Opinion: slots is a game about what in general?

Akim Denisov

Recently, I received several requests for advice about “one-armed bandits” at once, and came to the conclusion that not all companies wishing to invest money in creating such a product realize what they want to get involved in. After a little thought, I decided to briefly outline the main points – suddenly, which of my colleagues at the game rendezvous is also interesting.

The first thing to understand is that this is not real gambling. Although social and regular casinos have a similar target audience, they work differently. If everything were so simple, then all sorts of Novomatic, Microgaming, Belatra and the like would be hanging in the tops [leaders in the market of real gaming machines. – ed.], but it is not so. In real gambling, the safety of the random number generator (RNG) and the percentage of selection /return is important (depending on which side to look at). In a social casino, mathematics is secondary, emotional intensity is important.

Based on this, it can be argued that the motivation of the players is different. In real slots, the cherished dream always remains: to catch the “right” combination, hit the jackpot and jump-squeal at the machine while the winnings are being credited, then take it all in hand and enjoy the rustling of bills. In a social casino, you can’t win – you won’t be able to get into the cache. The players understand this, which means they are looking for something else. What is it? The same thing that consumers of electronic cigarettes, non-alcoholic beer and high–altitude VR rides are waiting for – pleasure without harmful consequences.

Those who have tried high-quality VR walks along the edge of the roof of a skyscraper or on a perch over the abyss behind a box or a kitten remember how a chill runs down their backs and up to their heels, how their palms sweat, but the brain says: “this is all not true…” And the chill keeps running, the palms are all sweating, and get off to the side it seems that I want to check, but at the same time, something stops me. In real life, you certainly won’t try this (if “everyone is at home”, of course). It’s the same story with ludomaniacs in social casinos – riding an emotional roller coaster from the feeling of winning, then from the feeling of losing almost to zero, rebounding on the last coins in the sky of betting limits and then peaking down in anticipation of the next rebound – this is pleasure without harmful consequences.

All slot players are well aware that for a conditional dollar in a social casino they will “ride” much longer and more fun than in real slot machines, where, basically, everything looks like “rolled downhill”. In their hearts, all slot addicts consider slot machines to be a pure rip–off with a dishonest RNG, and no licenses will convince any of the players of anything – superstitions rule this clearing rigidly. So why do people play real slots in this case? It’s all about the psychology of the player. For any casino player to stay “with his own” is already a good result, to win is a great result, to win a casino where everyone else is doomed to lose is a result worthy of a legend, and to win in a deliberately dishonest game with a cheater is the level of a demigod!

No matter what anyone says, but “everyone wants to play God”, and real casinos do not have tools that can play along with the player in this regard. All real casinos are slaves of mathematics, the most cruel of sciences. In the world of a social casino, where mathematics is secondary, psychology rules, and here the developers have an almost infinite field of activity in its diversity. The main thing to remember is to always give the player a loophole for rebounding. Any ludoman wants to win at the casino, and not buy tokens, so he will be ready to spend money on alternative winning methods – tickets for sweepstakes and lotteries, replays of bonus games or dice roll in a risk game, if the previous result did not suit, and so on and so forth. He can spend even more money on all these tricks than just buying coins in the app store.

This whole system of bonuses, additional ways of “enrichment” and other revenge over the casino forms meta-gameplay in slots. When creating a meta, it is important to remember that slots are a game of expectations tied to an audio–visual mantra, the pursuit of an elusive prize. It is the magic of waiting that makes this seemingly simple game so popular and gives its creators the very leash for which players are taken to the cashier. Of course, there are different types of players even in slots, but they all have a few common features.

I’ll start with the non–obvious – socialization. Kazinoshniki are extremely reluctant to talk about their achievements with those who are “out of touch”, so sharing in social networks does not work particularly. However, within their circle, all ludomaniacs willingly discuss anything, and even mostly not about slots. Hence the conclusion that an in-game chat with gifts, avatars and other buns will be very much to their liking. Of course, you do not need to make a huge forum for everyone, just divide the players into rooms (rooms) for several people, and there they will communicate perfectly, spin the reels, exchange not only gifts and argue with each other.

The competitive spirit is very strong in all kazinoshniki. They like to make bets on various topics, regarding the current game or other parallel events. The main thing is to give a reason. A good option may be to bet on who in the room will be the first to have an event like “free spins” or “bonus game”. The bet must be fixed and the guesser will take the entire amount of bets placed. The number of wins in such disputes must be recorded in the corresponding rating, which can be seen by all players. Places in the ratings in general can become a serious driver of monetization if you notify about a negative shift from a significant position. In such cases, there is a great chance to see the Bazerman phenomenon in all its glory. If some particularly valuable or unique reward (content) is given for the top places, then the chances of a serious batch among the leaders increase significantly!

A penchant for collecting is another common feature of players, especially if a reward is given for collecting a complete collection of “something out there”. The collection may include items related to slot themes, as well as items given for daily tasks or game achievements. The main thing is that there should be a lot of collections and it was not easy to collect them, and to add fuel to the fire of excitement, you can allow a blind exchange of items between players. For example, a player exposes 5 items from some of his collection for exchange on a virtual exchange, in return receives 5 items from some other collection. The exchange is instantaneous, the changelings are anonymous – a cat in a bag for a cat in a bag, but suddenly you get lucky, and that very last missing, so coveted for the third month, does not fall out in any way from the “Antique Collection”? What a holiday it will be, just an event worthy of a monument!

And, by the way, about monuments. To amuse many people have their own ego, but ludomaniacs are especially good at it. Casinos and gambling have always been associated with ostentatious luxury and deliberate wealth, so why shouldn’t this be the case in social slots? Give the player a tool to visualize their achievements in the form of a castle, a beautiful garden, a throne room, which he/she will create bit by bit from nothing. Give out one improvement with each level of experience, for winning ratings or from somewhere else, the main thing is that it is not too easy, but also not boring. Allow color and stylistic customization, give other players the opportunity to see these creations and even vote for the most beautiful ones, and even those who disdained slots can be attracted to this.

As I have already said, slots is a waiting game, chasing the horizon, which is always visible and which is sometimes just around the corner, and now we are all going to find out what’s behind it, and… he is ahead again… and this should always be the case, each new reward should give the player a chance to try his luck in some next game. I’ve been in for 7 days in a row – get a little coins for the game and a gift spin of a special wheel of luck, on which you will win a little coins for the game and a ticket for a lottery draw, where the prize will be a little coins for the game and a token for a special slot machine, where you can win a little coins for the game and a key for one of the three doors in the VIP area, where you can find a few coins for the game and a suitcase in which … and so on spiraling to infinity.

Of course, there are a lot of other tools that allow you to play on the thin strings of the soul of a slotoman so that it would be pleasant to all participants in the process. Well, for the particularly impatient, there are IAP and other “timely offers of a limited period of validity”, for which you can get additional meta-nyashek, but this is already a question of analyzing behavioral patterns – a separate topic for discussion.

And the last thing is not obvious, but very important – the more your game throws the ludoman off balance, the more often it infuriates him, deceiving expectations, the more money he will spend. The main thing to remember is that it is necessary to annoy people beautifully, and it’s not easy. ​The aftertaste that remains with a person from the game should resemble the joy of realizing what he did wrong, seasoned with an understanding of how to avoid it next time.