Founded in 2014, PearFiction Studios strives to produce “innovative games which combine a dazzling blend of story, humour, and fantastic art,” such as its slots titles Gustavo El Luchador and Outerspace Invaders. 

Following those releases, PearFiction Studios created The Smashing Biscuit, a Microgaming exclusive launched in 2019. 

Thierry Semoff, CEO of PearFiction Studios, stated: “We are constantly aiming for creative and technical excellence, never settling for anything but the very best. We have a range of innovative game concepts in the works and RNG Foundry will not only enable us to build and distribute these games, but will also push us to reach new heights as a studio.”

PearFiction Studios takes inspiration from land-based casino games with proven success and finds new ways to creatively present fun mechanics to online slot players. With its portrait-first approach, the studio strives to ensure an engagement journey for players.

Mark McGinley, RNG program director, added: “The creativity and imagination that PearFiction Studios pour into their games is plain to see from their past releases and is sure to resonate with slot fans of every demographic. They are a studio we hold in very high regard and one who I sincerely believe will be one to watch in 2020.”

As well as its incorporation into the RNG Foundry portfolio, 2020 is set to be an exciting year for the studio, with an estimated Q3 release for its ‘Roaring Twenties’ themed slot Chicago Gold – the first in a line-up of future titles currently in the works for 2020.

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Blood and Shadow – Nolimit City

Nolimit City’s blood-curdling slot release Blood and Shadow offered a selection of frightening features to claim one of our Slot of the Week titles back in March. 

Taking place on a 5×4 reel board, Blood and Shadow offers up to 3,125 ways to win through a selection of features including disturbing duplicated symbols and cursed spins. While providing a fitting x6,666 maximum win, this game uses high volatility with an RTP of 96.13 per cent.

Sebastian Hovenberg, Product Owner at Nolimit City, commented: ”As the years go by, her time is running out. Shadow Girl now turns her eyes to the realm of shadows to find eternal youth, but will this come to her as a blessing or a curse. Welcome in and try out our very first-ever progression game where sacrifices are the only way to reach the highest potentials.”

Throughout the game, a blood meter is active underneath the reel set. Landing medium and high value symbols in a winning combination will apply one and two blood points respectively to this meter, while scatter symbols will apply 10 blood points to the meter.

Filling this meter with 20 blood points after a single spin will activate the first bonus feature of the game mode, with five features available in total as the player collects further blood points to continue filling the meter from that one spin. 

Collecting 20 blood points will trigger the candle spins feature, awarding two respins each time the meter is filled up again. The meter resets with each feature, and players must collect an extra ten blood points each time they want to advance to the next set of candle spins. 

For example, after activating the first set of candle spins by collecting 20 blood points, players will then have to collect 30 additional blood points to achieve an extra two candle spins. 

During candle spins, wild symbols will lock into place on the bottom cell of the reel that they drop into and will remain there until the entire feature has ended. 

Each level that is achieved will cause the lowest available symbol to be removed from play, making way for bigger wins. 

If any readers dare to try Blood and Shadow for themselves, they can click here to be directed to Nolimit City’s official website.

Granny vs Zombies – PearFiction Studios

In April, PearFiction Studios staged a zombie apocalypse to claim our Slot of the Week pick as a less-than-petrified pensioner faced hoards of the undead in Granny vs Zombies. 

Using a 5×4 reel set, Granny vs Zombies has 20-paylines and offers players a chance to gain a maximum win of up to x5,000 the player’s bet. 

The horror-themed release showcases spinning wheel, Lock n Win and free spins game modes while having medium-high volatility with an RTP of 96.32 per cent. 

When triggering the free spins feature, players have four game modes to choose from. Throughout each game mode, weapon symbols can drop into play, helping the Granny to defeat zombies that land on the reels. Defeating zombies adds points to a damage meter above the reels. 

When filling this damage point meter, players will eventually unlock multipliers of x5, x10 or x20 to be applied to all wins achieved in the feature. 

