By Deke Rivers
The sword-swinging, blood-letting, fire-breathing brilliance of Game Of Thrones can all be traced directly back to the mighty George R. R. Martin, the author who started it all. Born in 1948, in Bayonne, New Jersey – the son of a longshoreman and a home-maker – George R. R. Martin first put professional pen to paper at an early age, selling his stories of fantasy and horror to his neighbourhood friends for a penny a pop. After working as a journalist, teacher, and director of chess tournaments, Martin became a full-time writer in 1979, penning a number of novels and short stories. After the failure of his 1983 novel, The Armageddon Rag, Martin began working in television, where he toiled on The Twilight Zone, Max Headroom, and Beauty And The Beast. In 1991, he returned to writing novels, and began what would eventually turn into his epic, seven-volume fantasy series, A Song Of Ice And Fire. During completion of A Dance With Dragons – the fifth novel in the series – Martin was tapped to executive produce a television adaptation of his A Song Of Ice And Fire books. The rest, as they say, is history.
HBO’s televisual take on Martin’s darkly fantastical world would surprisingly take hold not just of those versed in the universes of Conan The Barbarian, Lord Of The Rings and Dune, but also of those lodged well and truly in the mainstream, making Game Of Thrones an enormous commercial and critical hit. A tale of warring family houses (principally the stern, rough, but essentially decent Stark clan of the icy north, and the more perverse, scheming Lannister family) in the ancient kingdom of Westeros, its swordplay and battles were topped only by its huge cast of fascinatingly flawed and compromised characters. Winning a truckload of Emmy Awards and amassing nothing short of an army of fans, Game Of Thrones now undoubtedly stands tall as one of the greatest television shows of all time, breaking boundaries, smashing viewing records, and changing the way that people look at the previously much maligned fantasy genre.
The huge success of the show has expanded outward into a host of other artistic and commercial directions, with Game Of Thrones driving all forms of merchandise, and also being repurposed for video games, and online slots. Debuting in 2014, Game Of Thrones online slots (which are available at the Google Store) have been developing strongly ever since, with 2020 seeing the introduction of a host of new games featuring the series’ major characters. “The Game Of Thrones brand has garnered a devoted following among viewers, along with incredible media attention,” says Jean-Luc Ferriere, Chief Commercial Officer at Microgaming. “We are excited to extend our partnership with HBO to supply new Game of Thrones online slots that honour and build on the brand’s immense popularity. In the spirit of the show, we will be working hard to deliver quality, feature-rich slot games so that players can enjoy an authentic Game Of Thrones themed gaming experience.”
With Game Of Thrones online slots, winter is no longer coming, it’s already here…Speaking of Microgaming, many online casinos in New Zealand offer Game Of Thrones online slots in their game libraries, like Betiton online casino NZ. Of course, this video slot is as popular in NZ as anywhere else in the world, but has especially great feedback from casino players in New Zealand.
