Spicy Horse is a game developer well known for producing dark fantasy action games (ARPG). For the first time this accomplished studio is venturing into the world of real-money gaming and has selected the Odobo platform to deliver its new content.
Spicy Horse is best known for hit ARPG games: Akaneiro: Demon Hunters, The Gate and BigHead BASH. The studio is headed up by high profile game designer American McGee whose reputation within the gaming industry stems from credits for hit titles such as: American McGee’s Alice, Alice: Madness Returns (published by EA), the first two Doom and Quake games (developed by iD software).
Spicy Horse is a perfect example of the appetite among casual game developers to sample real-money gaming. It illustrates how effectively the Odobo platform is enabling studios, with great products, to enter the real-money space in addition to providing a more effective solution for experienced real-money game studios.
The first game due for release is the hit underworld title Akaneiro. Spicy Horse is working with Odobo and Odobo’s in-house studio, Wild Game Reserve, to build an impressive 5×3 slot version that retains its powerful Japanese Edo-era theme and captures characters and features from the original ARPG. Red (riding hood) remains the key character with blue karma crystals and red karma shards triggering free spins and bonus games. Players are challenged to slay the Yokai demons and slash their way through the evil forces that stand against them.
Spicy Horse is also well known for high-octane and dramatic games and fans of this horror/action genre won’t be disappointed with the dark graphic visuals that feature in the Akaneiro slot game. The game also features 25 paylines, 10 standard symbols, two wilds and two scatters. Each symbol is derived from the original game particularly the bonus scatters. Red karma shards, formed from the crystallised blood of slain Yokai, were originally a ‘power up’ that provided extra lives or the energy required to activate powers. Here in the real-money version, they trigger 10 free spins. Blue karma crystals have been adapted from an in-game form of currency to act as a trigger for the four picks bonus game.
American McGee, said “When Odobo put forward the suggestion of turning Akaneiro into a slot game I was insistent that to go ahead the game would have to reflect the thought and features that made the original so successful. I couldn’t be happier with the result and without Odobo, we would not have navigated the minefield of regulation to build this game. The team has handled all the necessary real-money requirements from maths to localisation and turned Akaneiro into impressive and fully compliant real-money entertainment.”
Mark McGinley, Studio Manager at Wild Game Reserve, said, “It’s been a pleasure to work with Spicy Horse on this project. It’s been an exciting challenge for both sides with a shared determination to do this great title justice. We’re really proud of the result.”
Akaneiro is available to try for free at: http://odo.bo/p/akaneiro
