Story First, Mechanics Second: Inside Pineapple Play’s Approach to Slot Design

🎙️ What does Pineapple Play believe a modern slot needs to do differently to truly stand out?

A modern slot must give players a reason to remember it. Lobbies are more crowded than ever, and a lot of what's in them looks and plays the same with familiar themes and familiar features. That approach works, but it makes it more difficult for any one game to stand out. To break through, a slot needs its own identity and story, distinct enough to be remembered.

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🎙️ Could you take us through one Pineapple Play game and explain the ideas behind its theme, characters, and mechanics?

Let's take Toothrot Tilly. It started with seeing far too many candy games and wanting to do something different. From sweets we got to teeth. From teeth we got to the Tooth Fairy. Once we had the Tooth Fairy, she needed someone to stand against her and that was Tilly.

Their rivalry became the heart of the Cavity Clash bonus, where they face off in a beam battle which triggers added features. We didn't design a mechanic and then go looking for characters to dress it up, rather the characters we formed demanded the mechanic. Most of our games have an origin story like that which makes each of them unique.

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🎙️ Can a strong character or world carry a game, or does the mechanic always have to come first?

A strong character gives a game personality and uniqueness and gives players something to connect with and come back to. But a character can't carry a game on its own and if the mechanics aren't well designed, the charm wears off fast. The mechanic doesn't always have to come first, but it does have to play well and make sense in the context of the game.

Presentation is also important. A great feature only works if players can see what it's doing and feel it when it lands, and a great character only works if the art, animation and sound bring them to life.

For us, it starts with a story. We begin with a theme and an idea, build the characters into that world, and then design mechanics that suit the game. The goal is for the story and the mechanics to work together seamlessly so players feel them as one.

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🎙️ What is one thing you think the iGaming industry could learn from the wider gaming industry?

In the wider games industry, characters, story, art, audio and animation have always been brought together as one experience. That's what makes each game feel cohesive.

In iGaming, that storytelling often gets lost. So many slots are released that few studios give equal care to every part of the game: the design, the story, the sound and the presentation. AI is making this more common. It's now easier than ever to speed up production, and presentation quality often suffers as a result.

The games that stand out from the crowd are the ones designed as a full production, with characters and worlds built to last beyond a single release.

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🎙️ What do you think the next generation of slot games will do that today's games don't?

The next generation of slot games is likely to move into personalisation with the look and feel of a game shifting based on player preference. There is so much potential to give players a tailored gaming experience, and we are keeping an eager eye on AI developments in this area.

Underneath all of it, the craft still matters most. As tools make slots faster and cheaper to produce, there will be far more of them. The ones that stand out will still be those that have the best presentation and gameplay.

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🎙️ What is your perspective on iGamity and its role in driving innovation and knowledge-sharing in iGaming?

Knowledge-sharing works best when studios, operators and suppliers of every size can see what each other are doing and learn from it. iGamity supports this by actively shining a light on the studios and creative minds behind the games, not just the games themselves, and by highlighting a range of talent, not just the biggest names.

In a field this specialised, finding the right people isn't easy. iGamity focusing on linking talent with studios globally is a great idea and will help create connection across the industry.