The free spins features are as follows: 

• A total of 10 spins with frying pan weapons that award one damage point
• Eight spins in total with rolling pins that award two damage points
• Seven spins with knives that give three points
• Six spins and molotov cocktails that take four damage points

When each level is passed in the game mode, an additional number of spins will be awarded depending on which game mode the player has selected. Frying pan, rolling pin, knife and molotov cocktail game modes will provide an additional five, four, three or two spins for each level respectively.

When players have reached the second level, a golden zombie can drop into play, needing five points of damage to be destroyed. 

In the Lock N Win game mode, players are awarded three spins to land as many coin symbols on the reels as possible. Each coin that drops in will reset the number of spins to three. 

At the end of the feature when all spins have been played out, the player will receive the accumulated value of all golden coins on the board. 

While the feature begins on a 5×4 reel set, green keys can drop into play to unlock an extra row for each reel. After doing so, these keys will provide a multiplied bet amount of their own. Pink multiplier coins can also appear, multiplying the values of each coin in play by up to x5. 

If a golden star symbol drops into play, the jackpot Lock N Win game mode will be activated once the initial Lock N Win feature finishes. This takes players to an empty reel set where they will hope to land three jackpot stars in a row to win a jackpot prize. 

This jackpot Lock n Win game mode is also activated when the golden disco zombie is destroyed in the free spins feature. 

Furthermore, collecting golden coins throughout the base game without triggering the Lock n Win feature will apply the coins to a jackpot wheel meter above the reels. 

Once this meter is filled, players will be presented with a spinning wheel that can award one of five jackpot prizes from micro (x15) to mega (x5,000). 

If readers would like to test their luck Granny vs Zombies, they can click here to be directed to PearFiction Studios’ official website. 

Nightmares vs Gigablox – Hot Rise Games

Moving into the Summer months, one of August’s slot selections saw Hot Rise Games pick up a Slot of the Week award for its monstrous slot release – Nightmares vs Gigablox. 

Released via Yggdrasil’s YG Masters campaign, Nightmares VS Gigablox is a 6×6 reel slot that uses 50-paylines while offering a maximum win of up to x7,353 the player’s wager. 

While showcasing giant symbols of 2×2 to 6×6 sizes, the game has medium-high volatility with an RTP of 96.1 per cent.

Mark McGinley, Chief Gaming Officer at Yggdrasil, stated: “Horror-themed slots have a huge fan-following and Nightmares VS GigaBlox is a great addition to our YG Masters portfolio.

“Our proven GigaBlox mechanic can see symbols take over the entire reels for huge coinciding wins, while the VERSUS feature with collection characters and improving free spins is sure to be a hit with players.”

Six monsters depict the high value symbols, with Swamp Man, Dead Beard, Princess Cleo, Max Wolf, Adam Frankenstein and Vamptress. These symbols can offer between x0.2 and x10 the player’s preferred wager. 

​​Throughout the game, and due to the Gigablox mechanic, symbols can appear in larger sizes of 2×2, 3×3, 4×4, 5×5 or 6×6 to increase the win potential as these symbols act as four, nine, 16, 25 or 36 symbols respectively.

Additionally, wild crown symbols are available, substituting for all symbols other than the VS scatter. Both of these symbols can appear on every reel. 

Moreover, VS scatters will trigger the VERSUS free spins feature when six or more appear on the same spin. Each scatter will represent one free spins in the bonus game mode when at least six appear at once. 

When activating the free spins game mode, the game will spin through the six high value monster characters to select two to be enhanced for the duration of the bonus game mode. 

One of these symbols will be chosen as the champion, and the other will be the challenger, each with their own respective meters beside the reels. 

Landing these chosen symbols on the board during the free spins will cause them to climb up their respective meters, awarding prizes when a certain number of symbols have been collected. 

The champion meter will award enhancements such as x2 multipliers for the respective symbol, x5 multipliers, champion symbols turns wild, three extra spins, wild gains x2 multiplier, another extra three spins, wild gains x5 multiplier and, finally, a payout equal to the number of champion symbols collected times by the player’s bet, in that order. 

Meanwhile, the challenger symbol can award x2 multipliers, two extra spins, x5 multipliers, another two extra spins, challenger symbol turns wild, another extra two spins, wild challenger gains a x2 multiplier, a payout equal to the number of symbols collected times by the player’s stake and then multiplied by two, in that order.

