Inside Asian Gaming

inside asian gaming March 2015 36 Tech Talk What’s unique about Aspect Gaming’s vision for the casino floor is that it extends way beyond it A sia’s slot floors these days are richer than ever with great play experiences, and Aspect Gaming, though a relative newcomer to the industry, is fast winning recognition as one of its premier innovators. The success Aspect’s Fortune Cats and Backyard Gold have achieved in Macau readily attest to that, and they’re just two standout performers from among more than two dozen colorful Chinese-themed titles winning fans in the region’s largest and most lucrative machine gaming market. And there will be plenty more, because the company’s Shanghai- based designers, a young and energetic team that’s honed its software chops in the larger worlds of video, mobile and console gaming, are dedicated to nudging the bar higher with each new release. “We try to create a mix,” says Tony Payne, executive vice president, Product Development, “because we feel that the player base in Macau will change over time. Not all players are VIP players. They don’t have deep pockets. They can’t withstand long droughts. They’re not making initial buy-ins of $3,000 to $5,000 Hong Kong dollars. Maybe they’re starting out with $100 or $200. So we try and do some math models where they’re going to have a good experience.” Kickin’ Kash, unveiled at November’s Macao Gaming Show, is one illustration: a compelling gamble in the form of a bonus that lets you choose between more free games or bigger multipliers, but with something different for engaging the player who’s sat down in hopes of having some fun while trying their luck. As Mr Payne describes it, “There’s sort of a tipping point in a free games session where you feel like, ‘I’ve gone through six, seven games, and I haven’t won much money, so my session’s probably a bust.’” When Worlds Combine But Kickin’ Kash says maybe not, because every time the game’s “girl fighter” symbol lands on Reel 1, regardless of whether it’s a winner, the player who has chosen her increases his or her free games by up to three. The “boy fighter” symbol increases the multiplier by one every time he lands on Reel 5. So the beginning 3x multiplier on any award can grow to 4x or 5x or all the way to 10x. “By increasing that multiplier it just takes a small win there at the end,” says Mr Payne. “We want to hold the player in to that experience as long as we possibly can and make them feel really good about it. So you might be down to your last spin, but you’ve got a 10x multiplier riding on there, so anything that comes up is going to be more meaningful.” It’s emblematic of a way of thinking about the player that draws much of its inspiration from that larger game world mentioned above. OneWall, to take an example that paints on a much bigger canvas, is built upon an innovative widescreen cabinet Aspect calls the Super Ruby. The propriety technology—without the need for expensive video wall controllers—transforms a bank of Super Rubies into something very much like a high-definition movie screen with game and top screens synchronized to stream almost any kind of imagery across the bank—or across an entire wall for an even more dynamic effect. Fortune Cats on the Grand Orient Casino mobile platform