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Colt Canyon crowned ‘Best Game’ and LUNARK ‘Most Anticipated’ at GameMaker Awards 2021
The judges have deliberated. Over 33,000 votes have been cast. And we can now reveal that Colt Canyon has been crowned ‘Best Game’ and LUNARK ‘Most Anticipated’ game of the year, at the GameMaker Awards 2021.
Created by German-based developer Retrific, Colt Canyon is a stylish western-themed pixel art shooter combining roguelike elements with real-time combat. The judges were impressed with Colt Canyon’s highly engaging gameplay and heavily pixelated artist style. While in the popular vote, members of the GameMaker and Opera GX communities voted Colt Canyon the clear winner.
The other finalists for ‘Best Game’ included: Chicory: A Colorful Tale, Jet Lancer, Post Void and Cook, Serve, Delicious! 3?!.
The winner of ‘Most Anticipated’ game is LUNARK, from Canari Games. LUNARK is a 2D cinematic platformer, designed in the vein of ’80s and ’90s classics. The game challenges players to run, jump, hang, climb, roll, and shoot their way through a kaleidoscope of different environments. These include mysterious alien ruins, a flying penitentiary, a high-tech megalopolis, and a majestic forest.
The judges were blown away with how the Canari Games team have pushed the creative limits of cutscenes and pixel art in GameMaker, to create a game that is both visually stunning and great to play. Set for release later this year, LUNARK also made a big impression with the voters – who overwhelmingly crowned it the ‘Most Anticipated’ game of 2021.
The other finalists for ‘Most Anticipated’ game included: NYKRA, Jitsu Squad, APICO and Toodee and Topdee.
The GameMaker Awards, in partnership with SpecialEffect, a charity that uses video games to enhance the lives of those people with physical disabilities, celebrate creativity and innovation in Indie game development, honouring the best games created using GameMaker Studio 2 as well as the Indies and Studios that designed them.
From over 200 entries, only 5 games for each category were selected by an expert panel of industry peers, including GameMaker Studio CTO Russell Kay, Opera GX Product Director Maciej Kocemba, and Into Indie Games Editor Harry Cole.
Russell Kay, CTO, GameMaker Studio, said: “This year’s GameMaker Awards has redefined what we’ve come to expect from the indies and studios that choose GameMaker as their creative engine of choice. Each of the finalists have demonstrated both amazing creativity, plus the technical ability to harness GameMaker’s powerful functionality to design a game that really pushes the boundaries. Given the incredible standard of this year’s entries, I am only glad that the final decision was left in the hands of our loyal GameMaker and Opera GX communities.”
Jonathan Mannshoven of Retrific, said: “Colt Canyon wasn’t a bestseller when it launched last year. It wasn’t free from criticism either. But by working closely with the community, I’ve been able to make many improvements to the game which have helped turn a lot of criticism into positive feedback. Having all that hard work now paying off with Colt Canyon winning ‘Best Game’ at the GameMaker Awards 2021 is an overwhelming and surreal feeling – just incredible!
“GameMaker has always been my engine of choice as it is just so easy to use yet also powerful, enabling me to reach maximum productivity. Which as a solo developer is extremely valuable. Put simply – I wouldn’t be a game developer now if it wasn’t for GameMaker.”
Johan Vinet of Canari Games, added: “LUNARK started as a passion project to create a game in the genre I loved in my youth. Making it a reality became so clear that I decided to quit my job, start my own studio and launch a Kickstarter campaign. Winning the “Most Anticipated Game” award is an incredible recognition from the players and the GameMaker Community, which brings some welcome legitimacy and a massive confidence boost to actually finish the game! Thank you!”
game-mechanics
RubyPlay rolls out in-game Missions and Tournaments engagement tools
RubyPlay has launched a new suite of in-game Engagement Tools—starting with Missions and Tournaments—aimed at helping operators increase session depth and retention through game-level events.
The company said the tools move away from “wallet-level” engagement mechanics common in the market by tying objectives and scoring to events that occur inside the slot experience. Missions lets operators build campaigns where players complete specific in-game objectives in exchange for instant rewards.
Tournaments adds a time-bound competitive layer, with players earning points by triggering in-game events such as high-value symbol landings and feature activations. RubyPlay said both tools are designed to run as a native part of gameplay rather than an external overlay.
