Interview with Genesis Games
Genesis Games is a leading iGaming developer offering a wide range of slot-type, mobile-optimised, and unique games to casino operators. Their large portfolio of online casino games is innovative and keeps worldwide gamers engaged regardless of the device they are on.
What is Genesis Games, and what do you offer?
Genesis is a leading gaming provider in the gambling industry with more than 10 years of experience in providing over 150 engaging gaming titles. Genesis aims to lead the gaming landscape with innovative and market differentiating games which keep players highly entertained and captivated. All of Genesis products have been developed on a powerful backend platform (IntelliGen) which ensures a seamless player experience and a stable and secure integration. Genesis brand encompasses 2 other studio brands, Radi8 and Bunfox.
What differentiates Radi8 games is the powerful in-game loyalty platform designed to help extend gameplay and increase player lifetime value. Players accumulate and cultivate Reward coins which can then be used to improve their chances of winning while playing. The Radi8 portfolio of games are designed with optimisation for mobile in mind, to attract a new breed of players who are looking to not only win big but enjoy a highly immersive and entertaining gaming experience, indoors and on-the-go. While Bunfox focuses on nontraditional slot-type games such as combining table games with slot mechanics.
Genesis also aggregate game studios such as Booming Games, Shock Games, to help them grow their market share in their desired markets.
What are your three biggest hits so far, and what made each of them become so popular?
Our top game in 2020 was Galaxy Stars from Radi8, with Nexus as win multipliers. Loaded NEXUS will activate at the start of the NEXT spin and will apply to the total won. 3, 4, or 5-of-a-kind wins load a 3X, 5X, or 8X NEXUS respectively. The mechanism increases players' anticipation and player engagement.
The 2nd runner-up is Savannah King - Jackpot Edition from Genesis, Jackpot version of a beloved theme and game mechanism from the landscape. Players have a higher chance to enjoy the mega win with long engagement as well as the extra jackpot reward.
The 3rd runner-up is Gongxi Facai from Genesis, scatters will trigger the FaCai Free Spins. Then choose from 1 of 5 free spins series that offer up to 20 free spins and a possible multiplier of 30x for big bonus payouts!
How have you handled operations during the last year with COVID-19?
The pandemic has definitely required us to be creative in maintaining the level of connectivity across our workforce while we practice social distancing across various office locations. Thanks to the proliferation of many online productivity tools, remote work has proven to be much more manageable than we anticipated. Without some of the day-to-day office distractions, working from home does provide the benefit of giving employees the time to focus on tasks that require more concentration.
What tech stack do you work with at Genesis Games, on both the frontend and backend?
On the frontend, Genesis Gaming's frontend framework is based on one of the world's most popular programming languages, TypeScript. We choose to use Pixi.JS as WebGL renderer, which is the fastest, flexible, and considered an Open Source system. We also chose to use Howler.js as an audio library that provides audio manipulation that provides developers the power of the Web Audio API with the simplicity of HTML5 Audio.
On the backend, our microservices architecture is built on top of Vert.x and we use extensively on the Spring stack in our system which interacts with RDBS and NoSQL databases such as MongoDB, Cassandra. All of our services are compartmentalised and easily scaled for deployment.
How long did it take you to build your RNG system, and how hard of a journey was it?
The whole RNG Game Server took around six months to build. The journey is challenging but fun. Challenging because, unlike other industries, gaming has no standards. APIs are constantly different, technologies are also not standardized. Fun because you have a good level of freedom to define flexible APIs; it pushes the level of research and development with the use of reliable modern technologies.
What types of developers do you tend to hire, what profile(s) do you favor?
Genesis Gaming welcomes professional people who are good team players and are looking at constantly learning and improving their skills in this area of expertise. We want to see the hunger to produce results and in the process learn new skills through their initiatives and creativity especially the ones who are keen to realise their potential and their ideas through their existing skills.
Could you discuss how EDGE came about, and how it is changing the way players interact with games?
Anyone who has played mobile games should be familiar with reward mechanisms. The more you play, gain achievements and experience, the more rewards you receive, usually in the form of gems or some sort of exchangeable inventory. This in turn encourages you to spend more time playing the game.
Using the same concept, we wanted to provide slot players a reward mechanism that rewards them for playing our slot games. Our goal is to make the gaming experience more rewarding to play while increasing our brand awareness and ultimately, our players retention rate.
Earning rewards with Edge is as easy as just wagering on spins. Players will earn Reward Coins which can be used to exchange for tangible rewards and bonuses. Players can use their coins at any time, on any of our games. We want it to be extremely easy and intuitive for players to accumulate the coins and get their rewards. As players earn more, they'll have access to more rewards options.
Firstly, players can use coins for free spins. This has always been the most direct and most popular way to give back to players. Players can choose free spins at any value offered in the game itself at different Reward Coin costs. Players tend to start using coins when their wallet balance is low. They could extend the game time and win more by using their reward coins.
Players can also open Loot Boxes. In addition to the existing game mechanisms, we have also developed a feature that is quite popular in mobile games outside of the slots world. Players can use coins to exchange different Loot Boxes. Prizes are guaranteed for each box, but there is a variety of prizes that can be won at random. Many players will try their luck and open a handful of boxes during their play.
And finally, there is our soon-to-be-released feature, Feature Now! Players will be able to use coins to trigger bonus features available in games. Often in high volatility games, it may be difficult to hit the features at random while spinning. However, using Edge's Reward Coins allows players to directly trigger the bonus feature.
Edge is a cross-game Rewards feature that features some key engagement elements from highly successful mobile games. Players could choose to open Loot Boxes during long, dry runs in the game or they could trigger a feature on demand at any time with their coins. Since the launch at the end of 2018, we are still making progress to deliver the most successful cross-game rewards feature on any slot brand, and most importantly, the next generation of slot engagement mechanics that all slot players will enjoy.
How do you come up with new games: is it consumer research-driven, or more of a company gut instinct?
New game ideas can come from any direction. It can be market or metrics-driven. It can come from a chat around the coffee machine, or in a heated brainstorming session. There really is no set path. The main idea is to try and keep all those ideas and information flowing because you never know where the next best will come from.
However, creating new game ideas is not the hardest part, deciding which ones to make is. All levels of product are tied in at this point, and at the end of the day, it is a focused and reasoned commercial decision.
Where do you see the future of online slots going in one and in ten years?
In the next year, as things hopefully return to normal, we will rebound from these hardships. People will be looking for entertainment and renewed fun. We foresee a boost right across the field in all entertainment services and online slots will be no exception.
In ten years, the industry will be catering to a wider range of markets internationally, and a new generation of players. We will see new streams of revenue and cross-over opportunities open as players look to diversify their gambling entertainment. We will see more social core and story driven products. Players that ask why not just what will demand new experiences.
What about mobile slots?
As technology increases exponentially, our industry will be along for the ride. Mobile will take the processing power out of our pockets and into the cloud opening up worlds only imagined. Content will be delivered wherever, however, we want it. Unlimited access. Unlimited connections. Augmented reality, virtual reality, gaming as a service, and AAA-level entertainment content could play a big part in the coming years.
What would you tell somebody who wants to become a casino game builder, what should be their focus?
Play the games with real money. Learn what it feels like to win and lose. Analyze game features and functionality. Get to know the heart of what makes a great game. Keep the player game experience as the core driver. Keep one foot on the ground and one in the stars.