“ Game math is the foundation of the game . The game designer works closely with the mathematician creating a compelling math model , then works with a small team of artists , engineers and composers , developing the game vision , ensuring the player chases are transparent and fun to play .”
— Gerard Crosby , Senior Vice President and Chief Games Product Officer , Konami Gaming
Anthony Baerlocher , vice president , innovation and mechanical reels for IGT , puts it succinctly : “ To me , the math is the personality of a game ,” he says . “ Different people are attracted to different types of games and game math . The math itself is complicated , but it is a science . It is true , it is accurate . But there is an infinite number of permutations on how to get to a 95 percent payout . That ’ s where the creative process comes in — building the pay loading , the frequencies , how much goes into a bonus that creates that game ’ s unique personality .”
Signature Style
Those “ unique personalities ” of games have allowed each supplier to develop a signature style — game characteristics that players recognize as the product of a particular manufacturer .
“ We do think we ’ re evolving a signature Bluberi approach ,” comments Brennan . “ Can we take the final game math and simply re-present key events and mechanics to the player to add variety , depth , and re-playability without affecting the core math pillars ?
“ For example , if you spin a wheel to win a multiplier , why not , for a less frequent subset of this occurrence , present the multiplier first then recreate the wheel spin experience ? This is a method we used to great success in Devil ’ s Lock and are repeating with upcoming releases .”
“ Ainsworth ’ s high-denom math models have been some of Ainsworth ’ s signature game styles ,” says Daly . “ That ’ s a much different math style than a traditional three-reel game or a five-reel low-denom game . It ’ s all about appealing to different players .”
“ All mathematicians have what we ’ d consider a style or fingerprint to the designs we put out ,” says L & W ’ s Mastropietro . “ This signature fingerprint is woven consistently throughout studio outputs .”
Tweaking the math while keeping a signature style is particularly important in the case of recurring game themes . “ When it comes to building game families , you typically have math models that stay consistent and then iterate the creative ,” says Mark DeDeaux , general manager and senior vice president , slots for AGS . “ As an example , with the game Rakin ’ Bacon !, we have certain standards within the game to make sure they are always present . When we make sequels , there are certain items we never want to depart too far away from , like the base mechanics , because players have certain expectations of the game .”
“ For game families , we try to keep jackpot and feature hit rates the same ,” says Ainsworth ’ s DuBose . “ On all our three-reel games the jackpot
frequency will be similar . The math changes may be more subtle in line pays or adjusting other frequencies of events that players will want to chase .”
“ Thinking back to many of our game families ,” says Mastropietro at L & W , “ you ’ ll see various iterations of the game , and with each new addition to the family , there ’ s something that makes it more compelling for the player .
We look to take the fun parts of the game that really draw in the attention span and excitement and give them a plus-up .
“ For example , our Dancing Drums began with the feature play of drums growing up to six stacked , but when we released Dancing Drums Explosion , we thought , ‘ OK , how can we one-up this for the player ?’ and that ’ s where we decided the drums now would grow to stack eight high .”
One theme that has maintained its signature style throughout the past 25 years and scores of individual titles is the Wheel of Fortune franchise from IGT .
“ There are certain functionalities that are combined with the wheel and frequency of the wheel that have fulfilled play expectations over so many years ,” says Dubravka Burda , senior vice president , global studios for IGT . “ We evolved the math over the years , but the functionality , the color , and the parts in the game are very consistent . This is something that is definitely IGT ’ s signature .”
The Basic Process
As more and more diverse game features have been added , game design has become more complex over the years , as all those features and outcomes must be woven into an effective math program . However , the basic process of game development has remained as a joint effort of creative design and mathematics .
“ Essentially the whole process hasn ’ t changed at all in the fact that you ’ re aiming to create an experience that is going to get the player excited to pursue a win and want to play the game each time they visit a casino ,” says Ainsworth ’ s Daly . “ What has changed is the technology . The math is much more complex . We can really drill down into how players interact with the game .
“ Additionally , the math modeling is much more flexible . In older games , especially old mechanical games , you could get very limited in what
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