Hero Profile | Mike Salt - Senior Game Producer

We chat to Michael Salt, a Senior Game Producer at Reflex Gaming, to gain an insight into the world of game design.  Mike’s career has spanned over two decades, and has encompassed a wide variety of game types, from traditional analogue AWP through to online slots.  Michael reveals how he comes up with new game concepts and the secret formula to a successful game.

Hi Mike, how did you get into the world of game design?

Believe it or not, my background is in biomedical science.  After graduation, I worked in a pathology lab in a hospital.  I’ve always been quite inventive; as a child, I loved creating my own games, but never considered it could be a realistic career until I spotted an advert in a newspaper advertising for a trainee game designer.  On a whim, I applied for it and the rest is history, as they say!

What are you working on at the moment?

With our land-based market being closed right now, I’m focused on developing online games.  In particular, new games which will be launched through Stakelogic’s Greenlogic programme, for which we have several exciting releases planned in 2021. 

What are the biggest challenges of the job?

As a game producer, you always have multiple projects running simultaneously, in varying stages of development (at times I have counted as many as 12 live projects!) so, you need to be both creative, and well organised, in order to keep all the plates spinning.  

How do you come up with new game concepts?

I’ve learned that inspiration can come from absolutely anywhere; you need that mindset where you’re expecting it to come at any point, so you have to be completely receptive.   For example, it could be during a conversation, or something you’ve seen on TV.  Once, it was a slogan on the side of a lorry as I was overtaking!  I would always advise writing an idea down straight away, if possible. (from bitter experience of forgetting some sure-fire winners!)    

I’m also lucky to work as part of a creative team, having access to a couple of the most experienced people in the business, Mat Ingram and Steve Kick.   They’re always happy to bounce new ideas around, often leading to a game becoming significantly different from the original concept.

What trends have you noticed in game design?

The online gaming market is extremely crowded, and the need to stand out is driving innovation.  Game mechanics are constantly changing and evolving.  I’m seeing a trend for companies developing and trademarking new mechanics, in order to license them.  This is something that we’re currently building into our game roadmap, through our partnerships with Yggdrasil and Stakelogic, where we’re able to use great mechanics, such as Yggdrasil’s Gigablox and Stakelogic’s Super Stake.

Another trend I’m seeing is the increasing complexity of online games.  It’s interesting to me, as there are parallels with what I’ve experienced in the land-based analogue market over the last 20+ years, where designers would continue to pile complexity onto new games, until they became inaccessible to new players.   At Reflex, we’ve experienced great success in the land-based markets by stripping out the complexity and creating what I think of as classic games rebooted for the modern world.   I think our recent online game Moley Moolah is another example where we’ve bucked the trend, and created something that looks simple, fun, and a bit retro with clear goals for the player, and no need to slog through the pages of info to understand what’s going on!

When you design a new game, how do you know whether it will be a hit?

If it’s a 100% brand-new game, you can’t.  Ask any game designer and they’ll tell at least one sob story of a “fantastic” new game that failed.   In my experience, a new game has the best chance of success when combining proven game elements with something novel.

That said, sometimes it can pay to try something completely off-the-wall, just don’t expect it to work every time!

What does the future hold?

Whilst that’s never an easy question to answer, I’m excited about the future at Reflex. Whilst the hiatus in the land-based markets is painful, it has provided a great opportunity to put our focus on the online gaming markets.  We’ve got some excellent partnership arrangements with Yggdrasil and Stakelogic, and I can see great success ahead on that front.  So, when land-based markets eventually re-open and get back up to speed, we’re going to be in a great position.

"We’ve experienced great success...by stripping out the complexity and creating what I think of as classic games rebooted for the modern world."

Reflex Gaming Seizes Opportunity to Sign Deal on State-of-the-Art Game Mechanics

Reflex Gaming, the omni-channel games supplier has signed a licensing deal with Yggdrasil to use their successful Mechanical Frameworks. This deal is offered exclusively to Yggdrasil’s Masters’ Program partners.  This opportunity will enable Reflex Gaming to deploy Yggdrasil’s state-of-the-art game mechanics on some of their upcoming online games.

Developed by Yggdrasil, these latest game mechanics have proved extremely popular with their players.  In an increasingly congested online gaming market, it’s imperative to stay ahead of the game through innovation.  These mechanics were developed with players in mind, combining state-of-the-art graphics and raised levels of thrilling gameplay.  This new license will enable Reflex to incorporate the Gigablox, MultiMAX and Splitz game mechanics into future launches through the Masters’ program. 

