POTS & DRAGONS
Ainsworth’s Dragon Legacy gives a new twist to the pot-collection bonus
By Frank Legato
At first glance, some may think Ainsworth’s new Dragon Legacy game family is more of the same—the time-tested dragon theme, collection pots above the reels. But a closer look reveals that this feature-packed new theme on the sleek A-STAR Raptor cabinet is a refreshing new twist on those familiar elements.
First of all, there are five collection pots, not the normal three. And, instead of enhancing yet another hold-and-spin feature, each pot leads to a unique bonus feature, one of which has never been seen on a slot game.
Zachary Schmid, the Ainsworth producer who created the game, says having this pot setup was one of the major actions to make the game unique. “Everyone knows the hold- and-spin feature; can we do something new?” he says. “The industry loves three-pot games. Can I find a way to push it to five? [Aristocrat’s] Mo’ Mummy had just come out and was doing very well emphasizing a new feature that no one had seen before, so that led me to create a new feature—a pot that can trigger other features but doesn’t necessarily lead to that central feature.”
One compelling feature of Dragon Legacy Metal and Dragon Legacy Wood, the two inaugural games of the series, is very frequent action. Special symbols shoot up to feed the five collection pots, any one of which can trigger its designated bonus event. However, any of the bonuses also can be triggered through a number of trigger symbols landing on the reels. Although this is a line game (five, 12 or 25 paylines, depending on the denomination), the bonuses are triggered by a set number of bonus symbols anywhere on the screen.
And the triggering number of symbols is low on most of the bonuses. In fact, the bonus triggered by the first pot on the screen, “Premium Symbol,” is triggered by a single bonus symbol anywhere on the screen. That bonus places a frame around a single symbol on the screen, making it a Premium Symbol, boosting the credit award for any winning combination on the screen. This applies to every reel symbol in the game—each symbol has a normal winning value and a premium winning value.
Just two wheel symbols on the reels trigger the “Wheel Spin” bonus. This triggers a side- view bonus wheel that spins vertically, with slices awarding credit prizes, one of the game’s four jackpots (two static prizes and two progressives, the top resetting at $10,000 or $20,000, depending on denomination), or entry into the advanced “Red Envelope Reveal” bonus. (More on that later.)
Three or more “Free Games” symbols awards at least eight free spins. Any of the other bonuses can be triggered during the free spins, as well as a retriggering of the free-spin bonus itself.
Four or more wild symbols turn into “Jackpot Pick” symbols to trigger a bonus guaranteed to deliver one of the four jackpots. Each of the 15 icons shown on the game screen reveals a jackpot symbol or a red envelope. When three of the jackpot symbols match, the player is awarded that prize. Three red envelopes trigger the central bonus feature.
THE RED ENVELOPES
Five or more red envelopes on the reels trigger the main Red Envelope Reveal feature, but up to 10 envelopes can be awarded at random when the bonus is triggered through the pot.
The screen changes to reveal a grid displaying reel symbols on the left, with a credit award attached to each symbol. On the right of the grid are spots for the awards resulting on each line. In the middle of each line are three game logos, behind which reel symbols are revealed during the feature. The grid lights up the lines activated by each red envelope that triggered the spin, with inactive rows above.
There are three red envelopes displayed at the bottom of the grid. The player is prompted to “scratch” each envelope on the touch-screen monitor, as one would scratch a spot on a lottery ticket. Each scratch reveals a multiplier from 1X to 5X for the first column, 1X to 8X for the second column, and 1X to 10X for the third column.
“Rubbing the screen to reveal the multiplier is a really fun interaction for the players,” says Schmid, “and that multiplier will apply to each column on the screen.”
After the multipliers are revealed, the three middle spots in each row are revealed in sequence. Any reel symbol matching the symbol at the left of the screen returns that award, multiplied by the scratch-off multipliers. For instance, if a “K” bears an 800-credit award, and the scratch-off multipliers are 1X, 2X and 5X, the award will be 6,400 credits—800 times one, plus 800 times two to 1,600, plus 800 times five to 4,000.
This repeats for each active envelope on the grid. Should one of the three spots in a row reveal a red envelope, another row on the top portion of the grid is activated, up to the maximum of 10 rows. The accumulated bonus credits are then awarded to the player.
“At the start of the feature, it reveals what those 10 rows are playing for,” explains Schmid. “They can be anything from the low poker symbols to the high-paying picture symbols— even the dragon, even the temple that serves as the wild.”
“No one’s ever seen anything like this Red Envelope feature before,” comments Keith Kruczynski, Ainsworth’s vice president of studios for North America.
Any one symbol can trigger any of the five bonuses through the corresponding metamorphic pot. Each pot grows larger every time the corresponding symbol travels up from the reels. “Every time they grow, the dragon lets out a little sound,” says Kruczynski. “He also barks if you touch him, which is cute.”
According to Kruczynski, Dragon Legacy is likely to appear in California, Oklahoma and other Native American jurisdictions this month, and likely will be placed across North America by February.
Both Schmid and Kruczynski say players will love all the features of the game, not the least of which is the main feature, which breaks new ground in the area of slot game mechanics.
“I love the character, the dragon, who is cheering you on in the base game,” says Schmid. “He is cultivating the pots to give to the player. There’s a lot of excitement, a lot of action. With so many pots, there is constant growth, and constant shoot-ups to the pots to bring you closer to the features. And the Red Envelope bonus is this brandnew feature that I’m really excited for.”
“The cool thing is how much action is taking place,” adds Kruczynski. “The jackpot pick is fun. The wheel is huge—it’s a giant vertical wheel, so it’s visible from across the floor.
“There are so many features in this game, it feels like a premium game, like one of those licensed or branded games. It’s got a lot to keep you in the game, and to make sure your bankroll doesn’t disappear immediately. It gives you a lot of opportunity to get to that Red Envelope feature, which is what you’re chasing.”
All in all, not just another dragon slot game.
SLOT TYPE
Five-reel, five-, 12- or 25-line video slot; pot-collection leading to symbol boost, free-spin, jackpot pick, wheel-spin or second-screen bonus events; .01, .02, .05, .10, 1.00 and 2.00 denominations
PAYBACK % RANGE
88%-96%
AVERAGE HIT FREQUENCY
Approximately 30%
TOP JACKPOT
Progressive; $10,000 or $20,000 reset
