Exclusive Q&A with Aleksey Ulanov, Lead Designer at BGaming

Thank you for taking the time to answer some questions. Before we jump into the more specific questions, could you please introduce BGaming to our readers?

BGaming is a creative and fast-growing iGaming content provider, as we love to say, converting gambling into gaming. The studio revealed itself to the world with its variety of thrilling online casino games and became the pioneer in supporting cryptocurrencies. 

Our fundamental value is that the Player and Player’s choice always come first. For this reason, we constantly analyze and study player needs and preferences to make unique and attractive products. 

What types of games does BGaming’s portfolio include?

Today BGaming’s portfolio includes more than 80 products such as video slots, video poker, lottery, table games, card and casual games with HD graphics, quality sound design, and a clear user interface for every device. 

Since we strive to expand our network of crypto projects and pass over a successful experience of crypto casinos to fiat ones, we also draw particular attention to our portfolio of Fast (casual) games.

With so many games out there, what differentiates BGaming from the rest of iGaming content providers?

I would say everything begins with the team. BGaming’s team includes professionals with 20+ years in the iGaming sphere, which bring vast improvement to work on each stage of game development. Thanks to team experience, we became the pioneer in supporting cryptocurrencies, the first major provider to introduce the Provable Fairness feature in online slots, and have found a perfect balance between ideal visuals and maths, along with rich gameplay and surprising features.

BGaming is a frontrunner in Brand exclusive slots production. We collaborate with casinos as true partners, striving to be flexible and provide their players with the best experiences. We offer a variety of customization packs for casino operators starting from a light touch, through deep customization, and up to an exclusive slot or crash game. 

As I highlighted before, our fundamental value is that the Player and Player’s choice always come first. Such a player-driven approach is another essential feature of BGaming.

What are the key guidelines that you follow when designing a new game?

There is a saying in slot development, “The art is what attracts the players, but it is the math that keeps them.” 

I’m all too familiar with an excellent math model that suffers if the art does not attract new customers. Our design team puts a lot of effort into characters’ creation, pays attention to details, constantly experiments with the graphics, and implements the best practices to make our games eye-catching.

Since we’ve been creating games for a long time now, we are armed with deep knowledge of the sphere and extensive analytical data. We use it to find valuable insights and better navigate which math, mechanics, sound, and of course, graphics hold the potential to become a hit. These insights and tendencies provide the basis for further experiments in design.

For example, our hit character Elvis the Frog was fueled by such an experiment. We aimed to create a brightly-painted character that could support dynamic gameplay, share the festive atmosphere, be associated with luck, and could be easily recognized. As a result, our Elvis Frog in Vegas appeared and became the best support to the game’s captivating math and mechanics.

The game was a blast and Elvis the Frog, who knows how to have a good time and brings luck, became extremely popular.

Is there any room for variety in gambling games? What do you do to avoid producing repetitive games? Slots for example all work following the same basic mechanics. Is it possible to keep the experience fresh?

A player is a king in iGaming. Some players value variety, while others stick to particular math, mechanics, or design.

Most content providers are balancing fresh experiences and classic, well-loved features and characters. Learning from complementary spheres, such as game development and crypto space, works well in our case.

We have a successful case in our portfolio, the pack of Fast g

ames. This genre of games came from the crypto casinos. Clear rules, rapid results, and simple graphics are the features that unite these games. Our fast games package includes five games now: multiplayer crash Space XY, Plinko XY, Rocket Dice XY, Heads&Tails XY and Minesweeper XY. The games are much different from what we used to see among classic slots. But we notice the success of these games at crypto casinos and want to pass it over to fiat ones. 

Analytics helps us understand the gaming space changes, highlight trendsetters in math, mechanics, and art, and keep the experience not only fresh but, first of all, relevant.

Could you tell us a bit more about current trends? What makes a game successful nowadays?

We analyze players’ preferences from release to release and see that it’s always a good idea to allow players to choose extra bonuses. 

The Player’s interest in the game can be increased if the game’s mechanics offers features that provide rapid results or multiply the winning chances.

Among particular audiences, if we talk about crypto gamers migrating to fiat casinos, there is a tendency to simplify mechanics and art. But at the same time, this audience brings high standards for transparency in game results and freedom to choose game currency.

Unfortunately, or maybe, fortunately, there’s no “one size fits all” solution to make a game successful. Great space for action and experiments, though! 

Finally, without sharing too much information, tell us about what we can expect in the future from BGaming!

For the new releases, we are working on upgrading the package of Fast games in our portfolio. This year it will grow to at least ten games, including new games Keno, Limbo, and Mines. Also, BGaming works to expand its portfolio with a Wheels, BlackJack and Dice Battle towards the end of the year. 

A new version of our big hit Lucky Lady Moon enhanced with popular MEGAWAYS™ mechanics launches this July. The slot will be fitted with thrilling features, including Free Spins with the Wheel of Fortune, Refilling reels and Wild symbols with x2 multiplier.

To sum it up, BGaming is on the way to strengthening its positions and presence in the European  and LATAM regions, which means a lot of great things ahead!