably the timing. When you decide to tackle a visually heavy release where there’s lots of different things happening in sequence, it can be tough to get it just right. Highlighting winning combinations, removing them, turning the Multiplier Wheel, activating an Enhancer and climbing further into the sky is a lot to happen on a single cascade.
We actually had originally planned for every multiplier increase to move players further upwards visually, but once we started looking at this pacing, we decided on levels instead.
As much as we love the climb, we have to balance the things that bring us joy as the game makers with what players want, and we knew players would have wanted it to be tighter.
Q7. Can you tell us which game in your roadmap you’re most excited for?
I’m excited about them all for different reasons – we have Alchemaniac coming in September, which is shaping up really nicely, and then we have another fun one coming in November which brings back fun animals that I think will resonate well with players.
I’m probably most excited for one of our releases coming in early 2027. I can’t share anything about that yet, but it’s a really fun one!