Gaming Slots and electronic gaming

ROTM: Slot Experience Center a hit at MGS

Written by The Tiger

This article first appeared in the Jan/Feb 2014 issue of World Gaming magazine.

The Tiger was on the prowl at the recent Macao Gaming Show when he stumbled across the Slot Experience Center – showcasing the latest and greatest slot machines due to hit the Macau market from 2014. He even took the time to try a few out and discovered some fascinating innovations along the way.

What makes for the perfect slot machine? It’s a question slot manufacturers the world over keep striving to answer. Be it graphics, game play, features or the basic concept of the slot itself, developers play a never-ending game of cat and mouse as they try to come up with the perfect formula. And of course, there is always the added dilemma of knowing that what works wonders in one market can just as easily crash and burn in another.

It was with all of this in mind that the organizers of the Macao Gaming Show (MGS) came up with the concept of the Slot Experience Center (SEC) – a special invitation-only section at November’s inaugural show where manufacturers could display their latest offerings and receive direct feedback from casino operators and some invited everyday visitors.

“The main goal of the SEC was to promote and reward the development of customer-friendly experience,” explained SEC Manager David So, who was responsible for the execution, development and implementation of the SEC. “Slot machines are typically evaluated solely by how much income they generate for the casino and the design, development and interface are often considered secondary or sometimes even neglected.

“It is like the development of household lights, from fluorescent to halogen to LED – people usually focus only on the luminosity and often overlook many of the other design features such as being low voltage, compact, its power usage and longevity. In that light, SEC was meant to capture and promote the full-gaming experience by giving emphasis to programming design, game design and graphics design.”

As part of the very first Slot Experience Center, 10 globally renowned manufacturers displayed more than 40 machines, with more than 500 visitors as well as invited VIPs taking the opportunity to see the next generation of slots.

They were also given the opportunity to vote for their favourite machine, with 877 votes taken in four categories – “Best Graphics”, “Best Music & Audio”, “Best Theme” and “Best Player Experience”.

Sweeping all four categories was Bally Technology’s innovative slot “Titanic”, which is based on the blockbuster 1997 film and not only features images and music from the movie itself but a chair that vibrates when players win the feature.

“People who played were definitely very excited about our new ‘Titanic’ game,” said Bally’s Managing Director of Asia Pacific, Kurt Gissane. “It will be on casino floors in 2014 but the sneak preview certainly generated a buzz. It delivers a fully interactive and cinematic experience centred on the iconic star-crossed lovers from James Cameron’s ‘Titanic’, one of the highest-grossing films in history. Featuring scenes from the film and music from the blockbuster phenomenon, ‘Titanic’ integrates many of Bally’s proven play mechanics and mystery features.

“It definitely connects with players. They know and love the movie. It was one of the biggest movies of all time. Plus, it’s a great game. As I mentioned earlier, it includes many scenes and songs from the film, including appearances by all of the characters. And, yes, you will likely hear, ‘I’m king of the world’.”

Another notable slot was Aristocrat’s “5 Frogs”, which is the first of three titles set to launch soon boasting a new Super Feature. Based on the extremely successful “5 Dragons” slot, “5 Frogs” has also been designed specifically with the Asian market in mind and was extremely well received at the SEC.

So what exactly is a Super Feature? As Aristocrat’s Regional Marketing Manager for Asia Pacific, Nathan Drane, explains, “An increase in the entry stake from 30 credits in ‘5 Dragons’ to 40 credits funds a Super Feature enhancement in ‘5 Frogs’. This can only be triggered when covering 40 credits and during the Super Free Games. As part of this feature, the player can add up to 15 extra Free Games and remove up to two of the bottom multipliers – potentially leaving only the highest multiplier to play for.

“For example, a player could select 10 Free Games with all Wild wins multiplied by 10, 15 or 40. They may then receive 25 Free Games with the potential for an additional 15. Finally, they could then remove the lowest multipliers (10 and 15) leaving them with all Wild wins during the 25 Free Games multiplied by 40!”

While visitors to the Slot Experience Center have the privilege of being among the first in the world to test drive soon-to-be-released machines, for the manufacturers the greatest benefit is the opportunity to receive on the spot feedback which they can utilize to improve their slots in the future.

“The feedback and results we received were overwhelmingly positive from both the qualitative and quantitative aspect,” said So. “People took the voting very seriously and were not just hitting some buttons and moving on to the next one. They talked to one another in SEC and shared what they liked and disliked about the machines. We had generally two types of voters – the players who were attracted by the theme of the machines; and VIPs and professionals who appreciated the sophistication of the game design and easy maintenance. There was a reversal of emphasis and the theoretical income potential of the machines became secondary. SEC gave us the opportunity to make people realize and appreciate the engineering works of the slot machines.”

The SEC is particularly valuable for the big foreign manufacturers who have long enjoyed success in the United States, Europe and Australia but are not yet fully familiar with the Macau gaming landscape and what Asian players in particular like in a slot machine. Given the incredible growth in gaming revenue Macau has enjoyed over the past decade and the many more years of growth ahead, it is no surprise manufacturers such as Aristocrat have been working hard to develop Asian themed slots.

No matter the market, though, Gissane believes the main focus of slot manufacturers in the coming years will be ensuring a more interactive experience for players.

“The sky is the limit,” he said of the next wave of slots. “We are certainly going to see many more ways for players to interact with games. We are also going to be seeing many more licensed brands including a couple of big ones Bally will unveil next year.

“At Bally we always focus on play mechanics. U-Spin (a feature in which players touch the screen to physically spin a bonus wheel) has been among the most popular in the globe and we’re always trying to find innovative new ways to enable players to interact with a game by touching and spinning the wheel. Other play mechanics such as Quick Hit (where players can spin huge multipliers during the free games feature) have also been extremely popular across the globe. So the goal is always to take the next steps and continue to provide players with something new and exciting.”

Although not officially confirmed yet, the hope of both So and the manufacturers who took part in 2013 is that the SEC will return bigger and better than ever at the 2014 Macao Gaming Show. If it does, organizers are hoping to expand the number of manufacturers taking part with more of the smaller boutique manufacturers on hand to exhibit their products.

With some wonderfully innovative slots set to be released over the coming months, we look forward to seeing the next wave of offerings when the Macao Gaming Show returns in November.