For readers wishing to test their luck with the Nightmares VS Gigablox demo, they can click here to be directed to Yggdrasil’s official website. 

Chaos Crew II – Hacksaw Gaming

Hacksaw Gaming gained its second of two Slot of the Week titles for the year in September, coming by the way of a slot sequel that introduced an abundance of fresh features in Chaos Crew II. 

Witnessing the return of Cranky and Scratchy, this slot sequel presents a 5×5 reel title that uses 19-paylines and four bonus game modes to offer a maximum win of up to x20,000 the player’s bet. The game is highly volatile with an RTP of 96.27 per cent. 

Wild Cranky cat symbols can appear, substituting for all symbols other than the various bonus scatters. These wilds will always produce a multiplier to enhance any wins it contributes to, which range from x2 to x20. 

Bonus text scatters can also drop into play, triggering either the bonus game mode if three drop into play, or the super bonus game mode if four drop in. 

When the bonus game is activated, players are taken to an empty reel set where multiplier values sit above each reel, starting at x1. 

Throughout the feature, Sketchy skull symbols can appear to add to these multiplier values and Cranky cat symbols can appear with their own multipliers to further enhance the multiplier values. 

Players are given three spins, while each symbol that drops into play will reset the number of spins to three. Once all spins have been played out, the reel multiplier values will be added together and attributed to the player’s bet. 

In addition to standard Cranky and Sketchy symbols, bonus alternatives to these symbols are available. These include:

• Sticky Sketchy skulls: stays on the grid and adds its displayed value to its multiplier reel on every subsequent spin
• Epic Sketchy skulls: adds its displayed value to all reels on the board
• Epic sticky Sketchy skulls: stays on the grid and adds its displayed value to all reels on the board on every subsequent spin
• Sticky Cranky cat: stays on the grid and multiplies its respective reel multiplier value by its own multiplier on every subsequent spin
• Epic Cranky cat: multiplies every reel on the grid by its own value
• Epic sticky Cranky cat: stays on the grid and multiplies every reel on the grid by its own value on every subsequent spin

If the super bonus game mode is activated by four scatters, the first bonus game spin is guaranteed to have at least seven symbols drop into play. 

Additionally, ‘best of bonus’ scatters are available, triggering the best of bonus game mode if it appears with three standard bonus scatters. If it drops in with four standard bonus scatters, the best of super bonus feature is activated. 

Activating the ‘best of three’ bonus feature allows players to play the bonus feature three times before returning to the base game, but only the highest multiplier value achieved will be awarded to the player. 

With the best of three super bonus, players get to play the super bonus game mode three times before receiving the highest payout. 

An epic drop feature is also available in the base game, awarding players one single spin in the bonus game mode – with five cat multipliers guaranteed to appear – before returning them to the base game. 

Readers wishing to test out the Chaos Crew II demo for themselves can click here to be directed to Hacksaw Gaming’s official website. 

WitchyPoppins – AvatarUX

Claiming one of our Halloween-themed Slot of the Week awards in October was AvatarUX, who produced a cauldron-stirring PopWins title with WitchyPoppins. 

Implementing its flagship mechanic into a 5×3 reel grid, Witchy Poppins offers up to 32,768-ways to win while players can grab prizes of up to x20,000 their stake. This witchcraft-fuelled title uses an RTP of 96 per cent.

Nicola Longmuir, CEO at AvatarUX, stated: “Halloween is always a wonderful time to create fantastic games with a theme that really appeals to players with its seasonality.

“Powered by our PopWins mechanic, Witchy Poppins is another engaging, exciting title in our portfolio that we’re certain will resonate with our fans across the world.

“With the success of our PopWins mechanic, we are now excited to roll out a new type of game, jam-packed with features and win potential, that showcases the innovation and diversity that AvatarUX can offer.”

With AvatarUX’s PopWins mechanic, each winning combination of symbols that is formed will pop and disappear. These symbols will then be replaced by two extra symbols that drop in to increase the win potential. 

This feature allows the reel set to increase to a maximum size of 5×6, while any symbols that pop while the reels are this size will only be replaced by one symbol. 

