TaDa Fish-Shooting Games: How Game Design Impacts Player Loyalty

Fish-shooting or fish-table games: everyone’s talking about them and how they bring a unique dimension to iGaming. From attracting new demographics and younger players to impacting engagement and retention levels for operators through longer sessions, these games are creating a growing and loyal fan base. We talked to the No. 1 provider for fish-shooting, TaDa Gaming’s Director of Product Development, Sean Liu, to drill down into the design process, discuss what role AI plays and discover just what a Big Boss character brings to the party.

Can you talk us through the design process as to how you create your unique fish-shooting titles?

To begin, in case anyone missed out on this new genre of RNG casino content, fish-shooting is more like high quality video games. Instead of spinning reels, players shoot targets to score wins or trigger bonuses and the whole screen is the game real estate.

Each shot fired places a bet and each target character has a unique value. This enables strategic decision-making on weapon choice and targets, further adding to the exciting gameplay.

The key to creating successful fish-shooting games lies in its differentiation. Following an in-depth R&D phase, we devise a core narrative and thematic position for emotional connection. The mechanics provide depth and replay value to create engagement and loyalty.

We also review hit logic, multiplier mechanisms and skill functions to ensure operational depth and strategic flexibility.

Our “Shoot & Win’ concept means all the games are easy to grasp for immediate response and continuous interaction. The design and animations are best in class and are designed to deliver a wow factor immediately the game opens; plus we use orchestral sound effects to enhance the experience, create anticipation and amplify hit satisfaction.

As AI technology further permeates iGaming, these elements are also evolving towards improved personalisation and dynamism, meaning our games will always get better.

How do you use AI in fish-shooting game design? What is its impact?

AI has proved to be a winner for reducing our timeframes and costs whilst maintaining our high standards. Pre AI, the average development timeline for a fish-shooting game was six to eight months. Depending on how advanced the gameplay, the timeframe could push to more than 10 months. 

Using AI, specifically AI-assisted concept sketch generation and character style exploration, has enhanced the early-stage development. We also use AI simulation of player behaviour and hit models to optimise multiplier design and RTP verification. 

In terms of debugging and testing, AI automated test scripts and anomaly tracking models have accelerated projects so major stage development can be shortened, reducing the overall development timeline to four/six months.

The demand for interdisciplinary talents with AI technical backgrounds and understanding of the game industry is increasing and these team members are gradually playing key roles in the process. Overall, AI is proving to be a highly time/cost effective mechanism to speed up development; freeing up time for enhanced thinking and creativity. 

How do you design unforgettable Bosses, fish and creatures that players respond to?

Individual character design needs to be balanced with the overall fish-shooting game concept so that the characters fit the narrative and drive gameplay. According to our research and feedback, creative designs with clear silhouette definition in high quality animations are critical. Visual highlights - from colour to realistic fish design and behaviour - alongside pure fantasy characters create the highest recognition and connection levels with players.

Furthermore, in line with our glocalisation strategy, the characters need to be globally recognisable; so the Zombies in Fortune Zombie for example resemble characters from renowned films and TV series but with extra humorous details to make them unique. This also enhances brand recall, adding to engagement levels and strengthening the potential for IP expansion.

Bosses are designed to be physically larger - some will take up the whole screen - and highly distinctive visually so they are memorable. In addition, when a Boss is approaching, we give audio cues. For example, in Happy Fishing, when Jaws, the Immortal Boss is approaching, the light-hearted musical score instantly changes to an ominous beat which creates immediate comprehension and puts players on alert.

Finally, players go after characters based on their strategic win potential, so the visual designs need to reflect these values to ensure connections are made. Bosses can be gold, luminous, gem studded or even crowned. Using design cues ensures players intuitively recognise character types and Bosses which helps with their strategic responses.

How does weapon design add to the gameplay? 

Again, it’s about balancing the weapons with the storyline, features and characters and using creativity in unique ways to hit targets. We keep design consistency so Viking character games have hammers and axes; while the Asian themed Fortune King Jackpot uses traditional lucky Tiger and Dragon motifs for innovative weaponry with the Tiger Claw and Dragon Power.

In All Star Fishing, part of the Expert Pro level games, special weapons include an Eagle Claw Hook which can also trigger a Capturing Event with a random bonus multiplier from 99x to 999x; so players anticipate the possibility of diving into a bonus game through using a specific weapon which affects their choices.

Ocean Hunter – which is one of our only games with a human character – uses a net as the main weapon to capture everything in the vicinity; plus an electric net weapon option for enhanced power for Boss take-downs.

Some of the characters are also weapons themselves such as the Drill Bit Lobster in Bombing Fishing that can penetrate to the centre of the shoal before exploding; or the Bomb Crab in Ocean King Jackpot that will take out all the creatures on screen in one detonation. These weapons drive a more strategic mindset with players, challenging them to assess the target values, wait for a full screen before attacking or hedge their bets with smaller targets.

While we maintain continuity in weapon design, as player feedback has emphasised this importance, we do also update with at least one new shooting mode or weapon every quarter to ensure our games are always giving innovative experiences.

What innovations have you implemented in your designs?

Visual innovation has come through dynamic fish formations and 3D camera angles, creating more realistic underwater experiences, while interactive systems such as co-op boss modes and real-time mission triggers have been well received as the games deliver more active, layered participation.

Our biggest innovation recently was our Real-Time Dynamic Scripting system, which automatically repopulates on-screen fish during overkills to prevent empty screens. This also maintains pacing and visual richness, ensuring visual rhythm and feedback mechanism construction ability.

When we enhance the fluidity of player operations, we improve the sense of game immersion for players especially through improved collision realism and overall shooting feel.

What’s the next step for your fish-shooting roadmap?

Design wise, we are reviewing improved SFX including crowd reaction audio and bonus item drops to keep players fully engaged for longer play sessions.

Our glocalisation strategy will see us enter new markets with content tailored specifically for the respective jurisdictions as part of our global core mechanics/localised content approach to business development.

We are extending our North American footprint following the huge success of Fortune Zombie there. With a ‘Zombie Universe’ concept including a new fish-shooting sequel and prequel, players are going to be impressed and highly engaged with the new releases, especially the unique new shooting mechanism we are incorporating.

We will showcase these innovations at SBC Lisbon from Sep 16-18 at Stand B610, so we are looking forward to meeting as many people as possible there. We have a lot to talk about!

For further information, visit TaDa Gaming or email business@tadagaming.com to set a meeting for SBC Lisbon.