Deployment will extend across RubyPlay’s portfolio and its studio ecosystem, including RubyPlay Studio, Koala Games, Mad Hat Games, xSlots and Firerose, with each able to embed Missions and Tournaments in their titles.
Tsachi Maimon, Chief Executive Officer at RubyPlay, said: “When we developed our Engagement Tools, the goal was not to add another promotional layer on top of the game. The goal was to strengthen the game itself.
“Most engagement mechanics in the market are built around wallet activity or broad player behaviour. We wanted to take a different approach by building Missions and Tournaments around real in-game events, the moments players already connect with during the slot experience.
“That creates a more relevant and intuitive journey for players, while giving operators a powerful way to support longer sessions, stronger retention and deeper engagement across RubyPlay’s full content ecosystem.”
The post RubyPlay rolls out in-game Missions and Tournaments engagement tools appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
crypto sports
iBankroll signs risk-sharing deal with MonkeyTilt for VIP wagering limits
Partnership targets high-stakes variance coverage, enabling up to $1m-per-round blackjack and unlimited daily withdrawals, the companies say.
iBankroll has signed a risk-sharing partnership with crypto sports and casino operator MonkeyTilt to expand the operator’s high-stakes VIP wagering limits, the companies said.
The agreement uses iBankroll’s “Bankroll-as-a-Service” model, which is designed to absorb short-term variance tied to high-stakes play. iBankroll said the structure reduces the need for operators to hold large capital reserves to cover VIP action, freeing up balance sheet for investment in product, marketing and customer experience.
Under the deal, MonkeyTilt said it will offer $1 million per-round blackjack, $6 million maximum slot wins, unlimited daily withdrawals, and “top-of-market sports limits.” The press release adds that MonkeyTilt is backed by PolyChain and Pantera Capital and has raised over $80 million in funding.
Hayden Bowman, Co-Founder of iBankroll, said: “MonkeyTilt is building one of the most ambitious consumer products in the space.
“Sam and the team don’t take partnerships lightly and we don’t either when the deal is this size. We’ve spent the last several months getting every piece into place so MonkeyTilt can take on serious volume and volatility with zero bankroll risk on their side. It’s been a real pleasure working with them and we’re excited to keep going.”
Sam Kiki, Founder and CEO of MonkeyTilt, said: “MonkeyTilt has raised over $80 million from investors like Pantera Capital, Polychain, PokerGo, and myself. However, we have always had to earmark a large portion of our balance sheet to guarantee immediate payouts to winners.
“Moving forward, this risk will be assumed by our partners, freeing up our capital for growth. What most people don’t realise is that 99 percent of startup casinos don’t actually have a bankroll. Some take $100K-per-hand action knowing they can’t cover the downside. This deal puts us in the 1 percent that doesn’t have to think about it.”
The post iBankroll signs risk-sharing deal with MonkeyTilt for VIP wagering limits appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
content-supplier
Pragmatic Play adds football theme to Big Bass series with new slot
Pragmatic Play has released Big Bass Football Bonanza, a new entry in its Big Bass slot series that switches the franchise’s fisherman theme to a football stadium setting.
The 5×3 title uses trophy scatters to trigger a bonus game. According to the supplier, landing 3-5 trophy scatters awards 15-25 free spins, with wilds split into red and blue “teams” that collect money symbols worth up to 5,000x.
Pragmatic Play said red and blue wilds are collected on their respective sides, with every fourth wild on each team awarding 10 extra spins and adding multipliers of 2x, 3x and 10x on the first, second and third retrigger. The supplier added that if wilds land with no money symbols, or money symbols land with no wilds, paying symbols can be randomly transformed into wilds or cash prizes.
The launch lands just over two weeks before the world’s biggest football tournament gets underway. Pragmatic Play positions the release as the latest addition to the Big Bass franchise following recent titles Big Bass Trophy Catch and Big Bass Raceday Repeat.
Sharon McHugh, Director of Public Relations at Pragmatic Play, said: “Big Bass Football Bonanza has been designed to capture the electric atmosphere surrounding the world’s most-watched football tournament. From the stadium-inspired setting to the football-themed symbols, the game delivers an entertaining twist on the popular Big Bass formula.”
The post Pragmatic Play adds football theme to Big Bass series with new slot appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
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