To provide thrills in the base game, nudge features can randomly occur, causing the reels to nudge either upwards or downwards to enhance the spin. This can cause winning symbols, bonus scatters and wild symbols to be placed on the board to increase the win potential. 

As the free spins feature begins, one random paytable symbol is chosen to be enhanced throughout the game mode. These symbols will become ‘pay anywhere’ symbols, allowing them to form winning combinations anywhere across the board, as long as five or more individual symbols appear across the reels. 

Landing between five and 35 ‘pay anywhere’ symbols across the reel set can provide wins between x12.5 and x500 the player’s preferred bet. 

Additionally, a win multiplier sits above the reel set throughout the game mode. Starting with a value of x1, this multiplier can be enhanced by both additive and multiplicative enhancement symbols that can appear throughout the feature. 

Multiplicative symbols can range from x2 to x11 – depending on how the player activated the free spins feature – and additive multipliers can range from +5 to +50. 

These multipliers will then cause any win that is formed during the free spins game mode to be multiplied by their values that are displayed above the board. 

For those looking to test out Witchy Poppins for themselves, click here to be directed to AvatarUX’s official website. 

Wild Hogs – Stakelogic

Lastly, picking up our final Slot of the Week prize for 2023 was Stakelogic, who claimed the award for its latest pig punk-themed slot – Wild Hogs. 

Offering big wins in the form of three bonus game modes, Wild Hogs is a 6×4 reel slot with up to 46,656-ways to win and a maximum win of up to x5,000 the player’s wager. The slot has high volatility with an RTP of 96.01 per cent. 

Daniela Fricchione, Head of Account Management at Stakelogic, commented: “Stakelogic is turning up the heat with the Wild Hogs slot game. This is one of our hottest slots to date, both figuratively and literally. 

“The game is packed with exciting bonuses, with the super trail being a huge selling point. It is also one of our most visually striking titles, with the design team really delivering an intense and exciting experience for our players.”

Throughout the game, three wild modifier features can randomly occur, including a ‘wild hog general’ feature that causes up to five wilds to appear on the board, each with multipliers between x2 and x5 to be applied to any subsequent wins. 

Additionally, the ‘wild hog lieutenant’ feature causes up to three expanding multiplier wilds of either x2 and x3 to fill reels on the board, while the ‘wild hog sergeant’ feature adds standard expanding wilds onto just one or several reels on the board. 

Bonus gold hog scatters can appear on reels two, three, four and five, triggering access to the bonus wheel if three or more land on the same spin. If four or more land at once, the super bonus wheel will be awarded. 

On the bonus wheel, players can win between six and 15 free spins or access to the bonus trail game, or the super bonus trail game. 

In the bonus trail feature, players are taken to a board game-style trail path while they spin a set of reels that reveals numbers between one and nine, or blocker X symbols. 

Players are given three lives, with each X that appears removing one life, as the numbers represent how many steps the player takes around the board. 

At each step, a multiplied bet amount will be available to win, but collecting these prizes will cause those steps to become dead, removing one life if the player lands on them as the game mode continues. 

In addition to multiplied bet amount prizes, players can also land on question mark steps, which will cause one spin of a golden reel set that can award game-enhancing bonuses such as: 

• Values to be added to all remaining steps on the trail
• Extra lives
• Trail reset (removing all dead steps from the trail)
• Multiplied bet amount prizes between x5 and x500

The wheel can also award access to the super bonus trail game mode, which enhances these prizes as some of them become persistent, performing their feature at every step. 

Furthermore, the game mode ends when players lose all three lives, awarding the collected multiplied bet amount prizes to the player before returning them to the base game. 

Readers looking to try out the Wild Hogs demo can click here to be directed to Stakelogic’s official website. 

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Implementing the studio’s SwiftHits mechanic using three partying chickens, Chicken Night Fever showcases a 5×3 reel slot with 243 ways to win, offering a maximum payout of up to x5,000 the player’s bet. This slot uses medium-high volatility with an RTP of 96.09 per cent. 

Jeremy Coleman, Commercial Director at PearFiction Studios, commented: “Chicken Night Fever is another colourful, beautifully designed, feature rich game from PearFiction Studios. Set in a barnyard full of disco loving chickens, the game is a sure to be a flyaway success.

