FREMANTLE
latest FME Gambling title, The X Factor Jackpot slot game. The game draws on this hugely successful format and takes the player on a ‘Rags to Riches’ story echoing that of the contestants looking for that life-changing leap into stardom. It uses a maths model that fits the narrative as well as the rich, high-end look and feel that channels the series itself. Using video, past contestants and iconic voiceover, it’s designed to immerse the player in the environment of the TV show and accompanies the 2011 series broadcast in the UK. The environment in which a player will play a game is the other key difference between land-
providing them with an entertainment experience combining the best of the TV show and the gambling product. Nevertheless, turning a hit TV show or film into a
successful slot game has its own specific challenges. Many games, whether branded or not, feature in- game characters essential to the player experience: the lucky leprechaun, the Pharaoh, the pirate and so on. Most often these characters are the players’ champions, congratulating them on wins and encouraging them to aim for further success. With an established TV or movie narrative, the characters can often be real performers, with real agents too. The challenge can often be to use elements that come at extra cost – images, clips, voiceover or music – only where they definitely add value to the game, either because they are integral to the plot or because they are so evocative of the TV or movie that they would be sorely missed if not there. Perhaps the mistake one can be tempted to make here would be to use an imitation or replacement for the TV/movie character that does little more than highlight the lack of the real thing.
All of the above apply to all the verticals in these
sectors – land-based, online and mobile. The differences in the requirements between these verticals largely fall into two categories: control over the client interface, and the environment in which the player is playing the game. Control over the interface is where the land-based
games are blessed (and cursed) with almost complete control. A land-based game developer knows the exact technology on which his game will run and what the machine is capable of. File size is not an issue, and game performance should be known. This means high expectations and intense competition in terms of high-end graphic and audio production values.
Lean mean gaming machine In remote gambling, the game client needs to be as
lean as possible to prevent long load times (even more so for mobile). While this is becoming less important, it is a key point of difference between the formats. Online game developers need to be very accomplished at minimising file size without compromising the player experience – a key concern for the team at Ash Gaming who have developed the
Richard Beach is Gambling Product and Implementation Manager at FremantleMedia Enterprises, working with game development companies to create new gambling products for land-based, online and mobile platforms. He formerly held product roles at Cyberview Technologies and WagerWorks/IGT.
based, online and mobile. Online, not only is every game always available – like every machine being free in a physical casino – but every casino is available; players have multiple accounts and a different online
operator is only a couple of clicks away. While there’s more choice, once a player is in an online game they are much less likely to be distracted by other gambling opportunities. Games on smartphones are currently moving from individual downloadable game applications to a browser-based scenario much more like the online experience. With faster broadband, HTML5 on mobile, faster PCs and tablet devices that blur the distinction between online and mobile, the differences between the verticals of the gambling sector are perhaps getting smaller - in fact the land-based landscape is taking on aspects of online with server-based gaming and casino CRM initiatives. Nevertheless, this could mean that the commonalities in what makes a good product across all these verticals are even more critical. When looking to make good entertainment, this is about having a great story, and telling it well.
OCTOBER 2011 71
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