Visual Storytelling BIG TIME GAMING


NIK ROBINSON CEO Big Time Gaming


For Big Time Gaming, character design isn’t just skin- deep. Tey embody mechanics, turning visual flourishes into character arcs that players actively play out. It’s storytelling by doing, not just by showing, explains Nik Robinson.


What's your take on the relationship between symbolic elements and background art?


Take Castle of Terror 2 for example. It’s gothic horror reimagined - Frankenstein’s monster brooding above the reels, storm clouds swelling above a green castle. Te art is rich, deliberate, and iconic. It is pulling from popular horror comics and films, laying the emotional groundwork for what the player should feel when a feature is about to trigger. Te visuals don’t just set a tone, they foreshadow intensity.


In White Rabbit 2, the symbolic language is pure fantasy. Alice in Wonderland is more than just an IP with dazzling Megapots mechanic. Players don’t need a manual when the symbols are a tea party cupcake, drink me bottle and fantasy game characters. Our background art in WR2 plays with whimsical depth light shifts, dreamlike layers that evolve with progression. Ten contrast that with Star Clusters 2, an abstract using motion and lights conveys context: you’re accelerating toward something vast fuelled by Megaclusters mayhem.


Across all our games, we’re not just designing symbols to “match and win”, we are composing visual symphonies where art direction and mechanics evolve as one. Tat’s how we create experiences that linger because players don’t just spin the reels, they step into a world.


In what ways do animated effects such as cascading reels, win particles and symbol transformations help narrate progress or plot without traditional cutscenes?


Most animated effects draw the eye to key mechanics, help the player anticipate when the feature is triggered and progress in slots is usually about the feature, which is where they discover


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big wins. Animation is the heartbeat of emotional pacing in a slot. At BTG, our story progression lives in the mechanics. Effects like cascading reels, symbol transformations, and win particles are engineered to visually narrate progress without plot traditional cutscenes. Tey’re not just effects; they’re narrative cues. Castle of Terror 2 uses symbolic mutation and electrified Wilds to escalate the horror. When brains overrun the reels or entire columns transform into Wilds, you're not just watching animations—you're witnessing the story of your own experiment spiralling out of control


Tese animations guide the player like beats in a film score, no cutscene required. You feel the tension rise. You know the lab’s about to explode, or the stars are aligning like in Star Clusters 2. Tat’s kinetic storytelling, and it’s how we keep players leaning in.


In transforming a slot-game narrative into visual style, what balance do you strike between decorative flair and clarity of gameplay UX?


BTG is very math driven, we will generally prefer simplicity, to maximise clarity of game play, over any type of decorative flare. Tat said, even with this restriction, there is plenty of room to make a beautiful looking game. BTG is unapologetically math-first. Our visual design exists to serve clarity of play, not obscure it. But we also believe a clear interface doesn’t mean boring. It means purposeful beauty.


Take White Rabbit 2, it's a game that’s visually rich, yet never overwhelming. Te expanding reels and cascading Cupcakes are fantastical, but every animation reinforces mechanic clarity. When a reel hits its max height of 12 symbols, it’s not just art, it’s a gameplay milestone.


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