“The game uses the same Swift Hits mechanic that was so popular in Blazing Mammoth XL recently, allowing players to win up to x5,000 their bet. We also have three different chicken Swift Hit symbols that can generate big wins, respin the reels or split the reels to create up to 7,776 payways.

“The bonus game has a wheel allowing players to spin to learn how many free spins they get together with their starting multiplier. However, with the chance to grow that multiplier, there are plenty of big wins to be had. With a chicken swinging across the screen on a huge glitter ball after the freespins game, Chicken Night Fever provides a fun packed, creatively engaging game for all players.”

Low value symbols come in the form of playing card royals, with Jacks, Queens, Kings and Aces. If the right number of matching combinations that land on a single spin, these symbols can offer between x0.2 and x0.8 the player’s stake. 

Meanwhile, blue, green, red and pink chickens depict the high value symbols, offering between x0.6 and x4 the player’s preferred wager. 

Free spins disco balls are available on reels two, three and four, triggering access to the free spins wheel when three appear on the same spin. The wheel can offer between eight and 15 free spins and persistent multipliers for the feature between x2 and x8. 

Additionally, three types of instant win chickens are available, with yellow, pink and red SwiftHits chickens able to appear. 

Landing between five and 12 SwiftHits chickens will provide instant cash prizes between x1 and x5,000 the player’s wager. 

Meanwhile, pink chickens will cause a ‘split chicken’ feature to occur, adding up to three additional symbols to a reel to increase the number of ways to win. Through this feature, the game has a maximum of 7,776 ways to win . 

Also, red SwiftHit chickens will cause a respin feature to occur, which causes the red chicken to become sticky while the rest of its reel respins, increasing the potential of gaining a SwiftHits prize. 

Finally, wild chicken wing symbols are available, substituting for all symbols other than the SwiftHits chickens and free spins scatters. 

Wilds that contribute to wins in the free spins game mode will award a multiplier that will be added to the multiplier won at the start of the bonus feature and then applied to all wins. 

If readers would like to test out the Chicken Night Fever demo, they can click here to be directed to PearFiction Studios’ official website. 

The post PearFiction Studios’ partying poultry claim Slot of the Week appeared first on CasinoBeats.

Showcasing a 5×4 reel set, Blazing Piranhas uses 20-paylines and offers a maximum win of up to x5,000 the player’s bet. While presenting several bonus features, including Lock N Win, free spins and jackpot game modes, the slot is highly volatile with an RTP of 96.01 per cent. 

Low value symbols are represented by blue, green, orange and pink piranhas, while unsuspecting swimmers depict the high value symbols. These blue, green, red and pink characters can offer between x1 and x25 the player’s wager, depending on the number of paying combinations that land on a single spin.

Two wild symbols are available in the form of piranhas and skulls. While skull symbols work as standard wilds, piranha wilds will turn any high value character symbols immediately to their left into wild symbols. 

Landing three, four or five scatters on the same spin will provide between 12 and 36 free spins, depending on the amount of scatters present and the game mode option that the player prefers. 

When triggering the free spins game mode, players have four game modes to choose from, which differ depending on the number of scatters that landed to trigger the feature. 

Each game mode consists of a number of free spins while offering a number of guaranteed wilds that will appear on each free spin. Landing three scatters gives players the choice of 12 spins with three wilds, 10 spins with four wilds, sevens spins with five wilds or five spins with six wilds. 

Four scatters give the choice of 24 spins with three wilds, 20 spins with four wilds, 14 spins with five wilds or 10 spins with six wilds. Five scatters allows for either 36 spins with three wilds, 30 spins with four wilds, 21 spins with five wilds or 15 spins with six wilds. 

Additionally, multiple coin symbols can drop into play, triggering the Lock N Win game mode if six or more appear on the same spin. 

Coins come in the form of golden piranhas, which display monetary values between x1 and x12 the player’s stake, green key coins, pink multiplier coins and star jackpot coins.

In the Lock N Win game mode, players are awarded three spins to land as many coin symbols on the reels as possible. Each coin that drops in will reset the number of spins to three. 

