Game Design Features for the Big Bang Theory Slots
The Big Bang Theory is a Generation 7 game from Aristocrat
Gaming, running on the company’s exclusive Helix Slant cabinet,
a programmable slot machine game that can run any Generation 7
slot from Aristocrat’s inventory. Helix cabinets offer two high
definition video displays in addition to the mechanical wheels
and custom game graphics displays. The infinity edge video
displays project animation toward the players, who realize a
near-holographic experience.
The game offers 200 pay lines but the way Aristocrat set this
up is that you get four sets of reels, 5 reels each, that have
25 pay lines per set. You bet anywhere from 50 to 200 pay lines
at a penny per pay line. You also have the option of multiplying
your bet by up to 5 times for a maximum of $10 per spin. This
may be confusing to some players at first since other game
designs have no problem offering 200, 300, even 700 ways to win
or pay lines via a single set of reels.
On the other hand, each set of reels produces its own
results. The game alerts you to which reel sets pay a prize per
any spin. Character tiles can be small or large and the game’s
logo (which is the Wild symbol) may appear in stacks on multiple
reels. Other symbols include game controllers, DvDs, flags,
Chinese takeout food, and Soft Kitties.
Jim Parsons’ voice clips from the show are used for much of
the ambient commentary, such as “Oh look! There’s Howard!”
while show character Howard Wolowitz (played by Simon Helberg)
flits across the bottom of the screen on a scooter to reveal a
random prize or “Let’s get this wheel spinning” to announce an
Atomic Wheel prize (you get an exact credit amount or random
credits count up as a video plays). He’ll also speak fondly of
M.O.N.T.E., the show’s battle bot, when it appears in front of
the reels to award random prizes.
A random Penny multiplier may be awarded if Sheldon (Parsons)
knocks on her apartment door three times. She’ll appear and say,
“What’s the word, hummingbird?” and a X10 multiplier flies out
to all four reel sets. Sheldon may also demand to know who
touched his white board as Wilds are awarded.
Some of the in-game magic happens on the fourth (lower right)
set of reels, where you’ll see various multipliers and other
prizes announced.
You may win a free spin of one of the two Atomic Wheels,
which award credits or an Atomic Prize. Or you may get three
Bazinga scatter symbols to trigger the Bazinga bonus round,
where the main wheel o top of the machine spins. You could win
credits, one of five bonus games based on the show’s lead
characters (Penny, Leonard, Sheldon, Howard, and Raj), or the
Big Bang Theory Progressive Feature.
Each of the character-themed games begins with a clip from
the show featuring that character. The Penny Friendship Paradigm
fills the screen with pictures of Penny and the guys together or
a Soft Kitty symbol, but you collect “Penny Friendship Paradigm”
symbols for scatter pays. The values of the prizes awarded may
increase during the feature as well.
The Large Hofstader Collision
This feature is a Free
Spins plus Multiplier feature where you do the math and
choose one of four combinations of spins and multipliers for
your bonus.
(Raj) Koothrappali’s Scavenger Vortex
This feature
prompts you to pick a puzzle piece or “other people’s dirty
laundry”. You either win a fixed number of credits or all of
the prizes.
The Cooper Roommate Agreement
This feature replaces
the game reels with a new set. There are 432 ways to win.
Sheldon is the Wild symbol. The reels look like columns in
a PDF formatted magazine. Pictures of the characters,
computers, chess pieces, and other incidental objects are
display in-between blocks of (unreadable) text from the
agreement.
Howard’s Mystic Warlords of Ka’a
This is Sheldon’s
favorite game (according to the voice over). You pick a Hero
card to find out what multiplier you win for the next phase
of the game. Choices are The Amazing Rajesh, The Wolowizard,
Sheldor the Conqueror, Princess Penelope, and Leonard the
Brave. Then you are presented with a choice of eight cards.
You pick several cards and as you turn over a card your Hero
applies his multiplier. You might turn over a card that
boosts the Hero’s multiplier an awards additional picks.
The Electron Progressive
This feature prompts you to
click on three atom symbols. You could win credits or the
low (local) progressive bonus prize.
Conclusion
This game is loaded with surprises and clips from the show.
You’ll be reliving your favorite moments and smiling as
Sheldon’s running commentary gives the game a surrealistic touch
reminiscent of the show’s most awkward or funniest moments.
There is nothing spectacular about the ambient sounds or
music. The Big Bang Theory’s one real song is the theme song
(“The History of Everything”) performed by Barenaked Ladies and
it would be tiring to have to listen to that through hours of
play so the game designers opted for the usual bells and
whistles, which while making the game sound exciting are almost
like (really loud) white noise in a casino environment.
Please Note
Players also note the game’s similarity in some bonus
features to Aristocrat Gaming’s “Batman” slots game, which is a
consequence of using a standard programming platform.
You will play this game because it has its own character, not
because it’s a completely unique experience. Sheldon’s witty,
sometimes poignant commentary almost makes you feel like he is
sitting right there next to you helping you spin the buttons.
The video clips also serve another purpose in breaking up the
gaming experience. Research shows that your brain needs a break
from a constant stream of the same experience, a fact that was
exploited by the Muzak company in the 1970s and 1980s. They
inserted timed silent periods into their constant music streams.
Although it’s hard to say that the Big Bang Theory slots game
is scientifically designed (any more than any other slots game)
it is definitely a game based on math and physics, exploiting
nearly every available optical feature in the slot game design
book. The show’s imprint on all these tricks and marvels of
casino entertainment reduce that slightly disappointing feeling
of familiarity.
You don’t have to love soft kitties to want to take this game
for a ride but you’ll get more out of the experience if you are
a fan of the show and know all the punch lines and clever tropes
that are associated with each character. The only thing really
missing is a time travel joke in the roommate agreement. That
was one of the best lines of the show.
