Jean-Christophe Choffray, deputy CEO – head of gaming, at Gaming1 talks to CasinoBeats about the developer’s new title, Karak Forge, and its Spin Quest feature
Hi Jean-Christophe. Thanks for talking to CasinoBeats. Can you tell is what the thinking was behind launching a title like Karak Forge, specifically in the in-built quest mode/gamification?
“Let’s start off with the Spin Quest feature. We wanted to avoid the typical scene – a frustrated player, playing a game for hours to achieve a jackpot, and to his dismay see as someone else win that instead.
“A good 99 per cent of players that seek to win jackpots feel this exasperation, so based on this, we wanted to come up with a new innovative product where the jackpot is no longer linked to a machine, but it is to the player instead.
“Following this, all players will gain a 100 per cent outcome, awaiting the jackpot at the end of the day. An interesting feature is that a player can see and follow how far he is from reaching the latter. Depending on how lucky one is, some might be able to reach in within a few hours, a few days or even a few weeks.
“In the coming months, this Spin Quest will be featured on several Gaming1 games. We are positive it will be a revolution for slot machine players. The other important feature of Karak Forge is the bonus system.
“We basically give the player the opportunity to control the game. It’s about using the best card and the perfect moment – collect, combine, win. There are multiple cards to discover and choosing the best combination at the right time is a challenge itself.”
“The slot industry looks kind of idle and we want to implement ways to make it move forward“
The game has been more than two years in the making. That represents quite an investment – does it also signal a change in approach from Gaming1?
“That is absolutely true, we have invested a lot of time in developing the Spin Quest feature. Its has a revolutionary, completely new math model system, that grants the prize
to the player. The Spin Quest is currently being used for another three games we have under development.
“Each game has its own personality with its own new features. Our direction is vividly clear, we want to create a bridge between the world of gambling and gaming. The slot gaming industry momentarily looks kind of idle, and we want to implement ways to make it move forward.”
“That’s the whole point of games such as Karak Forge. It’s not only a slot game, it’s a quest“
Some developers throw out two slots a month, every month, while others focus more on quality/differentiation with titles like Karak Forge. How do you ensure KF stands out?
“We mostly rely on our experience in the gaming sector. We still run a steady production of ‘classic slots’ however we want to build games with ‘a soul’. We want players to feel that.
“That’s the whole point of developing games such as Karak Forge. It’s not only a slot game, it’s a quest. It takes slots to another level, its about creating something that players do not want to miss on and an experience they will not forget.”
Tell us something about the development process that our readers may not know – a change in direction during development, perhaps?
“Creating something new always brings a lot of surprises. One example would be the challenge we came across when drawing and discarding bonus cards.
“We tried and tested several ways to find the perfect technique for collecting gems and balancing the gaming experience, aiming in providing us and our test players with a product we absolutely love.
“We meticulously study what features can be improved, and we test over and over again.”
Where (or with which demographic) do you expect this game to perform well and do you have any integrations underway?
“The first Spin Quest was only tested on our own Belgium operation for the time being. Our Technical team is working hard on obtaining various game certifications, such as Malta, Portugal, Spain, Colombia, Sweden, UK, Romania and a few others.
“As soon as the certification is obtained we will unveil the list of operators that are extremely keen on being among the first on the market to launch this game on their casino. We are confident that this will be a huge hit with Scandinavian and Nordic players.”
What feedback have you had from reviewers/players/testers?
“Without trying to sound arrogant we would say it even exceeded our expectations. What
is also incredible in all fairness, is that we had some players that got so hooked to it that
they managed to reach the end in a few weeks and surprisingly started over again.
“We assumed they would lose the surprise effect but they absolutely did not. A particular
player has already completed it seven times but yet this same player continues to play.
“All our Spin Quest games some in different sizes some of them are quicker, some are
slower. Logically, the longer the quest takes the higher the prize will be at the end.
“We have also received feedback from players, as they were very pleased to see they won a jackpot over a slot, whereas normally they almost reach the end have someone steal it from under their nose.”
Try out Karak Forge here.