Interactive
BRIDGING THE DIGITAL DIVIDE SCIENTIFIC GAMES & SG DIGITAL
Scientific Games and SG Digital: head-to-head
Interested in the interplay of dynamics between content creators across different mediums, but within the same group of companies, G3 first turns to Michael Mastropietro, Vice President, Game Design, Scientific Games, to learn more about the collaboration between land-based and digital design
and presentation to make a splash on the hardware.
Michael Mastropietro, Vice President, Game Design, Scientific Games
How has the relationship between Scientific Games and SG Digital evolved since the digital division's inception?
I have been at Scientific Games over 20 years and the digital side of the company has really come into its own and acquired different content studios over that time. Tere is a lot of mutual respect in the relationship. Although both are in the business of creating slots, land-based and digital face very different challenges.
When we get together and ask, 'why did you do this?', you realise just how different the two sets of players interact with the games. Tis means the way you develop and package the games is distinct. We talk regularly with Rob Proctor and Adam Fox at SG Digital to compare notes on what we are working on, share our respective roadmaps and discuss the trends we are witnessing to see how we can work together.
Why are the development teams separate?
Ultimately, this is due to the way the games are presented and consumed which leads to different types of game design. Hardware is a part of our development philosophy, process, and creativity. We are making games with a cabinet called the TwinStar V75 which is a vertical 75-inch curved 4K display that requires a certain type of game. An old fruit game would look out of place. You need to turn up the sizzle
P116 NEWSWIRE / INTERACTIVE / MARKET DATA
How does player engagement differ between land-based and digital?
In terms of what we are aiming to achieve, player engagement is the same between digital and land-based – we want to keep players focused and engage them. Te difference is in how players want to consume their experience. We have more horsepower as we are not depending on the user’s hardware. In land
Te flip side is that in the digital space there are hundreds if not thousands of titles on a web interface and you need to convince players to select your game to play. Online, you need to hook players more quickly than in land based. Tere is also divergence on the trends in both spaces. For example, the volatility profiles are totally different. Te games you see in digital can be super volatile and the hit rates low. My feeling is that this type of experience is easier on the digital platform where you can set auto play and watch football at the same time. Translating this experience onto a casino floor is difficult.
Furthermore, the way we develop is different. We develop on C Sharp, whilst digital works on HTML5. Our games have a much bigger memory footprint, so the translation of games ends up
based, we are not tailoring to an iPhone 6 and 11 at the same time. From a display and presentation engagement perspective, we have an advantage as we are building on our own hardware. We put in the processor and memory card and can build it however we want.
How does the game development process change depending on the hardware you are working on?
Firstly, we still make the old slot machines with the mechanical spinning reels with moving parts, so these types of games obviously require an alternate approach. However, even within the video space you have got completely different types of games for alternate hardware. Te trend has been towards vertical screens and as this becomes more standard games will not differentiate too much between a 40-inch and 45-inch vertical screen, although there are things to keep in mind. Keeping things in the
Keeping things in the player's field of vision is important on
vertical screens to ensure the player is not moving their head up and down all the time. The games developed for this type of hardware are flashier and novel as they are bigger and brighter.
becoming more of a rewrite. Ultimately, these factors determine the development isolation between land-based and digital.
player's field of vision is important on vertical screens to ensure the player is not moving their head up and down all the time. Te games developed for this type of hardware are flashier and novel as they are bigger and brighter.
Video slots are landscape on what we call dual screens as they have two screens on top of one another. Tese are less flashy as the demographic of player is more towards the gambling experience compared to the 'look at me’ kind of player you associate with slots. Video slots players are repeat customers and they tend to like more volatile, cut to the chase
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