Interview: Art Director, Kajal Verma, speaks about the creative process behind our top hit, Jammin' Jars

26 Feb 2021 3 min read

It’s quite likely that by now, you would have heard our latest big news – Jammin’ Jars 2 will be available at your favourite casino this summer.

With some time still left to go for the release this June, we take a look back at the original Jammin’ Jars. Although released in September 2018, the game is still hugely popular among players today and is undoubtedly one that will continue to be a top favourite for many players in the years to come.

Mvideoslots spoke with our Art Director, Kajal Verma, who gave more insight into the stunning creative work that went into the game, as well as more information on how the game theme and the iconic jar came about.

Jammin' Jars has been an exceptional release for Push Gaming. Could you tell us a bit about where the idea for the game came from, and how this came to life through the art?

It certainly has! Little did we know that it would turn out to be such a sensational hit when we started working on it, and it’s been immensely rewarding to see how well it’s been received.

When we first started the art process, our initial focus was always on fruits, as we wanted to create something playful. The use of fruits also allowed for a good variety of symbols, and tend to be quite popular with players, particularly after the huge success of popular match mobile games at the time, which were part of our initial inspiration.

As the research process developed further, we started to experiment with jam jars. The different shapes and sizes for these, seemed to naturally complement the variety of colours that we wanted to incorporate throughout the game.

When the creative reached a more advanced stage, we then wanted to challenge ourselves even further, by adding our unique twist on a popular fruit themed-game. Those who are familiar with our titles, will know that we always look to create something different for our players to enjoy, and that’s not only when it comes to game mechanics, but in our creative concepts too.

We were set on giving a modern twist to the game, but one that also created a narrative of fun and excitement. After several iterations, the disco theme came to life, and we couldn’t be happier with it. We think that this really brought an edge to the game, and gave it that funky-fresh feeling that so many players still love till today.

What was the art process like from inception to completion? Was the vision clear from the very start, or did the concept evolve along the way? If so, how?

We believe it’s extremely important to brainstorm and experiment thoroughly throughout any creative process in order to bring out the very best ideas. This generally means that we start our work with a more open approach, and not with ideas that are immediately set in stone.

That being said, we were set on a cluster game from the beginning as we had seen how well players took on to this. With this in mind, we felt that using fruits as well as jars - along with the variety they bring - seemed to work well and be a natural fit for this style of game.

At the start of our creative experimentation, we actually went down a very different route and tested out pastel-coloured fruits in an orchard setting. So this was definitely a lot more mellow than what we actually ended up with!

The switch over to the high-energy disco theme came about when we were trying to think outside the box and really do something original and innovative as we always strive to do.

The jar symbol is truly iconic. Is there a story to this character and how it was developed to fit with the rest of the game?

We really love our jar symbol and are really pleased to see how well players have taken on to it.

We had started out by experimenting with various types of jars at once, but then decided to narrow it down to just one jar to be even more impactful. Due to the game narrative, we always envisioned this symbol to be a standout one, so we set out to make it the star of the show by characterising it immediately.

We wanted to create a high-energy jar that would bring about a positive vibe, and playfulness for players to connect with throughout the game. In order to achieve this, we had to work hand-in-hand with our animators and sound to really bring this feeling across and are thrilled with how this turned out, and how much everyone loves this eye-catching jar.