In the slot industry, sometimes terms that the insiders use may differ from ones players use. One I’ve heard before, but haven’t really used myself here, is the concept of a “scripted bonus.”
We as players know what one is, but we often use a different term: Predetermined bonus.
When it comes to bonuses or features, they can be independent events, such as free spins that hit the RNG or what is sometimes dubbed a “true pick” bonus, where your picks are actual picks out of a set of possible outcomes.
The flip side to that is the concept of the scripted bonus – they know where you’re headed and will end up, and how.
The reason the term scripted bonus may actually be more appropriate is pretty simple – sometimes the types of things going on can get more complex than just touch a few things on the screen and win the Mini progressive. Scripted bonuses can allow more complex and interesting things to happen in a bonus without creating a bonus that’s too long in time (after all, time in a bonus is time away from wagers).
Scripted bonuses can also ensure resolution with, for example, a lot less picks. Imagine a picking screen where you had to balance out the mini winning much more often than the grand – there could be a lot more picks involved, and indeed I’ve shared examples of this in a true pick slot with Rising Panda/Guardian.
In the end, whether a bonus is scripted or true to the RNG/pick doesn’t change the game’s long term payback – it’s designed how it’s designed for a reason. And while players may want to feel the control, others may be relieved that their choices didn’t negatively impact their bonus since it was already out of their hands.