While the feature begins on a 5×4 reel set, green keys can drop into play to unlock an extra row for each reel. After doing so, these keys will provide a multiplied bet amount of their own. Pink multiplier coins can also appear, multiplying the values of each coin in play by up to x5. 

If a golden star symbol drops into play, the jackpot Lock N Win game mode will be activated once the initial Lock N Win feature finishes. This takes players to an empty reel set where they will hope to land three jackpot stars in a row to win a jackpot prize. 

If readers would like to test out the Blazing Piranhas demo, they can click here to be directed to PearFiction Studios’ official website. 

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Using a 5×4 reel set, Granny vs Zombies has 20-paylines and offers players a chance to gain a maximum win of up to x5,000 the player’s bet. The zombie apocalypse-themed release showcases spinning wheel, Lock n Win and free spins game modes while having medium-high volatility with an RTP of 96.32 per cent. 

Green Granny and zombie wilds can drop into play, substituting for all paytable symbols but for no bonus symbols. When these wilds appear on the same spin, the Granny will attack the zombie wild, resulting in more wilds being placed on the board. 

Yellow walking wilds are also available on reels three, four or five, appearing in 1×2, 1×3 or 1×4 sizes to cover more of the reel-set. These wilds will move one reel to the left with each spin until they have left the board. 

Free spins text scatters are included on reels two, three and four, triggering one of four free spins game modes if three land on the same spin. 

Additionally, bonus coins can land on the reels, triggering the Lock n Win feature if six or more coins appear on the reels. 

Coins come in the form of golden skulls, which display monetary values between x1 and x12 the player’s stake, green key coins, pink multiplier coins and star jackpot coins. Any combination of six or more coins will trigger the feature. 

When triggering the free spins feature, players have four game modes to choose from. Throughout each game mode, weapon symbols can drop into play, helping the Granny to defeat zombies that land on the reels. Defeating zombies adds points to a damage meter above the reels. 

When filling this damage point meter, players will eventually unlock multipliers of x5, x10 or x20 to be applied to all wins achieved in the feature. 

The free spins features are as follows: 

• A total of 10 spins with frying pan weapons that award one damage point
• Eight spins in total with rolling pins that award two damage points
• Seven spins with knives that give three points
• Six spins and molotov cocktails that take four damage points

When each level is passed in the game mode, an additional number of spins will be awarded depending on which game mode the player has selected. Frying pan, rolling pin, knife and molotov cocktail game modes will provide an additional five, four, three or two spins for each level respectively.

In the Lock N Win game mode, players are awarded three spins to land as many coin symbols on the reels as possible. Each coin that drops in will reset the number of spins to three. 

At the end of the feature when all spins have been played out, the player will receive the accumulated value of all golden coins on the board. 

If readers would like to test their luck in Granny vs Zombies, they can click here to be directed to PearFiction Studios’ official website. 

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However, in what may be a shock to many, these dos and don’ts are not readily available, and so an expert panel recently convened in Barcelona to offer a series of insights into the key ingredients of such a game.

With mechanics, design, sound effects, music, narrative and RTP, among many more, having to be factored into the development process, how do studios choose a level of priority and ensure that they interplay with each other.

“We’re in a very hyper competitive landscape right now,” began Bryan Upton, Founder and Director of Lucksome, emphasising that production begins by setting a series of parameters for games to be built.

These, he said, include stipulating a foundation on who a title is being designed for, motivations of play, target jurisdictions, cultural tastes, regulations and numerous more, each of which play a role in the risk versus rewards dilemma.

“Once you have that kind of set of parameters, and that’s the focus, generally don’t deviate from that,” he said.

“But most of the time when a game starts out to do something and tends to veer off and does something else it ends up being a bit of a mess, and a disaster. So you’re trying to hold that focus. 

“But then once you’ve got those parameters, there’s infinite ways to skin that cat. What game mechanics am I going to use? And that’s when the risk versus reward conversation in your head begins? Which is, do I make a risky title? Or do I make a safer bet title? 

