Terry Igesund: "Breathing new life into Immortal Romance"

Today we sit down with Stormcraft Studios Executive Producer, Terry Igesund, to discuss the release of Immortal Romance II. The timeless franchise has been resuscitated by the skilled hands at Stormcraft, bringing it back into the public eye and rejuvenating the brand by drawing heavily from the original while implementing a few clever twists along the way.

The new title has all the trappings of a modern and beloved slot game, with compelling characters that bring uniqueness to the game through skilled cinematic storytelling and narrative twists. The new game aims to appeal to the brand's established fan base while also expanding the ranks of players who have a soft spot for the vampire-esque story.

Q: With a decade having passed since the first title, what was it that motivated you to develop a sequel now?
A sequel was always on the cards, and I already knew the direction I wanted the sequel to go while I was writing song lyrics for the first game, but we were just waiting for the right time. The plan was to wait for the original game’s KPIs to begin to slide and then deliver an exciting sequel to rejuvenate the brand. Immortal Romance™ lived up to its name and never really showed any signs of dying off.

When the 10th anniversary came around, I started getting more and more pressure from the business to prioritise the sequel, which motivated me to kick the project off officially.

Q: Why do you think players love Immortal Romance™ so much for the title to still be popular more than 10 years on?

There are many reasons why the original Immortal slot was such a success. For starters, the world was crazy about vampires at the time so the timing of the release would have played a part. The game was ready for release some time before it actually launched but I requested to hold off until December which is when the now iconic vampire movie was to be released and have some synergy with that. So that could have added to its appeal too.

Add to that, the game was a derivative of our Thunderstruck™ II slot which was hugely popular and the first online slot ever to save the player’s game state which created a massive opportunity for bonus feature progression.

That said, the game itself was lovingly crafted into a unique gaming experience through the introduction of compelling characters with intriguing narratives, supported by mini-movie cinematic win animations for each character. The character narratives were the catalyst for the evolution of Immortal Romance™ into a compelling and immersive gaming experience.

The visual storytelling culminated in us writing and composing an amazing soundtrack to support each of the characters’ free spin features, which continues to set it apart from anything in the industry, more than 12 years later.

For many, Immortal Romance™ is so much more than just a slot game, it’s a prevailing symbol of nostalgia, which added great pressure on us to deliver successfully on the sequel.

Q: With so many people seemingly thinking the title is so good, how do you go about making improvements?

Well, the numbers don’t lie. The game is good!

During the conceptualisation process, we did a lot of canvassing with operators, streamers, and players, regarding the feature set of the sequel game. The most requested feature by far was for Wild Desire™ to be given a multiplier, so we listened and introduced an increasing multiplier in the feature which significantly increased its win potential.

Another big request was for an amazing soundtrack that could compare with the popularity of the first game’s songs and this was one of my favourite parts of this creative process. I again wrote the lyrics for the sequel’s songs and collaborated with my incredibly talented sound designers to compose the music before reaching out to professional singers to perform the vocals.

I was incredibly excited that the singer of the vocals of the original was keen to work with us again and worked hard to create songs that suited brought the best out of her vocal range. Each character’s song is a vehicle for the Immortal Romance narrative and they all evolved to a point where each song reinforced the context of the game. The album has now launched on Spotify and all major music streaming sites, so go check it out!

Evolution and adding greater depth to the original was paramount, but there is a fine balance between delivering something fresh and exciting and still being true to the essence of the first game.

Based on industry feedback, we decided to commit the time and effort into once again creating unique free spins feature mechanics for each of the four characters, enhanced with their own original soundtrack. As per the original game, each of the free spins differs in volatility, but this time all the features are available to play from the first trigger with no unlocking required.

With longevity in mind, we leaned into our core values of craftsmanship and entertainment, knowing that our player-centric approach would deliver an awesome user experience. We hope that players see and appreciate all the love and consideration that has gone into every aspect of this game’s creation.

Q: What are your expectations for Immortal Romance™ II? Do you believe it can become as popular as the original?
Well, that is the dream! However, I am a realist at heart and understand what the original game means and represents to the passionate fan base out there.

I hope they will be open to acknowledging how much care and consideration has gone into finding that balance between nostalgic idealism and modern progression and evolution. The game has something for everyone and has been designed with entertainment and longevity in mind.

The Bloodline feature for example rewards players who continue to play the game with unlockable music and visual skins to customise their gaming experience, which we have received a lot of positive feedback about.

Q: Can we expect even more Immortal Romance™ II titles in the future?
I can neither confirm nor deny that Immortal Romance™ II is the foundation upon which an impressive brand franchise is being built. What I can say is that I have an entire story created in my mind and we’ll see how this plays out.

Image credit: Casino Guru News