How are we creating new slots? Are tournaments a successful marketing tool? How did the industry change in recent years? All these questions and much more will be discussed in this interview with Endorphina’s CEO, Jan Urbanec, with our partner and iGaming platform Slotegrator. The full version of this interview can be found here.
Jan Urbanec has been at Endorphina since its very first years, and he saw how both Endorphina and the gambling market has changed and developed. He’s witnessed how some trends rose and fell (VR gaming) as well as how some methods kept on rising in the market (mobile gaming). While we have gone through different steps and new learning curves, the values of our games have remained the same – we reward players that can wait for a win.
Slot creation
As you know, our portfolio has both classic and innovative themes – as Jan said, “We love having a balanced portfolio of different game themes.” The classic themes are usually showing the historical, cultural, and traditional characteristics of different regions, like Egypt, Japan, or Native Americans. It’s made for both fearless treasure-hunters and adventure seekers. And of course, players’ favourite – fruit-themed slots. Our popularity wasn’t gained by just that though, our innovative slots and its mechanics grabbed a lot of attention.
“We are known for coming up with very innovative ideas and industry-firsts such as Satoshi’s Secret, Twerk, and Taboo. These games are complete originals, introduced to the market for the first time by Endorphina.“
When it comes to slot creation, we are using all possible sources for inspiration. As Jan mentioned, “Any input from inside our team or from outside of the company, like a player's suggestions, is always worth exploring. How we approach starting points varies from game to game. From math models, themes, or something else, we choose different starting points. After the initial burst of inspiration, we keep adapting the idea because the quality for us I’m more important than quantity. As Shigeru Miyamoto says, “A delayed game is eventually good, a bad game is bad forever.” And we are sticking to that when we are creating slots.“
Slot promotion
“Our games are visible! This is achieved by providing a high-level service to our customers (…). Also, our marketing department does a great job at promoting new releases relentlessly. And the obvious part is that we have to make appealing games. Content is king.”
There are plenty of slots in the market, and players are always looking for something to try. And to promote the slots, first of all, companies should think about making a great first impression. The game should be attractive to players from the moment the player sees the icon. As Jan said: “Graphics play a huge role in the player’s first impulses to launch or not launch a game. Then the splash screen and the first look of the reels and UI – those moments either instantly convince the player he made a good choice, or not.“
As one effective promotional tool, Jan recommends using tournaments, which can bring a lot of attention to a casino and impact on the month’s total bet. However, players are picky, and once tournaments are available everywhere, they will demand more innovation. That’s why companies must provide high-quality and personalized service and also deploy a talented marketing department to promote the games constantly.
Plans for the future
And of course, Jan shared some insights on our brightest plans. He told our partner about the expanding of our portfolio, our plans on table games and a gamification project, and of course future improvements:
“We aim to improve our product to a level that is hard to match by our competitors and develop a unique promotional tool that customers will demand and require. We want to gain the hearts of our players.”
Jan also mentioned the importance of keeping a balance between popular features and innovative new ones. If you don’t dare to grow, competitors can eventually outrun you and take those risks for you. If you are too innovative and have something different each time, players will be confused and not understand what you’re all about. It’s all about balance and gaining players’ trust.
