The Sword and the Grail: Excalibur
I had the pleasure to art direct this 2024 sequel to the incredibly popular 2019 hit The Sword and the Grail. The original game was pivitaol part of Play’n Go’s Arthurian Legends series, a collection of games relating to the story of King Arthur, the sword in the stone, the holy grail, and various characters that live within that mythological world such as Merlin, Lady Guinevere, and the knights of the round table.
The original game had an incredibly strong identity and an established fan base. The goal was to visually please current fans by not straying too far from the original, but also give the original look an upgrade. I wanted to push this slightly more realistic than the first game, ensuring the same style and tone matched across all elements of the sequel. Every asset was completely redesigned for this game. The art team nailed the look doing a fantastic job on realising the vision, whilst the animation team worked wonders to bring those assets to life!
The game itself is a 5x3 video slot featuring wild multipliers up to 100 times of bet, instant prize symbols, and wandering wilds once a player unlocks free spins.
Setting
Taking inspiration from the original game and Arthurian Legend, the base game is set within a warm and welcoming medieval castle. King Arthur’s throne sits in the background and the famous round table is in the middle of the throne room. The free spins game sees the time of day shift to a darker and cooler night scene with a more mysterious magical presence.
Symbols
Scatter / Bonus Symbol
There’s a reason the game is called The Sword and the Grail. The two most important symbols are the sword ‘Excalibur’ and ‘The Holy Grail’. Much like the iconic look of the first game the scatter symbol is the sword Excalibur protruding from the stone. When 3 scatters land and unlock free spins mode, the sword is pulled from the stone. The blue colour links to the colour theme of free spins.
There’s a reason the game is called The Sword and the Grail. The two most important symbols are the sword ‘Excalibur’ and ‘The Holy Grail’. Much like the iconic look of the first game the scatter symbol is the sword Excalibur protruding from the stone. When 3 scatters land and unlock free spins mode, the sword is pulled from the stone. The blue colour links to the colour theme of free spins.
Wild
Again, use of the holy grail in the original game was iconic. We completely redesigned this symbol to give it a much more realistic and friendly appearance. This symbol can upgrade with a x2, x5, x10, or x100 multiplier. During the free spins game the grail wilds wander on the reel once they land.
Again, use of the holy grail in the original game was iconic. We completely redesigned this symbol to give it a much more realistic and friendly appearance. This symbol can upgrade with a x2, x5, x10, or x100 multiplier. During the free spins game the grail wilds wander on the reel once they land.
Instant Prize Symbol
A new symbol to the series. For this we created a medieval coat of arms with a strong and brave lion figure on a shield with crossed swords behind. This symbol can pay up to x100 a player’s bet instantly.
A new symbol to the series. For this we created a medieval coat of arms with a strong and brave lion figure on a shield with crossed swords behind. This symbol can pay up to x100 a player’s bet instantly.
High Paying Symbols
These focus on characters from the lore. From highest to lowest value – King Arthur, Lady Guinevere, Merlin, and a knight of the round table.
These focus on characters from the lore. From highest to lowest value – King Arthur, Lady Guinevere, Merlin, and a knight of the round table.
Lower Paying Symbols
To help keep a familiar look with the original game these are redesigns of the coins with more of a 3D angle to them.
To help keep a familiar look with the original game these are redesigns of the coins with more of a 3D angle to them.
The logo was a reimagining of the original game with some work to tidy it up and simplify, creating a more streamlined version.
