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Tell us a bit about yourself. What makes you, you; and why have you chosen to work at Alchemy Gaming?
I’m Rory Harpur, and I am the Chief Product Officer for Alchemy Gaming. Two things that I bring to work every day are curiosity and optimism. I love that the work we do at Alchemy Gaming allows me to spend time really trying to understand our players and the market and dreaming up creative new ways to engage our players. My job ticks all the boxes for me and working with an incredible group of experts never gets old.
What would you say are the best three slots ever released by Alchemy Gaming?
I love all our releases, but the ones that always stand out for me are the games that break some new ground.
Wheel of Wishes was our first release, and it has really left its mark on the industry by launching the enormous WOWPot! Jackpot.
Africa X UP™ was our first game to launch the X UP™ feature which creates a great dynamic of increased win potential if the player takes longer to trigger the feature. This has been hugely successful for us.
And Chronicles of Olympus X UP was the first game to bring our patent-pending UPSIZER feature to the world. This is a feature that I see as being a game-changer for the industry.
Looking to the future, what is the next big release Alchemy Gaming is planning?
We have 3 games lined up for the first half of 2022 that I think are all going to be great fun for our players. Our first release for the year is 25000 Talons, which will be going live on 5 April. It’s an American wildlife-themed slot that is packed with features and a classic slot feel. We also have our next iteration of the X UP™ feature, Bolt X UP™, coming in May.
Then our 2022 flagship game, Aquanauts, will be released towards the middle of the year. It’s going to be a real blockbuster – launching another patent pending feature, bringing a huge amount of variety and novelty to our players.
In a market with hundreds of game studios, what would you say is Alchemy Gaming’s biggest differentiator?
I would like to think that it’s the fact we are innovating with a purpose in our games. It’s no good abandoning features and mechanics that work to create something novel without having a clear idea of how the novelty plans to improve the player experience.
We would love to hear more about the game creation process. Can you let us know which is the most exciting part of the entire process when creating a new title?
The best part of my job is that I get to be part of the whole process. Creating new mechanics and pulling them together into a game is pure fun, but the excitement is less tangible because everything is still theoretical at this point. Playing the bare bones build of the game when it first starts coming together makes it start to feel real and really lets the excitement build. Then watching the data start flowing in when the game is released is the pinnacle of excitement and stress, where you get a view of what the players think of your baby.
How can you tell if an online game is going to be a hit or not?
I think most veterans of the industry can point out things within games that potentially detract from a game’s success – issues with the balance of payouts and game flow, for example. There is an art to this, though, rather than a scientific process. When trying to separate the good games from the great, it gets even more difficult because the market is constantly changing and this impacts the players’ view on a product.
What are your hobbies?
I am a surfer and I love spending as much time as possible in the ocean or anywhere outdoors. My wife and two little kids are amazing, so I spend as much time as possible with them. And I never pass on an opportunity to do a bit of traveling.
If you weren’t in the gambling industry, what other industry would you want to work in?
I’d be working for Lego! I love the endless creativity and optimism that Lego inspires and the fact that it can teach kids divergent thinking without ever feeling like a lesson. And on the topic of learning, if any of your readers would like to know more about Alchemy Gaming and how we’re progressing, I recommend keeping up to date with our socials. Thank you for your time!