“…risk and high reward plays a really important aspect of all possible business”

Mark McGinley, CEO of FunFair Games

“As a studio, as small as mine, in any studio, you always want a massive hit, and for a small studio that can make or break you. But at the same time, you’re still running a business, and you still need to bring in some revenue to keep things going.”

As moderator Jeremy Coleman, Commercial Director at PearFiction Studios, cited the importance of the first 50/100 spins in a players experience, as well as in potentially providing marketing insights for a provider, Mark McGinley, CEO of FunFair Games, picked up where Upton left off.

Here, he details a path being pursued that navigates away from the traditional direction of the vertical, but noted there “there’s an appetite” and a “desire” to discover more that breathes optimism into the opportunity for the group. 

“I mean, the high risk and high reward plays a really important aspect of all possible business and all parts of our game development mindset,” he explained. 

“We’re very keen to move away from the traditional landscape. We are not creating traditional slots or table games, we are very much in what I would call a new emerging gaming vertical, it really doesn’t have a definition as yet. 

“Some people call it non traditional, some people call it arcade. Some people call it next gen. So there’s very many unknowns and questions and challenges that we automatically face as part of that process. 

“But I think when we look to assess the risk and the reward, I think we also try to understand the opportunities. And I think right now it’s the opportunity that really excites us at FunFair Games, we do see a shift from the operator to look at different game types. 

“I think there’s an appetite for these game types now that was not there two years, three years ago, when we started to come up with some interesting ideas.”

“A lot of the time, it’s better to be the second, because you see what someone else has done”

Bryan Upton, Founder and Director of Lucksome

Upton continued by suggesting that in order to really do something innovative you have to detach yourself and flip problems on their head, before advising that second mover advantage is key in this regard.

“A lot of the time, it’s better to be the second, because you see what someone else has done. And then straight away, you can say, I’m pretty sure I can improve on that,” he said. 

“As long as you’re fast enough, and you can execute quickly, I’m pretty sure that you know, you can come in and do some really good work. They’re just based on some early successes you’ve seen somewhere else. 

“So I think, yes, it’s good to have first mover. But if you’re prepared to follow it up, if you truly believe in an idea, don’t just do one game, have a few of them ready with different things and go for it. If you don’t believe in it, don’t do it and go and find something else who actually believes in it.”

As Daniel Giuffra, Brand Manager of CasinoGrounds, noted that ” you don’t really see a large variety of games being played” by streamers, Vladyslav Garanko, CMO at Platipus, commented on if it’s possible to know whether or not a fresh introduction is going to be a success.

“It’s not impossible to understand which game will be successful or not, you have to sit in the market,” he noted. 

“You can make a certain prediction to the best of your ability, but, of course, at the end of the day, it’s for a player to decide. 

“And also the markets will decide because even the most successful game can never make it to the top simply because the marketing has failed to deliver it. And then even the greatest game can sink.”

“…it makes sense for operators to keep games that keep bringing money”

Vladyslav Garanko, CMO at Platipus

As the 40-minute discourse moved forward once more, Upton takes the reins to note that you have “to be smart about where to put your resources” regarding the chase of “one of those rocket ship releases” via a one size fits all approach.

Furthermore, the necessity of “making games that are going to work in key markets or correlating market clusters” is noted, as Upton stated that the top 10/15 games “don’t change that much over the last five years”.

“If a game does really well in a certain market, of course operators are going to push it in other markets, because they want to know if it’s going to have the same success,” it is said. 

Here, one specific example is cited to highlight the importance of localisation, with work having been undertaken alongside one operator to release a “culturally nuanced” game for a specific market.

Maintaining momentum, Garanko points to the “same uphill battle” being fought by Platipus that give evidence of a”vicious cycle” of the top games staying in those elevated positions “because they bring money.” 

He continued: “And it makes sense for operators to keep games that keep bringing money. It’s the question of relationships with those operators and trying to inform them that, yes, it is true that these games are still going to be popular [but] it is a matter of innovation and if they can sustain the players. 

It is a constant conversation with the operators, back and forth. And it’s returning to the question of risk versus reward, whether the operator is open to risk to put more new releases. 

“And if the operator is not that willing, he is going to stick with the old ways and it’s basically manoeuvring around that it is a very very tough battle.”

