Slots Creative Process

[mojo]

For any software..

What and who is behind the slots creative end? Who develops and brainstorms these games? They can be humorous and clever. Some can be downright flops lol. Some become classics. Seems like there is a lot of effort on new and innovative features lately.

Are there certain criteria and rules? Do designers compete with each other? What's the dirt.

[Renee]

For MGS games, I believe they have a group of designers that work on these..

You would actually be surprised how long it takes for each game to be designed and finalised then released.

I don't think outside sources have input on the games either. Maybe one of the other aff managers can correct me if I'm wrong there. not 100% sure.

[Engineer]

Great thread idea, mojo. This sort of "behind the scenes" stuff is really interesting to me.

[mojo]

For MGS games, I believe they have a group of designers that work on these..

You would actually be surprised how long it takes for each game to be designed and finalised then released.

I don't think outside sources have input on the games either. Maybe one of the other aff managers can correct me if I'm wrong there. not 100% sure.

I imagine it's quite a process. How long does one game take? Micro has some really fun slots and the graphics are great. I noticed that lately there is not many new 9 payline releases. Has MGS stopped develping them?

[Renee]

I imagine it's quite a process. How long does one game take? Micro has some really fun slots and the graphics are great. I noticed that lately there is not many new 9 payline releases. Has MGS stopped develping them?

I'm not sure on the exact amount of time, but 6 months rings a bell in my head for some reason.

As far as I know they have not stopped making the 9 payline games...

[slotplayer]

The MG slots are truly amazing. The graphics, animations and sound effects are well done.

back in the late 1980's when I wanted to learn how to program I wrote a DOS based slot game ( no windows back then, 3 color graphics) called the Liberty Bell Slot.

I actually talked to Frank and Marshall Fey who's (as we all know) grandfather (Charles Fey) invented the first slot machine. The Liberty Bell Slot.

Sold quite a few copies but back then you could develop software by yourself. Now it requires a full team.

[Nandakishore]

I have no idea how long it takes to design slots, but I was involved several years back as software tester in testing a software generating comic figures from certain basic templates. It went on for almost one year and even then the job was not finished because we continued finding bugs - and earning revenues

[vinism]

I have a friend who designs games for land-based casinos, so I can describe a little bit of the process there....

The first step they generally try to take is to try and figure out what the player wants. And this can take multiple forms...Do they want high volatility games? Or do they want to sit down and be entertained for a set period of time without losing a lot of money, but without winning a lot of money? Do they want games that have a community aspect to it (community jackpots, for example)? Or do they want games that are focused on more individual play? Do they like interactive bonus games? Or just free spins?

Once they feel like they've answered the questions of what the customers want, then they move on to trying to design a game that fits those needs. They survey the marketplace looking at what's out there and try to come up with new concepts that not only introduce new themes and storylines, but actually improve on game play as well.

And of course, they try to figure out ways to make more money of the machines than previous incarnations.

All of this is just the tip of iceberg in terms of slot design. And yes, it does take quite a bit of time. Hope some of this info helps.