Engaging, and entertaining…there’s always room for gamification
We are, at our core, entertainers. All of our games are principally designed to make sure that players have fun playing. Of course, we want the titles to bring success to our operating partners but, by making an entertaining and exciting game, we can ensure that will happen.
The casino audience is moving forward. Younger, more tech-savvy players are reaching the age where they want to play slot games. We’re talking about players who have grown up with easy access to gaming consoles, online games and, more recently, mobile app gaming.
These players are looking for a new type of entertainment; they want full immersion in what they’re doing. Sure, the promise of a big win is enticing but, you can get that with any game; what they’re interested in is the journey. How do you make the playing experience comparable to the options they already have available to them?
The answer, of course, is gamification. The more complex and advanced slot games become the higher the level of gaming satisfaction for the player. By adding more innovative game-playing features to a slot, you elevate the user satisfaction.
Gamification is always a major consideration for us when creating slot titles; it goes hand in hand with innovation a lot of the time. The gamification element of our games has led many of them to be extremely popular in the market.
Our grid slot game, Sweet Alchemy, is the perfect example of this. Following the lead of popular mobile gaming app formats, we created a slot that used gamification to give a look and feel of a casual gaming title.
One of the game’s most popular features is the map progression; each free round gives you a chance to move further along the map, and every three levels you get a bonus treasure chest. The challenge presented by the level system gives players an extra objective to reach for and keeps them playing. The fact that progress can be retained between sessions brought players back to play again and again.
Gamification also proved hugely successful in our Viking Runecraft title; players play through levels in an attempt to reach Ragnarok, with the in-game ‘battles’, getting more intense as the levels progress. The idea of reaching your final battle and then progressing through more ‘difficult’ levels as the game goes on, plays into the very core of console and app gaming. Switching it up, increasing anticipation and tension and giving something to aim for, while also providing a narrative (another crucial gamification tool) for players to follow.
While simple, easy to play slots still have their place in the market, the innovation of gamification cannot be underestimated. Casino gaming is vying for attention with other forms of online entertainment, and so it’s imperative to offer some kind of story or progression.
Our latest slot Wild Rails is a simple, easy to play slot, but with the added element of progressive free spins. The free spin feature has four stages, giving the player something to aim for. A simple addition which will give the players an extra level of engagement and an objective to reach for.
As slot games progress the level of gamification will rise with it, who knows what we’ll see in the future but, no matter what happens, it has to be one of the first ports of call when creating new slots.
Founded in 2005, Play’n GO are a leading supplier of slot games in the casino industry. As well as a portfolio of award-winning games they also provide services and solutions to ensure operators are equipped to provide the ultimate gaming experience.