The famous television series “Star Trek”, which spawned a fun culture of “trekkies” that continues to this day, forms the theme of a slot from land games developer WMS Gaming Inc., a subsidiary of WMS Industries Inc now appearing in Harrah’s Entertainment venues and apparently attracting a growing following.
Operator and games developer alike report keen interest in the slot, which was again showcased at the recent Global Gaming Expo in Las Vegas and attracted considerable attention. The Harrah’s order is believed to be for 120 of the new machines.
WMS describes the game as as its first “Adaptive Gaming” venture, which WMS vice president of marketing Rob Bone described as: “Adaptive gaming is the next step towards what we’re calling personalized and intimate gaming. When a player finishes a session of Star Trek, he or she simply enters a PIN number. A ticket is printed with a code which the player can insert in the bill validator for the next playing session, allowing them to pick up where they left off.”
“It’s administered over our wide area network, so feasibly someone who’s in Las Vegas can hop on a plane for Atlantic City and have the ability to pick up where they left off at another casino in another state,” Bone said. “We’ll also have local area networks as a solution for those markets that currently don’t use wide area progressives.”
The popular sci-fi feel of the iconic ‘Sixties series is recaptured with action graphics and video snippets from the original 79 episodes on the machines. Players enter an immersive environment which adjusts to their personal accomplishments and preferences, and can choose either free spin or interactive bonusing each time a bonus is triggered. Using the company’s wide- area network, players can earn Starfleet medals to unlock new “Star Trek” episodes and save their status through a chosen ID so they can pick up where they left off at any “Star Trek” machine during their next visit.
Upon their return, players can resume with the same number of medals and episodes they had earned during their previous game play. This slot is powered by WMS’ next-generation CPU-NXT 2 platform with real-time 3-D graphics, a 26-inch digital top box and Bose 3-Space surround sound audio system with a custom gaming chair.