a manufacturer, we are constantly pushing against the limitations of the hardware to imbue each game within the multi-games machine with animations, sound and features to appeal to every type of player. Multi-games are the most versatile gaming machines, but the games must still clearly target their player base.”
In the gaming halls of Bulgaria, players are not looking for time on device, according to Mr. Borissov. Locations do not provide ‘resort-style’ facilities enjoyed by the weekend visitor, but rather with gaming halls on many street corners, the locals markets is dominated by players looking to spend half an hour playing a slot before heading home. “It isn’t part of European culture to spend our weekend in casinos playing slots,” says Mr. Borissov. “Te speed of the game is, therefore, very important because players are not looking to devote lots of time to machine play. Tey want to win or lose and leave. So you have to develop games for this type of player, while at the same time developing single games for time on device players in markets such as Asia and the US, with lots of visual effects and entertainment features.”
Machines are assembled in the Casino Technology offices in Sofia, not manufactured, with none of the metal-working or wire looms once such a familiar part of every factory tour. Casino Technology assembles and delivers its machines from its Sofia-based offices, sub- contracting most of the manufacturing process. ‘Multi-faceted software designer’ is a more fitting label for a company that creates content across a whole series of machines, interactive devices and systems, and is less and less a ‘manufacturer’ in the old-school sense of the word.
Visting the Casino Technology head office in Sofia, what’s immediately obvious, talking to
Mr. Tsankarsy, is how dominant monitors have become in the modern gaming machine. 42ins. screens have become commonplace with HD and 4K touchscreens incorporated in huge panels mounted both vertically, horizontally and in curved ratios. Te Bulgarian casino market is awash with this style of machine. Looking at the generation of gaming machines from just two years ago is like going back to prehistoric times. It feels as if the scale and performance of the latest gaming monitors have unshackled today’s slots from the very concept of a machine.
Open a last generation slot machine and you’re confronted with a telephone exchange-style wiring system that feds all manner of bulbs, note and coin readers and acceptors, spinning reels, PC boards etc. Today, with discrete minimal cabling, LED lighting, flat screen panels and powerful miniature gaming boards, it’s possible to climb inside one of the new generation of ‘machines’ and have enough space to close the door. And with players in Bulgaria shifting to a single wallet, transferring their money using their player card for online and land-based play, the slots are pared down to sculptured designs that emphasises form over traditional function. Te TANGRA Tower with its
43.ins vertical shows just how just how much real-estate can now be incorporated into a single enormous screen, whereas the EZ Modulo, with its configurable arrangement of monitors mounted in different axes and sizes to suit all environments and wallets, is testament to the flexibility of the new design architecture.
Of course, one of the problems of this scaling of screens and modular design is that games must be re-developed for each individual platform. Tere’s no longer a one-size fits all. Tose standard CRT designs have been consigned to history, which means that a single game has to be developed in multiple configurations to meet the scale of a 43ins. monitor or the neat proportions of a 22ins. screen. And that’s just the land-based side of things. Te speed of cabinet replacement, as Mr. Tsankarsy confirmed, is ever increasing its pace. In the past, a slots manufacturer would invariably offer an upright and a slant-top version of the same cabinet – and that was it! Today, where a slot manufacturer used to bring a replacement cabinet to market every four-five years, that cycle is now two-three years, and the portfolio of cabinets is greater than ever; offering three, four or even five different cabinet designs, each able to be modified for different applications.
“Te performance of the game is now intrinsically tied to the cabinet,” agrees Casino Technology Founder and CEO, Milo Borissov. “Te player is looking for the complete package. Tey appreciate the quality of the sound, picture and overall experience. A decade ago the cabinet was not such an important element, but we’re now releasing a new cabinet every two years, with the shift away from metal box cabinets to cabinets that resemble enormous mobile phones.”
A DIFFERENT DIRECTION Te new law in Bulgaria changed the course of
the gaming sector. Tough it could have very easily gone in a very different direction, according to Ms. McKee. “You have the examples of this happening in Slovakia and the Czech
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