Gigablox enables gigantic symbols to appear on reels, leading to monster wins when stacked. MultiMAX allows multipliers to accumulate on the reels resulting in cascading wins.  Last, but not least, Splitz, can divide symbols on the reels, with massive winning potential.

Mat Ingram, CPO, Reflex Gaming commented, “These exciting design elements will enable us to raise the bar even higher in our games.  We have a full game launch schedule for 2021, with some epic releases coming.  We are really impressed with what Yggdrasil have done on their games using these mechanics.  Our game design team already have ideas on how to deploy these clever slot mechanics on our own upcoming games.” 

Having successful, established mechanics in place will enable Reflex Gaming to speed up their games development process and continue to offer players high quality content.  The new mechanics will be embedded in some of their online games from 2021 onwards.  

"In an increasingly congested online gaming market, it’s imperative to stay ahead of the game through innovation."

Interview with Quentin Stott

Let’s admit it, land-based businesses have not had the best start to 2021.  Pubs, clubs, AGCs and bingo halls in the UK remain closed for the foreseeable future, and after the challenges of 2020, this is not the news which the leisure industry was hoping for.  We chat to Quentin Stott, MD to discuss how Reflex Gaming is dealing with the never-ending changes and what Quentin predicts will be key trends for 2021 and beyond.  

How did Reflex Gaming overcome the challenges which 2020 presented?

Managing a business during a global pandemic has been challenging, to say the least. I have learnt that no plans should be set in stone. For companies to survive and thrive, it’s about agility and flexibility.  Last year, we laid the foundations for our growth in the online space through forming alliances with both, Yggdrasil and Stakelogic.  These strategic partnerships represent our ongoing commitment to innovation in the online sectors and diversification of our portfolio in high-growth markets.

Now that we have the foundations, we can begin to build in this area and focus our experienced team with single mindedness.  The other day, I caught sight of our 2021 games launch plan and I can reveal that we have some very exciting releases coming.  We are aiming to make ripples in the industry, and you can expect to see some impacting new releases throughout the year.

The benefit of being an omni-channel games supplier is that you learn lessons from land-based game players which can then be applied online, and the reverse is also true.  We are in tune with what players like, and we are striving to expand on that. We have amongst the best game development team in the country.  In an increasingly congested gaming market, we want to offer players high quality content and we have the pedigree to deliver.

What about your commitment to land-based games?

We remain absolutely committed to further development of our land-based games. These machines have been Reflex Gaming’s core market since we began trading in 2004.  We will be ready for when the pubs, clubs and AGCs eventually re-open and already have plans in place to service what we expect will be much pent-up demand for our games! However, now is the time to apply laser-like focus to the opportunities we have online.

What trends do you expect to see in 2021?

I’m not ruling out the possibility that the pandemic may shift some people’s gaming habits permanently.  However, in a year or two from now, you’ve got to assume that land-based games will be back to normality, so there’s life in the old dog yet.  We are currently in lockdown #3; people have been told to stay at home, so, the only way they can access gaming is through online.  

Game developers are increasingly experimenting with new game features and mechanics. A few of these have been hugely successful: we’re expecting a pipeline of never-seen-before game styles coming to market. This will certainly differentiate the games in this crowded market.

We’re also in the process of responding to the Gambling Commission’s review of gambling, so we have to be mindful that some changes will be heading our way. This review could prove quite a challenge for some incumbent game development houses, especially those with a large back catalogue of games.  As always, we will remain agile and flexible and deal with the changes.

"We will be ready for when pubs, clubs and AGCs re-open. We have plans in place to service what we expect will be much pent-up demand for our games."

Who Let The Dawgs Out?

Introducing Reflex Gaming’s newest game release, Desperate Dawgs; the latest addition to the Yggdrasil Masters programme.  Players are taken to a backdrop of glorious sunsets in the Badlands of the old west, where a trio of cunning canines are plotting the crime of the century.  Mayhem will be unleashed when these bad boys hit town.  We chat to Senior Game producer Steve Kick to find out more.

Briefly describe the game Steve

It is a 20 pay line, 5 reel, 3 row online slot game packed with 3 bonus features.  It is a low-medium volatility game.

How did you come up with the idea?

Desperate Dawgs is a twist on the classic wild west theme.  An era renowned for lawlessness, striking gold and hazardous shootouts.  We wanted something very feature-rich, with some colourful characters to hang the features on.   Our outlaws were inspired by famous characters such as Billy the Kid, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, but we thought putting the canine slant would soften the theme and create something fun and original. Here's an interesting fact for you, did you know that hounds were used historically in Dodge city to hunt pronghorn antelope?  

