Queen of the Nile Slot Game: Interview with Game Developer Martin Johnston

For those, who do not know me, I am Lucas who is a student at the Faculty of Journalism. More than journalism, I like games, almost any of them, and I am very venturous. I enjoy playing slots with friends. This is my little blog where I can talk about slots and also train my writing skills, so welcome and hope you will enjoy reading my posts. 

I thought for a long time about what to write in my first post and finally, I remembered the university task of interviewing a person whom I respect. So I decided to combine the necessary and useful with the desired. There are quite a few people whom I respect but my choice fell on Martin Johnston the game developer. 

Martin is from a very small town in Canada and began his career as a game designer. After several years as a designer, he trained as a developer and worked in the same company for a couple of years. Once he won a ticket to the annual congress of game development companies and one of these companies offered him a job. Martin left the company, having worked in it for quite some time and became as independent developers. Now he is a co-owner of a well-known company in the gaming industry. Over the several years of its existence, the company has received a significant number of Game Developers Choice Awards. Also, his company makes a significant contribution to charity by donating money to help those in need. Martin himself and his wife adopted two children from a local shelter.

That's why I chose Martin and respect him, he made himself and became an outstanding person. So here is my new post-interview with Game Developer Martin Johnston.

My Personal Meeting with Martin Johnston

Organizing an interview with Martin was a daunting task. I had to write and call his company several times during the month to arrange an interview but still, it happened and I was able to get a meeting. I had only to prepare questions, it was not difficult for me.

When the day of the interview came, I was quite worried. I was afraid to seem stupid because of the excitement or forget to ask some important questions. But still, I got ready, I put on glasses for a smart look and went to Martin’s office. When I saw Martin, I was pleasantly surprised by his simple friendliness and the fact that he was dressed in very ordinary but stylish clothes, and not in a strict suit. We came into his office and began our interview. Looking ahead, I will say that I tried to transfer all of Martin's answers in writing as accurately as possible. 

• Martin, I read a lot of information about you. However, I can't understand what is the reason for your such a big passion for games?

I always loved games, only at different times from different angles. I used to love doing the game design but over time it became not enough for me and I wanted to completely create the whole process. But think the true love to them came from the time when I was a teenager and constantly played different games alone and with friends. I think exactly friends and pushed me to become a game designer, and then a developer.

• What was your first job?

My very first job was washing cars at Uncle's car service. I did not really like a job but I was studied at the designer and I needed money. My student years were not very easy in terms of money. At that time, I still had no idea that someday I would create games. If someone came up to me and said this I would never have believed. 

• What was the first game you designed?

I created my first product at the last stage of training for a developer many years ago, it was a thesis work. My creation was something mixed between a Snake and Tetris, I know it's hard to imagine but my development turned out pretty not bad. It did not have any name, I just called it my graduation game, I was very pleased with it at that time. I made it completely myself, the only thing I was forced to get a little help from my roommate Paul was to check the new product for errors.

• Have you thought about collaborating with other gaming companies?

Good question. In fact, yes, I thought about it and at the moment we are conducting some negotiations with one very well-known company about developing a joint game. But so far, no contracts have been signed, only negotiations. I really hope for a positive decision and productive work in the near future.

Queen of the Nile. All Secrets of this Game You Would Like to Know 

• I like all your games, Martin, but my favorite is the Queen of the Nile. I would like to talk more about her. What inspired you to create this slot?

Thank you, John, I'm glad to hear that. I like myths, legends and the history of ancient years and I always wanted to create a slot in this style. I travel often and my trip to Egypt eventually pushed me to create a pokie in the Egyptian style. That's how the Queen of the Nile pokie was born and actually, this is one of my favorite slots because almost all the design for it was developed by me and you can play this amazing Queen of the Nile slot game demo here on freeslotshub.com.

• As far as I know, Queen of the Nile is one of the most popular slots. How do you think what is the secret of popularity of this slot among players?

Well, firstly, I think that the game has enough free spins to understand how to play, as far as I remember there are up to 15 and it has excellent bonus symbols with worthwhile payouts. For example, 3 symbols of Scatter Pyramid give 15 free spins and triples winnings over these spins, besides, the pokie may offer retriggering.
Jackpot is not big, but some slots have much less. RTP and volatility I would say are average, but the pokie has instant play which is very convenient and simplifies the process. Queen of the Nile has a very nice gamble feature which makes basic characters very useful and also, the game has respinning.

• I am sure that you know all the tips and strategies on how to win at this slot. Can you share at least some of them?

Most of the tips you can read on the page of the game itself, the main thing to realize how to use them correctly. Pay more attention to bonus symbols and their possible combinations. 
I consider the most important tip - this does not stop at half the slot and try different combinations. 

• What programming language did you use for creating Queen of the Nile slot? How many people worked on this game?

A small team of 4 people worked on the pokie, including me. There would be five of us if I had not taken up all the work with the design. For the slot Queen of the Nile, as for most of our products, we use HTML5. HTML5 is more convenient and more productive than a Flash, we try to use only it. If you notice you can play our slots on almost any device.

• What is the system incorporated in the slot? How does it work? What are the chances of an average gamer to hit a jackpot?

Well, in Queen of the Nile slot there is no unusual system, you will see alternating red and black, and the random number generator gives absolutely unbiased results. An important point is the ratio of free spins to the number of multipliers in the game, there are several options to choose from, I recommend using the ratio of 10 free spins with x5 multiplier. 
Queen of the Nile is not a slot where you can think deeply about the jackpot, so the chances of winning it are small for the average player, but if you use your free spins and bonuses correctly during the slot, you can get very good winnings.

• What would you recommend players who have just started playing the game? What are your tips for beginners?

In the beginning, it’s best to carefully read the manual, no matter how trivial it sounds, but understanding the basics will give the best results. We do not usually start reading the book from the end. It is also worth paying attention to paylines and multipliers to create winning combinations. To get more effect from the multiplier, you should choose fewer spins. After, start the slot with a demo version it will help to understand the slot and just play for fun. 

Future Novelties 

• The last question I would like to ask you is about your plans for the future. Are there any games that will be released in the nearest future?

Oh yes, we are developing a whole series of different games, but under one theme that unites them. I can’t say what kind of slots they will be, their names or topic, this is still secret information. I can only say that there will be a couple of slots and that half of them will be tied to my hobbies. Very soon we will hold a big conference where we will talk about these pokies, and their release is planned in a year, but this is not yet for sure.

• Will there be any new features and functions that players have not experienced yet?

Yes, there will be several new features, for example, in one slot we want to combine a very unusual ratio of gaming lines, combinations, and bonuses. We also want to bring virtual reality into several games, but so far these are just ideas and thoughts. This is all that I can say for now. I am so sorry, I don’t have the opportunity to say anything else because my partner in the company will kill me and together with the marketing department.