In a genre where dynamite and six-shooters are almost as common as scatter symbols, standing out in the Wild West slot category is no easy feat. But with Sticky Bandits Thunder Rail, Quickspin has managed to load the chamber with something unexpected.
At the helm of this creative evolution is Ben Cox, game producer and narrative architect, who sat down with us to discuss how the studio honored its legacy while taking bold strides into new territory. From comic book-inspired visuals to nuanced pacing and calculated volatility, Cox offers a rare glimpse into the art and intent behind one of the industry’s most iconic slot series.
Bigwinboard (Daniel): Sticky Bandits has become one of Quickspin’s most iconic series, with each installment offering its own unique twist on the Wild West theme. Looking back, what do you think has made the series resonate so strongly with players over the years?
Ben Cox (Quickspin): It’s a great question. I think the theme and the mechanics are perfectly in harmony with each other, especially in the early games in the series. The name alone tells you what to expect from the game. At its core, it’s very easy to understand the world and how the pieces fit together. This was one of the challenges of taking the game in a new direction: how to stay true to the core of the series while innovating and taking it in a new direction.
The solution for us was to pay homage to the previous games and kick off a new saga for this line of games, integrating story elements and having a clear path for each subsequent game.
Bigwinboard (Daniel): Sticky Bandits Thunder Rail is quite a departure from earlier titles in the series. What was the original concept that set this one in motion?
Ben Cox (Quickspin): The original pitch that got it greenlit as a concept was actually “Sticky Bandits meets Cash Truck,” the idea being that we could add a Hold and Win Bonus game to Sticky Bandits as they robbed a stagecoach. I still believe in this as an idea, but during the design process, we looked at ways to innovate, both with Sticky Wilds and with Hold and Wins, which is how we went in the design direction that you see in the final product.
Bigwinboard (Daniel): Sticky Bandits Thunder Rail comes with solid win potential, but it doesn’t chase extreme max wins like some other Wild West-themed slots. How did you land on that balance, and was there ever a push to go bigger or more volatile?
Ben Cox (Quickspin): We’re all pretty big fans of other providers’ slots, so it’ll come as no surprise that we looked at the landscape of Wild West games and thought about how we could stand out from the crowd. The truth is we felt that by going in the opposite direction, aiming at a lower max win, we could keep the boom-or-bust volatility, still rewarding players for the grind, but build something reachable and heavy on entertainment. The goal was to stand out but still provide an experience familiar to fans of Wild West games.
Bigwinboard (Daniel): The comic book-style art direction really stands out. What were the visual inspirations behind Thunder Rail, and how closely did you work with the art team to bring that world to life?
Ben Cox (Quickspin): We made a concerted effort to define the art style with our art team; it was a collaborative effort between myself and our insanely strong art team. We looked at how we could stand out but draw inspiration from different places. One that we were inspired by was Weird West, a video game by WolfEye Studios.
On top of this, the lead artist on the project comes from a comic book background, and his ability to tie character designs into their feature functions is second to none. We played into his strengths, as well as the art and FX team in general, and tried to build a world that felt immersive.
Bigwinboard (Daniel): With so many unique mechanics in play, how do you design for player clarity and avoid overwhelming them?
Ben Cox (Quickspin): Honestly, this was one of many challenges with this game, but a good one to have. The way we approached it was to make the characters instantly recognizable but maintain consistency in the ‘Wild’ symbol design, so they all have the same backplate, the colors are unified, etc. This way, players understand that what they are getting is Wilds, but in a variety of ways.
We also leaned heavily on the previous games for feature inspiration, so you have the Big Wild symbol that we’ve seen before in Sticky Bandits games. We also brought back the mini-slot as a recognizable symbol, which was in Wild Return, and for the multiplier wild, we went back to the bullet chamber from Unchained, albeit in a different form. The goal was to provide replayability since every time players come back, they can expect a unique way of getting their wins!
Bigwinboard (Daniel): There’s a real contrast between the fast-paced base game and the more methodical bonus round. What kind of pacing and emotional arc were you aiming to deliver?
Ben Cox (Quickspin): I’ve played a lot of Hold and Wins lately and had a great time with them. One thing that we wanted to do was provide a recognizable mechanic but in a different way of unlocking it. The bandit needing to connect to the symbols was a nice storytelling element, but it also served the purpose of showing players the potential. When I played the prototype, the feeling I had was always that the big wins were tantalizingly close, and when you finally got to them, because they have features attached, the payoff was very rewarding.
Having the character also allowed us to provide different experiences when you unlocked them, so let’s say the entire bottom row is filled with symbols; if you can connect to it, the win will be massive, but depending on which symbols landed in the process, you will get a unique way that they stack. So the methodical nature of it is mainly about showing the potential and then paying it off in a big way.
Bigwinboard (Daniel): Lastly, if you had to sum up Sticky Bandits Thunder Rail in a single pitch for someone who’s never played it, what would that sound like?
Ben Cox (Quickspin): It’s a new era for Sticky Bandits, delivering everything you love from the series with the heist of the
