Amongst the wave of slot releases that grace the desks (or inboxes) of many on a weekly basis, one of the most recent examples came courtesy of Twin who unveiled the debut of its first such online title.

Said to be an attempt to create “the ultimate slot” in a step to “further strengthen ourselves in an ever-growing competitive market,” Banana Odyssey, created in partnership with Slingshot Studios, launched exclusively for Microgaming.

Now a little over a week out from its debut, Kasper Bach, head of casino at Twin, has been speaking to CasinoBeats about the challenges posed by slot development as a result of the increased pace of new introductions week by week: “I can only speak from an operator’s side on this one. Banana Odyssey is the first slot we have been involved in the development of, and the challenges such as managing great ideas, features and game technical requirements. 

“You also need to bear in mind that anything you add/remove/edit on a slot could potentially affect both the volatility, the overall ‘feel’ of the slot and the return to player. 

“This is just one of the challenging aspects from our point of view as we had so many cool ideas that we wanted to fit in, but I think the studio in the end succeeded with bringing as many of them into the actual final product as they could – so we are proud of that fact.”

Faced with such a deluge on a seemingly consistent basis, the barometer of success has swung somewhat, and Bach moved on to how such a concept would looked upon by Twin regarding its debut offering, as well as how, with innovation such a constant and necessary inclusion, it differs from the norm: “In terms of the technical specifications, the game is really pushing industry boundaries. An extremely entertaining feature-rich game that really captures the Twin effect and is guaranteed to keep customers entertained for a long period of gameplay. 

“Also, in a time where most of the industry is pushing big win potential and higher and higher volatility on game releases, it seems to have become the new industry standard – Banana Odyssey goes against the norm, it brings back the nice and calm low/mid volatility and keeps a good win-potential, that many customers are still looking for.

“Innovation in the industry is forever changing”

“We have worked hard on the concept and idea, and Slingshot Studios have managed to take the best parts of it and turn it into a great slot, filled with features and cool animations that really immerse the customer into the space voyage-feel of the slot.” 

Continuing on the current theme, Bach stressed a belief that Big Time Gaming have been key in terms of recent innovations, but that a need for the exact opposite is driving Twin: “It is hard not to mention the Megaways mechanics from Big Time Gaming, when speaking about recent innovations in the industry.

“It has already proven to be a popular mechanic that customers love and that many providers have already bought into, or that inspired the creation of similar mechanics. However, I see a lot of air needed in the industry for exactly the opposite, and I believe Banana Odyssey fits perfectly into that space. 

“I could also mention the innovation in organisations. The connections we have to our suppliers, how we talk and work together has improved drastically over the years, which are also worthy innovations to mention, as many tend to forget this is important to help a casino business grow.”

Before concluding by giving an insight into what could be on the horizon: “Innovation in the industry is forever changing. I personally think we will see more skill games and branded content in the industry. Also, in the light of many countries regulating, looking to regulate and limiting the use of bonuses that a casino is able to offer, we will also notice much more gamification, achievement-tools and in-game tournament tools. These tools are going to be crucial for the game suppliers to compete for the customers and operators favour.”