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An Iterative Approach to the Development and Distribution of Social Casino
Ulyana Krystaszek
Product Owner
Focused on synchronous multiplayer
games for most of our existence
60+ people and
growing
Social casino,
arcade and skill games
Online gaming
company
Founded 10+ years
ago
Office in Krakow
city center
39 M Registered users
3.1 M Active users per month
70k DAU
4
Slot in Slots — how it started Slot in Slots — how it started
Goal: ernrich company portfolio
with 5-reel slots game
Threats: highly-competitive market
of social casino
Our approach: deliver minimum viable product
(MVP) and plan next actions according to feedback received
5
MVP AND BEYOND Releasing basic functionality, with
minimum features set (3 machines and social features).
Collecting data, and adjusting next releases to results and observations of players behavior
Releasing next features as soon as possible, to see the impact
Decisions: data driven vs. intuition
Balancing from different sources of inspirations
6
BACKLOG INSPIRATIONS: Minimum features set (MVP,
“Minimum awesome product”)
Market situation
Industry standards
Company strategy/stakeholders
Team vision / Tasks, motivating for developers
Players feedback
Graphics adjusted to
different cultures
Various platforms - various types of players (casual, hardcore, etc)
Prices adjusted to purchase
power of local market
Mobile vs. Web, adjust both UI &
game design
AND MORE INSPIRATIONS: ADAPTATION
ADAPTATION: MOBILE
ADAPTATION: MOBILE LOBBY
ADAPTATION: MACHINES UNLOCKS
ADAPTATION: MACHINES ORDER
12
IDEAS ARE USELESS UNTIL USED
One Big idea < lots of small ideas
Once you come up with idea, you can't tell if it's good or bad, you are still the creator
Ship it and see how it's received
Do it often, and create environment appropriate for iterative cycle
13
FAIL FAST, FAIL OFTEN Failure = learning
Enable fast and smooth releases (continuous integration)
Being agile ≠ not having a plan
Operations and responsibilities inside of the team
Recovering from failures (postmortems, retrospectives)
A/B tests, staged roll-out
Ownership releases responsibility (cross-functional team)
Players feedback (read between the lines)
Do not over-invest your time
HOW IT WORKS FOR US
15
A/B TESTS
”ADD COINS” BUTTON
16
A/B TESTS
MOBILE SHOP
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Bring innovation, by adding multiplayer mode to classic single-player game; interesting for both Slots and Bingo players
TRUE STORY#1. BINGO SLOTS
Mission:
Slots with elements of Bingo
Solution:
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BINGO SLOTS: HOW IT WORKS
19
BINGO SLOTS: HOW IT WORKS Players joins one of three “rooms” with
different bets
All players in one room see same machine
Players can add up to 5 coupons
Coupons have patterns, that need to be filled
Symbols on reels have numbers too, and once paylines are hit, numbers are scored on coupon
First one to score all 5 numbers on coupon and claim and claim “Bingo” wins
20
BINGO SLOTS: LESSONS LEARNED
Adding totally new gameplay to typical slots maybe not a very best idea
Machine interesting for rather small niche
Assets later re-used in next project
System of “multiple players on one machine” later used in tournaments
Was fun to work on, change of focus for the team
21
introduce more casino-inspired elements; create place for high-rollers to spend their coins; give unique content for current players; see how fast we can release new machine.
TRUE STORY#2. GOLDEN REELS
Mission:
Golden Reels - machine, using graphics, created for Bingo Slots, offering free spins powered by “Lucky Tickets”
Solution:
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GOLDEN REELS : HOW IT WORKS
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GOLDEN REELS: HOW IT WORKS Machine is offering higher and more
frequent wins, than others
Players are not spending coins from their account, but wins are added
Lucky Ticket type offer various basic bets
Lucky Tickets can be purchased, but as well can be received for free in some community-management activities
24
GOLDEN REELS: LESSONS LEARNED
Sometimes your MVP can be really minimum
or “how to recycle your assets and make some money on it”
Cross-functional team is a bless, ideas coming from everywhere
We basically added other, more interactive option to purchase coins.
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create social features, set deeply in the core gameplay; empower players communication connected to game outside of the game.
TRUE STORY#3: POWER-UPS AND CASHBACKS
Mission:
Power-ups, boosting gameplay distributed via viral channels, including mutual appreciation system for sender and receiver.
Solution:
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POWER-UPS: HOW IT WORKS
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POWER-UPS: HOW IT WORKS
Player receive power-up from their friend, use it on the machine, and once they win, players friend, who sent power-up, will receive some coins.
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POWER-UPS: LESSONS LEARNED
Players would come back to spin with friends power-ups and send cashbacks
Interactive gifts, requiring investment of time, are more appreciated
Social pressure of not sending cashback
Community building&beta-testers aspect can't be underestimated