Tell us about the game features

This game has 3 bonus features; Wagon Trail, Crime Spree and Bank Buster.  

In Wagon Trail, land 3, 4 or 5 yellow Dawg symbols on the reels to trigger the feature. Players are invited to pick from one of three wagons.  Each wagon contains a cash prize.   

Guaranteed to raise the hairs on the back of your neck is the Crime Spree bonus feature.   3, 4 or 5 Green Dawg symbols will take you to this nail-biting Free Spins feature.  It has an incremental win multiplier as well as a chance of a re-trigger.    The win multiplier can go up to a massive X30, rewarding players with the chance to win huge cash prizes. 

If this wasn’t enough, there’s also the Bank Buster feature to play for, activated by 3 Red Dawg symbols.  In this bonus game, players are presented with three safes: bronze, silver and gold, each containing a spectacular prize.  Crack the secret code to unlock a safe, and win the prize inside.   

What makes this game special?

The game has been designed to deliver a nail-biting experience by combining exciting gameplay, with the backdrop of a stunning sunset in the wild west desert. It all comes together to deliver an immersive player experience.

When is the release date and where can we play it?

It will be released in mid-March 2021 through the Yggdrasil Masters programme and we expect this to be playable at all the major casino sites.

For more information on this release or any other enquiries, please contact Reflex Gaming Ltd e: game_releases@reflexgaming.com

“The key to success is often the ability to adapt” Confucius

As the year 2020 draws to a close, Mat Ingram, CPO at Reflex Gaming reflects on both the opportunities and challenges which 2020 has presented.  With the Covid-19 pandemic bringing  widespread pub and AGC shutdown, and wider economic uncertainty, it has been a rollercoaster of a year for Reflex.  Now looking back at our strategic decisions, it’s clear that our agility and ability to adapt have allowed us to leverage the few positives which have come out of 2020.

Let’s revisit the long-term industry goal of offering a cashless game play.  The Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated the speed of implementing cashless gaming.   Mat said; “When Covid-19 hit, we recognised that using cash would be an issue going forward. We responded quickly by converting our product portfolio to accommodate a cashless solution. We wanted to ensure that players would be able to play and pay safely.”    

How did the players react to this change?  Initial feedback from the application of the Game Payment Technology (GPT) system [1] indicates that the cashless process has already exceeded industry expectations.  The first GPT enabled AWP machines utilising this technology inform us that the average monthly value of electronic funds increased significantly, showing a really encouraging increase in usage.  Interestingly, the data tell us that over half of players using the GPT app were aged 40 and older.  This demonstrates a strong level of acceptance across all age groups. This insight will indeed be news welcomed by the whole industry.    

This year has also provided an opportunity for us to fast track our digital gaming portfolio.  Since 2004, Reflex has been leading providers of land-based games.  “Further to widespread pub and club closures, we made the decision to ramp up our online activities.” reveals Mat.  We were already operating in the digital gaming markets; our next tactic was to accelerate the growth in these sectors.  In order to enable us to get our games in front of more players and gain more distribution channels, we formed two strategic alliances with major distributors, Yggdrasil and Stakelogic. 

The partnership with Yggdrasil enabled us to join their YG Masters programme.  This gave us instant access to Yggdrasil’s GATI technology. “This partnership will give us a huge opportunity to both scale and extend our business operations into several new and exciting areas, channels and markets, in a highly efficient and effective manner.” adds Mat.  GATI is the enabler of the Yggdrasil Decentralised Aggregation Network. All Yggdrasil partners integrated to GATI can cross-sell its games to any global Yggdrasil Franchisee.

Another welcome alliance was formed with Stakelogic during quarter three, which led to Reflex joining the Greenlogic® program, allowing us immediate access to over 500 operators and aggregator partners around the world.  Mat says; “this was a brilliant opportunity for Reflex, through the alliance, we are able to put our name and games in front of more players than ever before.”  

Since Reflex began trading, we have built an enviable reputation for designing hugely entertaining omni-channel games. We are proud to boast a portfolio comprising blockbuster titles such as Lucky Gems, Wild Princess, Volcano and Celtic Spirit.  Both our partners Yggdrasil and Stakelogic, have access to our leading games design team.

Mat reflects; “Our ability to quickly adapt our business to changing market needs has put us in a strong position for 2021.  We have a solid games roadmap lined up for next year and look ahead with confidence and optimism.  Whatever the future holds, we are ready.”  

“Our ability to quickly adapt our business to changing

 market needs has put us in a strong position for 2021.”  

[1] https://www.intergameonline.com/casino/news/cashless-gaming-progress-in-uk-aw