“I think something we don’t do very well in our industry is … inform and educate the player about our games”

Mark McGinley, CEO of FunFair Games

As the conversion drew to a close, Coleman quizzed the panel on the current major challenges being faced, with Upton revisiting the importance of marketing in making sure that high quality releases don’t get lost in the crowd.

“I’d say there’s more small studios, and there are large ones, by definition. And then I look at the collective number of games that those small studios produce together,” he ended.

“I would say that you’re going to have a better chance of getting innovation out of that group somewhere, there’ll be a lot of stuff that isn’t great. But there’ll be some diamonds in the rough, they’re really strong games that could get missed.

“So I think there’s a bit of the industry that is very forgiving at trying new things. To be honest, we’re very lucky. But it’s so easy to get lost in the crowd. And there’s so many great games out there that just haven’t had a chance. 

I’m talking in general, that I think are fantastic, but they’re just not there because they just haven’t got enough eyeballs on them. And it’s such a waste. And I’d like to see a better industry approach to that, as well as you know, people helping us market ourselves better.”

With McGinley bringing proceedings to a close to look at the “shark fest” slots arena that has been witnessing wave after wave of releases for quite some time. 

“It’s a very saturated marketplace. I think building trusted relationships with operators is absolutely critical,” he closed. 

“I think having a sales force that understands the marketplace and can communicate the game. I think something we don’t do very well in our industry is inform and educate the player about our games. 

“And I think that’s something that at FunFair we’re going to try very hard to do, because we’re creating new games, they’ve got a non-traditional format. So we believe it’s a critical key to the success of the game in that new emerging vertical.

“So, I think that’s a big takeaway for us as operators, build relationships with operators, try to understand the marketplace and try to inform and educate the player a lot better than we do.”

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Featuring bonuses such as volcano erupt and lava spins, the title is a 5×4 reel slot with an additional horizontal top reel for increased win potential. 

Players are awarded with special game events after a specific amount of spins, guaranteeing that they will experience some of the title’s bonus offerings in a bid to ensure player retention.

Commenting on the game’s Hawaiian island theme, Coleman explained: “So far, all of our games have been very character-based and we wanted to do that for Treasures of Kilauea as well so we really made the volcano the star of the game. 

“We wanted to make sure that the volcano was very interactive, particularly when the player is momentarily inactive.”

When asked how the studio designs slots to attract players who may have never gambled before, Coleman answered: “We try and put ourselves in the place of the player. Most of the guys in the studio are players themselves and we believe that players want to be entertained so when we build our games we want to bring that level of entertainment with each game that we create.

“We want the players to go on a journey, we don’t want them to just sit there and have to do 250, 300 spins to get into a bonus round that may or may not payout as you would want. We are not a one feature studio.

Click the video above to hear Coleman discuss how the studio came up with the idea for the title, future plans for the Canadian studio and in-depth details on the game’s many features.

The post Beyond the Reels, PearFiction: we want players to go on a journey appeared first on CasinoBeats.

The partnership kicks off on February 4 with the launch of mobster escapade Chicago Gold, a high-volatility, 40-payline slot which is promised to come packed with free spins and respins and will be PearFiction’s first major global game to feature on the Microgaming network. 

Chicago Gold introduces new bonus features such as Cash Collection and the Big Boss Jackpot Reveal, and will be followed swiftly onto the network by PearFiction’s wild prehistoric adventure Blazing Mammoth.

Andrew Booth, Microgaming director of games, stated: “PearFiction Studios are proven innovators who marry great artwork with technical insights, game performance and a huge sense of fun. Join us on January 28 when we take a closer look at Chicago Gold and learn more about the PearFiction Studios team.”

PearFiction Studios previously worked with Microgaming on a one-off collaboration to create punk rock band themed game The Smashing Biscuit, with both asserting that the resulting success prompted the pair to take the relationship to the next stage.  

Thierry Semoff, PearFiction Studios’ chief executive officer, said the scope and scale of the Microgaming platform made this a transformational distribution deal for his blossoming studio. 

“When an industry pioneer like Microgaming wants you on board, it’s a real recognition that the games you’re creating are good and that all your hard work is paying off,” Semoff added. 

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